"You home Glouster?" Catalina called from the open hatchway.
"He's in his den like always," Donataff said as she headed out.
"Sounds right. Where are you off to?" Catalina asked the small girl.
"Oh I'm going on an adventure with my friends Alex and Tank."
"Tank is an interesting name. I've never heard it before." Catalina said.
"Well he's not exactly normal. He's as big as a house."
"Really how come I can't see him?" She asked the girl.
"He's using his cloaking device. He is on a secret mission you know." Donataff dashed out the door, headed into the field behind the house.
She pressed the call button on the wall besides Glouster's den. "You alive in there?"
The door rolled open "I thought you candits loved to hangout. You haven't been over in at least a month."
"Sorry about that. I've been getting in touch with my felite side. You know, going out on your own, getting into loads of trouble. I've been camping for the last month or so." She replied.
"Ok yeah I can understand that." Glouster turned away from his link consol.
"What's with Donataff she was going on about some invisible friend the size of a house?" Catalina sat down on the bed.
"That yeah. She saw me playing one of my games. When I left to use the restroom, she got on and started talking to people in the game. She managed to get a hold of the developer. Now she has some sort of imaginary friend that happens to be a tank." He got up and headed towards the door. "Where is she do you know?"
"She went out side over to that field." She pointed through the wall to the hidden field. "She was going to go play with Tank, said he was cloaked or some thing."
"Well I don't know about that. Alexei's LCWP can't cloak. Hey you want to see it? You want to see the game? Glouster flopped into his chair.
"Well I've never been much into link games but ok."
"This is different I've never seen a game like it, a completely new genre." Gloster quickly pulled up a screen. Colonial Defence: Hope's Final Hours flew across the screen with an explosion. Catalina watched as a group of gnarled spacecraft descended on a perfect digital replica of her colony. "It's called a tactical simulator, basically our colony is under attack we have to defend it."
"I take it you mean the link players right?" Catalina said.
"Yeah when you log on, you and the other players are given missions which you complete. When you complete a mission you get points and can advance your rank. The higher your rank more tools you have to use." Glouster entered some information it to the screen. "It's really cool. It has so much action and the game universe is so realistic. It feels like you are actually fighting you're way thought the streets."
"Who came up with the idea for the game?"
"Some guy, LXE, or something like that. Every body calls him Alexei. If he's on I'll see if we can join him." Glouster navigated through a series of screens. Catalina watched as a list of names appeared on the screen, 'RTComet' was bolded.
"Who is 'RTComet?" Catalina leaned in to get a closer look at the screen.
"Oh that's me I was one of the first people to start playing the game so I was able to get this name without difficulty."
"I'm surprised the games developer has any time to play. From what I've seen so far, it looks very complex."
"As near I can tell the programming is perfect. It never glitches. The user interface is completely automated so its controlled by a very strict set of rules. What I can't figure out is how he comes up with the time to create all the missions." Glouster scrolled though the list of players. "Ah there he is. He's always on the link at this time. What I want to know is why he went with 7352 LXE when he could have had any name he wanted?"
Catalina's ears perked, something about the name wanted to claw its way up into her consciousness.
"lets see if we can join him in battle." Glouster selected the name and sent a quick message.
Catalina was thrown into a live battle. The shopping center, where her favorite parts store was located, was a bombed and burning ruin. She watched a figure move around, keeping low to the ground. "is that you?" she asked
"Yes. I'm trying to get over to Alexei with out getting shot." Glouster leaned in towards the screen.
"What happens if you do get shoot?"
"You're wounded or you die. If you are wounded you have to try and make it out of the battlefield, If you die well you're dead. Either way you are removed from the mission and have to wait until you can join a new one. If you die major points are deducted from your score," Glouster said.
Catalina watched as the RTComet character worked his way around the ruins. "What is that?" she asked as a large treaded vehicle came into view.
"That is 7352 LXE. Like I was saying the most experienced players get the best gear," Glouster said.
"Yes but what is it? What do you call it?" Catalina asked.
"Well I guess the historical term is a LCWP. But, Alexei has called it a tank or a bolo."
"You mean a lick whip from the consolidation. That doesn't look like something from our history books. It almost looks like some thing the, oh never mind." Catalina looked at the vehicle. It wasn't any thing she had seen in the old ruins but it was close.
"Don't tell me you think that Alexei is modeled after a human LCWP."
"No his character isn't. Or at least it isn't modeled after anything I've seen."
"You know I've never really understood your fascination with those human ruins, but after playing this game, I beginning to think they might have had a few things to teach us about self defense. I think it's just the way the game is presented. But I have to wonder if this type of thing could actually happen?" Glouster turned towards Catalina for a short period of time. His character RTComet was looking directly at the large LCWP's plaque, there transcribed from old terran was the inscription, 'Bolo unit 7352 LXE of the line (Alexei)'. Glouster returned to the game, Catalina just sat and watched as he and Alexei fought their way towards the city outskirts. She had to admit Alexei did a very good job of creating this games universe. She also knew exactly why he could play the game with out having to worry about the mechanics of it constantly. After a good 20 minutes of game play Glouster's mission was over. He had made it out of the city and to a defense cannon, and soon would be turning space craft into smoldering ruble. Catalina watched as stats filled the window and point values where handed out.
"---So you see it's not how many of the enemy that you kill, its how intelligently you performed the mission. Hey I'm going to go take a leak and grab something for us to eat. Why don't you see if you can talk to Alexei. Maybe he knows something about humans after all." Glouster got up and left the room.
Catalina started fiddling with the computer's controls trying to figure out how to work the talk function.
"Good mission RTComet. I don't believe it would have gone half as well with out your support." The message was from 7352 LXE.
"Oh um, I'll let him know thank you. I'm his friend Cat. Where did you get the idea for the LCWP?" Catalina replied.
"I found the model for my it in the human ruins. They had several of them sitting in a crumbling factory," 7352 LXE replied.
"I didn't think a whole lot of people where interested in that kind of stuff?" Catalina scanned the game's background imagery for possible hints, left by its creator.
"No not many people are. I developed this game as a response to what I've seen at those ruins."
"What are you trying to show people?
"That they should pay a little more attention to the colony's defenses."
"You know I think you are misrepresenting your self. Your character should have at least two more cannons and be much, much bigger."
"No its about the right size for a tank," 7352 LXE replied
"Yes I'm sure it is the right size for a tank but I thought that plaque belonged to something else," Catalina said
"Considering this is a simulator, I don't think it really matters," 7352 LXE replied.
"You're right the simulator doesn't matter. I've set up camp under the real plaque. Against one of your four treads, please try not to move you would crush every thing." She thumped the send key and sat back in her chair. A second latter she was at full attention, Bolo unit 7352 LXE of the line (Alexei) filled the screen with every piece of identification she had.
"Hey Glouster thanks for showing me the game and all, but I've just got urge to go camping. You know my felite side is acting up," Catalina said as she passed Glouster in the hallway.
"But I was just got snacks for us."
"I know but you're a clever guy I'm sure you will be able to solve that problem. Oh I signed you up for an evacuation mission or something. It should be starting fairly soon. Looked like every body was happy to see you." She patted him on the head and rushed out the door to her waiting racer.