ã€ŠWorldshift: Virtual Revolutionã€‹


 Prologue - Stormfall

    Lightning burst from the dark clouds above the city. Jagged blades of light flashed downward, and for a heartbeat, it illuminated the nearby skyscrapers. Even in the gloom, the tall towers of carefully shaped concrete and glass looked tastefully modern. Some of the buildings were dark, but others still contained glowing lights that shone like beacons in the moments of darkness between lightning strikes. Off in the distance, the rest of the city was full of movement and light. Cars were still zooming through the streets, despite the storm raging overhead. Buffeted by the wind, a light drizzle splashed against the glass wall that stood between the man and the forces of nature outside. He was silent as he studied the metropolis below him from within the shelter offered by the tallest of the skyscrapers in the city. When the sky was dark, his reflection could be seen staring back at himself in the glass.

    He was a tall man in a dark suit and tie, with short black hair and a neatly trimmed beard, although bits of grey showed in his hair. Combined with his dark and intense gaze, his appearance gave him a stern and imposing aura, an aura that was not unearned. Despite the lines of grey hair and hints of wrinkles around his eyes, he did not seem old or frail at all. Instead, he projected untouchable power, even as the storm raged outside.

    A chime rang across the dark room behind him, and he turned and saw the door in the far wall open. A man in a lab coat stepped into sight and nodded at everyone else there. There were two other men in business suits sitting on expensive-looking personal sofas in the middle of the room. An intimate little round table sat between them, with two more empty seats around it. On one wall hung a huge television screen, and the other was covered by a long bar. Rows of glasses and bottles of alcohol stood behind it on a shelf.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for arriving late,¡± the man in the lab coat told the others as he walked toward the chairs. ¡°I was running through some last-minute upgrades to the software in the hopes that they would improve the binding process, and I decided to test it out before coming here since we are approaching launch and I need to nail down the final version.¡±

    ¡°We had begun to think something had happened to you, and you were preparing to flee the country,¡± one of the men sitting in the chairs replied in a half-joking tone. He was slightly older than his colleague, and he had a noticeable paunch.

    ¡°How did this last-minute test of yours go, Doctor?¡± the man sitting across from him asked politely.

    The doctor sighed as he slumped into a seat. He sounded tired and defeated. ¡°It was a complete failure. The poor young man died soon after the upload. I will spare you the gruesome details, but he immediately began screaming and yelling about hungry shadows. This was followed by catatonia and then a complete brain shutdown.¡±

    The overweight man leaned forward and gave the doctor an empathic look. ¡°He was a volunteer from the church. You shouldn¡¯t blame yourself too much. You did what we all know is necessary, including that young man. He knew what he was getting into.¡±

    The doctor grimaced. ¡°So did I, but I plugged him in anyway, Carl. I¡¯m here to help people, not murder them. This sort of abuse is what I joined you to fight!¡±

    ¡°The hard thing is sometimes the right thing,¡± the man at the window replied as he finally stepped away from it. He didn¡¯t take a seat. Instead, he remained standing next to the empty chair. ¡°You can¡¯t run from the harsh truths of life. They simply grow more dangerous the more you ignore them. It is a lesson that has cost me dearly to learn.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    ¡°None of us would be here if we hadn¡¯t also learned that lesson, Victor,¡± the youngest man present replied. He had short blond hair and light blue eyes. Despite his firm speech and expensive suit, he couldn¡¯t hide his nervousness.

    There was a clear crystal bottle and several glasses on the table. For a few moments, no one spoke as Carl poured them all drinks.

    ¡°How go all of your responsibilities?¡± Victor asked as he looked at the others with his hands clasped behind his back. He made no move to reach for the drink that had been poured for him.

    ¡°The physical hardware and the altered machinery were all shipped out weeks ago,¡± Carl replied with a shrug. ¡°They will do what they were designed for.¡±

    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a hint of suspicion among any of my contacts. As far as the government is concerned, it¡¯s just a game, even if it is the most popular one ever,¡± the blond man said. ¡°Some of them even told me they plan on playing it.¡±

    The doctor grimaced. ¡°You already have my latest reports on the binding software. I have nothing to add to them, but are we really going to go through with this now? I think more time might be necessary.¡±

    Victor shook his head. ¡°We can wait no longer. The agreed upon time has come. We made promises, and the other factions won¡¯t accept excuses. They are an unruly alliance whose interest barely aligns with our own.¡±

    The doctor opened his mouth. ¡°But¡ª¡±

    Victor cut him off. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that we will be discovered. Despite our best efforts to blind or suborn it, the Bureau of Economic Harmony is far from neutralized. Their incredible size and the massive power they wield more than makes up for their inefficiency and corruption. If we are betrayed or if any of our test subjects are discovered, they will crush us.¡±

    The blond man nodded in reluctant agreement. ¡°Even worse, the day we all fear may come sooner than expected. I had a meeting with a senator in the capital yesterday. Without a doubt, he was sounding out my stance on extralegal use of some of the most dangerous technologies available.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the same in business circles,¡± Victor said with obvious sadness. ¡°No one says anything aloud in public, but behind closed doors, people have begun to whisper and conspire. If asked, they will say it¡¯s nothing but theoretical musings, but it¡¯s just a matter of time until they convince themselves to use the technology to manipulate and control, for the good of society of course. These are good people. Many of them are my friends, but I don¡¯t think any of them will stand against what is coming.¡±

    ¡°The fools! Can¡¯t they see where this will lead?¡± Carl growled angrily as he put down his glass and clenched his fists.

    A look of deep regret appeared on Victor¡¯s usually stiff face. ¡°They are blinded by their insecurities. We have spent so long stifling change that we have grown terrified of freedom.¡±

    The doctor shuffled nervously in his seat. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can support this. When I joined you, I had been hoping to perfect the binding process, or at least greatly increase the survival rate. Many people will die if we go ahead now. We still have only a single successful full integration, and she may well be a special case! Especially considering what happened to her.¡±

    A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky outside, its light illuminating the dim room for a second. As darkness returned, Victor walked back to the window and looked down at the city again.

    ¡°We knew when we began this work that it would lead to death and destruction on a massive scale,¡± he told the others as the light from outside reflected in his eyes. ¡°We knew the blood of the innocent and guilty alike would be on our hands. Nothing has changed. We go ahead. The launch will happen on schedule, and we will simply have to pray our greatest fears do not come to pass. Is that not what this has all been about? Clinging to one last speck of hope as the end closes in?¡±

 Chapter One: The Chaos Lands

    The hazy sky overhead glowed an eerie red. There was no sun or moon in sight, but clusters of black clouds floated overhead at a brisk pace. The air was heavy, as if a storm had just broken or as if one was just beginning to gather. The crimson light that descended from the heavens was harsh and unearthly, but it illuminated the vast broken land that extended out to the horizon. Towers of twisted grey rock rose toward the sky, like a hundred thousand hands reaching for salvation. Their warped heights formed a jagged canopy that concealed most of the ground. Nothing grew among the tall clusters of rocks. They looked barren and empty.

    A dangerous illusion.

    Ethan pulled up the visor on his helmet and studied the vista before him. He was standing atop a particularly tall spire of rock that allowed him to see everything for miles. His body was covered in sleek black armor that glowed softly with yellow light where its ceramic plates met. Its futuristic style clashed with the tattered brown cloak that was wrapped around his shoulders and fell over his back.

    The labyrinth of dry earth and jagged stone standing before Ethan presented him with no obvious path forward, but he needed to pick a way regardless. The Chaotic Plains were a maze of shifting paths, containing endless challenges and dangers. It was full of undiscovered treasures, but the thrill was what had drawn Ethan. Only the bravest and most experienced explorers dared enter the Chaotic Plains, and going in alone was generally considered suicide. The thought sent an excited shiver down Ethan¡¯s spine.

    There was a flash of light in the shadows ahead. A sign. With an anticipatory smile, Ethan dropped to his knees and slammed a mechanical spike into the rock at his feet. He then laughed as he threw himself off the top of the rock. The jagged surface of the stone spire zoomed past as he fell. Ethan¡¯s heartbeat quickened.

    He straightened his posture so that he cut through air like a knife, headfirst. A hundred feet below, the ground rushed to meet him, and Ethan smiled in anticipation as he watched it approach. From this height, he would die instantly if he hit it.

    His lifeline went taut. The cable had been tied to the spike he¡¯d placed up above, and it tugged sharply on his armored hand, pulling him upward. Instantly, with the ease of long practice, he grabbed the wire with his other hand and flipped through the air as he swung closer to the rocks. His booted feet hit the surface and knocked debris free as he kicked away from the face of the spire again. Still swinging, his momentum carried him around the rock pillar until gravity pulled him into it again.

