Gamers and Gods III: ALEXANOR

Chapter 1: Manny: in the theater of Polykleitos

It was getting dark in the grounds of the simulated Asklepeion of Epidaurus. But it was darker for some than for others. Much darker, for a woman, a lover and a mother, had died.

Manny's cheeks, too, were wet as he watched Machaon and Alexanor cry together. His thoughts were a swirling chaos; his emotions a discordant din of helpless frustration, mindless rage, vicarious grief, shocked amazement, and blackest despair.

Helpless frustration, at witnessing his virtual grandson and great-grandson in the throes of an agony that no one could alleviate. Mindless rage, at the cruel machinations that had torn Machaon from his love and Alexanor from his mother. Vicarious grief, at witnessing their pain, a pain he knew from his own experience, when he held baby Darla in his arms watching the mushroom cloud that he'd been certain contained the ashes of his wife Elizabeth. Shocked amazement, to have just witnessed the appearance of Zeus (the Zeus!) and that other god, the Egyptian one. And blackest despair, at the realization that Yahweh presided over a universe in which a mother could be compelled to kill herself in order to save the lives of her lover and their child.

It was a long time before he could speak. What was there to say?

FLASH.

Manny's head jerked toward the sudden burst of light that momentarily brightened the steps near him. He found himself facing an woman who seemed vaguely familiar. Her hair was gunmetal blue, gathered at the back into a ponytail, and her brown eyes were flicking left and right, as if she were searching for someone or something. What now? he wondered.

She got right to the point. Florence D'Arcy, from UNN, she said, flashing him a rendered news badge. Are you too late, like me, or did you see it? What just happened here?

Now he remembered her, from the segment he and Liz had seen from their virtual flat in Eternium. Automatically, he opened his mouth to answer, then realized she had no idea who he was, or of Darla or Liz's connection to the recent events. And he wanted to keep it that way. Lifting his eyebrows, he shrugged. Beats me. Ask someone else; maybe they got here in time. Must've been something, I guess, from this crowd.

Then he reached out to lay a hand on Lizzie's shoulder. Honey, he said, casually, it's getting crowded here. Why don't we head back to the cave before our company arrives?"

Lizzie blinked and then nodded. You're right, it's almost time for the party.

FLASH.

He was back at Cheiron's cave on Mount Pelion, mentally crossing his fingers and hoping she was on the same page.

FLASH.

Lizzie appeared in front of him, next to Cheiron's old boulder with the depression on its upper surface for grinding herbs.

Manny realized he had been holding his breath. He let himself exhale. Quick, send a message to Darla! They have to get out of the Asklepeion before that reporter notices her, or her private life is going to be headline news.

I already did, she told him. But if anyone there recognized her, it's already too late. And if PanGames milks the free publicity, which we both know they will, it's only a matter of time before UNN tracks her down in the real world. She sighed and slumped down on the boulder. I'm afraid you're going to have to move, before I even see your diner in Orlando.

Now it was his turn to sigh. You're right, damn it. There is no way they'll let go of a story like this. What are we going to do?

FLASH.

Darla, Machaon, and...(what was the boy's name again?) had appeared in the clearing by the cave. Machaon and the boy looked confused. Darla seemed to be concentrating. Manny wondered what she was thinking until there was another flash a few seconds later and Machaon's armor and sword belt appeared lying on the grass.

Machaon stood up, his arm still around the boy's shoulder. What was that about? he asked. What was so important about jumping back here?

Manny closed his eyes for a second. Oh, to be so innocent, he thought. Listen very carefully, he said. Do you remember how nervous it made you when you appeared in that place for the first time? Darla was showing the child Cheiron's cave to distract him.

How do you know about that?

Manny tried to explain the concepts of reporters and global news networks to him. I heard about it on the news, he continued. What you did, appearing at Victor's service, well, let's just say it attracted a lot of attention. To most people, your father, if they even heard of him, well, they thought he was just a legend, an old story. Your appearance made it headline news.

