Labyrinth of reflections (12 page)

– Take a seat Gunslinger… – Willy moves an armchair to me then pads to the window looking at the city poured by blood colored blaze, – So, you're diver?

I nod.

– This is very interesting. Unusual! – Willy raises his forefinger, – Everybody look for divers, everybody have requests, business, questions… you came to us by yourself.

I stay silent.

Willy turns around and looks at me.

– You have a nice suit Gunslinger, – he says, – It'd be good to add… a small cap to it. A small gray cap.

I see. A simple test.

– Vika…

Willie smiles: it's the same little trick as was done by Man Without Face, I'm cut off from my operating system, I could expect that type of surprise.

Abyss-abyss, I'm not yours…

It turned out that my head is aching badly. Must be the beer…

I took off the helmet, grabbed the mouse, launched 'Bioconstructor', hastily opened the 'Clothing' window, then 'Headgear', found something looking like beret or cap. Then I filled it with steel gray color and hooked it on my figure, person number seven, Gunslinger…

deep Enter Beret is on my head. I'm not sure whether it's what Mr Aguirre wanted or not but he looks satisfied.

– We value the divers' work. – says Willy. – But our permanent employees quite manage it. We need time, small. We'll offer you interesting work, yes?

I shake my head, beret slides to the side.

– Mr Guillermo, – I say respectfully but resolutely, – I'm talking about one certain problem which I want to help "Labyrinth" to solve.

I see his eyebrows raised in surprise.

– Recently a strange accident have happened in "Labyrinth"…

I fall silent and wait for his reaction. Willy is obviously deep in thought.

– Accident? – he nods towards the window, – We have thousands of accidents here every day. War! Shooting! Cheerfulness!

Was Man Without Face really mistaken? I start feeling myself like an idiot.

– Your divers… – I start. – Did they manage their duties yesterday for instance?

This is the only thing I know: "Labyrinth"'s divers hadn't justified hopes.

– Ah! – Willy nods, – Ah! Unfortunate!

I nod just in case.

– Is it a problem? – Aguirre becomes serious.

– As far as I know, yes.

Pause. Guillermo weighs something in his mind.

– Mr Gunslinger, what do you know?

It's no use to lie, the man before me is not the one it's worthy to bluff with.

– Very little. I was informed that there's a problem in "Labyrinth", that your divers failed to solve it. I was asked to render an assistance to you.

A pause again. I'm anonymous and it's risky to let me into unpleasant sides of the Company's life but Guillermo has a 'good nose' for troubles and methods of overcoming them.

– You'll sign a single-time contract? – his tone becomes quick and business-like.

– Yes.

– Complete nondisclosure of the situation, – he adds, – with all possible penalties.

– Yes…

– Please Gunslinger, – he points at his table. I pad closer being sure that it'll be now when I'll sign the cooperation documents but Willy points at the monitor in the middle. – This is 33rd level of "Labyrinth" Mr Gunslinger, 'Disneyland'.

I look at the level and don't like it at all, at least because when I was there last time it looked completely different.

– Very-very bad level, – says Willy. – Hard. This is the beginning: 'Russian Hills' {
roller coaster
}. This is… – he puts his hand on the keyboard and the picture slides a little aside, – a Grabber Demon. Bad!

Gee, as if good demons ever came out of "Labyrinth" creators' minds…

– This is him… – one more touching the keys, – Unfortunate.

Guillermo keeps silent, not for theatrical pause – it's nothing unusual on the screen. He's just thinking.

– So the problem is this Gunslinger? Yes?

No ordinary Deeptown inhabitant can exit the deep by himself: he'll just never see the computer, won't be able to enter the exit command or to contact the operating system with voice. It's only in virtual houses with drawn analogs of real computers installed where subconsciousness gives a kind break. One can exit the deep only where it was entered: in his imaginary home which might be a palace or a hut but with a 'real' computer.

