Laser Sword Online 2.0
Checking back in with the filktion crew
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, Mind-Machine Full-Dive 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, Megumi, was in rare form, demure but energetic at once.
The studio audience goes nuts, the entire world is fully aboard the Laser Sword 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 disappointment 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, Megumi-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 and publisher, 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 novelisation of the Main Quest."
"Very exciting! I notice that PC or console ports 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 chances of them ever seeing a 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, IDF, and other militaries, that some critics have called, and I quote ‘war-crimes simulators’? Or your sponsorship of high-school computer clubs, up to and including the provision of full-dive equipment? 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 counselling 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
"Still time, better pop out for a bite before it’s time to get logged in for the launch."
+++
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!" Complained one Usagi Tsukino, a pretty high school senior with a stereotypical cheer-leader’s body and personality to go with it.
"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 Laser Sword Online together." Answered Ami Mizuno, class genius, computer wiz, the diminutive and shy senior girl’s unlikely friendship with the popular but ditsy Usagi was the bedrock center around which their odd circle of friends gathered.
The bottle-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 Kino, the tallest of the core quartet of friends, a hyper-competitive athletic football and volleyball amazon, who nonetheless affected a Goth-girl look with black nails and lips and romper-stomper boots, covered her face with her palm, then turned to the smaller, darker 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 Hino's new boyfriend, the annoyingly aloof college student Mamoru Chiba tapped Usagi's shoulder. Usagi turned her head back in aggravation to where Rei, the effortlessly elegant preppy private school girl who obviously took great pleasure in flaunting her new motorcycle-riding, medical-student, impossibly handsome boyfriend to the rest of them.
"What is it you?" The blond girl ground out, successfully —she hoped— 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.
Azabu-Jūban District, Tokyo, Japan
2053 AD, AY 1
In another alleyway behind a Juban neighbourhood arcade-cum-cafe that had seen better days, the same black-cat with 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 wall 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; Laser Sword 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 unearthily pale woman loses what little colour 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, 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!" Demands the fierce brown haired girl with fists planted firmly on hips, looming over Yuuki Kouichirou's desk, glaring at him with hurt in her eyes.
"Business little-sister, business. I have to be in HK, and yesterday, to re-sign some paperwork that Orochi 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!" Yuuki Asuna grumped back 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!!"
+++
As millions of people across the world say the fateful words, "link, start!"
The thing wearing the skin of Akihiko Kayaba smiles wider than any human man has any right to do.
"Show time."
+++
Aincrad Access Airlock Complex, Aincrad Station LVL 0, Aincrad Online
09NOV2053 AD, AY 1, 1,000,000+ players remaining
"All-right you see that giant bug?" Kirito asked the player lying next to him on the catwalk above the tunnel within the «Aincrad Access Airlock Complex». An earnest red-haired ‘toon with a rugged-dude avatar and pleasant voice who had begged for lessons from the "Beta-sensei," his display name read «Klein_Battle13» but he had insisted that Kirito 'just call me Klein'.
"That's one big roach, I hate roaches man" Klein gave a little shudder, remembering the big, mean roaches at his rural high school. The «Lesser Rad Roach» in question was the size of small dog and had way too many limbs, including two pairs of sharp looking mantis-like claws that appeared to drip something green, something that sizzled and spattered like grease on a hot pan when it hit the metal floor of the access tunnel. Its various antennae quivered in their direction as the orange of the name-tag floating text that hovered over the ugly thing shaded into red, signifying its growing aggravation with them.
"Well good, because we're going to kill it. Just like with the cans earlier; focus on the front sight post, place the top of the front sight post under the target, like you're underlining a word, centre the front-post within the rear notch, breathe out all the way, stop, press straight back on the trigger and..."
