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

to make a statue?” She said.
    “ At
least point zero five percent of them want to make a grand statue.”
    “ You’re
being recorded!” The female nearly hissed. For a moment, you
could see the press room audience torn between amusement and
confusion. Heads swiveled back and forth.
    “ Anyway,
maybe you don’t want to make a statue. Maybe you want to learn
a martial art, to use them against real people.” He had clearly
lost his momentum and was trying to recover. The lead scientist came
off as a bit flaky.
    “ Savages,"
She said.
    “ Or
swords." He tried again.
    “ Barbarians.”
    “ Cake?”
    “… is
acceptable.” Her delayed response was almost said through
grudging teeth. It was enough to make me smile in the van. Hal Pal
had been blissfully quiet this entire time.
    “ Oh
yes, that would be delightful. Chocolate.” There was a pause
while the male hummed pleasantly. “Wait. Anyway! The entire
purpose of the ARC project was to give everyone a chance to visit a
place like this. Something so real that it could be truly called
another world. This is not some imitation. Not merely a place where
people talk to poorly constructed machines and walk through a world
that looks fake.”
    There
was muttering in the background, but it was too low to hear it. The
male voice being recorded cleared his throat.
    “ Here
it is. I assure you that the clip shown earlier is based on real
in-game footage. It is every bit as lifelike as anyone might desire.
The world is open, truly free form, and we, you, I, anyone, can join
it,”
    “ After
it’s released.” By now all the reporters on this
recording were staring at the air, expecting a counter of some sort
from the female. There was none so the man continued. “ After
it’s released, and become a legend.”
    “ Your
ending is lame. This is why I don’t like talking to the
public.” She said.
    “ She
doesn’t mean to be rude everyone. She is right, though. If
swords and crafting aren’t your thing, join to talk to friends.
If you want to cook, everything you learn in game can be replicated
in real life. It is extremely real, and amazingly detailed. There are
hidden races, treasures, and story lines spanning generations and
entire worlds.” I could almost imagine the male scientist
shouting with a fist up in the air in triumph.
    “ Worlds?
I thought you said this was one world.”
    “ Shush.
They don’t need to know all the secrets.” He sounded
panicked.
    “ Says
the man who’s letting the recording go on.” The female
scientist said.
    “ Oh.
Oh, right.” The male shifted to sheepish. “Sorry
everyone, ignore that last bit, there’s no secret hidden
stuff!”
    The
clip shut off leaving a momentarily confused audience. Almost as one
they realized it was over and they could launch all their questions.
The man behind the podium waited for the noise to die down.
    “ I’ll
add a few more points. First, while the clip is less formal than
we’re used to, far less, it is a message from the two main
creators of this game. These two people have spearheaded one of the
greatest technological movements of our generation. This was done
secondary to Continue Online.”
    “ In
case you misunderstand Trillium's intentions by this last statement.
The game is much more impressive than the ARC system alone.”
    “ I
will not be outlining costs personally, that information is available
online. I will, however, tell all of you one of the biggest decisions
regarding Continue Online. This is a detail everyone at Trillium felt
was imperative from the outset.” The man behind the podium
paused and took a breath.
    “ Any
information about the world itself will be shrouded until our
management dictates otherwise. Our legal resources will engage in
suppression of all game-play details outside approved feeds. This is
to ensure that everyone who chooses to play this game can honestly
discover a new world. Not to only read about it on a forum and follow
some guide. Player