Chapter 10
The studio lights were bright and hot. Thick makeup plastered to Zack’s face made it difficult to make facial expressions and, underneath the caked on mess, he could feel a thin sheet of sweat slowly sliding down his skin. Two weeks of very little sleep, whirlwind press tours, interviews, fan packed parties every night, team planning to decide what power ups to buy for his last play, and a host of other activities had left Zack exhausted and drained. He desperately needed rest, and he meant to have it.
Right after this interview.
When she walked in, every head in the room turned to catch a glimpse of her. Despite the makeup, Zack smiled, his exhaustion disappearing magically. He was meeting a legend!
“Hi, Zack. I’m Angelica. I hear you’re interested in joining my club.”
Zack could only grin and nod silently as he gripped hands with the Gaming superstar. Being in the same room with her, touching her, it was like a dream. Her parents must have had special knowledge of the future when they named her; she looked exactly like an angel. Straight, golden blonde hair hung like spun silk halfway down her body. Her ice blue eyes were penetrating, yet playful, as if she knew a joke that was obvious to her but no one else. It was a common physical trait of experienced Gamers, young eyes glowing with centuries of gained knowledge and wisdom, but Angelica’s eyes were distinct! Her 5 foot 6 inch, athletic frame was everything you would expect of a 22-year-old model and celebrity. If Zack was a star, then Angelica was a goddess.
“Shall we grab a seat and see if we can’t help you get your voice back before the world tunes in?” she asked, her perfect smile both playful and warm.
Zack cleared his throat, still grinning. The wise old man inside who had lived many lifetimes laughed at him, but the kid that he still was puffed out his chest and spoke in his deepest, manliest tone. “It’s amazing to be sitting with you, Angelica. You’re here to interview me but I think the world would prefer it if I interviewed you.”
Angelica touched her hair thoughtfully, looking past him and focusing on something in the distance. Zack turned around to see what she was looking at, but he found only the darkness of the set behind him. When he looked back Angelica had once again trained those beautiful eyes and that smile directly on him. He smiled back.
“How long until we go on the air?” Zack asked.
Angelica surprised him by laughing out loud. “Oh, I do miss being so young and innocent. We won’t go live, silly. It would be too dangerous if one of us said something inappropriate. They’ve been recording us since we came into the studio, just in case something spontaneous happens that they can put on the air. Rest assured, though, we will be on a time delay. There’s no going live on the air tonight.”
She leaned forward, waving him to come closer, which he was happy to do. “I’m going to kill you so Brandon doesn’t have another pet win the Games,” she whispered calmly.
Zack jerked backwards quickly in alarm, but her quick laughter told him that she was just joking.
“Angelica,” a voice said over the loudspeaker, “Cut the garbage. Do the interview without making more work for us.”
Angelica looked skywards, her smile transforming into a serious scowl, and she saluted smartly. “Yes, sir. Just making sure you were paying attention.” Her eyes locked on Zack’s and her playful grin returned. “All right, buddy boy. Let’s get this interview over with. I’ve got important things to do.”
“Like what?” Zack asked. “What have you been up to since you retired from the Game?”
“Zack.” This time he recognized the voice as Brandon’s, and he didn’t sound pleased. “We went over this. No questions for Angelica. Come on, you two. Let’s do this thing properly.”
Zack saluted the air, Angelica smirked.
Angelica didn’t waste any time. She looked at her list of questions and got straight to it. “So tell me, Zack, what’s your strategy? Are you going to go for the top spot and risk everything you’ve accumulated all these years of playing? Or are you going play safe so that you can retire with your considerable fortune intact?”
Smiling confidently, Zack shifted back and forth in his chair and answered the question. “You’re just going to have to join the rest of the world to see the answer to that question, Angelica.”
“Well that’s just the stupidest answer I’ve ever seen,” Angelica muttered under her breath, quickly flipping through the sheets in her hand. “Not really your fault, though, old fella, the questions are all horrible.” Before Zack could respond, she fired the pile of questions across the room into the darkness beyond the camera lights. She stood up and loudly moved her chair closer to his, then sat back down, her knee touching his. He liked this girl. She might be crazy, but he definitely liked her!
“Okay, look,” she said. “I know what questions you can answer. I know what the world wants to know. I mean, four years ago I sat in your seat and did this same damn interview myself.” She turned to face the camera and smiled seductively. “My interviewer was nowhere near as beautiful as Zack’s is, though.”
Turning back to Zack, Angelica continued. “Let’s get some answers so you and I can leave, and these nice folks at home can get back to their miserable lives. You game, big boy?”
“Sure,” Zack nodded.
“For those of you playing at home, if he answers quickly then he’s likely telling the truth. If he hesitates or stammers, then it’s one big lie you’re hearing. Okay, then. You going in as a man or woman?”
“Well, I thought long and hard about that decision befo…”
“Nope,” Angelica held up her hand, cutting him off. “Don’t care about the thought long and hard part. We all assume that. You’re going for the number one spot, for crying out loud!”
“Hey, don’t put words into my mouth,” Zack protested. “I never said if I was or…”
“Or if you weren’t. Right. We heard that awesome answer too. There have only been two questions, Zack. Even the guy that gets his mother to tune in for him because he can’t work the viewer can keep up so far.” She looked at the camera and smirked. “Boy, or girl?”
“Boy,” Zack said, rolling his eyes.
“What part of the world are you playing in?”
