Serving time in the Light Pool

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"Everyone listen up! Sanchez found a hotspot in the Python Router. We strongly believe it to be the location of Blays Chronometer; the holy, God-damned trinity to end this hellish game. You 'all know what this means, right?”

Junior scout, Hack, a mere morsel of a man who should never be underestimated, rushes to answer the question posed by senior scout, Ramses.

“Yes, if we don’t get to it first, we stand to repeat this endeavor from the beginning with a different crew that we won’t know. I want to end this run with you guys.”

“Aww, what a lovely thought... Don’t get all mushy on us now, Hack!”

Sarcasm has never been Danika Drake's strongest quality. Convicted on embezzlement charges, she’s a prime example of strength. Tough as nails. The type who commands respect. She proudly stands up from her pilot station and walks toward the crew with seductive confidence. The bright red, thigh-high leather boots she wears, cut through the silence with every step. The others know she has more to say.

“I think Sanchez just saved us from an embarrassing mess. We should all be kissing his ass right now. I say we ditch plan B and go straight to Python. Anything else will be a laughable waste of time.”

Her statement ends with a roll of the eyes towards Ramses while snapping the flavorless chewing gum she had for breakfast hours prior. She knows it's his call. Her respect for him teeters on the fence. Age doesn't always equate experience, and experience does not always end the discussion. Her assessment concludes that Ramses cautious ways are not aligned with someone who is supposed to be in charge.

"Yes! Let's not waste any more time. Set course immediately!" Ramses says in agreement.

***

Faced with overcrowding, the world government introduces a solution for nonviolent criminals in the form of a mind game. Launched in the year 2167, if you, the offender can win at it, your sentence will be commuted to time served.

An active team comprises of no less than four individuals. But there are a few snags in the road. More than one team is simultaneously searching for the chronometer. Once found, the winners graduate from the grid back into society. Afterwards, the game automatically resets, erasing all progress and memory of any crucial steps the losers uncover along the way. The only remaining memory on the following day 1, is how the team’s vessel operates.

There is another, more inscrutable snag that none of them are aware of— only one convict's avatar on each team contains a human mind. The others are part of the synthetic world in which the game is played. Although they each have their own memory of a fabricated criminal history and life story, they are as real as the notion of swine sprouting wings.

The Light Pool’s location is remote, like a virtual form of house arrest. The individual convict's bodies lie in their homes in suspended animation while their minds are incarcerated within the confines of the playing field — via chip implant.

The application and success of this program have been well-received by lawmakers. Rehabilitation is near 90% for criminals who complete the game.

***

"Get Sanchez up here now, where going in together once we secure a landing spot."

Becoming anxious over the prospect of this being the closest he's ever been, Hack complies and radios Sanchez of the rendezvous.

"Danika, initiate stealth protocols. This is the lead we've been waiting for. We can't afford the other teams to know our location."

"Ramses! Are you sure of this? It will deplete valuable energy required for integration!”

"I realize that. It's the chance we have to take. If it is in fact Blays chronometer down there, it won't matter. The game will end once the final steps are implemented."

"Why do you insist on calling it Blays chronometer? It’s an evil clock designed to keep us here running in circles. I can't begin to tell you how many pitfalls and wrong turns it's created for us. Even when we do locate it, it’s not going to give up its secrets willingly.”

"Ahh, so the wise tongue speaks again... You worry too much, Danika! Hacks been analyzing the chronometer's structure since day 1. I've seen his progress on the shared drive. The shard's location is incorporated on the oscillator. Just get us there and we'll find it!"

"As you wish... I hope you know what you are doing... Initiating stealth protocols in three... two... one..."

Once implemented, the futuristic vessel decreases speed by 40%, thrashing all crew members floorward instantly. Lights flicker on and off. Sparks emerge from the main consoles in rapid succession. 'Warning' signs pulse at each exit. Danika stares at Rameses from the floor. The fury in her eyes could set him on fire.

"Did you know that was going to happen! I nearly cracked my skull!"

"No! I didn't know...It's okay, though. The ship is still online. We are still on course!"

"Sir! It's working" Hack says. "We are no longer on the grid! But we've lost 400 amperes as a result... it will slow our trek!"

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED UP HERE!" Sanchez shouts. The incident leaves him with a slight limp, slowing his gait. "Tell me we are still on course."

"We're still on course, sir!" Hack replies.

The four of them gather near the front shields of the vehicle where their attention is caught by the sight of gold light expanding. It's coming from between two, gigantic steel towers that make up part of their endless, dark, mechanical world. Electrified Python flags are mounted atop each side. What they also see is the incredible array of blue sparkles glinting throughout the glow coming from an unseen source. It pales in comparison to the magnitude of a dwarf star, impressively illuminating the surrounding area. The closer they get, the more entranced they become. They've never seen anything like it before. The understandable silence is finally broken.

"It's beautiful! It's hauntingly beautiful... I think it knows why we're here. I don't understand what I'm feeling right now." Danika says as she walks closer to the glass shield, touching it. The sparkles begin engulfing the ship, gently colliding with every part of it.

"What do you mean it knows?" Ramses asks after taking a substantial gulp of water.

"You can't feel that? It's euphoric, It's sublime. Mesmerizing. What about you two? Hack, Sanchez, can you feel that?"

Hack is frozen in place. His mouth, gaping at the sight. Sanchez is clearly experiencing the pain aftereffects from the incident just minutes before. He's massaging his knee. He's the first to share his thoughts.

"I don't feel shit! It's a trap or a decoy. It's not in alignment with the hotspot. Whatever it is, we have to go through it to the other side."

"I think it may be a tear in the system's mainframe. I can't be sure. Hack! You getting all this...HACK!"