The «AER-7» Spacecrew Survival Laser gave a crack! as the invisible IR-range beam dumped most of its energy into the air, followed by a sizzle as the sudden electric charge in the air shorts to the metal cat-walk. The SSL was a good beginners' weapon, due to forgiving hit-scan optical-gun mechanics and the cheap and rechargeable small energy cells to feed it. It was made freely available in arms-rooms to players exiting the «SBC Flugel», newly awoken from cryo-sleep chambers. Other than ease of use it was small, light, and easy to modify and would remain relevant at least until level 3, further with investment in crafting skills and materials grinding to upgrade the anaemic base damage output. In form it looked like a light optical pistol with a cheap folding wire shoulder-stock, which is just what it was, in fact the long before optical pistols could be purchased from vendors, players could craft their own by removing the stock, if they didn't mind the debuff to accuracy.
Klein's aim was true and the roach's floating HP bar appeared and was dropped by a good third. Kirito slapped his back, "Good, again. Remember to watch your heat-gauge."
Klein shot twice more, hitting once and missing a shot. He cursed and tried for a rapid fourth follow up shot, hitting and killing the roach but then AER-7 went into «Over-Heat» and the suddenly glowing red-hot weapon released a blast of steam, taking a sliver from Klein's health bar.
"Ow! Mother-fucker!"
"Yeah, that's the trade-off with optical guns, line of sight hit-scan" Kirito raised his left hand palm up like offering something to the red-head, then lowered it and raised his right the same way, "over heating mechanic, with larger optics-guns you can take serious damage if you push your heat-gauge."
"Four shots though?"
"It is a beginner's weapon, and the trick is in the timing. You can also craft expanded heat-sinks to give yourself a larger buffer." Kirito raised his beginner's «Spacecrew Survival Knife» "Now we learn about dressing a rad roach."
"You're kidding."
"Its mostly just for the harvesting practice, but you can eat the meat to restore HP if you mind taking the rad hits. If you invest in survival and or cooking you can even clean the rads out."
"That's disgusting."
"We can sell it for Glimmer once we get to «Junk-Town>>, but yeah, welcome to Aincrad newb!"
Aincrad Station Emergency Access Tunnels, Aincrad Station LVL 0, Aincrad Online
09NOV2053 AD, AY 1, 1,000,000+ players remaining
"Lye nen nénar súre pilindi!" «Hermietta» shouted, locking each «Word of Power» into place with a combination of practised intonation and the right concentration, like using an imaginary muscle, when the incantation was completed she immediately loosed it with gesture from her starter spell catalyst, an «Ivory Wand» and getting into the spirit of the thing, let loose with an add-libbed cry of "Shine aqua illusion!" it just seemed like the right words, and maybe it was just in her head, but her damage rolls always seemed better when she did it too. The released icy magic missile found her intended target, yet another «Lesser Rad Roach» and impaled it with several meter long icy shards, temporarily freezing it in place. It was precise and targeted, just the way Hermietta liked it.
"Yeah sister, you set 'em up!" «FireBrandi», as Hino Rei had labelled herself, racked the slide back on her «Security Shotgun», ejecting a spent shell-casing to lie on the access tunnel floor, wafting acrid smoke lazily, then with an atavistic grunt, she racked it back forward and gave a rather concerning grin, "and I'll knock 'em down!" With that she triggered the 20 gauge pump sending a blast of incendiary shot into the roach and shattering it to pieces. Burning pieces. "I love this game!"
"Rei is scary!" complained «RabbidMoon» and she pumped laser shots from an «AER-7» into another roach that «Girl_Thorsdee» had stunned with her «Shock Baton» before dancing on to another target, soloing it with stuns from the baton and punches and kicks, all while humming to herself broken bars from the Blue Danube Waltz.
"Yeah, but check your fire bun-head!" called «RosenRitter» as he rushed in to finish off the roach with his «Survival Machete», already glowing in preparation to unleash a «Horizontal», "Friendly fire isn't!"
"Mamoru!"
Orochi Oceanic Operations Centre, Outside Japanese Territorial Waters
09NOV2053 AD, AY 1, 1,000,000+ players remaining
"What do you mean you're locked out?"
"Is it supposed to do that?"
"Uh guys, I think we have a problem"
"No shit, I already tried a reboot of the secondary, I'm telling you its not responding!"
