The Metaverse: Virtual Life-Real Death Read online

  “At last we meet in person.”

  “Yes,” Patricia replied with a slight grin at the relative meaning of that phrase. “Shall I call you Alex or do you prefer Al?”

  “Alex is fine. Do you prefer Patricia or Pat?”

  “Patricia is fine.”

  She did not like being known as “Pat.” Not that anything was wrong with the name, it just was one that identified her by the male gender that she had left behind in the real world.

  The waiter appeared and inquired about drink orders. Without asking Patricia, Alex quickly ordered a bottle of vintage Italian wine, pronouncing it in authentic sounding Italian and then informed him they were ready to order.

  Patricia was a bit taken aback as she had not even looked at the selections. She picked up the menu only to quickly realize it was in Italian and remarked about it and what an authentic establishment this was.

  “They like to immerse you here fully, and since I know the menu I will order for us, you’ll love it!” Alex said with a wink.

  Patricia had to fight back an initial urge to become assertive and order for herself. It was a holdover from both his biological gender and his work as an Emergency Room Physician where being an alpha male, or an alpha female came with the territory. Here she had to remember she was in a different role. One that she wanted to embrace more than anything else now.

  Still, old habits die hard. Patricia smiled. “How thoughtful of you. Thank you, that sounds great!”

  Alex rattled off quickly in Italian to the waiter the names of the dishes, the salads, and the appetizers. He also answered in Italian.

  Patricia was puzzled. “Why am I only hearing him in Italian?” She leaned in and whispered after the waiter left.

  “Well, my dear, that’s because I spoke in Italian to him and the dishes have Italian names obviously,” Alex said with a smile.

  “Yes, yes I heard you. But ah this is an international city with a common language translated into the listener’s language. I’ve never heard a different language spoken here before. Is this a new programming feature?”

  Alex smiled and paused for a moment before responding. “This is a full immersion locale which allows the patrons to experience it as such. If I had spoken directly to you in Italian, then you would have heard me in English, or whatever language you chose. Because I was talking to the waiter, you received the conversation as a casual observer would.”

  “Oh, of course, that makes sense.” Patricia offered, knowing that it did not make sense at all but then again she was not as worldly as her charming, and handsome date.

  What her date did not tell her is that he spoke no Italian to the waiter. Likewise, the menu was in fact written in English, her default language.

  That little test told Reynolds that his access into her server was complete and he was in control of what he wanted her to see, hear and experience. That alone would have angered if not frightened Patricia. But she would have been genuinely horrified if she knew that this Mr. Alex Reynolds, whom she was meeting for the first time, also now was in control not just of the software in her server but the hardware as well. Although Dr. Pat Sullivan did not know it yet, he could not command or control or most importantly leave the H-Pod if he needed to. He was effectively Reynolds’s prisoner even if he did not yet know it, but would find out in horrific fashion before the night was over.

  Boulder, Colorado

  “MD” got up from the desk of his hotel room and gazed out the window towards the East Range of the Rocky Mountains. The setting sun was passing just over the crest of a distant mountain top. MD was not the outdoors type. The only camp he went to as a kid was held inside a computer lab. Still, he marveled at the beauty of the mountains and thought that maybe someday he would visit one in real life and perhaps hike to a mountaintop.

  MD glanced back at the monitor. He chuckled as Alex made idle chit chat with the blond seated across the table. While he felt some remorse that this person was going to be sacrificed to help him achieve his goals. He also felt a tinge of excitement about what he was going to do to the real person behind those pixels.

  Alex, a Sentient Digital Being, was MD’s alter ego of sorts in the Metaverse. For his part, Alex viewed himself as MD’s partner while MD viewed him as his employee. Reynolds didn’t care. He had his own objectives.

  MD was about to make Alex famous, and at the same time cover his tracks. Should Alex be examined by the authorities, he would lead them to an alias that MD had painstakingly devised. Even Reynolds did not know MD’s real identity.

  MD did not want any trail that could be linked or traced back to him. No easy feat with every portal into the Metaverse guarded by “crawlers” that dropped onto every affiliate server connecting to its central servers that housed all of the Metaverse.

  Like all systems, there was a flaw that MD had discovered which he exploited to allow Alex to move about at will in the Digital-Life central servers, or an affiliate server. Simple in its concept using that flaw was something that would have been tough if not impossible for even an extraordinary hacker.

  MD, however, was not just extraordinary. His work at SDG allowed him unfettered access to the programming code that created the interface between the hardware and software that created the smooth experience that allowed a human being to effectively, seamlessly and realistically step into and live in a digital world. MD also had been on the teams that created the security that guarded and protected it.

  MD glanced at the darkening sky. Time to go.

  He could see that Alex was in an animated discussion with Patricia, who was obviously enjoying herself and Alex’s company immensely. MD had little doubt that Alex could get laid tonight. He chuckled at the thought.

  It wasn’t the first time a human would have an intimate sexual encounter with an AE, a favorite pastime in the Metaverse. No, what made him chuckle was his appreciation for Alex’s coding.