Ramses' shouting abruptly brings Hack back to the moment.

"Sir! I think you're all onto something, come take a look at this!"

They quickly run over to his control station.

"You see this little orange anomaly here? It wasn't there ten minutes ago. I think the clock is aware of us approaching and is preparing to change the rules of the game. If this is the case, we have exactly 37 minutes until its location disappears from the hotspot. Sir, that won't be enough time."

"You bet your ass it will!" Danika interjects, rushing back to her station and begins furiously typing. "I'm reversing the protocols. It's the only way to speed this ship up! The compression ratio will buy us at least five minutes before we appear back on the grid!"

"Danika wait!" Ramses says, swiping her hands from the keyboard. She stands up, pushes him away and bluntly retorts.

"No, you wait! Do you know what this means! No, you don't! You're too busy playing Mr. know-it-all that you forgot how to be the captain. Sometimes I wonder if you're with us or against us. Who Know's how many other ships are using the same protocols at this very moment. Sanchez! How many can you locate?"

"I'm counting two, three, four, five, six. Six ships located! There's one missing."

"See what I mean, Ramses? We've already wasted two minutes arguing about this! Permission to move forward... captain!"

Upset over the fact she might be right, Ramses angrily stares at the other two crew members. He finally gives in, exhibiting a steely-eyed look of indignation towards Danika.

"Okay, go for it. Just remember whose fault it is if we lose. Nice knowing you all. And don't ever push me again... Go ahead, reverse the protocol. First, everyone take a seat."

Danika complies. The ship regains full power and accelerates. The onboard lights brighten, warning signs shut off.

"Okay, Sanchez... let's land this puppy!"

Within minutes they pass the field of sparkling terabytes. The calculations are correct; Blays Chronometer is in full view. Much larger than they expected.

Laced in gold trim with liquid mercury shaped into roman numerals, it’s as tall and wide as the Taj Mahal. The room in which it occupies constantly changes between hues of orange and yellow, like a mood ring cycling through emotions. The outer edge of the hovering clock has several long, tentacle-like appendages on either side. The crew notices they are getting longer by the second. The oscillator, situated at the base of the clock, is protected by a green force field, confirming the location of the shard.

"Gear up! Let's complete this level and go home! How much time left, Hack?"

"Sir! Approximately 20 minutes. I don't know how to tell you this, but we have incoming. Two teams have narrowed our location and they're closing in fast."

Danika and Ramses look each other in the eye, not knowing if it was the right call to reappear on the grid. It's far too late to discuss any of it. Time is too valuable.

"LET'S GO!" she shouts. Hack remains seated at his station.

"You guys go ahead! I’ll catch up right after I break the force field code. Once it's down the oscillator needs to be manually stopped. Sanchez! Do you remember how to stop it?"

"Yeah yeah yeah. You said I have to jam the gears where it connects to the clock. That's what this here baby is for." He shows everyone an object closely resembling a silver throwing star. It’s set to expand on contact.

"Correct. At that point we will need to pry the shard off. It's magnetized and won't come off easy. The game will end once it's liberated. I'll try and buy some time after the shield is down and create a diversion to throw off the other teams."

"Alright scouts! let's do this!" Ramses final words before leaving the ship.

Working at full potential, Hack temporarily shuts down the shield. He doesn't know how long it will last. The clock's tentacles are alive and serve as its last wall of defense. Hack is already on it and is able to slow them down to the point of stopping. The team easily maneuvers around them. It’s now up to Sanchez to time the swinging motion of the oscillator and grab hold of it to begin his climb.

In Hacks' search for a way to create a diversion, he comes upon a file called Player History. Curious of what it is, he breaks into it.

According to its contents, Danika Drake's profile was created on day 1. He looks up Ramses, the same thing 'file created on day 1' and finally, Sanchez, 'file created on day 1'. When he looks up his own name, Andrew Phillips, the file was created on the day he was sentenced to complete the Light Pool — July 10th, 2170. He looks into another team's history and sees that Sanchez is on three other active rosters. A mountain of confusion seizes his mind, followed by the realization of his teammates lacking flesh in the real world. He mentally wrestles to try and understand if this is some sort of sabotage mechanism infused within the game. No one is there to answer his concerns.

Time moves differently on the grid. It feels like he is going in circles, losing game after game. In Andrew's mind, he's been part of this reality for months. When in the real world, his body has been under less than six days.

With four minutes left, he drops everything, gears up and rushes toward the shard. He no longer trusts his fate in the hands of computer-generated comrades.

Within twenty feet of the oscillator, the shield fires back up, blocking access. His three teammates are behind it, trying to complete the final step. Ramses sees Hack approaching in his tinted peripheral, he turns around and begins pounding on the green field and shouts.

"DAMMIT, HACK! WHY IS THE SHEILD BACK UP? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? GET YOUR ASS IN HERE! THERE'S NO TIME LEFT. WE HAVE TO REMOVE THE SHARD NOW AND YOU NEED TO BE IN HERE!"

In a last-ditch effort, Hack rushes at full speed to try and penetrate the field. The impact creates an indentation of his body, but the energy invested repels him back with the same force.

Right before time expires, they pull the shard off. Hack is blinded by a sea of neon green.

***

"Welcome back to virtual prison, scout! Ramses the name, this is Danika and over there is Sanchez. Are you ready to repeat day 1? We have a lot of work to do if we're gonna beat these bastards at their own game... It says here, you were convicted on computer fraud charges. Good to know. We can use a man with your background. Have you ever hacked into anything before?"

Outside the vague felling of DeJa'Vu, Andrew believes he is meeting a new team for the first time. In actuality, it's the same team for the nineteenth time...