Once again, apologies for the few weeks delay. The good news is that today I am back to posting edits of my short story, and I think I've found an acceptable way to format it so that it can be done within this blog window. I will have the original text copied in, and any corrections done in a line below in blue, so you will be able to see the original sentence/paragraph followed by the updated one. Please note that not every line has an edit following it. If you have suggestions on how to improve this process, please drop me a line.
Strictly speaking, there was a whole song and dance Zeke was supposed to do to calibrate his unit. He blew through the bare minimum required, tweaking settings on the fly, his body craving "the game" in the same way a junkie needs another fix. He could even see his jitters and his shakes, the feedback from the unit advising him that his wound up state could impact performance. Hey, it was called twitch gaming for a reason.
Zeke glanced at the calibration guide that he was supposed to follow before using his unit, ignoring the whole song and dance route. He blew through the bare minimum required to get his unit functional, tweaking settings on the fly like a true hacker. He needed to get his fix. His body had a craving for gaming in the same way a junkie did. Interestingly, he could even see his digital jitters and shakes, the feedback from his immersion unit advising him that his amped up state could be detrimental to performance. Hey, it was called twitch gaming fro a reason.
Zeke finished with the setup application and bounced back to the home screen of his console. He jumped straight into his gaming system, "Mist," the menu changing over with a flourish of color, sound, and...scent?
No sooner had Zeke finished with the setup application than he bounced back to the home screen of his console. He eagerly jumped into his gaming system, "Mist," the menu changing over with a flourish of color, sound, and...scent?
"They better not have coded in corpse smell," Zeke muttered. Still, he was floored.
How did each new sensation feel more real than, well, reality?
How was it that each new sensation felt more real than, well, reality?
Glancing up at the top of the frame, Zeke saw that Tyrin was online and already in session, playing a ranked game of "Warfighter 4: Beyond Sirius." Reaching out with his hand, he tapped the icon to join the match, his finger dipping into the floating icon, the object rippling over his flesh like space jello. It felt cool to the touch, with a rubbery texture. Zeke saw that the system had even correctly set his skin pigmentation to match his actual flesh, making his virtual hand indistinguishable from the corporeal counterpart.
Glancing up at the status bar that graced the top of his peripheral vision, Zeke saw that his long-time friend Tyrin was online and already in a gaming session, playing a ranked round of "Warfighter 4: Beyond Siris." Reaching out with his hand, Zeke tapped the icon to join the match in progress, his finger dipping into the icon that floated before him, the object rippling over his flesh like space gelatin. The icon had felt cool to the touch, with a rubbery texture. Zeke saw that the system had even correctly set his skin pigmentation to match his actual flesh, making his virtual hand entirely indistinguishable from its corporeal counterpart.
"The added gene sequencing makes such a difference," Zeke mused to himself as he joined Tyrin's match.
The maxed out GPUs in his rig didn't waste a single iota in rendering the level, so that in the blink of an eye Zeke was standing on a high ridge overlooking a cratered battlefield, hulks of destroyed vehicles still burning in the background while immediately before him a new menu floated, letting Zeke pick his soldier load out.
The matrixed GPUs humming along in his rig wasted no time in rendering the level. In the blink of an eye, Zeke was standing on a high ridge overlooking a cratered battlefield, hulks of destroyed vehicles still burning in the background amidst craters dotted with corpses. Directly before Zeke's vision a transparent menu floated, requesting that Zeke pick a soldier load out to play with.
"Zeke, that you?" a voice sounded in Zeke's ears, the game adding a radio effect, making the message sound as if it was coming through a secure channel.
"Zeke, did you just join in?" a voice sounded in his ears, the game adding a radio filter effect, making the message sound as if it was coming through a secure channel. "We really need to turn this match."
"Dude, you can't imagine how much hurt I'm about to bring," Zeke said by way of greeting.
"Tyrin, you can't imagine how much hurt I'm about to bring," Zeke said by way of greeting.
"You wish," Tyrin replied, not believing him. "Grab a scout kit and spawn at delta. There's a squad of rocket troops we need to flank."
"You wish,' Tyrin replied, not believing him. "We'll be lucky to even scrape together a noble defeat. Grab a scout kit and spawn with me at objective delta. There's a squad of rocket troopers we need to flank."
Zeke closed the channel and smirked.
"Tyrin, you have no idea."
Instead of picking the scout kit, built for speed and stealth, Zeke picked an assault kit, one of a myriad number of options in the game's multilayered rock/paper/scissors system. Instead of sneaking around, an assault kit carried heavy weapons and armor to wipe out enemy infantry, other gamers in the case of this ranked match. His kit selected, Zeke spawned in, and almost immediately regretted it.