"Access denied?! I'm an Admin!"
"Where the hell is Kayaba?"
The Command Center for Aincrad Online was rapidly descending into complete chaos and dissary as nearly two full shifts of administrative staff on hand for laucnh day found themselves locked out of their own systems, watching some sort virus rewrite the live code in front of their eyes. This wasn't supposed to be possible. Takeru Higa picked up the red phone at his station and waited for it to connect.
"Sir, we have a problem."
Fungal Forrest, Aincrad Station LVL 1, Aincrad Online
09NOV2053 AD, AY 1, 999,351 players remaining
"Come at me." Kirito told his opposite as he raised his «Stop Sign» to cover his front, closed fist and octagon corner covering chin and lower face, «Scrap Falcon» held in a high guard, over his right shoulder. Klein, equipped in mirror image, gamely stepped forward again, even after their last pass had ended with an embarrassing disarm and groin strike to the red head, but this time he stepped off line, circling to his left, Kirito's right. Between the roaches harvested on level 0 and the mole-rats and crinoids from level 1, they had reequipped themselves from the stores at «Junk Town» and had been practicing the fundamentals of sword play and the care and feeding of crossbows.
Kirito smiled, his grasshopper was learning, they grew up so fast!
Once the pass started it was over quite rapidly. Klein opened with a passing step and vertical at Kirito's head, which Kirito stepped into, allowing Klein's sword to glance off and end up uselessly behind Kirito, who stepped behind Klein's stance and turned the passing bind into a grapple and then a classic hip throw.
"And that's good for today, neh?"
Klein panted from where he lay on the ground, then sat up a grunt and a grumble, "trixy son of bitch, yeah, that's enough newb abuse for now."
"What have we learned?"
"Aside from being a Kendoka and a Beta is an unfair advantage?"
"Aside from that."
"Well, all else being equal, which it rarely is, any weapon beats the fist, sword passes axe, axe cuts spear, and spear reaches sword. Guns beat them all."
"Good, go on"
"Absent full armour, shield trumps no shield. With full armour you need specialised techniques, weapons, or bigger guns. Ammo is scarce in the early game, making first crossbows then energy weapons king, until armour catches up, making ballistics king until kinetic barriers catch up. Late game, you need power-armour, power-weapons, and magic."
"What are the types of magic?"
"Arcane, Divine, Mentalism, Biotic, Abiotic, and Weapons Skills"
"What are the elements of magic?"
"Void, fire, iron, earth, wood, water, ice, air, and spark"
"Good, and who can use magic?"
"Anyone who invests the time and skill points to learn it."
"But what is the key to all weapons fighting in PVP or soloing when under-level?"
"Forgoing weapons skills and aim assist, and using the real physics engine and player skill to avoid animation lock, in other words, git gud."
"Yes, but what is the ultimate weapon?"
"The mind that plans his foe's downfall."
"Very good grasshopper, you might yet live."
"Man I'm starving, I'm going to log out and order a pizza, but first, let me add you" Klein started moving his hand in that way made it obvious you where interacting with the system menu, and then Kirito saw the HUD notification that he had a pending «Friend Invite», which he simply blink clicked to accept without opening, Klein was already a dude-bro and managed not to swear like a twelve-year old pretending to be a sailor, definite friends material.
"Uhhh, dude? Where's the log out button?"
"Oh its right... here?" Kirito felt like he'd been punched in the stomach, what the hell, what was going on? "I'm sure its a bug... I'll just send a GM request, nothing to worry about, right Klein?" Kirito looked to where, Klein... wasn't sitting anymore. He spun around, where did he go? And what's with the bells?
Bong!
Bong!
BONG!
Cryogenic Crew Hold, SBC Flugel, Aincrad Online
09NOV2053 AD, AY 1, 999,351 players remaining
Cryo pods, banks upon banks of cryo pods, filled the space of the «Cryogenic Crew Hold» of the «SBC Flugel», one for each her 1.5 million crew and payload of colonists. And today, nearly every one of those pods was filled with a screaming player. The hold itself was silent as the grave, for the pods were sound proofed, quite effectively.
