Chapter 1
DocSolarisReich
Esoteric Spaceman
Greetings dear readers. In the name of rekindling my muse and getting back on the words-a-day horse (stupid Steam sales, stupid Paradox Studios, stupid Final Fantasy XIV... stupid distractible me). I am cross posting this here, in the hopes that this will prompt that cruel harpy who has been silent of late to sing a new song to me. The usual disclaimers apply. It is better to ask forgiveness than permission. Doc doesn't own these characters and settings and doesn't have any money, don't sue Doc.
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Somewhere
Somewhen
Men and horses and, other things, shouted, cried out, roared, screamed, and died. Blood soaked into the ashen earth, staining it an muddy ochre; pounded and churned and kneaded by thundering artillery, the whine and tinkle of the shell-shrapnel a constant accent to the vast collective rumble of the battle. Machine guns rattled out in a rolling tattoo, scything down the shambling things in their relentless, mindless advance. The land of that vast plateau was an utterly bleak, barren, and blasted wasteland, the only feature aside from vast miles of trenches and wire was the vast cyclopean ziggurat that dominated every horizon, drawing the eye and the mind with whispering, impossible angles.
Behind the lines, at the top of an observation tower from which droop tattered and faded banners of a thousand armies, the generals gathered in their masses around the tall, handsome, and severe figure standing at the head of a round table; sandy, shortly trimmed but curly hair framing a thin but pleasant face with a noble hawkish nose and bright shining golden-yellow flecks in his otherwise golden-brown single eye, his second orb obscured by a piratical black patch, this, the man once known as Georgius of Lydda.
++General Mab, your Fauns may not fall back from their positions, the Tsang salient must not just hold, we must expand it, the Lengim are close to breaking and the way to the Dragon's Lair is within our grasp. We must finish this campaign at last.++
"Knight Of Adam, my war-herds have bled themselves white taking that ground, they cannot hold" A cold, cruel voice from a cold cruel face, blue lips twisted into a dismissive sneer, raven black hair framing flesh too pale, features sharp and angular as ice.
++I will commit additional reserves++
"From where oh Night of Hubris? Have you not noticed how your own Choosers have brought you fewer and fewer Chosen every passing season? Your precious Empire is fallen, and their successors, your children are sunken into hedonistic excess, too numb to even *Dream* any more!"
++Your Silver Helms...++
A single molten golden glance silenced the incipient sneering objection from the Ice Queen to his left.
++...And my Reichsguard, they have reformed and integrated with their new replacements from the last great harvest. General von Ungern, see to it, you may attach Major Potter's Specials for this task.++
A cold smile shewed the approval of the Lady Winter as both she and the grandly mustachioed general hailed their liege and marched out of the room, and after a gesture of dismissal, the remaining officers all followed suit, all save one.
++Major van Pieterzoon?++
"She's right you know, the witch"
A single handsome eyebrow raised.
"About the waking world. They're not ready, they're nowhere near. While you've been here all these centuries..." at the second raised eyebrow the mild looking man blanched and quickly amended "...as necessary as it is, the institutions you left behind in His service have all fallen one by one into darkness and corruption. Merchants rule the waking world now, first whetting the bottomless appetites of the masses, then satiating them, for a time, all the while wrapping chains of obligation and debt about their necks..."
++I know.++
"... And if that wasn't enough now they're drilling in Antarctica and obviously that's just a cover; they're looking for IT and if they find it, you know what THEY will do! And and and, wait, what?"
++I know. I have a task for you, my good and faithful servant.++
"At your command Sire!"
++You will liquidate sufficient of our assets to obtain a controlling share of the Orochi Group, and through them, their subsidiaries Argus and RECT. You will green-light Kayaba's project and push it to a world-wide release.++
"Of course my Lord, but may I ask"
++The details are all here++ the Golden Man handed the Plain Man a thick accordion file, ++all the contingencies and background++
Flipping through the pages, the long suffering man known as van Pieterzoon visible paled further, his visage becoming almost ghostly, shocked to the core at the enormity of what his liege would conceive, would do, would risk.
++They're not ready. We must make them ready. The hour grows late, we have little time remaining us.++
A growing clanking rumble caught van Pieterzoon's attention, it grew and grew until dust rained down from the overhead cover of the observation deck, the tramping of heavy steps growing underneath the growling sound. "What the deuce is that milord?" Pieterzoon queried of the Golden Man while he walked to the edge, stuffing the damning, dangerous papers back into place in their file. Looking down he saw row after row of new armored fighting vehicles rolling past, "They look like those T-14 Armatas the Russians are so proud of" he mused to himself, and behind the ranks of tanks, marched files of eight foot tall giants clad head to foot in sleek, futuristic armor of some kind, with weapons to scale, magazine fed grenade launchers?
"My Lord, what is all this in service of?" The sudden change of perspective obviously derailing the good Major's train of thought, wavering from near despair to sudden hope in the span of a short conversation.
"The future."
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Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2050 AD, 3 BA
Kayaba Akihiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he fumbled for the key card for his apartment. His emotions surged, a tempestuous turmoil; he wanted to leap up and click his heals, he wanted to shout and weep and curse the world all at once.
Who the hell are Adler Corp? Who cares? They want to proceed with my Aincrad! And the Nerve Gear gen2! They're putting money behind it! Piles and piles of money. Damn but that was a lot of money for a new IP video game on an unproven platform. Something seemed too good to be true about it all, but Kayaba shrugged off the disquiet.
"This is going to happen" he narrated to himself, "It's really happening!"
And they wanted a world-wide release! Oh the additional localization hours, oh no, we'll need to dust off those voice translation algorithms... But the worst, the absolutely worst thing was that they wanted editorial control, and where already demanding changes. Instead of a purely Fantasy theme, Adler was demanding a Science-Fantasy theme, Aincrad was no longer a floating black iron castle, but now a vast space-station hidden in the eye of Jupiter...
At last, the door clicked open, and Kayaba laughed long hard, yes this could work. This way we can recycle assets from both of the gen1 games we've released; remix Alfheim with GunGale and Bob's your uncle!
Click. Click. Click, click, click. The lights stubbornly refused to come on.
"Oh well," Kayaba thought to himself, "nothing to get bent about, I'm not going to let something like that ruin the best day of my life, just need to call the super..."
His cell phone was a blank brick, absolutely dead and unresponsive. "The hell?" Kasyaba voiced aloud to the empty and dark apartment. The air seemed oppressive, he started sweating for no reason and with an aggravated sigh, loosened his tie and undid the top collar button so he could breathe. "Why is it so dark in here, I'm on the twenty-third floor and the sun was shining when I came in..."
Suddenly the phone started vibrating, "Incoming Call" displayed on the suddenly working screen.
"Hello?"
"I̷—̵s̵e̴e̷—̶y̷o̶u̶" the voice oozed and echoed and wormed into Kayaba's mind, it hurt, it burned, he wanted to throw up, he wanted throw the mobile away, smash it against the wall, scream and run, but he couldn't, he couldn't move, his muscles had all suddenly clenched up, frozen in place like the proverbial deer in the proverbial headlights.
"Now see here, I don't have time for prank ca..." Kayaba struggled with suddenly bone-dry tongue to dress down his prank caller, but there was something about the voice, it echoed horribly and what was that buzzing? Is that blood coming out of my nose?