Instead of doing what Tyrin asked and picking a scout kit, built for speed and stealth, Zeke snagged and assault loadout, one of a myriad number of player options in the game's multilayered rock/paper/scissors system. Instead of sneaking and skulking, an assault kit carried a set of heavy weapons and armor to directly take on enemy infantry, which were played by other gamers in the case of this ranked match. With his kit selected, Zeke spawned in and almost immediately regretted it.
"Whoa!" he cried out in panic, his mind disoriented, his vision swirling. "They weren't joking about calibration."
"Whoah!" he cried out in panic as his mind reeled, his vision swirling and disoriented as he tried to figure out which way was up. "No shit this thing needs calibration."
Clamping down on his runaway panic, he managed to get a grip on himself and stop the drunken spin that his mind was stuck in. Once things wound down, though, Zeke was blown away by what he saw.
Clamping down on his runaway panic, he managed to get a trip on himself and stop the drunken spin that his mind was stuck in. Focusing on the horizon, he was able to let things wind down until he could finally take in the details that surrounded him. What he saw took his breath away.
"Oh my God, it's beautiful," the words slipped out of his mouth involuntarily.
"Oh my God, it's actually beautiful," the words slipped out of his mouth involuntarily. "They were right. The adaptive base code, if you have a rig that can actually use it..."
Everything he saw on the battlefield, what had once been pixels and polygons, was now pure art. From the glint of the sun to the smell of the acrid smoke, his senses were assaulted by the reality that came with standing in the middle of an alien world. He wanted to just stand there, to focus his eyes on the smallest detail, blades of grass, a strange blue bug, his own body and the strength that surged through it inside his soldier's armor. Not his soldier's armor, his own armor. This was his body now, and it was amazing.
Everything he saw on the battlefield, what had once been jagged pixels and polygons, was now pure art. From the glint of the sun to the smell of the acrid smoke, his senses were assaulted by what reality would be if he was actually standing on a terraformed alien moon. He wanted to remain rooted there, drinking in details, his eyes focusing on the smallest of details. He saw blades of grass, a strange blue bug, his own body reflected in a drop of dew that grasped at its perch despite the chaos around it. Then he felt his body and the strength that surged through it inside his armor. His own armor. This was his own body now, and it was an amazing specimen.
"Man, I can kill everything," he said, grabbing his rifle off his back, amazed at the texture he felt through his fingers and palm.
"Man, I can kill everything," he said gleefully, grabbing his riffle off his back, shocked at the texture he felt through his fingers and palm.
"Zeke, what the fuck, man?!" a voice rang in his ears.
"Zeke, what the fuck, man?!" a familiar voice in a familiar tone rang in his ears.
Turning, Zeke saw Tyrin moving towards him, crouching behind a rock to avoid enemy snipers.
"You were supposed to spawn as a scout!" his friend protested.
Zeke marveled that he could make out the lines of frustration on his friend's face.
"No way, Tyrin," Zeke said. "Time for me to top the boards and move up the circuit!"
"No way, Tyrin," Zeke said. "I'm not playing by the old rules. It's time for me to top the boards and move up to the pro circuit."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tyrin said, letting Zeke actually see his friend's puzzled face through the visor of his helmet.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tyrin said. Once again, Zeke was amazed he could actually see the puzzlement on his friend's face through the visor of his helmet.
"Just watch," Zeke said smugly.
Taking off at a dead sprint, Zeke followed the markers Tyrin had laid down to show where the enemy was hiding. Leaving his friend in the dust, Zeke boldly jumped atop a ridge, precariously balancing on its edge as he ran, the sheer drop taking him directly behind the dug in enemy soldiers. As he reached their position, the sun cast a long shadow behind him, which fell ominously over the troops, alerting them to his presence.
Launching off at a flat sprint, Zeke followed the navigational markers Tyrin had already laid down to designate where the enemy was hiding. Leaving his companion in the dust, Zeke boldly jumped atop a ridge of rock, precariously balancing on the its spine as he ran, moving him directly behind the dug in enemy soldiers. As he came upon their position, the sun rose up behind him, casting a long shadow which fell ominously over the enemy troops, alerting them to his presence.
"Too slow," Zeke grinned wolfishly as he vaulted off the tan rock formation, his body flipping through the air as he fell past the multitudinous strata.
