Justin nodded, “Yes. You had a meeting with Gamer G and then left to find Nova.”
“Why wouldn’t I check in with you first if I were going on a mission like that?”
“You were going on about something being wrong, and you then started raving about how this world is somehow wrong and that Gamer G is a villain. I was worried about you. Then, you left after confronting Gamer G, told him you’d find Nova who would prove you right. Since then, you’ve been absent.”
“You didn’t think to look for me?” Alex asked, a little hurt inside.
“I was worried about you. But, I thought maybe you just needed to blow off steam, fly around and clear your head. Everything is so peaceful. I wasn’t worried you’d get hurt. Besides, you might find Nova.”
Alex said, “Gamer G revealed to me he and Drocha are behind this world. It is a simulation, a technological dream we are all connected with. I was partially disconnected by... well, it’s a long story. I was tapped into reality. When he realized I knew something was wrong, he used a kill-code for me, which he has on every human connected to this. He tried to give me a heart attack in the real world, but the real Nova on the real station with doctors helped me survive. I’m back to convince you this is all fake.”
Justin shook his head with a sympathetic look. “I had really hoped that time away would have cleared your head. Your delusions are getting worse. Dr. Henderson said this might happen.”
“I’m not delusional. I’ve been out of this simulation. The real world is in awful shape. Billions of humans are out there, laying on the ground and dying. Their bodies are decaying as they live in this false reality. This is why everyone is so tired and hungry all the time, their physical bodies are withering away. The few who didn’t get sucked into this are trying to save the few they can. If we don’t break this, it will be the death of the human race.”
Justin clicked his comm, “Justin to...”
Alex could see the blue color of the button. It was a signal for the medical bay. He cast a minor spell and Justin’s comm unit flew off his arm. “No. Don’t call Dr. Henderson, or anyone else. If I’m found out, then Gamer G could hit the kill switch for everyone. You have to believe me.”
“How can I believe you? This world feels as real as ever. I feel pain, I feel happiness, I breathe, I sleep, I wake. This has to be real.”
Alex huffed. “I should have taken time to consider how to convince you.”
“You aren’t doing a great job. Nothing you’ve said adds up.”
“It does. Billions of... wait... this simulation only contains the people connected to it. They are all real people.”
“So you’ve said.” Justin inched toward his comm uni on the floor.
Alex smiled. “How many humans have been born in the past three years?”
Justin paused. “I don’t know.”
“The BADGE sensor net keeps track of the population numbers. It has a daily update. Ask it.”
Justin cocked his head, still inching toward his comm device. “If what you say is true, then the simulation can fake that.”
“No, that’s the beauty of this simulation. It is so precise and real that you and everyone else inside will see no flaw. It works just like the real world, down to the last computer chip on this station. All you have to do is ask how many people have been born.”
“What, exactly, would this prove?” Justin asked.
“Indulge me. Please. Just ask it.”
Justin tapped a computer terminal on the meeting table. “BADGE system, give me a population growth number for the past three years.”
“Sensors indicate that the population of Planet Earth in 2025 was 8,005,176,516, the current population of Planet Earth in 2028 is 8,005,176,516.”
Justin tapped the screen, running the sensor data from the last few scans by. Each one had the same number. “This... this is impossible. No one has been born, no one has died in three years? Our sensors must be wrong... but they can’t be. This is a multi-vector sensor system, with over five hundred fail-safe programs. But, I... this... how?” He looked up at Alex. “How did you know?”
“Because we‘ve not been in here for three years, only a few days. Time moves faster for us to make us more comfortable with the situation. There is no way that anyone can die or be born in here. This is not real. Everyone will die soon if we don’t end this.”
Justin held his head. He sunk down into a chair and started breathing heavier. “This can’t be true. I don’t understand how it could have happened.”
“Think about it. If ren wear controlled everyone’s minds and put us in this program, what would happen to our bodies? We would feel weak, hungry, tired. What plague has been spreading across the planet? Insatiable hunger, inexplicable tiredness.”
“If this is true, why?” Justin asked.
