Caprica S2 at Beginning of Line is brought to you with limited commercial interruption by Avenging Angels.
Previously on Caprica:
Gara Singh makes his way off-world using skills acquired in his crime-laden, Tauron upbringing, but also hears some unsettling news from an unexpected source. (Episode Eleven - posted 5/10/11)
Pencil drawing of Tad Thorean by Abby Geiger.
Caprica Season 2, Episode Twelve
Those Who Live and Die For the Game
by Lotte Somerset
Haidee was surprised to find the boy from 5B in the basement when she took her laundry down to wash it one night. He was seated on the floor with his back against the wall, his holoband flickering.
It had always fascinated her how different people reacted to using a holoband. Many people sat up straight, straighter than they would in the day to day. Others relaxed, slouching or leaning. He looked almost as if he had simply fallen asleep. His breathing was slow and his body was relaxed, no verbalization, eyes closed. There was no sign of the tension that was there when she had seen him awake.
Her younger brother always told her that she twitched when she used her holoband. That sometimes she would whisper words, but it was nothing that he could ever make sense of.
She sorted her laundry between the meager two washers and fed cubits into the machines to get them started. There were no chairs in the laundry room so she sat on top of one of the washers to read her textbook’s take on Libran inheritance law and wait. Haidee glanced up at 5B each time she turned a page. Relaxed, he was almost hot.
The dryer he had running came to a stop beside her. For a moment, she thought about putting the clothes in the bag for him, letting him play on. She looked back to see that the washers were winding down, and she would soon need the dryer. Haidee made a note of the page and climbed down from the washer.
“Time to wake up,” she said sweetly, gently kicking the boy from 5B’s foot.
He came to with a start and whipped off his holoband to glare at her.
“Your laundry’s done,” Haidee said, pointing to the idle dryer.
Still scowling, he put his holoband around his neck and picked up his bag.
“What do you play?” she asked as he stuffed clean clothes in his laundry bag.
“The Eternal Night.”
“An ex-New Cap Citizen, huh? Forced out by the Avenging Angels."
“Don’t even talk about the deadwalkers,” he muttered as he fished around for a lost sock. He stuffed it in his bag and pulled the draw string closed.
Haidee scrambled for something to say to him as he picked up his bag to leave. This was a chance whose time was running out. If 5B left now, he would remember her just as the girl who rudely woke up from a game.
"There's a deadwalker in The Flood," she said. It was something she brought up at parties. Just something interesting to talk about with other gamers over a drink. Haidee couldn’t figure out why she had said it, but watched to see how he would take it.
She had his full attention. He had never looked Haidee in the eyes before as they passed in the halls and mail room all those times before but now he was staring at her. He left his bag on the steps and went to her, standing uncomfortably close.
"Are you sure it's a deadwalker?" he asked.
"I play it all the time. No one can de-rez him. You're not even supposed to be able to de-rez people in The Flood, but the deadwalker can. It's a living dead sim. When live players get infected, they're just supposed to turn. People have tried, they've gotten to him before, but it doesn't matter."
He came to lean against the dryer next to the one where Haidee sat, an attempt at nonchalance which only tipped her off further that something was off here. When among other V-World gamers, it was a topic for cocktail party conversation. There had been no real deadwalkers since the Avenging Angels. Once they took down the servers for New Cap City, there was no proof that the Avenging Angels had even ever existed. Reports still popped up and it topped conversations on the boards when there was word of one.
The Flood was an illegal site, but it didn’t have the server capacity that others did. Word was that some kid at the University of Delphi had programmed it in his room and it still ran off of some unnoticed server there. They only let in fifty live players at a time and two hundred or so of the living dead.
"Him?"
"Yeah, it's a boy. He looks like that monotheist kid that blew up the MAGLEV" Haidee said. "If you ask me, deadwalkers, these ghosts in V-World, they're frakking creepy. "
"But not frakking creepy enough to keep you from playing."
"Or you. What’s your interest in deadwalkers, anyhow?"