    As he kicked off the rock so he spun back the way he¡¯d come, Ethan made a mental command. As a result, his lifeline went slack and Ethan began to fall again as more wire shot out of the contraption on his wrist. In a series of controlled bounces and quick stops, Ethan made his way down along the jagged rocks sticking out from the column. Soon, the ground drew closer. Rather than slow down though, Ethan mentally commanded his lifeline to separate. It came loose with a snapping noise, leaving him in freefall. Excited, Ethan grinned and flipped around so that he was diving straight down. Headfirst, he zoomed toward the hard earth below. Ethan¡¯s heart kicked into overdrive as a cold rush of adrenaline pulsed through him. The ground grew closer. The awareness of his own mortality was thrilling. Usually quiet parts of his brain screamed. He felt truly awake and aware of every passing millisecond. Every one mattered.

    At the last possible second, Ethan twisted around, and his feet hit the ground first. He kicked off the ground using the muscle enhancing power of his armor to catch himself. Momentum still carried him forward, but he rolled with it and jumped back onto his feet a second later. His armor was a bit dustier now, but he hadn¡¯t been hurt at all.

    ¡°Not a bad jump,¡± Ethan remarked in satisfaction as he looked around. His heart rate had already begun to slow down.

    The flicker of light had been to his left, so he headed that way. The stone spires he¡¯d been looking down at mere moments before towered around him now. Their tall peaks cast a complex web of flickering shadows. Ethan moved at a quick pace and carefully watched his surroundings. Warily, his right hand rested on the hilt of the long dagger strapped to his waist. He also had a holstered pistol, but if anything managed to jump him, then the blade would give him more options in close combat.

    Up ahead and out of sight, there was a thunderous crash as a spire fell. The sound echoed past Ethan and the ground beneath his feet shivered slightly. The Chaotic Plains were dangerous and unpredictable. No two journeys into their depths were ever the same. It was impossible to map them because the environment was constantly changing as spires fell and new ones erupted from the ground. However, the real dangers weren¡¯t from falling rocks. The Chaotic Plains were home to a seemingly endless variety of deadly monsters.

    A small formation of pink crystals grew from the rocks to Ethan¡¯s right, but he ignored them. They had some value, but getting them free would take time, and he had his eye on much greater prizes. In the darkness, there was a clink as something shifted the rocks at the base of a spire to Ethan¡¯s left. Instantly, he reacted. Light flooded out when the flashlight built into his helmet activated. The rocks were illuminated and so was the source of the noise. A small brown rodent with a fluffy tip on its tail stared in surprise at Ethan before dashing away behind some rocks.

    ¡°Hmm, I doubt you¡¯re a threat,¡± Ethan said as he shut off the light. It wasn¡¯t a good idea to use it too much, lest it draw the attention of something big and hungry.

    After taking a deep breath, Ethan continued on his way. He passed through shadows and beneath stone arches as he trudged onward. A ray of light shone down as a large string of black clouds floated by. The angle of the light¡¯s descent allowed it to penetrate the rocks overhead and illuminate the face of a spire to Ethan¡¯s left. Out of the corner of his eye, the explorer noticed something. An out-of-place rock, it had a regular shape that seemed artificial. Curious, he shifted his gaze to get a better look at it and reactivated his flashlight. There was a hexagon jutting out from the rock. In fact, there were three of them. A smile appeared on Ethan¡¯s lips. This looked very promising. He stepped closer to study what he¡¯d found.

    The stone shapes were lined up on the face of a spire that didn¡¯t look all that different from the others nearby. Each hexagon had two symbols on them: a line pointing out from the center and a unique shape. The first hexagon had a circle, the second had a V, and the third had a rectangle. A bit of experimentation revealed the hexagons could be rotated. Ethan rolled his eyes. It was obviously some sort of puzzle.

    ¡°What are you supposed to represent?¡± Ethan muttered as he studied the symbols. They were clearly the key.

    He turned all the hexagons randomly a few times, but nothing happened, so he stopped to think. The lines were probably meant to show which direction each hexagon was pointing, but the problem was there were no symbols around the hexagons for the lines to point at. Each hexagon was surrounded by featureless stone. Maybe they pointed to something off in the distance? There was nothing but dark rocks around, but the circle reminded Ethan of the sun or moon, so he rotated the first hexagon until its arrow pointed straight up. If the symbols represented obvious parts of the physical world, then the V was probably actually an upside-down mountain or something. Huh, that didn¡¯t help much. He was surrounded by spires made of rock, but none of them were mountains. Maybe it was the earth itself? Ethan turned the hexagon until it pointed down. That left one more symbol, the rectangle.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m wrong about this.¡± Ethan grunted. He couldn¡¯t think of anything in nature that was rectangular.

    Since he had no good ideas, Ethan randomly rotated the last hexagon. If he was right about the first two, then he could simply try all the possible combinations of the third. A sudden clicking noise startled Ethan as the hexagon in his hand suddenly locked into place. All three of the plaques then sank into the rock.

    Ethan grinned and stepped back. He¡¯d found the right combination! However, a few seconds passed and nothing else happened, so the smile slipped from his face.

    ¡°Disappointing,¡± he muttered as he looked around for any change to his surroundings. He saw nothing.

    Ethan sighed and turned back to study the hexagons for some clue as to what he was supposed to do next. There had to be something he was missing. What was the rectangle supposed to represent anyway? He had no idea. The line next to it was pointing off toward the top of a spire to his right. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything special there. Wait¡­ maybe the rectangle represented a door! The line was pointing at where it was hidden. The puzzle wasn¡¯t just a key. It was also the guide to the door it unlocked!

    ¡°Huh, clever,¡± the adventurer remarked as he turned to study the spire of rock that the last line pointed at.

    He didn¡¯t see anything out of place, so he walked closer and raised a hand. A spike shot out of his wrist device and slammed into the top of the twisted stone spire. There was a line of wire hanging down from the spike, and it immediately began to shorten as the device on Ethan¡¯s wrist reeled it in. With a quick hop, Ethan began to climb the face of the spire. He jumped from outcrop to outcrop as his lifeline pulled him upward. He only stopped when he saw a small hexagon carved into the rock in front of him. It was tiny and impossible to see from afar.

    As he hung in front of the new hexagon, Ethan studied the shape. It wasn¡¯t decorated by any symbols, so he tapped it with a finger experimentally. Instantly, the shape and all the rock around it cracked. A moment later, the entire area crumbled and fell away to reveal a dark shaft that led downward. How inviting!

    With energy born of excitement, Ethan activated his flashlight and crawled inside. It looked like it was quite a way to the bottom of the shaft, so he shot a line into the wall and used it to rappel down into the dark. The stone shaft was tight around him as he descended. The weak yellow glow of his armor illuminated its confines, and there wasn¡¯t much to see, so he kept his flashlight pointed straight down. After descending for half a minute, he dropped out of the shaft and into a much larger chamber. As his feet hit the ground, light flashed into existence around him, illuminating his new surroundings.

    Shielding his eyes from the unexpected brilliance, Ethan looked around. He was standing in a circular room with walls made from stone blocks. The floor was smooth uncut stone, although it had some cracks in it. In the center of the ceiling hung a huge transparent crystal, which was the source of the light.

    As the treasure seeker¡¯s eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to make out more details. There was a single large door leading out of the room on the far side of the chamber. This passageway was much larger than a normal human door. It was easily ten feet high and six feet wide.

    ¡°Well, this room is very suspicious,¡± Ethan said as he looked around. ¡°I wonder what kind of horrible trap it contains.¡±

    Before he had decided on his next move, a loud thump echoed from the shadows beyond the dark doorway across the room. Ethan sighed. ¡°Yep, I was right.¡±

    There was a series of new thumps and another noise that sounded suspiciously like something heavy being dragged across the stone floor. Ethan quickly drew his pistol and took a firing stance. He aimed his weapon right at the door and waited. It didn¡¯t take long for the source of the noise to appear. A reptilian snout emerged from the darkness, and it was swiftly followed by the rest of a huge lizard-like monster. The beast was covered in grey and black scales so large and thick that they looked like armor. Its long tail swept the ground behind it as it focused its yellow eyes on Ethan. Two menacing horns jutted from either side of a thick crest on its skull, and a row of long spikes ran down its back.

    Hesitation was for fools. Ethan immediately shot three rounds at the creature¡¯s face, but the beast looked down to shield its eyes, and the bullets ricocheted off its thick skull.

    ¡°Crap,¡± Ethan swore as he weighed his options. It didn¡¯t look like the bullets had done any damage at all. This thing was freakishly tough.

    Dashing forward, the beast hissed like a steam engine as it charged. Bereft of other ideas, Ethan emptied the rest of his pistol¡¯s clip into the beast¡¯s legs, but none of his shots did any damage, either because they missed or because they couldn¡¯t penetrate the scales. In this time, the lizard closed most of the distance between them. It was deceptively fast for something so bulky.

    ¡°Stupid overpowered monsters!¡± Ethan swore as he shot a line into the wall to his right. He then activated the reel and jumped. He was instantly pulled out of the way of the charging lizard and toward the wall.

    Ethan landed on his feet, let his line fall free, and reloaded his gun in one smooth, practiced motion. The monster skidded to a halt and tried to turn about to face him again.

