A Power Game

Mhykol watched as Rain slowly blurred. It was as if she being becoming two people, blurring and fading out of existence. She became an oil painting, brushed over by water. The last thing Mhykol saw was her smile, reflected in her black eyes.

"See you in a second."

The words were not so much heard by his ears as spoken into his mind. Yellow-white light began to consume Mhykol's vision, and looking down, he saw his own body blurring. The sounds of metal singing against metal grew faint. Mhykol breathed deeply, closing his eyes against the soft light. It felt as if his body were floating from the ground, consumed by the light that surrounded him.

And then his feet hit the ground, sending a jolt through his body. Mhykol kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply. Wherever he was, it smelled of sawdust and freshly baked cookies, the sweet smell of flowers and freshly split wood twining through the air. Opening his eyes, Mhykol breathed out in amazement.

He was surrounded by ten thousand people, some old, some young. They were of every race, every ethnicity, every build imaginable. Every player logged into Euphoria, something told him. They were standing together in a massive stone circle. All around the ring of flat, paved stone, buildings rose. They were made of wood or stone, some with slate roofs, some with thatch. Flowers bloomed everywhere, from gardens of rose and daffodil at the bottom of the houses, to boxes of calypso and morning glory under the windows. The sun stood just above the western rooves, painting the entire city in a mask of crimson, purple and deep gold. The light spilled across the upraised faces of everyone, who stood like stunned cattle.

What had happened?

What was this place?

Where was who and so?

These were the questions rumbling through the crowd, whispered between passing breathes. Mhykol quickly scanned the crowd for any sigh of Reese or Rain, but he could find neither. They were two people lost in a sea of thousands. He was just above to give up and wait when someone's red hair caught his eye.

It was her. The girl from the bar. She stood twenty feet to his left, two rows in front of him. Her red-gold hair caught the light of the sun, turning to a sheet of fire. She was looking around with a stunned expression, one hand slowly rubbing her neck. Instead of the uniform dress she had been wearing at the tavern, she was dressed more elegantly now. A short black dress wrapped her slender body, and a thin necklace of gold hung from her neck. A bracelet of the same thin gold chain hung from her right wrist. To Mhykol's amazement, as he watched the young girl, a single teardrop traced its way down one of her cheeks. She wiped it away quickly, but it left a small gap in her black eyeliner.

Well, she did just die. At least Mhykol thought she had.

Suddenly, a clap of thunder split the air. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, striking the ground with a massive roar. People screamed, trying to run, but unable to. Mhykol stood calmly, watching the lightning with interest. It was brighter than anything imaginable, and Mhykol thought that he would never get the burning bolt out of his mind. Suddenly, the lightning expanded, flexing outwards. It took shape, becoming a massive, glowing man. The sound of thunder grew, and a wind sprung up, howling through the clearing. Mhykol watched flowers fly from their windowboxes, spinning in circles towards the sky.

And then it was over. The wind died, and a hundred flowers fell from the sky, petals fluttering to the ground like pieces of paper. Everybody stood, rigid and wary, waiting for what would happen next.

Mhykol already knew. God had come.

The man looked nothing like Mhykol had thought he would. He stood above the crowd, floating on a circular piece of metal. The disk rotated slowly under his feet, but he balanced on it easily. The man must have been a hundred years old, with tanned, leathery skin and white hair. A massive beard, trimmed to a point, hung down to his waist. The mans hands were clasped in front of his stomach, like he was praying, or waiting patiently for a chance to speak.

"Good evening, everyone." The man's voice was deep, and dry as the wind in autumn. It sounded like leaves blowing across the ground, but amplified magically a thousand times. It filled the entire square, causing everyone to look up in amazement. The man simply smiled down at him. "Welcome, my children, to Euphoria." The man spread his arms wide, gesturing to the town around them.

"Many of you will be wondering why I called you here. To what end I meet with you." The man sighed deeply, sounding almost regretful. "I will tell you now. The newest update is known as The Avidya Update, I will leave it up to you to put your own definition to those words. I simply describe it as this: Ignorance is bliss. However, something went wrong while we were updating the system."

The man drew out his words, weaving them around everyone like a spell. The man was a poet, Mhykol realized. It was also clear just how powerful this man was. His voice was a drug; vice-like, yet elegant. Soft-spoken, yet powerful. The man was treating this as a massive play, Mhykol realized.

"People have gone missing, I understand. I understand you're worried. You want to see your friends."

The man's grey robes blew around him in the wind, stirring slightly with every movement.

"This is intentional."

Suddenly, everyone began to speak. A low murmur descended over the square, but God clapped his hands to silence them. "Quiet, children. I will explain." Everyone fell silent. "It was to prepare you for the loss soon to come.'

A chill crept down Mhykol's spine. Loss to come? What was this man talking about?

