1:45 P.M.
Enzo spent the next twenty minutes sitting in the shade of a large tree with Rachel, Bebop, Pixie, and Volta while Redgrave, Elias, and Dendrite hung out near the stage. They mostly talked about the real world. Enzo learned that Rachel was a schoolteacher, Bebop was a computer programmer who absolutely loved Tantalus and Redgrave, and Pixie was a barista in Los Angeles who wanted to be an actor. Enzo realized that he, a 28-year-old, was by far the oldest one there. Rachel was the next oldest at 23 years old.
“If you never played Ninth Oasis, Enzo, how did you manage to kill all of those Deluvians?” asked Rachel. “You were really accurate with your rifle.”
“I collect and shoot guns as a hobby,” Enzo said. “My IRL skill transfers over to the game, apparently.”
“That must be an expensive hobby. How does your girlfriend feel about that?” asked Rachel. Pixie made an expression that Enzo couldn’t quite place.
“I’m… between girlfriends right now,” Enzo said, embarrassed that he had to reveal such information to a group of people at least five years younger than him.
“It’s probably ‘cause of the guns,” Bebop said with a laugh, and he struck Enzo's back with the palm of his hand.
“Hey!” Enzo said to Bebop. “Are you gonna tell me you’re any better, Mr. Spike Spiegel?”
“Hey, man,” Bebop said defensively. “We’re not talkin’ about me right now.”
Pixie was whispering something to Rachel, and both of them started giggling.
“I had a boyfriend IRL,” said Volta. “Not that it matters. We’ve all been in hospital beds for a month now… and we’re going to be there for years. By the time we get out, if we ever escape, the rest of the world will have moved on.”
Everyone else looked taken aback by this statement until Pixie said, “That just means that this is our life now.” She smiled. “The opportunities are endless. We’re at such an advantage compared to the NPCs, that I can’t imagine how any player could fail.”
“I guess you have a point,” said Volta.
“You’re absolutely right,” said Bebop, getting excited. “We’re basically unkillable, and we can use guns unlike the NPCs. There are thirty thousand players on this server and millions of NPCs. You want a house, just steal it from an NPC. What are they gonna do, stab you with a fork?” Bebop smiled and playfully pulled his handgun half out of his holster.
Rachel was about to say something, but then another man walked up to the group. He asked, “Are you guys with Redgrave and Tantalus?”
“Yeah,” Enzo said.
“Do you mind if I sit with you?” the newcomer asked.
“Not at all, I’m Enzo,” Enzo said. “What's your name?”
“I’m FullDan,” he said. He was clearly very uncomfortable as he spoke.
“You’re a Scion?” asked Pixie, clearly impressed.
“Oh, is that impressive?” said FullDan, smiling. He was happy that Pixie was referring to him positively. “I’m just a guy that was pretty good at a video game five years ago. Trust me, I’m not as impressive as Ashcroft makes me out to be."
The rest of their time sitting there was mostly spent asking FullDan questions. He seemed happy at his apparent fame. According to FullDan, he was a line soldier in the Scions of the Blue Flame, which meant that he followed the orders of the three field officers: Ashcroft, ScaryClock, and CosmiCrow. Line soldiers weren’t tied specifically to any particular field officer. For any particular mission, FullDan would be tied to any of those three officers. He also mentioned that the leader of the Scions for the entirety of their existence was Kingfisher50. It was the retirement of Kingfisher that caused the Scions to disband. The Scions had three strategists while FullDan was there: Tantalus, Zekava, and InfiniteRecursion. Each strategist worked in tandem with a different field officer depending on the time. Recursion was the lead strategist and the only one to stay after the guild disbanded.
As FullDan was reminiscing, there was a minor uproar as everyone turned toward the road. An incredibly loud vehicle had pulled up to the park. Enzo heard people whispering one word, “Tantalus.”
The main act had arrived.
