Earth, 35th Century. You can cheat death by downloading your consciousness into a Virtual Universe, with thousands of imaginary worlds to choose from, and countless 'lives' to be 'lived.' But someone of vital importance to the Virtuaverse has been m...
Les had developed gizmos and portable hardware that put disruptors to shame. Thanks to his new team member status, I managed to get a hold of one each. It still cost me a few hundred thousand credits, but hey – tech is expensive, and Les has to eat. And he's making payments on his Platinum LAD (Life After Death plan) – at least, until he cracks the codes for it.
What's that? you ask. Virtual immortality isn't free? The advertisements that say you can be 'anyone you want to be' neglect to add 'as long as you can pay for it.' It isn't false advertising – it's just not completely true.
There's the Citizen Plan, tailored for the poor citizens – you're basically NPCs who can only interact with other NPCs – you're a worker ant. No fame, no glory. The Couples Plan and its free add-on Family Plan (good for 6 people) will always place your lover or group in the same realities. The Iron Plan lets you hold small parts with a pre-planned trajectory. There's no dancing to your own tune.
The Silver Plan is for middle- and high-income earners, where you can pick and choose your profession, and reserve recurring roles in three worlds. The only downside is there's a rumor that Silvers die before their avatars reach the age of 50. The Gold Plan is for millionaires, allowing complete freedom in choosing profession, identities, and destinies. You are also aware that the world you are in is a simulation. You can choose to stay at a certain age indefinitely and can change your mind anytime.
The Platinum Plan is for the absurdly wealthy. They have all the perks of Gold with the added access to God-mode: they can be whoever they wish in the Literary worlds, they can rewrite the destinies of others at any time or change the story trajectory in any of the Literary worlds. The only individuals who had the Platinum were Zack Murkerberg XX through XXIII. An idea hits me.
"Hey Wanda, are there any records of where in the 'Verse Murkerbergs 20, 21 and 22 liked to visit?"
"Boss, I know you crazy. You know that's ultra super-duper secret private info in MetaAppleSoft's databanks. If I get caught, it'll be bye-bye for good."
"Check your inbox, sweetheart."
"Oooh, I got mail!" cooed Wanda. I let her download and unzip it for a few seconds. "Les sent me an upgrade! Oh, I do love me some sweet new digital duds! Hmm. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. Get out o' here – oh! That's not normal!"
"Now, can you do it?" I ask.
"Oh, hells yeah. Wait – there's an old memo that's been deleted that says numbers XX and XXI disappeared 100 years ago. There's an ongoing search for 'em. The XXII's favorite work was Machiavelli's The Prince. That's a nice cozy little story. No world for it listed on the 'Verse website. You still plannin' on sneakin' in there? You know the punishment is perma-death?"
"Yeah, I do. Nothin' we can't handle."
"We?!" Wanda howled with laughter. "Look here – ain't no A.I. allowed in there. I would not make it past the first download! They'd put me in some dumb kindergartener's 'Quantum Theory' help app."
"Not if I claim you as family." I knew I was grinning like an idiot while she mulled it over.
"That could work. This Les is one tricky mofo. I like this man, Boss. Where'd you two connect?"
"Would it surprise you if I told you we had a 'thing' once? We were both young and virile and drunk and..."
"BOSS! What have I tol' you 'bout no intimate details that I do not need to know, nor want to know!"
"Wanda, you asked. Didn't you?" I laughed.
"Not another word."
I gave one last chuckle. "Now, where did you leave my Cadillac turbo terror?"
Of all the vehicle manufacturers from the past, Cadillac remained. Their main auto manufacturing plant had somehow survived the Ka-boom and began making their solar/electric hybrids as soon as the nuclear winter passed. Funny how quickly people were ready to go back to work. Everyone was searching for a semblance of normalcy. Guess I would have, too. Those cars were well-built and lasted several decades. Mine is a vintage 1300 convertible.
A gang of 5 pre-teens walks in front of us. The leader, a gap-toothed boy with hair that must have been self-cut, wearing a beat-up pleather jacket and sporting a diaper pin through his nose, spits on the ground in front of me.
"Hey, old man! Give us 1,000 credits, 'cause we's starvin' an' need some grub!"
I give him a steely eyed look that's meant to scare him. Wanda alights on my shoulder and also glares at him.
"I'll give you nothing but two minutes to beat it, you snot-nosed a-holes, before I call the Night Patrol. Scram!"
He giggles, and runs away, his posse at his heels.
As I open the door, ready to drive to the 24/7 Chicago Public Library and Zippy Mart, I notice a really small kid crawling out of the trunk. Wanda flies around me cawing, and I run like hell. Almost made it out of the blast zone, too, but I tripped on a dog-sized, evil-looking, one-eyed teddy bear.
"Shoulda given us the credits, you stupid fartface," yells the pint-sized one, who grabs the bear, pulls a jetboard out of its innards and zooms away.
Effin' kids.
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Lose yourself in the world of Realania, an ONC 2023 entry that's full of surprises.
A lonely boy named Angelio encounters a gateway in the forest to the enchanted world of Realania; there, he's promised a solution to his problem in the human world--but all is not what it seems.
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