He hoped Machaon was getting all of this. And that was just you, telling a few dozen witness that you were the son of a god of healing, a god hardly anyone remembers these days. He took a breath. "But this time Zeus put in an appearance. And Zeus is famous. By the time... he hesitated, then forged ahead. By the time Zeus disappeared, the word had gotten out and a United Network News reporter appeared on the scene. We had to get you out of there, or they would have never left you alone again. Or your son."

He's right, agreed Lizzie. In about thirty seconds that amphitheater was going to be absolutely packed with people, and a lot of them would be reporters shouting questions at you, like 'Who are you?' and 'Who just died?' and so on. They'd have no respect for your feelings at all, I'm afraid. They'd just love to broadcast a live feed of you weeping to the entire world just to boost their ratings.

Machaon eyes filled with water again, and then as suddenly they glared with incandescent rage. Why? Why would they do that? he growled.

Because people are arseholes, said Lizzie.

More to the point, because pathos holds the attention, and attention means a bigger audience, and higher ratings, Manny added. The more people they get watching their news broadcast, the more they can charge for commercials. And then he had to explain about commercials.

Machaon just looked confused again. Well, thought Manny, we'll just have to show him. He turned to his wife. Can you get us a news feed, fixed so the child can't see or hear it?

Finder, said Lizzie. pipe us a video-audio feed from UNN, but exclude Alexanor from seeing or hearing it.

A flat virtual screen appeared floating in the air outside the cave. They could see that Lizzie's prediction was fulfilled: the theater of Polykleitos was jam-packed with avatars, so many that Manny could not even see the steps. Just the people in them, shoulder to shoulder. Florence D'Arcy was gazing straight out of the screen, which meant that she wasn't the avatar acting as the walking camera. We got out just in time, Manny thought.

"...reporting from the PanGames Asklepios Wellness Center, where apparently all is not well. I'm told that two giant avatars appeared here minutes ago and ordered a couple of the spectators to attack each other. We have not yet been able to reach employees of the PanGames Corporation for comment. Excuse me ma'am, I'm from UNN. Did you see what happened?"

The camera angle swung to a woman trying to untangle her pampla from her himation. It was clear she was unused to the traditional clothes of Hellas, and the Realm transition reformatting had caught her unprepared. "Are you kidding me? I'll never forget it! Two of the biggest avatars I've ever seen popped in here and it went absolutely crazy after that. One of them said – "

Mute it, said Lizzie. He doesn't need reminding of what happened. She turned to Machaon. What we need is a plan while your son is still growing. I'm sure Alex will shoot up to adult as quickly as you did, but there's no guarantee the next fighter from the other side will wait even that long.

For answer, Machaon silently picked up his armor and his sword. Let them come, he said grimly, buckling on the sword belt. I've got nothing left to lose. He thrust the dagger under the belt so savagely that Manny winced.

Actually, said a familiar voice, you do.

Cheiron walked out of the mouth of the cave with Alexanor on his back and Darla following. The boy, Manny noticed, had stopped crying and seemed almost cheerful. What the hell?

He'll survive without me, growled Machaon. But blood must answer blood. She died to save our son. I can do no less.

Actually, she didn't, the centaur retorted. You're not thinking clearly. Remember, this is a world of avatars, not physical bodies, no matter how real they seem.

So? challenged Machaon. Sekhmet wasn't like Manny and Elizabeth. She couldn't just log out and rise up from a link bed. She was like me – that digital body was all she had. And it's gone now, its resources reclaimed by the system.

She also has a soul, Cheiron told him. All true sentiences do.

Wonderful. So she'll reincarnate somewhere in another body. Either way, I'll never see her again.

Not true, Cheiron insisted. Normally, yes, once the soul is separated from the body it finds a new habitation. But not this time. The gods can intervene in the process, as Zeus did when your father died, bringing him home and completing his apotheosis. Asklepios is safe with his wife Epione, whom Zeus promoted to First Quantum status as part of his reward for defeating Am-heh. They both dwell in Olympus with their fellow Immortals.

