System Break

The home looked like a modern castle with its sandstone walls and beautiful, manicured gardens. Hidden behind the façade was a technological wonder like few mega-billionaires possessed.

The Huan empire was built upon robotics and automation so it was logical their main home, they had dozens was a tribute to technology. The gardens were all cared for by robots, the walls, driveways, and windows were cleaned by various bots, large and small.

The kitchen was fully automated. The master of the house pushed a few buttons on his tablet essentially ordering the nights menu. If something wasn't stocked it would be delivered and the machines would cook, clean, and deliver the meal to the dining hall.

Huan Xie strolled to the sitting room where his children and their guest waited.

"Gan, Jia," he greeted his children. "Bao welcome I've not seen you for some time."

Zhou Bao stood and bowed. "Thank you, sir." (Bao is Redmond.)

Xie waved his hand. "Sit, sit. We're all friends here."

Gan raised an eyebrow and Jia giggled. (Gan is Ailen and Jia is Sakaala.)

"Did I say something funny?"

Jia made a face. "Father, we're friends. You're an elder."

"Ah," Xie said, "True. I am the elder who pays for everything including your game." He sat and faced the trio.

"What's for dinner?" Gan asked. "Did you order already?"

Xie nodded. "Don't change the subject. I wanted to discuss this game that's taking up all your time."

"What else should we do?" Jia asked.

"Work for me? Find your own way? Make your own company? So many things, but you waste all your time in a game. I thought this would be a few hours a week."

"Father," Jia's tone turned serious. "Thanks to your wonderful company and others like it there is mass unemployment across the world. No more truck drivers, cab drivers, cleaners and factory workers have no jobs. It's the new way. No one works and its all thanks to you."

"There is work for those who strive," he said tersely.

"Unemployment is now at twenty percent in the developing world and  fifty percent in developed economies," Gan recited. "So, if you mean 'strive', you mean who exactly?"

"You are highly educated," he said dismissing their argument.

"And we would just be taking the job of someone who needed it," Jia said.

Xie scoffed and looked at Bao. "What do you think Bao?"

"Um," he said and shifted uneasily in his chair. "Huan Jia is correct. It is very difficult to find a job for our generation. We rely on the basic allowance from the robot labour levy."

"And father," Jia continued. "You wouldn't believe how hard we work in this game. We ran 300 miles carrying packs in the last four days."

Xie was impressed but then a look of confusion. "Wait. Your characters run, not you."

Jia shook her head. "This game is real. It was us running. We feel pain, we get tired and we learn skills." She pointed at her brother. "Gan can track."

"Track?"

"Yeah, animals, people, you name it. Well not birds, I can't track birds."

Xie looked at Bao. "Is this true?" His children looked offended.

"Yes sir. I never worked so hard in my life."

Xie laughed. "It takes a game to make you kids work. That's hilarious. Fine, fine. Tell me more about it. Should I invest more?"

Jia looked at Gan who nodded. "Father this is going to be massive. It's like life escape for those who want to forget the real world. They just need to get the costs down."

Xie waved his hand in dismissal. "Costs come down with scale and experience. I'm not concerned about that."

Bao said, "Sir, If I was you, I'd buy as much as I could."

Huan Xie, was one of the richest men in the world. His net worth was over 500 billion USD.

"Are there any competitors?" he asked.

The three looked at each. "None that we know of," Gan said. "The Americans are stuck playing with VR. This game is using a much different technology its like you are on a different planet and uploaded into a body."

Xie stared into space for a moment. "The hold their IP tightly, even to investors. And the pods give little away. This is good, its best to get a jump on the market and be first. I will heed your advice." 

He stood and paced. "I guess you can keep playing, but I want you to learn everything you can about the underlying technology."

"Yes father," they said and grinned at each other.

"Bao?"

"Yes sir?"

"Do you want to participate, I'll make it worth your while," Xie said.

"Yes sir. I will sir."

Gan made a face that said stop sucking up.

"Where is your pod?" Xie asked.

"At home," Bao said.

"Move it here," Xie said. "If you're going to be in this game close to 24/7 may as well be at hand for debriefs." He checked his tablet when it made a sound. "Dinner is ready if you want it now."

They moved into the dinning room and their plates appeared up from the floor and through the centre of the table. 

Xie said, "Two courses. Roast venison with vegetables and dark chocolate mousse with coffee."

Jia sighed. "Father you have no imagination. Let me order next time."

The boys did not agree and tucked into the roast.

"I haven't had meat in weeks," Gan said and received a look from his father.

Bao smiled, "Dokkalfar better be eat meat."

Jia glanced at her father. "Gan and I are Svartalfar, we don't eat meat. Just nuts, berries, legumes and the like."

"All that meat we leave behind is criminal," Gan said.

"Benzhi's demon bird cannot eat it all," Jia laughed.

Xie sighed. "It was bad before, but now I feel I will never understand your generation."

"Benzhi is a killing machine. How did you meet him?" Bao asked.

Jia looked at her father. "Benzhi is subject eleven. The one who makes the discoveries."

Xie nodded. "Keep him close. If they're building their system using him, he is important."

"You understand systems?" Bao asked.

Huan Xie stared at the young man. 

Gan cleared his throat. "Father means operational system, it's not what you think."

"Oh," Bao said.

"There's another sort of system?" Xie asked.

Gan nodded. "The players in the game use a system. There's skills, abilities and stats which we use."

Xie waved his hand. "This is the same. It's an operating system. What's interesting is - they don't program these skills and abilities. They need a player in the game to discover them."

Gan shook his head. "Not quite. The alpha testers discover abilities and races. The skills and stats are different. You earn them and the UI merely reports on your level. Like, your skill level at golf is 20.77."

"I see," Xie said. "Tell me about the abilities."

"They all use qi," Jia said.

Huan Xie dropped his food. "Oh shit."

"What?" Gan asked.

Huan Xie stood and wiped his face with a napkin. "I will have experts investigate. This is not what I thought it was. Please forgive me, I will take my leave now."

The three stared at each other. The twins were in their early twenties and had never seen their father act this way.

Gan stood. "We should get back. It's not a good spot to leave them for long."

Jia looked at Bao. "Hurry, we're not going to carry you."

Panic flashed across Bao's face. "Okay. Okay. I'll be fast." He ran out of the room and Jia laughed.

"He's too easy," she said with a grin.

"Don't tease him too much." Gan said.

She smirked. "Who me?"

Gan shook his head and made his way to the games room.