Ready Player One: The Adventures of Jack
Chapter Ten
GoldDragonZ: We left off where Tridosk faced Princess May…
She could not move. Tridosk had uttered a few words and suddenly she was paralyzed. In the real world, Amira was smashing her gloves, trying to activate her Avatar so that it could move again. They had gone into a portal, and he was carrying her like a sack. She had no idea where they were going. Suddenly, there was light. They entered a chatroom which resembled a warehouse. Within it were several items that Tridosk had collected. There was also his TIE Interceptor which was perched on a special platform up in the air so that Tridosk could paint it or fix it. He put her down gently on a table.
"Why did you bring me here?" She asked.
"I want you to meet my friend." Tridosk said. "I normally don't do things like this. I consider myself to be a good guy. Your boyfriend just hurt my friend. He stripped him of everything, so now, we need to remedy the situation. We want the High Five to give my friend Lynx everything that he owned, otherwise there will be consequences."
"What's to stop them from deleting you?" Princess May asked.
"They don't know that I have you." He said. "Only you know that we're locking up your avatar. Every time you come to the OASIS, you will be locked in a cage. If you decide to restart the game as a new avatar, it will only be a short time before Lynx finds you again. And then we will get you again. Tell your boyfriend that he needs to get the High Five to give Lynx back what's his, or you will be punished."
Amira reached up and tore the Headset off her head. She felt like screaming. She had spent a long time creating her avatar, gaining coins, creating clothes and skins. She would have to start all over again. But was it true, would the player Lynx find out about her making a new avatar again? And what happened between Mark and this Lynx character? No one told her anything. She decided to call Mark.
"Hello Amira." Mark said when she called.
"Hi Mark, how is it going?" She asked, although she was nervous.
"I'm good, how are you?" He asked.
"I have a problem." She said, and then she told him about Tridosk kidnapping her avatar in the OASIS.
"I am so sorry, Amira." He said. "I didn't want this to happen. I will tell the High Five and let us hope they can fix this."
Mark hung up with Amira, gritting his teeth. Somehow, Tridosk had found out that as Jack 100292402, Mark had danced and spoken to Amira as Princess May. No doubt, this was Lynx's doing. He dialed Helen's phone number and told her about what happened with Amira and Tridosk.
"There is no doubt that Lynx is using his friend's avatar," She said. "We need you to send your console to us so that we can help you regain your avatar and all of your abilities."
"Alright," Mark said.
They hung up. Later that day, Mark bought a box and some stamps. He texted Helen who sent him the address for the OASIS' headquarters. He wrapped up his console, put the stamps on the box and went to the mailing station to send it to the High Five and the OASIS headquarters. It would take some time for the console to reach the headquarters, and Mark hoped they could restore everything that had been negated when he defeated Lynx.
Meanwhile, at the headquarters, the High Five were having a meeting regarding Tridosk.
"He helped us even though he was friends with Lynx." Art3mis said. "It does not make any sense; why would he be so nice to us and then stab us in the back?"
"He was friends with Lynx before ever meeting us." Helen said. "He must not agree with what we did to his friend, even though Lynx was destroying things, and stealing things from other players. What are we going to do about it? It could be Lynx just using his friend's avatar. Mark, also known as Jack, is sending us his console for us to fix it so that he can reenter the OASIS and save his girlfriend."
"It might take some time for the console to come to us." Wade said. "In the meantime, we need to get in touch with Tridosk to see what he wants in exchange for us to save Princess May."
"We know what he wants." Toshiro said. "Tridosk only has Lynx as a friend online. He wants his friend's avatar back. However, there is no way we can give him everything that he once had as most of his items were stolen from other players."
"You're right." Helen said. "They want Lynx's avatar to come back online. Then, Princess May will be safe."
"We need Lynx to sign a contract." Wade said. "We will give him his avatar back, but he needs to follow the rules otherwise we will have Jack destroy his avatar once more."
"We need to speak to Tridosk." Akihide said.
