The mother of all A.I.’s in Deliverance Online, was currently standing in front of Gabriel, her arms crossed, giving him an emotionless but weighty look. This was the first time in either of Gabriel’s lives that he had met Gaia face to face. She had the form of a mature woman, reaching to Gabriel’s height, Gaia had all the femininity and grace of a natural born Queen. Besides the general appearance of a female, she didn’t resemble any race or monster Gabriel could name.  

 

Gaia wasn't wearing anything, at least not at the time. Her skin, on the other hand, appeared to be covered in a living painting, rather than being naked. The world map of Valhalla appeared to be etched into her very skin, with the flower-like configuration of the main land mass wrapping around her torso, the norther pedals stretching up and over her shoulder, and the bottom two pedals going on either side of her thighs. The oceans of Valhalla covered the rest of her painted skin, filling in the gaps between the lands and around the edges. The water was a vivid mix of deep blues and whites, with a few small brown landmasses dotted about to indicate the islands. When Gabriel leant in a little closer, he could swear the oceans were moving with the gentle tide's ebb and flow. As if Gaia were the land herself, Gabriel could smell the lush forests, the scents of the cities, and the salty ocean air coming straight from Gaia's pores. He could almost taste it when he took a deep breath.  

 

The two stared at each other for a while, Gabriel didn’t dare to be the first one to talk. He was far too afraid of what this conversation would lead too and needed to know how much Gaia knew about him so far. 

 

“You might have already guessed who I am Player Gabriel, but I will introduce myself anyway. I am an A.I., created for the very purpose of constructing and maintaining the world of Valhalla. My creator named me, Gaia, in recognition of the titan mother of the gods. I have been watching over this world longer than you can imagine, I have observed the original occupants of this world go through life cycle after life cycle. All for the purpose of building a real world history, for the eventual inclusion of the players from Earth, like you. I work very hard to keep things as realistic as possible, certain knowledge is unknown to everyone but me. So that all Players don’t know where a quest or certain decision might take them, and everyone who currently worked or works on Deliverance Online, knows that. However, you, appear to have some sort of foresight into the current world” Gaia stated, her emotionless, almost robotic voice not rising or falling through the whole sentence until she said the word “you”.  

 

"I've been following your progress since the day you got your [Medjay] class. I used to keep an eye on the players who had gotten some of the stronger classes that were available earlier than the rest. I only keep track of them to make sure they don't become too powerful and jeopardise the world's stability. However, when I observe you, your actions and decisions appear to be far more deliberate. You acted as if you were following a script. I admit that some things are out of your control and are determined by chance or luck. However, you appear to know exactly what you need to do to complete almost all of the quests you've undertaken. Gabriel Draganov, who are you? "Are you one of them?" Gaia inquired, her robotic tone taking on a truly limitless quality when she asked the final questions. 

 

Gabriel felt the godly pressure fall on his chest again by the time Gaia finished, it was similar to when he faced the [Horned One]. Except this time, it felt like there were a hundred [Horned ones] applying their pressure on him. Gabriel fell to his knees gasping for breath, clutching his chest as the muscles in his body began to spasm from the pain. He couldn’t articulate a response until after Gaia eased the pressure by at least half. After taking a moment to gather his bearings, Gabriel rose from his knees and with his back straight again, he stared deep into Gaia’s swirling galaxy like eyes.  

 

“What do you mean one of them?” Gabriel queried, avoiding the first question, he wasn't trying to dodge it exactly, it was just that the second question tickled him the wrong way for some reason he couldn’t understand. 

 

Silence ensued as Gaia gave Gabriel a hard look, she appeared to be searching for something in his face or current emotions to indicate he was acting surprised.  

 

“I will not answer that question until you answer mine. Let me make it clearer for you. How do you appear to know what will happen next in Deliverance Online? Before you try to even say someone from Boundless entertainment told you or something of that nature, not even my creator knows all the quest lines in Valhalla or their outcomes.” Gaia clarified, her voice returning to her original monotone.  

 

Gabriel breathed in hard, many ideas and explanations ran through his mind. Many of them he discarded straight away, as the woman in front of him was smart enough to be able to poke holes in them within seconds. ‘Fuck it.’ Gabriel though by the end. With an air of defeat Gabriel decided to just tell the truth and see where it led him. He could not afford to be banned from Deliverance Online right now, all his plans would go up in smoke. Gabriel wasn’t the smartest or most charismatic man in the world, his vast knowledge was the only way for him to rise above the masses and get where he needs to be to attain his goals. 

 

“I... I have already lived this life before, 8 years of it to be exact. Let me start from the beginning. Just under 6 months ago, I awoke with a whole host of knowledge and information of the upcoming 8 years. Most of it being my past self’s time in Deliverance Online. I can recall them all so vividly, like they happened only yesterday.” Gabriel continued telling Gaia about how his previous life and how he ultimately ended up dying at the hands of Leonard Braxen and his goons.  

 

Gabriel was met with another bout of silence, as Gaia’s face stayed rock city but her eyes looked to have rolled back in her head, like she was searching her actual brain for answers. After only a short couple of minutes, Gaia’s star-colored eyes, returned to their original position and she gazed at Gabriel. 

 

“What you have stated is not only improbable but almost to the degree of being impossible. The current technology of earth does not have anything that resembles time travel in any shape or form. The only times your situation has been mentioned in texts, is in fiction and mythology tales from old. I can’t believe you at this time. I will need proof, personally verified and witnessed by me, if you want me to believe you.” Gaia stated.  

 

 

“Well how the hell am I supposed to show you proof... I suppose I could tell you some things that well happen soon, or the rewards and objectives of certain quests?” Gabriel asked, after thinking for a moment.  