"S̵i̶l̸e̸n̷c̸e̸!̵—̷s̷0̷n̶—̴o̴f̵—̷4̴d̵a̸m̶—̸I̴—̶S̶E̶E̷—̵Y̸O̵U̸.̷" Kayaba collapsed like puppet with its strings cut, his heels drumming out a beat on the apartment's tile floor. "W̸̫̖̦̿̂ḛ̴͋—̶̺͚̓̀̄Ạ̸͕͎̒́̚r̵̩̽̅̊e̶̺͒͊—̶̭̗̏ȁ̴͚̼͉̍̅b̷̨͝r̵̭͙͉͆̉͝ọ̴̧̏ä̶̯̝̦́ḏ̸̳̔—̵͙̌͝a̸͉̦̥̿͘n̸̬̳̔́͋ͅḍ̶̏́̔—̷̨͐l̵͚͕̹̏̅͛o̵̺͆̏̑ǫ̵̑̓s̶̤̓̓ẽ̴͉̠̹—̴̨̌ȁ̵̝̱̕ṅ̵͈̲̙͝ḑ̵̦̱͒̃—̵̨̮͉̏̓͂ẅ̶͓́ȉ̵̤ĺ̶̜͙͉ḹ̶̪̋̏—̸̙̋N̸̳̖̿O̴̬͐T̴̮̉—̴̘͇̀b̶̩̙̒͐͋ĕ̸̡̛̼̳—̸̼͚̄͝ṕ̵̲̚û̵̻͕̊͜t̶̯̠̫͂—̸͇͉̒b̶͕̞̄̀̑a̴͍̎̑c̸͕̊̊k̸̦̯̈́͂͗;̶͍̘̋͗ ̵̠̳͓̓̄͘Ỳ̶̛̻͑Ö̶̳̭́̔͐Ṵ̴̟̎̍̏—̵͉̼͑͆̂c̴͓̐̃a̴̘͑̂ṇ̵͕͓͆ǹ̷͈̪̼ỏ̵̱t̶̬̥͍͐—̵̨̨̛̀s̴̘͗̈́ͅt̷̲͚̅̽a̵̺̾͝͠n̸̡̗͛d̵͔̙̦̈̂́—̷͎̱̈́̀a̶̟͚̓̈̿g̶͙̦̮̔̊ȧ̶̞̥͘͠i̵̙̞͋̈́n̸̛̤̥̄͒͜s̴̺͐t̸͙̥̕—̴͕̩̉ͅu̶͍̪̓s̸̛̳͖—̷̠̗͊Y̶̨͉͗͒̀ͅŌ̵̮͆ͅǗ̸̧̢̕ͅ-̴̙͂̏Â̴̤̄R̶̛͈͕͓͒͒Ẽ̴̲͂ ̴̺̒̋T̸̡̾̅4̷̛̘ͅK̴̬͊̓E̸̝̿͌͋N̵͚̆̉—̸͉̻̖̆̍͠y̴̰̤̫̆́̐0̵̤̾̓̕u̴͇͔̳̍͛—̵̛̙̜̔͜4̷̺̰̯̓r̶̮͆̽E̷̞̿͛͝-̷̞̭̦̊M̶̢͇̆̈́1̸̙̭̔͗͘͜N̸̩̜̐͛E̵̢̡̖͝.̵̫̯͒"
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Traitor's Tomb, Level 10, Aincrad (BETA)
2052 AD, 1 BA
"Well, shit" thought Kirito as he flew through the air toward the wall of the Traitor Lord's burial chamber, slamming into said wall in a great cloud of dust and crushed plaster and paint, ancient hieroglyphic wall paintings cracking and crumbling around him as he found his point of view zoned out to the <<stunned lobby>>, he could only watch as the unconscious body of his avatar slid down the wall to slump in a crumpled heap at the bottom. From the over-sized sarcophagus that Kirito had been investigating, a giant bronze skeleton covered in highly stylized and elegantly decorative armor emerges, green corpse-fire burning from gaping eye sockets. Above his head the HUD displaying a name in deep purple-black with a skull icon denoting an over-leveled boss along with four HP bars and two shield bars; <<Nephren-Ka the Traitor Lord>>.
"Foolish mortals, I will wear your skins for this trespass."
"Scouts, get Kirito! Heavies, open him up! Tanks, let's get that agro! Sweepers, look out for adds! Let's do this!" The player in the bright blue <<Makeshift Power Armor>> slams a full helm over his head and readies a <<Super-Sledge>>, the name-plate hovering over his head reads <<Blue_Diavel>>.
Several rockets lance out, exploding in showers of flame and shrapnel, and with the echoing sounds of shattering glass, Nephren-Ka staggers, his blue shield bars completely emptied. And then machine guns open up, streams of tracers converging on the towering boss, ricochets whining away threateningly, the bullet streams only break off as the Tank group reaches assault range. The heavy armor users charge in to get the Bosses' agro, weapons flashing.
The first indication that something has gone wrong with the plan is when the beaked head of Nephren-Ka's appropriately giant-sized <<Great Maat'Tok>> emerges from Diavel's back in a welter of gore, then adding contemptuous insult to mortal injury, the Maat'Tok's head forcibly flowers open and with a sickening wet crunch, tearing Diavel's body into several bloody chunks, throwing them to either side of the line of Tanks, showering the rest of them with bits and comically exaggerated blood spray. Finally with a sound like lightning in a bottle, a bolt of corpse-green plasma impacts among the Heavies, throwing several aside and killing two out-right. And then the scarabs emerged from cracks in the walls and several more players are reduced to <<Remain Lights>> timers ticking down.
As the wheels comes off the raid's initial plan, a cloaked figure makes the final rush to Kirito's crumpled form, quickly applying a <<Stim-Pack>> to awaken the stunned player and restore most of his lost HP. Freed from the shadowy <<Stunned Limbo>> Kirito can sit up and grin at his rescuer, "Thanks Argo".
"Any time Kii-bou!"
"I told you not call me that Rat-chan. What are we going to do about this mess then?"
The goggled girl with whiskers painted on her face pouted, "Ahhh, you're no fun Kirito-solo, anyway, when I give the signal, Sinon will hit its face with her sniper, and you and I will exploit any opening, and then we hope everyone else plays into it."
"Well that's much of a plan, is it?"
Argo shrugs eloquently in her camouflage cloak and smock, reloading her favored <<Salvaged AKS-74U>> with another of her extended 45-round magazines, "Nope! Ready?"
Kirito sighed heavily, then nodded his head, encased in the red-eyed <<Scavenged Ranger-Helmet>> which provided buffs to low-light vision, detection, poison, and rad resistances. At his nod, Argo reaches up to the radio mic hanging on her web-gear, and clicks the send button three times.
The effect of the signal is immediate, with a great bang and the golden-yellow muzzle flash of a <<Ballistic Skill>> user invoking a <<Skill Shot>>, Sinon, in her position on the far side of the boss-room, opens up with her <<Makeshift Anti-Tank Rifle>>, the 14.5mmAP round impacting in Nephren-Ka's face, wiping out an entire health-bar, red damage pop-up surrounded by critical-hit and weak-point markers. Turning her head she shouts at her fire-teammate, "Just keep those scarabs off me Spiegel!"
"Easier said than done!" he shouts back, squeezing another burp from his <<Used PPSh-41>>, "I'm already on my second drum!" In the corner of his vision he can see a screaming player, swarmed by bronze scarabs go under the swarm, wet crunching sounds echoing horribly. Movement, turn, burrrrrrrp, click, "fuck!"
A stream of wind driven razor-sharp ice drives back the scarabs about to leap onto a screaming Spiegel, fighting to get a sidearm clear of a clumsy holster, "Hurry and reload ess-mhm-gee-san, we have to keep sniper-san covered!", the cute raven-hared caster in high-heeled boots and robes, the sparking of her overloaded <<Kerukeion-Wand>> spell-catalyst making her face shine and taking his breath away, he whispers her screen-name, <<Hermietta>> to himself like a talisman, before he scrambles to get his 'papasha' back into action.
Across the boss-room, on the raised dais supporting the massive sarcophagus, the metallic giant bronze skeleton labeled Nephren-Ka staggers back, baleful-burning eyes locked on the sniper who rocked him, Maat'Tok rising into line with his tormentor, who can be seen visibly struggling with the massive turn-bolt of the over-sized anti-tank rifle.
Kirito, already up and running, brown duster streaming behind him, singing <<Bastard Vibro-Blade>> already drawn and shimmering at high pitch, and <<Salvaged Colt Delta>> thrust out straight-armed in off hand, point shooting as he rushes impossibly fast, then, while sprinting full tilt, triggering the <<Acrobat's Edge>> skill, letting himself get carried in a massive leap and driving his high-frequency blade high up into the Traitor Lord's back, planting his feet and hanging on while twisting his blade and emptying what is left of his magazine at point blank range in one smooth motion.