Alex expected this question, knowing it would be the first he’d be asked. “Drocha and Gamer G are using the combined brains of humanity to create a powerful, hyper-sophisticated AI algorithm. Drocha is developing a highly advanced computer system for his new Legion. In one fell swoop, Drocha will eradicate humanity, including most of the heroes, and develop some strange computer system that is beyond anything ever created before.”
Justin whispered, “You have my attention, but I don’t know if I can accept this. I want to... but I just can’t.”
Alex said, “I have to find something... wait, Krystal.”
“What?”
Alex waved his hand in the air, and a small portal opened. It looked down on Krystal at home with the baby. “My wife and child.”
Justin gasped, “Krystal... who is… no, I know her. How do I know her…. I remember her... oh, my head.” His face sunk into his palm as he processed this.
Gamer G paced around the operations center. There was a serious giddiness in his gut about being in command of BADGE. Growing up with comic books made this his childhood dream. Though, he was fully aware of how often it was BADGE that put the stop in his criminal activities. Also, this wasn’t the real BADGE. But he put all the reality of the situation aside and played out heroic scenarios in his mind as the commander of an elite superhero fighting force.
For a moment, he imagined an invading force of aliens attacking the Earth. He was giving the command to mobilize the heroes, activate the laser turrets on the station, and send out all the fighter robots.
“Gamer!” Drocha’s voice interrupted his illusion.
He turned around twice, not finding anyone, or any holographic screen, near him. “Uh, hello? Where are you?”
“I’m in your head, you idiot. We need to talk.”
Gamer said, “Give me a minute, I’m in command of the station and...”
“IT’S A SIMULATION! GET INTO THE OFFICE NOW!”
Fortunately, none of the robots paid attention to the wincing and cringing of Gamer as he heard the loud bellowing in one ear. “Okay, okay, don’t lose your nuts, man.” He casually looked over at a robot and said, “Tell Justin that I had an important thing to deal with.”
“Understood.” The robot replied.
Gamer G. walked into the office and locked the door. He tapped the desk’s invisible button that activated the visual comm signal outside of the simulation. Drocha’s holographic head appeared in the room. Gamer rolled his eyes as he asked, “What’s got your underwear in a twist?”
“Show some respect,” Drocha barked.
“Fine. What is it?”
“The bio-computer just realized a tiny fluctuation in the data stream. The bio-computer detected a .00007 variance.”
Gamer G. scoffed, “Seven hundred thousandth of a percent is hardly anything to worry about.”
“We have only had two other variances in the system, when Nova detached himself and when you executed Alex Fae Murphy. This system is the most advanced bio-chemical computer ever devised. The perfection of its system is godlike. It doesn’t waver. Did you do anything to any other person in this simulation?”
“Not me. I’ve been busy keeping up appearances and making sure everyone is healthy enough to harvest their brains. No one has caught on since Alex and he’s dead.”
“Then something is wrong and I won’t stand anything going wrong with this. Find out where this variance is and correct it.”
Gamer frowned, “How? Inside this place, it is just a simulated reality to me. I can’t see code glitches or anything.”
“Whatever caused this could be obvious. Someone acting wrong, something out of place.”
“There are eight billion people in this simulation. I can’t check on them all. Noob.”
Drocha pressed a button on his end and Gamer G. screeched a nerdy cry and hit the floor. “Show me respect or suffer.”
“Fine. Okay.” Gamer cowered on the ground before the hologram.
“You needn’t investigate every living soul in this world personally. But you have eyes and ears. The simulation is perfect. You have BADGE level sensors and monitoring systems. Find out if there is one aberration in this world, a report of someone acting wrong, anything. Be clever, be wise, and above all, be discreet. We are still not sure what Nova is doing to thwart us.”
“What can one man do? All he has are some rusty old robots and maybe a few dregs of common idiots. We have all his best people.”
Drocha said, “I have learned the hard way never to underestimate Nova and his tactical skills. Get to work.” The screen shut off.
Gamer G. muttered, “Noob.”
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