Lurranus 3 (Part 1/5)

Prologue:
Adam Reilly woke up in the middle of an empty room.
For a moment, he saw nothing. He tried to lift his head, but was quickly overwhelmed by a wave of nausea. His heavy head fell back to the floor. He tried to look up, but the colours above him blurred into an anonymous grey mass, with sparks of green light. He turned to his other senses. He felt around, his right hand coming into contact with a solid but soft object, although his mind was too subdued to try to reach a conclusion on what it was. Where he was. Hell, who he was.
Okay. He knew who he was.
So long as he had a minute to think. It wasn’t all coming to him at once.
Suddenly, the wave of nausea finished rolling over him, and he felt himself be freed from it subjugating hold. He looked around. Above him was a grey roof, with holes offering glimpses at a great tree, which blocked the sun, filtering its light rays so they swayed inconsistently along the grey floor. He himself had long blonde hair, streaming over his face, which he realised was covered in dust. He wore clothes he couldn’t currently recognise. A grey t-shirt and black joggers. He was sprawled out on the floor, in a shape similar to a star, only with both his legs bending inwards at the knees. And, as he slowly looked to the side, he realised his right hand was making contact with an unconscious man.
He sat up slowly, looking around even more. It quickly transpired he wasn’t the only person there. There were at least twenty other people. Men, women. Most looked young, and at least half seemed to be experiencing the same emotions as Adam, as they slowly rose and looked around with wide eyes, attempting to come to terms with their current predicament. All of them were in a wide, open building. Light streamed in through a wide window, dust decorated the otherwise empty floor, and debris was littered around a large hole in one of the buildings far walls. It looked like it had once been a factory, judging by how “Empirius”, the name of the former weapons company, was painted in bold on the wall. But there was no longer any equipment, and it didn’t seem like there had been any for some time.
However, in the middle of the room were several metal boxes. At least a dozen. Unopened, and a cold silver colour that contrasted the easy light grey of the factory they were in.
Adam got up, and slowly walked over to the boxes. Looking to the side, he observed a dark-skinned individual, wearing the same clothes to him, do the same. They both reached the boxes at the same time.
The two were silent for a moment, before the man asked “What the hell is happening here? How’d we get here?”
The two were silent for a moment. Adam tried to think were he was before. He was in the system, in the huge dancing arena. An arena from an impossible, distant future, where the rules of physics ceased to apply. The kind of place humanity would never see. He was there with his friends only moments before, talking and dwelling on the nature of Lurranus. He didn’t recall leaving there before he woke up here. Something had to be wrong.
“Is it a technical glitch?” Adam suggested.
The man nodded thoughtfully. “I had thought of that.”
Adam though for a moment. “Just a second ago I was in... I don’t know. That weird antigravity disco place?”
“Huh, me too. The names not coming, but I know what you mean.”
“And now I’m...” Adam began.
“Here.” The man finished. “Wherever here is.”
The two paused, and looked down at the boxes. There were closed, but appeared to have no protective measures installed. Looking at each other, and realising their similar intentions at the same time, they made a move to open them.
A man went to each side, and both began looking for a way to open them. As they did, the man asked “So, what’s your name?”
“I’m Adam Reilly.” Adam replied slowly, the name feeling oddly alien on his tongue. “What’s yours?” Adam asked.
Silence ensued for a moment.
“It’s, um... it’s Adam Reilly...”
Adam stopped investigating the box and looked up slowly, making eye contact with his namesake. As various other figures got up and made their way to the boxes, Adam and Adam ignored them and instead looked straight into each other’s eyes. A distant figure suddenly appeared, from outside the building, and walked towards them at a steady pace. Still, the two Adam’s didn’t dare look away from each other.
“I... I don’t... understand...” Adam whispered slowly.

-

“What is it you’re saying?”
“I have an idea. For a virtual world, with everything people want. I spoke to this guy, Liam, years ago, just when the war ended, and it’s how I got the idea. And then, a week ago, I was looking back at some old VR stuff... to do with escapism. We’ve been through a lot with the war. I mean, come on Alex, you lost all your family. So did I, so did Liam. I reckon it’s the exact same for everyone else. And I think people deserve this. This pure escapism.”
“And we’re going to make this how, exactly, John?”
“We have a considerable amount of resources. We lost a lot in the war, but we still have a lot left and, right now, people aren’t being overwhelmed with job offers.”
“Does this computer world - which I’ve no idea how we’ll make - does it have a name?”
“Right now it’s called Lurranus. After the Empirius vessel.”
“Right. And we need to make this... why?”
“Because I think people need it. I think they deserve it.”
(2206)

