Continue Online (Book 1, Memories) by Stephan Morse Read Free Book Online

success will be earned through effort, not a
walkthrough.”
    “ I
know this part seems unfair. Details for games are almost considered
public knowledge. Trillium and ARC developers know they can’t
suppress everything. In-game communication will be unrestricted with
regards to secrets of this world.”
    “ This
portion of the statement is from me directly. In fact, my boss will
probably cancel my Christmas bonus for going off script.”
    “ In
the teaser released earlier today, you can see a number of players.
Without going into too much detail, I, myself am one of beta players.
It is every bit as, every bit as awesome as I might have hoped.”
A grin had been plastered to his face. Similar to the one from the
male newscaster at the start of the clip, but much more heartfelt.
    “ This
is the kind of game I, I dreamed of my entire childhood, as a
teenager, and only hoped for until six months ago. It makes me think,
it shows me sides of myself I never expected, and it’s a thrill
I can log into any time after a long day. I have failed in this game
more times than I care to admit.” There was a pause from his
embarrassing words. The journalists were kind enough to give a mild
chuckle.
    “ But
I’ve loved every failure as much as the successes, because I
get to see myself, through my character, grow.”
    People
gave their mild cheers again as the man behind the podium held up his
hand.
    “ One
last part for everyone, Trillium has announced they will be holding a
lottery for over five hundred ARC units. These will come with copies
of the Ultimate Edition. Additional details will be announced on our
website.”
    The
clamoring started up again. People waved microphones and handsets in
front of the podium, trying to get more information.
    “ That
will be all, thank you, and I'll see you in the game.”
    I
sat back and rewound the video, trying to remember when it was
released. My token effort at getting an Ultimate Edition failed. I
even tried throwing my name into online radio pools to be visitor
number seven hundred. Nothing worked. I didn't even walk away with a
free copy of the game. An old high school friend had. He linked
screenshots every now and then on his web streams. A constant blog of
all the stupid stuff he found amusing in life. There were cutesy
animals, political cartoons, and pictures of his character. In one
screenshot he had impaled a fish with his sword and was roasting it
over flames.
    I
pulled up his website while the van kept us moving towards my
sister's place. He had an entire circle of people playing Continue
Online. They had pictures, he had pictures. There were short captions
about the action shots. There were other friends much the same way.
Nothing was exactly about the game. There was still nothing about
levels or rankings. They put in words about creatures they fought and
how hard some were occasionally. Even the photos seemed strangely
staged.
    But
extremely real.
    Okay.
I was interested.
    Dammit.
    I
hung my head. This game was probably exactly what my prize was. There
had been a survey sent out three weeks ago asking what my fellow
employees were most interested in. I dug through the Email trash bin
and pulled out other items. Dialing into my Atrium remotely was
possible in this Trillium provided van.
Turned out I was also the
only one of my coworkers who didn’t own the game. Well, it
might not be the game. I might be building myself up for no reason.
Henry had said the others would ‘slit their wrists’. They
had no reason to do so for a game they already owned.
    Finally,
after much confusion, and watching the videos over and over, the van
pulled up to my sisters. I knocked on the door. My niece answered
with a smile.
    “ Uncle!
You’re alive!”
    “ Hey,
Beth, here I am! Haven’t worked myself to death yet. Despite
Hal’s constant reminders that it might happen.” I smiled
and put my arms out for a hug.
    She
came in close and tried to squeeze the life out of my old bones.