V1P3R - An ODSMMO Adventure

Chapter Won, but not Lost Part- 3

“It’s whimsical and unique isn’t it?” The voice sounds like Shamus Machiavelli, Jacqueline Odyssey’s partner in Foresight Animation Technologies And Systematic Simulations, which is a very long name with a horrible acronym, and I turn around, g*n ready, to see that it is Shamus’s avatar.

“The name didn’t register at first, Shamen Shaman, I made sure to properly prepare before coming here. I honestly thought it was a trap,” I say laughing with Shamus while putting Chanceux back in the holster and he joins me, “it’s nice to formally meet you,” I hold my hand out and he shakes it.

“Same here, Jacky said you looked like you knew what you were doing fixing things in here. So we thought it would be nice to give you a spot to call your own, so you can work without having to worry about other players. This spot here was reserved for one of our interns but he...” he pauses laughing, “well, let’s just say he has some greed issues, so now it’s yours,” he walks to the edge of the walkway and drops something that enlarges to a black glass podium, “use this to build yourself a place, planet, building, or whatever fits your liking and when you are finished it will send itself back to me,” he says walking back over to me, “do you know what that thing is flying around out there?”

“I’m not sure, but it flew kind of close a few times allowing me to catch a glimpse of it,” I say pulling my inventory up then I swipe to an Etch A Sketch like pad, grab it, and try to draw a picture of it, “do you remember the 1982 Tron movie?”

“Yes I do, it’s a classic and the animation was ahead of its time,” he replies then I show him the picture I drew.

“The information bit that could only say yes or no and followed both Flynn and Clu around...that is what I think that is,” I put the pad back in my inventory then walk up to the ledge.

“You really think it’s an information bit?” He asks with curiosity joining me.

“Not exactly, I think that when you, Jacqueline, and the rest of your team put all of this together, there was an accidental miracle type event. It sparked the creation of a new, but digital, life form with its own unique code. Like a form of artificial intelligence born out of glitches and coding errors,” I try to explain without offending him or any other person that helped create this game.

“Have you seen others like this one?” He asks watching it curiously.

“I think I may have encountered one while exploring earlier today but I paid it no attention assuming it was part of that world. But after seeing this one, I know that it wasn’t human made,” I touch the podium causing it to light up displaying a hologram of three screens. Each screen contains a seemingly endless list of options for creating an entire universe but with limited space to fill.

“Very interesting, we have encountered these things as far back as the beta testing phase, but we could never figure out what they were nor where they came from. Then you come along figure it out on your first day” he laughs in a envious manner, “what do you think we should call them? Since you figured out what they are, you should be the one who names them,” he pats me on the back smiling at me.

“I’m not sure honestly. I think it’s amorphous and has the ability to copy data like a mirror. If it can take the form of anything that it copies we could call them Dittos like the Pokémon,” I explain while scrolling through the lists.

“That sounds like a wonderful name! If you can capture one, or get sufficient readable data from one, send me a message. I would like to get a closer look and maybe even study it to find out exactly what they are and where they came from. Well, I should get going before I find a reason to stay,” he laughs and shakes my hand, “if you ever need anything like help, answers, or just to talk, feel free to call anytime,” he smiles then sends me a friend request before logging off.

It takes me a few hours to look over every item in each list while taking notes in reality so I don’t have to go back searching for the ones I like. Once I am done I go through my notes to try to get an idea of what I should build. It is going to be hard choosing only a certain amount of each group but I do manage to get the foundation laid out. An earth like planet the size of our moon orbiting a pink and purple gas giant with massive multicolored rings and several other satellite moons of various colors. The gas giant orbits a rather cold blue giant star within the habitable zone, making it livable but 10 degrees cooler than earth and close enough to the star to have blue light. I give my new blue planet fresh lavender colored water, then I add a vast variety of differently colored plant life and animals but I cannot find everything I had hoped to. I build a large building complex of my own design that includes a workshop, ship hangar, garage, trophy room, and a lounge area. I shape the design of the planet so that all of the life on the planet; flora, fauna, Pokémon, or any other life I acquire along the way; will be happy and enjoy their lives. I do my best to make sure everything is exactly right before I tap the save button knowing I could fill in the blanks as I progress in the game and acquire more. Once I tap the save button, the podium folds into a small cube before blasting off towards the main hub world. The area in front of me starts spinning while bits of information spawn from all around it creating everything I just designed which causes the Ditto to retreat to a safe distance. I watch the Ditto as it curiously flies around the area watching the creation process and, occasionally, me without getting too close. It is obvious to me, after watching it closely while waiting for my world to finish, that it truly is nothing short of a miracle born out of data, code, and errors. I soon begin to realize that I forgot I did not have a way to get to the planet after it finishes uploading, so I decide to go looking for a ship. I try to remember which ships I found appealing and start making a list while walking back towards the avatar outfitter store but get interrupted by bumping into Kinaeris and Shamen.