-

Part 1 of 4:
2256

Noel Davidson looked around at the environment around him, slowly “spinning” around and “feeling” a smile on his face.
He had to say, he was impressed. Everything around him was so lifelike. The city surrounding him resembled one from around the 2030’s or 2040’s, years generally considered the peak of human life and innovation. Stylistic, visually impactful buildings shot up, noir blue and green lights of their edges dancing as they rose into the sky. Electronic cars moved gently along the street, freeing the world from the pollution of cars that where used much more sparsely, due to the extortionate prices of fuel. People looked content and happy. Freeways were littered by huge overhanging electronic banners, painfully bright displays promoting all kinds of fashion lines, beauty products, and things that were now wholly unnecessary. But then again, that was a time of excess. Life was plentiful, at least for some, and people had money to spare on amenities.
Admittedly, everything seemed too perfect, but maybe it was a satirical design choice, or just one that represented the period accurately. After all, war was ripe, but most ignored it. Left it to others, confident the issues would work themselves out, and content in the belief it would never affect them. But that life of excess and ignorance would only hurt them when they lost most of their prized resources in 2068, wasted by people and governments not thinking about their long term survival, only their short term gain.
Noel laughed at the people walking by. Their obvious, almost humorous, complete disregard for the future they were slowly creating, causing him to smile smugly and smirk.
Noel walked slowly towards a nearby door populated with people, the very bottom of a seemingly limitless building. Thunderous music powered out from the building’s first floor, and a group of people stood patiently outside. They were moving, but slowly, and in a repetitive, circular manner. Noel looked at them. They looked real, but something was off. For, no matter how long he seemed to look at them, the image of them would always fade from his head a moment later. They weren’t people, more things designed to briefly trick his mind. Like background details in a movie, often not designed to be seen in the forefront, only a contributing factor in creating an overall scene.
That was Lurranus. It wasn’t VR. It didn’t have to trick the eyes, only the mind. For all Noel knew, none of this was real. Not, of course, that it was real, but maybe they hadn’t even made this virtual environment, or any of the other ones. Maybe it was just ones and zeroes being beamed into his brain, telling him what to feel, what he wanted to feel, deceiving him as to what he was seeing and experiencing. Telling his mind it was happy, and leaving it to conjure up the appropriate scenario.
Of course, if that’s what it was doing, he was in exactly the place he wanted to be. Well, maybe not exactly, but after a bunch of overprotective helicopter parents had presumably overacted to his behaviour around some other real people, actions that were completely justified (hey, he was human, that was what humans were like), he had been moved here. It wasn’t quite the same but in some ways, the isolation was better. No judgemental pricks, for one thing.
He powered through the door, receiving no trouble from the guard posted on the door, and walked into the nightclub. Inside, pink lights pulsed continually outwards on the walls. Loud, continuous electronic noises exploded out from the speakers and echoed around the room. On the stage, a DJ with a helmet made of fake, yet obnoxious bright, gold, punched his fist in the air. The floor was a sea populated with slowly moving people. The majority of the masses were in the area by the stage, giving the sizeable venue a strangely claustrophobic feel, with the odd person slouching on the outskirts or at the bar, drinking a variety of unnaturally coloured drinks.
Noel walked towards the bar over on the far side. A half plane of glass separated him from the bartender, and on Noel’s side of the glass was a single overhead green bar of light, giving the small area a different visual feel to the disco behind Noel. More cool, calm, subdued. Even the volume of the disco behind him seemed to have dropped an unnatural amount.
He sat two stools left of a crouched man and pointed to the the man’s purple drink. “One for me.” He said without looking up. He heard the bartender release a grunt of acknowledgement, and saw the man to the side looked at him. Noel turned to face him directly. Now that Noel had engaged him, the system had been forced to create a real human person. He had been given grey hair, brown skin and a red bomber jacket. An attractive and friendly enough looking man. Most people in the system were though. After all, humans held a very high view of themselves. Even to their own people, people exposed to humanities worse, they would only put their best specimens on show. Noel found it frankly hypocritical.
The drink was slid under the glass, and Noel reached out to receive it. “It’s funny.” Noel sipped his drink, relishing in all the overwhelmingly pleasurably sensations he was experiencing as he felt the soft liquid trail down his throat. He put his glass down. The man to the side had looked away following Noel’s initial arrival, but now he turned back around to face Noel again.
“What?” A very nice sounding voice too.
