Chapter XXX
"Who are we going to kill?"
Sara seemed excited that we were going to hunt someone or something down. We were flying back to dad's virtual mansion.
She was invested in the contest and I liked it. My mind was already working overtime to try and solve the latest clue. It sounded like another fight.
With Sara and dad on board I didn't fear PvP matches anymore. The only way was forward anyway. I still didn't know about Shikara's exact progress and how far other competitors were.
We arrived in the villa and Finn was ready to present his first findings.
"Inventions of 1996," he recited like a teacher. "I have something called Hotmail, another thingy that's named JavaScript and the invention of Google."
"How do they threaten humanity?" I wondered. "Google was bought and dismantled by a crypto currency subreddit ages ago."
"Also! 1996 saw the invention of Leo's personal favorite," Finn went on. "That year the camgirl was introduced. Jennifer Ringley, the first lifecaster."
"Alright, alright," I stopped my brother. "Seems like this won't get solved in the blink of an eye, let's just soak it in for now. Tomorrow we will break our brains over it."
The reason I cut Finn short was to avoid pulling Sara too deep into the OASIS rabbit hole again. I liked what we had going and wanted to keep virtual places and people out of it as much as possible.
When she logged out I left with the Owlship to conduct my own research. I wasn't going to let this soak in and wait for a hunch. I wanted to win this, end it, grab my paycheck and log out. There was a feeling I had to make up for life that I lost the past years.
So far the solutions to the riddles weren't obvious, but still made sense. I had to find a way to skip the initial mistakes easily made.
With the wedding we were focused on real life ceremonies for too long. That's why I would switch to fiction right away and hunt down every mad scientist I could think of. It had to happen this very night.
I dropped by Dexter's laboratory and screamed "Omelette du fromage!" at it until it self-destructed. Afterwards I threatened to feed Pinky and the Brain to a snake or flush them down a toilet if they wouldn't stop their plans for world domination.
It did not do anything yet, but it's always better to work towards a solution than to do nothing. I stopped my quest for destruction for a moment when Finn sent me a link to a streamer that just won the Demon Gate.
Just like me he didn't win with skill, but also brought his own gear. He unleashed an unnerfed Akimbo Model 1887 on the action girls.
I watched the stream and was surprised he filmed the third riddle for the whole world to see. Apparently he was actively seeking the help of his many followers. This wisdom of the crowds approach could catch up with me in no time.
Thoughts were racing. It couldn't take these thousands of fans more than half an hour to suggest Superman's wedding. One of them probably have a Tickle Me Elmo and would be happy to join him on stream.
Fuck.
"Let's hope Shikara will try and kill him too," I wrote Finn.
"Check this out," he replied, an image attached.
Finn went back in the streamer's archive and looked up the stream on Westeros, to see if he clicked the plaquette. Now there was a list of at least two hundred contestants. And the footage was a week old already.
Fuck.
"Morphynn, I'm coming for you! You're my prey!" the streamer laughed, while the sound of dozens of subs and donations ringed around him.
Another priority alert. Not from my contact list. My interface warned me there was someone at the door of my apartment. I got a live feed and watched someone in a hoody put something in my delivery box and instantly leave again.
The box had a scanner too. The person at my door delivered a note. Luckily, the side with the writing was facing the camera.
"Sorry for getting you involved. If you want, RileyRules wants to meet up with you. I understand if you don't. Mia."
The note made me shiver a bit, still I looked up if there was a user named RileyRules in the OASIS. It appeared there was and she already sent me close to a thousand messages over the past days.
"Leo! You dick! Don't ignore me like a random groupie, I discovered you!" was one of the earlier ones. The more recent messages were less patient.
I invited her to my recording studio and Riley instantly materialized. She looked like she did in real life and hugged me as soon as she noticed me.
"Finally!"
"Wait, wait…" I muttered. "Are you Mia, playing as Riley? Riley playing as Riley?"
"I'd rather have you playing with Riley."
"..."
"OK, OK, mister boring. So, the dork wanted me to go away, right? Was more difficult than they thought it would be," she grinned. "They ended up uploading me with that new OASIS tech. Now I live here."
RileyRules wasn't a NPC or a service avatar, the profile was recognised as a real player by the OASIS.
"Wait… You live in the simulation now? Mia isn't controlling you?"
"Nope! I'm here whenever you want me, on demand. And also whenever you don't want me."
"I can block you if I don't."
"Then I would have to chase down and kill all your friends and family."
"..."
"Just joking! Dude…" Riley laughed. "I already made a million friends here, all cooler than you. Still, if you want to hang out, I'm game."
"You're an AI?"
"I am not a robot!" she furiously yelled. "They uploaded my consciousness, I'm more real than all of you posers."
More and more reports about the OASIS' new technology appeared. One by renowned industry insider Jason Schreier mentioned the ability to upload actual neurological information. His sources were rarely wrong.
"Sure Riley," I said. "I'd love to hang out. Just let me finish this contest real quick. There's a mad woman out there trying to kill me and a cringy streamer on my tail."
"No problem," she said. "I'm on it."
And Riley was gone.
