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  And now Jack, their only suspect for the stolen records, can’t be questioned on account of his delirium? This case was already getting more frustrating by the minute.

  His partner Officer James Price walked up just then with a disturbed look on his face, “I still can’t get any of our three detainees to squawk.”

  “What have you dug up about them?”

  “Several strange things, actually.”

  “Like?”

  “For one thing, all three of them carry expired drivers licenses.”

  “How far expired?”

  “Each one varies, however all three are between fifteen to twenty years expired.” James screwed up his face in consternation, “And they have never been renewed.”

  “That is a bit odd, I must agree.”

  “My first assumption was that they have been in hiding outside the country for all of these years, but there are some additional pieces to the puzzle that don’t quite add up.” he continued, “Somehow they successfully fell off the grid for twenty years. I even ran FBI background checks, which didn’t offer me any leads either.”

  Matt’s eyebrow raised as he continued, “The vehicle they were driving was registered to one of them, Victor Hernandez, and the tags are registered for May of 1999. The tags themselves have to be fakes, because there is no fading nor wear on them.”

  “Why would anyone go to so much trouble to fake expired tags?” Matt stammered.

  “My thoughts precisely.” James agreed, “I can’t seem to find a motivation for it.”

  “Are there any more details you were able to gather?”

  He hesitated, “Yes.”

  “And…?”

  “The Odometer reads just shy of two thousand miles above the odometer reading after the May 1999 registration. The car is in pristine condition, and the engine runs as if the car has been sitting in a collector’s personal museum, carefully started on a regular basis to prevent corrosion.”

  “Are there any car collectors in the area?”

  “That’s just it. The vehicle in question is far from ever being considered a ‘collectible’ of any sort.” he breathed, “We’re talking about a 1993 Ford Taurus.”

  Incredulous, Matt stared at him for a long minute.

  “So, let me get this straight.” Matt’s eyebrows furrowed, “We basically have no leads. During your interrogation, did they indicate anything as to where they have been hiding for the past twenty years?”

  “Unfortunately, you could tell they had rehearsed their responses. All three of them vaguely answered that they have been ‘traveling’ for business.”

  “Business, eh?” Matt scoffed, “Dealing cocaine, no doubt.”

  James nodded in agreement.

  “Basically put, these men appear to have been frozen in time. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think we were being played as fools on that old television show ‘Punked’ right now.”

  They chuckled in unison.

  “How are you so lively anyway?” Matt queried as he took another sip of coffee.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I logged in to my avatar a few hours ago to check my stats.” Matt whispered, “Your @doomsday16 avatar reached level 23 last night. You had to be up all night!”

  “Dude. You really shouldn’t be logging in while you’re on duty.”

  “I couldn’t help it.” Matt brushed him off, “Seriously? What’s your secret?”

  “You pick the worst timing.” James scoffed, “We can talk about it tonight.”

  Matt rolled his eyes, “Fine.”

  Chapter Five

  The Arena

  “You ever been to the Arena before?” Matt asked Officer Price as they climbed into his squad car that evening.

  James nodded, “It’s a blast. Brings a whole new dimension to the game. I’m headed there tonight. Wanna tag along?”

  “Sure!” Matt shrugged, “Why not? I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.”

  “Won’t Tiffany be annoyed?”

  “She kicked me out last night.” he huffed, “I need something to distract me.”

  “Dude.” James consoled, “I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” Matt shook his head, “She’s been railing on me for months. It was long overdue.”

  “Do you mind if I ask what happened?”

  Matt let out a heavy sigh, “I’m not ready to talk about it.”

  They’d been having marriage problems for years, and having kids had only made things worse. All three of his kids were under the age of four, and each pregnancy had pushed them apart even further. Instead of working out their differences, he opted to drown out his problems by escaping to virtual worlds.