  That through the power of his adaptive learning he knew what sex was and would even enjoy it. He wondered if Alex would care that Patricia was not what she seemed since to him the actual act would be as physically intimate as in real-life.

  Then again, sex is all in the mind, or in this case a computer algorithm. Alex thought with another chuckle before opening the communication link to Reynolds.

  “I’m going offline for a little bit. Keep Patricia busy for a while. Maybe get her to show you some sight or even her home. I’ll be in touch when I’m ready.”

  “Yes, sir,” came Alex’s quick reply.

  MD shut down the mobile unit, picked it up and put it in its case. He then gathered up a few other items and went to his car. Walking up the side of his vehicle it came to life, and the door opened. Sitting on the passenger side, he gave the car instructions to take him to a home owned by one Patrick Sullivan M.D.

  ***

  MD instructed the car to proceed cautiously, lest he attract the attention of one of the automated traffic control devices that not only directed traffic but also recorded violations complete with a picture of the vehicle operator or occupant. It was a silly human concern as the car was only capable of careful driving. Still, it helped MD keep his mind off how absolutely nerve racking this part of his plan had become.

  He had rented this car under an alias. To avoid the automated GPS location tracker used in all rental vehicles he used a simple hack that placed the GPS recorded location at a nearby shopping mall. That would offer an alibi for the casual observer who might report seeing his car in the area. There would be no recording of where he was going, or had been.

  There was the possibility that the rental car company could find that the GPS had been hacked. With thousands of rental vehicles running around the greater Denver area on any given day they would most likely not have the time or inclination to check if there was no issue with the vehicle or the payment. He even bought the full insurance to make sure that they thought of him as the best kind of customer.

  Even if they did discover the tamper there still
would be no record of where the vehicle had been. Even so, the car would come back to an alias and a dead end. MD had donned a wig and a hat and kept a gloved hand over his face at all times, and his head angled down to prevent the authorities from using facial recognition that might be employed from images collected at the main intersections and other areas with cameras. That was one of the reasons MD chose Boulder for his operation. The college town fiercely opposed “Big Brother” in the form of cameras that saturated many other locations.

  MD tried to relax. He was not the run of the mill person that the local cops would be accustomed to looking for, or dealing with. His superior intellect would see to that. No, his plan was as perfect he could make it for what he had in mind. He could do this remotely, but he wanted to both send a message and distract the authorities while he worked out the rest of his plan. One that would soon be all the rage of the Metaverse.

  ***

  Finding Dr. Sullivan’s house, a nondescript brick home, was quite simple. MD’s car drove by once to ensure that no neighbors were hanging about. The darkness gave him some concealment from curious eyes. MD saw no one as his vehicle passed the Sullivan home at an average pace, neither slowing nor accelerating away. At the next intersection, he continued to voice-guide the vehicle. He made a left turn, then took the next right, which his GPS indicated as a cul-de-sac. Entering it the vehicle swung around and reversed its turns which led him back to the Sullivan home.

  MD’s car slowed as he entered the driveway. MD tapped a button on the dash and the vehicle’s communications system linked to his mobile unit came to life. Having preset the device to keep open the Digital-Life link he directed the central servers in the Sullivan home to open the garage door.

  By the time MD’s vehicle approached the garage threshold the door was fully open. Only one car was occupying the large garage designed for three cars. Relieved that only one car was present reduced the chances that his victim had company. MD’s vehicle pulled into the garage and he waited for it to close before emerging from it in the event someone passed by or a neighbor got nosy.

  With the garage closed, MD quickly went to the trunk. Opening a large duffel bag, he removed a pair of dark overalls still sealed in the original plastic package. He quickly removed the overalls from the plastic and pulled them on over his clothes. He then took a pair of plastic booties and pulled those over his shoes. Next, he put on not one, but two pairs of surgical gloves.

  Then he took a black hood with an opening only for the eyes and placed it over his head. Lastly, he opened another sealed up new package containing a Hazardous Material Suit. He stepped into the opening at the neck and shoulders and pulled the suit on which completely encased his entire body. It took some wild gestations to get the hood on and sealed without help, but he was able to finally seal himself inside what firefighters like to call a “coffin with a view.”

  MD has selected this suit because the design sealed him in. MD had purchased two. One that he rehearsed with and the one he wore now. He wanted to remove any residual DNA or other possible evidence or identifiers.

  MD had a low regard for most in law enforcement, but he had a healthy respect for the technology they used. The suits head piece had an air filtration system that made breathing loud, but he knew his victim, sealed into the H-Pod, would not hear him. Through voice commands, MD linked the headset in his ear to the wireless system in the Sullivan home that connected him to the Digital-Life servers as well as the local server. MD was completely tethered into the systems that communicated with Alex as well as being in complete control of Sullivan’s hardware and software.

  MD reached into the trunk and picked up a large orange case with STIHL written on the side. The battery powered Magnum 990 series was the most powerful chainsaw available. It could cut through a railroad tie like a hot knife through butter. MD had little doubt it would be up to the task.

