Read Online Digital Heretic by Terry Schott - Free Book Online Page B

originally, but at the end of the day you are still limited by the board and the pieces. You can’t play anything but chess,” Brandon said.
      “ Hmm… that might be too simple an analogy, Brandon.” 
      “ Yes, it is, but it can quickly get very complicated. The fact is that Sylvia is bound by universal laws and mandates that she cannot change. She has immense power, but at her very core she exists to serve the Game.”
      “It’s brilliant,” Trew said.
      “ Yes. And the universe can change, but it’s the players who change it. Sylvia can influence the players, but it’s the constant flow of players exiting and entering the system that affect everything, not her.”
      “ The classic ‘what came first, the chicken or the egg?’ argument,” Trew said.
      “ Kind of.” 
      Trew looked at the computer screen and the icon that would access the Game’s divine being. “What are you really playing at here, Brandon?”
      Brandon was quiet for a time, then said, “It’s just an educational game, Trew. An attempt to teach our kids something more than old-style schools did, along with a way to make some money in the process.”
      Thousands of questions flooded Trew’s mind. Brandon’s explanation didn’t make sense. This was more than just a children’s game or a business to generate revenue. He remembered meeting an old man in his past life on Earth. The man played the ancient board game called ‘Go.’ It was one of the first board games played on Earth, and this old man was the world’s top Go master. Trew and Danielle had spent months learning to
    play Go, and they had spent hundreds of hours talking with the master. It soon became apparent that even a simple board game like Go was much more than just a game. The Go master had played so much that the world and all its workings could be explained in relation to Go. By mastering the game of Go, this old man had gained valuable insights into life and the universe that most would never uncover. Trew had learned much about games from the old man; he'd also learned that games were always more than mindless recreation.
      Trew decided to let it go for now — no pun intended. “So how do we talk to her?”
      “ We just click the icon and open the program,” Brandon said. “She’s a fully sentient program, but she has limited access to Tygon. She isn’t able to interfere with any of the electronic workings of our world. She is contained in the Mainframe of the Game, and it has no direct way of interacting with our world. We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure she can’t access any networks or mass media channels.”
      Trew snorted. “So what you’re saying is that you have no confirmation that she has access to Tygon.”
      “ No, I’m saying that we have large resources committed, both people and technology, committed to keeping her contained inside the Game,” Brandon said. “You certainly seem negative about this topic, Trew.”
      “ Really? I think I’m being very positive. Just because I take the opposite view doesn’t mean I’m being negative. You’ve heard about the frogs on Earth that can change their sex, right?”
      “ Yes. Put an entire population of female frogs into the proper setting and some of the females will spontaneously transmute into males and babies will soon be born. You’re convinced that the same can happen with Sylvia?”
      “I’m saying anything’s possible. Where there is a will, there is always a way.”
      “ Perhaps,” Brandon said. “We are doing the best we can to keep Mainframe as it was intended to be.”
      “ I can accept that,” Trew said. “And your resources are considerable. I’m certain you have it all under control. I just like to ask questions.”
      “ Keep them coming, Trew. We need questions to move everything forward.”
      “ You might regret that request someday,” Trew said.
      “ Likely,” Brandon agreed. “Ready to talk to her?”