-1 In the oval office of the White House, the President of the United States carefully placed the sheet of paper he had been examining down on his desk as if it were made of fine glass. He stayed perfectly still in silent contemplation for a full five minutes before chuckling softly.

"This will be very interesting, indeed," he muttered before paging his secretary.

"Send them in, Linda."

"Yes, Mr. President." was the immediate reply.

The president kept his face carefully neutral as two men and two women entered the office. He noted with silent amusement that while they carried themselves with calm dignity, an aura of excitement and anticipation permeated through the air, becoming more pronounced as they came closer. Not that he blamed them of course. It was typical for scientists. Especially scientists who had the gall to think that something like…like this could even be possible.

"Its good to see you again, Mr. President," One of the men said. He was tall with dark brown hair and strong features. Dr. Simon Anderson, head of VirTech.

"The pleasure is all mine, Dr. Anderson," The president responded cordially. "And I see you have brought some of your colleagues along as well."

Simon nodded. "Yes sir. This is Dr. John Lexton." he gestured to the black-haired man beside him. "Dr. Nell Dubrinsky," a small woman with strawberry blonde hair and a gentle face. "And Dr. Angela Terrel," the last was an African-American woman with light brown eyes and braided hair. "They are my partners and closest advisors at Virtech."

All three of them nodded respectfully and murmured, "Mr. President."

"This is rather unusual, Dr. Anderson," said the president. "I know that your company is fairly new, but you've never brought anyone else with you in your meetings with me, before."

"We have all been very busy, Mr. President," said Simon. "Though Virtech was founded five years ago, this is a project that has been over twice as long in the making. Its an idea and dream that belongs equally to both myself and my comrades. I assume you have already gone over our proposal?"

"Yes, I have. And I've got to say, its without a doubt the most…unusual proposition I have ever heard of." The president said carefully.

"I know," said Simon. "But it can be done."

The President chuckled. "Dr. Anderson, after what you and your company have accomplished in the past five years, the last thing I would ever do is doubt your capabilities, but…you must understand how this sounds. Even for you, its utterly extravagant. How could you possibly---?"

"Mr. President, if I may?" John Lexton stepped forward. "We already have."

The president felt his blood go cold. "You have a prototype already?"

"Not just a prototype, Mr. President," said Angela Terrel almost nervously. "Fifty prototypes."

That was followed by a silence so thick it could be cut with a knife. The president struggled to find his voice as his throat felt very obstructed.

"You mean to tell me…that the four of you…have created fifty virtual reality universes based on fictional stories!?" It came out a hoarse whisper.

"Yes, Mr. President," replied Nell Dubrinsky with a soft Polish accent. "That is true."

The president took a moment to fully compose himself. He knew they weren't lying. When he could trust himself to speak clearly, he asked. "Does anyone else know of this?"

"No, sir," said John. "This has been our own personal secret since we first thought of it. You're the first person that we've told, and for now we intend to keep it that way."

"Good," said the president feeling a slight relief. The mere thought of what would happen if this became public knowledge was enough to make his head spin. "Now then, your proposal was rather vague on certain points. If you could fully explain the true purpose of these realities?"

"They are based on a theory that we have," said Simon. "As you already know, the fundamental paradigm in labor has shifted to make labor more like play, since play is the unifying glue that binds the great over mind that is the internet. As a result, in the past five years our economy has become partially game dependent."

The president nodded. "Continue."

"The main idea is to combine work and play in order to better our managementof society. The games we already have are able to accomplish relatively simple tasks such as managing data bases, proof-reading, cataloging, and rating. But there is so much more that they could accomplish. Think of all the things that are being done right now. We are diving deeper into the open ocean. Space is being explored. Space stations are being built. We have already discovered different types of ore on Mars. The population on the moon now comes close to some of the major cities on Earth." Simon took a deep breath before continuing. "We are reaching an age of global stability, Mr. President, and these realities, these games will be the core of that stability."

"How?" The president asked. His voice was calm, but the anticipation in the air wasn't just coming from the four scientists before him.

"If I may?" asked Angela. Simon nodded to her. "The characters and environments of the realities represent complex codes and programs that can become compatible to the codes and programs from anything to a home-based microwave to a nuclear reactor. Moon colonization and the construction of space stations require tremendous amounts of manpower, since the machines that run the constructions require man-control." she smiled. "Unless of course, we find a way to manage the machinery and construction that dramatically decreases that number."

The president was silent for a moment, trying to quickly absorb and comprehend what he was being told. It was true that the world was at long last reaching an era of stability, thanks to the growth of the internet and the invention of the games. In a mere five years, the economy itself was becoming game-managed. The employees at Virtech didn't just contain the people who created the games, but also people who were hired to actually play these games so tasks could be completed. And it was possible that something as extravagant as a space station and a nuclear reactor could actually be built not by man-power, but by machines controlled by the programs in these realities

"If what you say is true," said the president. "Then there is merely the issue of running them."

"The realities can accomplish that as well, Mr. President," said Nell Dubrinsky.

"That is impossible," the president said immediately. "Forgive me, Dr. Dubrinsky, but I think you're overestimating yourself and your colleagues. Perhaps in a few years it will be debatable, but to fully manage something as powerful as a nuclear reactor let alone a space station would take codes so complex mere words could never hope to describe them."

John Lexton smiled triumphantly. "Yes, Mr. President, we know."

The president froze, then sighed exasperatedly. "I'm almost afraid to ask."

"Forgive him, Mr. President," said Simon shooting his colleague a glare. "He has a rather annoying cryptic sense of humor."

"I noticed," the president said dryly. "Would you care to elaborate, Dr. Lexton?"