    ¡°You don¡¯t turn too quickly, do you?¡± Ethan asked as he aimed his gun.

    As the beast spun, Ethan shot it in the flank several times. The scales along its belly looked smaller and thinner, and they were apparently weaker because this time his bullets sank into flesh. The lizard hissed with violent fury and swung its head around to block any further attacks. It then righted its body and prepared to charge again. The lizard had been hurt a little, but Ethan could tell the bullets hadn¡¯t done much in the way of real damage. Still, Ethan was confident. He could dodge the creature¡¯s attacks easily enough.

    Instead of charging again, the lizard roared and stomped the ground. The monster¡¯s voice echoed throughout the chamber and bounced off the walls. Ethan lost his balance as the entire chamber vibrated, and then he realized the stomp had actually shaken the floor. Ethan¡¯s weapon dropped as he stumbled, and the lizard took advantage of the opportunity. It opened its toothy maw and shot out a gob of purple slime. The blob sailed toward Ethan, who saw it coming. He dropped his pistol and rolled out of the way. Behind him, the spittle hit the floor and stuck to it before collapsing into a puddle. It was some kind of adhesive.

    Ethan drew the knife at his side. It slid smoothly out of its sheath to reveal a dark blade, which then clicked and unfolded into a short sword. When it was at its full length, the blade¡¯s edges began glowing a bright yellow to match Ethan¡¯s armor.

    The beast charged. As its horns swung toward Ethan¡¯s chest, he dodged to the side and sliced at the creature¡¯s exposed side. His blade cut into the scales, leaving a black line of burnt flesh. However, it was a shallow wound that didn¡¯t appear to slow the lizard at all. It charged past Ethan without stopping. Ethan ran after it and raised his sword, but the lizard¡¯s long tail lashed out and knocked him sideways. He hit the ground hard, despite his armor, and he gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Before he could climb to his feet, the lizard¡¯s head turned and its mouth opened. More purple spittle flew out and hit Ethan¡¯s legs.

    ¡°Oh, no.¡± Ethan cursed as he tried to tug his legs free. This was bad!

    Unfortunately, the gunk had already dried. Ethan could do nothing but struggle as the lizard completed its turn and began to charge toward him again. Its jaws opened wide to reveal a row of nasty needlelike teeth. Ethan felt despair. It was like a weight in his stomach. He had lost.

    ¡°Blast,¡± Ethan swore.

    As the beast hurtled toward him with open jaws, he couldn¡¯t do anything but close his eyes. He had been so close. Dying like this was pathetic. Helpless, Ethan felt a jarring impact that rattled his bones and then nothing, until a glowing series of words appeared on the back of his eyelids.

    Game Over. Would you like to resurrect back at the last respawn point?

 Chapter Two: The Waiting World

    ¡°No, I would not like to try again.¡± Ethan cursed again as he swiped at the glowing words before him.

    The letters immediately vanished and were replaced by new ones.

    Thank you for playing Worldshift!

    Those words then dissolved, and the darkness gave way to light. Feeling returned to Ethan¡¯s now completely healed¡ªif somewhat stiff¡ªbody. With a sigh, he reached up and removed the visor from his head. It was a small black device that covered his eyes and ears. Most of it was just for show, since the actual VR system connected wirelessly to an implant at the base of his skull. The headset simply boosted the signal and informed anyone who happened to stumble by that the user was hooked up to the net. It also acted as a safeguard. Removing the helmet would end the interface.

    Ethan sighed as he sat up and stretched. The sofa was soft beneath him. ¡°Cranks. I can¡¯t believe I messed that up. That place looked like it contained some epic loot.¡±

    Every time a user died in the Chaotic Plains, they were teleported back to the gate at the entrance, which meant it was impossible to return to the same spot since the plains shifted and moved about. The entire special level was randomly generated. It was why Ethan loved it. There was nothing more exciting than not knowing what lay ahead, even if running through more predictable dungeons usually led to more rewards.

    Now that he was offline, Ethan felt his stomach grumble. Players didn¡¯t feel sensations from their real bodies while in a game, but they were still there.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough Worldshift for me,¡± Ethan remarked as he stood. ¡°I need to put something in my stomach.¡±

    His apartment wasn¡¯t very big, so Ethan was out of his room and into the kitchen within seconds. The touch-display screen on his fridge flashed a colorful advertisement for fast food that could be delivered by drone within fifteen minutes, but he ignored it and popped the fridge door open. He then pulled out a protein drink and scoffed it down. Idly, he noticed his fridge was almost empty. That meant he¡¯d probably get a grocery delivery soon. Using data based on past purchases, internet searches, and his credit information, his fridge was set to automatically restock itself. Its owner didn¡¯t need to do anything but give it permission and the occasional bit of feedback.

    While he was drinking, Ethan walked into his living room and looked out the window. Rows of modern grey townhouses ran along both sides of the street. Everything was clean and there were manicured lawns and healthy trees in front of every building, but the similarity of the buildings gave everything a drab look. There also wasn¡¯t a single person in sight, although a delivery drone occasionally zoomed by overhead. Still, the warm sunlight coming down from the cloudless, blue sky cheered Ethan up a bit. As he watched, a garage door opened, and a saucer-shaped lawnmower drone rolled out to cut the grass.

    The telephone poles lining the road each had cameras on them. The devices were small and discrete, but they could see everything that happened on the street. Not that there was a lot to see. It was mostly machines watching other machines, although they¡¯d been installed so the government could study what people were doing in public and where they went. Officially, they did this so they could better plan government programs. In reality, the cameras were mostly used to find and eliminate unregulated commercial activity. The Bureau of Economic Harmony took its mandate to police dangerous technology and prevent harm through unfair trading seriously. Only licensed corporations could engage in commerce. Even barter between private citizens could land them in trouble.

    ¡°I may as well check my prospects,¡± Ethan muttered sourly as he walked toward his large-screen television. The device was mounted on his wall, and it automatically turned on at his approach.

    Ethan sighed as he looked at all the icons on the screen. Reality was annoying. ¡°Techhub. Open email and show items marked as employment.¡±

    Immediately, a list of emails appeared. Several of them were unread, so Ethan pointed at the top one and gestured. It opened, and Ethan began reading.

    We regret to inform you that we¡¯re currently not hiring anyone from your educational tier. We do, however, encourage you to try again later or to seek further education levels to increase your prospects.

    ¡°I already have a bachelor¡¯s degree from a good school. Why would having higher than that help me in an entry-level sales position?¡± Ethan muttered darkly.

    Getting into graduate programs was incredibly difficult. Admission was competitive. While in college, Ethan had gotten good grades, but he hadn¡¯t been able to muster the effort needed to get the near perfect scores required to get into a graduate school. The rat race had just seemed so destructive and pointless to him. He hadn¡¯t had any connections at the school or in the government who could pull strings for him either. It was an open secret that the well-connected almost always got into the programs they wanted, regardless of their grades.

    The next mail was from the local government office of Unity City, which was where Ethan lived. Unsurprisingly, it was also a rejection. It was another open secret that government jobs were practically hereditary these days. Connections were everything. Ethan swiped through the next few replies, but they were all rejections.

    Although almost everything else in people¡¯s daily lives was run by predictive algorithms that functioned almost perfectly, jobs were still hard to apply for. Ethan had no doubt that was on purpose. It gave people hope and something to work at, even if the hope was false and the effort was wasted.

    He sighed again. ¡°At least I¡¯m not going to starve or have to mooch off relatives. I¡¯ve still got my basic income.¡±

    In accordance with the UETO rules, every citizen in the country was entitled to draw a basic income from the state. Heavy taxes on the almost completely automated economy allowed the government to afford extremely large social programs. Ethan hadn¡¯t had a job since he¡¯d gotten out of school, but he could still afford his apartment. In fact, the majority of people didn¡¯t work, and yet they were able to afford the comforts of modern society. The entire block Ethan lived on was for people on basic income, and it wasn¡¯t a bad place to live.

    ¡°Techhub. Show news stream,¡± Ethan told the smart television. He needed to distract himself from his continued failures. Sigh.

    A smiling man in a suit appeared on the screen. He was seated at a desk, talking to the camera. Even though the technology existed to create virtual avatars that were indistinguishable from real people, they were almost never used. Television personalities had managed to hold on to their jobs by applying pressure to the government. Replacing people with virtual personalities had been outlawed, except in a few rare situations. Many prestigious¡ªbut not totally necessary¡ªjobs remained for similar reasons. The powerful and the influential had simply made the technology that could replace them illegal.

    ¡°Bill J-23B was introduced to congress earlier today,¡± the man explained in a neutral yet cheerful tone. ¡°It seeks to address the rise in drug use and the resulting surge of overdoses by making health monitoring sensors mandatory in all homes. Several groups have raised privacy concerns, but it is expected to easily gather the necessary votes to pass through the chamber. Already, several congressmen from both major parties have said they support it, as it would also help with the obesity epidemic the country is facing.¡±

    ¡°That has nothing to do with me,¡± Ethan remarked as he switched through the channels. There were about a dozen national news channels, but they all covered the exact same stories in the exact same way. The powerful people would do what they wanted, and Ethan¡¯s opinion didn¡¯t matter. Sure, he could vote, but it only allowed him to choose between a bunch of politicians who agreed on almost everything anyway.