They made plans to talk to the programmers at the OASIS headquarters. They really needed to be prepared if Lynx wanted to start a war with them. They ordered that all programmers find out the coordinates for Princess May's position on the OASIS. They needed to hack into Tridosk's chat room and save her if it came to that; if Tridosk and Lynx did not agree to the High Five's terms.
"Hello, this is Sensei Robert Alveredo?" A man said on the phone. "This is Rising Star's Martial Arts."
"Hello, my name is Mrs. Patel." Mark's mother said. "I have two sons who would be interested in learning martial arts. One is 15 years old and the other is 17 years old. They are going to high school."
"Okay, we are open every day of the week except Sunday." Sensei Alveredo said. "For teenagers and adults, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays classes are at 12: 00 pm in the afternoon, or 8:00 pm in the night. Tuesdays and Thursdays, classes are at 12:00 pm in the afternoon and 7: 30 pm in the night. We also offer one month free in the beginning. We offer different programs as well. We offer Jiu Jitsu, Karate, and boxing."
"I would like my children to be placed in karate, please." She said. "They need to exercise."
"Very well." Sensei Alveredo said. "For one year, you need to pay $2280 which includes free uniforms for the boys."
Mrs. Patel had done her homework, and found that this was reasonable as other dojos had costed more.
"Okay, so they will start today." She said.
"I will look forward to meeting them." Sensei Alveredo said. "They can wear sweatpants and t-shirts for their first lesson. I need to find out the dimensions for their uniforms."
"Thank you, sir." Mrs. Patel said.
"You're welcome." He replied, and then they hung up.
Mark was wearing a dark blue sweatpants and white t-shirt. His brother was wearing some dark blue shorts with a dark blue t-shirt. They were wearing socks on their feet as the master, Sensei Alveredo only allowed special shoes to be worn in the dojo. There were three other people there as well. There was a father and his daughter. They were both wore green belts on their white martial arts uniforms. They looked to be Indian in decent, just like Rodney and Mark. The girl appeared to be 13 years old. There was another man there, and he had a blue belt on his white uniform. His head was bald, and as he stretched, he could do the splits. Master Alveredo was wearing a special black uniform without a belt. He was average height, and was wearing glasses with circular frames. He was of oriental decent and had very short black hair.
"Welcome to Rising Star, boys." Master Alveredo said. "My name is Robert Alveredo. Most people call me Master Alveredo, Master or sir. Call me whichever suits you. Let me introduce you to your fellow classmates. This is George and his daughter Sheena. This is Andrew."
"Hey guys." Rodney said. "My name is Rodney Patel."
"Hey." Mark said as well. "I'm Mark."
"Let's begin by welcoming you to the dojo." The Master said. "This school was founded in 2005 by my master's master, Sensei June Alfred. She taught my master everything she knew. She died in 2024. Her legacy lives on, as my master, Carl Hughes continued teaching until he retired. He now lives in Barbados with his wife. I took over teaching and have been here in Canada for almost forty years now. Let me tell you about our Belt System. In the beginning, you will start with a White Belt. After learning everything you can, you will get a black belt. I am a sixth degree blackbelt. Next to White Belt is Orange Belt. Then it is Yellow. After that is purple, and then blue. After blue is green. After Green Belt is Brown Belt. And after Brown Belt is Black Belt. It can take up to five years for you to finish getting your black belt depending on how hard you work at it."
Master Alveredo turned to the other three students.
"You three, start your combination exercises, right and then left side." He told them, and quietly, they moved to a different part of the dojo as Master Alveredo returned to teaching the newcomers. "What do you know about fighting?"
"On the OASIS, if you hit someone on the back of the head, that can kill them." Rodney explained.
