1514832275 (S) by Jaron Lee Knuth

Author:Jaron Lee Knuth [Knuth, Jaron Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: video games, virtual reality, mmo, rpg, hackers, artificial intelligence
Publisher: Jaron Lee Knuth
Published: 2014-12-31T22:00:00+00:00

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We race out of the village and across the surrounding farm fields, dodging attackers as we flee. The PCs chase us for a while, killing off the NPCs that trail behind. Anyone who isn't fast enough to keep up is picked off until we reach the edge of a nearby forest. Once inside the darkness that the canopy of trees provides, we split up and find anywhere where we can hide. After an hour or so of searching, the PCs give up and either return to their quests or log-out.

Cyren crouches down next to me, hiding under a small ledge created by the enormous roots of a tree. I'm panting, trying to catch my breath. She gently presses the palm of her hand against my chest to help calm me and peeks over the top of the ledge.

“I think they're all gone,” she whispers.

I'm about to respond when I see multiple pairs of glowing eyes peering at us from the bushes. I nudge her side with my elbow and motion toward the danger. She cracks her knuckles and I draw my sword as we hear a growling from the same direction. A pack of wolves steps out from the foliage, spreading out to flank us.

“Low Level beasts,” I say, readying my blade. “This shouldn't be a problem.”

“No,” she says. “We run.”

I glance at her with confusion, but when she takes off into the forest, I don't hesitate to follow her. The wolves chase us for a while, but soon their programming tells them to return to their spawn point and wait for the next player to stumble upon them.

“What are we doing?” I call out to her when she stops to lean against a tree.

“We need to find somewhere safe. Somewhere we can get everyone organized.”

“No. I mean, why didn't we attack those things? I could use the experience points and-”

She closes her eyes and her head drops a bit. “There's been enough killing today.”

I step closer to her and wrap my fingers around the back of her neck, pulling her to me. She rests her forehead against my chest. I'm about to speak, to tell her how sorry I am, but when she starts to cry, I let her have a moment. There, in the stillness of the forest, the woman I love weeps. And I can't help thinking that it's my fault.

“We don't have a respawn point in this world.” The words come out of her like a whimper, a desperate plea to understand the horror of this reality. “Why would those PCs murder them like that? They didn't know what we were... yet their first instinct was to attack us.”

“I told you before, it's a game to them. NPCs, monsters, whatever... they're all just graphics. No different from the trees around us or-”

Her fist hits my chest, but there's no power behind it. Her pain and misery has weakened her so much that I'm afraid she's near the point of surrender.

“But we are different.”

“I know.” I run my fingers through her short blond hair and hug her tighter.

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