“What the hell are you doing here?” Alex demanded, furious that he was looking at Pedostache once more.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMAp7SHsFi
Pedostache merely smiled. “Hello Alexander. This is a pleasant surprise. I'm here because I agreed to give a lecture for your class about the dangers of having poor mental health.”
“That's not what I meant!” Alex shouted. “You were arrested! I watched it happen!”
“Due to a lack of eye witnesses, I was merely placed on probation.”
“We got a restraining order against you!”
“Your sister has a restraining order against me,” Pedostache corrected. “The rest of your family does not.”
“We were born literally minutes apart! That's got to count for something!” Alex yelled frantically, unwilling to believe that this was happening.
“Alex, please sit down,” Mrs. Lukas said firmly. “Mr. Harold is a 'guest' here and despite whatever personal history you have with him, you are to treat him as such.”
“But,”
“Now, Mr. Samson.”
Alex didn't like it, but he sat.
“Now then,” Pedostache said as he waddled in between rows to the front of the classroom, “If you will all please open the handouts on your desk, we can begin,” he said as he pulled up a powerpoint on his computer.
And so it went. Pedostache went through slide after slide, displaying information and talking about it in his artificially cheery voice. Alex was tempted to do get up and leave multiple times, like he was able to do during the meetings. He refrained from doing so, however. The last thing he wanted to do was to piss off Mrs. Lukas. He began to doze off and would've fallen asleep Pedostache not moved to an interesting topic.
“Now here is a slide that many of you boys should find interesting,” Pedostache said. He pressed a button on his clicker to reveal a slide titled 'How Games Affect Your Mind'
“Despite initial backlash when this market initially formed, several studies indicate that many video games are in fact good for you,” Pedostache said. “Certain games have been known to increase reaction time and skills such as driving to the point that many young children have the same skills as adults that are twice their age.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXfpklahHNF
Alex perked up slightly at this. He hated Pedostache, but this seemed like an interesting subject.
“However, such benefits are outweighed by a large and serious risk to both your physical and mental health. Videogames are known to promote antisocial behavior, as well as eye strain, obesity, all of which can lead to poor self-esteem and mental health. I really don’t know why you children would wish to play these games.”
“Um, because you only get fat and antisocial if you let it become a bad habit.” One guy spoke up.
Pedostache smiled at him. “Young man, why take the risk? Especially after what I have to show you”
He turned to his computer and brought up a website. It was a news piece titled 'Videogames Cause Injury to Dozens of Players'
“I understand that I was brought here to teach about mental health,” Pedostache said. “But I feel that some of you,” he looked at Alex especially; “would benefit from watching this.” He hit play and the video started.
“Do videogames cause violence? While no clear answer has been found, we certainly know they can cause physical harm to the people who play them.
Late last night dozens of people were admitted to hospitals with symptoms ranging from nosebleeds, to serious headaches, even to unconsciousness. The victims fully recovered soon after admission, but are understandably shaken. The one thing that ties their cases together? They all claim that they were playing the popular game Halo when the symptoms appeared. In response to these incidents, 343 Industries has temporarily shut down all halo severs as they attempt to find out what caused this incident. Fortunately, one of the players involved was recording footage at the time for his channel on YouTube and has generously given this studio exclusive access to it in the hopes that other will be on the watch.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnwfWbQCxN
It cut to the video that the gamer had recorded. It started off as a normal team death-match. The Blue team was gaining the lead when a new player joined the Red team. The player was wearing default armor and was only carrying a plasma rifle. What was interesting about him was that his name was a bunch of random letters and numbers. The player looked around for a moment before he began attacking- his own teammates. In no time at all, he was the only one still alive on his team. Blue team began cheering but quickly stopped as they realized that the new Red was a force to be reckoned with. The Red sprang silently into action and attacked the Blues.
That was when the screaming began.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWadL8YDnDp
Anyone who got hit seemed to be in intense pain as the Red easily mowed them down. The smart ones logged out before they got hit as well, but most weren’t so lucky. Soon, only the recorder and two other players were left. They had retreated into their base and had loaded up with all the heavy weaponry they could find. They burst out of the base and opened fire on the Red. Almost every shot seemed to hit, but the Red was unhurt.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp8YX3JnEiv
“What the hell?” One of the other guys in the class muttered.