"Your friends have been returned. Those who were killed were under my protection. Before this moment, you were all warded in special magic, allowing none to be truly killed. Now, I have released this magic." The man paused, judging the crowds reaction. "I can see many of you want to leave. You are free to do so -" His voice trailed off, leaving something obviously unsaid, "- but you will die. The Netgear you put on your head is connected to your brain. If you remove the Netgear, you will die. If you log out, which you are free to do, you will die. It will be swift and painless, but it will be forever. If you are killed, or die of natural causes within Euphoria, you will die where you lie in the world as well. We are all connected, you see."

No way. It's not possible. But to Mhykol's horror, he realized it wasn't impossible. In fact, to anyone looking closely at the coding, it should have been blindingly obvious. T - for terminated.

As the man fell silent, the crowd erupted into noise. Fear, disbelief, and the scariest, a mind-numbing panic, spread along the standing men and women. Mhykol watched, stunned, as a woman in front of him opened her menu, touching the 'log out' button with one finger. As soon as she did, she collapsed. It was as if life had suddenly been sucked from her body, leaving her as a doll. Her lifeless figure collapsed to the cobblestones.

"Oh my God, he's for real." Mhykol's words broke the deadly silence. Instantly, everyone was screaming and running for the exits. Above them, the old man stood calmly. As Mhykol looked up, the man met his eyes levelly. They remained in contact for a full ten seconds before the man smiled, fading into mist. As he disappeared, his voice called out one final time.

"As soon as someone reaches level 100, I will make myself visible to them. Kill me, and this game ends. You are all free. But those who die - are dead forever. Do not die, children."

And then he was gone.

Mhykol looked around once more for Reese or Rain, but the seething ocean of panicked bodies around him blocked his view. He did, however, see Katie. The image sent a pit of cold fear through his body. She was standing motionless, one hand raised, hovering just above the 'log out' button of her menu.

Mhykol moved instantly, pushing aside two men and grabbing the slender girl's wrist. She looked at him, lost somewhere between fear, anger and indecision.

"Who -" she began, but her eyes narrowed as she took him in, "The boy from the Jason's."

"Hey, you just came back to life. Do you really want to die again so quickly?" Mhykol didn't know where the words came from, but they came out forcefully. "Reese loves you. When he heard you died..." Mhykol trailed to silence as he searched for words. "Well, I don't know what he did, but it was brutal." Mhykol stopped himself, draining his words of venom. "Look, Katie, I don't know what's going to happen, but stay for it." The girls indecision prompted him to add, "If only for Reese's sake."

That seemed to decide her. Nodded slightly, her hand went limp in his grasp. He released it, and she swiped the menu away from her face before letting the hand drop to her side.

"Let's go find him then." Her voice was quiet, barely audible, but it brought Mhykol back to the present. Looking around, he almost choked. Bodies lay everywhere. There must have been a thousand, or close enough. The were everywhere, sitting or lying on the ground where they had logged out. Mhykol ground his teeth together, both hands tightening at his side. It was a bloodless massacre.

"Poor people." Katie's voice was sad. "And I would be one if not for you. Let's go."

Stepping carefully over bodies, the two made their way to the north side of the stone clearing. They walked side by side, studying the faces of the boys and girls around them. When they reached the alleyway, Mhykol turned to Katie.

"Do you have Reese on your friend list?"

The girl nodded.

"Good, then call him."

The girl raised one hand, and her menu shone to life in front of her face. Mhykol didn't know why he was relieved when her hand didn't even hesitate going past the log out button, but he was. She clicked on the smiley face that represented her friend list, and scrolled until she found the name 'Reese Long'. Pausing for a second over the name, she pressed it lightly.

Nothing happened. Five seconds. Ten seconds. And then Reese's body appeared in front of them. He was translucent, like a holograph, but his eyes were lifelike, and filled with happiness so powerful Mhykol thought he could taste it.

"Kate." He breathed her name like a prayer, and the girl smiled at him.

"Good evening, Reese." Her voice was soft and comforting.

The boy in front of them raised one hand to his face, wiping away tears that Mhykol couldn't see. His mouth, however, was pressed together in a smile, obviously barely containing his joy. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the north entrance to the square. I have your friend here with me."

"I'm with Rain and Avery at the west entrance. We'll join you there as soon as we calm Avery down. She kind of ... understandably distraught." The boy broke off his words quickly, staring at Katie with warm eyes. "Katie, you know I love you, right?"

The girl beside Mhykol laughed lightly, shooting Reese a sarcastic look. "I never would have known." Her voice was smooth and joking, and she ended in a smile. "I love you too, Reese." Her soft, girly voice suddenly grew commanding. "But if you don't get your ass over here on the double, I might just die of boredom ... Again."

"Not funny Kate. Be right over."

The holograph blinked out of existence, and Katie slashed away her menu with one hand.

"Well," said Mhykol in a despondent voice, "I guess that's that. Now ... we wait."