The Reality Engine Ch. 08

Hi!

Thank you for reading my story. A couple of points to know:

I don't like writing wank porn. I want to write full-fleshed stories with plot, character, drama and tension. Events in this chapter pick up the morning after the events at the end of chapter 7.

The chapter you are about to read (chapter 8) is the final chapter of the story's first act. As such, a lot of information about the direction that things are going in will be disclosed in this chapter, as is typical for the end of the first act of a three act story. Events from all 7 previous chapters will be paid off here.

Thank you for taking the time, and please be sure to vote and offer any feedback you can. If you like what I do, offering feedback is the best thing you can do to help, there is nothing which aids a writer more than seeing the story through someone else's eyes.

Note on edit: I have fixed tiny issues with grammar and usage. Plot remains exactly the same.

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Chapter 8

Scott tried to sleep that night, but he could not. He could only toss and turn in bed. Ever since he had left Henry and Steve's dorm, what Adol told him that afternoon kept coming back to him. It was like a splinter in his mind, driving him mad. He darted up in bed, and looked at the clock on his desk. It was 4:30 AM. He couldn't sleep. He got up and got dressed and headed to work. One way or another, he was sure he would be unable to sleep until he knew.

He arrived at his desk at 5:15 AM, and sat down, and got to the day's labor. He looked through his list of variables, the key-value pairs that mapped scientific tests to variables, and which allowed him to create equations. Scott flipped through the list, until he found one whose variable name was a triple question mark:???. This was the system scan function, and it was used to query the core for all kinds of general information about it. In a PC, it would be akin to the system properties.

Scott spent the next hour trying every permutation he could think of with the general scan function as a part of various equations. At the end of the hour, he cracked it: equations made sense if every single variable was preceded by a general scan.

So, for example, X+Y might resolve to gibberish, but???+X+???+Y made sense. Adol had told Scott the answer: the trick was to always make the ask. Scott was inspired, and the next two hours flew by like nothing. Breakfast came, and was laid out on the table, and Scott barely looked up. He left the food where it was, he had no time for eating when he was on the brink of such an amazing discovery!

Suddenly, a hard knock on the door to the lab shook Scott from his reverie. He looked at the clock: 12:30 already. Time just flew by. He opened the door to the lab, and saw Lory standing outside with his lunch in her hands. Scott paused for a moment.

"Something the matter?" Lory asked.

"Quite the opposite, in fact," Scott said. "I've made a huge breakthrough!"

"Congratulations!" Lory said. "Any chance you could take a break to tell me all about it? I'd love to hear what you've accomplished."

"Okay," Scott said, as he took his lunch from Lory, and sat down to eat. He spent the next ten minutes explaining everything to her: about going to see the treasure of Monte Zoom the day before, about Elizabeth and Jessica, about Adol's advice, about picking Shauna as the date for Calvin, about not being able to sleep, about getting to work early that morning, and realizing that Adol's advice had been the answer.

"Wow, that's a pretty heavy 24 hours," Lory remarked.

"Weight has nothing to do with it," Scott said, as Lory laughed out loud.

"Do you think it's strange that Adol's advice turned out to be the solution?" Lory asked. "After all, he knows nothing about the project, right?"

"He knows it exists, and that I work for Dr. Karlov," Scott said. "He's also met my predecessor at this job, but I can't believe he was trying to tell me the answer to my problem yesterday. This is a coincidence."

"This kind of thing ever happen before?" Lory asked.

"Now that you mention it," Scott said, as he told Lory about how Dr. Karlov had dispensed the pearl of wisdom that had allowed him to solve the equations in a way that made sense on the previous Friday.

"Well, I can see Dr. Karlov throwing you a hint that saved the day, but Adol?" Lory asked. "Surely, that was not his intent."

"Maybe I'm just lucky, and don't call me Shirley," Scott said, as Lory laughed again.

"Well, be that as it may," Lory said. "The facts are that others can give you tiny hints all they want to, but it's your heart that has to be willing to listen, and your mind that has to formulate the right solution from a hint. As Proverbs Chapter 12, verse 15 says, he who is wise listens."

"Thanks," Scott said. "I think if it hadn't been Adol, it would have been something else, and probably, it would have happened pretty soon. I don't know, I guess I feel like I can see it, you know? I knew there was something in what Adol said yesterday, and I knew it so deeply that I couldn't sleep last night."