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing interesting on the news anymore.¡± Ethan sighed. Even the international news was boring. The United Earth Trade Organization controlled almost all the world. Over the years, every stable nation had been absorbed into their organization and accepted their control, so there was no real conflict anymore. Its elite had used the wealth from automation to provide the population with basic income while they kept the power and jobs for themselves. Still, Ethan wasn¡¯t going to complain about prosperity and world peace¡­

    As Ethan sighed and took a moment to think, he happened to stop on a station where a commercial was playing. It featured an Asian woman in a suit standing on a street corner as people walked by. There was a pleasant smile on her face as she spoke to the viewer. ¡°And remember, if you spot disharmonious behavior that isn¡¯t illegal, please do your part and report it to a trusted activist group. All of society needs to be a harmonious space. Letting selfish behavior exist always leads to the most vulnerable among us being hurt.¡±

    ¡°Harmony is our strength. This message was brought to you by Caring People Against Selfishness, a trusted harmony activist group,¡± a male voice said as the commercial came to an end.

    Ethan made a face as he turned the news off. He wasn¡¯t a huge fan of harmony ads. He knew harmony was important to society. It kept everyone content and prevented violence, but he didn¡¯t like it being shoved in his face. Also, the people who always went on about it tended to be super annoying.

    Ethan was tempted to browse the web for more interesting news, but he knew he was unlikely to find anything. Like television, the web was tightly controlled by the corporations that ran the search engines, servers, network infrastructure, and the financial institutions. The Bureau of Economic Harmony shut down everyone who didn¡¯t have a license. They claimed only licensed companies had the resources, connections, and integrity to find the truth and not spread lies. Anyone who tried independent journalism was swiftly reported by harmony activist groups for their selfishness.

    Harmony activists were ruthless in routing out disharmony from society. They were also everywhere. You never knew who was one, either online or in the real, and one word from them could get you investigated by the police or blacklisted by concerned corporations. The activist who reported you would then get a reward from the corporations or government for their effort. They might even get a job offer, although that wasn¡¯t a path Ethan wanted to take.

    As Ethan considered his options, a cartoon owl appeared on the smart television. It flapped its wings and hooted once before speaking in a goofy masculine voice. ¡°You have fifty-four social media notifications on three platforms. Would you like to look at them?¡±

    The owl was Ethan¡¯s system avatar, and its name was Mr. Featherbottom. He¡¯d chosen it years ago, when he¡¯d been a child. Everybody had one, and they could completely customize it at any time. Most people changed their childhood avatar when they got older¡ªhot babes or sexy men were always popular¡ªbut Ethan had stuck with his owl.

    ¡°Ah, no. Ignore all social media,¡± Ethan said with a roll of his eyes.

    He didn¡¯t feel like talking to anyone. He still had some friends from school he kept in touch with, but he¡¯d grown somewhat distant from them. You could only do so much through impersonal electronic communications. Either they¡¯d found jobs at a big company and no longer wanted to hang out with him, or they were still unemployed and had grown reclusive, living in grey housing that cut its own lawns and vacuumed its own floors. Ethan wasn¡¯t feeling social anyway. It was just that¡­ nothing of importance had changed since he¡¯d logged on last, a week ago. All the days blended together, since he didn¡¯t really ever do anything in the real world¡­

    Suddenly, Mr. Featherbottom hooted again. Ethan glanced back up to see the Worldshift logo appear next to the cartoon animal.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Hey, Ethan! There is a priority notification from the Tekko corporation to remind you that the first Worldshift realm event starts later today,¡± the owl announced happily with a little dance. ¡°After the Tower of Ascension update goes live, there will be new features and prizes for participants. You will also have a chance to win both in-game items and real-world money, including a ten-million-dollar grand prize!¡±

    ¡°As if I could forget that,¡± Ethan told the screen as he rolled his eyes again. He¡¯d been bombarded with reminders about the event all week, both in the real and online.

    He was looking forward to the event, but he didn¡¯t feel the need to start playing it the moment it went live. Sure, it was technically a race, but he didn¡¯t stand a chance of winning anyway. He would probably start playing once the initial rush was over. It would be less hectic that way, and besides, he¡¯d been using the VR system too much lately. It was terrible for his health being online all the time. Humans need real-life exercise. Ethan didn¡¯t want to become another obese VR addict. Society was full of enough of those already. Ethan suspected VR was the reason he¡¯d never seen most of his neighbors. They had basic income, and drones delivered everything they needed, so they never had to go outside.

    Feeling annoyed for some reason he couldn¡¯t pin down, Ethan walked away from the television. He threw his empty can in the recycling and wandered back to the window. There, he was once again confronted by the rows of grey townhouses, although this time he got to see a white car drive by. Yeah!

    Unity City was much the same as every other city in America. It used to have a different name, but it had been renamed in order to better promote harmony years ago, like every other city. Old names reminded people of the injustices and disharmony of the past, so they¡¯d had to go. The conformity was a little crushing, but Ethan didn¡¯t want to be unappreciative of all the benefits society gave him. He was quite spoiled really.

    Boredom weighed down on Ethan. He needed to go do something, but what? He could go for a walk. That was definitely a thing he could do, but where would he go? The only places within walking distance were the local corporate convenience store and a caf¨¦.

    Ethan didn¡¯t need to go to the store, and the caf¨¦ near him was a part of the Value Cup chain. That wasn¡¯t his favorite brand. There were a few other big chains that had caf¨¦s in other neighborhoods like his, and fancier areas had fancier caf¨¦s, but you never saw them competing in the same area. Ethan had no idea how it was decided which neighborhoods got which brands, but they seemed to do it somehow. Anyway, he didn¡¯t feel like hanging out at a coffee shop. Even if he saw someone he knew, he wouldn¡¯t have anything to say to them.

    Should he go downtown? He could call a shuttle to take him into the city. There were lots more registered businesses and recreation facilities there that catered to people on economic support. He would have to avoid the work districts though. There, everything was a premium brand and way too expensive for him. It was ridiculous how much people would pay for a coffee, but that was far from the worst part. The people there looked down on anyone who wasn¡¯t wearing the latest corporate fashions, which were way too expensive for anyone on basic income to afford. No, it wasn¡¯t worth it. He didn¡¯t need some smug snobs sneering at him just because their daddy had pulled some strings and gotten them a meaningless job pushing papers somewhere. What a bunch of¡ª

    Hoot! Startled by the unexpected noise, Ethan glanced back at the television. On the screen, his system avatar was flapping its wings to get his attention.

    ¡°The Tower of Ascension awaits the brave! Soon, its gates will be unlocked, Ethan. You should log in and prepare. It could change your life! Think about all the prizes you might win and all the new people you could meet.¡±

    Perplexed, Ethan stared at Mr. Featherbottom. This was very unusual behavior for him, or any system avatar. They were programmed not to be aggressive advertisers, lest they annoy their owners and get turned off.

    ¡°Huh, Tekko is really pushing this event,¡± Ethan muttered to himself.

    Tekko was one of the biggest companies in the world. They made practically everything electronic, and they obviously had some influence over his system¡¯s avatar. Maybe his owl friend had a point though. It wasn¡¯t like he was doing anything else important, and this event was obviously a huge deal.

    ¡°All right, I¡¯m going! You can stop bothering me, Mr. Featherbottom,¡± Ethan said as he headed back toward his bedroom and the VR system it contained. On his way, he heard an excited hoot of acknowledgement from behind him.

    Ethan sighed. His friends were probably online anyway. It seemed like everyone was playing Worldshift these days. Personally, it was Ethan¡¯s favorite game, so he didn¡¯t blame them. He¡¯d gotten hooked on it after receiving a free trial for buying the latest neuro-implant from Tekko. Ethan knew he was playing it a little too much, but it was just so much more interesting than the real world. In Worldshift, he was free to accomplish things and take risks.

    Ethan lay back on his bed. Once comfortable, he put the black visor over his eyes and pressed the activation button. Instantly, everything went dark and the Worldshift logo appeared. A moment later, he was suddenly bodiless and floating high above an undeveloped area full of plains and forests. It was a spectacular view. Clouds zipped by as he zoomed over a sea of green. There was a city off in the distance, but he was so high up that it was impossible to see details.

    ¡°Take me to Handon City,¡± Ethan told the empty air.

    There was a humming noise, and Ethan¡¯s surroundings blurred as the scene abruptly changed. Now, he was in the middle of a city made up of a diverse mix of buildings. Most of them were only two or three stories tall, but many of them supported huge video screens that were playing colorful advertisements. Behind the flashing screens, a bunch of tall apartment buildings rose into the sky. They seemed to almost sway in the wind, making them appear rickety and unsafe.

