Worldshift- Virtual Revolution Read online

  WORLDSHIFT:

  VIRTUAL REVOLUTION

  Scott Straughan

  Scott Straughan

  Copyright © 2019 Scott Straughan

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 978-1-7750029-8-7

  This book is dedicated to my readers. Without their interest and support I’d have never been able to write this story. Thank you so much everyone! I look forward to supplying you with many more intriguing and exciting tales.

  Table of Contents

  WORLDSHIFT: VIRTUAL REVOLUTION

  PROLOGUE STORMFALL

  CHAPTER 1 THE CHAOS LANDS

  CHAPTER 2 THE WAITING WORLD

  CHAPTER 3 THE THRESHOLD

  CHAPTER 4 THE OTHER SIDE

  CHAPTER 5 GAMES OF SKILL

  CHAPTER 6 THE GREEDY GAMBLER

  CHAPTER 7 MEMORIES IN THE MIST

  CHAPTER 8 FORWARD

  CHAPTER 9 UNEXPECTED MEETINGS

  CHAPTER 10 THE BIG BOSS

  CHAPTER 11 OPTION BRAVO

  CHAPTER 12 EPIC LOOT

  CHAPTER 13 PLAYER VERSUS PLAYER

  CHAPTER 14 RUNNING FOR IT

  CHAPTER 15 REAL THREATS

  CHAPTER 16 THE INVOKERS

  CHAPTER 18 ENQUIRY

  CHAPTER 20 HEART TO HEART

  CHAPTER 22 CHALLENGERS

  CHAPTER 23 THE LESSON

  CHAPTER 24 WATCHERS IN THE MAZE

  CHAPTER 25 HIDE AND SEEK

  CHAPTER 26 WORKSHOP

  CHAPTER 27 ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME

  CHAPTER 28 WHERE YOU BELONG

  CHAPTER 29 ONWARD

  CHAPTER 30 UPWARD

  CHAPTER 31 TRUTH AND TREACHERY

  CHAPTER 32 THE TRIAL

  CHAPTER 33 REVELATIONS

  CHAPTER 34 FACING REALITY

  CHAPTER 35 COPS AND GAMERS

  CHAPTER 36 EYES WIDE

  CHAPTER 37 DEBTS AND DUES

  CHAPTER 38 INFORMATION EXCHANGE

  CHAPTER 39 TOOLS OF THE TRADE

  CHAPTER 40 NEW MAN

  CHAPTER 41 UNCHAINED

  CHAPTER 42 THE LONG WAY HOME

  PROLOGUE

  STORMFALL

  Lightning burst from the dark clouds above the city. Jagged blades of light flashed downward, and for a heartbeat, it illuminated the nearby skyscrapers. Even in the gloom, the tall towers of carefully shaped concrete and glass looked tastefully modern. Some of the buildings were dark, but others still contained glowing lights that shone like beacons in the moments of darkness between lightning strikes. Off in the distance, the rest of the city was full of movement and light. Cars were still zooming through the streets, despite the storm raging overhead. Buffeted by the wind, a light drizzle splashed against the glass wall that stood between the man and the forces of nature outside. He was silent as he studied the metropolis below him from within the shelter offered by the tallest of the skyscrapers in the city. When the sky was dark, his reflection could be seen staring back at himself in the glass.

  He was a tall man in a dark suit and tie, with short black hair and a neatly trimmed beard, although bits of grey showed in his hair. Combined with his dark and intense gaze, his appearance gave him a stern and imposing aura, an aura that was not unearned. Despite the lines of grey hair and hints of wrinkles around his eyes, he did not seem old or frail at all. Instead, he projected untouchable power, even as the storm raged outside.

  A chime rang across the dark room behind him, and he turned and saw the door in the far wall open. A man in a lab coat stepped into sight and nodded at everyone else there. There were two other men in business suits sitting on expensive-looking personal sofas in the middle of the room. An intimate little round table sat between them, with two more empty seats around it. On one wall hung a huge television screen, and the other was covered by a long bar. Rows of glasses and bottles of alcohol stood behind it on a shelf.