“Well, that’s part of the fun of the Game. You can start in one area and quickly end up in another. Three lives ago I…”
“Zack.” She interrupted him again. “I turned twenty-two about three months ago. I swear if I turn twenty-three while still sitting in this interview with you, I’m gonna do some bad things to a lot of people.”
Zack laughed. This woman was funny. He could almost hear the audience laughing in their homes. “I’m playing in a developed technological part of the world.”
“Thank you. See how easy it is if you just focus on the actual answer to my questions?” Zack nodded solemnly.
“Personality type?” she asked.
“Outgoing, leadership aptitude.”
“Which doesn’t mean leader, necessarily.” Angelica commented. Zack looked at her blankly, saying nothing.
“Did you purchase a relationship package?”
“Yes.”
“Lifespan upgrade?”
Zack smiled. “Have you played the game? Without a lifespan upgrade you die around age twenty.”
“Okay, I accept your challenge, Zack. Let me ask this question a better way. Are you going to likely live past the age of 20 in the Game during this play?”
“Yes. I bought the lifespan upgrade.”
Angelica rolled her eyes.
“How will your play affect the Game? Barely at all, which is a level 1, or closer to celebrity status which is a level 10?”
Zack was surprised by the question. This one wasn’t on the approved list. He answered anyway; they could edit it out if they didn’t like it. “I have no idea. I think all of us want to affect the Game world at a level 10 when we go in. It doesn’t seem to matter how many credits you spend for that outcome, though. There have been young s
tudents who become Game celebrities with no apparent effort, while other rich and experienced gamers end up wasting their play as a level 1 or 2 nobody.”
“Yes, that’s all true.” Angelica nodded as if she was bored. “So for those who like to place bets on the Game, if your answer to this question was to come true for this play… what level would you achieve?”
“11,” Zack answered immediately.
“Boo!” Angelica said. “That’s the worst answer, Zack! Do you know how many times I’ve asked this question of players and their answer is always 11?”
Zack leaned forward, making sure to touch her knee with his. “I don’t think you’ve ever asked another player that question and gotten the answer 11.”
Her eyes twinkled. “You’re right. I’ve never asked that question before.”
Angelica stood up from her chair and sat on Zack’s lap. Zack couldn’t believe it — this amazingly clever, successful, beautiful woman sitting on his lap! She felt wonderful, but immediately he tried to calm down. Her style so far was to shock and upset things hoping he would say something stupid. That wasn’t going to happen now. He’d come too far and his future was on the line here. He wasn’t going to jeopardize his career and fortune by falling prey to the charms of a pretty lady and say something he would later regret in front of millions of people. He prepared himself for her next bombshell.
“Zack, I think you’ve answered all the questions that you’re allowed to before entering the Game. I have one final question that’s been asked lately and I’d love to hear your answer.”
“Okay…” Zack said.
“If Angelica and Zack were both in their final Game at the same time, who would win?”
Zack didn’t need to think about his answer. “I saw your last play, Angelica. You and I both know a Gamer’s true skill comes from what we have inside us. A player goes into the Game and forgets everything about life out here. We are born into a virtual reality, and for the entire time we’re in it… we believe the game world is real. We grow up, fall in love, have families, experience a true and full lifetime, and, when we die we’re certain it’s genuine. Still, I believe that we take… something into the Game with us, but it’s subconscious; a part of us we can’t control.”
Zack looked into the camera, his face serious. “To answer your question, though, give us the exact same upgrades and credits spent and there’s no doubt in my mind. I would beat Angelica every single time.”
Angelica kissed Zack on the cheek, laughing in delight at his answer. She tousled his hair affectionately, then jumped off his lap and started walking towards the camera. “Well, there you go, everyone. We don’t know if he’s going for it or not. We know he’s playing as a guy, and he’s chosen to spend his life in civilized territory. He’s going to add romance to the package, which always makes things volatile and unpredictable. And he’s invested hard-earned credits to live past the ripe old age of twenty! The rest you’ll have to tune in to watch. It will be an exciting play, I’m sure. I’ll be keeping a close eye on his progress. I bet most of you will also.”
“Before we sign off, I have one important announcement.” Angelica winked slightly at Zack. “You are all going to be glad you tuned in for this little interview just for the information I’m about to share with you right now. The Game Mainframe has just announced Zack’s birthday for his new avatar. Normally we don’t make a big deal out of this, but it’s a date that anyone who follows the Game will recognize instantly.”
The camera zoomed in close to get a headshot of Angelica’s beautiful face. She paused for effect, very at ease as the centre of attention. Finally she made her announcement.
“Zack’s avatar will be born on Earth at 12:21 AM. The Game date will be… December 21, 2012! For those of you who are unfamiliar with that date, it's the prophesied end of the world date.”
Angelica froze in place, smiling broadly for effect. The voice spoke up one more time, “OK, Angelica. That’s it we’re done. Great job you two, and good luck in the Game, Zack.”
“Walk me out?” Angelica asked sweetly.
Zack nodded eagerly.
They didn’t say much on the way to the elevator, just exchanged vague pleasantries. As the elevator arrived, Angelica said “You grab the next one, stud. I’m going somewhere you can’t follow.”
Zack was sure her answer meant more than she was saying, but he just nodded. “Can I ask you one question, Angelica?”
She looked at him searchingly, then nodded.
“Any advice for me?” he asked with a grin.
She grabbed him in a close hug and held him for a brief moment. It felt strong, protective, and Zack loved it.
As she was letting him go she softly whispered in his ear, “My advice is this, Zack. Don’t try for first place. Do everything you possibly can to finish as low in the standings as possible.”