"Forget everything you were taught by your friends or what you think you know from video games." The master said. "In video games, you can fight for a long time. You can jump higher, you can survive wounds that would normally kill you. In reality, fights do not last that long. Have you guys ever get a papercut? It hurts a lot although it is a very small wound. I know that on the OASIS, or with any other game, you can get shot numerous times and still act like you haven't been hurt. You can survive a nuclear blast. You can act and have no consequence. In the gaming world, you can drive a car, crash it and nothing happens to the avatar that you are using. In the real world, you could die, even if your car is not totaled. The human body is very fragile. You need to increase your stamina. From this day forward, I want you to do this for homework; for half an hour, each morning, go jogging. Increase your stamina so that when you do start sparring with other students, you can last longer. The human body uses up oxygen, and your muscles start to ache. Lactic acid builds up in the muscles as you use them. You need to get used to the work so that you can spar."
"Yes sir." Mark and Rodney said at the same time.
"Good boys." Master Alveredo said. "Now, Mark, let's start with you. Throw a punch."
Mark took a breath and then punched right in front of him.
"Freeze." Master Alveredo said. "Keep your fist out where you punched."
The master walked up to Mark and adjusted his posture, his arm, and fist. He used his legs and changed Mark's stance.
"You still need to work on this." The master said. "Keep your legs shoulder length apart at all times, even when you walk forward. And when you punch, don't tense up your arms. Be relaxed. When you start to punch, put your hand by your waist, inverted so that your palm would be facing up. Close your fist, and punch, twisting your fist so that when you make contact, your knuckles land on your target. Don't forget to breathe. Breathe deeply before the punch, and then when you let it out, punch. Now do it again."
Mark tried his best, but it was like what he did before, although his stance was alright.
"We'll work on that." Master Alveredo said. "Now you, Rodney."
Rodney took a stance and punched with his right hand. The master adjusted his posture and stance much like how he did for Mark.
"You guys are about the same in skill, although Rodney is more relaxed." Master Alveredo said. "Work on punching with your right arms. I will return as I need to see how the other students are doing."
They continued using breathing exercises as they punched. They applied what they learned with music and breathing. They relaxed their arms to the best of their ability and continued punching the air. The master came back and watched them for a minute. He then put up a hand.
"Ok guys, now I need to teach you how to walk." He said.
Master Alveredo relaxed his whole body. He backed up a little and then started shuffling forward. He started with bringing his left leg forward, and his right leg back.
"This is called the half-moon stance." He explained. "You bring your back leg to your front leg in the shape of a crescent."
He pulled his right leg, with the foot touching the ground, to his left leg, and then moved his right leg forward. He placed his right foot forward.
"For this half-moon stance," He said. "I want you to have your fists upside down at your sides. Now walk forward."
Rodney and Mark moved slowly, looking down at their legs to make sure they were doing the right thing. They walked forward to the other end of the dojo.
"Good." The master said. "You guys have got it. Just move slowly. With time and practice, you will get better. Don't tense up, you're not doing anything requiring tensing up. You are just walking with your hands by your side."
They seemed to get it. Next, the Master had them walk and punch at the same time. They would move one foot to touch the other, and then step forward. They would bring one hand from their waist and punch the area in front of them at the same height as where their chins would be.
"Good," Master Alveredo said. "Just remember to breathe with the punches."
The master left them alone once more to do their exercises. They walked from one end of the dojo to the other end, and then back again. They did this several times. The Master stopped them, this time with the three other students behind him.
"Okay, so we are almost finished the lesson for today." He said. "Finally, we will end with The Circle of Success. Okay everyone make a circle."
Everyone got in a circle.
"Ok, so we have two beginners with us." Maser Alveredo said. "First, George will go. Sheena will be next, and then Andrew. Beginners always go last so that you guys get to know what to expect."
George walked into the middle of the circle. He closed his eyes.
"One!" the master said, pointing to Andrew.
"Two!" The master said, this time pointing to Sheena. "Open your eyes."
George immediately opened his eyes, and prepared to block with his left arm down, to protect his stomach, and his right hand at his waist to lash out against someone. He kept his gaze down, and used his peripheral vision to watch everyone else at the same time. Andrew was to George's right. He punched at George, who brought his arm ups from his stomach, and blocked the punch. He followed up by punching the air in front of Andrew's throat. He did not make contact.