Realizing that what they were doing wasn’t working, they tried to retreat. The Red gunned them down. Just as the recorder was hit, Alex noticed something. Normally, the plasma rifle’s shots were a bright glowing greenish blue.
This suppressor was firing red bolts.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dBVAGGu1I
@0@0@823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs9LWEnRA4N
“I don’t understand!” Alex exclaimed. “How the hell did they do this? I thought that it was only possible through Rune!”
Alex was at the counter of the Coffeenet with Sam, who was cleaning one of the coffeepots. As soon as school let out, he raced down to the shop as fast as he could to tell Sam what had happened.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvm8I8jFfqC
“Well, clearly they have abilities that we didn’t know they had.” Sam said as he took a swipe at a particularly resilient stain.
“Clearly! What gets me though, is why did they attack people in another game? I may have only two months under my belt in the game, but from what I’ve heard, they’ve never done this before. So why start now?”
“Programing can take a lot of time.” Sam mentioned. “Maybe they’ve been working on infiltrating other games for some time now, and have only just gotten into Halo.”
“Still though, what’s their end goal? I can understand ruling one game, but why go for another? Especially one where the owners are more likely to go after anyone messing with their stuff.”
Sam though for a moment, then poked his head into the employee break room. “Mr. Clark, I’ll be taking my break now.”
An older man yelled something indistinguishable back and Sam closed the door. He then turned back to Alex. “What you just asked is the question that the Coders have been asking since day one. And they’re still no closer to figuring it out.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTy2ixby1OV
“So what’s the plan?”
Sam typed into the computer at the cash register and printed out two receipts and handed one to Alex. “I just got us thirty minutes on two of the computers. We need to get some more information on this, as well as tell Miles and Croe. Maybe they’ve heard something.”
“Agreed.”
They sat down at their respective computers and logged into Rune. The game flashed a warning on the welcome screen that without the correct gear plugged in, they couldn’t access Rune. Instead, they pulled up a chatroom and sent invites to Croe and Miles and labeled them as important. It took ten minutes, but finally they both logged on. Sam passed Alex a Bluetooth earbud and screwed one in his ear as well.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hARFv5LJb
“As much as I enjoy talking to you guys and not doing English homework, I sort of need to get back to it soon.” Miles said. “No offense.”
“Trust me, this is important.” Alex replied. “I’m sending both of you a link to a video you need to watch.”
Croe clicked on it and said, “I already saw it. My parents showed it to me this morning.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvo5wK3Exmc
“What did they have to say about it?” Sam asked.
“Well, they were understandably concerned, but my parents are, how do I put this, more understanding about videogames.”
“Dude, your parent’s are awesome,” Alex said. “I wish I had them.”
“Well what about your parents?” Croe asked,823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKwK2c5pWk
Alex froze up. It happened every time someone asked. How do you explain the fact that your mom died in a car crash, and your father has been missing for over a year? Most people would never begin to understand that.
Thankfully Sam came to his rescue. “GN’s family situation is, complicated.”
“Oh! Okay,” Croe said instantly getting the message. “Are they divorced?”
“As Janus said, it’s complicated.” Alex answered. “They aren’t divorced, but I don’t like talking about it.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ45sMkL5iJK
“Got it man,” Croe said in an understanding tone.
“So,” Miles said, “I just finished the video. I’m assuming that the gameplay footage is what you wanted me to look at, but I didn’t see anything.”
“You mean you didn’t notice anything about the guy’s plasma rifle?” Alex asked.
“Yeah I noticed something was, oh no.” Croe said, realization dawning in his voice.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0xBBT3RIR
“Guys, I’m not exactly a Halo fan. What am I looking for here?” Miles asked, irritation creeping into his voice.
“That Red who took out everyone was holding a plasma rifle.” Alex said. “It was the one firing red bolts of energy.”
“Yeah so?”
“Plasma rifles aren’t supposed to fire red bolts.”
There was a pause, then Miles said “Oh shit.”
“You see it now?” Alex asked.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtq3RclHzvr
“Yeah. For the love of God, please tell me that this is a practical joke.”
Sam sighed. “Unfortunately it’s real.”