"Focus Fire on the boss! Burn him down!" Argo cries out as Nephren-Ka stumbles backwards clutching awkwardly at the Kirito shaped pest latched onto his back. Taking her own advice she takes a supported firing position behind a pile of rubble and starts hammering the target with long bursts, her shorty AK making a thunderclap noise and fireball of muzzle flash. Movement in the corner of her eye, a glance, a short, sharp hissed intake of breath, "Kirito! Incoming!" she screams as the smoking trail of an anti-tank grenade rocket streaks across her vision.
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Taft, Level 11, Aincrad (BETA)
2052 AD, 1 BA
"Kanpai!"
"Cheers!"
"Prost!"
"Drink-Hail!"
Cries of good-cheer and victory in every tongue, clanking tankards, and laughter filled the common room of the Prancing Pony Inn, located just off the plaza containing the <<Mega Road>> teleportation-gate the Raid Party had just unlocked, allowing for their re-spawned casualties to catch up and enjoy the party. Everyone was remarking on how steep the difficulty curve of this game was, and this was just the Beta.
"Oh man the gore in full-dive is something else, how are they going to get this past the ratings boards?"
"I could feel those damn scarabs eating me man, not cool!"
"Make sure you meet up with me on release day!"
"You ain't never lyin' brah, wouldn't miss it for the world!"
"Can't believe this is it, last night of the Beta, how will I survive the wait?"
Sitting at the table with his <<Midnight Sun Rangers>>, Kirito smiled at the shenanigans around him. IRL he had his nerves and anxieties, but here he wasn't Kirigaya Kazuto, self-conscious adopted-son and awkward college-nerd; here he was <<Kirito>> leader of men, slayer of dragons, clearer of dungeons. In fact the confidence boost from excelling in the competitive rankings in <<Aincrad Online>> and moving out of the house for college and doing well there, well, he had finally made his peace with the fact of his adoption and his adopt... no real family, the only one he has ever known. He was even helping Suguha with her Kendo and her homework.
Life was good.
"Penny for your thoughts, leader-san?" Argo smirked at him, "Why so serious?"
"Just thinking I'd like us all to stay in touch, you guys want to re-form the fire-team after release, right?"
"Of course!" exclaimed Shinon, "I'll make us a web-site, we're learning about HTML and CSS in my class!"
"If Shinon is in, I'm in" added Spiegel, "but don't do all that, I'll set us up a discord server."
"No doubt!" added Agil, thumping his over-sized stein down on the table.
Argo just rolled her eyes and gave Kirito a thumb's up.
Kirito stood up, raising his tankard, "To the Rangers, to us, to Aincrad!"
"Kampai!"
Kirito noticed Diavel approaching and waved him over, "Diavel! Way to go down first!"
The blue-haired devil himself-himself crosses his arms and looks off to his left shoulder in mock indignation, before laughing and slapping Kirito on the back, "This from our resident Ranger-Shinobi who got turned into chunky salsa by friendly fire? Not very stealthy of you."
Kirito rubbed the top of his head, "yeah got carried away trying for that last attack bonus, who got it anyway?"
"Ah, some American team, husband and wife I think, 'Jedidiah' and 'IceHeart' wasn't it?"
"Wait, not the Jedidiah and IceHeart from Gun Gale?" Agil interjected.
Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Heard of them?"
Agil looked thoughtful, "Well, lot of the jar-heads at our café play GG, and they talk, a lot, those two where finalists in the last Ballet of Bullets I think, and they have a popular you-tube gun channel. Course, young miss Sinon here aught to know."
A suddenly shy and blushing Sinon suddenly found the wall very interesting, very interesting indeed.
"Sinon?" Kirito asked.
Agil grinned, "Didn't you know Boss? You got yourself a genuine champeen on your team, you're looking at the winner of the last BoB. Snipered down both gaijin, in the face! I suppose it was probably better that way, I mean, who really wins when a married couple end up in a duel to the death?"
Kirito looked over at the now fiery-cheeked sniper who was studying the floor and smiled. "That's nothing to be shy about Sinon, heck with a record like that you could be the leader!"
"Don't tease me like that, I like my support role, I like playing with you guys, but this game is what I do to relax, I'm trying to keep the competition confined to GG. That's why I changed my name, what gave me away Agil?"
"No offense, but there aren't that many female crack snipers playing full-dive VR games, and going from 'SineQnon' to 'Sinon' wasn't a big leap."
Sinon sighed explosively and threw up her hands, palms up in an eloquent shrug, "Got me."
Agil laughed, long and hard, a pleasant if deep and booming sound. "Heheheh, what are you guys doing for dinner? It's what 5pm Tokyo time? You could drop by the café for..."
Kirito jumped to his feet "5pm! Shit, I promised my little sister I'd take her out, shit shit shit, ja ne!" and with that there was an audible thump and suddenly no Kirito at the table.
Sinon rolled her eyes and looked up, letting lose a long suffering sigh at the ceiling, "baka."
The laughter of the friends echoed out into the dark torch-lit city of Taft. In the shadows across the main avenue, in a dark-shrouded alleyway, two glowing red slits narrowed.
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From: A.Mills@dicey.net
To: K.Kirigaya@utokyo.edu
Subject: Creepy Beta End
Well that was weird; after you took off, a bunch of us stayed up to the midnight closure of the Beta and well, first there was world shattering bell tolling midnight, I mean end of the world LOUD. Then we all got shifted to that in between space, you know like when you're down and waiting for revive or knocked out? And we all saw the same thing, this creepy little goth-loli man, and she carrying a fuck-off huge glaive, and had this smile that's just... not right you know? Next thing we know she's cutting us to pieces and laughing, and then she just says one word before we get the **Session Terminated** screen, she says, 'Silence.'.
WTF Man? You pick up anything in the lore?
-Agil
From: K.Kirigaya@utokyo.edu
To: A.Mills@dicey.net
Subject: Re: Creepy Beta End
Try this.
Cronus - Wikipedia
-Kirito
From: A.Mills@dicey.net
To: K.Kirigaya@utokyo.edu
Subject: Re: Re: Creepy Beta End
Nope! Sorry I asked. Greeks be weird man.
See you in Aincrad!
-Agil
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Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
In Kirito's apartment, the smart-wall was showing a popular gaming web-cast.
"And now, in an MMO.TV exclusive, and special treat for gaming enthusiasts everywhere, please welcome, VR pioneer, inventor of the wireless microwave neural-link, founder of Argus Software, publisher's of hit Full-Dive titles Alfheim and Gun Gale Online, Akihiko Kayaba!" The hostess, eye-candy and fan-favorite for her cosplay videos, Mayumi, was in rare form, demure but energetic at once.
The studio audience goes nuts, the entire world is fully aboard the Aincrad Online hype-train, fully stoked by a world-wide marketing blitz. Wolf-whistles, cheers, cries of 'we love you' and 'Star-Citizen Online, eat your heart out!' could be heard. When Kayaba appeared not on stage, but in a picture-in-picture AR window to the host's right, floating in front of the usual guest chair, the disapointment was palpable, but subdued, and in a few moments, the crowd settled down.
"Mr. Kayaba, first of all, thank you for taking time out of your no doubt full and busy schedule to speak with us, I'm sure release day must be a very busy time for you and your company."
"No no no, Mayumi-chan, it is no problem at all, in fact its very nice to take a break every once and a while from the pre-release crunch." Kayaba pushes his glasses back into position, but the circles under his eyes are just visible, despite the glare from the reflecting lenses, and the stubble on his chin is quite plain to see.
"Does that mean there will be a day-one patch Kayaba-san?"
"Yes it does, but Argus remains committed to making the best, most-immersive full-dive experience yet, Aincrad will not be a game one merely plays, but a game one Lives. And besides, we wouldn't want our returning Beta-testers to have too much of an advantage over retail players, so we have paid extra attention to re-working the first 12 levels or so, trust me, players who relay overmuch on Beta experiences will have many surprises in store for them."