When they finally reached Tantalus beyond the huge crowd, they could see that he had added a few articles of clothing to his outfit. He wore a black overcoat, and an officer’s cap pulled low over his brow. The overcoat was not buttoned, revealing his white undershirt beneath it. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth, which further obscured his features. The sea of players parted as he passed through. All of this together somehow managed to make Tantalus look like a giant despite his small stature.
“Tantalus always knew how to make an entrance,” FullDan mused quietly.
As we got close, Tantalus pulled something from the pocket of his overcoat and threw it at Redgrave who gracefully caught it. Enzo saw the item out of his peripheral vision. It was the muffler of Redgrave’s motorcycle.
Somebody asked Tantalus a question, but Tantalus responded with, “I’m not here to talk, I’m here to deliver results.”
Ashcroft soon reached the front of the crowd. “The Commander has arrived, I see!” he said.
“Let’s go talk on the stage,” said Ashcroft. “Mosaic just finished setting up the sound system.”
“Not yet,” said Tantalus. “Assemble your A-team, Ashcroft, and then we’ll all talk in a secluded place where we can talk in private.”
“Are you sure about that?” Ashcroft frowned. “The people really want to hear from you, Tantalus.”
“You wanted a strategist, and you got one,” said Tantalus. “Part of having a commander is that you need to listen to him. They’ll hear from me, Ashcroft, in ten minutes.”
“I see that you’ve already started putting your plan in motion,” Ashcroft said loudly. “You heard him, guys! The High Command is going to hold a brief ten-minute strategy meeting, and then you’ll hear what Tantalus and I have to say. Don’t go anywhere!”
The first meeting of the High Command of Osiris, as Ashcroft called it, occurred in a small employees-only shed that was used to hold cleaning supplies for the park. There were eleven players there because the space would be crowded if there were any more people present. They began the meeting with introductions. The people present were Ashcroft, Tantalus, FullDan, Redgrave, Pixie, Rachel, five of Ashcroft’s Knights, and me. When Tantalus heard that Pixie was B-rank in Ninth Oasis, he wanted her to attend the meeting. The five Knights were named Mosaic, Trismegistus, GatorKing, ChiralCrusade, and Emile. All five were men, and they all wore swords at their hips. Being near them put Enzo on edge. They all carried themselves like they were ready to spring into combat at any moment. Tantalus later told Enzo that GatorKing and Trismegistus had been in the Scions, but the rest had not.
“To begin with,” said Ashcroft, “it’s good to see you guys again, Dan, Tantalus.”
“The feeling’s mutual, Ashcroft,” Tantalus said.
“Hell of a reunion,” said FullDan, “but I’m glad to get the band back together.”
“Looking at this group of people,” said Ashcroft, “I feel like we could take on the whole world. We’ve got a squad here of the best Ninth Oasis players in the world.”
“Which means we can’t afford to lose anybody here,” said Tantalus. “Don’t do anything reckless.”
“Ah,” Ashcroft sighed happily. “Feels like old times, eh?”
“Yeah,” FullDan said with a smile. “Ashcroft says something optimistic, and then Tantalus contradicts him. It was a nice good-cop, bad-cop thing you had going on.”
“Ahem,” Tantalus cleared his throat. “The reason we’re having this meeting is that I wanted to report on what I found when I went to the military base near the North Gate. I spoke to some of the NPCs, and they explained to me the strategic and political situation we now face.” Tantalus pulled out a notebook and flipped to one of the first pages. Written on that page was a hastily sketched map of a continent that looked like a bullseye. The continent was vaguely circular, and there was a large dot in the center. There was a circle around the dot, and the area outside of the circle was divided into three pieces. One piece covered half of the outside of the continent, and the other two pieces covered one quarter of the continent each.
“What’s that?” asked Ashcroft.
“I had an NPC officer draw a map of the continent we’re on,” said Tantalus. “This continent,” he pointed at the ground at his feet, “is called Rubigo, and it looks like this,” he gestured vaguely at the map.”
“What’s that in the center?” asked Ashcroft.