"Too slow," Zeke grinned wolfishly as he vaulted off the craggy and wind-swept rock formation, his body flipping through the air as he fell past the multitudinous geological strata.
He landed in a crouch behind a boulder and lobbed a grenade, the weight in his hand a tangible thing, the neural feedback astounding. Timing his moves to match the explosion, he burst from behind the rock as the grenade went off, wiping out two of the enemy soldiers, the points for each kill tallying up in his peripheral vision. He let out a burst from his assault rifle, cutting down two more men, then sprinted forward to viciously descend on the last man who was fitted with a cumbersome rocket launcher and thus was slow to react.
He landed in a neat crouch behind a boulder, at the same time lobbing a grenade, the weight in his hand a tangible thing, the neural feedback astounding. Timing his attack to coincide with the explosion, he burst from behind the rock as the grenade went off, wiping out two of the enemy soldiers. He noted dispassionately the points for each kill tallying up in his peripheral vision. Zeke then raised his assault rifle and let out a burst of fire, cutting down two more men. He then sprinted forward to viciously descend on the last man who was fitted with a cumbersome rocket launcher system and thus was slow to react.
In one fluid motion, Zeke slung his rifle and pulled out an plasma knife, diving forward and tackling the man to the ground. With a single swipe he ended the man's virtual life, chopping the head clean off with his glowing weapon, warm blood splattering up onto his torso and mask so that he had to wipe it away with an armored glove. Standing up, Zeke looked around at the carnage he had wrought, literally out of breath from his actions. It hadn't even been close to a fair fight. His hardware was too slick to even be touched by these noobs.
In one vicious, fluid motion, Zeke let his rifle drop on its sling and pulled out a wicked vibroknife, diving forward and tackling the last man to the ground. With a single swipe of his arm, he ended the soldier's virtual life, chopping the head clean off with his humming edged weapon. Warm blood splattered up onto Zeke's torso and mask, so thick that he had to wipe it away with an armored glove. Standing, Zeke looked around at the carnage he had wrought, literally out of breath from his actions. It hadn't even been close to a fair fight. His hardware was too slick, too smooth to ever be touched by these noobs.
"Holy fucking shit," Tyrin said behind him, only now catching up. "What the hell are you?"
I think this format will have to suffice for now. I'll try to do a double segment to make up for the previous missed weeks. Hope to have it all collaborated into one long piece and then I'd be happy to offer it up for a free download.
A.C. Harrison
Like what you see here? Spread the word and support indie authors! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
Strictly speaking, there was a whole song and dance Zeke was supposed to do to calibrate his unit. He blew through the bare minimum required, tweaking settings on the fly, his body craving "the game" in the same way a junkie needs another fix. He could even see his jitters and his shakes, the feedback from the unit advising him that his wound up state could impact performance. Hey, it was called twitch gaming for a reason.
Zeke glanced at the calibration guide that he was supposed to follow before using his unit, ignoring the whole song and dance route. He blew through the bare minimum required to get his unit functional, tweaking settings on the fly like a true hacker. He needed to get his fix. His body had a craving for gaming in the same way a junkie did. Interestingly, he could even see his digital jitters and shakes, the feedback from his immersion unit advising him that his amped up state could be detrimental to performance. Hey, it was called twitch gaming fro a reason.
Zeke finished with the setup application and bounced back to the home screen of his console. He jumped straight into his gaming system, "Mist," the menu changing over with a flourish of color, sound, and...scent?
No sooner had Zeke finished with the setup application than he bounced back to the home screen of his console. He eagerly jumped into his gaming system, "Mist," the menu changing over with a flourish of color, sound, and...scent?
"They better not have coded in corpse smell," Zeke muttered. Still, he was floored.
How did each new sensation feel more real than, well, reality?
How was it that each new sensation felt more real than, well, reality?
Glancing up at the top of the frame, Zeke saw that Tyrin was online and already in session, playing a ranked game of "Warfighter 4: Beyond Sirius." Reaching out with his hand, he tapped the icon to join the match, his finger dipping into the floating icon, the object rippling over his flesh like space jello. It felt cool to the touch, with a rubbery texture. Zeke saw that the system had even correctly set his skin pigmentation to match his actual flesh, making his virtual hand indistinguishable from the corporeal counterpart.
Glancing up at the status bar that graced the top of his peripheral vision, Zeke saw that his long-time friend Tyrin was online and already in a gaming session, playing a ranked round of "Warfighter 4: Beyond Siris." Reaching out with his hand, Zeke tapped the icon to join the match in progress, his finger dipping into the icon that floated before him, the object rippling over his flesh like space gelatin. The icon had felt cool to the touch, with a rubbery texture. Zeke saw that the system had even correctly set his skin pigmentation to match his actual flesh, making his virtual hand entirely indistinguishable from its corporeal counterpart.