  “I’m sorry for arriving late,” the man in the lab coat told the others as he walked toward the chairs. “I was running through some last-minute upgrades to the software in the hopes that they would improve the binding process, and I decided to test it out before coming here since we are approaching launch and I need to nail down the final version.”

  “We had begun to think something had happened to you, and you were preparing to flee the country,” one of the men sitting in the chairs replied in a half-joking tone. He was slightly older than his colleague, and he had a noticeable paunch.

  “How did this last-minute test of yours go, Doctor?” the man sitting across from him asked politely.

  The doctor sighed as he slumped into a seat. He sounded tired and defeated. “It was a complete failure. The poor young man died soon after the upload. I will spare you the gruesome details, but he immediately began screaming and yelling about hungry shadows. This was followed by catatonia and then a complete brain shutdown.”

  The overweight man leaned forward and gave the doctor an empathic look. “He was a volunteer from the church. You shouldn’t blame yourself too much. You did what we all know is necessary, including that young man. He knew what he was getting into.”

  The doctor grimaced. “So did I, but I plugged him in anyway, Carl. I’m here to help people, not murder them. This sort of abuse is what I joined you to fight!”

  “The hard thing is sometimes the right thing,” the man at the window replied as he finally stepped away from it. He didn’t take a seat. Instead, he remained standing next to the empty chair. “You can’t run from the harsh truths of life. They simply grow more dangerous the more you ignore them. It is a lesson that has cost me dearly to learn.”

  “None of us would be here if we hadn’t also learned that lesson, Victor,” the youngest man present replied. He had short blond hair and light blue eyes. Despite his firm speech and expensive suit, he couldn’t hide his nervousness.

  There was a clear crystal bottle and several glasses on the table. For a few moments, no one spoke as Carl poured them all drinks.

  “How go all of your responsibilities?” Victor asked as he looked at the others with his hands clasped behind his back. He made no move to reach for the drink that had been poured for him.

  “The physical hardware and the altered machinery were all shipped out weeks ago,” Carl replied with a shrug. “They will do what they were designed for.”

  “I haven’t seen a hint of suspicion among any of my contacts. As far as the government is concerned, it’s just a game, even if it is the most popular one ever,” the blond man said. “Some of them even told me they plan on playing it.”

  The doctor grimaced. “You already have my latest reports on the binding software. I have nothing to add to them, but are we really going to go through with this now? I think more time might be necessary.”

  Victor shook his head. “We can wait no longer. The agreed upon time has come. We made promises, and the other factions won’t accept excuses. They are an unruly alliance whose interest barely aligns with our own.”

  The doctor opened his mouth. “But—”

  Victor cut him off. “No, I’m sorry. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that we will be discovered. Despite our best efforts to blind or suborn it, the Bureau of Economic Harmony is far from neutralized. Their incredible size and the massive power they wield more than makes up for their inefficiency and corruption. If we are betrayed or if any of our test subjects are discovered, they will crush us.”

  The blond man nodded in reluctant agreement. “Even worse, the day we all fear may come sooner than expected. I had a meeting with a senator in the capital yesterday. Without a doubt, he was sounding out my stance on extralegal use of some of the most dangerous technologies available.”

  “It�
��s the same in business circles,” Victor said with obvious sadness. “No one says anything aloud in public, but behind closed doors, people have begun to whisper and conspire. If asked, they will say it’s nothing but theoretical musings, but it’s just a matter of time until they convince themselves to use the technology to manipulate and control, for the good of society of course. These are good people. Many of them are my friends, but I don’t think any of them will stand against what is coming.”

  “The fools! Can’t they see where this will lead?” Carl growled angrily as he put down his glass and clenched his fists.

  A look of deep regret appeared on Victor’s usually stiff face. “They are blinded by their insecurities. We have spent so long stifling change that we have grown terrified of freedom.”

  The doctor shuffled nervously in his seat. “I’m not sure I can support this. When I joined you, I had been hoping to perfect the binding process, or at least greatly increase the survival rate. Many people will die if we go ahead now. We still have only a single successful full integration, and she may well be a special case! Especially considering what happened to her.”