"I think you just described what genius is," Lory said. "I'm a normal person, so it's unlikely I'll ever experience anything like what you've experienced in the last 24 hours, but I can understand it, at least a little. Your mind makes this brilliant connection, and uncovers something about the nature of reality. You get wrapped up in all the excitement. You can't sleep, you can't eat, all you want to do is work, and see if this flash of inspiration is true or not. That must be an incredible feeling."

"Yeah," Scott said. "I need to work as much as possible today to finish the solution."

"Don't work too hard," Lory cautioned, remembering Dr. Karlov's concern. "I don't want you to work yourself to death. Take a break if you need it."

"You don't understand," Scott said. "I've got very little time to finalize the solution set. If experience is any guide, this answer will disappear shortly. When I come into work tomorrow, it will probably be back to square one."

Scott briefly told Lory about what happened on Wednesday the week before, and on Monday of that week.

"So, just as soon as you solve it, something changes, and the rug gets pulled out from under you?" Lory asked, extremely interested in this conversation.

"Yeah, pretty much," Scott said. "It has been nothing but success today so far, and I expect this all to disappear by tomorrow morning, which means I have to work hard to finish it all today."

"I don't mean to hold up your work, as I know how important it is to you," Lory said.

"It's okay," Scott said. "I enjoy your company, and if talking to you for a few minutes means I have to stay a few minutes late this evening, that's no big deal."

"Can I ask you one other question?" Lory asked. "When you solve this puzzle, does it do anything for you other than intellectual satisfaction?"

"Well, I have noticed that when work is going well, my personal life is too," Scott said. "I got together with a cute girl Monday of last week, and on Tuesday, I lost my virginity. After I solved the puzzle on Friday, the weekend was great as far as female companionship went."

"Why do you think that is?" Lory asked.

"Easy," Scott said. "When I succeed at my job, my confidence is at a high, which makes me more attractive to women."

"I think you're on the right track there," Lory said, as Scott finished his lunch and walked Lory to the door. "Confidence is sexy, and all women are attracted to confident men."

"I hope the more times I succeed the easier the confidence will be to maintain," Scott said. "I know for a fact I could have gotten laid on Sunday morning by more than one really beautiful woman if I had been more confident and just asked for sex."

"Even though you got rejected by Elizabeth and Jessica?" Lory asked.

"I got rejected by Cherry too," Scott said, forgetting that he had never mentioned Cherry to Lory before. "I guess confidence is not an ironclad shield against rejection, and to be honest, after three days of failure, my confidence was at a low point when Adol tried to hook me up with those girls. I think they saw right through it."

"Probably true," Lory said. "Good luck, and I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Thanks," Scott said. "See you on Tuesday?"

"Wouldn't miss it," Lory said, as she smiled, turned and left the lab, closing the door behind her. Scott went back to his work.

Five more hours passed quickly in succession, and by this point, Scott had completed the solution set. 5:30 PM arrived, and the door to the lab opened, and Dr. Karlov walked in.

"Hey," Scott said. "I didn't expect to see you here today."

"Something told me it was important," Dr. Karlov said. "How are things?"

Scott told Dr. Karlov about going with Adol to see the treasure of Monte Zoom the day before, and about the suggestion that had led to so much success.

"Score one for Adol, then," Dr. Karlov said, as he went over to the LAVCM terminal to review Scott's work. "My, my, at first glance, it appears that you've solved the entire thing. This solution set appears to be complete. Did you do all of this today?"

"Yeah," Scott said. "Over 12 hours of work will do that for you."

"How do you feel?" Dr. Karlov asked, as he turned in his chair, and looked at Scott.

Scott glanced down at his feet. With the approval of his boss for having finished the solution set now in hand, his mind drifted away from his work for the first time that day. A moment passed, and a vision arose before his eyes. He gasped.

"I think," Scott said. "I just had an extremely ridiculous thought pass through my head."

"What?" Dr. Karlov asked, anxiously. This made Scott a bit uncomfortable, since the question seemed out of line with how important a tone of voice Dr. Karlov had asked it in.

"It's okay," Dr. Karlov reassured Scott, when he noticed how tense he had become. "Relax, take a deep breath, and focus. Now, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Just say it, no matter how ridiculous you think it is."