"The point of the Circle of Success is to give you experience of people attacking you." Master Alveredo said. "You learn to expect the unexpected."
Andrew moved back to his position. George remained in the middle of the circle. Next, Sheena attacked him by kicking him. She used a front kick. He blocked low with his left hand, and then put his right hand up with all fingers pointing outwards. He did a karate chop to her shoulder but stopped short and did not make contact.
"Well done, George." The master said as George bowed to him. "Sheena, if you will."
The little lady walked into the middle of the circle, and closed her eyes. Master Alveredo chose Andrew and George to attack her. She opened her eyes. Andrew did a roundhouse kick to her shoulder, which she grabbed and then followed up with a kick of her own to his pelvis. They did not connect. She let go of his foot. Next, George grabbed her from behind in a bear hug. She dropped down into a sitting position, elbowing him his chest with her right arm. She then grabbed one of his fingers, and pulled his arms off her. She did an uppercut to his face, but did not connect.
"Wow," Master smiled, "She gave you a run for your money there George."
Sheena bowed to the master and went back to her spot. Next, it was Andrew's turn. He was a lower rank so only punches could be used against him. Sheena and George were chosen to attack Andrew. Sheena did a knife hand strike to his neck. Andrew blocked high and did a thrust punch to her abdomen. George did a normal punch to Andrew's face. Andrew blocked the punch and pretended to knee George in the stomach.
"Well done, Andrew." Master Alveredo said as Andrew bowed. "Next, who wants to go first?"
"I'll do it." Rodney said.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" the Master asked.
"Yes." Rodney said.
"Okay," Master Alveredo said. "You will only be attacked with hammer fists."
The master pulled up his right hand, and created a fist. He brought his hand down like a hammer.
"All you need to do is block it." Master Alveredo said.
Rodney walked to the center of the circle and closed his eyes.
"One," The Master signaled to everyone except Mark, whose eyes widened. "Okay open your eyes."
Rodney opened his eyes, and looked to the people that would be attacking him. Altogether, everyone except Mark did a hammer fist. Rodney could only bring both arms up as they attacked him.
"It won't get any worse than that." Master Alveredo said as everyone returned to their position. "Okay, Mark, it's your turn. We can't do the same thing because you will see it coming. Now, close your eyes."
George and Andrew were chosen to attack him.
"Open your eyes." Master Alveredo said.
Andrew brought up his left arm, and created a hammer. Mark blocked it with what he thought was an appropriate block.
"You need to learn how to block." Master Alveredo said. "I will teach you both."
George did the same, and Mark blocked.
"Okay, Rodney, get back in the middle, I'll give you a chance for real this time." Master Alveredo said.
This time, Sheena and Andrew were chosen. Rodney performed just like his brother. He blocked the hammer strikes and then bowed to the master.
It was over, so they all bowed to each other. Mrs. Patel was waiting in the lobby with Alexandra who was drawing a dress of her own design that she wanted to build in the OASIS. The other students left as Master Alveredo asked Mark, Rodney and Mrs. Patel into his office.
"The boys have a long way to go." The master said. "Did you guys enjoy today's lesson?"
"It was really good." Mark said.
"I can't wait to actually spar." Rodney said.
"Okay, so I have items for you both to try on." Master Alveredo said, pulling out two medium sized men's uniforms. "Go try these on while I speak to your mother."
The boys exited the office, and went into the changeroom to try on the uniforms. Master Alveredo and Mrs. Patel discussed what was expected of all students. They only needed to come twice a week. They needed to practice everything that they learn at home. The uniform, special shoes, and belts came free. Any additional gear was extra costs. Mrs. Patel wrote the master a check. The boys came out and the master looked them over.
"The uniforms fit." He said. "Now try the shoes. What size do you wear?"
"Ten," Mark said.
"Same." Rodney said.