  A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky outside, its light illuminating the dim room for a second. As darkness returned, Victor walked back to the window and looked down at the city again.

  “We knew when we began this work that it would lead to death and destruction on a massive scale,” he told the others as the light from outside reflected in his eyes. “We knew the blood of the innocent and guilty alike would be on our hands. Nothing has changed. We go ahead. The launch will happen on schedule, and we will simply have to pray our greatest fears do not come to pass. Is that not what this has all been about? Clinging to one last speck of hope as the end closes in?”

  CHAPTER 1

  THE CHAOS LANDS

  The hazy sky overhead glowed an eerie red. There was no sun or moon in sight, but clusters of black clouds floated overhead at a brisk pace. The air was heavy, as if a storm had just broken or as if one was just beginning to gather. The crimson light that descended from the heavens was harsh and unearthly, but it illuminated the vast broken land that extended out to the horizon. Towers of twisted grey rock rose toward the sky, like a hundred thousand hands reaching for salvation. Their warped heights formed a jagged canopy that concealed most of the ground. Nothing grew among the tall clusters of rocks. They looked barren and empty.

  A dangerous illusion.

  Ethan pulled up the visor on his helmet and studied the vista before him. He was standing atop a particularly tall spire of rock that allowed him to see everything for miles. His body was covered in sleek black armor that glowed softly with yellow light where its ceramic plates met. Its futuristic style clashed with the tattered brown cloak that was wrapped around his shoulders and fell over his back.

  The labyrinth of dry earth and jagged stone standing before Ethan presented him with no obvious path forward, but he needed to pick a way regardless. The Chaotic Plains were a maze of shifting paths, containing endless challenges and dangers. It was full of undiscovered treasures, but the thrill was what had drawn Ethan. Only the bravest and most experienced explorers dared enter the Chaotic Plains, and going in alone was generally considered suicide. The thought sent an excited shiver down Ethan’s spine.

  There was a flash of light in the shadows ahead. A sign. With an anticipatory smile, Ethan dropped to his knees and slammed a mechanical spike into the rock at his feet. He then laughed as he threw himself off the top of the rock. The jagged surface of the stone spire zoomed past as he fell. Ethan’s heartbeat quickened.

  He straightened his posture so that he cut through air like a knife, headfirst. A hundred feet below, the ground rushed to meet him, and Ethan smiled in anticipation as he watched it approach. From this height, he would die instantly if he hit it.

  His lifeline went taut. The cable had been tied to the spike he’d placed up above, and it tugged sharply on his armored hand, pulling him upward. Instantly, with the ease of long practice, he grabbed the wire with his other hand and flipped through the air as he swung closer to the rocks. His booted feet hit the surface and knocked debris free as he kicked away from the face of the spire again. Still swinging, his momentum carried him around the rock pillar until gravity pulled him into it again.

  As he kicked off the rock so he spun back the way he’d come, Ethan made a mental command. As a result, his lifeline went slack and Ethan began to fall again as more wire shot out of the contraption on his wrist. In a series of controlled bounces and quick stops, Ethan made his way down along the jagged rocks sticking out from the column. Soon, the ground drew closer. Rather than slow down though, Ethan mentally commanded his lifeline to separate. It came loose with a snapping noise, leaving him in freefall. Excited, Ethan grinned and flipped around so that he was diving straight down. Headfirst, he zoomed toward the hard earth below. Ethan’s heart kicked into overdrive as a cold rush of adrenaline pulsed through him. The ground grew closer. The awareness of his own mortality was thrilling. Usually quiet parts of his brain screamed. He felt truly awake and aware of every passing millisecond. Every one mattered.

  At the last possible second, Ethan twisted around, and his feet hit the ground first. He kicked off the ground using the muscle enhancing power of his armor to catch himself. Momentum still carried him forward, but he rolled with it and jumped back onto his feet a second later. His armor was a bit dustier now, but he hadn’t been hurt at all.