"But I'm given to understand that Aincrad is shaping up to be more than just a particularly immersive and massive full-dive game?"
"That's right right Miz Mayumi, I'm pleased to announce that Orochi Entertainment, our parent company, is expanding the Aincrad experience with light novels, manga, a feature length live action movie and more yet to come. In fact, I believe I'm allowed to say this, we've signed renowned novelist Sutter Caine to write the novelization of the Main Quest."
"Very exciting! I notice that spin off PC or console titles aren't on your list?"
"Correct, Argus is committed to moving forward not back, we firmly believe that Full-Dive is the future of gaming, full-stop."
"So what would say to disappointed fans who might blame your acquisition of Bethesda Softworks for ending any change of Fallout Online?"
"Well Mayumi, I would say that after the failure of Skyrim Online, the chances of FOOL, as we like to call it, well let's just say they weren't good. As I'm sure eagle eyed fans are aware, the game-play footage released at last year's E3 showed several mechanics and even content easter-eggs pointing to connections between Aincrad and the world of Fallout, so who's to say what our follow up title will be? I should also add, that the North American and European server farms we acquired in that deal have been instrumental in making this a world-wide release."
"And what would you say regarding the controversies your work has engendered?"
"Whatever do you mean Mayumi-chan?"
"I mean the work Argus has done developing training simulations for the JSDF and other militaries? Or your sponsorship of high-school computer clubs? Or perhaps the complaints from Mothers Against Virtual Entrapment?"
"Why I'm not sure why charity and civic involvement would ever be contro..."
"And let's not forget the public outcry over young people world-wide over those unfortunate incidents of teens..."
"Yes, yes, unfortunate incidents of young people developing addictions and turning to crime to pay for it. Well, as I'm sure you know, Argus has been at the forefront of providing counseling and addition treatments for Full-Drive Dependency Syndrome, and well, don't you think we have to ask, why is it our young-people feel so alienated that they seek to lose themselves, completely, in another reality?"
"And that's all the time we have, please give Mr. Kayaba an MMO.TV good-bye!"
"Off." Kirito rolled his eyes, "no one cares about that touchy-feely stuff, people just want to have some fun taking risks, even if virtually, that's why Full-Dive VR gaming is exploding, larger than all other categories but uber-casual candy-crush shit. You can't even manually drive your car anymore, sheesh." His cat just looked at him silently. "Never-mind Neko-san," he looked at the local-time readout his AR lenses provided on his left wrist.
0858 : 09NOV2053
"Meh. Still time."
He poured himself another bowl of cereal.
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Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
A line of people snakes around the mall interior, many in costumes, nearly all excited for release of the long awaited revolution in entertainment.
But not all.
"Ami, why are we waiting in this line again? This is taking for-ever!"
"Usagi, because you forgot to pre-order, remember? We have to do a report on a Full-Dive experience for computer club and we all agreed to play Aincrad together."
The blond teenage heart-breaker quickly looked at the sidewalk and mumbled, "Only because you bullied us Ami."
"What's that?"
"But why does the line have to be so long, Ami?!"
"Because, this is the biggest game release of well, ever! You're lucky that we don't have to try to find you a Nerve-Gear, thanks to our school's computer-club providing them, they're just about sold out!"
"Isn't it weird that we're playing a game for school Ami?"
"Technically the Full-Dive report doesn't have to be on a game, but come on, why wouldn't we? I mean Full-Dive is going to be the future of more than just video games Usagi so they want us to get used to it."
"But we could shopping for boys Ami!"
Makoto, the taller of the trio friends, covered her face with her palm, then turned to the smaller, dark haired computer genius, "we *are* going to meet boys doing this, right?" as she elbowed her blond friend, "I guess Usagi is still single."
"Makoto!"
Ami, blushed and looked away quickly, too quickly, "Well, I did meet a guy in the Beta, he... helped me learn the shooting mechanics..."
"That's great Ami!" Makoto slapped her back.
"But I'm sure he has eyes only for another"
"That just means you have competition Ami, gotta get cut-throat!" Uasgi joined in.
At that moment, Rei's new boyfriend, the annoyingly aloof college student Mamoru tapped Usagi's shoulder.
"What is it you?" The blond girl ground out, successfully hiding her momentary blush.
"You're holding the line up" the aggravating man pointed at the empty space ahead of the chattering girls, and Usagi caught the annoyed glances from further back in the line.
"Eep!"
None of the girls noticed the black alley-cat with the curious fore-head marking watching them intently.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In another alleyway behind a Juban neighborhood arcade cum café that had seen better days, the same black-cat with a crescent moon shaped splotch of white on the forehead disappears within a dust-devil that appears from nowhere. When the swirling dust or perhaps mist dissipates moments later, the cat has been replaced with an attractive black hared lady of youngish to middling apparent age, wearing a neat uniform belonging to the arcade.
With a quick check to make sure she is unobserved, the young lady makes a complicated series of hand motions and growling sounds unfit for human vocal chords and without any other but that implausible cause, a door in the featureless alley-way appears, and the sable-headed maiden enters quickly.
"Ulthar!" the woman immediately yells at the ornate standing mirror in the otherwise shadowy dimensional pocket.
"Yes mistress?" a featureless face in the mirror appears to reply to the demand.
"Begin Akashic Database search, key words; Aincrad Online, Akihiko Kayaba, and Nerve Gear" she begins to pace in the small shadowy room, "I have a bad feeling about this, Ulthar, send a message to Artemis in Vienna, he needs to bring himself and V to Japan, we're going to need them, and, be careful, I believe I have identified several of the reborn Senshi, which means our enemies likely have as well."
"Displaying results." intoned the affectless voice of the Akashic Intelligence.
The already unearthly pale woman loses what little color she has in her face as the implications sink in.
"It's a trap!"
The horrified look on her face slowly changes one of grim determination. "Very well, Ulthar, engage security protocol Omega, I'm going to be in here a while, and bring forth the Dreaming Chair!"
"As you wish mistress, but are you sure about this course of action, you may be revealing your hand, as the humans say."
"It's OK Ulthar," she replies as she gracefully reclines in the gilded Chair that now shares the umbral space with her and the Mirror, lifting a strange silver filigree Crown onto her pale brow, "after all, on the Internet, no one knows you're a Cat!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
"What do you mean you have to leave Kouichirou? You were coming to my fencing meet!" the fierce brown haired girl with fists planted firmly on hips, looming over Yuuki Kouichirou's desk, glaring at him with hurt eyes.
"Business little-sister, business. I have to be in HK yesterday to re-sign some paperwork that RECT didn't get quite right the first time. I'm not happy about it either."
"You're just upset about missing the launch of your stupid game!" Asuna grumped at him.
"You cut me to the quick sister mine" Kouichirou gave her his best hurt face, "I promise, I'll make it up to you when I get back."
"You better! It's not like Mom or Dad ever come."
Kouichirou wiped away his AR workspace, got up from the desk, and wrapped his sister in a hug. "I know A-ko, I know."
"Jerk, you know I hate it when you call me that." she said without any heat behind the words.
"Yep. Tell you what, since I can't, why don't you try out my Nerve Gear while I'm gone."
"You know Mother hates 'insipid wastes of time that rot the brain' big brother."
"Yes. Yes she does. And what's more delicious fruit than doing it anyway? Come on Asuna, you've jumped through all her hoops, even stopped cooking, because it was 'beneath the dignity of your station'. Live a little sister mine."
Asuna giggled, "Very well brother mine, for you."
Kouichirou looked at the clock, decided that he still had time, then leaned foward to whisper in her ear. "I have something to tell you."
"What?" Asuna whispered back.
"You're it." Then he ran.
"Kouichirou!!"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Millions of people across the world say the fateful words, "link, start!"
And somewhere, the thing wearing the skin of Akihiko Kayaba smiles wider than any human has any right to do.