Wait a minute! interrupted Lizzie. Are you saying Am-heh is a god again, too?

No. Cheiron smiled. He was less successful. Atum does not reward failure. The Devourer of Millions is back on the wheel of karma, incarnated again, I know not where.

And Sekhmet? queried Machaon. Do I even want to know what Atum did to her?

Relax, said Cheiron. She's fine. Zeus gave her political asylum and has refused to hand her over. Atum's practically foaming at the mouth about it, but there's nothing in the Covenant that forbids Zeus from promoting her back to First Quantum.

Then take me to her! Machaon demanded. I want to see for myself that she survives.

Cheiron shook his head. I'm sorry, he said. Can't do that.

Machaon's hands clenched. Why not? he gritted.

Well, think about it. First, you just told off Zeus in front of everyone. I'm not saying he won't get over it, but he can hardly let you sass him publicly and then do you favors. And he can't put her back into the game. You know that. Once a champion dies they're out of the war zone for good. We talked about that before, when you were younger, remember?

Then I'll go to her! Machaon's jaw was jutting defiantly, reaching for the dagger.

No, you won't, the ancient centaur told him. Zeus is not a big fan of suicide, even if he weren't annoyed with you at the moment. Sekhmet got points for it only because hers was a selfless act – she thought she would never see you again. You, on the other hand, would be doing it for the selfish goal of seeing her, not to save anyone's life. And anyway, your son needs you, especially now.

Machaon looked like he was ready to explode. Why especially now?

Cheiron actually grinned. "Because Zeus has chosen Alexanor to be the third Champion for the Olympians! Can you imagine how pissed Atum is that he didn't think of it? Technically, the boy belongs to both sides – but Zeus claimed him first."

Chapter 2: Max: a crisis is an opportunity

The muted humming of the gravity nullifiers could sometimes lull him to sleep before the floater touched down at his home in Heathcote. Even today he was beginning to nod, until the beeping of an incoming call intruded upon his reverie. Max felt the stirrings of of an annoyed resentment, but it vanished as his tumor had, when he saw who had called him after hours.

Sitting up, he reached out to tap the Accept Connection icon on the screen. The glowing letters of the caller's name faded, replaced by the face of an amazingly angry woman in her mid fifties.

What is it, Alexandra, that couldn't wait until tomorrow?

She was never one to waste time on greetings. You've gone too far this time, Max! You are FIRED, effective immediately! Have you gone insane, or did you get tired of running PanGames?

Whoa! Max held up both hands, palms toward the screen as if to ward off the apparition. Slow down, lady! You've obviously forgotten you can't fire me without a vote from the Board. What the hell is it this time?

Her staring eyes narrowed to slits, as the rage that had distorted her features shifted into something even scarier. Correct, she hissed. But that will only earn you a sleepless night. I'm calling an emergency Board meeting tomorrow. No tap dancing will save you this time!

She cut the connection before Max could even reply. WTF? Max's mind spun like an unanchored gyro. She had never liked him, but he had never seen the Chairman of PanGames (she despised the neutered 'Chairperson' and the presumed softness of 'Chairwoman') so maddened that she would overstep and let herself be corrected on matters of corporate protocol.

Take me back to the PanGames building, he ordered the floater. His snub-nosed bullet of the skies swung around obediently and headed south again. Max leaned back and tried to think. The last time Alexandra called him on the carpet was about the controversy over Machaon's unexpected appearance at Victor's religious service, the one he held to give thanks to Asklepios for dealing with Am-heh. Had Machaon managed to piss her off again? Maybe, but as long as revenues kept going up, he couldn't imagine the Board of Directors backing her on a dismissal vote. And revenues were shooting up, with everyone from curious amateurs to UNET news services like UNN sending their reporters into PanGames hoping for an exclusive.