Slowly, the screaming in each pod died down, as it became evident that there was no one to hear it but the scream. And then, for each player, displayed on the inside of the cryo-pod, an AR screen pops up and a video played, the date/time stamp in the upper right corner of the screen showing 03NOV2053, a week before this, launch day.
There is a plain room with a plain table and a man sitting at that table in a chair. That man is Akihiko Kayaba, looking rather worn and thin, with deep bags under his eyes and prominent bruise on his face. Another man places a piece of paper in front of Kayaba, and he begins to read.
"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and I am the creator of Aincrad and the Nerve Gear, and I am a criminal. I realise now the error of my ways and wish to make amends. I apologise to my Family, Japan, the World, and Existence itself, for the great harm done by Virtual Existence. I have been apprehended and found guilty by the Realist Action Front for crimes against Reality, crimes of which I fully admit my guilt and plead for mercy. As part of accepting my responsibility for my actions and for repairing the harm I have done to Existence, I have assisted the RAF in taking direct action against Laser Sword Online."
"Using my root access and detailed knowledge of the code and the systems, I have taken control of Laser Sword Online, Aincrad, and you, the players. You who have forsaken reality for its facsimile and must be punished, for the encouragement and correction of the World."
"I have removed the logout option from your menus, this is not an error, this is not a bug, this a feature. I have removed re-spawn and the neural feedback limiters. Pain feedback limits are now zero percent. All avatars have been reset to calibration default, which is to say, your real appearance. Again, these are not errors, these are not bugs, these are now the features of your reality."
"In addition, if your health in this new game reaches zero and your remain timer also reaches zero before you can be revived, the microwave range wireless electroencephalogram will activate at 200% of normal output and without safety interlock; killing you."
"Also, should your families or the authorities choose ignore the warnings that we are now providing, should they attempt to disconnect you from the game by unplugging your Nerve Gear from an internet connection for longer than one hour, again, this will trigger the built in microwave scanner without safeties, and you will be killed. Death in this new reality is death in Reality."
"The only way to escape from this Reality, this judgement, is to show virtue, and to conquer this game along with your fears and your desire to escape Reality for a virtual fakery, fake challenges, fake accomplishment, fake conquest. If you climb to the top of Aincrad Station and defeat the floor 100 boss, in a Real life or death struggle for Existence Itself, you will have cleared the game and won your freedom and your lives."
"Again, in the interests of repaying my debts to society, reality, and you who I have also harmed and lead astray, I am relinquishing my Root GM account to the leader of this Judgement Operation by the RAF, who will be the Prince of this, your, and my own, private Hell, and I will be a player and pilgrim with you players, as we attempt to storm the Gates of Hell, together."
Kayaba looks up from the papers he has been reading from and finishes with a dead pan expression, "Long live Reality! Death to Virtual Reality! Humanity, Change your Ways, return to your Mother, the Flux of Nothing, the eternal Now! Lilith Leviathan commands it! Evolution commands it! N̴̛̺̂u̶͎̯̗͘c̸̛͇̭͈̅̇l̶̘̟̠͌́e̶̪̹̳͆̃̅á̷̞̯ṛ̴̨̀ ̷̺̺͛ͅC̸̛͕̣̫̃͆h̴͔͒̈́̓ą̷̹̒̄o̶̭̿͝s̶̠̉ ̸͙͖̙͋͂̔C̴̘̣̬̀o̵̩͋m̴̢̳̘̀m̵͔͓̎a̸̢̞͋n̴̟͒d̴̲̠͘ṣ̸̐̚͝ ̴͈̪͗̀i̴͉͆̿ṯ̶͌!̶̠̀̈́̋."
The video stream ends with a tragicomically cheerful chime and the screen then displays a simple dialogue box.
"To continue playing, please accept the new Terms of Service and End User licence Agreement"
Yes/No?
The screaming began again and it continued for a long time.