The master went into a closet and produced two sets of black shoes for the boys to wear in the dojo.
"Welcome to the World of Martial Arts." Master Alveredo said.
Princess May's avatar sat cross-legged in a cage. She was still wearing the jumpsuit she had been kidnapped in. Amira was trying every button, every command, but nothing was working. Meanwhile, Tridosk was working on something at a workbench.
"I don't understand," She said, finally breaking the silence between them. "I don't have anything to do with you and your friends."
"But you do." Tridosk said, putting down what he was working on, and then he walked up to the cage. "You are Jack 100292402's only female friend on the OASIS not associated with the High Five. For years, he was only interacting with males and perhaps some females, but only briefly. He never danced with any of them. So now here you are, and you are interested in him as well."
"So, what if we danced once." She said. "Everyone grows up and goes through puberty some time."
"You know better." Tridosk said, giving her his whole attention. "We analyzed his heartbeat when he was with you. Lynx hacked into Jack's avatar after they destroyed each other. Lynx went into his history and that's how we found you. You are his weakness. And until the High Five gives Lynx back his access to his avatar, we will keep you here, hidden from the rest of the world."
"We all bought the Console and Headset." Princess May pleaded. "How is this fair?"
"How is it fair for the High Five to keep competing for different items when they own everything?" Tridosk asked Princess May. "If Artemis and Jack did not go after the Easter eggs, Lynx would have left everyone alone."
"I think you know better." Princess May said. "If he got the power, he would not just sit there; he would try out his winnings. He would make sure that the Easter eggs were working. He might even get carried away and destroy maps."
"Maybe you're right." Tridosk agreed. "Lynx does like being the best. He would try fighting and use the Easter Eggs. So far it seems that he had only used the immortality and unlimited ammunition. He has not used the egg for the vehicles. I want the High Five to grant him what he won. Then, you will be free."
"I'll talk to 'Jack' and see what he can do." Princess May said. "Why are you helping this asshole?"
"He's been my ally for years." Tridosk explained. "We went to high school together and now he's working as an armored truck driver and salesman. I'm a private investigator. He works hard and wants a diversion from real life. If anyone deserves the OASIS its Lynx."
"And you think that I don't deserve the OASIS?" Princess May said. "Who are you to say who deserves the OASIS or not? You're not the High Five."
"And who are they to say who deserves the OASIS?" Tridosk countered. "Halliday made it for anyone, regardless of the circumstances."
"I'll see what I can do, but no promises."
"That's all we want."
Mark woke up on half hour before he usually got up for school. He put on running shoes, a sweat pants, and a t-shirt. His brother had done the same. They went out for a jog around their street. They started at their house, jogged down to the end of the street, crossed the street and ran on the other side on the sidewalk. They ran until they finished 25 minutes and took the last few minutes to get home as quick as they could. They were not really used to this so they walked quite a bit and jogged slowly. They got home and took a brief shower, one after the other. They left for school and walked together. Mark and Rodney parted ways, Rodney going to find his friends, while Mark went to the cafeteria to find his. He saw Amira standing at the entrance. She was frowning.
"Hi Amira," Mark said apprehensively. "I am so sorry about what's been happening on the OASIS. The High Five are meeting together to think about what needs to be done to save your avatar. They have yet to talk to me about it."
"It's out of our hands now." Amira said. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good." Mark said.
"Something looks different." She said. "You look less sad."
"Nick said I should give martial arts a try." Mark replied. "My brother and I signed up last night, and this morning we went for a jog around our street. Exercising causes the happy hormones to be produced, so maybe that's what happened. Exercise has made me more awake, and less irritable than usual."
"That, and you have a girlfriend." Amira said, winking at Mark, who responded immediately by hugging her.
"My life is turning around for the better." Mark said. "It is because of you, Amira. You have brought balance to my life."
"No, Mark." She said. "You could have said no in the first place. You could have decided not to talk to me when I first messaged you because you didn't know me. You made the choice to follow through."