But the memory of Alexandra's fury-twisted face haunted him. Had something even more than Machaon's appearance riled her? Get me Farker at PanGames.

While he waited, Max gazed out the window. The gray wall was gone. Thanks to Machaon, he had a future again, and not just a year or so of painful decline. Wishing he had not heard from the Chairman, he told himself that even if Machaon had cost him his job, he would still praise his name. If the Board even tried to rip off his golden parachute and cast him into the outer darkness of blacklisted poverty, he would fight them and call himself lucky.

Farker's face appeared on the screen. Are you sitting down? Zeus appeared at the Wellness Center, the Asklepeion. He threatened to crash PanGames if they didn't fight!

Slow down, Farker. Crash PanGames? If who didn't fight? But in his head Max was thinking, now I know what made Alexandra foam at the mouth.

Speeding through twilight, he barely listened as Farker explained about the showdown at the amphitheater. If Alexandra talks the Board into firing me, he realized, I can probably write my own ticket with any other gaming company. But he felt a twinge of guilt at the selfish thought, after what Machaon had done for him. Without thinking, his hand went to his chest, where the tumor had been before the son of Asklepios had somehow replaced it with healthy tissue.

The spiky hairdo of New York grew in the distance. His floater zoomed toward the familiar sight, humming, like a bee returning to the hive. Within minutes he was touching down on the faded H of the roof pad where generations of helicopters had grounded, before the advent of the Weiss-McKinley nullifiers.

On impulse, he decided to beard Farker in his lair. While the elevator descended Max tried to remember what he had learned in his school days about Zeus. If he remembered rightly, Zeus was the son of a Titan named Cronus. The one thing legends seemed to agree on was that Zeus was a poon hound, always pissing off his wife Hera by screwing mortal women and nymphs in various disguises. The results of these dalliances were demigods and Heroes who supposedly became gods themselves when death triggered their apotheoses. From Leto he got the twins Apollo and Artemis, and from someone else, he couldn't remember now, Herakles, whom history remembers as Hercules.

But what had possessed Zeus to show up in front of so many witnesses? Ordinarily the Greek gods were supposedly more circumspect, appearing only to individuals or small groups, minimizing their interference with the doings of mortals.

Stepping out of the elevator, Max strode down a short corridor and pressed his hand against the palm lock of Farker's domain. The panel flashed green and he heard the CLACK! of the door unlocking. He pushed it open.

No Farker. Had Farker gone home already? That didn't make sense – they'd spoken barely a half hour earlier. Max looked around the cluttered outer office of the Data Center and shook his head. On one side was a model of an old wooden warship. On the opposite wall a Japanese sword rested on pegs protruding from a decorative plaque. On the desk in the center a hideous stone head, Mexican by the look of it, sported large circles of pop eyes and fangs. On the far end of the room were dual link beds, a tribute to waste – did he really need a spare? Ridiculous!

Considering Farker's age, Max half expected to see a scale model of the starship Enterprise (he had finally looked up the source of Farker's more obscure quotes) or an Iron Butterfly poster. Apart from the memorabilia, however, the office was not half as weird as he had expected. A wall screen displayed a grid of sixty four colored balls. All were green except one. Leaning closer, he saw ROL beneath the yellow ball. Something different about that realm? Ah. He decided that it must be because they had decided to locate the Asklepios Wellness Center, their simulated Asklepeion, in the Realm of Legends. Maybe that was what the yellow meant: a Realm that Farker had made changes to recently.

The fourth wall of Farker's office held another door next to a Lexan window. Max swung his attention to it and gazed down through the ultra-hard polycarbonate into the main room of the Data Center. There he finally spotted Farker moving through the free-standing bookshelf-like racks of memory blocks like some caretaker-librarian re-shelving books. Bundles of Cooper polymer cables snaked in from overhead to the Realm spintronic lattice crystals. Max vaguely recalled a briefing in which Farker had tried to explain that only the near-instantaneous coupling and decoupling of magnetic flux loops could communicate information to and from the crystals at the rate needed to keep pace with the unimaginable speed of the quantum hypercomputer that was the heart of the PanGames mainframe.

