down on Martin’s body again and again. He swung until he could no longer catch his breath, then hunched forward with his hands on his knees, sucking in air, tears running down his face as he looked at the crumpled body. Embarrassed that his emotions had overtaken him, he wiped his face with his arm. It’s just a game, he thought, though a sense of power surged through him and he allowed himself to feel a brief satisfaction.
In VIC, he was in complete control, but tomorrow he would have to do Martin’s bidding.
* * * *
The next morning, Sam arrived at work later than usual, delaying the inevitable for as long as possible. He paused outside the lobby and squared his shoulders, taking one long, slow breath. Primed, he strode through the entryway and called out “Good morning” to the receptionist. She shook her head and gestured toward the lobby’s waiting area.
Two men rose from the couch and walked toward him. Both were fiftyish, both dressed in slacks, white button-down shirts, and sport coats.
The taller man spoke. “Sam Breske? I’m Detective Rob Cresslar of the Raleigh PD and this is Josh Moore of the SBI’s Computer Crimes Unit. May we have a word with you, somewhere private?” They flashed their badges, their faces serious. Too serious. Was his team playing a joke on him, and at the worst possible time?
Sam led them to a small conference room on the lobby floor. “What’s this about?”
“Martin Harrison died last night in his home. Apparent heart attack,” Cresslar said.
Remembering how triumphant he’d felt standing over the VIC Martin’s body, Sam felt shameful, almost guilty. “Oh my God, that’s awful.”
“Mr. Harrison’s death occurred while he was playing VIC,” said Moore. “Seems the simulation was too realistic for him. Something your software was supposed to detect, right? Shut the game down and signal for help? Thing is, emergency services never received a distress call from Harrison’s address.”
Sam shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense. We’ve never had reports of issues with the HMC.”
“We had his game unit checked out,” said Moore. “It was the current version with no signs of tampering. We also found he was in Group Play mode with you when he died. Want to tell us about that?”
Alarmed, Sam started to protest but stopped himself. He glanced from one detective to the other, searching their faces. “I don’t think I should answer any more questions without my lawyer.”
Cresslar raised both hands as if to protest. “Relax, you’re not under arrest. Martin had a bad heart and his HMC seemed to have a glitch. How the glitch happened is the question no one seems to be able to answer. We thought it might have been hacked, but you built a firewall around the HMC to prevent that, didn’t you? You’re free to go unless there’s something you want to tell us.”
Sam shook his head no, hoping his calm expression didn’t betray his conflicted feelings: guilt mixed with curiosity. Whatever happened to Martin’s HMC?
* * * *
After his exchange with the police, Sam went back to work on his current project, carefully avoiding conversations with his team about Martin’s death. Sam couldn’t be sure where the project or his team’s future lay, so he thought it was best to carry on until he heard differently.
The next day, Bryce summoned Sam to Martin’s office. As Martin’s heir, she had taken over the privately held company. He found her sitting behind the oversized desk, intently flipping through documents. He knocked politely on the open door.
She looked up from her papers and smiled. “Hi Sam, come on in.”
“Sorry to hear about Martin.”
She nodded. “Thank you. It was a shock.”
“I wasn’t expecting to see you in the office so soon.”
“I’d rather be here. SimTech was Martin’s baby. I want to take care of it for him.”
He shifted from one foot to the other, nodding to show he understood. “I don’t know what could’ve gone wrong with his HMC. Maybe if I take a look at it, I can find out.”
Bryce fidgeted with the documents in front of her. “Listen, it was a glitch. It happens, even in the best software. Don’t blame yourself. I tried to warn him about the violence in VIC, but he wouldn’t listen.”
Sam remembered their argument he’d overheard two days ago, the day Martin died. Ironic, that VIC was both Martin’s greatest triumph and the cause of his death. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“Yes. I’m still going to bring the green team on board and I need you to get them up to speed on your current project.”
His heart sunk. She was no different from Martin. “Damn it, Bryce. My team’s the best asset this company has. They’re not replaceable by a bunch of twenty-year-olds.”
“Hold on. I know Martin wanted to let your team go, but I think that’s a mistake. I have a new assignment for your team I think you’ll find much more challenging.”
She wanted to save his team? “That’s fantastic. What is it?”
“I want to replace the violence in VIC with simulated sex play. Your team will develop a full body skin suit to go along with it that’ll increase the intensity of the action within the game.” She grinned. “Can you imagine? Players can have simulated sex with anyone they choose. All they need is a photograph or a willing Group Play partner.”
Sam’s first instinct was to defend VIC, but given the circumstances of Martin’s death, he thought better of it. Later they could discuss the viability of making both games available to the public. “Given the lucrative business of porn, it would sell, that’s for sure.”
The smile on Bryce’s face spread wider. Sam found her cheerfulness the day after Martin’s death odd, but her enthusiasm about the new project was catching, and he couldn’t help but grin in return.
“Exactly what I was thinking. And I know you tested VIC’s earlier releases with Reggie, but if you’d prefer a different partner, given the type of sim play we’re talking here, I’d be glad to volunteer. We’ve worked well together in the past, don’t you think?”
Sam felt heat rise to his cheeks. “We’d still have to worry about over-stimulation of the gamers.”
Bryce burst into laughter. “Oh, right. But we’d still utilize the HMC, just in case.”
At the mention of the HMC, his embarrassment waned. “About that—we need to figure out the bug in Martin’s game. If there are more cases, it won’t matter what we come up with next.”
Her merry expression faded. “I don’t think there will be more cases. It was just a one-time glitch. With preparing the newbies and getting your team started on the sim-sex game, you’ll have no time to look into a singular problem.”
How could she be so sure it would never occur again? Then it hit him. Bryce knew the HMC as well as he did. “Still, Martin’s death should have been prevented by the software we both worked on. I can’t have that hanging over my head without knowing what happened. Can you?”