That's why timers exist. They are plugged into all programs, from Microsoft's Windows-Home to Russian 'Virt-Navigator' and 'Deep-Commander'. The longest time for being in the deep is 48 hours, the time during which the human won't die of starvation and water loss. Reasonable users always set their timers for less though: a couple of hours, a day… Maniac who set his timer for 36 hours was already an exception. The waking of somebody who have spent two days in the deep is…. a foul smelling sight.

Of course it is possible to break and disable the timer. Or to break it and add a couple of zeros to the number '48' but such kamikaze are rarely found and their end is mournful.

Like Unfortunate's.

It's impossible to pass "Labyrinth of Death" in a single attempt, one can't just have strength for that. The drowsiness retreats in virtuality but there are the limits of stamina anyway. That's why players get access to the game menu at the end of each level where there's an option to save their coordinates and to exit to the outer deep, to exit in order to return later.

But sometimes there are optimists that decide to pass "Labyrinth" in one attempt to repeat that very first legendary submersion into virtuality. They break the security timer, sometimes by themselves, sometimes using some hacker's program, they cut off their guaranteed retreat and dive to the very bottom.

It's the divers who drag them back. All big game centers have communication with somebody of us. The biggest ones even keep anonymous employees on permanent contract. It's cheaper to pay us than relatives of the player who died of exhaustion.

I was looking at Unfortunate. He was dressed in regular masking overalls, protection mask-helmet and had only a gun as a weapon: he either entered the 33rd level like this or was killed here already. After demise in "Labyrinth" the player is being restored at the beginning of the level automatically, with minimum of gear.

– This is ridiculous, – I said.

– What? – Guillermo is interested.

– For how long is he there?

– For 39 hours. We trace players since their getting into the system.

So Man Without Face got interested in Unfortunate almost as soon as he got into "Labyrinth"? He watched him attentively and began his search for divers immediately.

– His timer could be set for 48 hours.

– Yeah. Ah, how unappetizing! – sighs Guillermo, – Pee-pee, poo-poo into the virtual suit… EWW.

Why did Man Without Face set the alarm?

Nothing terrible have happened yet anyway, it's just yet another self confident game addict.

– Does he sit like this for a long time?

– For almost 24 hours, – nodded Guillermo, – Yes, it's strange. He tried to pass the level for five times… then submitted himself… sat by the entrance.

– And what did you do?

– We've sent Anatol, – Guillermo pulls his hands apart, – He can do that… to lead to the end of the level…

– And?…

I have to drag the information from him with wild horses, not because Guillermo hides something from me, he just can't understand what exactly interests me, he got used to communicate with well prepared divers that understand everything on the fly.

– Please explain the situation in an orderly fashion, Willy.

Guillermo nods.

– The player entered the level 39 hours ago. He was killed 5 times, very quickly.

– By the Demon?

– Oh no… he poof-poofed the Demon! By other players. Then he sat down and is still sitting. We sent Anatol, he drove the Unfortunate and they were both killed. Anatol started for the second time but they failed again: the customer was killed. Anatol was very angry, he shot dead everybody there, – Guillermo laughs leniently, – Today divers were supposed to try together. I'll request the report, yes?

– Yes… – I say not turning my eyes from the screen. A young guy is there, dressed in overalls and holding a gun. What scared Man Without Face? Why does he think that events don't have analogies? Why does he offer the Medal of Complete License for a simple task? – Willy, have anything else strange happened?

I get the weak hope that the different task was meant.

– No.

– Nothing?

– Nothing-nothing! – Guillermo parts his hands – We take care of our customers. Everything is under control in "Labyrinth".

I'm looking at the screen, waiting.

– A-ha… – sais Aguirre curiously, – yes-yes… There were two more attempts to lead him out this morning… and three times more in the afternoon. All failed.

– And surely you didn't know about that? – I can't resist to be mordant.

– We don't fetter our employees' initiative, – answers Guillermo with dignity, – The situation isn't critical yet.

