Siena appeared with Kristie in the familiar green and black tiled floor of the Debug Room. Kristie continued walking and she followed her, looking around at the many in-game designs and settings that surrounded them.
She recognized the ice statues from the Lucineer’s Synth Square, a few pagodas from Toena Village, and the barren Onjira ranges and high steps that led up to the Druids’ Keep. Parts she walked through had falling rain that didn’t touch her and others rippled with a heat wave that she couldn’t feel. She also saw models of weapons and armor, platforms and obstacles, all in their default colorless forms.
She continued to tail her old friend until they climbed a ramp to an empty space. Kristie’s long blonde hair, the focus in her eyes, and even the way she walked—she was just as stunning as she had remembered. The only difference was how held back she was acting now.
“So . . . I don’t suppose you play much soccer anymore?” she asked, attempting to start a conversation.
Kristie didn’t reply, but Siena could see her hands opening and closing, as though wanting to answer her but struggling against something internal.
Siena looked around, realizing where they were. “I suppose not . . . but I’m sure even Screamers have something fun they can do around here.”
“Serving Malcolm is fun,” she said, her voice free of inflection.
Her statement wasn’t too convincing, but Siena just grinned and played along. “Oh yeah, forcing people to log off, sabotaging important events, ruining a bunch of people’s fun. Sounds like a ball.”
“You weren’t selected, you wouldn’t—”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I wasn’t good enough. Ironically, not being good enough turned out to be an advantage considering I don’t act like a brain-dead puppet. I’m also not Malcolm’s prisoner.”
There was a warping sound on the raised platform, and suddenly several of the square tiles separated and the polygons morphed to become a darkly-robed figure. This was followed by a familiar low voice, which Siena could only compare to the tone Laurence Fishburne used in the Matrix.
“The only true prison is the natural world you call reality.”
Although smiling, Siena’s teeth gritted and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end upon seeing the robed figure of Malcolm Mirth. She thought it fitting that he took on Morpheus’s voice, as his words seemed to fit the theme of that film to a T. Kristie stepped aside so that he could walk toward her.
“If you really want to speak to me, I suggest we stick to talking literally. I find being figurative is too much of an effort for my small brain to keep up with.” Siena raised her eyebrows, feeling she would catch him with this request alone.
“Very well, let us talk real then.” He leaned forward, looming over her. “You were defeated by Noah. Now, how did that happen?”
Siena stepped back, teeth bared. “He cheated! I don’t know how exactly. All I know is that he used some software Windsor gave him, which, it seems to me, gave him much better reflexes in our fight.”
The robed form straightened. “I know of this software.”
Siena frowned, suddenly intrigued. “You do?”
“Of course. I created it.” He pulled back and began walking around her. “Windsor would never give me any credit, but everything to do with the neural side of the game was a product of my research. However, this was a recent discovery for him, because until recently, he hadn’t seen the advantage that speeding up the MMRI’s reaction time as a projection gave someone like me.”
Siena’s eyes widened. “So the software is the same reason we couldn’t hit you when we fought you?”
“Very perceptive. Yes, I used this software in our fight, just as I would use it now if you were to attack me.” He stopped pacing and the darkness of the inside of his hood turned to face her. “But I did it to survive. Did you know that if I were to die in this world, I wouldn’t be able to come back? This is my final reality, my last chance. Unlike everyone else, I am mortal here, and I have a reason to live.”
Siena shook her head. She almost felt guilty for attacking before. She hadn’t known he only had one life here. “Why . . . why are you telling me this?”
“For two reasons.” He began pacing again. “The first is because I want to you understand me and my intentions—not right away, but eventually. Second, I don’t think what Windsor and Noah did to you was very fair. Don’t you agree?”
Siena gritted her teeth, remembering what she had felt when he had beaten her. “No, it wasn’t fair.”
“I also have a hunch that you wouldn’t willingly kill a sentient being, at least not without a good reason.”
She looked down. “Well, I’m no murderer, but . . .”
“You would kill to prevent further death? I understand.” Malcolm gestured to his side and Kristie moved to him. “However, it is my intention is to undo my past mistakes, to right what was wrong with the Wona Company. My first task to achieve this is to help the remaining beta testers regain some semblance of themselves. But I would not sacrifice anyone else to achieve this goal.”
Siena looked into Kristie’s face, but there was nothing in her expression to garner the truth of his words.
“And what does that have to do with me?” She stepped forward, fists clenched. “Just tell me already! Why did you bring me here?”
“Because I want to give you the same advantage that Windsor gave Noah.” He pulled away. “But I would be taking a risk in giving it to you. It is a semblance of the power that could one day undo me, and I need your word that you won’t try to kill me once you have possession of it. Do you understand?”
Siena thought of Keri and how she had responded to her request to tamper with Noah’s Dream Engine, how she didn’t give her a definitive answer.
And all I have to do is promise not to kill Malcolm? Why not? I mean, I’m not a murderer and this would finally put us on a level playing field.
She grinned, thinking of Noah’s expression when she turned the same ability he used to defeat her back on him. She couldn’t think of anything better than beating him at his own game.
“Alright then. We have a deal.”
Malcolm raised a blackened hand, and a blue light appeared in his palm. He flicked his finger and it shot into her.
— ABILITY ‘RTS’ LEARNED —
“RTS?” Siena asked, amused by the acronym. “Real time strategy?”
“A red herring for others to dismiss it. Considering it allows you to see your opponent’s reactions in real-time. I named it Real Time Sight.”
Siena inclined her head. “Makes sense. So I can use it at will now?”
“You tell me.”
Malcolm smiled and waved his finger from side to side in the air. A blue projection preceded each movement, allowing her to see it less than a second in advance. She could see why Noah had managed to narrowly avoid her attacks now.
“Of course, I put a failsafe in so that if you ever turned against me it would not work.” He lowered his hand. “Just a precaution.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t trust me?”
Malcolm’s hood tipped to the side. “Do you trust me?”
She grinned evilly. “Good point. Although you’ve been giving me nothing but good reasons since I entered this place.”
Siena couldn’t see his face, but his voice told of a smile of his own.
“Then we are one step closer to trusting one another.”