Virtuality - (Chapter 1)

Chapter One

         An incessant buzzing pierced into Troy’s skull.  Fumbling across his bedside table, he located his alarm clock and knocked the irritating object onto the floor.  To his annoyance, the buzzing continued.  In his half-awakened state, it took him some time to realise that it was actually the telephone creating the noise.  Grasping for the clock that now lay on the floor, he squinted in the poor light in order to make out the numbers.
         5.00am!
He contemplated remaining in bed, and buried his head under the pillow. But the ringing only continued, eventually driving Troy out from under his duvet. Stumbling into the hall, he wondered who on Earth would be calling him at this time.
         “Hello.”
His voice was croaky and his mouth tasted foul. 
         “Troy? It’s Denna.  We need you at The Institute. There’s been an….incident.”  The voice at the other end of the land of the line sounded tense.
         “Sure Denna,” Troy stifled a yawn, “I can get down there this afternoon…”
         “No, we need you to come in right away. We’re sending a car over.  Make sure you’re ready-it should be there in half an hour.”
         A car? This must be important.
         “No problem, I guess I’ll be seeing you soon then.”  Replacing the receiver, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and headed wearily for the shower. If he was going to have to go into work he might as well smell good.
         The car actually arrived in twenty minutes, leaving Troy to hurriedly gather his belongings together and rush out of the door.  He hadn’t had time to brush his hair, so it hung in wet waves on his shoulders.  As he left the apartment block, he shivered violently against the cold.  The artificial heating and lighting system hadn’t been switched on yet, so just a few emergency beams fell down from the glass dome. Clambering into the car, he fell back against the seat exhausted and slept most of the hour long trip to The Institute. 
         Walking unsteadily down the corridor, he struggled to keep his eyes open long enough for the scanner to identify him.  The metal doors slid open silently, revealing a vast room with floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the two-hundred storey view.  The metal table in the centre of the room had half a dozen concerned faces around it.
         “Troy, take a seat.” An immaculately dressed woman in a black suit indicated a vacant chair on the opposite side of the table. 
         Taking the seat, and the cup of coffee presented by the office assistant, Troy appraised the woman with sleepy eyes. 
         “So, what’s the big emergency?” He took a sip of the coffee, it was cold and far too bitter. 
         Denna slid a small, brown folder across the table to him. 
         “Last night, Mayor Macnarlye died in The Game.”
         Troy reached over and dragged the folder towards him
         “So, what’s the big deal? People die in The Game all the time.”  He opened the folder and started leafing through the first few pages, but he was still so tired he was unable to focus on any of the words so quickly gave up. 
         “No, you don’t understand. He was killed in The Game.”
         Troy slumped back in his chair and downed the rest of the hideous coffee.     
         “That’s impossible.  You can’t be hurt in The Game.”
         “That’s what we thought, but it looks like someone’s found a way.” Turning to a page in a folder identical to Troy’s, she angled it towards him so he could make out what appeared to be a coroners report and some grimly detailed photographs.
         “He had sustained injuries consistent with being stabbed through the abdomen with a sharp object. He suffered major internal bleeding-died almost instantly.”
         “How do you know someone didn’t just break into the game chamber.”
Troy motioned for the assistant to get him some more coffee.
         “There are always guards posted outside prominent player’s chambers. Besides, we checked all the security cameras, there was no sign of any break in.” 
A serious looking man with thick glasses added,
         “If this gets out into the public, it could cause world wide panic. Though I’m sure it won’t be long before the press gets hold of it….we need to fix this thing now. Find out what’s gone wrong and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
         “So where do I fit into all this?”
         Denna smiled and slid over another folder, this one containing several data disks.
         “No-one knows the schematics of The Game as well as you do. We need to get someone in there right away-on the ground floor.  Access all areas, find out whatever you can, use whomever you need to use.  We’re not going to have long before this goes public. You have forty-eight hours.” 
         Stuffing the folders into his shoulder bag, he absentmindedly swept his hair out of his eyes. 
         “I’ll get right on it, I only have one condition.”
Denna raised her eyebrows
         “What’s that then?”
Troy threw her a cheeky smile.
         “I get to pick my own team.”