Chapter 9: War Simulator
December 3rd, 1992
08:40 P.M.
Durango, Mexico
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John let out a small sigh as he checked the time on his laptop, knowing his mom would want him to start heading to bed. They were recently committed to try to get as many hours of sleep as they could. It felt like one of the only normal things they were doing. He stepped away from his computer and walked over to their packed suitcases, pulling out his small sleeping bag, pillow, and blanket. It was minimalistic but it was what John was used to.
He dragged the stuff back into the corner behind the kitchen table, making sure that it was hidden from as many windows and doors as it could be. Then he walked back and set up his mother's bedding a few feet in front of him, closer toward the windows or doors so she would be ready if anything happened. John stopped for a moment, wanting to move her bedding so it was next to his but even if he did so, she would move it. So he placed the pillow down and walked back to the table, grabbing his laptop.
He set the computer down in front of his pillow and laid on his stomach, resting his head on his elbow as he waited for the game to load. There were many things he could be doing instead of playing a game but he knew how to cover his tracks well enough to hide it from his mother. She would criticize him for not strengthening one of his skills so he tried to think of it as learning strategy. The war simulator game loaded and John eagerly started it, reading quickly over the rules.
It was simple; take out the enemy's forces. He picked the medium level and first examined the map. Red dots showed where the enemy was and the blue dots represented his forces. He leaned closer to the screen and waited for a few seconds, letting the enemy make the first move. He waited patiently, watching over his forces as two red dots began blinking toward his armies. They were sending planes to bomb him.
John clicked on the artillery and set it up to track the planes as they drew closer. If they dropped bombs, they would be shot down and if they didn't John's forces would shoot it down before it could do any damage. His mother had made it quite clear that there wasn't a lot of mercy in the future war. At least that was from what she had heard from his father. John's finger hovered over the mouse pad ready to fire at will. As the planes passed over his forces, he hesitated to fire at them and his supply shelter was bombed.
John wanted to believe there was mercy in war as he tried to rebuild the shelter, looking out for any more planes or ground troops. The only way there could be mercy was if John showed it toward others in the war. However, the machines wouldn't show any mercy. John's artillery shot the planes down as they tried to circle around and John tried to think of them as machines. A computer wasn't programmed to regard human life. Computers did whatever the programmer told them to do.
He knew that was why his mother placed such great emphasis on him learning computers. He hated to say he enjoyed it but he did. He felt powerful every time he passed a firewall, hacked his way into some amateur company, or rerouted security cameras. That was what he had to offer his mother since he was too small and young to fight yet so he learned to use the computer. John drew in a deep breath and sat up as he watched the enemy begin to move their tanks forward. They came a lot faster than John thought they would and he scrambled to increase his forces.
John's eyes locked onto the dim computer screen forgetting to watch the time and focused everything on defeating this army. It proved to be harder than he had expected. He cursed himself for not starting at an easier level but was reminded that struggling was good. As time went on, he began to enjoy the challenge and suffered many losses. With just one artillery station left, he used the scope and fired at their last tank. The word 'victory' flashed across the screen and John pumped his fists in the air.
"Yes!"
He slid the laptop into his lap and grinned as he looked over the stat page.
"John?"
John flinched at the sound of his mother's voice and looked up from the computer with wide eyes.
"M… mom? Hey…"
Sarah folded her arms across her chest as she eyed the computer before looking back at him.
"What are you doing?"
John opened his mouth to speak but hesitated and closed it, hating how he couldn't lie to his mother. His eyes locked onto the computer as he spoke, defeated.
"I… I was playing a game."
"Do you know what time it is?"
John looked back up at his mother, shaking his head slowly. She glanced back at the computer and he looked at the clock and grimaced. It was 9:30. She had told him that if she wasn't back at 9 that he needed to call her… and he had forgotten to do it. Sarah set her bag down on the ground as she dropped to her knees, motioning for him to give her the laptop. John grudgingly handed it to her and waited nervously as she looked over the game.
John shifted uncomfortably with the silence as he watched his mother take in every detail, wondering what she was going to say. She looked at him for a moment and then back at the computer before she set it down in between them.
"I'm not mad at you, John. Just a little disappointed. When I ask you to do something, I expect you to do it. So much can happen in so little time and we need to be there for each other."
"Sorry."
Sarah nodded slowly, accepting his apology and got off of her bedding, dragging it next to John's. She sat down next to him and turned the computer toward both of them.
"So… how did you win?"
John smiled as he pulled the laptop closer to him and began to explain his strategy. They discussed the stats and the map with Sarah suggesting several different plays John could have done. Then at 10:30, Sarah leaned over and kissed John's forehead as she closed the computer.
"Time for bed. I love you."
"I love you too."