“The same as other people. I just want to see one.”
Haidee looked at him for a long moment before she leaned in towards him.
“What if I could get you in to see the deadwalker? Just a peek.”
“I would do anything,” he whispered.
“Haidee, 4B.”
“Tad.”
It had always fascinated her how different people reacted to using a holoband. Many people sat up straight, straighter than they would in the day to day. Others relaxed, slouching or leaning. He looked almost as if he had simply fallen asleep. His breathing was slow and his body was relaxed, no verbalization, eyes closed. There was no sign of the tension that was there when she had seen him awake.
Her younger brother always told her that she twitched when she used her holoband. That sometimes she would whisper words, but it was nothing that he could ever make sense of.
She sorted her laundry between the meager two washers and fed cubits into the machines to get them started. There were no chairs in the laundry room so she sat on top of one of the washers to read her textbook’s take on Libran inheritance law and wait. Haidee glanced up at 5B each time she turned a page. Relaxed, he was almost hot.
The dryer he had running came to a stop beside her. For a moment, she thought about putting the clothes in the bag for him, letting him play on. She looked back to see that the washers were winding down, and she would soon need the dryer. Haidee made a note of the page and climbed down from the washer.
“Time to wake up,” she said sweetly, gently kicking the boy from 5B’s foot.
He came to with a start and whipped off his holoband to glare at her.
“Your laundry’s done,” Haidee said, pointing to the idle dryer.
Still scowling, he put his holoband around his neck and picked up his bag.
“What do you play?” she asked as he stuffed clean clothes in his laundry bag.
“The Eternal Night.”
“An ex-New Cap Citizen, huh? Forced out by the Avenging Angels."
“Don’t even talk about the deadwalkers,” he muttered as he fished around for a lost sock. He stuffed it in his bag and pulled the draw string closed.
Haidee scrambled for something to say to him as he picked up his bag to leave. This was a chance whose time was running out. If 5B left now, he would remember her just as the girl who rudely woke up from a game.
"There's a deadwalker in The Flood," she said. It was something she brought up at parties. Just something interesting to talk about with other gamers over a drink. Haidee couldn’t figure out why she had said it, but watched to see how he would take it.
She had his full attention. He had never looked Haidee in the eyes before as they passed in the halls and mail room all those times before but now he was staring at her. He left his bag on the steps and went to her, standing uncomfortably close.
"Are you sure it's a deadwalker?" he asked.
"I play it all the time. No one can de-rez him. You're not even supposed to be able to de-rez people in The Flood, but the deadwalker can. It's a living dead sim. When live players get infected, they're just supposed to turn. People have tried, they've gotten to him before, but it doesn't matter."
He came to lean against the dryer next to the one where Haidee sat, an attempt at nonchalance which only tipped her off further that something was off here. When among other V-World gamers, it was a topic for cocktail party conversation. There had been no real deadwalkers since the Avenging Angels. Once they took down the servers for New Cap City, there was no proof that the Avenging Angels had even ever existed. Reports still popped up and it topped conversations on the boards when there was word of one.
The Flood was an illegal site, but it didn’t have the server capacity that others did. Word was that some kid at the University of Delphi had programmed it in his room and it still ran off of some unnoticed server there. They only let in fifty live players at a time and two hundred or so of the living dead.
"Him?"
"Yeah, it's a boy. He looks like that monotheist kid that blew up the MAGLEV" Haidee said. "If you ask me, deadwalkers, these ghosts in V-World, they're frakking creepy. "
"But not frakking creepy enough to keep you from playing."
"Or you. What’s your interest in deadwalkers, anyhow?"
“The same as other people. I just want to see one.”
Haidee looked at him for a long moment before she leaned in towards him.
“What if I could get you in to see the deadwalker? Just a peek.”
“I would do anything,” he whispered.
“Haidee, 4B.”
“Tad.”
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He knocked on her door just after three the next morning.
“How do you like to sit?” Haidee asked.
“On the floor,” he said.
