DCO- Dungeon Core Online

Chapter 58

“I honestly didn’t expect to see you today.” Alex said as James walked into the hospital room. Alex was sitting upright in his special medical bed. The structure, James knew, could also double as an immersion pod, allowing patients to still access the Zone at night, or in extreme cases, during the day. Being absent from the present pains that affected their bodies, was more effective than any form of morphine ever could be, after all. Plus, it limited how often patients who with serious injuries or who’d undergone massive surgery moved about, limiting the chance any of the doctor’s work could be undone.

“Figured I’d swing by and see how you were doing.” James answered, honestly, as he stepped into the room. His eyes scanned Alex, noting he seemed to have a little more color to him than he had the day prior. Modern medicine was amazing. Alex had been beaten, quite literally, within an inch of his life at Dwight’s hands. If not for Fel’s arrival, and her quick handling of Dwight, there was a possibility the boy who’d helped see that Dwight was punished for attacking James, would have died in his stead.

“Same old same old.” Alex said with a shrug. His smile faltered for just a moment at the action, no doubt angering his broken ribs and bruised body. He slowly ran a hand through his hair as he looked around. “Any chance you brought me something better than hospital food?”

James laughed and shook his head side to side. “Sorry, didn’t think to bring you anything.”

“Shame,” Alex said with a sigh, “downside of living with chefs. Everything else just tastes, you know, underwhelming. At least, in the real world that is.” His eyes took on a wistful look. “Some of the meals I’ve had in the Zone, and especially in DCO, have definitely put meals in the real world to shame.”

“Do you prefer DCO, to the real world?” James asked as he took a seat beside Alex. The question just escaped his mouth, before he realized he was even saying it. “Would you stay there forever, if you could?” What the hell are you going?

Alex looked at him for a long moment, his eyes thoughtful. He shifted, somewhat uncomfortable, in his hospital bed, before he responded.

“Probably not,” he said. “As awesome as it is, probably not.”

“Why?” James pressed.

“Because it’s not real.” Alex answered, quicker, as he seemed to finalize his thoughts. “No matter how real it feels, it’s not. It’s virtual. It,” he paused to think, “the fact it’s virtual, the fact it’s not real, is what makes it special, you know?”

“I,” James stopped, unsure of how to answer. “I’m not sure I’m following.”

“We can do, and be, whatever we want in immersion.” Alex said as he leaned back into his bed. “It’s awesome, really. And I’m really glad the technology exists. It’s given me the chance to do and experience so many things that would probably be impossible otherwise.” He grinned as a lecherous look crossed his face for a moment. James had heard more than a few stories of the types of things Alex and Fel had been up to in DCO, including their, ah, escapades with a certain demonkin named Lilith. “But while the experiences and memories all feel real,” Alex continued, “the fact they don’t matter, the lack of actual weight on our decisions within immersion. It’s freeing. If immersion were real, I don’t think we would feel the same type of freedom. Immersion, well, it’s an escape. It’s a fantasy world.” Alex flexed his hands, looking at the IV that protruded from the back of his right palm, “decisions in the real-world matter. They have a finality, a weight to them. Living in the real world, consequences, suffering, and all that, make immersion the awesome escape that it is. Without the real world,” he unclenched his hand, “the immersion probably would feel more like an eternal prison. What’s the point of an escape after all,” he added, softly, “if you’re not escaping from something?”

James said nothing. He was aware his mouth was slightly open, as he stared, dumbfounded, at Alex. Where had those profound thoughts come from? Had Alex contemplated such stuff in the past? Or were these things he was considering now, after his near-death experience?

“So if you had the choice, you wouldn’t want to live in immersion forever?” James asked.

“Nah,” Alex said with a shake of his head.

“What if Fel was there with you?”

“She’s here with me in the real world,” Alex countered. “And that’s more important, honestly. Like I said, the virtual world, it’s different. That’s a rules free zone. It’s a playground. It’s a game.” Alex looked towards the door, as if expecting Fel to walk through it, “but the real world, it’s reality. Fel being with me here, means so much more to me. If I had to choose between immersion, or the real world, I’d choose the real world with her by my side over immersion.”

“Even if it means no more,” James grinned at Alex, “visits to your class trainer?”

Alex’s face reddened a bit at that. “Even if it meant no more visits with my class trainer,” he said, though there was a hint of longing in his voice. “Virtual can’t beat the real-world James, simple as that.”

James sat there, as an awkward silence spread between the two of them. He and Alex weren’t really friends. He’d only spoken on slight occasions with the Senior at his High School. They had very different experiences. Alex was popular, he had a purpose in the real world. James was a nerdy gamer. The only reason he’d even visited Alex the first time, was out of guilt. And this time, honestly, he wasn’t sure. He had time to kill and sitting around waiting had been driving him crazy. So he’d wandered over to the hospital, looking to do something, anything, to distract himself as the hours ticked by. But now, well, he wasn’t sure.

He wished he could be as certain as Alex. That would probably have made his actions, his conviction, stronger. But Alex’s love was in the real world. She was flesh and blood. If the virtual world disappeared, Alex wouldn’t potentially lose the love of his life. For James, that wasn’t quite the case. Rue existed in DCO. Steve and the others, including Rue, were confident that crashing the DCO server wouldn’t harm Rue. But it was still a risk. There was a chance that if they stopped the government, it could cost James Rue. And the more he sat around, the more he waited for the night to come, the more that ate at him.

“You alright man?” Alex pulled James from his dark thoughts. “You need to talk about something?”

James pushed his brooding aside, and offered Alex as sincere a smile as he could. He shook his head at Alex’s question and moved the subject away from himself to something else. “Speaking of Fel,” James began, “have you seen her today?”

Alex sighed; love struck puppy on full display before James. “No,” he grumbled, “she said she had to do something with her mom today. So, I’ve just been stuck here, with nothing to do, bored out of my mind.”

James had received a message from Fel. It hadn’t mentioned anything about her mom. Just that she was running errands on her side, to get ready for tonight. Had she lied to Alex? Or was she giving her boyfriend more details, in a roundabout way, than she was giving James? Either way, it didn’t really matter. James could trust Fel. If she said she was running errands to get ready for the night, than that’s what she was doing.

If her mom was involved as well though…

James didn’t let the thought progress any further.

“You said you’re bored,” James said, half to himself, half to Alex. “So how about a game to pass the time?”

He looked at Dagger, who’d stood silently at his side the entire time during the conversation. “Dagger, what games do you have installed?”

The dog’s mouth opened, its hollow projector extending outwards. The sudden transformation caused Alex to jump, which then made him flinch and let out a gasp of pain. He knew Dagger was a robot, but James was pretty sure the holoprojector in the mouth, and the way Dagger’s jaw flipped up almost 90 degrees, had been more than a little surprising. James felt bad, but also couldn’t help but smirk. Then, brilliant lights played in the air above Alex’s lap, as virtual board games began to stack, one on top of each other, for the boys to read.

“I’ve access to every board game created in the past hundred years,” Dagger’s voice said, past its unmoving mouth, “state either the name of the game, or apply search parameters, to narrow down the list.”

“Any games in mind?” James asked Alex, motioning towards him. “Seems like we’ve got choices.”

Alex looked from James, down to Dagger, his eyes still looking over the dog. “Uh,” he paused for a moment, thinking, “got any card games?”