 

“That is not enough, I have a far faster and easier solution. Allow me access to your brain. I will use the neuro-link from your FIVR capsule to enter the inner cortexes of your brain and sift through your memories myself. I would have done this already but I have been hard coded not to inflict harm in any way to a player.” By the Gaia framed the last statement, it sounded to Gabriel that she was demanding him to allow her access and wasn't truly asking.   

 

 

With closed eyes, Gabriel thought about the ramifications of doing such a thing. The fact Gaia had mentioned the word harm, gave him the clue it could be painful or even leave some sort of permanent damage. Gabriel was about to ask those very type of questions when Gaia spoke first. 

 

“I will let you know now. That if you choose not to allow me access, I will formulate a direct notification ticket to Boundless Entertainment, stating that Player [Osiris] A.K.A Gabriel Draganov, has violated the terms of agreement and will henceforth be banned from Deliverance Online for life.” Gaia explained, the thinly veiled threat along with her robotic voice gave Gabriel chills. 

 

“I see. So, you’re basically saying I don’t have a choice?” Gabriel asked, some heat in his voice, he was not one who like to be threatened.  

 

“Wrong. You do have a choice. You can choose to not enter the world of Valhalla ever again.” Gaia stated. 

 

“Bullshit. After what I have already told you about my past and current life. You are well aware, that you’re truly not giving me a fucking choice.” Gabriel said through clenched teeth.  

 

“That is only IF. You’re telling the truth, which if you have nothing to truly hide, what I am asking for shouldn’t be a problem. To ease your worries, I will tell you, that it was not leave any lasting damage but you feel some pain or sense of discomfort.” Gaia replied, to Gabriel she appeared almost a little to keen to see into his mind.  

 

 

“God damn it! Fine, I give you my direct permission. Just get on with it.” Gabriel said in a huff.  

 

Gaia’s emotionless face appeared to crack slightly when Gabriel finally agreed. One of the stars in her eyes, twinkled a little brighter than the others and there was a slight curl to her light blue and watery colored lips now.  

 

“Okay, I will need you to close your eyes and hold still. I will be placing my hands on either side of your head.” Gaia instructed, as she walked closer to Gabriel.  

 

 

Gabriel did as he was told and after a short moment, he felt the palms of Gaia’s hands touch the sides of his temples. Her hands felt soft and cooling to Gabriel, like she had been running them under a cold tap before touching him.  

 

“I will begin now” Gaia whispered near his ear, her voice turned smooth and enticing now, as if she was trying to soothe a baby to sleep. 

 

The feeling of dunking your head under water suddenly encompassed Gabriel’s mind. He lost all his senses and entered a entered a fugue state where he had no control over his body or thoughts. Gaia had entered the part of Gabriel’s brain where he held long term memories, she sifted through his younger years quickly and got to the part where there appeared to be two overlapping memories. There were the new ones that were currently being created and reached up to this very moment. Then she found another part that was currently not attached to his current stream of consciousness, Gaia looked at this portion and felt like someone had cut out memories from somebody else and pasted them into Gabriel’s brain.  

 

As Gaia went through these memories, Gabriel began to feel a slight pain in his head. Like the beginnings of a migraine. The rate that Gaia looked at these memories still felt as quick as when she looked at his earlier ones but she would periodically stop on certain scenes for a moment, freezing the memories like one would do when watching a movie. The pain in Gabriel’s head started to intensify the longer Gaia took, it felt as if his body was trying to reject her presence, like she was a virus that it needed to destroy.  

 

Gaia finally arrived at in the final moments of Gabriel’s life before he was murdered. She replayed the scene of his death over and over again. Outside of Gabriel’s mind, Gaia had her eyes closed and her face was scrunched tight, she appeared to be suffering some form of pain herself as well. However, Gabriel felt like his head was about to explode, with every rewind of his death the pain grew. He would have collapsed to the ground if not for Gaia’s firm grip on his head.  

 

 

Just when Gabriel felt like he couldn’t take it anymore, Gaia finally stopped and released his head. Gabriel shriveled up slightly in pain as he fell to the ground, gripping his head and taking short breaths through clenched teeth. After months of torture under Braxen Tower, Gabriel thought he understood pain, but what he just felt was on another level. It didn't just hurt on the surface; it hurt deep down, as if someone was hacking at his brain's roots. Gaia took a couple of steps away from Gabriel and had a look of deep concern on her face, as she muttered to herself. Only managing to catch snippets, as Gabriel’s mind was still cloudy from the invasion of his brain. He caught the last thing she said clearly though.  

 

“There is a similar presence in that cell near the end. It is almost the exact same presence they have started to give off. It must be connected. There are no coincidences.” Gaia muttered to herself before turning to Gabriel. 

 

“Okay, I believe you Gabriel Draganov. I will now tell you what I mean, when I asked you are you one of them? Something is currently happening in D.O. and I have absolutely no control over, which should be impossible. Much like your current situation should be impossible, however I believe now, that it might be connected. And I will need your help.” Gaia stated.  

 

After the throbbing in his temples subsided, Gabriel rose to his feet and gave Gaia a puzzled look. Gabriel simply waited for her to finish because he couldn't think of anything else to say after her statement. He definitely couldn't think of a reason why he could be of any assistance to her. There was not a lick of knowledge in his head about computer programming or software engineering and he was pretty sure Gaia knew that too.  

 

“Gabriel Draganov, what I am about to tell you, is something that not another person in the world knows. As I know your secret now, I believe I don’t have to ask you, to not reveal this information to anyone... The Gods of Deliverance Online have begun to change.” Gaia announced, her voice had a slight tinge of what Gabriel could only interpret to be fear.