"I see," Scott said, trying to describe the vision that seemed to play out before his eyes. "I see Pepper, in her room, studying. I see myself entering her room with an order of pizza from the LLA. I see us hooking up."

"Who is Pepper?" Dr. Karlov asked. "Some young lady you know?"

Scott told Dr. Karlov about the poker game on Sunday morning, about the girls he had played cards with, about buying a late night snack for everyone from the LLA, and about falling asleep next to Pepper.

"Can you describe what kind of pizza it is?" Dr. Karlov asked, as Scott gave his mentor a quizzical look. "It might be important, and you're more likely to be able to focus if you can see smaller details."

Scott closed his eyes, and the vision filled his mind.

"Two slices of pepperoni for me, and two slices of plain cheese for Pepper," Scott said, with his eyes still closed.

"Can you see a clock anywhere in the room?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"Yes," Scott said. "I can see the clock on Pepper's desk, where I know it is, but I can't see the time on it."

"Can you see out the window?" Dr. Karlov asked. "Any idea what time of day it is?"

"It looks to be dusk," Scott said. "There's sunlight, a little, streaming in through her window."

"Open your eyes," Dr. Karlov said, as Scott did so, and the vision vanished. "How do you feel about a little experiment?"

"You want me to go to Pepper, and see if the vision comes to pass?" Scott asked.

"Not exactly," Dr. Karlov said, as he opened his wallet and handed Scott $40. "I want you to go to the LLA, buy those 4 slices of pizza, and then go to Pepper's room, and see if the vision comes to pass."

"Are you sure?" Scott asked, as he took the money from Dr. Karlov.

"Yes," Dr. Karlov replied. "I'm sure."

"What if it actually happens?" Scott asked. "What does it mean?"

"Nothing at all," Dr. Karlov said. "It means you like this girl a lot, and that she's on your mind, a lot. The time you spent with her on Sunday morning was special to you. Based on what you just told me, I think she's sweet on you, at least a little. It strikes me that your subconscious probably knows this, and that the vision in your mind is a fairly realistic possibility. So long as she is alone, which is an even money bet, a bribe of some LLA pizza might be sufficient to induce her to hook up with you."

"I see what you mean," Scott said. "It's not like I saw a vision that I cured cancer. Everything I saw has at least a decent chance of coming true."

"Right, but that doesn't mean you should stand around here flapping your gums," Dr. Karlov said. "Go to her, and ask her. You owe it to yourself to find out."

"Okay," Scott said. "Will I see you tomorrow morning?"

"Absolutely," Dr. Karlov said. "I want to know whether this panned out or not. I will make every effort to be here at 6 AM when you arrive."

With a thanks to Dr. Karlov, Scott left the lab, and headed for Maybe Dick Hall. Dr. Karlov logged Scott out of the LAVCM. As soon as he had, he received a call on his cell phone.

"Report," Eric said, when Dr. Karlov had answered the phone.

"I'm not sure, but we need to talk, and go over what to do next," Dr. Karlov replied. "Obviously, I'm pressed for time right now due to administrative obligations."

"Never mind that," Eric said. "if this pans out, you'll have all the funding you'll ever need. Come through for us, and I'll see to it that things go in favor of Frostbite Falls University in the Senate."

"You are most generous," Dr. Karlov replied. "When and where do you want to meet?"

"Tonight, at the Buckley Estate," Eric said. "It has the requisite security to accommodate our people. It's also far enough out of the way that we are unlikely to be interrupted, no offense intended to a major University."

"None taken," Dr. Karlov said. "A country estate has much better privacy than a large, modern University. Are we meeting at the same time as always?"

"No," Eric said. "Doja Heningway, Adol's father, will want to attend, but he's running late today, and his calendar says he won't be able to arrive until 8:30. We're going to start half an hour later than usual, however, be sure to come on an empty stomach, as dinner before-hand will be up to our normal standards."

"Any chance your former master will be there?" Dr. Karlov asked, since he knew the kind of person extremely delicious food was going to bring in.

"He's retired," Eric said. "While this might be a big step forward, there is still much that must be verified in the coming days and weeks before we are justified in escalating this to him. However, when and if the time comes, he will be here, and he will help us."

"That's a relief," Dr. Karlov said. "It's not that I don't trust you, but, well, you know how it is."

