Fater's corner

Late winter, cold and heavy snow falls outside. In my old black jacket I enter the underground station and swipe my phone over the checkpoint’s gate. A green flash with a quiet buzz notifies me followed by a message that pops up on the corner of my retina.

 

21 credits deduced at I1 City - Central Hub K4 station as public transportation fee.

 

Not minding it I walk forward pushing the metal flame with me that allows me through without objection. Thankfully the automatic system rarely does malfunction, save the time you are selected for a random search.

 

I walk on the long corridor leading down, trying to bypass the people who are, like me, unfortunate enough to have to leave their comfortable homes. Work and all, not many can afford the time anyway. I haven’t been in the city for time, or saying more correctly outside my own little world. Like everyone else. Money, however is what moves the world of the poor.

 

I stop at the yellow line alone, thankfully, the blue line seems to be full again. While there is not much difference between the two, we yellow don’t like other colors around us. The vehicle flashes in a few seconds, exactly on time. The doors open and I enter the iron coffin full of people smelling awfully. I wonder, am I any different?

 

With no place to sit or move to, I grab the rail where I stand and wait for the doors to close. The loud noise of the generator whistles like a ghost as we start, scaring me a little. I feel a hand on my shoulder, someone must have lost their grip on the rail. I hope they didn’t get injured. As I have no space to move in the giant but full coffin, I can’t see them.

 

We begin to move, slowly at first. Everything starts slow, then it suddenly accelerates. I myself almost slip, but I am confident in my physical ability. I am a yellow, more or less.

 

The travel is short, we one stop three times and I finally get to exit the damned damnation. Good people should be fit in a small space my ass, it’s straight torture. Why is there only one yellow coffin?

 

Anyway. I walk up the stairs slowly and tired. I stop in front of a vending machine selling different drinks and eye the water a little, but I turn away quickly. I have paid for the trip already anyway. I go to the restroom which is thankfully free for the commuters and do my business quickly.

 

From my pocket I produce a small yellow nylon and attach it to my wrist. A put my hand deep into a handwashing machine and wait the five seconds for it to finish.

 

Since someone else entered I pull it behind my sleeve and exit the toilet. Just to be sure I walk a hundred meters forward on the corridor and stop right next to the stairs to the exit. I pull the nylon out and wipe it to my jacket. Carefully opening it up I obtain a free drink the same quality as that vending machine tried to sell me. I grin at my own little achievement and drink it quickly.

After I pack it away I resume my travel, up the stairs. A lot of hard, cold and ugly stone steps of stairs.

 

Finally emerging on the outside I spot the huge buildings around me. Each and every one is a huge skyscraper, all in dull dark colors lacking a single window. Eerie, as always.

 

My destination is close, since I arrange meetings convenient for me if I have to go out. Only a twenty minutes of walk in this stone and iron jungle, avoiding bumping into the few blue stragglers. It is a blue zone, of course there would be blues. Well, everyone in the world hates blues, if only because they also hate everyone else.

 

I spot the sign: N2W2-I1112. I arrived.

 

It’s a huge dull and lifeless building like any other, but I don’t have to enter. I simply sit on one of the stone benches in front of it.

 

I adjust my hoodie so my color can be seen and wait patiently. The clock in the edge of my retina says it’s the arranged time, my date should be here any time now.

 

Unexpectedly, to unfriendly blues stop in front of me glaring me down. I ignore them for a few seconds, but then I ask.

 

“Can I help you with anything?”

 

I look into the eye of the closer one, trying to be calm, even if I know they are looking for trouble. They can’t really do much here, but if it’s simple harassing I can’t do much against them.

 

“What are you doing here? Stinking yellow.”

 

I look down on myself and smell my arm. So I really do stink, it seems. Even if I didn’t, after that ride there is no way it didn’t stick.

 

“Waiting for a friend.” I answer simply, ignoring his attempted insult.

 

“Get lost. Your kind isn’t welcomed here.” So aren’t yours, I think in my head but afraid to say it out loud.

 

“So aren’t yours. Get lost.” Comes an annoyed voice from behind them.

 

We all look at the person in question and I smile slightly. A young man wearing casual clothes is staring at the blues really annoyed. As soon as they see him they step back curse and turn around to leave.

 

The young man watches as they leave, then smiles brightly at me. His designation is eye catching. Green. A respected district color.

 

“You fine?” He asks kindly, but I just frown.

 

“You think a few blues could do anything to me?”

 

To my angry question he laughs a little and sits down next to me. Compared to me, he is a lot different. He is young, handsome, wears proper clothes, smells good and… let’s leave it at that. I on the other hand am unattractive, my long unkempt hair was neglected, I have blue bags under my eyes my clothes are old and faded and I also smell. I would struggle to sit next to myself, yet this guy is smiling at my face.

 

“You have the stuff?” He asks quickly.

 

“Yep. Wait, no small talk or anything?”

 

Normally one wouldn’t say something so suspicious and would at least make some small talk before business. He is an old friend, as far a friendships go between different colors, but we often do business. It’s hard to make money in today’s world.