Miles swore and slammed his fist down on something heavy, causing something to fall off of his desk. “And I thought that we’d stopped them for the time being,” He said angrily.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK5tTYImMaM
“We set them back in-game, but that didn’t stop them in the real world,” Croe said. “I mean, let’s face it; all we really did was destroy their in-game base and most of their gear, but anyone with a bit of gold can regain their losses.”
“Speaking of in-game, do you think that this means they can get into the Core now?” Alex asked.
“I doubt it.” Sam answered. “It shouldn’t have anything to do with accessing another game and I think I’d know if they were messing around with that.”
“Why’s that?” Croe asked curiously. In the background, Miles swore softly.
Sam shifted in his seat. “Well, if you remember, I did a bit of freelance programming work for the Devs. That got me familiar enough with the area that I was in that I think I could tell by looking at the rest of the code and see if something is wrong.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOHTF8DcwN
“I thought you couldn’t access the Core.” Croe said suspiciously.
“Oh, anyone with a few programs and a halfway decent understanding of code can take a look at the Core,” Sam said dismissively. “To actually edit the Core means you need permission from the Devs.”
“So, anyways, what do you guys think we should do now?” Miles asked, drawing them back on topic.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcc8UCrawWT
“Well, we’ve got to know if this is the only time it’s happened.” Sam said. “We need to look around on the internet- see if it’s been happening anywhere else.”
“Good idea,” Croe said. “We could look at it overnight and come back at say, five p.m. with anything we find.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLwUvG9UYOi
Alex leaned back and stretched in his chair. “We should also send a link to Qilin. I know that we’re not on best terms with him, but could you try to get it to him Miles? I think he should know as well.”
“I think so. If not, I can just give it to Spicy and have him take credit for it.”
To his right, the timer on the table beeped- indicating that Alex’s time was nearly up.
“Okay, I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you guys later?”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGf6a3ZUyXy
Miles and Croe agreed and logged off. Alex did so as well. He stood up and turned around, only to come face to face with Brian- aka Master Saru.
“Hello Ginganinja,” he said before punching Alex in the gut.
Alex doubled over in pain. As he did so, Brian pounded him in the back, dropping him to the ground. Alex hit the ground hard and heard people yelling and shoving. Brian kicked him again and again before mysteriously stopping. As he regained his breath, a hand was thrust into Alex’s vision. Taking it, he managed to stand up. Looking around, he saw Brian being restrained by three other men. Sam’s manager burst out of the break room, still puffing on a cigar, and was making his way over to the crowd when a thick meaty arm wrapped itself around Alex’s neck and hoisted him in the air. Gasping for breath, Alex struggled to free himself. He was about to pass out when a woman pulled a black cylinder from her purse and yelled “Let him go, or I’ll Mace us all!”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOV8QCk7CSn
The arm let go of Alex’s neck and he would’ve tumbled to the floor again had Sam not caught him. “You okay?” He asked worriedly.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqD1kMCIVlZ
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alex whispered, rubbing his raw throat.
“What the hell was that kid?” Sam’s manager asked. “You tryin’ to start a fight in my business?”
“Sir, he was attacked out of nowhere, it wasn’t his fault!” Sam said.
“I wasn’t talking to your friend there Mr. Anderson,” his boss said. “I was talking to this, kid,” he gesturing to Brian.
“Hey! I’m twenty seven years old! That’s not exactly young.” Brian said defensively.
“Anyone who picks a fight for no reason is no more mature than a kindergartener. Get the hell out of here and if I see you again, I’m calling the cops. The same goes for your friend over there.”
Brian glared at him. “This isn’t over Ginganinja,” he snarled. “You’d better watch your back in Rune.” And with that he left.
Sam’s boss turned to the remaining crowd. “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sorry you had to see that. I now ask that you carry on with your business.”
As the crowd dispersed, Sam’s manager gave Alex a look over. “Are you okay son?”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWW69sLILMm
“Never better,” Alex said, wincing as his ribs gave a sharp jolt.
Noticing it, the manager felt the ribs. “They’re not broken, but they’re probably bruised. Sam, get him a bag of ice for his ribs.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0hocwFyII
He guided Alex to a bar stool and sat him down. Sam filled a bag of ice and handed to Alex who placed it on his ribs and let out a sigh of relief.