"Show time."
Laser/Sword Online 1.0
“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but an immense altar on which every living thing must be sacrificed without end, without restraint, without respite until the consummation of the world, the extinction of evil, the death of death.”
--Joseph de Maistre
“The whole earth, perpetually steeped in blood, is nothing but an immense altar on which every living thing must be sacrificed without end, without restraint, without respite until the consummation of the world, the extinction of evil, the death of death.”
--Joseph de Maistre
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Somewhere
Somewhen
Men and horses and, other things, shouted, cried out, roared, screamed, and died. Blood soaked into the ashen earth, staining it an muddy ochre; pounded and churned and kneaded by thundering artillery, the whine and tinkle of the shell-shrapnel a constant accent to the vast collective rumble of the battle. Machine guns rattled out in a rolling tattoo, scything down the shambling things in their relentless, mindless advance. The land of that vast plateau was an utterly bleak, barren, and blasted wasteland, the only feature aside from vast miles of trenches and wire was the vast cyclopean ziggurat that dominated every horizon, drawing the eye and the mind with whispering, impossible angles.
Behind the lines, at the top of an observation tower from which droop tattered and faded banners of a thousand armies, the generals gathered in their masses around the tall, handsome, and severe figure standing at the head of a round table; sandy, shortly trimmed but curly hair framing a thin but pleasant face with a noble hawkish nose and bright shining golden-yellow flecks in his otherwise golden-brown single eye, his second orb obscured by a piratical black patch, this, the man once known as Georgius of Lydda.
++General Mab, your Fauns may not fall back from their positions, the Tsang salient must not just hold, we must expand it, the Lengim are close to breaking and the way to the Dragon's Lair is within our grasp. We must finish this campaign at last.++
"Knight Of Adam, my war-herds have bled themselves white taking that ground, they cannot hold" A cold, cruel voice from a cold cruel face, blue lips twisted into a dismissive sneer, raven black hair framing flesh too pale, features sharp and angular as ice.
++I will commit additional reserves++
"From where oh Night of Hubris? Have you not noticed how your own Choosers have brought you fewer and fewer Chosen every passing season? Your precious Empire is fallen, and their successors, your children are sunken into hedonistic excess, too numb to even *Dream* any more!"
++Your Silver Helms...++
A single molten golden glance silenced the incipient sneering objection from the Ice Queen to his left.
++...And my Reichsguard, they have reformed and integrated with their new replacements from the last great harvest. General von Ungern, see to it, you may attach Major Potter's Specials for this task.++
A cold smile shewed the approval of the Lady Winter as both she and the grandly mustachioed general hailed their liege and marched out of the room, and after a gesture of dismissal, the remaining officers all followed suit, all save one.
++Major van Pieterzoon?++
"She's right you know, the witch"
A single handsome eyebrow raised.
"About the waking world. They're not ready, they're nowhere near. While you've been here all these centuries..." at the second raised eyebrow the mild looking man blanched and quickly amended "...as necessary as it is, the institutions you left behind in His service have all fallen one by one into darkness and corruption. Merchants rule the waking world now, first whetting the bottomless appetites of the masses, then satiating them, for a time, all the while wrapping chains of obligation and debt about their necks..."
++I know.++
"... And if that wasn't enough now they're drilling in Antarctica and obviously that's just a cover; they're looking for IT and if they find it, you know what THEY will do! And and and, wait, what?"
++I know. I have a task for you, my good and faithful servant.++
"At your command Sire!"
++You will liquidate sufficient of our assets to obtain a controlling share of the Orochi Group, and through them, their subsidiaries Argus and RECT. You will green-light Kayaba's project and push it to a world-wide release.++
"Of course my Lord, but may I ask"
++The details are all here++ the Golden Man handed the Plain Man a thick accordion file, ++all the contingencies and background++
Flipping through the pages, the long suffering man known as van Pieterzoon visible paled further, his visage becoming almost ghostly, shocked to the core at the enormity of what his liege would conceive, would do, would risk.
++They're not ready. We must make them ready. The hour grows late, we have little time remaining us.++
A growing clanking rumble caught van Pieterzoon's attention, it grew and grew until dust rained down from the overhead cover of the observation deck, the tramping of heavy steps growing underneath the growling sound. "What the deuce is that milord?" Pieterzoon queried of the Golden Man while he walked to the edge, stuffing the damning, dangerous papers back into place in their file. Looking down he saw row after row of new armored fighting vehicles rolling past, "They look like those T-14 Armatas the Russians are so proud of" he mused to himself, and behind the ranks of tanks, marched files of eight foot tall giants clad head to foot in sleek, futuristic armor of some kind, with weapons to scale, magazine fed grenade launchers?
"My Lord, what is all this in service of?" The sudden change of perspective obviously derailing the good Major's train of thought, wavering from near despair to sudden hope in the span of a short conversation.
"The future."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2050 AD, 3 BA
Kayaba Akihiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry as he fumbled for the key card for his apartment. His emotions surged, a tempestuous turmoil; he wanted to leap up and click his heals, he wanted to shout and weep and curse the world all at once.
Who the hell are Adler Corp? Who cares? They want to proceed with my Aincrad! And the Nerve Gear gen2! They're putting money behind it! Piles and piles of money. Damn but that was a lot of money for a new IP video game on an unproven platform. Something seemed too good to be true about it all, but Kayaba shrugged off the disquiet.
"This is going to happen" he narrated to himself, "It's really happening!"
And they wanted a world-wide release! Oh the additional localization hours, oh no, we'll need to dust off those voice translation algorithms... But the worst, the absolutely worst thing was that they wanted editorial control, and where already demanding changes. Instead of a purely Fantasy theme, Adler was demanding a Science-Fantasy theme, Aincrad was no longer a floating black iron castle, but now a vast space-station hidden in the eye of Jupiter...
At last, the door clicked open, and Kayaba laughed long hard, yes this could work. This way we can recycle assets from both of the gen1 games we've released; remix Alfheim with GunGale and Bob's your uncle!
Click. Click. Click, click, click. The lights stubbornly refused to come on.
"Oh well," Kayaba thought to himself, "nothing to get bent about, I'm not going to let something like that ruin the best day of my life, just need to call the super..."
His cell phone was a blank brick, absolutely dead and unresponsive. "The hell?" Kasyaba voiced aloud to the empty and dark apartment. The air seemed oppressive, he started sweating for no reason and with an aggravated sigh, loosened his tie and undid the top collar button so he could breathe. "Why is it so dark in here, I'm on the twenty-third floor and the sun was shining when I came in..."
Suddenly the phone started vibrating, "Incoming Call" displayed on the suddenly working screen.
"Hello?"
"I̷—̵s̵e̴e̷—̶y̷o̶u̶" the voice oozed and echoed and wormed into Kayaba's mind, it hurt, it burned, he wanted to throw up, he wanted throw the mobile away, smash it against the wall, scream and run, but he couldn't, he couldn't move, his muscles had all suddenly clenched up, frozen in place like the proverbial deer in the proverbial headlights.
"Now see here, I don't have time for prank ca..." Kayaba struggled with suddenly bone-dry tongue to dress down his prank caller, but there was something about the voice, it echoed horribly and what was that buzzing? Is that blood coming out of my nose?