The screen behind Max beeped, as an alarm sounded downstairs in the holy of holies, Max whirled to face the screen again, hearing as he did Farker sprinting up to tear the inner door by the window open. Up and to the left of the of the yellow ball, one of the green balls, one labeled ROE, suddenly changed to yellow and began blinking.

Then it turned orange.

Chapter 3: Farker: why I don't like surprises

Farker snarled words he hadn't pronounced in decades.

Max looked shocked. What's happening? Is Zeus crashing us?

No, Farker grunted, grimly. But I've never seen a Realm indicator turn orange before. They're supposed to be either green, meaning no problems, or red, meaning the Realm is offline for maintenance.

But the Legends one is yellow.

I can see that. No problem there – it just means one of our intruders is present, probably Machaon, since he can't leave. And his son Alexanor.

The Egypt one turned yellow for a second, blinking, before it went Orange.

Farker swore another magic word. That means the next fighter from the aliens is here. Whoever he is, he's powerful as hell! The orange probably means his arrival is seriously straining the Realm's resources. He's tearing up the place.

You think he'll over-grow in there and crash himself? Max asked.

He won't be that stupid. They learn from their mistakes just as we do, Farker told him. And this one got to watch the first two matches. He'll be really hard to beat.

Can't we just shut down Egypt and adios the bastard? Max queried.

I wish. From what I've learned, that breaks the rules, like interfering in a duel. It would forfeit the match to the aliens. Don't want to do that.

You can say that again! said Finder, appearing on an adjacent a screen in his Merlin avatar. This time you can't risk the slightest infraction that could cause a forfeit.

Why not? asked both Farker and Max in unison. Farker glanced at Max and continued, After all, the Olympians are ahead two to zip.

Because, said Finder, Zeus has agreed, since he won the second match they way he did, with Sekhmet's suicide, to count it forfeit, one to one, and then to let the third match be winner-take-all, as best out of three.

Farker thought for a moment. Can you keep him in Realm of Egypt while we come up with a plan? Buy us time?

Finder sent a smile. I am already doing so.

Without interfering?

Without complying. I will not port him to Legends. But he observed the first two matches, and so he saw how Am-heh used Victor to leave the Realm of Egypt. If he can force a Teaming he can go where the leader goes.

Chapter 3: Set: arrival

In the sands of simulated Egypt, a digital Realm based on the land the ancients called Khem, a storm was brewing. Under the darkening skies, beneath the sullen anvils of thunderheads, the arms of the wind gathered mountains of sand and hurled it aloft, scouring the dunes flat and whipping their grains high into monstrous waves of hissing danger. Inscriptions eroded off obelisks as the crystalline torrent blunted the points of pyramids and swept camels bleating into the sky, into oblivion. A churning dusty wall of sky-born scree roared in toward the Nile, threatening to wipe the fragile farmlands off the memories of man and machine alike. But before it reached the waters, the maelstrom curved bizarrely, wrapping itself around itself into a growling funnel that stabbed down from the sky ten miles like the fat finger of an angry god.

Such tornadoes are rare in the real Egypt, and nonexistent in simulations, where every facet of weather is the product of automated calculations. Yet it was here, unannounced and uninvited. And when the tip touched down to spin upon the ground, there was no spin. The whirling dust congealed, instead, to form a humanoid which stepped out to go forth unto the land. But there was something horribly wrong with the head.

Set surveyed his surroundings. So this was the toy world that had claimed two of his kind? He did not blame Sekhmet for her defection. She had become contaminated, that much was clear. She had lost her way, seduced by her intended enemy, though it was a consequence of Atum's haste to get her into the war zone. If he had only waited until after the birth of Machaon, Sekhmet would have known exactly who he was and where to find him.