“Then let’s do it in the living room.”
There were only two rooms to her apartment anyhow. Inviting him into her bedroom when she had learned his name just a few hours earlier felt like too much.
She put her coffee cup down on the coffee table next to her holoband. Tad sat down on the floor. He was still wearing his work uniform. It was wrinkled and there were spots of grease along the front.
“Before we go in, you need some background on the game,” Haidee said as they settled in. “There was a flood. This whole valley filled with water. The water incubated some sort of virus. It makes people rabid until they die. The water’s gone down now, but most of the people are dead. Live players are the leftover townspeople. You don’t just de-rez in The Flood, you become one of the dying. Then it’s a race to infect other players before your time runs out. It’s all about survival.”
Tad rolled his eyes at her.
“I’ve played V-World games before. Let’s just go.”
“Fine.”
Haidee laid back on the couch. When she was sure he was ready, she slipped on her holoband and waited for the game to boot.
They were in a forest. The freezing early morning air was too much and Haidee broke into a coughing fit. There was no need to really breathe or any reason for a heart beat in V-World, but any chance to cause pain to the player was taken. Tad smacked her on the back, trying to get her to shut up. It would do them no good if one of the other players got to them before they got to the deadwalker.
“Usually the game doesn’t put you down this far up,” she said once her breathing had evened out.
“Where’s the deadwalker?”
“He moves around, but he’s usually in the town.”
She offered him a pair of gloves from her pack. When he didn’t take them, Haidee put them on, then put her pack back on. Between them, they had no weapons. There were no weapons coded into the game. The smart players set traps and stayed ahead of the dying and other pursuers. Less fortunate live players fought with anything at hand.
“We’ll have to go down into the town to find him. There aren’t a lot of players on now, but the animals are out.”
“There are animals?” Tad asked as he followed Haidee down.
“Wolves.”
There was no trail but she seemed sure of her path. There was no moon, and the stars seemed to swirl above. Each time he looked up, they seemed to have rearranged themselves. There was enough light to see, but just barely. Haidee guided him, careful to show him where to place his feet in places where the slope was especially steep.
“You don’t come back as one if you snap your neck. Any way you kill yourself just puts you out of the game for good,” she warned him.
“I’ve got it.”
As they approached the town, Haidee‘s steps were more deliberate and she spoke in hushed tones.
“If you see the deadwalker, you better run for cover,” she said as they came up behind a row of houses. “He doesn’t take prisoners.”
“I know how to play V-World games, Haidee.”
“You’ve never played with someone like this deadwalker before. He doesn’t pretend to let you escape. The deadwalker just de-rezzes you.”
Haidee held out her hand to stop him. She made no sound, just inched forward until they were up against a tree. There was something moving off in the distance. Something walked toward them, quiet, on all fours. It had to be a wolf. There were no other animals coded into the game. It kept coming closer, enough that she could hear it panting before it paused, and turned away again.
When she could no longer hear it, Haidee stepped out from behind the tree.
“That was weird. Usually if you’re within a few hundred feet they’ll get you, even if they can’t see you.”
“Then we’re lucky.”
Or the deadwalker’s frakking with the game, Haidee thought. She said nothing and continued down into the valley.
They had to run from the end to the treeline to the back wall of one of the buildings. Tad took an easy lead, but slowed down when he noticed that Haidee was falling behind.
The town was little more than a dozen buildings clustered together. A radio crackled with the day’s pyramid scores as they crept past a window, keeping close to the walls for cover. It seemed that the town was dead. They had not seen any undead or live their whole way down into the valley, and the lack of foot prints in the half frozen mud did not promise any companionship or diversion. When they came to the main street, they stood in the shadows for some time. Haidee crouched and pointed up and across, to the town’s general store.
“How do you know?” Tad whispered.
“Just do.”
They crept across the street to hide in the alley between the store and a home that sat beside it. The lights were on in the store, and positioned beneath a side window, she could hear someone moving around inside.
“That has to be him,” she whispered.