“You people. All so fucking perfect, with no idea your slowly screwing us all over. Laughing all the way to the fucking... um, guillotine? Huh. It’s kinda funny. Its really funny.” He smiled at the man. The man seemed to assume a startled expression. That, or it was simply what Lurranus was telling Noel he what he expected to see. “You think everything’ll work out, huh. World peace. Gender equality. Well, you don’t mind if I give you a little spoiler, do you?” He beckoned the man over with a subtle movement of his forefinger. The man still looked confused, but obliged without comment. Noel whispered slowly in the man’s ear. “You die. The bartender dies. Every man and woman in this room... dies.” Noel shrugged, and leant back. “Which, I hope, isn’t news to you. We’re human, we’ll all die eventually. But for you lot, I’m afraid it’s a few years earlier than you might expect.” As he spoke, he smiled directly at the man, almost mocking him, his complete obliviousness to his inevitable fate. A fate Noel knew was to befall him, a fact the man could not. It was arguably immoral, or rather a bunch of pretentious twats would tell him as such, but Noel couldn’t deny he got of on the idea of the power and the superiority that it gave him, however small. Then he reached for his pocket, slowly wrapping his left hand around its contents, and looked down thoughtfully. “Here. Why don’t I give you a reality check.”
Noel pulled a period accurate machine gun and shot the man in the stomach. A harsh noise erupted from the weapon, followed by several bright flashes. Noel squealed in delight as blood shot out of the man’s back, his chair toppled, and he slumped to the ground. The sight, the feeling... it was one he hadn’t felt since the war. The shear joy Noel found in deafening conflict, as he mowed down enemies like they were toys, bracing for the impact of a child’s foot. It wasn’t as good as the real thing, or even playing mid games with people in Lurranus (before the system intervened) but Noel still couldn’t deny the thrill he got.
The activity in the club came to a standstill. The DJ silenced his music. People looked over, and suddenly a generic screaming sound was released from all around Noel. He smiled, and then raised his weapon again.
After mowing down every last person he could find, Noel left the building. The guard was waiting for him, but that problem was swiftly resolved with approximately five bullets in his chest. Looking down the street, he saw several figures walking his way, oblivious to Noel’s rampage. Holding his gun behind his back, he walked towards them and, once near enough for the limited range gun to be effective, fired his weapon again, killing all but one of the group.
For years, Noel had been tied down. Acting out in the army, or out in the world, there were consequences, or even in other parts of Lurranus, there was judgement. Here, in the peace of this fake world, he could be free and he could finally be himself. An all powerful, unstoppable man, like his forefathers. The way people were meant to be.
He laughed. “Fuck you!” He screamed in delight. He shot the sole survivor in the leg, and they let out a gasp of pain. He cried out again, even louder. “Fuck you all!”
He raised his gun again.
And suddenly, he felt a surge of pain in his head. He looked around in a panicked frenzy, but couldn’t see the source of the pain. In fact, he didn’t even feel like he was in this own body. He barely heard the gun clatter to the floor, and definitely didn’t feel it leave his hand.
The initial wave of pain was of moderate discomfort, causing more confusion and disorientation then pain, but the next was agony. Noel crumbled to the ground, much like the people in the club. He screamed at the non existent noise that pounded on his ear drums, and the indescribable buzzing that overwhelmed his head.
Then he was back in his body, or at least his virtual one. And he looked up, and saw the lone individual. Oblivious to Noel’s suffering, still gazing in expectant fear.
What have I done, Noel thought. He gasped at their pain, gulped in horror at the ugly red pouring out the bullet wound, souring their blue jeans. He felt sick at what he had just done. He scurried over, pulled of his shirt, and gave it to the figure to use to keep pressure on their wound. They seemed to accept this with a large amount of uncertainty, and trembled with fear. Noel’s mind continued racing.
What had he done? What...
What the fuck was he doing?
Suddenly, Noel was himself again. He looked at his bare chest, and then at the t-shirt the wounded now had.
The hell?
He didn’t know what had happened. What had caused the pain, and sudden change in personality? A technical error?
He shrugged, and reached for his gun.
Then he dropped it. He looked at the person. They were dead. A sprawled out mess of an innocent person.
What had he done?
Noel shuddered, as guilt poured through him. Noel thought to a moment ago. He remembered how he had just felt. Raw, psychopathic energy roaring through his veins. Remembered how he felt normally, how he felt only a second ago. Yet somehow, he now felt completely different. He was aware of what was happening, knew this was wrong, but his newfound emotions of compassion and empathy still swept through him anyway. It was strange, unbelievably strange. They was no other way to describe it. So very unnatural. As he thought, though he realised while he felt sorry for the person, deep down in his soul, he still wanted them dead.
And then he was himself. Something was up.
And as if to confirm his suspicions, suddenly everything around him froze, the neon city blurring with a hint of grey. And Noel screamed.
“Help! Get me out! Get me out of this...!”

-

“So, John, it’s ready?”
“Yeah, it’s ready. Of course, we don’t know how it’ll cope until we have more than seven people in the system.”
“But it worked for them?”
“Um... thus far, yes.”
“Well, it better work for everyone else. We’ve sent the word out to people everywhere, and they’re one their way in their masses, so... I hope it’s ready.”
“Its ready.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah. It’s gonna work. It’s what people need. After Oaktrus, the war, and now the state of this ruined world. It’s what they deserve.”
(2056)