  “Not a bad jump,” Ethan remarked in satisfaction as he looked around. His heart rate had already begun to slow down.

  The flicker of light had been to his left, so he headed that way. The stone spires he’d been looking down at mere moments before towered around him now. Their tall peaks cast a complex web of flickering shadows. Ethan moved at a quick pace and carefully watched his surroundings. Warily, his right hand rested on the hilt of the long dagger strapped to his waist. He also had a holstered pistol, but if anything managed to jump him, then the blade would give him more options in close combat.

  Up ahead and out of sight, there was a thunderous crash as a spire fell. The sound echoed past Ethan and the ground beneath his feet shivered slightly. The Chaotic Plains were dangerous and unpredictable. No two journeys into their depths were ever the same. It was impossible to map them because the environment was constantly changing as spires fell and new ones erupted from the ground. However, the real dangers weren’t from falling rocks. The Chaotic Plains were home to a seemingly endless variety of deadly monsters.

  A small formation of pink crystals grew from the rocks to Ethan’s right, but he ignored them. They had some value, but getting them free would take time, and he had his eye on much greater prizes. In the darkness, there was a clink as something shifted the rocks at the base of a spire to Ethan’s left. Instantly, he reacted. Light flooded out when the flashlight built into his helmet activated. The rocks were illuminated and so was the source of the noise. A small brown rodent with a fluffy tip on its tail stared in surprise at Ethan before dashing away behind some rocks.

  “Hmm, I doubt you’re a threat,” Ethan said as he shut off the light. It wasn’t a good idea to use it too much, lest it draw the attention of something big and hungry.

  After taking a deep breath, Ethan continued on his way. He passed through shadows and beneath stone arches as he trudged onward. A ray of light shone down as a large string of black clouds floated by. The angle of the light’s descent allowed it to penetrate the rocks overhead and illuminate the face of a spire to Ethan’s left. Out of the corner of his eye, the explorer noticed something. An out-of-place rock, it had a regular shape that seemed artificial. Curious, he shifted his gaze to get a better look at it and reactivated his flashlight. There was a hexagon jutting out from the rock. In fact, there were three of them. A smile appeared on Ethan’s lips. This looked very promising. He stepped closer to study what he’d found.

  The stone shapes were lined up on the face of a spire that didn’t lo
ok all that different from the others nearby. Each hexagon had two symbols on them: a line pointing out from the center and a unique shape. The first hexagon had a circle, the second had a V, and the third had a rectangle. A bit of experimentation revealed the hexagons could be rotated. Ethan rolled his eyes. It was obviously some sort of puzzle.

  “What are you supposed to represent?” Ethan muttered as he studied the symbols. They were clearly the key.

  He turned all the hexagons randomly a few times, but nothing happened, so he stopped to think. The lines were probably meant to show which direction each hexagon was pointing, but the problem was there were no symbols around the hexagons for the lines to point at. Each hexagon was surrounded by featureless stone. Maybe they pointed to something off in the distance? There was nothing but dark rocks around, but the circle reminded Ethan of the sun or moon, so he rotated the first hexagon until its arrow pointed straight up. If the symbols represented obvious parts of the physical world, then the V was probably actually an upside-down mountain or something. Huh, that didn’t help much. He was surrounded by spires made of rock, but none of them were mountains. Maybe it was the earth itself? Ethan turned the hexagon until it pointed down. That left one more symbol, the rectangle.

  “Maybe I’m wrong about this.” Ethan grunted. He couldn’t think of anything in nature that was rectangular.

  Since he had no good ideas, Ethan randomly rotated the last hexagon. If he was right about the first two, then he could simply try all the possible combinations of the third. A sudden clicking noise startled Ethan as the hexagon in his hand suddenly locked into place. All three of the plaques then sank into the rock.

  Ethan grinned and stepped back. He’d found the right combination! However, a few seconds passed and nothing else happened, so the smile slipped from his face.

  “Disappointing,” he muttered as he looked around for any change to his surroundings. He saw nothing.