"The added gene sequencing makes such a difference," Zeke mused to himself as he joined Tyrin's match.
The maxed out GPUs in his rig didn't waste a single iota in rendering the level, so that in the blink of an eye Zeke was standing on a high ridge overlooking a cratered battlefield, hulks of destroyed vehicles still burning in the background while immediately before him a new menu floated, letting Zeke pick his soldier load out.
The matrixed GPUs humming along in his rig wasted no time in rendering the level. In the blink of an eye, Zeke was standing on a high ridge overlooking a cratered battlefield, hulks of destroyed vehicles still burning in the background amidst craters dotted with corpses. Directly before Zeke's vision a transparent menu floated, requesting that Zeke pick a soldier load out to play with.
"Zeke, that you?" a voice sounded in Zeke's ears, the game adding a radio effect, making the message sound as if it was coming through a secure channel.
"Zeke, did you just join in?" a voice sounded in his ears, the game adding a radio filter effect, making the message sound as if it was coming through a secure channel. "We really need to turn this match."
"Dude, you can't imagine how much hurt I'm about to bring," Zeke said by way of greeting.
"Tyrin, you can't imagine how much hurt I'm about to bring," Zeke said by way of greeting.
"You wish," Tyrin replied, not believing him. "Grab a scout kit and spawn at delta. There's a squad of rocket troops we need to flank."
"You wish,' Tyrin replied, not believing him. "We'll be lucky to even scrape together a noble defeat. Grab a scout kit and spawn with me at objective delta. There's a squad of rocket troopers we need to flank."
Zeke closed the channel and smirked.
"Tyrin, you have no idea."
Instead of picking the scout kit, built for speed and stealth, Zeke picked an assault kit, one of a myriad number of options in the game's multilayered rock/paper/scissors system. Instead of sneaking around, an assault kit carried heavy weapons and armor to wipe out enemy infantry, other gamers in the case of this ranked match. His kit selected, Zeke spawned in, and almost immediately regretted it.
Instead of doing what Tyrin asked and picking a scout kit, built for speed and stealth, Zeke snagged and assault loadout, one of a myriad number of player options in the game's multilayered rock/paper/scissors system. Instead of sneaking and skulking, an assault kit carried a set of heavy weapons and armor to directly take on enemy infantry, which were played by other gamers in the case of this ranked match. With his kit selected, Zeke spawned in and almost immediately regretted it.
"Whoa!" he cried out in panic, his mind disoriented, his vision swirling. "They weren't joking about calibration."
"Whoah!" he cried out in panic as his mind reeled, his vision swirling and disoriented as he tried to figure out which way was up. "No shit this thing needs calibration."
Clamping down on his runaway panic, he managed to get a grip on himself and stop the drunken spin that his mind was stuck in. Once things wound down, though, Zeke was blown away by what he saw.
Clamping down on his runaway panic, he managed to get a trip on himself and stop the drunken spin that his mind was stuck in. Focusing on the horizon, he was able to let things wind down until he could finally take in the details that surrounded him. What he saw took his breath away.
"Oh my God, it's beautiful," the words slipped out of his mouth involuntarily.
"Oh my God, it's actually beautiful," the words slipped out of his mouth involuntarily. "They were right. The adaptive base code, if you have a rig that can actually use it..."
Everything he saw on the battlefield, what had once been pixels and polygons, was now pure art. From the glint of the sun to the smell of the acrid smoke, his senses were assaulted by the reality that came with standing in the middle of an alien world. He wanted to just stand there, to focus his eyes on the smallest detail, blades of grass, a strange blue bug, his own body and the strength that surged through it inside his soldier's armor. Not his soldier's armor, his own armor. This was his body now, and it was amazing.
Everything he saw on the battlefield, what had once been jagged pixels and polygons, was now pure art. From the glint of the sun to the smell of the acrid smoke, his senses were assaulted by what reality would be if he was actually standing on a terraformed alien moon. He wanted to remain rooted there, drinking in details, his eyes focusing on the smallest of details. He saw blades of grass, a strange blue bug, his own body reflected in a drop of dew that grasped at its perch despite the chaos around it. Then he felt his body and the strength that surged through it inside his armor. His own armor. This was his own body now, and it was an amazing specimen.