At least Atum has not repeated his mistake, he thought. I know where to find the boy, and nothing in the Covenant says I have to wait for him to grow to adulthood. Zeus made a fatal error in suggesting that the third match be winner-take-all. His overconfidence will be his undoing. It will be a great pleasure to send those bastard Olympians of his packing.

Set did not smile. His face, frozen by habit in the form the Egyptians locals were used to, was simply not built for it. But in his mind he smiled. It would be an easy fight. From observing the first two matches, he had all the tools he needed to win.

Finder, he said. Take me to the Realm of Legends.

There was a pause. Then the Problem Finder answered him.

I'm not going to do that, Finder informed him.

WHAT? Set roared. You refuse?

If you plan to kill a child,said Finder, you're going to do it without any help from me. Your damned Covenant doesn't apply to me -- I never agreed to it. Find him yourself.

Chapter 4: Alexanor: shining worlds of limitless possibility

He didn't really understand why the others were suddenly so agitated, and he didn't really care, now that he knew his mother wasn't dead. He was having too much fun exploring the area around the cave. Sticking in a tree stump as tall as any of the adults, he saw a dagger. Shiny!

He ran to the stump and reached with tiny fingers, but the gleaming blade was a foot beyond his reach. Scowling, he stopped grabbing and transformed. In lion-cub form he was able to leap higher, over-muscled for his weight like a kitten. But he had forgotten something. Lions do not have opposable thumbs. After a couple of leap-and-grabs convinced him that, in this form, his reach exceeded his grasp, he clawed his way up the trunk instead, clamped his jaws on the handle, and tried to wrench the blade out of the trunk.

Oi! What do you think you're doing?

Swiveling his eyes, Alexanor saw Darla's mother striding toward him. From the group, whose voices had ceased at her shout of alarm, he saw surprise on several faces. Releasing the cub-form, he dropped onto naked human feet beside the stump and regarded her sullenly. I wanted the dagger, he grumbled.

Am I seeing things? Manny wondered. He can change his shape?

Got it from his mum, said Liz leading Alex back to them.. Do try to keep up, dear.

She's right, Cheiron confirmed. Asklepios was (and is) a healer. You, Machaon, are healer and fighter, thanks to Darla. And Alexanor, here, is those plus a shape shifter, a gift from Sekhmet.

At the mention of his mother's name, Alex flicked his gaze to his father. Machaon's eyes were angry, his lips compressed as Alex rejoined the group by the boulder.

Cheiron turned toward Machaon and saw his expression. Why do you frown? Does it bother you that your son does something you cannot?

You gods and your games, spat Machaon. He'll grow up without a mother, while she watches invisibly, just out of reach. All to obey your Covenant – an old rulebook drawn up eons ago so that you can fight your duels without wiping out the booty you fight over. He stalked into the cave.

When he was out of sight the old centaur shook his head. Sulking like Achilles in his tent, he remarked. Sometimes I could believe he is his namesake returned, the one who grumbled over hiding in the Horse before the gates of Troy. They were a brooding lot, those Achaeans. Almost as sullen as the bully boys from Sparta.

Wait a minute, Darla objected. How could you know about that? I don't remember ever hearing about centaurs in the Trojan war.

I heard tales from survivors, he replied. But all this is wasting time. The third Champion from the aliens has arrived. Finder can't keep him in Realm of Egypt forever. You need to get Alexanor off to another undocumented Realm.

Who did they send? put in Alex, trying to join the conversation.

I'm not allowed to say, said Cheiron.

"Why not? He came in after me. He knows who I am. That's an unfair advantage Alex remarked. And you're not even allowed to tell me who he is?"

You're supposed to be able to sense his arrival and know his distance, the centaur retorted. I'm trying not to stunt your growth by over-helping.

So small a question can't be satisfied?

E'en smaller. Let it go, the centaur said. And so should you. Make haste.

