Hell's Glitch (initial draft)

26 Motivation

"What should I do, father?"

Yoshiyuki Nagai's familiar expression popped into Sam's head quite vividly. He had a stern look on his deeply lined face as he looked off into the distance. Sam would've bet any amount of money that this vision was of his dad fishing.

"Please father, what should I do?"

In Sam's mind, his father finally turned to face him and his stern look was dropped for a deep smile of genuine warmth. Both expressions described the man his father was easily. Too bad he wasn't here to offer his sound advice.

"I should stop asking dead men how to live."

Sam huffed at these lingering feelings of frustration, hopelessness, and helplessness that would not dissipate. He had moved on from Barrington's camp, but had only moved over to the area with the Stumpies. He sat under a tree, well away from the enemies, but just couldn't bring himself to fight. He had too much on his mind to do anything effectively. He thought about the protocols that Alex had mentioned earlier, Milner's way of discouraging idleness. He wondered how long he could sit before the protocol kicked in and he wondered what the punishment for it was. It was instant death, no doubt but Sam wanted to make sure.

"Alex!"

"Yes, Sam?"

At least she was quick to answer.

"I need to know, what's this protocol about? The one you mentioned earlier?"

"You have to ask your questions more specifically, Sam. I'm not allowed to give broad answers."

He thought of how to get the information he needed.

"What initiates the protocol you told me about earlier?"

"Player idleness."

"How long can a player stay inactive before this protocol kicks in?"

"I can't answer that specifically. What I can tell you is that you are given enough time to strategize, to focus, and to rest."

"Does browsing through my menu add to my idle time when I'm sitting?"

The line was silent. Sam guessed that Alex didn't know the answer offhand or maybe she didn't know if she could answer it.

"No, Sam. Menu browsing counts as active play."

"What's the punishment for remaining idle over the allotted time?"

"Death."

"Instantaneous death?"

"Yes. It counts as a game over and all game overs result in the death of your real life body."

"We get game overs every time we die?"

"No. Certain conditions must be met to get a game over."

"What are those conditions?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you any of them, Sam. I'm sorry."

"No, you've told me enough for now. I think I can puzzle out the rest. Than—"

He cut himself off before he got too comfortable. She was the enemy after all.

"Is that all, Sam?"

"Yes."

"Remember to call me when you need—"

"Okay."

This time, he ended the call. He began to think.

I wonder why some of the people I killed weren't in the video, Justinian89Thrills for instance. The game over state is specific, but what activates it? Think, Sam, think. Justinian was a crimson Spirit Walker when I killed him, so dying as a Walker doesn't get you a game over or maybe it's just when you're invading. He thought back to those he killed, igniting his self-hatred once again. It was necessary to figure out what they all had in common. Their avatars were as diverse as you could get and so were each of the battles. Figuring out their commonality wasn't working so he instead thought of the ways they differed from the other players that he had defeated, but not killed. He replayed every battle in his head, even the one with Robert. He felt the heat rise up to his face and tears welling up in his eyes. Each invasion was a sin, sins that would not be easily erased. The way he saw it, his sins were permanent. He had collected them as trophies, Bloody Tearstones. He could count them all. They would follow him as long as he lived. Now though, the dead would give him the clues he needed to proceed forward. So he continued to concentrate.