Read MMORPG: How a Computer Game Becomes Deadly Serious for Free Online Page A

now a list of the members of the guild called The Hammer of Grimstone appeared. There were ten different characters. Rebecca opened a few of them, quickly scanning the results.
    “He’s not the only one. They’re all more or less the same. Top notch players. This is a guild that can take on nearly anything by itself.”
    She pushed herself away from the desk and looked at her watch. “I have to hurry. What are you going to do with this?”
    He thought for a moment and shook his head. “I have no idea. Maybe we should think about it until tomorrow. Maybe you’re the one who should think really hard. After all, I know absolutely nothing about this game.”
    She nodded. “I will.”
    “Can you come back tomorrow morning? Then we can decide what to do. I have no classes until three o’clock.”
     
     
    He walked her downstairs and let her out of the door. When she was gone, he slowly went back to his room, deep in thought. He was not only thinking about bombs, about Khalid and about World of Warcraft, but also about the pleasing prospect of seeing Rebecca again the next day.
     
     
     
     
     
     
    ~~~

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER V
     
     
     
     
    “ I’ve not only been thinking, but I’ve been doing some research as well,” Rebecca announced when she entered, wearing her black Barerra shirt again. With some disappointment Robert noticed she would have to go to work again.
    “Could you get me a cup of tea?”
    Robert closed the door behind her. “Sure. What have you been thinking? And doing?”
    She grinned at him. “Patience, patience. I need some tea first!”
    While Robert boiled water in the electrical heater, she toured his tiny room. She examined the photo of his parents on his desk and flipped through some of his books. When the tea was finished, Robert handed her his favorite mug. Sitting, he looked expectantly at her.
    “Last night, after work, I searched the Internet. And I found some interesting things.” She opened the bag at her feet and retrieved a sheaf of paper. “I even printed some of it.”
    Robert held out his hand, but she didn’t hand it over. Instead, she browsed the prints and pulled several out, scanning them.
    “Right, let’s start here. On February fifteen of 2008, the CIA published a report about the dangers of MMORPG’s as a hideout for terrorists. I have it right here. I actually found the original report on the web and downloaded it.”
    She held up a stack of paper. UNCLASSIFIED, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Data Mining Report, the title page read. She handed it over, and Robert quickly flipped through it.
    He smiled broadly. “So I’m not stupid after all!” Checking the last page, he saw that the report was fifteen pages long. “Do I have to read this first?”
    “No, you can do that later. Most of it is terribly boring anyway.”
    She swirled the tea in her cup before continuing. “The report caught the attention of the press, and within a few days there were reactions and discussions on numerous websites and forums. Look, I’ll show you some.”
    She gave Robert a printout of a website. The header read U.S. Spies Want to Find Terrorists in World of Warcraft . He started to read out loud:
     
     
    “ Be careful who you frag. Having eliminated all terrorism in the real world, the U.S. intelligence community is working to develop software that will detect violent extremists infiltrating World of Warcraft and other massive multiplayer games, according to a data-mining report from the Director of National Intelligence. The Reynard project will begin by profiling online gaming behavior, then potentially move on to its ultimate goal of ‘automatically detecting suspicious behavior and actions in the virtual world.”
     
     
    “So we really may be onto something,” he said. “Even the CIA is taking it seriously.’
    She shrugged. “How seriously it’s being taken remains to be seen. Now please finish the article.”
    “Yes, boss!”