  Last year he got a $9,000 bonus from work, and he kept it a secret from his wife because he intended to surprise his wife and kids by taking them on an impromptu trip to DisneyWorld. It probably would have been a much wiser choice considering his marriage would likely have remained intact… but right about the same time he got the bonus, a brand new augmented reality interface had just been released by CyberBolt Entertainment. He had heard rumors of the design for years, and though he was anxious about the required surgery, he couldn’t help but want to be part of the next generation of augmented reality gaming systems.

  In his defense, he tried to ask Tiffany for her permission. He explained that the surgery would enhance his performance at work – that CyberBolt was developing tracking and skip-tracing tools for use by Law Enforcement Officers. She wasn’t convinced however, knowing that he’d been drooling over the platform for years. She countered that they couldn’t afford it…

  And then the lies began.

  He ultimately won the argument by fibbing that the precinct would cover the costs of surgery, and that he couldn’t get his desired promotion to Detective without this latest piece of technology. To this day, CyberBolt has yet to develop the tracking and skip-tracing tools meant for Law Enforcement because they have still been unable to obtain the necessary government approvals.

  After the surgery that installed a microchip inside his right temple, it wasn’t long before his wife figured out that he had lied. He found every excuse he could think of to jump into several virtual worlds created by CyberBolt. Tiffany often caught him staring off into space during important conversations – whereas meanwhile he was checking various game stats.

  So when Matt purchased CyberBolt’s latest game without her permission several days ago, apparently that was the last straw.

  “What level are you at now?” James broke him out of his thoughts.

  “Level two.” Matt sighed, “So spill the beans. What’s your secret?”

  “Sleep.”

  Matt stared at him blankly, “No, seriously.”

  “I mean it.” James smiled, “That’s my secret. I level up during my sleep.”

  “You have a cheat code?”

  “No.” he laughed, “It’s a premium service that’s only available to members who visit the Arena. You can activate Sleep Mode, which is a service that allows you to lend out your avatar to those who can’t afford surgical microchips. It gives them a chance to play using their old primitive consoles, and meanwhile you get to level up during your sleep. You also get royalties.”

  “Wait… I’m confused.” Matt sought clarification, “But isn’t your body connected to your avatar?”

  “Yes.”

  “Your avatar is synchronized to mimic everything your body does – even down to blinking and breathing.” Matt still didn’t understand, “So if someone else is controlling your avatar… how are you sleeping?”

  “Sleep Mode controls your body’s natural circadian rhythm by tricking your brain to believe that your levels of adenosine have peaked. This effectively puts your brain into a temporary comatose state while you rent your avatar for use by other players.”

  “So… in other words, somebody has taken over your avatar…” Matt raised an eyebrow in alarm, “Which effectively means that somebody is controlling yo
ur body?!”

  “In layman terms, yes.”

  “Dude, that’s creepy.”

  “Nah – you’ll get used to it.” James smiled as they pulled into the Arena’s parking structure, “I used to wake up sore and bruised, but now I wake up having built more muscle. I’ve also lost twenty pounds, and feel more fit than ever.”

  “This is seriously crazy talk.” Matt shook his head in astonishment, “What if you got injured?”

  “CyberBolt maintains a full medical staff in their arenas at all times as a precaution, but the injuries are next to none.” he assured as he parked the car, “Wait ‘til you see the arena, and then you’ll understand why. It’s an extremely safe and controlled environment, which is why Sleep Mode is only allowed to be activated inside the Arena.”

  “Is any of this even legal?”

  “CyberBolt has received full approval from the FDA, regardless of the fact that no drugs ever enter the system.” he nodded, “I’m sure you’ve heard about the protests however.”

  “Protests?” Matt shook his head, “No, I haven’t.”

  “A bunch of Lobbyists are trying to get the FDA to classify Augmented Reality as a drug-like state of mind.”

  “That’s ridiculous!” he scoffed, “Let me get this straight… they couldn’t keep the stoners from legalizing marijuana, so now these politicians are going after gamers?”