    Looking around, Ethan smiled. Under the heat of the hot sun, everything looked dusty and worn, but it wasn¡¯t broken or unclean. No, it was the grime of industry and activity. Ethan was standing on a platform that stood in the center of a small plaza. The plaza was full of colorful stalls where players had set up. As people appeared and disappeared on the teleportation platform around Ethan, merchants at the stalls yelled out to attract customers. Their prices weren¡¯t the best, but they were the fastest way for players to buy or sell all the basic in-game commodities they got from hunting monsters and exploring the world.

    Past the plaza rose a messy wall of buildings and billboards. Four wide streets cut through them, going in each of the cardinal directions. Players were everywhere. Swarms of them milled about the stalls and wandered up and down the roads. The players wore an incredible mix of different outfits and styles. High-tech armor contrasted with ragged cloaks and business attire. Off to Ethan¡¯s right, a woman in a skin-tight suit that was decorated by circuitry was talking to a man in a cowboy costume. The entire place looked vibrant and alive. The air was full of energy as people called out to each other and went on with their business.

    Still smiling, Ethan jumped off the platform. He never got tired of how alive this place felt. It was invigorating! Within Worldshift, everyone was constantly building things and challenging themselves. This entire city had been built by players, and it had a prosperous in-game economy.

    Ethan landed on the paved stone and walked through the plaza, weaving through stalls and clusters of people until he made his way onto one of the roads. Here, both sides of the road were lined by shops with huge colorful signs advertising their services. More than a few of them had images of guns or swords that glowed with neon light.

    Since the event would go live soon, Ethan needed to prepare, which meant visiting his favorite shop. He swerved away from a cart being pulled by two large flightless birds and then took a right down another street. A shop to his left had a sign above its door that showed a sun rising from behind a row of mountains. Ethan headed straight for it, pulled the door open, and stepped inside.

    The room on the other side was decidedly old-fashioned. A long wooden counter ran along one wall, and wooden shelves containing a plethora of items filled the space. There was a woman behind the counter. She had long blonde hair and glasses, and she was dressed in conservative business attire. She also had a glowing yellow dot floating above her head to signify that she was an NPC. As a computer program, she wasn¡¯t nearly as smart or adaptable as a real person.

    ¡°Hey, Jane. Is Harold available?¡± Ethan asked as he walked toward her.

    The woman smiled politely. ¡°Hello, Ethan. Welcome back. I¡¯ll send Harold a message to see if he is online. Just wait a quick second.¡±

    ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll just scan your catalog while I wait,¡± Ethan replied as he tapped his wrist device and opened the shop menu. The items on the shelves were basically just for display.

    Worldshift was a game that went out of its way to make players do things for themselves. Thus, there was no centralized marketplace. Except for a few basic items that could be acquired from NPCs, everything was bought and sold between players. Very few complete items dropped from enemies as well, so players had to level-up their craft skills and make them themselves. This in turn led to many craftsmen opening shops, especially since a lot of crafting required a large workshop full of specialized machines. The result was a free-wheeling economy that required lots of work and investment but could be very rewarding. Players could make far more money by leveraging high crafting and setting up a business than by exploring and clearing dungeons.

    Ethan was interrupted from his shopping by Jane¡¯s voice. ¡°Harold will be with you soon. He¡¯s just in the back.¡±

    ¡°All right, thanks,¡± Ethan answered before turning back to the log. He hadn¡¯t seen anything new yet, but he had nothing better to do while he waited.

    It only took a few minutes for the shop¡¯s owner to appear. The door beside the counter opened and a middle-aged man stepped out. He had a short-trimmed beard that was beginning to go grey and a scowl on his face.

    ¡°Ah, if it isn¡¯t my most annoying customer,¡± Harold said as he walked toward Ethan. ¡°Are you here to pick up some stuff for the big event?¡±

    ¡°Pretty much. I was wondering if you had anything new to show me.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on some new lifelines, but I don¡¯t have anything useable right now,¡± the shopkeeper replied with a shrug. Harold was a craftsman who specialized in grappling gear, hookshots, and climbing equipment.

    Ethan sighed. ¡°That¡¯s too bad. At least the ones I¡¯m using right now are your usual good work.¡±

    ¡°Only good, eh?¡±

    ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re the best there is in the entire game, and I mean that,¡± Ethan told him with a friendly grin.

    Harold huffed in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s amazing how the crafting system is set up. There are so many tools for item creation built into this game. It¡¯s weird. When you get into the advanced stuff, then everything is customizable, and I mean everything. It¡¯s like I¡¯m creating a blueprint for a 3-D printer or something.¡±

    ¡°Except for all the game magic and super sci-fi technology.¡±

    ¡°Except for that, yes. Don¡¯t think that makes it easy though. It¡¯s super complicated stuff. I know a fair bit of 3-D design coding, and this is actually harder if also similar in a lot of ways. I don¡¯t know what they were thinking making it so hard. I wouldn¡¯t have the time to learn it if the game time wasn¡¯t dilated and the learning software wasn¡¯t so advanced.¡±

    Ethan chuckled. ¡°That¡¯s how I feel about climbing, shooting, swordsmanship, and everything else.¡±

    Worldshift was designed to be as realistic as possible. That meant operating the weapons in the game required players to know how to use them. For instance, shooting required real marksmanship skills. There were no shortcuts. Instead, the game software actually interacted with the player¡¯s brain and helped it learn complex tasks faster. It was very advanced technology, and a bit creepy if you thought about it, which Ethan didn¡¯t. The game time was also set up so that it went by faster than in reality. One hour in game was only fifteen minutes in reality, although that was standard in many VR games.

    Harold snorted. ¡°I certainly didn¡¯t start playing with the intention of becoming a glorified rope salesman, but that¡¯s what I am now. I just can¡¯t stop tinkering.¡±

    ¡°You still do a fair bit of adventuring. It¡¯s why your gear is so great, because you test it out yourself.¡±

    Harold huffed in annoyance. ¡°I spend less than half my time outside this shop.¡±

    ¡°Well, are you planning on joining in the event yourself? That seems like a good excuse to get out of the shop.¡±

    ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯m not going to miss the chance to explore a completely new area the moment it gets unlocked.¡±

    ¡°Do you want to join up with me? It would be useful to have another expert climber along,¡± Ethan asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll keep you in mind, but the rumor going around is that the event won¡¯t allow parties to enter together. Supposedly, everyone has to enter alone and find their own way up the tower.¡±

    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s odd. I¡¯ve never heard of an event like that in any game. Usually they encourage team play,¡± Ethan remarked in disappointment. He knew a few other players he¡¯d been thinking about teaming up with. Although lately, many of his friends had stopped inviting him to join their parties. They complained he was far too reckless and wasn¡¯t focused enough on winning or getting the best loot.

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it from reliable sources,¡± Harold assured Ethan. ¡°It must be because of the prizes. Ten million could set someone up for life, so they don¡¯t want players forming huge factions before the event even starts.¡±

    ¡°Makes sense, I guess.¡±

    ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all you want to talk about, then I should get back to work. There is some stuff I¡¯d like to get done before the event.¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just talk to Jane about replenishing some of my supplies and selling off some junk.¡±

    ¡°Go right ahead,¡± Harold replied before turning and heading back through the far door. It shut with a solid thud behind him. When he was gone, Ethan walked to Jane¡¯s counter.

    ¡°You¡¯ll give me a discount for being a loyal customer, right?¡± he asked the digital character.

    Jane shook her head and gave him a polite smile. ¡°No, I reserve that for the cute boys.¡±

    ¡°Ouch!¡± Ethan laughed as he opened the store menu and began shopping. He wasn¡¯t sure if Harold had taught her to say that or if it had come with her program.

    Ethan quickly scrolled through his inventory and sold the items he didn¡¯t need. He then bought some health potions, ammo, and a spool of Harold¡¯s special lifeline to replenish the wire he¡¯d used in the Chaos Plains. It was expensive but tougher and lighter than the regular stuff.

    When he was done, he closed the interface and met Jane¡¯s gaze. ¡°Bye, Jane! Try to keep Harold from becoming too much of a shut-in.¡±

    ¡°No one can budge him when he¡¯s working, but I¡¯ll try,¡± Jane replied politely.

    After a wave goodbye, Ethan headed back outside. There were a few people walking down the road and going in and out of the nearby shops, but he ignored them and tapped his wrist device.

    ¡°Teleport me to the Tower of Ascension,¡± he said aloud.

 Chapter Three: The Threshold

    Instantly, Ethan¡¯s surroundings blurred again and then shifted until they reformed into a completely new environment. Grey snow-peaked mountains blocked the horizon. Ethan was looking up at them from within a desolate valley. Tufts of rugged grass and moss grew between the weathered rocks that covered the ground. All around him, over a hundred colorful tents were staked into place. They were large structures with peaked roofs, and their fabric shifted and rippled in the cold wind that was blowing through the camp. The bright colors gave the camp a festive air, even though it was obviously a hastily constructed settlement on the edge of the world.