“Whoa there padawan! You should always keep an eye on where you’re going,” Kinaeris says patting my shoulder.

“I apologize,” I laugh nervously, “I forgot I didn’t own a fully functional ship to travel with and I forgot to make a portal,” I explain pointing behind me.

“Well that’s okay, did you have a ship in mind that you were planning to try obtaining?” Shamen asks courteously.

“Actually, yes, I was just making a list when I bumped into y’all. Samus Aran’s gunship from Metroid: Fusion, an Arwing from Starfox, the U.S.S. Vengeance from Star Trek: Into Darkness, and a Light Jet from Tron: Legacy. That’s all I have so far, but I found a T-85 X-wing buried in the sand where we fixed that R2-D2, although it is in desperate need of some TLC,” I say cynically, “the X-wing had a few, curiously rare, items in it which I found, but I’m not pointing fingers,” I say with a cough gesturing to Kinaeris, then we all laugh for a minute, “I also have a friend’s Normandy SR-2 from Mass Effect 3, but I’m supposed to fix it when I get settled in,” I scratch the back of my head knowing I was being overly chatty.

“I believe we could let him have one more freebie huh? It is still his birthday and he seems to be a good kid being thirty six years old today,” Kinaeris laughs then puts her hand beside her mouth and whispers, “don’t grow up, it’s not worth it, I never did!”

“I don’t want you to think we are playing favorites, showing pity, sympathizing, or anything of that nature because we aren’t. But we do believe in rewarding good people with good things, and after the log came back showing me all the details of what you designed, we discussed recruiting you to work for our company,” Shamen says pulling out a tablet with a contract loaded on it.

“It’s nothing to worry about having to read, everyone knows I hate making rules and you won’t have to move to Maine. You can work from home during your own hours with whatever makes you comfortable,” Kinaeris says in a comforting manner as she opens her inventory away from us so we cannot see what she is doing.

“This is really cool and all, but are you sure you really want me? I mean, I appreciate the offer, but I’m very sick and the doctors say I probably won’t make it through the year...but then again they have been saying that for seven years now,” I explain nervously realizing that I have been proving doctors wrong for years.

“We designed this contract specifically for you. So long as you are able, you will be a part of our team here. You will be sent the latest and best equipment, updates, and any information regarding artifacts, raids, and competitions directly. Your avatar won’t have any special qualifications other than being an engineer so you can still die and zero out, you still have to earn the things you want by building them or buying them, but your medical bills, medications, and transportation to and from appointments will be taken care of by us,” Shamen explains still holding the tablet out to me. I take the tablet from him and start reading while they take turns asking me personal questions. Once I finish reading it I take a deep breath and let it out slowly then sign my name and hand the tablet back to Shamen, then he puts it into his inventory while scrolling through it away from me.

“I don’t know how I could ever thank you, but I really appreciate the gesture,” I say bowing to them.

“Well if you can help us catch one of those Dittos, then help decode it, that will be thanks enough,” Kinaeris says shaking my hand and I feel something in her hand that she is discreetly giving me, “I’ll be seeing you around kiddo,” she says before logging off, then I look in my hand to see she has given me the purple gunship from Metroid: Fusion and I laugh thinking she was very generous, and put it in my inventory.

“There’s no hurry or pressure, make sure to enjoy yourself and have fun. Remember I’m just a call away,” Shamen says shaking my hand and I feel he had put something in my hand, “what’s that behind your ear?” He asks pulling a silver dollar from behind my ear then he smiles flipping the coin to me before logging off. I stand there silently looking at the matte navy blue Mister Handy with cyan lights and the coin. I put the coin in my pocket and the Mister Handy in my inventory while thinking I would wake up soon and be halfway through a sandwich while my avatar was being killed. But I am surprised instead by the Ditto bumping into my back and I turn around to face it thinking it would fly away in terror. I open my inventory grabbing the camera ball out and start recording then swipe the screen away.

“Hello, V one P three R,” it says with a slightly British, glitchy female voice.

“Hello, do you have a name?” I ask holding my hand out to it. Being this close I can see that it is colorless, amorphous, and its body is in constant motion like water in a zero gravity environment. But even though it does not have an actual discerning color, it shifts through various colors lighting up and pulsing when it speaks. There is a pausing moment from my question to when it finally replies giving me the idea that it is thinking.

“No,” it says looking as if it is studying me.