He took a peek in the window, but quickly ducked down again. Tad closed his eyes and leaned against the side of the building. Haidee watched the street for any sign of the deadwalker coming after them. She was not prepared for Tad to stand up and walk around to the front of the store, leaving her alone there.
It was insane. He was insane, and she cursed herself for not noticing before this. She crawled around the front of the store, keeping low and close to the walls. Haidee was just in time to watch Tad kick the door in and run in.
“Don’t,” she screamed, but he was already gone.
She stayed on her hands and knees, just outside the front door, waiting for the unmistakable sound of de-rezzing.
“I’m not here to frak with you. I just want to know if you know where a girl is. She’s a deadwalker like you. Her name’s Tamara,” Tad said
“I’m the only deadwalker,” the deadwalker replied.
The sound of Tad being de-rezzed made her skin crawl, but there was no time to hesitate. She started to crawl away from the door. If she was lucky, she would be able to make it to the treeline and be free. Haidee dropped her pack in the shadows of the store and took off for the mountain at a sprint. The deadwalker moved silently. She was halfway to the treeline when he de-rezzed her.
“Frak, frak, frak!” Tad was shouting as Haidee pulled off her holoband. He’d turned over her coffee table and was pacing the short length of her main room, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“I’m frakking de-rezzed. I’ll never live this down,” she screamed. She threw her holoband at him and it hit him in the chest just above where the deadwalker had caught him. Tad fumbled, but caught the holoband. He snapped it in half and threw it back at her.
Haidee stared at the pieces of her holoband lying in her lap.
“What the frak is wrong with you?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” he said and fled from her apartment.
“How do you like to sit?” Haidee asked.
“On the floor,” he said.
“Then let’s do it in the living room.”
There were only two rooms to her apartment anyhow. Inviting him into her bedroom when she had learned his name just a few hours earlier felt like too much.
She put her coffee cup down on the coffee table next to her holoband. Tad sat down on the floor. He was still wearing his work uniform. It was wrinkled and there were spots of grease along the front.
“Before we go in, you need some background on the game,” Haidee said as they settled in. “There was a flood. This whole valley filled with water. The water incubated some sort of virus. It makes people rabid until they die. The water’s gone down now, but most of the people are dead. Live players are the leftover townspeople. You don’t just de-rez in The Flood, you become one of the dying. Then it’s a race to infect other players before your time runs out. It’s all about survival.”
Tad rolled his eyes at her.
“I’ve played V-World games before. Let’s just go.”
“Fine.”
Haidee laid back on the couch. When she was sure he was ready, she slipped on her holoband and waited for the game to boot.
They were in a forest. The freezing early morning air was too much and Haidee broke into a coughing fit. There was no need to really breathe or any reason for a heart beat in V-World, but any chance to cause pain to the player was taken. Tad smacked her on the back, trying to get her to shut up. It would do them no good if one of the other players got to them before they got to the deadwalker.
“Usually the game doesn’t put you down this far up,” she said once her breathing had evened out.
“Where’s the deadwalker?”
“He moves around, but he’s usually in the town.”
She offered him a pair of gloves from her pack. When he didn’t take them, Haidee put them on, then put her pack back on. Between them, they had no weapons. There were no weapons coded into the game. The smart players set traps and stayed ahead of the dying and other pursuers. Less fortunate live players fought with anything at hand.
“We’ll have to go down into the town to find him. There aren’t a lot of players on now, but the animals are out.”
“There are animals?” Tad asked as he followed Haidee down.
“Wolves.”
There was no trail but she seemed sure of her path. There was no moon, and the stars seemed to swirl above. Each time he looked up, they seemed to have rearranged themselves. There was enough light to see, but just barely. Haidee guided him, careful to show him where to place his feet in places where the slope was especially steep.
“You don’t come back as one if you snap your neck. Any way you kill yourself just puts you out of the game for good,” she warned him.
“I’ve got it.”
As they approached the town, Haidee‘s steps were more deliberate and she spoke in hushed tones.