    Players of all kinds were scattered among the tents. They talked among themselves or gazed toward the sight that dominated the setting. On the far side of the camp, there was a rocky hill with a single path going up it. At the top of the hill stood a tower that defied belief. Most of the visible structure was made of smooth stone that looked to have grown organically instead of being built by someone¡¯s hands. It was also massive. An entire castle could have fit within its girth, and it rose unbelievably high into the sky. The tower pierced the clouds and dwarfed the mountains. Its heights continued into the heavens, so he couldn¡¯t see its top¡ªif it had one. Various smaller structures protruded from the sides of the tower. None of which seemed to follow any theme. Some were made of steel and glass, like giant bubbles or oil rigs, while others looked like wooden forts. There was even a huge glowing crystal.

    Worldshift was very realistic and mimicked all the senses, so Ethan sometimes forgot he was in a simulation. However, the incredible sight of the tower instantly reminded Ethan that he wasn¡¯t in the real world. Nothing like this structure could have possibly existed on Earth. It had an appealing lack of harmony.

    Ethan whistled in awe. ¡°Wow, the pictures on the net don¡¯t do it justice.¡±

    After several minutes spent just standing there studying the facets of the tower, Ethan shook himself and then headed toward it. There was little point standing around.

    The door wasn¡¯t open yet, but he could still walk toward it. Ethan strode to the path that led up the hill and to the base of the tower. However, when he reached the path, he found the way blocked by a man with a yellow dot floating over his head. He looked like some sort of mountain explorer or wild warrior because he was holding a spear and was dressed in fur. His face was covered by a hood and scarf, so Ethan could only see his brown eyes and a small strip of skin around them. There were several players standing in front of him, but far less than Ethan would have thought.

    The NPC looked up at Ethan. ¡°This path leads to the hall of monuments, where the achievements of the greatest tower climbers will be recorded for eternity. It is currently closed. If you wish to enter the tower, simply wait until the event has started, then the tower will unlock as a teleport destination for all players.¡±

    Ethan snorted. That made sense. Thousands¡ªor even millions¡ªof people would probably be trying to enter the tower once the event started. Having them go through a single door would be silly.

    ¡°Thanks for the heads-up,¡± Ethan told the NPC.

    ¡°It¡¯s my job,¡± the NPC replied with a shrug.

    With a roll of his eyes, Ethan turned and headed back into the camp. It was a huge place with hundreds of tents, and it must have contained over a thousand players, but none of that interested him. He already had everything he needed. He just had to wait for the event to start. Suddenly, a notification appeared on his display.

    Tower of Ascension unlocked in 00:01:00

    Ethan chuckled as he read the words. ¡°I really left it to the last minute.¡±

    Since he had nothing better to do until the event started, Ethan stepped back and gazed at the tower again. Soon, he would be exploring it, and maybe he just might win some prize money. Probably not the grand prize of ten million, but maybe something¡­

    Huh, the tower was certainly very big. How long would it take to reach the top and win? Ethan realized he had no idea if the special event had a time limit. Surely it wouldn¡¯t take months, would it? As he was thinking about this, a new message appeared in front of him.

    The Tekko corporation Worldshift grand event is now live!

    You may now enter the Tower of Ascension.

    A murmur went up from the nearby crowds as everyone else got the same message.

    ¡°All right, I¡¯m going in!¡± a man to Ethan¡¯s right in blue power armor yelled. He then disappeared in a hazy surge of black energy, which was distinct from the normal blue energy that surrounded someone when they teleported away.

    ¡°Wow, they sure are going out of their way to make this creepy,¡± a woman remarked before disappearing as well.

    Feeling excited, Ethan reached to touch his wrist device, but before he could, he heard another beep. Someone had just called him, and the caller¡¯s information appeared to the side of his vision.

    ¡°I accept the call,¡± he muttered when he saw the name of the caller.

    Instantly, a video frame appeared in the center of Ethan¡¯s vision. It showed an older, stocky man in a suit with some office bookshelves behind him. He had short dark brown hair and a matching moustache that was greying around the edges. Ethan recognized him instantly. It was Dan, his uncle.

    Ethan forced himself to smile as naturally as possible at the image. ¡°Hey, Dan. What¡¯s up?¡±

    Dan gave him a stiff smile back. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just checking on you. I can¡¯t help but notice you¡¯re playing that game again.¡±

    Ethan scowled sourly. How was that his uncle¡¯s business? ¡°It¡¯s something to do while I wait for replies from the employers I contacted.¡±

    ¡°Couldn¡¯t you be out looking, or visiting offices, or something?¡±

    ¡°Everything is very automated these days. It¡¯s all done online, and my application mostly gets filled in automatically,¡± Ethan explained patiently.

    ¡°They say that, but visiting them in person never hurts.¡±

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t help either if they tell me to scram the second I show up. You know I¡¯ve tried seeing the managers before, and it has never worked. They already had people selected for the jobs. But hey, I guess that¡¯s why we have basic income, so I don¡¯t have to frantically run around trying to scrape up food while I¡¯m out of work.¡±

    Dan sighed in defeat. ¡°Maybe I could get you a job here at the shipping firm where I¡¯m a manager.¡±

    ¡°No, thanks,¡± Ethan replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want your handouts. If I don¡¯t earn it myself, then I¡¯d rather be on basic income.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    He didn¡¯t want to insult his uncle, but Ethan knew Dan¡¯s job was almost all make-work. All he really managed were some algorithms that did most of the real work and maybe a secretary or two. Any job he got his nephew would be the same.

    Dan looked uncertain. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be obnoxious, but I¡¯m only bringing this up because I know you could do so much more with your life. You did great in school, and you¡¯re one of the smartest people I know!¡±

    Ethan tried to suppress his agitation. He knew his uncle was just trying to look out for him. The man was the only family he had left, and he¡¯d always tried to look in on Ethan and help him out. His attention was usually misplaced and frustrating to deal with, but his heart was in the right place.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t do that great in school, and I definitely didn¡¯t do well enough to get into graduate school for management like you did.¡±

    Dan sighed. ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t want it, not really. I dedicated years of my life solely to getting the best grades possible because I knew it was what I wanted. I kissed ass and worked myself to the bone. You just need to find something you want that much, and to do that, you need to get out more. You¡¯re spending a lot of time alone in your apartment these days¡­¡±

    Ethan grunted. ¡°I got to go. We can talk about this later. Now is not a good time.¡±

    ¡°Is this about the game? I hear there is a big competition going on right now. I hope you don¡¯t think you will win the prize money and not have to worry about getting a job. There are probably millions of people trying for that money, and playing so much is unhealthy.¡±

    Ethan glared at his uncle. ¡°That¡¯s definitely not what I think. This is just a nice, fun distraction. If I was the sort of person who could win the prize, I wouldn¡¯t be playing so much VR in the first place. It¡¯s just like you said. I don¡¯t put my all into anything, not even gaming. There are lots of players who are way better than me at this game.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean¡ª¡±

    Ethan hung up on him. He¡¯d had enough of his uncle¡¯s misplaced expectations, and he had a game to play.

    Ethan closed his video screen and looked around. The tent city was noticeably emptier now. Most of the players had teleported into the tower already, but quite a few were still hanging around. There was a small group of six to Ethan¡¯s right, next to a large blue tent. A blonde woman in silver armor with a sword at her hip was speaking.

    ¡°I can¡¯t contact them at all. It says players inside the tower can¡¯t be messaged,¡± she told the others.

    ¡°That¡¯s really odd. I don¡¯t know why they would do that¡­¡± a girl in a pink dress with blonde pigtails replied. She sounded concerned.

    Curious, Ethan walked closer to listen. He got a few looks, but he found a place off to one side without anyone commenting.

    A short man in a long dark cloak with a hood spoke up next. ¡°I hear you might not be able to log out once you enter the tower. Either you can¡¯t or it means you forfeit.¡±

    The silver warrior shook her head. ¡°Really, who did you hear that from? It sounds stupid. There is no way that is true! It would be illegal for one thing, and the event could take weeks!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just what I¡¯ve heard,¡± the man replied defensively.

    Some of the other people added their opinions, but none of them seemed to know anything of value, so Ethan stepped away. With a tingle of fear in his gut, he gave a series of mental commands. The teleport menu came up in front of him, and he stared at it in trepidation. Taking a deep breath, Ethan gave the command to teleport into the tower and was instantly carried away.

    Blinking at the unexpected sudden change of location, Ethan looked around. He was standing in a surreal white landscape. Pure white lay in every direction. There were no walls or ceiling, just endless white. Ethan felt a little nauseated just from looking at it. Luckily, there was a floor, even if it was also pure white and stretched on forever in every direction. Weird.

    The only splash of color in sight was a strange portal right in front of Ethan. It was pitch black, and its surface looked to be shimmering. Cautiously, Ethan walked up to it and peered around its side. He saw nothing but a white infinity. The portal was invisible from behind. Taking a step back, Ethan studied the dark doorway.

    ¡°Huh, let¡¯s see what this does,¡± he remarked as he stretched out an arm.

