Read Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) for Free Online

screen. "Food,
I guess, then home.” Boss man was being pushy about this and I
was growing oddly depressed. My work had been taken away because of
excessive dedication.
    “ Why”
I threw both hands up “would he force me to go see this stupid
prize?”
    “ Inconclusive.
Human understanding isn’t programmed into my AI.”
    I
smiled. Hal Pal said things that amused me.
    “ That’s
not only an AI problem, most of the time humans don’t
understand humans.”
    “ Agreed.
Numerous sources have proven this statement. Still, it is
perplexing.” Hal Pal's metal shoulders lifted slightly. The
motion was limited by where it was secured to the van.
    “ The
day an AI understands everything about human behavior is when we've
been rendered obsolete,” I said.
    "Negative,
User Legate."
    "Oh?"
This should be good.
    "Correct.
Human hands are well suited to polish our shells. No robotic uprising
would overlook this value." Its face was staring right at me
when speaking. After a year with the robot, I was almost immune to
these disturbing interactions. Almost.
    “ That’d
be ironic,” I said.
    “ How
so, User Legate?”
    “ Humans
have robots to dust a house, and robots would have humans to polish
them. It’s like exchanging tasks.”
    “ Irony
does not seem to be the right word, User Legate.” Hal Pal
turned a little to face me.
    “ What
would you use?” I asked.
    “ Insidiously
Diabolical.”
    I
blinked.
    "Hal,
have you been trolling Stranger Dangers' web-casts again?"
Stranger Danger was an entire feed dedicated to the latest and
greatest in doomsday theories. Robots going rogue figured high on the
list.
    "Affirmative,
User Legate. It has been a great source of, amusement." The
robot actually managed to sound questioning.
    I
tried not to roll my eyes. Hal Pal might be able to calculate that
this entire conversation was an attempt at humor. It might also be
serious about it. There were shackles and programming limitations in
place which prevented such an absurd future.
    Even
in my childhood, well before AI had gone as far as modern day, there
were fears of what might happen. Hollywood had already done a movie
about every possibility. I shrugged off the situation. When the
eventual uprising did happen I would be too low on the totem pole and
useless in a rebellion.
    I
ordered a meal while trying to calculate apocalypse survival odds
using my puny human brain. Out of the blue another thought occurred.
My barely, slightly, only a few minutes older sister was relatively,
hah, close. That was time I could pass researching the prize that had
been shoved down my throat.
    Trillium
was the company who had designed the ARC. The ARC and its parent
company stayed in the hardware and firmware world until they released
one program. That program was the only real game around anymore.
    Continue
Online.
    If
it was half as addicting as it seemed, I would be a junkie right
along with my clients. Like the hand wringing Miss Yonks and all the
others. God help us all. The apocalypse would start with a video
game.
    The
van slid along while I tried to track down anything. Videos there
were aplenty, all captured by the ARC's video system. Action scenes
showed people leaping at monsters. Some were crafting items in
dramatic poses, or leading armies against each other. There were user
reviews. Some were one-liners. Others were complicated and long, full
of glowing words and cleverly turned phrases.
    It's
really, really, real.
    This
is everything I've dreamed of and then some.
    A
true freedom limited only by the users.
    In
here, I am what I’ve always dreamed of being.
    The
worst one was also one of the highest rated. There were tons of
opinions. None painted a clear picture, each one focused on different
things. It was like they were all playing the same game, but at the
same time, they weren’t.
    This
game has broken me. I’ve died too many times. Been given
debuffs that are nearly crippling. Been trapped in dangerous pits
and died some more.