Velveteen Read online

  Something serious was going on up ahead.

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  Jessie’s Game

  GAMELAND Book 1, Season 2

  (coming fall 2013)

  The Arc technician had been telling her about the state-of-the-art VR setup when she heard the whisper: jessie

  “It comes complete with—”

  “Shh!” The harshness of her whisper cut him off like a scythe through dense grass. He gave her a puzzled look.

  “Did you hear that?” she asked.

  “Hear what?”

  She cocked her head to the side, frowning. But the voice didn’t repeat itself.

  Several seconds passed with neither of them returning to the setup. The tech — she glanced at the tag on his ArcTech shirt and was reminded that his name was Tony — raised an eyebrow at her and fidgeted.

  He probably thinks I’m some kind of nutcase, Jessie thought to herself, hearing voices that aren’t there. Actually considering the type of clientele he was used to dealing with, she’d probably fit right in with them.

  “Nothing,” she finally said, shaking her head as if to dislodge a bug. “It was nothing. I just thought I heard someone say something.”

  Tony-the-Tech cleared his throat and looked pointedly around them at the unadorned sound-deadening walls. Even their voices seemed to be swallowed up in the room, leaving no trace of echo. He checked the system’s mic in his ear, adjusting the volume. Shrugged.

  Jessie watched this with a mix of confusion and apprehension. She was afraid to tell him what she’d heard hadn’t come from the device in his ear. It hadn’t even come from anywhere outside of her own head. Worst of all, it was a voice she recognized from her terrible ordeal inside Gameland, from someone she’d watched die.

  Maybe it was her subconscious starting to chicken out.

  She wished she could oblige.

  “Maybe there’s a glitch with the equipment?” she said, hopefully. “Or in The Game’s programming.”

  “Ha!” Tony barked in amusement. “Not likely. This gear is fresh out of the wrappers. And I happen to know that QC checked it a half dozen times once we got your specs. As far as the codex, it’s foolproof.”

  This, she happened to know, wasn’t true.

  He proceeded to babble on about the care which had gone into the gear’s manufacture and customization for her planned entry into The Game, but she found herself drifting, only faintly aware of him as he proceeded with the checklist, marking each step’s successful passing on the computer’s screen. She found herself straining to hear, not just her ears, but beyond the limits of sound, beyond the limits of her conscience even. But the voice did not repeat itself.

  She’d almost convinced herself that it had just been her overwrought imagination, the consequence of a guilty conscience for all the terrible things she’d seen and done in the past few weeks — the people who had died or been lost because of her decisions when they were trapped inside the very same arcade she was about to break into a second time — when the voice came again, once more whispering her name.

  Jessie’s body spasmed wildly and she pulled away from the tech with a choking gasp, her eyes wide with fright. She scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping over the low bench which spanned the length of the wall.

  “Look,” the technician said, managing to look both amused and impatient, “it’s understandable that you’re nervous. Most new Operators get cold feet. It’s a butt-load of cash to be dropping all at once. And on a Player you’ve never even seen before . . . .” His voice trailed off as he shook his head. She could hear him muttering into his chest: “Never heard of anything like it before in my life.”

  “I’m not nervous,” she snapped, suddenly forgetting her fright.

  And why should she be nervous? It hadn’t been her money that had paid for the equipment or the million-dollar entrance fee. She didn’t know whose money it had been, to tell the truth, though she did have her suspicions, but it didn’t matter anyway. Only one thing mattered, and that was getting back into Gameland.

  “I don’t give a crap about the money,” she said.

  He looked her up and down, appraising her in her skintight white cotton bodysuit with its thousands of invisible embedded electrodes, and suddenly she felt as naked as if she was wearing nothing at all.

  “Yeah, makes sense, I guess. New Operators — ones who pay themselves — usually opt for the entry-level package, not the platinum. Your dad like some kind of politician or something?”

  She snorted. If this poor sap knew the truth of who she was and why she needed to get into The Game, he’d have gone straight to Arc’s security and had her arrested. What she was planning wasn’t exactly legal. Hell, if she got caught, this time there’d be no clemency. They’d conscript her in a flash, just like they had Micah, and with her luck she’d probably end up scraping shit off sewer pipes.

  “Just finish with the setup already,” she growled, feeling her face flush.

  The guy chuckled smugly to himself.

  “When do I get to see my Player?”

  “You can see him right now,” he answered, and he leaned over and tapped the screen. The image with her specs on it folded neatly away and was replaced by an image of the zombie who was to be her avatar in The Game.

  When Jessie saw his face, her knees finally gave way.

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  THANK YOU FOR READING

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Cassie’s story might have remained forever untold if not for the many GAMELAND fans who encouraged me to record it. For their unwavering faith in me, I will always remain grateful. I would especially like to thank my colleagues at the DREGS OF SOCIETY writers group for their input on the book and cover design (Charlotte and Bryden, your help really took this to the next level). And an extra-special shout-out goes to Ayla for her reminders not to dehumanize Cassie or turn Ben Nicholas into a monster. I think— I hope I managed to avoid doing so.

  Once more, my thanks to the devoted staff of Brinestone Press, who helped put this book together and get it out to you.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Saul Tanpepper is a writer of speculative fiction for teens and adults. A former molecular geneticist originally from Upstate New York, he now calls Northern California home.

  If you enjoyed Velveteen, please check out his other short stories, available individually or in collected works, as well as his GAMELAND titles. All are available in digital and print formats (check my website for availability).

  More information about the author and his writings may be found at Saul’s:

  Website

  Facebook page

  Twitter page

  Other Titles

  by Saul Tanpepper

  GAMELAND series

  8 individual episodes & series omnibus

  Print and digital

  Infected:

  Hacked Files from the GAMELAND Archive

  Collections

  Non-fiction

  For complete publication list and availability, visit his website

  Velveteen

  by Saul Tanpepper

  Copyright © 2013 by Saul Tanpepper

  All rights reserved.

  June 13, 2013 by Brinestone Press, San Martin, CA 95046

  C
over credit and interior design K.J. Howe Copyright © 2013

  PUBLISHER’S NOTE

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  LICENSE NOTES

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  http://www.brinestonepress.com

  Tanpepper, Saul (2013-06-13). Velveteen

  Brinestone Press Digital Edition (rv150102)

  For more information about this and other titles by this author:

  [email protected]

  The Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams

  Public domain work

  Front and end quote plates design by K.J. Howe