    Before reaching the portal, his hand was blocked by a transparent barrier that shimmered into existence, and a text box appeared in the middle of his vision. As Ethan stepped back in surprise, a soft female voice began reading the words.

    Welcome to the entrance of the Tower of Ascension. We will now explain the rules. You must agree to them before you will be allowed to enter.

    ¡°Who is we?¡± Ethan wondered as he listened. The voice ignored him.

    Upon dying, a player will be expelled from the tower and unable to return until the event is over. Exiting the tower will also result in players being unable to return. Logging off is permitted, but you will only be able to return to the tower if you do it at a save point. Finally, you may not message people who you haven¡¯t encountered within the tower.

    Do you agree to these rules?

    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± Ethan replied loudly and clearly.

    Instantly, the words disappeared. Ethan smiled and started to step forward, but then more text appeared, and the feminine voice spoke again.

    Within the tower, the normal rules of Worldshift and virtual reality may be suspended. Firstly, pain limiters will be removed to maximize realism and facilitate the learning experience. Secondly, time perception may be altered without your consent to maximize efficiency. Thirdly, you may experience mental stress or fatigue beyond what is normal for VR. This is expected, and you shouldn¡¯t worry about it.

    As a final note, after passing through the entrance to the tower, you will be under a non-disclosure agreement with Tekko about what you experience within. Any breach of this agreement may result in harsh legal action.

    Stepping through the portal will be taken as acknowledgement of these features and regulations.

    Um, what? Ethan didn¡¯t believe what he was seeing and hearing. Those were some crazy changes. Suddenly, he didn¡¯t feel so committed to entering the Tower of Ascension. Why would they need to remove the pain limiter? Did that mean if he got shot it would hurt as much as in real life? That wasn¡¯t something Ethan wanted to experience, and it was far from the worst thing he could imagine feeling. While playing Worldshift, he¡¯d fallen into lava a few times¡­ He¡¯d heard you could suffer heart attacks from that kind of thing.

    And, what was this about time perception? That was almost as bad. The mention of unusual mental fatigue was also creepy. Apparently, the tower was going to mess with his mind, and he was just supposed to accept it without complaint. In fact, he wasn¡¯t allowed to even talk about anything dangerous he found inside, lest Tekko sue him into the ground. This was all so incredibly sketchy.

    Nervously, Ethan stared at the portal before him. Its surface seemed to shimmer like a pool of swirling black oil. There was no way to see what was on the other side, and it wasn¡¯t the sort of door you stepped through without thought. Maybe it was his imagination, but it almost looked like the edges of the portal were curling toward him, as if it were reaching for him like it was alive and hungry. Also, was that whispering he heard?

    As the forbidding black morass before him waited, Ethan reevaluated his options. Maybe he should forget about all this and take his uncle up on his offer. It was just a game, and he really should be getting his life in order, instead of fooling around. Really, he was just being proud and stubborn. You had to accept the world for what it was: an imperfect place and a broken machine. That¡¯s what everyone else did. Why couldn¡¯t he?

    Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan noticed that the white void around him wasn¡¯t quite so white anymore. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw faint outlines of color. Was that his home? Yes, it was. Far off in the distance, blurry fragments of his memories flashed through the bright eternity. None of them lasted for more than a moment, but he recognized every one. Was the place behind him so bad? He had a lot of good memories¡­

    Closing his eyes, Ethan pictured the future he would have if he went back now. Either he would stay on basic income forever, or he would take the job Dan had offered him. At this point, he knew he would never get another job on his own. That wasn¡¯t how the world worked anymore. Unexpectedly, rage stirred within Ethan¡¯s gut. His hands tightened into clenched fists.

    ¡°I¡¯m more than a useless part in a broken machine!¡± Ethan screamed into the void as he opened his eyes.

    He didn¡¯t want to be shoved aside by his rotten society! It was static and poisonous. Everything was controlled until death. He wanted to be someone who mattered, someone who changed things. He wanted to be free to be himself! Ethan didn¡¯t know how he could ever do such a thing, but he knew that what he was yearning for so desperately couldn¡¯t be found behind him. Even if it was dangerous, and even if it was a million-in-one chance, he needed to step forward. He needed to give this game his everything.

    Gathering his will, Ethan shoved aside his fear. The twisting black portal lay before him, waiting.

    ¡°Well, here goes nothing,¡± Ethan said as he stepped forward. Eagerly, the darkness reached out to meet him.

 Chapter Four: The Other SIde

    The moment Ethan touched the inky black horizon of the portal, he was pulled into it by a sudden suction. As the darkness enveloped him completely, the sound of an unmanly squeak echoed toward the black. Stumbling, Ethan caught himself a moment later. Huh. He couldn¡¯t see anything, not even his own hands, although he could feel them. Was he standing in absolute darkness? Had the portal just eaten him? Ethan tried a mental command to turn on the light on his helmet. Nothing happened.

    Ethan groaned despairingly. ¡°This was a really dumb idea.¡±

    Just as he was about to reach up and touch his face¡ªin case it had gone somewhere¡ªsome glowing text appeared in front of him.

    Welcome to the Tower of Ascension. We hope you enjoy your experience here!

    The words faded a moment later, leaving Ethan in the exact same situation as before.

    ¡°How helpful,¡± Ethan remarked sarcastically. ¡°I already hate the designers of this tower.¡±

    Wait, had the darkness grown slightly lighter? Ethan waved his hands in front of his face. He thought he could sort of see his fingers now. As he was about to try to turn his helmet light on again, he noticed something bright out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see a glow off in the distance behind him. It looked like a door, but the path to it was dark. Ethan still couldn¡¯t see anything else about the room he was in, including the floors or the walls.

    Cautiously, Ethan turned on his light and looked toward his left. Nothing happened. The beam faded away about a foot from the device, and it utterly failed to penetrate the gloom. Next, he tried the thermal vision built into his helmet, but that didn¡¯t work either. The room wasn¡¯t just dark. It was filled by some sort of light-dampening haze.

    ¡°Not great,¡± Ethan muttered as he switched back to normal vision and headed toward the door.

    The dark made him nervous, and it meant he had to take special care about where he stepped. At first, he couldn¡¯t see what was beneath his feet, but as he got closer to the door, the light from it began to reveal the floor. It looked black and featureless, which was why it was all but impossible to make out in the dark.

    Suddenly, the darkness moved on Ethan¡¯s right. He jumped back and gripped his sword hilt, but his eyes still couldn¡¯t pierce the haze. Ethan froze. Had he imagined the movement? No, there was a quiet hum in the room now. Out of the corner of his eye, Ethan saw the darkness swirl again. There was definitely something in here with him.

    Ethan quickly backed toward the door as the hum grew more incessant. It began to sound frantic and expectant, like it was growing excited or hungry. At the same time, the darkness around him started to churn. Ethan tried to study the movement, but it never happened in the exact spot he was looking.

    ¡°Ya, screw this!¡± Ethan yelled as he turned and dashed toward the light. Behind him, the darkness roared like a black ocean.

    Bursting forward, Ethan reached the doorway and stopped. It wasn¡¯t open. There was a translucent pane of something blocking the way. When he reached out to touch it, he felt a smooth glass-like barrier. Ethan looked back over his shoulder and felt a jolt of fear. The light from the doorway seemed to be keeping whatever was in the dark at bay, but as he watched, the black inched closer, as if it were slowly devouring the light. That wasn¡¯t how physics worked!

    ¡°Come on, open!¡± Ethan cursed as he reached for the corner of the door and tried to pull it open. His fingers closed on the transparent barrier, but it didn¡¯t move.

    Giving up, Ethan jumped back, and then front-kicked the door as hard as he could. There was a loud thud as his foot collided with it, and he felt the impact vibrate up his leg. There was also a brief flash of pain, which surprised him. Right, players didn¡¯t usually feel pain in Worldshift, but the tower was different. Now, he really didn¡¯t want to get eaten alive by the darkness.

    When Ethan¡¯s foot dropped, he noticed he¡¯d made a small crack in the barrier before him. Hope lifted his spirit as he drew his pistol and shot the cracked part of the door. The thunder of the shot made the darkness roil, but the bullet smashed through the barrier. Transparent glass shattered and rained to the ground as the darkness behind Ethan rushed forward to devour him.

    Heart beating like mad, Ethan launched himself forward toward the open door. He didn¡¯t make it. Tendrils made of pure darkness shot out from behind him and wrapped around his body. Everything went black as the shadow creature enveloped Ethan.

    Blinded, Ethan flailed. Moving his limbs was almost impossible, as if he were drowning in tar. At the same time, loud whispering flooded into his ears. The incomprehensible noise seemed to seep into his ears and reach into his brain. It hurt, like alien thoughts that tore his mind apart because they didn¡¯t fit.

    Held in place, Ethan realized he couldn¡¯t breathe. His lungs began to burn, but the alien whispering had grown so loud it was drowning out all other sensations. It was more than just a sound. Somehow the darkness itself was squeezing into his skull. His thoughts grew dull under the onslaught. For a moment, Ethan considered letting his consciousness drift away, but then his rage returned. No, this couldn¡¯t be the end. He¡¯d just started, and he hadn¡¯t found what he was looking for!