“You see…”
Over the course of the next few minutes, Tantalus gave a lecture on the history of the world of Ferrum. The group ultimately learned that the Deluvians came from a large hole in the center of the continent they were on. According to Tantalus, the NPCs called it the Breach. The Chasm was a mere offshoot of the Breach. It’s difficult to measure, but the NPCs claimed that the Breach was more than ten miles wide and several miles deep. Water flowed from the sea into the Breach through the Chasm, but the water never filled the Breach. NPC scientists claimed that the Breach is so deep that it burrows into Ferrum’s mantle, which causes the Breach to reach such heat that water evaporated before it hit the bottom.
The Breach was apparently caused when Nur, the son of God, was killed in a rain of arrows five hundred years ago. This caused the creation of the Edict of Iron, which prevented the NPCs from using bows or any other ranged weapon, and the release of the Dark God. Since Nur was a part of God, Nur’s death seriously weakened the One True God who was holding back the Dark God. The Dark God and GM were, of course, the same entity. The followers of the Dark God called him “GM,” which stood for the God of Machines.
The NPCs had already killed GM four times, but he always revived exactly one hundred years after his death. The revival of GM and the subsequent onslaught of Deluvians was called the Deluge. For every previous Deluge, the NPCs used magic to create Revenants in order to make up for the disadvantage they faced due to the Edict of Iron.
There were three major countries on the continent and three independent cities. The countries were called the Republic of Mitrikov, the Federated States of Rubigo, and the Kingdom of Sondrith. The three independent cities were: Osiris, New Arcadia, and Etron. The three countries dominated the coast of Rubigo, and the three independent cities were located closer to the center of the continent. The Federation dominated the western half of the continent, and the other two countries shared the eastern half. In the center of the continent were three little dots near the big hole in the center. From where we were, Etron was northwest, and New Arcadia was southwest. You couldn’t travel in a straight line from Osiris and reach either city because the Breach was in the way.
“The layout of this world map suggests a specific type of game progression,” said Tantalus. “People who spawn on this server end up in New Arcadia, Etron, or here. This means that our first mission will be to consolidate our forces with the player base in these two cities. With this, our troop reserve will multiply by three. After this, we’ll be filtered toward these three kingdoms,” he gestured toward the map. “Only then will we be able to beat GM. Something will happen to require this type of progression, I guarantee it.”
“What makes you so sure?” asked FullDan.
“GM is a storyteller,” Tantalus said with certainty. “He would never allow the story to end early.”
“Can we make him end it early?” Ashcroft asked. For the first time since Enzo had met him, his expression was filled with determination. Enzo could see the severe man that was behind the affable exterior.
“That’s the question, isn’t it?” said Tantalus. “I’ll be trying my hardest to make him end the story as soon as I can.”
After a pause, Ashcroft said, “Is there anything else before we go out there?”
“No,” said Tantalus. “We just have to prepare what we’re going to say.”
“Oh no,” sighed FullDan. “Am I going to have to talk in front of all those people?”
“Just leave it to the Commander and me,” said Ashcroft. “You’ll be fine.”
Everyone except for FullDan, Tantalus, and Ashcroft left the shed while they prepared for their presentation.
Ten minutes later, they walked onto the stage. First, Tantalus entered, then FullDan, then Ashcroft. Tantalus and Ashcroft both received deafening applause, and FullDan received a more minor but still enthusiastic reception.
The three of them sat on chairs that had been set up ahead of time. Hundreds of players gathered around to hear what they were about to say. Redgrave, Volta, and Enzo were all filming them from three different angles.
Tantalus sat to the left, FullDan in the center, and Ashcroft to the right. Tantalus and Ashcroft had radically altered their outfits, and FullDan was out of place in his standard blue military uniform. Tantalus was smoking a cigarette, and his hands were in the pockets of his overcoat.
After a long half-minute, the crowd quieted down, and Tantalus stood up. He walked up to the microphone, which had been adjusted for Ashcroft’s height. Tantalus dropped his cigarette and put it out with his foot before he adjusted the microphone down to his own height.
