Apollos Thorne
Survive Week One
Book One of the
Codename: Freedom
Saga
Copyright © 2017 by Apollos Thorne
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1 – Interviews
Chapter 2 – Letter
Chapter 3 – Tutorial
Chapter 4 – Logging In
Chapter 5 – Hunting with Kline
Chapter 6 – Ruin
Chapter 7 – Aftermath
Chapter 8 – Recovery
Chapter 9 – Ambushed by Questions?
Chapter 10 – This City is Ours
Chapter 11 – Gearing Up
Chapter 12 – Do You Hear That?
Chapter 13 – Overwhelmed
Chapter 14 – Long Night
Chapter 15 – Finally Some Action
Chapter 16 – The Hunt
Chapter 17 – Preparation
Chapter 18 – Flee
Chapter 19 – Lost and Found
Chapter 20 – Inspiration
Chapter 21 – Unleashed
Chapter 22 – Final Confrontation
Chapter 23 – Check Point
Chapter 24 – Moving On
Ability Point Upgrades
Character Sheet
Pet
Prologue
March 7, 2387
If you are receiving this, then I am in prison or dead. Who am I kidding? This is as much a confession as a fail-safe to make sure the truth gets out.
My name is Otto Konig, Sr. Director of Game Development for Codename: Freedom. I was offered a contract with the United States government to develop the most realistic virtual reality (VR) world ever conceived. Ultimately, with the help of a great team and many long years, we were successful in creating a machine with the potential of producing the finest super soldiers in human history. Strength and speed are just a foundation. What mankind is capable of goes far beyond what most deem possible; what I believed possible. There are incredible and terrifying things our government has hidden from the public eye, but that is not what I am writing to discuss.
I’m not naïve. War with the trans-humans is coming. I knew creating the perfect soldier was the mission when I signed on. But there is something else I have discovered. Among the participants that are selected from our best athletes and VR gamers, there are also criminals.
I have had little problem tracking down who these criminals were once I knew what to look for. What I discovered has caused me to question my entire purpose for taking this job. Someone high up in the government, who I have yet to be able to flush out, has hand-selected hundreds of criminals to participate in the experiment. These aren’t just normal criminals, but the kind with many consecutive life sentences. It’s hard to imagine a worse scenario.
The participants in Codename: Freedom will be under no governing body except the ones that they create. They will have absolute freedom to commit the most perverse atrocities mankind is capable of. Thank God murder is not among them. The game system won’t allow participants to die. Instead, we have inadvertently created the perfect torture device. Whoever is stuck in Freedom with these violent men will find themselves unable to die and only able to escape if they can find the strength to fight back. Not only will we create superior soldiers, but we will take some of the world’s most violent men and make them incredibly powerful.
I will continue to seek out whoever is responsible and hopefully put a stop to it before it comes to fruition. My personal AI (artificial intelligence) will alert all major media in ten different countries if anything happens to me.
I hope I’m not too late.
Dr. Otto Konig, Sr.
Director of Game Development
Chapter 1 – Interviews
“What kind of company makes you show up in person for an interview?” St3alth said, continuing our conversation as we teleported into the arena.
A quick scan of the arena told me this was a medium size, square shaped room, with a stone pathway around the perimeter. Dirt paths led down from the elevated perimeter to cross in the middle of the room, with a large open area and a dirt floor.
“Something about tests that can’t be done virtually. It’s not like our personal AI keep records of our DNA or anything.” Chewme said, oozing sarcasm. “Lucius. When are you up?”
“I’m interviewing for Codename: Freedom this morning. In the vehicle now. Will be gaming with you guys until Destiny gets close enough to drop me off.” I answered, standing there decked out in epic items: a green leather jacket, with a mythalloy chain shirt underneath and my demon spine rapier on my belt. Everything I wore looked rather bland in comparison to most max level items. It was by design. Why advertise strength? I still wore a flashy green mythalloy Crescent Helm that collected my sweat-soaked brown hair like a magnet. What can I say? The stats were worth it. Our guild symbol, three diamonds interwoven with each other, currently embroidered the chest of my jacket.
The comfortable breeze that always greeted new participants to the arena never got old. Such a small detail had become a treat that I had been experiencing daily for just over two years now. I would miss the rush that accompanied it if I was selected for Codename: Freedom.
All three of us stood at the top of a path leading down. Sticking to the manmade walkways would be best. Heavy overgrown foliage made it impossible to see from one path to the other once you left the stone perimeter. I didn’t even want to try wading through it.
“St3alth. Stick high and we will go low?” I asked.
He had already gone invisible. An ethereal shadow-cloak rippled behind him as it flapped in the non-existent wind. There was very little air flow in this arena, but items like his cloak were self-animated for the sake of style. He didn’t share my philosophy on style.
The rest of him was just as transparent, only visible to Chewme and me because we were in his group. His mask was pitch leather, fully covering his face except for his mouth. Midnight’s Kiss, a knife formed from obsidian ice, was held flat against his cheek as he pretended to ponder my question.
“Really, Lucius? Like you will wait for me? You are too focused on gaining fans. Didn’t your AI teach you how to share?”
“Must I teach you a lesson about complaining?” Destiny, my AI, replied, projecting her voice into the group chat channel that was translated into text. She was currently running my gaming system, as well as directing my car. She had no physical body, but was in my head, literally. Or more accurately, my MR (mixed reality) gear, or headset.
A boisterous chuckle came from the large man to my left.
“Jealous?” Chewme asked.
Flashing towards St3alth’s head, a claymore stopped an inch from his skull.
Crossing his arms, St3alth dared Chewme to proceed.
Although he only stood about my height, I’d be lucky if my thigh was as thick as Chewme’s arm. With chopped blond hair and a strong jaw, he was our smiley melee brute. Donning a fur cloak over Mythsidian Mail, a glassy black steel chain-linked armor, he was constantly sparring with the assassin.