"Man, I can kill everything," he said, grabbing his rifle off his back, amazed at the texture he felt through his fingers and palm.
"Man, I can kill everything," he said gleefully, grabbing his riffle off his back, shocked at the texture he felt through his fingers and palm.
"Zeke, what the fuck, man?!" a voice rang in his ears.
"Zeke, what the fuck, man?!" a familiar voice in a familiar tone rang in his ears.
Turning, Zeke saw Tyrin moving towards him, crouching behind a rock to avoid enemy snipers.
"You were supposed to spawn as a scout!" his friend protested.
Zeke marveled that he could make out the lines of frustration on his friend's face.
"No way, Tyrin," Zeke said. "Time for me to top the boards and move up the circuit!"
"No way, Tyrin," Zeke said. "I'm not playing by the old rules. It's time for me to top the boards and move up to the pro circuit."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tyrin said, letting Zeke actually see his friend's puzzled face through the visor of his helmet.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Tyrin said. Once again, Zeke was amazed he could actually see the puzzlement on his friend's face through the visor of his helmet.
"Just watch," Zeke said smugly.
Taking off at a dead sprint, Zeke followed the markers Tyrin had laid down to show where the enemy was hiding. Leaving his friend in the dust, Zeke boldly jumped atop a ridge, precariously balancing on its edge as he ran, the sheer drop taking him directly behind the dug in enemy soldiers. As he reached their position, the sun cast a long shadow behind him, which fell ominously over the troops, alerting them to his presence.
Launching off at a flat sprint, Zeke followed the navigational markers Tyrin had already laid down to designate where the enemy was hiding. Leaving his companion in the dust, Zeke boldly jumped atop a ridge of rock, precariously balancing on the its spine as he ran, moving him directly behind the dug in enemy soldiers. As he came upon their position, the sun rose up behind him, casting a long shadow which fell ominously over the enemy troops, alerting them to his presence.
"Too slow," Zeke grinned wolfishly as he vaulted off the tan rock formation, his body flipping through the air as he fell past the multitudinous strata.
"Too slow," Zeke grinned wolfishly as he vaulted off the craggy and wind-swept rock formation, his body flipping through the air as he fell past the multitudinous geological strata.
He landed in a crouch behind a boulder and lobbed a grenade, the weight in his hand a tangible thing, the neural feedback astounding. Timing his moves to match the explosion, he burst from behind the rock as the grenade went off, wiping out two of the enemy soldiers, the points for each kill tallying up in his peripheral vision. He let out a burst from his assault rifle, cutting down two more men, then sprinted forward to viciously descend on the last man who was fitted with a cumbersome rocket launcher and thus was slow to react.
He landed in a neat crouch behind a boulder, at the same time lobbing a grenade, the weight in his hand a tangible thing, the neural feedback astounding. Timing his attack to coincide with the explosion, he burst from behind the rock as the grenade went off, wiping out two of the enemy soldiers. He noted dispassionately the points for each kill tallying up in his peripheral vision. Zeke then raised his assault rifle and let out a burst of fire, cutting down two more men. He then sprinted forward to viciously descend on the last man who was fitted with a cumbersome rocket launcher system and thus was slow to react.
In one fluid motion, Zeke slung his rifle and pulled out an plasma knife, diving forward and tackling the man to the ground. With a single swipe he ended the man's virtual life, chopping the head clean off with his glowing weapon, warm blood splattering up onto his torso and mask so that he had to wipe it away with an armored glove. Standing up, Zeke looked around at the carnage he had wrought, literally out of breath from his actions. It hadn't even been close to a fair fight. His hardware was too slick to even be touched by these noobs.
In one vicious, fluid motion, Zeke let his rifle drop on its sling and pulled out a wicked vibroknife, diving forward and tackling the last man to the ground. With a single swipe of his arm, he ended the soldier's virtual life, chopping the head clean off with his humming edged weapon. Warm blood splattered up onto Zeke's torso and mask, so thick that he had to wipe it away with an armored glove. Standing, Zeke looked around at the carnage he had wrought, literally out of breath from his actions. It hadn't even been close to a fair fight. His hardware was too slick, too smooth to ever be touched by these noobs.
"Holy fucking shit," Tyrin said behind him, only now catching up. "What the hell are you?"
I think this format will have to suffice for now. I'll try to do a double segment to make up for the previous missed weeks. Hope to have it all collaborated into one long piece and then I'd be happy to offer it up for a free download.
A.C. Harrison
Like what you see here? Spread the word and support indie authors! Follow me on Facebook or Twitter.
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