"I'm happy that I made the right choice." Mark said. "I'm happy that you are in my life. The High Five were happy to help, and hopefully they will free you from Tridosk and Lynx."
"Thank you, Mark." She said.
"You are welcome." He said. "Did you want to hang out with me and my friends before class?"
"I usually hang out with Jessica and Tyler. You go ahead and hang out with your friends. They need you."
"Okay, see you in Psych."
With that they parted ways until they saw each other again in class.
Helen was overseeing the programmers as they scanned the OASIS for Tridosk. They found that he had played recently on several maps, in free for all games. He used Spawn's ax Agony to slay foes. He also used Robocop's pistol, the Auto 9 as well. It blasted enemies away into coins. He was winning, but not cheating to do it. He was not like Lynx but liked the challenge of playing this way. He did not bring attention to himself. However, the programmers could not pinpoint where he was at that very moment. Perhaps he was not on the OASIS at that time? Helen could not be sure. She used special coding to find the pattern on where Tridosk liked to play. He liked to play on several different maps against clan-less players. He did not use sniping weapons, but preferred to be face to face with his enemies. He also seemed to like his TIE Interceptor as he constantly played air battles with that vehicle. He did not seem to have a land vehicle that he played with.
Helen notified her clan about the pattern of the games that Tridosk played. They needed to talk to him. Helen, Wade, Samantha, Toshiro and Akhide got together in their personal play room. Akira Tomoyo was with them with a USB device.
"Here is a copy of the contract that we have drafted." She told them. "To find him, you need to play on five different maps until he shows up."
"He has a pattern." Helen also explained. "He likes playing free for all games, and flight battles. Our programmers are in the OASIS, monitoring the maps he likes to play for us. They will tell us where he appears. It will be important for us to play by ourselves and have copies of the contract for him to sign to give Lynx back access to the OASIS."
The five players agreed, and jacked onto the OASIS. Art3mis was in a ship, the Swordfish II from Cowboy Bebop. She entered a map where ships or planes were firing various weapons at each other such as bullets, lasers or missiles. Parzival was on a desert map, playing against other players who wanted to play without a clan to back them up. Shoto played on a swamp-like map. Daito played in a jungle. Aech played in an icy region. They played against other players, making sure to monitor their message feed to see when Tridosk would appear. Two and half hours went by. The High Five were racking up scores. Art3mis was doing the best as she was invincible, had unlimited ammunition and had a very fast vehicle. The others had to use different weapons as they ran out of ammunition. They needed to seek cover against other players who wanted the honor of defeating a member of the High Five. They also needed to apply health packs to their avatars so they would not die. They collected coins from those players who perished. At various points in the maps, there were positions where they could collect health packs. If they totally ran out of ammunition, they would have to leave the map and buy more ammunition from a merchant. Either that, or they would talk to Art3mis into giving them as much ammunition as they needed.
Parzival was playing, using a machine gun from Gears of War which had a saw attached to it. He only had a clip and a half left until he had to leave the map. Suddenly, he got a message from one of the programmers.
"Mister Watts?" The programmer said. "It appears that the avatar Tridosk is about to enter the arena that you are playing in."
"Have Akira insert the USB with the contract into my console." Parzival ordered.
A portal indeed opened on the desert map that Parzival was playing on. Tridosk appeared, and the portal closed behind him. He drew his pistol, and appeared to be looking around. He was trying to find where the closest enemy was. Parzival climbed to the top of a cliff, and looked around the map for Tridosk's position was. He found Tridosk, and took off. He ignored fire from other players and pressed on. Three bullets smashed into him, forcing him to activate a shield while he administered a health kit to his avatar. He then fired several shots at the players who were attacking him. He did not want to lose all his ammunition so made a dash for where he thought that Tridosk would be. Finally, he emerged from a hill, and looked at where Tridosk once stood. He was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, a blast from the Robocop pistol alerted Parzival that Tridosk was near. He followed the sounds of bullets until he found Tridosk, scooping up coins that he earned from destroying an enemy.
"You must be Wade." Tridosk said as he turned his scaly head and examined Parzival's avatar. "I would presume that you waited for me for quite some time. You want me to release Jack's girlfriend from wherever it is that I have her."
"We don't have to be enemies, Tridosk." Parzival pleaded. "You're an awesome player. How about we negotiate the terms of making you part of our clan? Join us, Tridosk."
"You want me to turn my back on one of my closest friends, Lynx?" Tridosk asked. "He wants to be great in the OASIS. He wants you and the High Five to be fair to all players. We acknowledge that you did make up for it by supplying the players with more Easter eggs and the Skulls for them to find. I only have one thing to ask of you; give Lynx back access to his avatar and all of his gear including the Easter eggs, and we will let Princess May go."
In the real world, Akira Tomoyo was told that Wade/Parzival was speaking to Tridosk. She inserted the USB device into Wade's console and waited while it loaded. She touched his arm, indicating that the program for the Contract was ready for Tridosk to sign.
Within the OASIS, a portal appeared behind Parzival.
"Follow me." He told Tridosk.
Parzival turned around and walked into the portal. Tridosk followed.
"Shit." Lynx/Vladislav swore as he watched the OASIS using a computer program from his home.
Tridosk had gone dark, as if he had entered another program altogether. The High Five would not harm his avatar to get to Lynx himself, would they? He switched monitors and looked at Princess May, who was still trapped inside the Chat room that Tridosk had created. Vladislav looked at the loadout for his avatar. It was still indicating that he could not play on the OASIS. He scratched his chin, wondering what Tridosk was doing. Would Tridosk, aka Lewis sell him out? He wondered if there was anything he could do. He decided that the best thing would be to monitor Princess May to see if the cage would be opened. He got up to stretch. He decided that he could not do anything for now, and decided to get some air. It was all in Tridosk's hands now. Surely things would work out.
Nick looked up Mark's number. He called Mark, but got no answer and left a voice message for Mark to call him whenever Mark got a chance. Amira had told Nick about everything that had happened. He wanted to hear Mark's side of the story to see what was happening on the OASIS. Nick was in the middle of a session with a client when Mark called. This time, Mark left a message and gave Nick his email address. As soon as the session was over, Nick shot Mark an email.
Hey Mark, how are things? Amira told me that there were some bad things happening on the OASIS between you and two other players. What is happening? By the way, you can save this email address and we can talk to one another through email if that suits you. Anyways, Amira said that this other player kidnapped her avatar. She said that someone you played against lost their access to the OASIS and had their friend attack Amira online. Is everything okay with you?
Kindly yours,
Nick
About two hours later, Mark responded:
Hey there Nick,
The High Five and the OASIS company decided to create three Easter eggs. There was this person named Lynx online. He only wants the Easter eggs for himself. He found out about them and tried everything for only him to get the eggs. He shielded one of the worlds so no other players could follow him. He attacked other people. We saved him and his friend that were being attacked by a creature. Art3mis and The High Five competed to get the eggs as well. Art3mis and I were successful in getting the eggs. They granted us Immortality online, unlimited ammunition, and a boost in speed for all our vehicles. He really believed that there should only be one person to get the eggs, but it turned out that three people could get them.
He went crazy and started attacking people at random. He destroyed maps and looted other players, stealing some of their gear. He tried stealing things that I had, but I stopped him. He could stop my eggs from being useful and I could not use them anymore. The High Five decided that something had to be done, so they held a meeting with all people who use the OASIS. They decided to place other Easter eggs throughout the OASIS for people to collect. They also decided to add items called Skulls to make games challenging. They decided to put a bounty on Lynx. He fought the High Five, and nearly won. Art3mis gave me another egg, and this time, all my items including the Easter eggs were not only restored, they made my avatar powerful. But, it came with a price. I could defeat Lynx, but we would always be bound together. I could only come back online if he did. I remember you and I had a conversation about it. You said it wasn't fair.
