## 2018:05:18:08:12 - Real Life: Yegor's Residence

The chirping of the tiny morning birds composed a pleasant chorus as they sang of freedom and love. Beyond the bars of society, they could roam the face of the earth in search of their dreams, however shallow they might seem to complex creatures.

As a man of complexity, Yegor nevertheless found endless occasions to envy the simple fowl. The particulars of human life weaved nets of rules and obligations stickier than the thickest of spider webs. Of all their chords, the stickiest Yegor imagined was only one: fate. Could it change?

He picked up the phone. What time is it on the west coast of the United States? he wondered. The phone rang, and with each ring his hope faded a tad bit. Bad timing, I guess, he thought. But before he hung up, there was a clicking sound. Someone pick up?

"Hello?" crackled a voice.

"Hello, this is..." he stuttered. Maybe he shouldn't give out his full name yet until he knows this guy better. "Yegor, the data scientist."

"Yegor Konstantinov?"

Guess it didn't matter.

"Yes."

"Awesome!" yelled back the voice. "Anakin Sullivan. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Pardon my suave Russian. I guess my deals better make eggs, right?"

His what make what? Yegor couldn't figure out what he was trying to say. Maybe it was an American joke. Or maybe he butchered something.

"I didn't quite catch that," Yegor hinted. The hint was ignored.

"I could use someone batting four-hundred, and I hear you're a real slugger when it comes to sifting C-P-U juices, if you don't mind me saying. I've got some great stuff all lined up for you, and all I need from you is a 'Let's do this, Anakin, Get me started'."

That was more than a simple, "Yes", Yegor noted. This is going to be fun, Yegor thought sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. Yegor was thankful it wasn't an video chat. Oh well, he thought. Who else have I got to work with?

"I'm in," said Yegor. He knew he could still back out later if the deals weren't to his liking.

"Awesome!" said Anakin in his corporate salesman way as if he were pleased he just talked a skeptical customer into buying life insurance and wanted the customer to continue following along.

For the next hour, Anakin Sullivan drilled Yegor Konstantinov on what it meant to deal with American business men in California. Everything sounded so bright and sunny, and every deal sounded as sweet and simple as a bowl of Jelly Beans. Yegor kept getting a sinking feeling there was some catch that he just wasn't picking up on. He eventually demanded a retirement from the conversation so he could head to his current job, which Anakin respected.

After hanging up the phone, Yegor breathed a sigh. "Wow," he said aloud. "He's some kind of guy."

There was certainly a catch to those deals, Yegor thought. He couldn't put his finger on it. More research on California would help. He turned and looked at his computer. Perhaps, as he knew all too well, there was another reason for his gut feeling of attachment.

## 2018:05:18:20:12 - Evan's Residence

Evan punched at his keyboard. "Anyone seen Doslad lately?"

q5corbo responded first. "No, but a certain 'Taha' with trauma is looking for Doslad too."

Jyos: "Who? What?"

q5corbo: "Someone infiltrated the game yesterday and played as user 'Taha', claiming to be Tovia."

Jyos: "Well if it is Tovia, that's good news. It means they're not trapped in the game like Mikmik. But what's with the trauma thing?"

q5corbo: "I don't know. Taha just started rambling about trauma and a doctor visit and someone following her."

Kellei chimed in: "Maybe it's someone else pretending to have trauma and playing a practical joke."

Jyos: "Nobody's going to play a practical joke pretending to have trauma."

The chat chatter picked up with a number of other people pitching in, but Evan began reflecting on the details. The past events had a murky suspicious look. Doslad had sounded concerned about the loss of Mikmik, but they freaked out with the loss of Tovia. Taha was who? No one else but the hackers on the forum knew about this game so far as they could tell. Hence, no one should know how to log into the game except people in the loop. Hence, the idea of Taha being Tovia would be a reasonable claim. But that presented a few problems. Who was this alleged follower of Taha? Couldn't Taha be the intruder and trying to draw away suspicion? That wouldn't make sense: Why draw any attention to even the possibility of an intruder? They obviously had to know of the Tovia problem. What was this about a head problem and a doctor visit?

Jyos: "q5corbo, what was that you said about the doctor visit?"

Brofin: "Tovia turned grey and was sucked away with the monster Mobashem."

q5corbo: "There weren't many details. She just asked for Doslad to meet them."

Jyos: "Brofin, if the person behind Tovia survived, then they may be Taha."

q5corbo: "Oh yeah, they did say the person following them might recognize their old avatar, so they're hiding."

Xil-Sta: "Wouldn't blabbering away about them on chat reveal they are hiding?"

q5corbo: "Sure, but they told me to get Doslad."

Zontna: "What's going on?"

Evan sat back and let the conversation ramble on while he contemplated the details. How could someone following Tovia recognize her avatar? Could the person following Tovia already be a member, hence the need to hide herself? But wouldn't she have given away that she's in hiding by having q5corbo tell everyone about her hiding over chat? Maybe q5corbo was only supposed to tell Doslad, maybe not. But if Taha was trying to be sneaky, they'd have failed twice. For security's sake, it was best if everyone knew anything suspicious about the game or related events so that they could all jump ship if necessary. Hence, q5corbo did the right thing in reporting. Maybe the intruder had access to the game but not the group chat. Then again, why would Taha not make the request in group chat themself? Maybe they were the intruder and consequently didn't have access to chat. But then again, they would need to know about Doslad in the first place, and he'd be playing as Gemphl. Nothing seemed to make sense. Evan needed to know more.

Jyos: "Is the server still up?"

Zontna: "It is."

Jyos: "I'm going to have a peak inside."

Zontna: "Ok?"

Jyos: "I want to meet with this 'Taha'."