"S̵i̶l̸e̸n̷c̸e̸!̵—̷s̷0̷n̶—̴o̴f̵—̷4̴d̵a̸m̶—̸I̴—̶S̶E̶E̷—̵Y̸O̵U̸.̷" Kayaba collapsed like puppet with its strings cut, his heels drumming out a beat on the apartment's tile floor. "W̸̫̖̦̿̂ḛ̴͋—̶̺͚̓̀̄Ạ̸͕͎̒́̚r̵̩̽̅̊e̶̺͒͊—̶̭̗̏ȁ̴͚̼͉̍̅b̷̨͝r̵̭͙͉͆̉͝ọ̴̧̏ä̶̯̝̦́ḏ̸̳̔—̵͙̌͝a̸͉̦̥̿͘n̸̬̳̔́͋ͅḍ̶̏́̔—̷̨͐l̵͚͕̹̏̅͛o̵̺͆̏̑ǫ̵̑̓s̶̤̓̓ẽ̴͉̠̹—̴̨̌ȁ̵̝̱̕ṅ̵͈̲̙͝ḑ̵̦̱͒̃—̵̨̮͉̏̓͂ẅ̶͓́ȉ̵̤ĺ̶̜͙͉ḹ̶̪̋̏—̸̙̋N̸̳̖̿O̴̬͐T̴̮̉—̴̘͇̀b̶̩̙̒͐͋ĕ̸̡̛̼̳—̸̼͚̄͝ṕ̵̲̚û̵̻͕̊͜t̶̯̠̫͂—̸͇͉̒b̶͕̞̄̀̑a̴͍̎̑c̸͕̊̊k̸̦̯̈́͂͗;̶͍̘̋͗ ̵̠̳͓̓̄͘Ỳ̶̛̻͑Ö̶̳̭́̔͐Ṵ̴̟̎̍̏—̵͉̼͑͆̂c̴͓̐̃a̴̘͑̂ṇ̵͕͓͆ǹ̷͈̪̼ỏ̵̱t̶̬̥͍͐—̵̨̨̛̀s̴̘͗̈́ͅt̷̲͚̅̽a̵̺̾͝͠n̸̡̗͛d̵͔̙̦̈̂́—̷͎̱̈́̀a̶̟͚̓̈̿g̶͙̦̮̔̊ȧ̶̞̥͘͠i̵̙̞͋̈́n̸̛̤̥̄͒͜s̴̺͐t̸͙̥̕—̴͕̩̉ͅu̶͍̪̓s̸̛̳͖—̷̠̗͊Y̶̨͉͗͒̀ͅŌ̵̮͆ͅǗ̸̧̢̕ͅ-̴̙͂̏Â̴̤̄R̶̛͈͕͓͒͒Ẽ̴̲͂ ̴̺̒̋T̸̡̾̅4̷̛̘ͅK̴̬͊̓E̸̝̿͌͋N̵͚̆̉—̸͉̻̖̆̍͠y̴̰̤̫̆́̐0̵̤̾̓̕u̴͇͔̳̍͛—̵̛̙̜̔͜4̷̺̰̯̓r̶̮͆̽E̷̞̿͛͝-̷̞̭̦̊M̶̢͇̆̈́1̸̙̭̔͗͘͜N̸̩̜̐͛E̵̢̡̖͝.̵̫̯͒"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Traitor's Tomb, Level 10, Aincrad (BETA)
2052 AD, 1 BA
"Well, shit" thought Kirito as he flew through the air toward the wall of the Traitor Lord's burial chamber, slamming into said wall in a great cloud of dust and crushed plaster and paint, ancient hieroglyphic wall paintings cracking and crumbling around him as he found his point of view zoned out to the <<stunned lobby>>, he could only watch as the unconscious body of his avatar slid down the wall to slump in a crumpled heap at the bottom. From the over-sized sarcophagus that Kirito had been investigating, a giant bronze skeleton covered in highly stylized and elegantly decorative armor emerges, green corpse-fire burning from gaping eye sockets. Above his head the HUD displaying a name in deep purple-black with a skull icon denoting an over-leveled boss along with four HP bars and two shield bars; <<Nephren-Ka the Traitor Lord>>.
"Foolish mortals, I will wear your skins for this trespass."
"Scouts, get Kirito! Heavies, open him up! Tanks, let's get that agro! Sweepers, look out for adds! Let's do this!" The player in the bright blue <<Makeshift Power Armor>> slams a full helm over his head and readies a <<Super-Sledge>>, the name-plate hovering over his head reads <<Blue_Diavel>>.
Several rockets lance out, exploding in showers of flame and shrapnel, and with the echoing sounds of shattering glass, Nephren-Ka staggers, his blue shield bars completely emptied. And then machine guns open up, streams of tracers converging on the towering boss, ricochets whining away threateningly, the bullet streams only break off as the Tank group reaches assault range. The heavy armor users charge in to get the Bosses' agro, weapons flashing.
The first indication that something has gone wrong with the plan is when the beaked head of Nephren-Ka's appropriately giant-sized <<Great Maat'Tok>> emerges from Diavel's back in a welter of gore, then adding contemptuous insult to mortal injury, the Maat'Tok's head forcibly flowers open and with a sickening wet crunch, tearing Diavel's body into several bloody chunks, throwing them to either side of the line of Tanks, showering the rest of them with bits and comically exaggerated blood spray. Finally with a sound like lightning in a bottle, a bolt of corpse-green plasma impacts among the Heavies, throwing several aside and killing two out-right. And then the scarabs emerged from cracks in the walls and several more players are reduced to <<Remain Lights>> timers ticking down.
As the wheels comes off the raid's initial plan, a cloaked figure makes the final rush to Kirito's crumpled form, quickly applying a <<Stim-Pack>> to awaken the stunned player and restore most of his lost HP. Freed from the shadowy <<Stunned Limbo>> Kirito can sit up and grin at his rescuer, "Thanks Argo".
"Any time Kii-bou!"
"I told you not call me that Rat-chan. What are we going to do about this mess then?"
The goggled girl with whiskers painted on her face pouted, "Ahhh, you're no fun Kirito-solo, anyway, when I give the signal, Sinon will hit its face with her sniper, and you and I will exploit any opening, and then we hope everyone else plays into it."
"Well that's much of a plan, is it?"
Argo shrugs eloquently in her camouflage cloak and smock, reloading her favored <<Salvaged AKS-74U>> with another of her extended 45-round magazines, "Nope! Ready?"
Kirito sighed heavily, then nodded his head, encased in the red-eyed <<Scavenged Ranger-Helmet>> which provided buffs to low-light vision, detection, poison, and rad resistances. At his nod, Argo reaches up to the radio mic hanging on her web-gear, and clicks the send button three times.
The effect of the signal is immediate, with a great bang and the golden-yellow muzzle flash of a <<Ballistic Skill>> user invoking a <<Skill Shot>>, Sinon, in her position on the far side of the boss-room, opens up with her <<Makeshift Anti-Tank Rifle>>, the 14.5mmAP round impacting in Nephren-Ka's face, wiping out an entire health-bar, red damage pop-up surrounded by critical-hit and weak-point markers. Turning her head she shouts at her fire-teammate, "Just keep those scarabs off me Spiegel!"
"Easier said than done!" he shouts back, squeezing another burp from his <<Used PPSh-41>>, "I'm already on my second drum!" In the corner of his vision he can see a screaming player, swarmed by bronze scarabs go under the swarm, wet crunching sounds echoing horribly. Movement, turn, burrrrrrrp, click, "fuck!"
A stream of wind driven razor-sharp ice drives back the scarabs about to leap onto a screaming Spiegel, fighting to get a sidearm clear of a clumsy holster, "Hurry and reload ess-mhm-gee-san, we have to keep sniper-san covered!", the cute raven-hared caster in high-heeled boots and robes, the sparking of her overloaded <<Kerukeion-Wand>> spell-catalyst making her face shine and taking his breath away, he whispers her screen-name, <<Hermietta>> to himself like a talisman, before he scrambles to get his 'papasha' back into action.
Across the boss-room, on the raised dais supporting the massive sarcophagus, the metallic giant bronze skeleton labeled Nephren-Ka staggers back, baleful-burning eyes locked on the sniper who rocked him, Maat'Tok rising into line with his tormentor, who can be seen visibly struggling with the massive turn-bolt of the over-sized anti-tank rifle.
Kirito, already up and running, brown duster streaming behind him, singing <<Bastard Vibro-Blade>> already drawn and shimmering at high pitch, and <<Salvaged Colt Delta>> thrust out straight-armed in off hand, point shooting as he rushes impossibly fast, then, while sprinting full tilt, triggering the <<Acrobat's Edge>> skill, letting himself get carried in a massive leap and driving his high-frequency blade high up into the Traitor Lord's back, planting his feet and hanging on while twisting his blade and emptying what is left of his magazine at point blank range in one smooth motion.