    Ethan gathered all his will and screamed. His fury pushed back against the whispering, driving it away for a second. That was all he needed. Feeling the pressure around his body weaken, Ethan leapt forward.

    After pulling himself free of the shadows, Ethan dashed through the doorway, until something grabbed one of his legs and he stumbled. Desperately, Ethan pulled his leg free and then rolled across the floor on the other side of the door.

    His armor cushioned him, but he felt a flare of pain in his left elbow as he landed in a heap.

    ¡°What the cracked hacks was that?¡± Ethan remarked angrily as he got up and looked around.

    He was standing in a long tunnel made of stone blocks. Quickly, Ethan glanced back the way he¡¯d come, but there was only a blank stone wall and no sign of the door he¡¯d come through. Normally, Ethan would have found it sort of creepy, but now he was just glad there was no sign of the darkness. Since there didn¡¯t seem to be anything dangerous around right at the moment, he took a minute to rest and collect himself. He needed it.

    ¡°Seriously, what is wrong with the asswipe who designed that last room?¡± Ethan grumbled. ¡°Does he just get off by terrifying people?¡±

    Putting players through that kind of stuff without any warning should be illegal. In fact, it probably was! The weird mental effect he¡¯d felt seemed like the sort of game feedback that developers swore didn¡¯t happen. Was this what he¡¯d been warned about? The implant wasn¡¯t supposed to mess with your mind. Ha, the jerkoffs who ran Tekko probably thought they were above the law, and they were abusing their power just so they could screw around with people. Well, with so much money on the line, they were probably right. Stupid corporate jerks.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    Ethan drew a deep breath and tried to calm down. The hungry darkness had affected him more than he liked to admit. It had seemed more real than anything he could remember, in or out of VR. Well, at least he¡¯d passed. Since he was now out of danger, his fear was subsiding, leaving only excitement. Despite how creepy the dark room had been, Ethan was actually starting to feel proud about getting through it. It hadn¡¯t been easy. More than a few players had probably failed that test.

    The tunnel he was in was lit by round crystals on the ceiling. They were red and gave off a fair bit of light. The walls around him were decorated by lines of intricate hieroglyphics. Below them, the floor was made of stone tiles that looked rather suspicious. They would be a great place to hide traps. Looking down, Ethan noticed the tiles he was standing on were blank, but up ahead they were covered in symbols, and where the symbols on the floor started was where the writing on the walls suddenly ended.

    Curious, Ethan began to study the hieroglyphics. There were a lot of them. Most of them featured scenes of stick-like figures with spears, doing battle with beasts. Occasionally winged figures would show up to help the warriors, and some of the figures had simple symbols over their heads that seemed to signify who they were. Ethan ran his hand against the stone as he studied the walls. All the hieroglyphs seemed to combine to create a story about a war.

    When he was done reading, Ethan made his way to where the symbols began on the floor. There, every tile in front of him was marked for about a hundred feet, and the only way to advance through the hallway was to go over them. Luckily, Ethan recognized the symbols. They were the same ones that appeared in the hieroglyphs. Each one represented a person or being.

    ¡°I¡¯m guessing the ones that represent humans and good guys aren¡¯t trapped,¡± the amateur linguist mused as he began to think.

    To test his theory, Ethan cautiously put his foot on a tile with a mark he recognized as a hero. Nothing happened. He was safe.

    ¡°Okay, that seems right,¡± Ethan said as he let out a nervous breath and stepped back.

    The problem was that there were dozens of symbols, and once he began crossing the hallway, it would be difficult to go back and read the hieroglyphs. That meant he had to memorize all the symbols from the story. Ethan sighed. It wasn¡¯t really his specialty. Rote memorization was sort of boring. Maybe there was a trick to it?

    ¡°I¡¯m going to have to learn the story,¡± Ethan told himself.

    Memorizing each rune to determine which ones represented heroes and villains would be iffy. However, what if he learned the story? Ethan wandered to the corner where he was pretty sure the story started. It featured a woman with a crown holding up a baby. Above the baby¡¯s head was a rune that sort of looked like an S.

    ¡°You seem like Sam.¡± Ethan chuckled as he began to read.

    He narrated the entire story aloud, giving each character a name to match their rune, and then he went through it again.

    ¡°And then Prince Aster killed the horned beast, Giggles, saving his people from the oddly triangular monsters that were threatening them, and the war at last came to an end. Everyone then rejoiced and his bride, Princess BB, was released from her prison. Thus, they all lived happily ever after, except for the dozens of people who died horribly, such as his father King Sam, who was my favorite character and deserved better,¡± Ethan narrated as he finished his third reading.

    Thus, armed with a story that was probably almost completely made-up nonsense, Ethan walked to the tiles and began to cross them. Carefully, he stepped from tile to tile, while being careful to only put his weight on symbols that represented heroes from the story. There were a few times where he was forced to step on tiles he had to think about¡ªstupid forgettable side characters¡ªbut he eventually made it across without a problem.

    ¡°Seriously, Ralph, you show up in one scene and immediately get eaten by a giant goat. Why did you get your own rune?¡± Ethan chuckled as hopped off the last marked tile and onto the smooth floor at the end.

    There was a wooden door on the wall in front of him that obviously led out of the room, but something was bothering Ethan, so he turned back around. The runes he¡¯d stepped on to cross the floor had roughly followed the order they had appeared in the story, but one important rune from the story had been completely missing, the symbol for the angel that had shown up to guide the young prince, which was odd since it showed up over a dozen times in the hieroglyphs. Curious, Ethan scanned the tiles again for any sign of it. There it was! It seemed the rune was only on a single tile. It was a short jump from where Ethan was standing, right up against the wall and well away from the path he¡¯d used to cross the floor. That was odd and very interesting. Ethan hesitated. He had already made it safely across the tiles, so going back would be foolish, but he was rather curious now.

    ¡°Here goes nothing!¡± Ethan jumped onto the tile marked by the angel¡¯s rune.

    As his feet hit the stone, Ethan felt the tile sink slightly, and there was a faint click. He cursed and froze in fear, but no traps activated. Instead, one of the stones in the wall next to him slid away to reveal a hidden compartment. Inside was a small object, which Ethan reached for and took out. It looked like some sort of electronic key.

    ¡°You seem important, but what do you do?¡± Ethan mused aloud as he activated the game function that scanned items. After a brief second, an explanatory pop-up appeared above the key.

    Data Key Shard acquired!

    Collecting three of these hidden items is necessary to open a certain door in the Tower of Ascension, and they will drop from slain players. Each shard also contains a message. Would you like to watch it now? Yes/No

    Ethan quickly jumped back to safety before clicking yes. A video played within the pop-up. It featured a close-up of an older-looking man with greying hair and a distinguished appearance. Ethan recognized him. It was Victor Crown, the CEO of Tekko. In all the clips Ethan had seen of him, he had looked confident and smooth, as befitting his status as one of the most powerful people in the world. However, in this video, there was a sadness cast to his eyes that made him look somewhat haggard. Ethan remembered hearing somewhere that the man¡¯s daughter had died a while back, so maybe that was the cause?

    In the video, Victor spoke. ¡°Congratulations on finding this data shard, player. You have taken the first real step on your journey up the Tower of Ascension, so I thought I should dispel some of your illusions, in case you aren¡¯t from any of the factions with access to the truth. The true prize that lies atop this tower isn¡¯t mere money, although there is that as well, should you still desire it in the end. Throughout history, the wise and the powerful have vainly sought that which is now being offered to you. Do not waste this chance, and beware of false allies. As you are tested, others will seek to tear you down. If you survive long enough to find more shards, then I will reveal more of the truth about this tower to you. Good luck.¡±

    Victor gave the watcher a grim smile and then the video closed. Ethan stared at the empty space it had vacated. He didn¡¯t know what he had been expecting to hear from the message, but it hadn¡¯t been anything like what he¡¯d gotten. This was just an event in a video game, wasn¡¯t it? Ya, this rich jerk was just messing with him and trying to make the game more exciting. It seemed the big CEO was into role playing. Well, whatever. Ethan¡¯s way forward was still the same.

    Since he was done with the room, Ethan walked to the simple wooden door and pulled it open. There was another set of sliding steel doors behind them, and they immediately opened to reveal an elevator. It had steel walls and electric lighting. The sight was a little jarring, but experience with the Worldshift game suggested to Ethan that this wasn¡¯t a trap. Usually you could tell the safe zones from the dangerous ones, and the game developers weren¡¯t so sadistic they would trap elevators. Still, this wasn¡¯t the normal game. Tentatively, Ethan stepped inside. There was a single button next to the door. He pressed it, and the doors closed. Then, the elevator shifted and shuddered as it began to rise, but nothing exploded. A few moments later, it came to a stop and the doors opened.

    <hr>

    That concludes the preview of this story. If you like what you''ve read, please purchase the book atAmazon</a>!

    Reviews are also greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading.