Chapter 8 Tennis With Tec

A tennis court! Oh, baby, this tennis court looked awesome! Sure, it was just a simple clay court that anyone could find in real life, and therefore not a lot stood out about it. But that's the thing! It looked real! There wasn't a lick of difference between a tennis court in this matrix and a tennis court in the real world! Seriously, none! It didn't look fake, it didn't have rendering trouble. It was just here, as real as something in a matrix could be.

"Damn." Larry laughed and playfully elbowed Tec in the arm. "Dude, your matrix is awesome!"

"Yes. Indeed." Tec rubbed his arm and then looked forward, his eyes as glassy as they came. "I will say, it is an interesting choice you made, having me create this." He walked over to the court, with Larry following right behind him. "Sports and other physical activities are not typically played by robots."

Larry snorted. "Clearly, you've never played against AI in a video game." Larry chuckled before looking back at Tec. "But that doesn't matter! Tennis is awesome! Hell, sports as a whole are pretty sick! I always love a nice little round of tennis, soccer, basketball… heck, I love pretty much every sport!" He laughed. "And sure, I haven't exactly been taking part in them since I made my wish, but… hey, there's no time like the present to restart!"

"Indeed." Tec stopped on one side of the court, and Larry walked over to the other side. As he did, he marveled at the court's texture underneath his feet. Seriously, wow! It felt real! It felt as though Larry was actually walking across a clay court! If he didn't know he was in a matrix, he wouldn't be able to tell! Francis really did seem to be a computer genius! It was a shame that he didn't use his talents to make worthwhile contributions to society.

But then again, he was a nerdy sociopath. Maybe it'd be best if he kept himself locked away from people.

Either way, when Larry made his way over to the opposite court, he grinned. He could already feel his heart start to pump just standing here, standing in a place where people had fun. And sure, while the only real opponent Larry could realistically compete against was Tec, that didn't matter. Just being in a place that resembled his personal haven, with a blue sky, wind, and everything, would help keep his sanity at a manageable, healthy level.

"So… do you want to be my opponent?"

"Your opponent?" Tec asked.

"Yeah. I can't exactly play tennis with myself, you know?" Tec gave him a blank stare, which made Larry chuckle. "Well, you may look like me, but you still count as a separate person." He paused. "Probably…"

Tec continued staring blankly at Larry. His emotionless stare made chills run up and down Larry's spine (how in the wide wide world was that possible in a matrix?). He found himself looking away, deciding that looking at the creepy computer man brought more discomfort than he could handle.

"I mean… I know you probably don't play tennis a lot…"

"I don't," Tec said. He took a step forward. "But regardless, I suppose taking part in such an activity could be interesting." He took another step forward. "As others say, variety is the spice of life."

Larry raised an eyebrow. "And you're looking for a way to spice up your own life?"

"My entire existence has been confined to one room, Larry. Metaphorical spice is almost a necessity."

Larry smirked, holding his hand to his face to cover up a giggle. "Wow. That was so close to being funny. You shot for the moon but missed it by a slight margin." He giggled some more. "Which I suppose is an accomplishment for an AI, so congrats! You're officially the funniest AI in existence!"

"What was that?"

"Nothing." Larry cleared his throat. "Anyway, let's get started, shall we?"

Tec nodded and snapped his fingers. A tennis racket and ball appeared in Larry's hand, which made him grin. It felt so good to be holding a tennis ball again! It felt like he had been reunited with a long-lost childhood friend, a friend who he shared the best kinds of memories with.

"You may not be real," Larry held the tennis ball to his mouth, "But boy, are you a sight for sore eyes!" He kissed the surface of the ball, smiling at the feeling of the yellow fuzz against his lips.

"Are you ready?" Tec yelled from across the court.

"Hell yeah!" Larry sent Tec an evil grin. "You are going DOWN!"

"Down? What tool will you use to make me go down?" He looked down at the floor. "Because if you saying that indicates you want to drill me into the ground…"

"Oh, shut up, Tec!" Larry threw the ball up into the air. Getting himself into position, he couldn't help but giggle. "Logic isn't going to save you in a game of pure skill!"

"I beg to differ," Tec said as Larry hit the ball. "Skills are derived from a sound and clear mind, which means that I…"

"HA!" Larry grinned and puffed out his chest. "You were so busy lecturing me that you gave me a free point?"

Tec turned, frowning when he saw the ball. "Indeed." He made his way over, picked up the ball, and looked back at Larry. The youngest Koopaling laughed, the sound carrying around the court.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Tec!" Larry grinned a shit-eating-grin that he knew would annoy Tec if he had any feelings whatsoever. Tec simply blinked and walked back over. He did it slowly, yet there was something about his steps. Every single one of them had a purpose, every single one was methodical and calculated. This both frightened and excited Larry. On the one hand, seeing this happen was creepy, as Tec moved in ways no natural people would. But on the other hand, this probably meant that Tec was going to take the game seriously. He was probably going to start being the opponent that Larry desired. And if so, hallelujah.

"Okay…" Tec threw the ball up into the air. "And… serve!"

He hit the ball with his racket, making it sail over to Larry. He caught it just in the nick of time and flew back over to Tec. Tec caught it pretty quickly. Almost too quickly. Could he predict where the ball was going to fall? Eh, it didn't matter. Larry hit the ball back to him, and Tec hit it back almost instantly. Larry started to pant as he ran after the ball once again.

"Damn, dude," He said. "You're really good at this."

For the first time since they had stepped into the matrix, Tec's facial expression changed. It appeared like he was trying to smirk, but since he obviously never felt any emotions, it looked forced. In fact, it looked worse than forced; it looked like the only point of reference he had when it came to smirking were cartoons, which of course exaggerated everything. As such, Tec's smirk looked more cartoony than anything else.

"I'm in control of the matrix," Tec said as the ball went over to his side of the court. "I can anticipate every move based on a very precise algorithm. The ball bounced, and Larry immediately hoped that he was going to get another point. To his surprise though, Tec snapped his fingers, and the ball froze in midair. Larry's jaw dropped as Tec ran over to the ball and hit it back at Larry. And as if the ball freezing in the air wasn't enough bullshit for the youngest Koopaling, when Tec hit it, it caught fire. It also shot right towards Larry like a comet, so fast that when it landed on Larry's side of the court, it took a minute for it to sink in that Tec had scored. By cheating.

"Hey! That's not fair!"

"That doesn't matter," Tec said. "I did it to prove a point." He walked up to the net. "If you have any hope that you're gonna win against me, you are sorely mistaken." He smirked the over-exaggerated smirk again. "I am more or less God in this realm."

Larry sniffed. "Man, if I had a coin for every advanced Ai that has a God complex…" he shook his head again. "That doesn't matter, Tec! Just because you can twist the very fabric of reality doesn't give you the ability to cheat!" He squinted at Tec. "Unless you want to give me the ability to manipulate reality too, I would appreciate it if you kept that stuff to a minimum."

"I cannot give you the ability to manipulate the matrix." Tec raised his hand. "However, if it makes you feel better, I can give you something resembling an edge."

He snapped his fingers, and Larry started to grow. His eyeballs nearly popped out of his skull as he shot up toward the sky. Before he knew it, he was a giant. He gawked at Tec, who didn't react to a sight that should probably be considered horrifying to witness.

"There. I have given you an edge. Much like the developers of Mario Tennis Ultra Smash give their players."

That was probably the most ridiculous thing Larry had heard yet. "Wait wait wait. You know about Mario Tennis Ultra Smash?" When Tec nodded, he snickered. "Man, this is probably the most attention that game had gotten in… well, ever."

"Perhaps." Tec gestured to the ball. "Would you like to resume?"

"Uh… sure." Larry went over and picked up the ball. Due to his new size, the ball appeared to be the size of a pill to him. It was strange; probably the strangest thing he had seen yet. He considered asking Tec to turn him back to his normal size, but just as quickly thought against it. He wouldn't get many opportunities to play tennis in this fashion, and he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.

So, he served. Tec hit the ball back, and Larry returned it. Hit, return, hit, return. Larry had to admit that his new size did make things a little easier. He didn't have to run over to the other side of the court every single time the ball fell on his side; all he really needed to do was take a few quick steps, reach out his arm, and bat the ball back. It was… different. That was the word that Larry would use to describe this experience. Not engaging, not entertaining, just… different.

But unfortunately for him, the "edge" that Tec had given Larry didn't appear to be as effective as the two of them hoped. While the giant-sized Larry did make getting the ball easier, the fact was that Tec had still calculated every single action that could possibly be taken on this court. Larry might as well have been playing chess with him. As such, within no time at all, Tec had managed to get enough points to lead them toward getting the match point.

And Larry was not happy about this. "Dude. Could you, like… turn down the difficulty a little bit? I usually don't have a problem with playing against hard computers, but this is just too far!"

Tec smirked once again, an expression that was REALLY starting to get under Larry's nerves. "I only operate at one difficulty setting, Larry. I never operate at any level aside from my very best."

Larry whimpered. Oh man, this meant he was going to lose, didn't it? He couldn't remember the last time he had lost a tennis match. Soccer and basketball matches, sure, but tennis was different. With the latter two sports, he could blame his loss on the shortcomings of his teammates. Here, he had no choice but to blame himself. Sure, the fact that he was playing against an ultra-smart AI helped lessen the blow a little bit, but still.

Well, whatever. Larry was going to win this. He watched as Tec served the ball, summoning every ounce of determination in his mind. He would win. He was going to mop the floor with this computer. He played on the computer, but the computer didn't play on him!

That didn't exactly sound right, but whatever; the point still stood.

And so, Larry channeled all his frustrations in order to play this match. He hit the ball here, then he hit the ball there. Every time he swung it to the other side of the court, it seemed like he was personally challenging Tec like he was DARING him to try and beat him. And, unfortunately, Tec met the challenges without any difficulty. The same blank expression on his face, he hit the ball every time. Even while Larry was a giant, which just frustrated the youngest Koopaling. Seriously, being a giant didn't serve any purpose! It didn't affect the game at all! He supposed he shouldn't be surprised since he did play Mario Tennis Ultra Smash, but…

"COME ON!" Larry swung his racket and set the ball back over to Tec. "This is impossible!"

"Correction." Tec ran over to the end of the court so he could hit the ball. "This is incredibly easy." The ball sailed down to him, and still, his expression didn't change. Right before the ball hit the floor, he jumped up towards it. He summoned so much strength into this blow that even Larry was able to visibly see it. The ball shot over to Larry's side of the court. The youngest Koopaling tried to catch it, but it was too late. It uselessly bounced out of bounds.

"Well," Tec said. "Looks like I'm victorious." He snapped his fingers, and Larry started to shrink back to his normal size. As he did, the scenery faded away, meaning both Larry and Tec were back in the white void that was the matrix's default state. Once he was back to normal, Larry let out a breath. He walked up to the AI, hoping he could at least appear civil.

"Good game.'

"Good game? Why are you saying that after you lost? That does not compute."

Larry held back his frustration and smiled. "It's something sports players like to do. And besides, even though I didn't win, I still enjoyed myself." Larry extended his hand. "Good game, Tec."

Tec looked down at Larry's hand, then at Larry's face. He put on a smile that somehow looked more fake and even more cheesy than his smirk before taking Larry's hand. "Good game."

Larry laughed. This was fine. Really, it was. There was no reason to get up into a tizzy about losing the match. There really wasn't, especially given the circumstances. If Larry grew bitter over the loss, that would make his stay as Francis and Tec's prisoner all the more unbearable. So… yeah, he might as well be a fair sport.

"Well. I think we need to give the matrix some time to rest," Tec said. "I'll shut it down so you can wake up back in the real world."

Larry nodded and closed his eyes, wondering how smoothly the transition back to the real world would go.