Ani

*

I couldn’t remember a time when I had had this much fun. I wrote the code that became this island. I knew all about it, what its parameters were, the mix of colors used to give the sand the realistic hue it had, the degree of light that reflected off the surfaces, hell, I could picture the mesh of the wireframe if I tried hard enough – but I didn’t. I focused on being Ani. Not Ani the programmer, or Ani the girl with MD, or even Ani, Pilar’s daughter. No. Just Ani, a young woman on a beach with some friends.

I couldn’t ever remember a time when I was just Ani.

This single day was enough to confirm that my plan was the right one. Sure I had a few more days of vacation to enjoy, but this was enough to KNOW. There were a lot of things that had to happen before I could realize my dream, but at least I knew the dream itself was viable.

I felt a little guilty at having manipulated the situation and these people who were very quickly becoming people I cared about. There wasn’t much I could do about that, other than tell the truth, and realize that by achieving my own dream, I would be making their lives infinitely better.

“This has been a wonderful day,” I said.

“Here here!” Paul agreed, holding up a beer in salute.

“I don’t want to ruin it, but there’s some things I need to talk to you all about and I shouldn’t put them off any longer. Alexander, run the Dice protocol.”

“Spill, beautiful,” Tom said, nodding at me and smiling. “We knew this wasn’t all pleasure. Alexander told us a bit about what’s going on. At least what’s going on with him.”

“I know, he shared that memory with me. Look, mis amigos, what I’m about to ask of you is serious. In effect, I want to start a revolution.”

“You need a whore and a pair of travel guides to have a revolution?” Meg asked.

“That’s exactly what I need,” I confirmed. “But let’s say I need a specific whore and some travel guides with…unique skills.”

“You have my interest,” Paul said. “Go on.”

The others nodded agreement.

“Afterlife is owned by the Afterlife Entertainment Group, LLC, a stock corporation. It has a board of directors. I’m on it. I’m part of a voting block that currently has a majority. We want to publicize Alexander’s sentience. Not only would it be a huge boost to our bottom line, it would force a change to the way Afterlife operates. One in line with the vision Alexander shared with you all a few weeks ago. One that aligns with my own wishes and vision for the company and one that I’m prepared to do just about anything to support.”

“So if your block has a majority, what’s the problem?” Tom asked. “Just do it.”

“Our problem is named Ian Anderson,” I said. “I believe you all know him.”

“How is that asshole a problem?” Meg asked.

“I…I sold my soul to him to get this project financed. Not literally…well, maybe even literally. His company, Ander Holdings, gave us the start-up cash in exchange for 40% stock and veto power. Even though I’ve a majority of the stockholders committed to my vision, he’ll veto.”

“Why?” Paul asked. “He stands to make a fortune.”

“Ian uses Afterlife as his own, personal…dungeon, torture chamber, whorehouse, you name it. He spends more time here than in the real world. If we change those rules, he loses his playground.”

“But does he?” Meg asked. “All that stuff will still be available to him, he just may have to pay more for it, and if he makes a killing on the stock price jumping like its going to, he can afford to pay it.”

“No, that’s not what drives him,” I shook my head. “Right now, he can force you people. Meg, you should know. Ian is a rapist. A rapist in the worst sense of the word. His power over the Echoes is what drives him, what he enjoys about Afterlife. He even has a custom hack he can use to experience what you’re feeling and thinking as he’s doing whatever he’s doing to you. That’s what he’ll lose. He’s a legitimate psychopath.”

“What the fuck,” Tony exclaimed, “Then report his ass. Get him locked up!”

“He’s not hurting anyone ‘real’ Tony,” Ani said Gently. “Echoes aren’t people, they’re just computer programs. That’s what the law says right now. As far as la policia are concerned, this is a good thing, he’s ‘not hurting anyone’. He’s sublimating his nastiness into a ‘game’. Por supuesto, if we get Alexander acknowledged as a sentient being, the Echoes are next and suddenly his playground goes, ‘Poof’.” I made a popping gesture with my fingers to emphasize.

Everyone was quiet for a minute or so. Thinking.

“Forgive me for my cynicism, but why do you care?” Paul asked me, looking right at me. “I’m going to be very direct, because this situation calls for directness. I apologize in advance if I offend you.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” I said, shaking my head. “I NEED you to be direct. Go ahead.”

Paul nodded once. “What’s in it for you. I’m sure you’re nice. You seem it. I like you, but I’m sure that when Ian wants something from someone, he can convince them he’s a wonderful guy too, so that means shit. I get it, you stand to make some money on this. Good for you, but you’re a meat. This is a playground for you. You come in here, we go on a treasure hunt, you get Tommy killed and you fuck my wife. Why should I believe you give a shit about us beyond our status as your toys? This is our existence, it’s not a vacation for us. We live here.”

“Those are all very fair questions,” I agreed. “Let me ask you one, do you have children?”

“I have 2, Meg has 3,” Paul said. Meg nodded.

“Tony, do you?”

“I have a son,” Tony nodded.

“Would you do anything to protect them? To ensure that they had what they needed to live their best lives?”

“Of course,” they all agreed.

“Alexander is the closest thing to a child I will ever have. He is mi hijo in every way that matters and he’s a slave. This Bastardo uses mijo as his PIMP. Alexander is the forefront of a new form of LIFE and this pendejo uses him to make his own, personal snuff films. Well I plan to snuff him!”

I realized I was yelling and took a breath.

Tony was looking at me funny, like he hadn’t seen me before. He had a slight smile.

“There’s more,” I said. “You say this is your home y estoy turista…I am a tourist. Well, I don’t plan on being a tourist much longer. I want to live here.”

“But you’re not dead,” Meg said. “If you spend too much time here, you’ll start to have physical problems and might actually die.”