  “They always need something to complain about.” James laughed, “Do you remember when the World Health Organization updated their definition of mental disorders to include Gaming Disorder a few years back?”

  “Yeah.” Matt scoffed, “That was ludicrous. I’m glad CyberBolt lobbied to shut down that nonsense.”

  They walked through the massive front doors of CyberBolt Chicago Arena and waited in a fairly short line. Above the desk a large screen advertised pricing for single-day weekday passes of $29.99, single-day weekend passes of $49.99, monthly passes of $299.99 and annual passes of $1,299.99. As he eyed the monthly pass figure, an idea struck him.

  “How many people actually use this Sleep Mode anyway?”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Sleep Mode is pretty obvious to detect in other players.” James explained, “The avatar’s eyes are always closed. Most of us jokingly refer to them as zombies.”

  “And you’re sure it’s safe?”

  “Absolutely.” James smiled, “You sound tempted.”

  “Well…” Matt struggled with his conscience, “I kinda don’t have a place to stay at the moment, and $299.99 is way cheaper than any rent I could ever find. I could always take a shower at the precinct…”

  “They’ve got showers and lockers here if you prefer.” James laughed, “In fact, they even have a laundry facility and a food court on site.”

  “No way.”

  “Yep.” he chuckled as they approached the desk, “Sometimes I wonder how many people do exactly the same thing you’re thinking. CyberBolt had to issue mandatory hygiene requirements prior to entering the arena because some players were going for days on end without showering or even leaving for that matter.”

  An attractive young woman wearing gold plated armor at the front desk interrupted their conversation, “Good evening officers. Can I interest you in purchasing our annual pass today?”

  “I’ve already got mine.” James winked at her and held up a card, “But this is my buddy’s first time here.”

  “Oh?” she gave a teasing smile, “How about you handsome?”

  “I… uhh…” Matt hesitated, “Hang on.”

  How much do I have in savings?

  He pressed his right temple, and after a brief moment of static a virtual keyboard appeared in front of him. His fingers tapped away at the invisible keyboard as he pulled up his bank account.

  Dang it. Not enough.

  He quickly moved over some funds from their savings account, “I’ll take the monthly pass for now.”

  “You got it.” she nodded, “That’ll be $323.98 with tax.”

  Matt waved his hand over the NFC terminal to make the payment. He saw the charge get immediately deducted from his account with a Payee name of CyberBolt Entertainment. He cringed, knowing Tiffany would probably blow up his virtual phone the instant she saw the charge, and there was no doubt in his mind that she had set up automatic alerts. As a precaution, he quickly silenced his virtual phone. He didn’t want any distractions tonight.

  The fully armored young woman pulled a card out of a printing machine, and then offered a choice between two packages with gray cloth inside, “Your duds. Large, or Medium?”

  “Large, please.”

  She handed him his membership card and the gray clothing, “Welcome to CyberBolt Arena. Enjoy your stay.”

  Matt turned to James as they walked past a massive set of doors that looked like the gates of Mordor, “Do all of CyberBolt’s employees dress like that?”

  “Yes, at least here in the Arena.” he nodded enthusiastically and pointed down the hall, “And there’s also a gift shop where you can purchase a tailored full set of armor for yourself too. I’ve been saving up for a certain set of armor for a while. All of them come with a software package for your Avatar.”

  “Man.” Matt looked around at the impressive medieval décor, “Why haven’t I come here sooner? I’ve been missing out!”

  “Yes, you have.” he nodded and pointed to the men’s locker room, “Let’s change real quick.”

  Several minutes later they both stood before the massive doors wearing matching gray uniforms donned with the silver and gold CyberBolt logo on them. A full party of other gamers waited anxiously with them.

  Matt was startled by the sudden sound of a trumpet call, “Welcome gamers! Please silence all virtual phones and messenger apps and log in to your interfaces now. Your quest is about to begin!”