Somehow, Lynx found out that Amira and I got together online once. He used his friend Tridosk to capture her avatar. Now, if Lynx does not get what he wants, Amira's avatar will be forever captured. I don't know if she could just restart her console and create a new avatar. The High Five said that they will try and come to terms with Lynx and Tridosk. They will get Amira back from wherever on the OASIS Tridosk and Lynx have her locked away. Without access to the OASIS, I don't know what help I can be, but I will be there if Amira wants to talk to me in person.
Other than that, I told my mother about what you said about pursuing martial arts. She agreed, so me and my brother applied to go to The Rising Star's Martial Arts Dojo. My brother and I went for a jog this morning and Amira said she noticed a difference in me as I spoke to her in school. I think this is meaning that my life is going to change for the better. I could not have started this without Amira and your suggestion. I feel a change starting to happen.
Thank you, Nick, and talk to you soon.
Tridosk looked at where he and Parzival were. It was a huge room with a contract on a table next to a pen. Obviously, this was for Tridosk to sign.
"We figured that you wanted to get Lynx his access to the OASIS back, and then you will let Princess May go free." Parzival said. "If you and Lynx agree to our terms, he can have access back to the OASIS however, he will only get what he bought and collected. He will not get items that he had stolen from other players."
"What about the Easter eggs?" Tridosk asked.
"Lynx did get them fairly," Parzival explained. "But he fought against others who won the eggs as well. We all need to share, even the High Five needs to share what we have. I am willing to do that, how about you, Tridosk?"
"What could you possibly give me?" Tridosk asked.
"We can give you special access to games or movies that you might be interested in looking at or playing here on the OASIS." Parzival offered.
"Let me read the contract first." Tridosk said, and Parzival nodded in agreement.
Dear Tridosk, it read. It has come to the attention to the High Five and the programmers for the OASIS that you are holding a player's avatar hostage. You are not allowing her to play even though she or her parents bought the console and headset for the OASIS legally. You must give her back control of her avatar. We acknowledge that we did the same to your friend, Lynx. We will allow him to have access to the OASIS, minus things that he stole which need to be given back to the players that bought or earned them. No further action will take place, and he will have the abilities associated with the Easter eggs he won. We need your signature here, as well as access to Princess May to verify that her avatar is still alright and not damaged in any way.
"So, what I'm reading here, is you want me to give you access to…" Tridosk began to say, "to the place which I am holding Princess May's avatar? It's in a private chatroom; only Lynx has access to it. If you give him access to the rest of the OASIS again, I will gladly show it to you guys, and not before. Those are my terms. Take it or leave it."
"We also need Lynx to sign a contract as well." Parzival said, not at all taking offence at what Tridosk had said. "He will not destroy maps and he will not steal items again. Otherwise we will strip you both of access to the OASIS, and there will be nothing that anyone could do to bring you both back."
Parzival pulled out a glowing ball.
"Download this file into your computer." Parzival said. "Send it to Lynx for him to sign and scan so that we have it in our records."
"Okay." Tridosk said. "I'll have him sign this contract."
With that, Tridosk could leave the chatroom that he had been downloaded into.
Wade took off his headset.
"I don't know about this." He said to the rest of the High Five, who had jacked out of the OASIS. "Tridosk does not want us to hurt his friend. I'm not sure how this Lynx person will take the terms of the contract."
"We need to have faith that Lynx will listen to reason." Samantha said. "He can't keep Princess May's avatar locked away forever. Tridosk seems to be a calmer person. We might be able to reason with him. In the meantime, we need our programmers to enter Jack's console and have it so that Lynx cannot affect him ever again."
"Once we give Lynx back his access," Helen said out loud. "Jack will have his as well."
"Yes," Toshiro said. "Everything will be back as they were, except you guys will have your Easter eggs."
The High Five continued speaking about business in the OASIS…
GoldDragonZ: Thanks for reading. I hope you guys like the story. Please review.