“So tell me, what was that back there? Somehow, I don’t think that was a spontaneous fight.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthunsziOyb
“Well,” Alex said, choosing his words carefully; “As far as I can tell, I think I pissed him off in a videogame and he decided to track me down.”
The manager let out a grunt. “Kids these days. Either they’re fighting for the wrong reason, or they’re pulling a knife or gun on each other. Sometimes both.” The manager took a puff on his cigar and shook his head sadly. “Us older guys, we may’ve not grown up with all these online games, or any of the other ten million computers you kids have now, but it sure as hell was a simpler time.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9Jn7RjDJi
At that moment, Alex’s phone, which had miraculously survived the incident, buzzed and let out his text jingle. Pulling it out, he saw it was from Jessica823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3S2yo2J3IX
Jessica: Get home now. We need to talk.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2r90YYesT
Alex sighed. “I’ve gotta go. Thanks for backing me up. And for the ice.”
The manager nodded. “My pleasure. Take care kid.”
@0@0@823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0cqdyA7GK
Alex walked in through the door and saw Jessica, Dunham sitting at the dining table with the family accountant. Papers were strewn everywhere and the salt shaker had fallen over. Alex started to say hello, but stopped when he saw the tears in his sister's eyes and the anguish on Dunham's face.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOEJmZrwsEU
“What's happened? What's going on?” Alex asked hurriedly.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQL0HZUXa1t
“Alex,” Dunham said softly, “Please sit down. There is something you need to hear.”
Alex sat at his usual spot, perplexed and worried. Dunham was still his usual calm self, but Alex had become adept over the years of reading Dunham and knowing what was really going on. Dunham was more worried and stressed than Alex had seen in a long time, perhaps ever.
That made Alex even more worried.
The accountant turned to face Alex and handed him an opened letter. “Please read this and let me know when you are finished,” Alex opened the letter and began to read.
To the Legal Guardian of Homer and Jessica Samson
Dear Sir,823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbf4hgeKLkA
It has come to our attention that the biological father of your charges, Homer Samson Sr. not only used funds from Samson Aviation Industries for his own personal gain, but also linked his personal account to that of the account for the company so that funds could be transferred and drawn from. This means that the funds stored in Mr. Samson's Account, as well as any items purchased using Samson Aviation Industries funds are company property and therefor to be used as the company sees fit. Should Mr. Samson be removed from his position as CEO of Samson Aviation Industries, the items and funds would be available for the company to use as they see fit.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJ5acxMju7
823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvTVrdhd68
Marcus Hardcort
Acting CEO of Samson Aviation Industries
Alex read the note several times before its message finally sank in. A dry feeling coated his throat and he swallowed several times to try and remove it. “What, what did my dad purchase with the funds?”
The accountant slid a file over to him. “I did a bit of digging and came up with these. According to the receipts, He made several initial payments on this house using company money, as well as with several historical aircraft stored in his personal hanger.”823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11QoJvmxga
“I was under the impression that he had paid the company back for the money he borrowed. That's why I had Mr. Bennett take a closer look into this.”
“So, if my dad paid the company back, why did we get this letter?”
“The board of directors never approved the withdrawal of the funds,” Mr. Bennet answered. “In doing so, they can claim that anything purchased with the money is theirs.”
“Surely that's not legal, is it?” Jessica said, her voice choking up.
“Unfortunately it is.” Mr. Bennett said. “Just barely and they had to jump through a myriad of legal hoops and loopholes just to do it; but in the end, it is very much legal.”
“So, what's going to happen to us?” Alex asked. “Are we going to lose the house?”
“Unless your father shows up before he is declared legally dead, yes,” Dunham said gravely. “I have no doubt at this point that the board would not hesitate to take the house and your father's savings for their own.”
Mr. Bennett coughed. “I didn't want to mention this until Alex got here, but I did a bit more research on what would happen if you lost the house. The law states that if the Legal Guardian is unable to supply a safe home for his charges and keep them properly fed and clothed, the government has full right to remove them from his or her custody and place them in foster care.”
Jessica choked back a sob and rushed from the room, tears racing down her cheeks. She raced up the stairs to her room and slammed the door. The wails could be heard from the dining room below.
Alex, on the verge of tears as well turned to Dunham and asked. “You aren’t going to let this happen, right Dunham?”
Dunham didn't meet Alex's eyes.823Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7u6Qt9OaH3