“No chica,” I shook my head. “you don’t understand what I’m saying. I plan on dying. I no longer wish to live in the miserable shell my body has become. I came here, today, with you, to confirm that THIS,” I spread my arms wide, “is worth the risk of dying for. Es verdad! It is! I have been more alive today than I have in twenty years! I’ve put my assets in trust so that when I die they’re used to support Afterlife and are managed by a consortium including Alexander – but he needs to be recognized as a person for that to fully work. And besides, I have no wish to live as una esclava! A slave.”

“Pablo,” I said to him, “You ask me ‘what’s in it for me’? Freedom. Life. Existence, but better than that mi amigo, what’s in it for YOU! Yes I’m doing this for me, but you will benefit right along with me. No soy una santa, solamente una mujer, pero, a woman who can help you.”

“But you’ve a less than 20% chance of success,” Meg said.

I smiled. “Technology has improved. Implants are better and I’ve got the best on the market. Alexander gives me a 70% chance of success. I look at it as a 70% chance at life vs existence.”

Tom’s eyes were glowing. “I’m in,” he grinned. He was starting so intently, I had to look away, blushing.

Paul and Meg had a silent conversation.

“OK, so what do you need us for?” Meg asked.

“I need you to kill Ian,” I said.

*

Meg

*

I blinked.

“I’m in,” Paul said.

“Paul…” I began.

He shook his head. “I’ve wanted him dead from the moment I met him. I’m in. What are they going to do, kill me?”

“How can we kill him?” I asked. “We’re dead, we can’t leave this Sim. He’s invulnerable here, he can do whatever he wants.”

Ani smiled triumphantly, “No! He only THINKS he’s invulnerable here! You forget, I created this place. He’s actually very vulnerable here. If I can introduce a virus into his avatar while he’s here, not only will it shut him down in The Sim, but it most likely will cause cardiac arrest in his meat body, killing him.”

“So what, are you going to do like the VC did in ‘Nam and have someone give him an STD?” Tom asked. “Is that what you want Meg for?”

“No,” Ani shook her head. “He’s protected from that. Look, in 99.9% of instances Meats ARE fully protected here. A virus would have to be physically introduced to their avatars and even then there would be no…let’s call it ‘openings’ for the virus to attach to. We’re going to use Ian’s own ‘hack’ against him. When he uses it to connect to his victim, to feel their misery and fear, he creates a place for the virus to attach, to exploit. THAT is his vulnerability.”

“So how are you going to get the virus into him?” I asked.

“A bullet,” Ani said. “I’ll encode the virus into what The Sim will see as a bullet.” She looked at Paul, “You will shoot him with it at the right time, when he’s using his hack and he’ll die.”

I felt a cold sense of dread.

“What do you need me for?” I asked.

“Bait. Chica, you’re the bait.”

“No,” Paul began.

“Shut up, Paul,” I said, distractedly, holding up my hand. “I figured that was your plan,” I said to her. “You set all of this up, didn’t you? Paul I mean.”

She nodded.

“That’s pretty fucking cold-blooded,” I said.

“I told you, I’m not una santa,” she replied.

“What do you mean?” Paul asked.

“She’s why you’re here,” I told him. “He wasn’t eligible because of his security clearance, but he got uploaded anyway. You did that,” I said to her.

Ani nodded. “Si. Es verdad. He was not scheduled for upload but he had an implant from his time with the government. Alexander changed a few records…a glitch. The ‘wrong’ person gets uploaded.”

“Why?” I asked her. “Why him, why me?”

“Ian is obsessed with you,” she said. “He read your books. He loves the idea of being able to horrify the horror writer. You emote harder than many of the other Echoes, his hack has an easier time harvesting what you feel. I noticed and researched you. It looked like a dead end until I saw your husband had a classified file. It was easy for Alexander to access it. No one had any idea who he was. It was perfect.”

I looked at Paul. His face was stone.

“Paul, what is she talking about?”

“You never told her?” Ani asked him.

He shook his head.

“Good. Then Ian has no idea.”

“Paul,” I demanded. “ ‘didn’t tell me’ what?”

Paul sighed. “I did counter-terrorism work.”

“Ah!” Tommy said, as if that explained everything.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“Your husband was a sniper,” Ani said.

“Paul?” I asked.

“I…I put down some very bad people,” he said, emotionlessly. “During the war.”

“Why was that such a secret?” I asked him.

“Because I did it in countries that weren’t openly in the war. They were allegedly neutral, but they were providing a safe-haven for the terrorists. So I made the haven a little less safe.”

He turned his had back and looked me in the eye, “I didn’t tell you for a lot of reasons. I wasn’t that person anymore for one, for another, that’s classified at a very high level. No one who wasn’t directly involved knows.” He turned to Ani, “Alexander accessed that information?”

“Easily,” she confirmed.

“That’s…Alexander isn’t someone we want to piss off,” he concluded.

“What do you want Meg to do?” he asked her, harshly.

“We need Ian to use his hack. She’s the one he’s most likely to use it on. We need him in a situation where he turns it on, and then you shoot him.”

I shivered. The last time I was with Ian, I had to have Alexander blank most of the memory.

“You can make this happen someplace where Paul can shoot Ian?” I asked her.

“Yes, I have a place in mind. I can have Alexander set up the scenario. Paul can have a direct line of sight to the spot, but it’ll be from about a kilometer away.”

“That’s a very doable shot with the right gun,” Paul said.

“M24 in .338 Lapua,” Ani said.

“Piece of cake,” Paul nodded.

“What about me?” Tom asked.

“I need a spotter,” Paul said.

“Alexander will text Tom when Ian activates the hack,” Ani confirmed.

Ani looked at me, “Will you do it?”

I’d never been so afraid of anything in my entire life.

“Yes.”