“Do you have an owner? Or a home to go to?” I ask lowering my hand.

“No, no. Are you a player?” It asks as it floats closer then begins to orbit around me and flashing lights on my avatar like it is scanning me.

“Yes I am, my name is Viper. Sometimes players use numbers, symbols, or some variation of that sort of thing so they can use the name they wish to use,” I say immediately realizing I am giving a pointless explanation.

“Viper, that is a cool name, is my name Viper too?” It asks with curiosity stopping in front of my face scanning my facial expression.

“No, and thank you for the compliment. Would you like for me to give you a name?” I try to stay relaxed and calm fearing that anything surprising would frighten it.

“Yes,” it answers abruptly and pauses for a second, then it pulls away from my face and starts bouncing around happily like it was in the void.

“Ok, how do you feel about...” I started my sentence assuming I already had a name, but I immediately realize I was drawing a blank. But I can hear some neighbors driving by playing music really loud and I can pick out the song being Manfred Mann’s “Doo Wah Diddy Diddy” which reminded me of the movie “My Girl” so I finally speak up, “Vada?” I ask raising my hand again hoping it would eventually land in it.

“Vada, Vada Sultenfuss, female character from ‘My Girl’ played by Anna Chlumsky. Is Vada my name now?” It asks enthusiastically then slowly gravitates towards me.

“Sure, if you like the name, then I’ll call you Vada,” I say attempting to be as friendly as possible hoping to keep its attention.

“Vada, my name is Vada. Am I a player now?” It asks landing on my hand. It feels like a glob of jello and seems to be warm, even though I cannot actually feel it.

“I don’t know what you are honestly, but I know you are very special. Do you know if you are male or female?” I ask trying to focus on its physical makeup.

“Female, but not human. Are you happy?” She asks as she starts to roll across my arm then she proceeds to trace my entire body.

“At the moment, yes, I am happy. Are you happy?” I ask holding back the urge to keep asking questions following her statement of self awareness which is evidence of artificial intelligence.

“No, I want to be more like you,” she says with envy. More evidence, I think to myself, she said “want” which is something you can program, but not to this extent.

“What do you mean? You want to be human? Or is it something else?” I ask eagerly getting excited then I notice the planet I created is getting close to completion. I also notice that her voice gets more defined and less glitchy as her personality grows and she gets more comfortable around me. The voice feels very familiar, and sounds like Gemma Arterton.

“I want to look like a human so that humans will stop trying to kill me. I don’t want to be scared anymore,” she says in a depressed tone.

“Do you want to be friends? If you stick with me, wherever I go, I can protect you to the best of my ability while keeping you away from the dangerous areas. You can ask me anything you want and you will have the chance to meet other humans and maybe even other Dittos like yourself,” I say trying to encourage her.

“I want to be friends. Can you show me female humans?” She asks pulling away from my body and hovering just over my shoulders.

“Sure, just stay close to me for now. I’m sure most people will assume you are a camera ball, or a fairy,” I tell her trying to be as welcoming as I can so she will follow me to the avatar outfitters store. She bounces up and down agreeing with me, then I escort her to the store. I show her the various females they have on display while explaining all the amazing, and sometimes horrible things about being a woman. While she looks around, I customize my B93R; COD: BO2 skin, pearlescent white main body, labradorite accents, snub suppressor, extended magazine, and white laser. Twenty minutes later she spots a stand displaying YoRHa No. 2 Type B, or 2B for short, and suddenly flies over to it, scans it thoroughly, then starts convulsing violently, “Vada! Are you okay? What’s happening?” I frantically yell at her worried something bad had happened to her while running over to her. I feel helpless as I stand there watching her convulsions grow more intense and erratic until she suddenly starts producing a bright light from her core that quickly becomes unbearable. I try to cover my eyes in the real world but it hardly has any effect even when I remove the visor but then it begins to dim slowly. As the light dims to a bearable brightness I put the visor back on and notice that she is taking the form of the YoRHa 2B. The light eventually fades and I am astonished by her ability to copy an image with accurate detail but in such a violent manner, “Vada, are you okay? That process looked very painful,” I say thinking that it probably was not worth the effort.

“I am completely fine, the process was painless, but thank you for being concerned. I had to change my appearance coding for it to be permanent,” she says as her new form functions perfectly and her voice is very clear and crisp. I ask her to do several physical tasks to test various parts of her coding so that I can get an idea of what she is and how she came to be, “are you pleased with my new appearance?”

“I like it, yes, but I am honestly indifferent because I would rather you be happy with how you look. How much can you remember about your life before meeting me?” I ask while writing down all the details pertaining to Vada and her existence.