Of course he's right but I get a slight, vague anxiety. Who is he, the player gotten into trouble, US President, the Pope, Dmitry Dibenko?

– Who is he? – I ask aloud. Guillermo shrugs.

– This is unknown.

– You don't control your users?

– We're an entertainment center, not the KGB, – he answers with taste,

– Information can be stolen. How do you think, will the solid top corporate manager or Arabian sheikh be happy if some tabloid publishes an article about their adventures in the drawn world?

– And what's so bad?

– For you – nothing. The ordinary person will laugh. But solid people like little-little when they are laughed at.

– Can you cut him off manually?

– How?

How, really? Even if they trace the line using which the player entered the Labyrinth and cut off the connection, nothing will change. The person would just be hung in the void or the world around him would freeze like a photograph depending on what his subconsciousness would decide. It's the same as to cover the drowning person with a non transparent cover so that he would not bother the rest of the swimmers.

– Please trace his channel anyway…

– It's very hard, – Guillermo points at the city outside with imposing gesture, – Now there's 2036… excuse me, 2035 players already… This is 2035… no, now 2037 phone lines. All that is delivered to 28 main servers, then is being divided into levels and processed by our own and rented computers on all continents. We use 4 satellites to synchronize the data exchange. Either Internet user or an unorganized one who called one of 700 company numbers can connect to "Labyrinth"…

– I see… – No, it's possible to trace Unfortunate anyway but this fun will be so terribly expensive that it's useless to try to convince Guillermo to do it. – Can you summon your divers here?

– They are not online now.

It's understandable too, if they really tried to get Unfortunate out for whole 24 hours then they must simply sleep sluggishly now, one of them in Ukraine, the other one in Canada. Maybe they curse aloud in their sleep.

– Okay, – I decide. – Is it possible to enter the 33rd level directly?

Guillermo looks aside.

– Have you played long time ago? Do you still have your records saved?

– No…

– Then you'll have to go from the very beginning.

This is what I didn't expect.

– What's the bull? All games have service channels for traveling between levels. Are you an exception?

– Yes.

– But why?

– "Labyrinth" has a big prize fund for setting new level record or fast finishing the entire game.

– I remember, but… is it a big fund?

– The main prize is half a million dollars. This money will go to the one who manages to pass all levels and destroy the Alien Prince in 47 hours 59 minutes! – the commercial type solemnness starts to sound in Guillermo's voice.

Oy-oy-oy….

Why am I not a player?

– This is big money, – notes Guillermo for some reason, – Yes? Any codes that give nonsusceptibility or full weaponry and gear to the player would be figured when one talks about half a million. Any service channel would be found and used. We would be forced to pay prize amounts too often… or to be exact, never.

– But how do your divers work?

– They had passed "Labyrinth" previously. They have records on all levels, in all dangerous places. They need just a couple of minutes to get where they need.

Great beginning…

– How much time does it require to reach the 33rd level?

– From 25 hours to infinity.

What was Man Without Face counting on anyway? If "Labyrinth"'s divers fail to get Unfortunate out in 24 hours it means it's impossible at all…

Guillermo is silent watching me.

– Can I get level maps at least? – I ask, – Complete ones?

– No. There's no complete maps in existence. "Labyrinth" changes constantly and on its own. This is not a movie, not a book after all Gunslinger. This is the whole world, the miracle world! The miracle can't be static.

The Portal through which "Labyrinth" is connected to the rest of the deep is really beautiful. It's a huge black marble ark going up into the sky. Purple sparks slide along it back and forth and low rumble is emitted by the stone, sometimes accompanied with deep nonhuman sighs. The ark's entrance is filled with swirling red fog.

And right into this fog people are coming, slowly as if mesmerized. Maybe not all or them are real, some of them are created by "Labyrinth"'s sysops for more solemnity but it's impressive anyway.

I join the common flow.