“If you see the deadwalker, you better run for cover,” she said as they came up behind a row of houses. “He doesn’t take prisoners.”
“I know how to play V-World games, Haidee.”
“You’ve never played with someone like this deadwalker before. He doesn’t pretend to let you escape. The deadwalker just de-rezzes you.”
Haidee held out her hand to stop him. She made no sound, just inched forward until they were up against a tree. There was something moving off in the distance. Something walked toward them, quiet, on all fours. It had to be a wolf. There were no other animals coded into the game. It kept coming closer, enough that she could hear it panting before it paused, and turned away again.
When she could no longer hear it, Haidee stepped out from behind the tree.
“That was weird. Usually if you’re within a few hundred feet they’ll get you, even if they can’t see you.”
“Then we’re lucky.”
Or the deadwalker’s frakking with the game, Haidee thought. She said nothing and continued down into the valley.
They had to run from the end to the treeline to the back wall of one of the buildings. Tad took an easy lead, but slowed down when he noticed that Haidee was falling behind.
The town was little more than a dozen buildings clustered together. A radio crackled with the day’s pyramid scores as they crept past a window, keeping close to the walls for cover. It seemed that the town was dead. They had not seen any undead or live their whole way down into the valley, and the lack of foot prints in the half frozen mud did not promise any companionship or diversion. When they came to the main street, they stood in the shadows for some time. Haidee crouched and pointed up and across, to the town’s general store.
“How do you know?” Tad whispered.
“Just do.”
They crept across the street to hide in the alley between the store and a home that sat beside it. The lights were on in the store, and positioned beneath a side window, she could hear someone moving around inside.
“That has to be him,” she whispered.
He took a peek in the window, but quickly ducked down again. Tad closed his eyes and leaned against the side of the building. Haidee watched the street for any sign of the deadwalker coming after them. She was not prepared for Tad to stand up and walk around to the front of the store, leaving her alone there.
It was insane. He was insane, and she cursed herself for not noticing before this. She crawled around the front of the store, keeping low and close to the walls. Haidee was just in time to watch Tad kick the door in and run in.
“Don’t,” she screamed, but he was already gone.
She stayed on her hands and knees, just outside the front door, waiting for the unmistakable sound of de-rezzing.
“I’m not here to frak with you. I just want to know if you know where a girl is. She’s a deadwalker like you. Her name’s Tamara,” Tad said
“I’m the only deadwalker,” the deadwalker replied.
The sound of Tad being de-rezzed made her skin crawl, but there was no time to hesitate. She started to crawl away from the door. If she was lucky, she would be able to make it to the treeline and be free. Haidee dropped her pack in the shadows of the store and took off for the mountain at a sprint. The deadwalker moved silently. She was halfway to the treeline when he de-rezzed her.
“Frak, frak, frak!” Tad was shouting as Haidee pulled off her holoband. He’d turned over her coffee table and was pacing the short length of her main room, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“I’m frakking de-rezzed. I’ll never live this down,” she screamed. She threw her holoband at him and it hit him in the chest just above where the deadwalker had caught him. Tad fumbled, but caught the holoband. He snapped it in half and threw it back at her.
Haidee stared at the pieces of her holoband lying in her lap.
“What the frak is wrong with you?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” he said and fled from her apartment.
Caprica ©2010, Syfy. A Division of NBC Universal.
Beginning of Line is a fan site with no affiliation to Caprica, Syfy, or NBC Universal. You should totes know that.
And "Those Who Live and Die For the Game" belongs to Lotte Somerset. No, the characters aren't hers, and she can't get paid for it, but if you want to reprint it anywhere, it'd be nice if you asked.
Beginning of Line is a fan site with no affiliation to Caprica, Syfy, or NBC Universal. You should totes know that.
And "Those Who Live and Die For the Game" belongs to Lotte Somerset. No, the characters aren't hers, and she can't get paid for it, but if you want to reprint it anywhere, it'd be nice if you asked.