  MD walked from the garage into the home. He took a few minutes to walk through the rooms just to satisfy himself that no one else was in the home, although he had no plan other than to flee if someone was.

  MD found his way to the basement stairs, lugging the large and not so light chainsaw along with him. He traveled down the staircase to the finished basement. It was quite nicely done, complete with a sitting area and wet bar.

  MD walked through an open arch where he encountered a somewhat ornate pool table. MD looked around and spying a door at one end moved to it. Opening the door, he came into a large room with gym equipment. MD backtracked and went down a hallway to the right of the wet bar. At the end of the hall he found what he was looking for, stairs leading down to the H-Pod room.

  MD found the server and took note of the yellow line, so as not to step into the area where the H-Pod might suddenly shift. Through voice commands, he brought the system to life. The monitoring screen came alive instantly hovering in front of the wall-mounted unit. MD was taken aback when suddenly he was confronted by Adam who appeared and came to life suddenly.

  “Hello, Patricia. When did you exit the H-Pod? I hope everything is ok? How may I be of assistance?”

  MD felt a sudden urge in the pit of his stomach and then a sudden very urgent desire to urinate. His brain told him that was simply the adrenal glands on top of his kidneys releasing adrenaline. Something left over from our caveman days when humans faced a fight or flight situation, like coming face to face with a saber-toothed tiger. MD had never really felt this sensation before and that in itself was almost too much. He resisted the urge to run from the room and find the nearest toilet.

  Adam crossed his arms. He was life-size and almost face-to-face, a silent, eerily knowing leer on his face.

  MD gathered his thoughts. This was not a human friend checking on Sullivan or accessing their server. No, this must be an AE. Why else would he have called him Patricia? His heart rate began to relax as he studied Adam. MD spoke slowly.

  “I’m sorry. I did not understand what you asked me. I’m having some difficulty with the hardware and you are a little garbled and fuzzy right now. Who are you again?”

  “Of course, ma’am. Let me make some checks and get back with you.” Adam smiled.

  MD persisted.

  “Who are you again?”

  “I’m Adam, ma’am. Your assistant and estate manager.”

  “Oh, of course, Adam. I’m so sorry. I can see you now clearly and recognize your voice. For a minute there you gave me a startle.”

  MD was relieved that the muted sound of his voice through the hazmat suit did not seem to be an issue with this Adam. He knew that Adam could do a myriad of duties at once, seamless and invisible to him. Like, keep an intruder busy as he called the authorities. MD felt the urge to urinate grow intense again as he considered that Adam could be doing that right now.

  As a third-tier, Adam could not just be shut down or ordered to go dormant. He had relative free will, with the exception of his owner’s wishes. But he called MD “Patricia,” so it may be a default for “Adam” to appear whenever the monitor on the unit was activated. Or it could be a security layer and the police could be on their way here at this very moment. MD grew angry at himself that he was not in control and that his panic might get the better of him if he did not get it under control.

  MD racked his brain, teetering between pure fear and logical thought. How could he have not known that Sullivan’s AE might be present or could interject itself into the scene? Then MD remembered what Adam had said, about exiting the H-Pod.

  Of course, Adam should know that the H-Pod was still occupied, and through biometric measurement know that it was Sullivan. So unless he was playing stupid, the Adam he was confronted with now was simply a default program.

  Designed to do simple repetitive tasks that freed the memory and resources of the AE to attend to other duties. Like a human whose brain delegates tasks that require no intervention, like breathing, unless of course there was a problem. MD instantly regretted telling Adam that there was some hardware problem. He did not
want the actual Adam to show up and begin to interfere.

  By all accounts, the Sullivan system was running as it should. Aside from the short discussion he had with Adam, nothing else should be raising a flag. While MD did have control of Sullivan’s hardware and software, he did not want to alert the AE.

  “Adam,” MD spoke slowly.

  “I need to use the monitor and holograph, if you could move out of it so that I have full access. I will restart the system in a few minutes, and will let you know if there are any other problems.

  “Yes, of course. Just let me know if Madam needs anything else.”

  MD breathed a sigh of relief as Adam dissolved, leaving only the monitor screen floating in the air behind him. MD linked hardware in the Sullivan unit with the mobile communications unit on his waist. Instantly the screen filled with the image of Patricia through Alex’s digital vision sipping espresso and still very much enjoying Alex’s company in the elegant dining room. MD was worried about the time he lost dealing with Adam but was relieved when he found Alex and Patricia where he left them.

  Luna Hotel Baglioni, Canal District, New Polis, Metaverse

  Patricia took a sip of her espresso. Of all the things that amazed her in the Metaverse, and there were many, the ability to eat, drink and taste was the most amazing. Even the wine Nutrient, alcohol & chemical aromas pumped into the H-Pod, was savory. Could even induce a state of inebriation. She enjoyed Alex’s company and was already thinking ahead to what would hopefully be many more hours spent with him.

  “There’s a little wine left. Would you like to finish it?” Alex jingled the bottle.

  “No, thank you. I think the two glasses that I had are already making me feel just right—maybe a little too good.”