"Focus Fire on the boss! Burn him down!" Argo cries out as Nephren-Ka stumbles backwards clutching awkwardly at the Kirito shaped pest latched onto his back. Taking her own advice she takes a supported firing position behind a pile of rubble and starts hammering the target with long bursts, her shorty AK making a thunderclap noise and fireball of muzzle flash. Movement in the corner of her eye, a glance, a short, sharp hissed intake of breath, "Kirito! Incoming!" she screams as the smoking trail of an anti-tank grenade rocket streaks across her vision.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Taft, Level 11, Aincrad (BETA)
2052 AD, 1 BA
"Kanpai!"
"Cheers!"
"Prost!"
"Drink-Hail!"
Cries of good-cheer and victory in every tongue, clanking tankards, and laughter filled the common room of the Prancing Pony Inn, located just off the plaza containing the <<Mega Road>> teleportation-gate the Raid Party had just unlocked, allowing for their re-spawned casualties to catch up and enjoy the party. Everyone was remarking on how steep the difficulty curve of this game was, and this was just the Beta.
"Oh man the gore in full-dive is something else, how are they going to get this past the ratings boards?"
"I could feel those damn scarabs eating me man, not cool!"
"Make sure you meet up with me on release day!"
"You ain't never lyin' brah, wouldn't miss it for the world!"
"Can't believe this is it, last night of the Beta, how will I survive the wait?"
Sitting at the table with his <<Midnight Sun Rangers>>, Kirito smiled at the shenanigans around him. IRL he had his nerves and anxieties, but here he wasn't Kirigaya Kazuto, self-conscious adopted-son and awkward college-nerd; here he was <<Kirito>> leader of men, slayer of dragons, clearer of dungeons. In fact the confidence boost from excelling in the competitive rankings in <<Aincrad Online>> and moving out of the house for college and doing well there, well, he had finally made his peace with the fact of his adoption and his adopt... no real family, the only one he has ever known. He was even helping Suguha with her Kendo and her homework.
Life was good.
"Penny for your thoughts, leader-san?" Argo smirked at him, "Why so serious?"
"Just thinking I'd like us all to stay in touch, you guys want to re-form the fire-team after release, right?"
"Of course!" exclaimed Shinon, "I'll make us a web-site, we're learning about HTML and CSS in my class!"
"If Shinon is in, I'm in" added Spiegel, "but don't do all that, I'll set us up a discord server."
"No doubt!" added Agil, thumping his over-sized stein down on the table.
Argo just rolled her eyes and gave Kirito a thumb's up.
Kirito stood up, raising his tankard, "To the Rangers, to us, to Aincrad!"
"Kampai!"
Kirito noticed Diavel approaching and waved him over, "Diavel! Way to go down first!"
The blue-haired devil himself-himself crosses his arms and looks off to his left shoulder in mock indignation, before laughing and slapping Kirito on the back, "This from our resident Ranger-Shinobi who got turned into chunky salsa by friendly fire? Not very stealthy of you."
Kirito rubbed the top of his head, "yeah got carried away trying for that last attack bonus, who got it anyway?"
"Ah, some American team, husband and wife I think, 'Jedidiah' and 'IceHeart' wasn't it?"
"Wait, not the Jedidiah and IceHeart from Gun Gale?" Agil interjected.
Kirito raised an eyebrow, "Heard of them?"
Agil looked thoughtful, "Well, lot of the jar-heads at our café play GG, and they talk, a lot, those two where finalists in the last Ballet of Bullets I think, and they have a popular you-tube gun channel. Course, young miss Sinon here aught to know."
A suddenly shy and blushing Sinon suddenly found the wall very interesting, very interesting indeed.
"Sinon?" Kirito asked.
Agil grinned, "Didn't you know Boss? You got yourself a genuine champeen on your team, you're looking at the winner of the last BoB. Snipered down both gaijin, in the face! I suppose it was probably better that way, I mean, who really wins when a married couple end up in a duel to the death?"
Kirito looked over at the now fiery-cheeked sniper who was studying the floor and smiled. "That's nothing to be shy about Sinon, heck with a record like that you could be the leader!"
"Don't tease me like that, I like my support role, I like playing with you guys, but this game is what I do to relax, I'm trying to keep the competition confined to GG. That's why I changed my name, what gave me away Agil?"
"No offense, but there aren't that many female crack snipers playing full-dive VR games, and going from 'SineQnon' to 'Sinon' wasn't a big leap."
Sinon sighed explosively and threw up her hands, palms up in an eloquent shrug, "Got me."
Agil laughed, long and hard, a pleasant if deep and booming sound. "Heheheh, what are you guys doing for dinner? It's what 5pm Tokyo time? You could drop by the café for..."
Kirito jumped to his feet "5pm! Shit, I promised my little sister I'd take her out, shit shit shit, ja ne!" and with that there was an audible thump and suddenly no Kirito at the table.
Sinon rolled her eyes and looked up, letting lose a long suffering sigh at the ceiling, "baka."
The laughter of the friends echoed out into the dark torch-lit city of Taft. In the shadows across the main avenue, in a dark-shrouded alleyway, two glowing red slits narrowed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From: A.Mills@dicey.net
To: K.Kirigaya@utokyo.edu
Subject: Creepy Beta End
Well that was weird; after you took off, a bunch of us stayed up to the midnight closure of the Beta and well, first there was world shattering bell tolling midnight, I mean end of the world LOUD. Then we all got shifted to that in between space, you know like when you're down and waiting for revive or knocked out? And we all saw the same thing, this creepy little goth-loli man, and she carrying a fuck-off huge glaive, and had this smile that's just... not right you know? Next thing we know she's cutting us to pieces and laughing, and then she just says one word before we get the **Session Terminated** screen, she says, 'Silence.'.
WTF Man? You pick up anything in the lore?
-Agil
From: K.Kirigaya@utokyo.edu
To: A.Mills@dicey.net
Subject: Re: Creepy Beta End
Try this.
Cronus - Wikipedia
-Kirito
From: A.Mills@dicey.net
To: K.Kirigaya@utokyo.edu
Subject: Re: Re: Creepy Beta End
Nope! Sorry I asked. Greeks be weird man.
See you in Aincrad!
-Agil
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Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
In Kirito's apartment, the smart-wall was showing a popular gaming web-cast.
"And now, in an MMO.TV exclusive, and special treat for gaming enthusiasts everywhere, please welcome, VR pioneer, inventor of the wireless microwave neural-link, founder of Argus Software, publisher's of hit Full-Dive titles Alfheim and Gun Gale Online, Akihiko Kayaba!" The hostess, eye-candy and fan-favorite for her cosplay videos, Mayumi, was in rare form, demure but energetic at once.
The studio audience goes nuts, the entire world is fully aboard the Aincrad Online hype-train, fully stoked by a world-wide marketing blitz. Wolf-whistles, cheers, cries of 'we love you' and 'Star-Citizen Online, eat your heart out!' could be heard. When Kayaba appeared not on stage, but in a picture-in-picture AR window to the host's right, floating in front of the usual guest chair, the disapointment was palpable, but subdued, and in a few moments, the crowd settled down.
"Mr. Kayaba, first of all, thank you for taking time out of your no doubt full and busy schedule to speak with us, I'm sure release day must be a very busy time for you and your company."
"No no no, Mayumi-chan, it is no problem at all, in fact its very nice to take a break every once and a while from the pre-release crunch." Kayaba pushes his glasses back into position, but the circles under his eyes are just visible, despite the glare from the reflecting lenses, and the stubble on his chin is quite plain to see.
"Does that mean there will be a day-one patch Kayaba-san?"
"Yes it does, but Argus remains committed to making the best, most-immersive full-dive experience yet, Aincrad will not be a game one merely plays, but a game one Lives. And besides, we wouldn't want our returning Beta-testers to have too much of an advantage over retail players, so we have paid extra attention to re-working the first 12 levels or so, trust me, players who relay overmuch on Beta experiences will have many surprises in store for them."