 

“No small talk, I have big talk later, just let’s get this over quick first.” He says in an excited voice.

 

No responding I pull the zippers off and take my minicomputer out. It’s what it name suggest, a mini computer that does everything. It processes the data my millimeter thin glass phone and my augmented contact lens with it’s EEG reader requires. Basically, my life. Normally one would never take it out on the street.

 

He does the same as me, albeit he has no zippers and we hold the two next to each other. I type a few commands in mentally and send the data to him. A few seconds later I window pops up.

 

Fea wants to send you 1500 credits. Accept?

 

I confirm the transfer and check my balance.

 

Balance: 2141,451 credits.

 

Huh, I am really poor, I sigh mentally. Would anything even remain after I paid the utilities and medicine… Wait, he said he has something, and something big at that!

 

“What do you have?” I ask impatiently.

With a cheeky smile he leans closer staring in me in the eyes. I almost flinch, but manage to stay calm.

 

“Do you remember… Royal Battle?” I freeze for a moment making him chuckle. “It was your favorite VR game, am I right?”

 

“Yes, I do remember. 9 years ago, PAWO:Royal Battle. A competitive VR game that focused with roleplay as it’s core. A week after release it was banned because the game had no rules and restrictions apart from it’s settings’. No other games were ever released with VR safety functions turned off.

 

Are you saying they are bringing it back?”

 

I ask excitedly, because it was my absolutely favorite game. An open world VR game with absolute freedom, more real than this wrenched grey reality. It was set in the middle ages period where thousands of players per server had to try to become the king or queen of the kingdom during a disputed succession.

 

From commoner to as high as you can, without limits. But this wasn’t all. There was a whole capital city and it’s vicinity full of NPC’s capable of humanlike interactions, who lived their lives, or maybe wanted to profiteer themselves.

 

I didn’t aim high, I simply enjoyed the freedom and opened an inn with a restaurant. There was no danger to my life and I sold my earnings for real money and managed to pay off my ever growing loans. But because of this absolute freedom there were cases where players captured and tortured NPC’s and other players. After a week’s time the game was banned and I had to return to my much less profitable jobs, like today’s. I managed to avoid loans this time, but with my only family member sick…

 

I end up sighing mentally again.

 

“Of course not- But I have better.” He says slyly.

 

“Spit out.” I groan as I feel the chilly weather creeping into my clothes.

 

“Tomorrow starts an underground match. The minimum entry is 500.000 credit. The prize is 50% for the throne. The rest, 40% is divided by the AI depending on rank, wealth and influence. If you die, get banished by the country or the church or became unable to finish the game in any way, you get nothing. Even when the hosts take a tenth away, just by simply becoming a lower noble you can earn a lot.”

 

I stare at him like a frozen statue for a whole minute. Really, what did I expect from a green? Illegal things and money. Well, I also do illegal things, but that’s because I have to. If they have that much money, why would they risk it? I don’t understand.

 

“I don’t have that much money.’ I state hiding my interest.

 

“Of course. I will hire you.” He swipes and a contract appears in my vision. “From tomorrow you will enter in my name in the competition. I will shoulder the entry fee, naturally. I will pay all your real world finances and I the treatment of your sister. As you cannot leave the game without being disqualified, I will promise to look after her with full responsibility.

 

At the end of the game you will pay exactly 60% of your prize, regardless of the amount.”

 

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I enter my home quietly. It’s a small place in a dull, dark skyscraper in the yellow district. There is a clean medical room on the left, and a half-kitchen with a bed next to it on the right. I lightly knock on the door, and a young voice asks me in.

 

“Hello, Anna.”

 

“Hi Dan! How are you?” She asks smiling sweetly, sitting in her bed and covered by a grey blanket. I should buy a new one.

 

“I’m okay. You, how are you feeling?” I ask as I bask a little in her shining smile. My only sun.

 

“Today I was fine! It seems you don’t have to worry about me that much anymore!”

 

Truly, a whole day without her condition worsening is a blessing. But... I look at the written contract in my hands.

 

“I accepted a big job. You will be treated properly from tomorrow.” I hide my trembling hands behind me.

 

“That’s good! Don’t overwork yoursel-... Sibling, what’s wrong?”

 

Oh, she noticed it from my voice. It’s impossible to hide it, let’s get on with it quickly.

 

“I… Accepted a job in VR…. One that I cannot leave until I finish. It could take months at the very least…” That’s the problem. I can’t see her for a long time. We can’t see each other for a long time.

 

Her head slowly falls down in pain but she suddenly looks back at me again with a smile almost as bright as the one before.

 

“Please, don’t hold back. I swear I will be fine. You said they will treat me right? I will wait for you here, healthy and full of energy no matter how long it takes. Sibling.”

 

Sibling. She calls me like that ever since I remember. For a yellow, this means everything. My precious family for whom I would do anything for. Such a naively beautiful word.

 

“Yes. Please wait for me as a healthy yellow. Sibling.”