"Yes, sir. You're correct in saying that the management of such facilities demands incredibly complex codes, but you see the characters and environments themselves are these codes, as Dr. Terrel said. We've equipped them with an artificial intelligence so advanced they walk, talk and act exactly as they do in their own mythical universes." he grinned. "In fact, if someone from our world were to enter a reality, they would be able to interact with these characters as if they were truly alive."

"What?" The president asked in a hoarse whisper.

"The more complex the game, the more complex the interactions, which demand more realistic scenarios, Mr. President," said Nell. "Which require, as you put it, codes so complex no words could ever hope to describe them." she gave him a gentle smile. "They are strong enough."

The president was utterly speechless. Not ten minutes ago he was reading a proposal from these scientists which sounded more like a joke than an actual proposition, and now they just revealed to him that they have created something that could win them the Nobel Prize a thousand times over.

Irony truly was an amazing thing.

"But, Mr. President," said Simon. "There's one more important issue that needs to be discussed. Though these realities have the ability to manage, they themselves need to be managed. Someone needs to look over them, visit them often to make sure they are in proper working order."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. You have plenty of employees working at Virtech. Every now and then they can spare a few moments to check on things. After all, there's probably not a person in the world who wouldn't give their right arm to see their favorite characters and fantasy universes in person."

"I'm sorry, sir," said Simon. The president was surprised to see that he looked a bit uncomfortable along with his colleagues. "But we have something more…unique in mind."

"And what is that?" asked the president with a raised eyebrow.

Angela spoke. "The management these realities would require is far from idle. You see, they are not perfect. We have installed the true canon plot into the storyline, but according to our tests it doesn't always stay that way. Glitches in the plotline occur that mess up the events that lead to the proper ending. Characters live and die when they shouldn't. Battles are lost when they should have been won. The side that would have emerged victorious does not. We have tried again and again, but no amount or type of software can fix this. And if a character dies when they shouldn't, the code they carry dies with them, which could prove disastrous in our own world," she gave an ironic smile. "Its funny actually. The realities themselves seem to know that destiny is the most fragile thing in existence. Trillions of strands all woven and interwoven, and if you twist and break one strand, it could have unthinkable consequences in countless other places."

There's a catch the president sighed mentally. Of course there was a catch. He was wise enough to know that answers to difficult solutions always came at a price.

But they had said before…

"You mentioned that you had something in mind to fix this."

"Yes, sir, we do," said John. "These glitches can't be rectified by software, but by personal human interference. In a twisted way, the realities themselves are a game that can be played. Someone could go inside, interact with the characters, and keep an eye on events, and interfere with them when they don't unravel as they should. It would be an error correcting game."

"And who will play this game?" the president asked.

John's voice was reluctant as he answered. "We plan to recruit very young orphans off the street and train them. They will be the Error Correctors of the realities."

"What?!" the president sputtered. "Are you crazy!?"

"It makes sense, Mr. President," said Nell. "Error correcting is no small task. We have installed a programming that makes it impossible for one to be killed while in them, but even so, the environments in these realities can be incredibly harsh, not to mention lethally dangerous characters. The Error Correctors will need to be trained in several different types of fighting arts and acrobatics, as well as survival skills. They will also be given strong psychic and physical powers to aid them in their mission. Training like this needs to start at an early age and only children who have already endured hardship will be able to handle it without breaking them. But we intend to only recruit the ones who hold true strength in their eyes. The survivors. The ones who's experiences caused them to hone their minds and instincts." she sighed wearily. "This is the only way, sir."

The president sighed in return. They were right. Again. For these Error Correctors to be skilled enough to survive in their realities, their training needed to take place at a very early age. Recruiting children from orphanages wouldn't do since they did not possess the hardness and resolve for such a task that street children did.

"All right, I concede that you're correct," the president said reluctantly. "And am I right in assuming that you've built virtual training modules for them along with the realities?"

"Yes, sir," said Simon. "They will also receive a thorough education in academics as well." he paused then asked. "Do we have your permission to proceed?"

The president was silent for a moment. Then…

"I'll trust you and your colleagues for now, Dr. Anderson. But if any thing goes wrong I'll scrap the project immediately. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir."

xXx

"You must have a gift with people, Simon," Angela commented as the four of them made their way through the halls of the White House. "I didn't expect him to give in so quickly."

"Neither did I, though I know he's not a narrow-minded person," Simon admitted. "I've talked with him before. He's someone who wants to make our world a better place, even if the methods used are unique."

"That's a bland understatement, my friend," John said dryly. "With something like this, we're talking way beyond unique. As in trillions of light years past Pluto unique."

"He's giving us a chance," Nell pointed out. "That's the most important thing."

"Yes, it is," Simon agreed. "I'll meet with him again tomorrow to discuss funding and location. Also the construction of headquarters. We should choose somewhere quiet, but not too isolated. And I think the building itself should take the form of a school or mansion so as not to arouse suspicion."

John raised an eyebrow. "So its going to be like from X-Men? Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters?"

Simon chuckled. "That's actually a pretty accurate way of putting it. The building has to lead underground too. The upper floors can hold living areas and teaching rooms while the lowers ones can hold the realities."

"And there's also the matter of hiring caretakers and agents to recruit these children." John shook his head in mock exasperation. "Ladies and gentlemen it looks like we have our work cut out for us." A sudden look of anxiety crossed his face. "But that's not the main thing I'm worried about."

Angela frowned. "What is it?"

John grimaced. "We'd better pray that this never becomes public knowledge or else we'd be sued so far our asses will burn in the planet core. Do you realize how many copyright laws we've broken!? And in big major companies like Disney and Lucasfilm! They're lawyers would be on us like lions on zebras."

They all stopped dead in their tracks and exchanged nervous glances.

"Well…" said Simon haltingly. "I suppose I can ask the president for a personal favor…"

"Yeah. Do that. Please."