"But I'm given to understand that Aincrad is shaping up to be more than just a particularly immersive and massive full-dive game?"
"That's right right Miz Mayumi, I'm pleased to announce that Orochi Entertainment, our parent company, is expanding the Aincrad experience with light novels, manga, a feature length live action movie and more yet to come. In fact, I believe I'm allowed to say this, we've signed renowned novelist Sutter Caine to write the novelization of the Main Quest."
"Very exciting! I notice that spin off PC or console titles aren't on your list?"
"Correct, Argus is committed to moving forward not back, we firmly believe that Full-Dive is the future of gaming, full-stop."
"So what would say to disappointed fans who might blame your acquisition of Bethesda Softworks for ending any change of Fallout Online?"
"Well Mayumi, I would say that after the failure of Skyrim Online, the chances of FOOL, as we like to call it, well let's just say they weren't good. As I'm sure eagle eyed fans are aware, the game-play footage released at last year's E3 showed several mechanics and even content easter-eggs pointing to connections between Aincrad and the world of Fallout, so who's to say what our follow up title will be? I should also add, that the North American and European server farms we acquired in that deal have been instrumental in making this a world-wide release."
"And what would you say regarding the controversies your work has engendered?"
"Whatever do you mean Mayumi-chan?"
"I mean the work Argus has done developing training simulations for the JSDF and other militaries? Or your sponsorship of high-school computer clubs? Or perhaps the complaints from Mothers Against Virtual Entrapment?"
"Why I'm not sure why charity and civic involvement would ever be contro..."
"And let's not forget the public outcry over young people world-wide over those unfortunate incidents of teens..."
"Yes, yes, unfortunate incidents of young people developing addictions and turning to crime to pay for it. Well, as I'm sure you know, Argus has been at the forefront of providing counseling and addition treatments for Full-Drive Dependency Syndrome, and well, don't you think we have to ask, why is it our young-people feel so alienated that they seek to lose themselves, completely, in another reality?"
"And that's all the time we have, please give Mr. Kayaba an MMO.TV good-bye!"
"Off." Kirito rolled his eyes, "no one cares about that touchy-feely stuff, people just want to have some fun taking risks, even if virtually, that's why Full-Dive VR gaming is exploding, larger than all other categories but uber-casual candy-crush shit. You can't even manually drive your car anymore, sheesh." His cat just looked at him silently. "Never-mind Neko-san," he looked at the local-time readout his AR lenses provided on his left wrist.
0858 : 09NOV2053
"Meh. Still time."
He poured himself another bowl of cereal.
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Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
A line of people snakes around the mall interior, many in costumes, nearly all excited for release of the long awaited revolution in entertainment.
But not all.
"Ami, why are we waiting in this line again? This is taking for-ever!"
"Usagi, because you forgot to pre-order, remember? We have to do a report on a Full-Dive experience for computer club and we all agreed to play Aincrad together."
The blond teenage heart-breaker quickly looked at the sidewalk and mumbled, "Only because you bullied us Ami."
"What's that?"
"But why does the line have to be so long, Ami?!"
"Because, this is the biggest game release of well, ever! You're lucky that we don't have to try to find you a Nerve-Gear, thanks to our school's computer-club providing them, they're just about sold out!"
"Isn't it weird that we're playing a game for school Ami?"
"Technically the Full-Dive report doesn't have to be on a game, but come on, why wouldn't we? I mean Full-Dive is going to be the future of more than just video games Usagi so they want us to get used to it."
"But we could shopping for boys Ami!"
Makoto, the taller of the trio friends, covered her face with her palm, then turned to the smaller, dark haired computer genius, "we *are* going to meet boys doing this, right?" as she elbowed her blond friend, "I guess Usagi is still single."
"Makoto!"
Ami, blushed and looked away quickly, too quickly, "Well, I did meet a guy in the Beta, he... helped me learn the shooting mechanics..."
"That's great Ami!" Makoto slapped her back.
"But I'm sure he has eyes only for another"
"That just means you have competition Ami, gotta get cut-throat!" Uasgi joined in.
At that moment, Rei's new boyfriend, the annoyingly aloof college student Mamoru tapped Usagi's shoulder.
"What is it you?" The blond girl ground out, successfully hiding her momentary blush.
"You're holding the line up" the aggravating man pointed at the empty space ahead of the chattering girls, and Usagi caught the annoyed glances from further back in the line.
"Eep!"
None of the girls noticed the black alley-cat with the curious fore-head marking watching them intently.
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In another alleyway behind a Juban neighborhood arcade cum café that had seen better days, the same black-cat with a crescent moon shaped splotch of white on the forehead disappears within a dust-devil that appears from nowhere. When the swirling dust or perhaps mist dissipates moments later, the cat has been replaced with an attractive black hared lady of youngish to middling apparent age, wearing a neat uniform belonging to the arcade.
With a quick check to make sure she is unobserved, the young lady makes a complicated series of hand motions and growling sounds unfit for human vocal chords and without any other but that implausible cause, a door in the featureless alley-way appears, and the sable-headed maiden enters quickly.
"Ulthar!" the woman immediately yells at the ornate standing mirror in the otherwise shadowy dimensional pocket.
"Yes mistress?" a featureless face in the mirror appears to reply to the demand.
"Begin Akashic Database search, key words; Aincrad Online, Akihiko Kayaba, and Nerve Gear" she begins to pace in the small shadowy room, "I have a bad feeling about this, Ulthar, send a message to Artemis in Vienna, he needs to bring himself and V to Japan, we're going to need them, and, be careful, I believe I have identified several of the reborn Senshi, which means our enemies likely have as well."
"Displaying results." intoned the affectless voice of the Akashic Intelligence.
The already unearthly pale woman loses what little color she has in her face as the implications sink in.
"It's a trap!"
The horrified look on her face slowly changes one of grim determination. "Very well, Ulthar, engage security protocol Omega, I'm going to be in here a while, and bring forth the Dreaming Chair!"
"As you wish mistress, but are you sure about this course of action, you may be revealing your hand, as the humans say."
"It's OK Ulthar," she replies as she gracefully reclines in the gilded Chair that now shares the umbral space with her and the Mirror, lifting a strange silver filigree Crown onto her pale brow, "after all, on the Internet, no one knows you're a Cat!"
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Setagaya City, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
"What do you mean you have to leave Kouichirou? You were coming to my fencing meet!" the fierce brown haired girl with fists planted firmly on hips, looming over Yuuki Kouichirou's desk, glaring at him with hurt eyes.
"Business little-sister, business. I have to be in HK yesterday to re-sign some paperwork that RECT didn't get quite right the first time. I'm not happy about it either."
"You're just upset about missing the launch of your stupid game!" Asuna grumped at him.
"You cut me to the quick sister mine" Kouichirou gave her his best hurt face, "I promise, I'll make it up to you when I get back."
"You better! It's not like Mom or Dad ever come."
Kouichirou wiped away his AR workspace, got up from the desk, and wrapped his sister in a hug. "I know A-ko, I know."
"Jerk, you know I hate it when you call me that." she said without any heat behind the words.
"Yep. Tell you what, since I can't, why don't you try out my Nerve Gear while I'm gone."
"You know Mother hates 'insipid wastes of time that rot the brain' big brother."
"Yes. Yes she does. And what's more delicious fruit than doing it anyway? Come on Asuna, you've jumped through all her hoops, even stopped cooking, because it was 'beneath the dignity of your station'. Live a little sister mine."
Asuna giggled, "Very well brother mine, for you."
Kouichirou looked at the clock, decided that he still had time, then leaned foward to whisper in her ear. "I have something to tell you."
"What?" Asuna whispered back.
"You're it." Then he ran.
"Kouichirou!!"
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Millions of people across the world say the fateful words, "link, start!"
And somewhere, the thing wearing the skin of Akihiko Kayaba smiles wider than any human has any right to do.
"Show time."
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