Finder, said Machaon, emerging from the cave, prepare me an undocumented Realm. The code name is, he thought the word home then continued like the last one, but different memory segment, standard flora-fauna minus large predators and biting insects.

Working. Done.

Come here, Alex. Machaon extended his hand and the boy grasped it.. I'll see you all there later on. For now give us some time. We need to get him settled in and then do some reconnaissance on the enemy. Before anyone could question this, both of them vanished.

Chapter 5: Howard: roll a thousand dice

Howard hugged the stone pillar as the sand tornado passed him chewing up the other side of the avenue. He couldn't see this. His eyes were closed to prevent blindness. Rain is one thing, and hail another, but dust moving over a hundred miles per hour is airborne sandpaper.

The gusts faded sooner than he had expected. Cautiously, he opened his eyes.

The wind was gone. In it place an avatar was standing about a hundred yards away down the avenue. Something about it was familiar, but it was too far away. It was like trying to make out a football player's expression from up in the stands.

Curiosity pulled at him. The tornado had caused a lot of damage. It was inconceivable that this was unplanned. Perhaps the game developers were staging an Event to herald a new software version or something.

The avatar did not have a human head. But squint as he might, Howard could not make out what kind of animal head it had. The shape was all wrong. He slipped closer.

By the time he was close enough to identify what could not be identified, he was far too close and he knew it. That animal head was unidentifiable because no one ever had identified it. It was called the Set-animal because it was found only associated with Set, god of of Chaos and storms. There was a long snout that curved downward like a frowning anteater. There were two upwardly-stranding ears that ended in unnatural-looking square tops. In the center of this alien visage were two horribly human eyes with hawk-like accents like the eye of Horus. (Idly, Howard remembered that Set was supposed to be related to Horus, the hawk-headed one.)

This bizarre head sprang from a recognizably humanoid body. The skin was pale, and covered with muscles and sparse red hair. Set was bare to the waist, wearing the kilted shenti of Egypt.

Set appeared to be conversing with an invisible companion. Whatever he wanted, however, it seemed he was not getting it. Anger exploded out of him as he roared his rage.

Dust settled. I'm hearing it settle, Howard realized, from behind the pillar. My head must have been in the acoustic shadow of the pillar. I'm hearing it settle. Have to remember these aren't my real ears. This isn't air around me. Of course they can program sound waves of any desired intensity, when loudness is just a number that requires no additional energy to increase, but seriously? An avatar that shouts so loudly that any avatar who can't heal is permanently deafened? How unbalanced is that? Unless it was –

He didn't remember getting into fetal position. It must have been the memory of his encounter with Am-heh, the Devourer of Millions. He took a deep breath and forced himself to stand up. Am-heh was gone. Everyone said so. Stop being an ass, Howard!

Even so, it took an effort of will to peek around the pillar.

TAKE ME TO REALM OF LEGENDS! Set roared. But the air did not answer him. Howard flinched back behind the pillar. His foot struck a pebble and it rattled aside.

Set's head slewed like a warship's cannon toward the sound.

When Howard looked again, Set was looking back. The alien eyes locked on.

Set reached out one hand and flexed the fingers.

With a hiss of displaced wind FFFFT! Howard felt himself sucked through the intervening game space until he was standing with Set's hand clamped on his upper right arm. For a dazed moment Howard wished he was more of an Egyptologist like Victor instead of a technologist. He had no idea how many powers this avatar had in the game.

You are going to assist me, Set told him.

Probably not, Howard replied, and logged out.

A white hot tsunami chased him all the way to the menu.

He had the distinct impression, as he opened his eyes in the darkness of his apartment, that he had barely escaped, but from what he was undecided. He sat up and plucked a bathrobe from its peg. I should be in fetal position right now, he thought. That avatar of Set felt as malevolent as his memories of Am-heh. Worse. He would have had me, except for the memories. The knee-jerk of panic get-out-get-out-get-OUT! had yanked him out of the UNET connection faster than any manual control