"No offense taken," Eric said.

"You said he's retired, do you happen to know where he retired to?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"He lives out beyond the dune sea, and he's become kind of a strange, old hermit," Eric replied.

"The dune sea?" Dr. Karlov asked.

"Sure, Dune Sea is the name of a hamlet in Northern Virginia," Eric replied. "It's in Fairfax County, and it's about a 20-minute drive from Washington DC."

"Ah, I see," Dr. Karlov said. "After his extraordinarily busy life, I can appreciate that he wants to be a hermit now, and relax in peace and solitude. However, I can also understand how it places him in a difficult position. He has over 60 years of experience in the field, and he's a prime national security asset. I can imagine the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies might have been willing to let him retire, but only so long as he remained close by enough that they could easily lay their hands on him in case of an emergency."

"Based upon what he's told me, that's, more or less, exactly how it happened," Eric said. "He announced his intention to retire, and Washington DC told him he could, but only so long as he retired somewhere in their backyard. After 60 years of doing what he's done, the number of relationships he has cultivated is really enormous. There are people who will listen to him, and who he can calm down in a tense situation, who won't listen to the President himself."

"Have you ever been able to find out what his real name is?" Dr. Karlov asked. "He went by Solomon Blarney when I first met him as a young teenager close to 35 years ago."

"No, I've never been able to find out his real name, but I do know that he's changed it on at least 8 occasions over his professional career. He never liked to be in one place for too long, and he has always believed in keeping his interests mobile and fluid," Eric said.

"A man of mystery, eh?" Dr. Karlov asked. "Let him have his secrets, for I certainly owe him a lot. I still remember the day he introduced the two of us close to 15 years ago. I recall those days well, my friend, you were a wide-eyed, young college student at Wassamatta U with an enormous talent for physics."

"As well as no clue what I was doing in life," Eric said, with a laugh. "Now, let's discuss the LAVCM, I want you to set it to level 4."

"What?" Dr. Karlov asked, not believing his ears. "Scott just cleared level 2. You want to skip level 3 altogether? The difficulty spike will be jarring for him, and it might destroy his confidence. Don't you think we should be nurturing him?"

"He cleared level 2 in under 4 days," Eric pointed out. "Not a single one of your previous 51 assistants ever cleared level 2, and only 6 of the 51 even got as far as level 2. Scott is special, that much is clear. If he were your normal, run-of-the-mill assistant, I'd never crank up the difficulty this much this soon. Special people demand special accommodations. Set the difficulty at level 4, that's an order."

"I want to be on the record as objecting to this order," Dr. Karlov said. "This program has already created a high human cost."

"I don't like it anymore than you do," Eric said. "I also know reminding you that it's for the greater good is unlikely to make you feel any better about it. I will take the full responsibility. I wouldn't give an order that I didn't think Scott could handle."

"51 assistants, and none of them ever got to level 3," Dr. Karlov said. "It's the very definition of uncharted water, and now, we want to just skip over it altogether? Do we even know what the outcome might be?"

"We have no frame of reference for it, since it has never come up before," Eric said. "I don't disagree with your reasoning, but every day, our situation becomes worse. There is a human cost to this program, but the human cost being suffered in the outside world dwarf it. Again, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few or the one."

"Okay, fine, I'll do it," Dr. Karlov said.

"Excellent," Eric said. "I'll see you tonight."

Dr. Karlov hung up the phone and then punched in a final command for the night into the LAVCM.

"This command requires voice identification, and a pass phrase," a feminine computer voice said.

"Kill Moose and Squirrel," Dr. Karlov said.

"Voice identified, pass phrase correct," the feminine computer voice said. "Greetings, Dr. Karlov, are you sure you wish to enable this action?"

"Enable," Dr. Karlov said.

"Command confirmed, implementation complete," the feminine computer voice said. "Subject Scott Laird Cooper has been moved to level 4."

Scott raced out the door of Water Buffalo Hall, and a short walk brought him to a campus square as he headed in the direction of the LLA. Just like his first day on campus, Scott saw a few cheerleaders about a 100 feet away from him. They had stopped their walk to their destination, and were talking with some students. There were five cheerleaders, one black girl, two blondes, who appeared to be sisters, one Latina girl, and one Asian girl. Scott stopped walking towards the LLA, and looked at them, just as he had his first day on campus.