  The massive doors began to swing open. Matt held off on logging into the game quite yet in order to get an idea of the interior layout of the arena. As the doors pulled open, a throng of players exited the arena in an orderly fashion. All of them had large grins on their faces, having returned from their various quests. Inside, Matt could see hills, valleys and mountains as far as the eye could see – and all of it was made out of green foam.

  Aha. So that’s what James meant by a safe environment.

  He quickly logged into his avatar’s profile on DarkForce. The scene before him morphed dramatically. Instead of the foam, a lush forest appeared before him, teaming with mountains and valleys. The sky above was a clear and brilliant blue. A flock of dragons were soaring high above. In the distance to the left a glorious city rose up higher than a mountain like a gigantic castle with hundreds of beautiful white spires.

  He stared in awe at the sight. He’d heard rumors that the glorious city of Atlantis existed in the game, and there it was. Nobody happened to divulge that the city was hidden here in Chicago’s Arena. Two solar giants shined brilliantly in the sky, indicating that he had entered the fabled World of Zion in the game DarkForce. Here he would help his fellow warriors fight off Voidspawn and other minions of the Leviathan and gain points to level up. He could gain magical spells and powers, purchase wares and the finest weaponry, fight off demons and dragons… The options were endless. The game was designed to have no end – an alternate life full of endless quests and adventures.

  He eyed the virtual armor of @doomsday16, a.k.a. Officer Price, with sheer envy. At only level 7, Matt was lucky to have a shield and a spear to protect his bare skin and loincloth.

  “Don’t worry buddy.” James consoled as together they headed toward the beautiful city, “I’ll make sure we find you some proper armor.”

  Chapter Six

  Sleep Mode

  Matt followed @doomsday16 as they cut a path through the thick forest.

  “How far are we from the City?” Matt asked as he chopped away at the path.

  “It's not too much further.” he nodded toward the hill ahe
ad, “Just over this hill…”

  Suddenly his friend stopped short and held a finger to his lips. They stood in silence for several minutes as both of them scanned their surroundings. It was dead silent, and Matt couldn’t understand his friend’s hesitation.

  Then his eyes darted as he heard a shuffling sound to his right. Slowly, he raised his spear as anxiety piqued on the back of his bare neck.

  Threat Detected: Level 3 Voidspawn

  HP| 300/300

  Strengths: Long black tentacles allow for speed and easy subduing of prey. Head is covered with gnashing mouths full of razor-sharp teeth to allow for rapid devouring of trapped prey. Head is also covered with eyes to allow for 360-degree sight with intense focus. Cannot be killed.

  Weaknesses: Unknown

  An inhuman screech erupted from a black mass that barreled toward him, knocking him into the sharp brambles. The pain from the thorns felt real, and Matt cowered and swung his spear wildly in the air. He felt a sticky tentacle grab his leg and drag him forcefully through the sharp brambles at a tremendous speed. Matt could see @doomsday16 chasing but falling far behind in his pursuit, casting a myriad of spells and enchantments.

  [- 25 HP]

  One of the spells struck the beast, stunning it momentarily. Matt took his chance, and stabbed at the black tentacle that had wrapped around his leg.

  [- 50 HP]

  The severed remains of the tentacle retracted into the black mass that resembled a land-bound squid, with hundreds of mouths gnashing their teeth. Matt made no hesitation, thrusting his spear deep into the heart of the nasty creature.

  [- 50 HP]

  Dozens of sticky black tentacles wrapped themselves around Matt has he held onto the shaft of the spear, thrusting it deeper and deeper with all of his strength.

  [- 75 HP]

  CRITICAL HIT!

  Lifebar: <33%>

  The tentacles attempted to crush him, and the mouths threatened to rip his bare skin to shreds with their razor-sharp teeth. One of the many mouths got ahold of his shoulder, and Matt screamed out in excruciating pain. He twisted the spear and forced the head in every direction he could muster before yanking the spear out and stabbing the creature again.