LITMIR.BIZ

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nodded. “Thank you. It was a shock.”

      “I wasn’t expecting to see you in the office so soon.”

      “I’d rather be here. SimTech was Martin’s baby. I want to take care of it for him.”

      He shifted from one foot to the other, nodding to show he understood. “I don’t know what could’ve gone wrong with his HMC. Maybe if I take a look at it, I can find out.”

      Bryce fidgeted with the documents in front of her. “Listen, it was a glitch. It happens, even in the best software. Don’t blame yourself. I tried to warn him about the violence in VIC, but he wouldn’t listen.”

      Sam remembered their argument he’d overheard two days ago, the day Martin died. Ironic, that VIC was both Martin’s greatest triumph and the cause of his death. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

      “Yes. I’m still going to bring the green team on board and I need you to get them up to speed on your current project.”

      His heart sunk. She was no different from Martin. “Damn it, Bryce. My team’s the best asset this company has. They’re not replaceable by a bunch of twenty-year-olds.”

      “Hold on. I know Martin wanted to let your team go, but I think that’s a mistake. I have a new assignment for your team I think you’ll find much more challenging.”

      She wanted to save his team? “That’s fantastic. What is it?”

      “I want to replace the violence in VIC with simulated sex play. Your team will develop a full body skin suit to go along with it that’ll increase the intensity of the action within the game.” She grinned. “Can you imagine? Players can have simulated sex with anyone they choose. All they need is a photograph or a willing Group Play partner.”

      Sam’s first instinct was to defend VIC, but given the circumstances of Martin’s death, he thought better of it. Later they could discuss the viability of making both games available to the public. “Given the lucrative business of porn, it would sell, that’s for sure.”

      The smile on Bryce’s face spread wider. Sam found her cheerfulness the day after Martin’s death odd, but her enthusiasm about the new project was catching, and he couldn’t help but grin in return.

      “Exactly what I was thinking. And I know you tested VIC’s earlier releases with Reggie, but if you’d prefer a different partner, given the type of sim play we’re talking here, I’d be glad to volunteer. We’ve worked well together in the past, don’t you think?”

      Sam felt heat rise to his cheeks. “We’d still have to worry about over-stimulation of the gamers.”

      Bryce burst into laughter. “Oh, right. But we’d still utilize the HMC, just in case.”

      At the mention of the HMC, his embarrassment waned. “About that—we need to figure out the bug in Martin’s game. If there are more cases, it won’t matter what we come up with next.”

      Her merry expression faded. “I don’t think there will be more cases. It was just a one-time glitch. With preparing the newbies and getting your team started on the sim-sex game, you’ll have no time to look into a singular problem.”

      How could she be so sure it would never occur again? Then it hit him. Bryce knew the HMC as well as he did. “Still, Martin’s death should have been prevented by the software we both worked on. I can’t have that hanging over my head without knowing what happened. Can you?”

      Bryce’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Martin always said you were too honorable for your own good.”

      Sam kept his voice even. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

      “No, he didn’t.” Her voice was neutral but her expression was cold.

      “Then I’ll research the bug myself, on my own time. The others can start prepping the new project. By the time we’re ready to hit the ground running, I’m sure I’ll have it all worked out. Let’s make sure VIC is safe.”

      A chilly silence. Then Bryce said, “All right, Sam, if that’s how you feel. When are you going to start?”

      “Tonight.”

      Bryce leaned back in the black leather chair and made a tent with her fingers. Just like Martin used to do. Maybe it was a CEO thing.

      * * * *

      That night, Sam slid into his simulation chair and maneuvered into his equipment. With the head-mounted display in place, he set the scenario to return to his previous game, still in Group Play mode. Inside the game, he could enter Developer mode and review the processes that had been called earlier.

      On his screen appeared the code for the mansion scene where Martin died. He quickly found where Martin had entered the game in Group Play. Sam reviewed the code line by line until he noticed calls to an unfamiliar procedure. Sensate. Martin’s HMC had been hacked. “What the hell is Sensate?” he whispered, enlarging the phantom screen.

      He focused so intently on searching VIC’s code for the rogue procedure that he almost didn’t hear the front door open. A new player had entered his game. Bryce. Sam wasn’t surprised to see her. He had begun to suspect that she had altered the HMC code, and she’d known he was studying it.

      “You found it,” she said.

      “Yeah, but what does it do?”

      Bryce beamed. “Sensate will be fantastic in the new sim-sex game. I used medical theories behind the phenomenon of phantom limbs, where patients who’d lost limbs could still feel them, even years later. I’ve been able to recreate that effect through software. It fools the gamer’s brain into not only visualizing the action, but feeling it.”

      Sam recoiled in horror. “You mean Martin felt everything that happened in our game last night?”

      “I wanted to give him a taste of the pain that VIC had caused others. Teach him a lesson. I never meant for him to die.”

      “VIC doesn’t cause pain, but your new coding does. And worse, it kills.”

      “Martin’s death was—”

      “Collateral damage?”

      “I’d say an accident, maybe for the best. He would never have let us reduce the violence in VIC. Once we use the game to promote love instead of hate, crime rates will go down, and everyone wins in the long run.”

      “You’re talking about lust, not love. You’re substituting one base impulse for another.”

      “I wish you’d left this alone, Sam. I thought we were going to be great together, just like the old days.” She drew a 9 mm pistol from her jacket and pointed it at Sam. “Before I entered your game, I inserted Sensate into it. I’m sorry it’s come to this.”

      Bryce’s hand shook as she squeezed the trigger and the bullet only grazed Sam’s shoulder. As he felt its bite turn into a slow burn, he was amazed. How was it possible that Sensate-enhanced VIC could trick his brain so completely, so convincingly? The pain was real. Agonizing.

      But he was in control, in Developer mode. Before Bryce could fire again, Sam shut the game down. His pain vanished. Astonishing.

      He had enough to take to the police. But what could they charge her with? Being a fucking genius? And a madwoman, who’d converted virtual death into murder.

      As the game faded, his head-mounted display turned dark and a single message appeared. “GAME OVER. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RESTART?”

      Maybe tomorrow, after Bryce was arrested. He was eager to tinker with VIC. If Sensate’s brain probes or stimulants—whatever they were—created actual pain in a gamer’s mind, what possibilities existed for pleasure!

      Bryce was a genius. A realistic sim-sex game could take over the world. He smiled, realizing the irony. He’d have to test it with a different woman.

      Computers

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