“It looks like we’re stuck,” said Tantalus. “All evidence seems to indicate that GM is telling the truth. The NPCs can pass the Turing test, and any damage we take hurts us exactly as much as it does in the real world. This game is beyond human capability. We didn’t ask for this, but we’re stuck in this situation, like it or not.”
Tantalus paused. “We’re in it for the long haul. Ten years of this, better get used to it. Now, I’m talking to you all right now because we need to stick together. Not all of us need to fight, but those of you that can, should. Know yourself. If you were a soldier or a police officer in the old world, consider fighting on the front line. If you were a doctor, consider being a medic. If you were a businessman, consider helping out with logistics. Everyone can pitch in. To put it simply, we are at war. Monsters have laid siege to this city, and the NPC government is completely unequipped to deal with them. It falls to us to do what the NPCs cannot.”
There was another pause. “Let me be clear, the Deluvians are extremely dangerous. Earlier today, I watched as a man was killed by an errant blow to the head. He died instantly. If you make a mistake, you’ll end up dead like him.”
“There are three Gates to the City of Osiris. Before we do anything else, we need to make sure that these Gates are defended. Once that is done, we can begin to launch our counterattack. I’ve committed to the organization of the West Gate, and Ashcroft has done the same with the North Gate. This leaves the East Gate without leadership. We should be able to find someone to take charge of that Gate before the end of the day today. My first suggestion would be Mander. Ultimately, we need to keep a permanent garrison of at least ten soldiers at each Gate in order to maintain a defense. Assuming three eight-hour shifts, we’ll need thirty soldiers per Gate. Over three Gates, that’s ninety soldiers. This is only enough to defend the City. We’re gonna need about five times that number before we can launch our counterattack. Five hundred men. Allow me a force of five hundred good men, and I will deliver you victory.”
There was applause as Tantalus finished his speech and returned to his seat, but it was much more subdued than it was before. Tantalus had told them the cold, hard truth, and it had caused them to falter.
Without allowing this atmosphere to fester, Ashcroft ran up to the microphone and began to speak.
“Now, I know what you just heard was disheartening… I do,” said Ashcroft. “A few hours ago, you were normal people. You were shopkeepers, accountants, schoolteachers, but now you’re soldiers.GM trapped all of you in a video game against your will, and now he’s forcing you to fight for your life! It sucks, but he’s not just keeping you hostage. He’s keeping the whole world hostage. Apparently, the energy required to keep these eleven servers running is equivalent to about 20% of the total energy output in the entire world. That month we spent comatose? GM used that time to bend the real world to his whim. The real world isn’t doing so well, either.”
“If you look at it from a certain perspective,” Ashcroft continued, “GM didn’t take our lives from us. He gave us purpose. In the old world, we were just people, but, here, we can be heroes! We have the greatest possible purpose: to kill the ultimate tyrant. GM threatens the whole world, and we are the only people in the world who have the opportunity to kill him! Nobody outside has a chance to kill him! We have the ability, no, we have the privilege to kill GM. Please, help us fulfill this glorious purpose.” As Ashcroft said this sentence, it really sounded like he was begging. “Help us, but not because of anything we did in the old world. None of that matters. I am not a celebrity or anything else that I was in the Old World. I am merely a man who is trapped in here with you. Help us so that we may save ourselves and save the world.”
The crowd erupted in cheering and applause as he started to walk off the stage. FullDan and Tantalus rose to follow him, but they were interrupted.
An unnatural shadowy entity fell from the sky and landed in the center of the stage. The entity was made entirely of black smoke. It struck the stage to the sound of shocked gasps and screams. The smoke dissipated after a moment, revealing a new humanoid figure standing in the center of the stage.
Rage, horror, despair. These were the emotions displayed by the crowd of Revenants as they saw the identity of the interlocutor.
Smiling, GM stood center stage.
[Ashcroft]
