“But… Sang, you aren’t allowed to choose who is sacrificed for the greater good!” Van snapped. “You can’t look at a loss and say that it’s acceptable. Everyone should have their own choice!”
“But they don’t, Van,” Sang replied. She was growing a little heated, but Van knew this was a necessary intersection. “No one gets to choose how they go out.”
“It’s not about choosing how you die, it’s about choosing whether you want to die in the name of some cause.”
“I… I just don’t know,” Sang said. “I don’t know if I made the wrong choice. But now we’re standing here, alive and with more information to defeat Draco because of the decisions that I’ve made. I can’t say that this is ideal, but at least… at least good is coming out of it.”
“So where does that leave us then?” Van asked. “Because… because I don’t know if I can follow you in this anymore. I don’t know if I can follow someone who is willing to sacrifice other people. I know that I made the biggest mistake of my life when I left you behind, Sang. That’s something that I will always carry with me, and it’s something that will define how I make my choices from here on out. Even though it worked out in the end, I never want to do that to anyone again. So how can I follow someone who’s going against what I believe?”
Sang shrugged. “Look… that was the past. I’m not going to tell you that I deeply regret my choices, but I do feel guilty. Whether my actions were a necessity of war or if I was being excessive is something I’m going to have to sort out for myself. But in the meantime, I'll do what I can to make sure I don’t take such drastic actions without consulting you first. I don’t want this to come between us.”
Van looked at Sang. He honestly couldn’t tell whether she was trying to appease him or not. But did it matter? With everything that he had been involved in, how could he walk away from this job? Had she been bluffing, or was she serious? He had no idea. Everything inside of him was frustrated with the situation, but things had just been too intense for him to accurately judge the situation. Maybe she really had been under too much pressure to think straight. Between the drugs, the exhaustion, and the constant threat of death, it was impossible to figure out if Sang had been in her right mind. Then again, had he been in his own right mind?
“You know what, let’s just put this behind us,” Van said. “As long as you don’t go off the rails again, we’re fine. And, uh, you forgive me for leaving you behind, right?”
Sang looked at him with weary eyes and slowly nodded. “Of course, Van. You came back, and that’s all that matters. Sometimes we make poor decisions in the moment. What really matters is how we handle our choices afterwards, right?”
“Right,” Van said. “Now, come on, and let’s get yelled at by the government.”
They walked together in silence until they reached a large red door.
“Alright, now you’re probably used to the theatrics at this point,” Sang warned, “but just know that these guys are going to grill you hard.”
“I know, I know,” Van said as he put his hand against the door. “But at this point, I’ll say whatever it takes for me to get a few days off.”
They entered the room together to find a horde of people waiting for them. They were in all sorts of uniforms—some wore soldiers’ uniforms, others were dressed in suits. Van could see that there were nearly fifty people waiting for them. The room was similar to a courtroom, with seats placed on both sides of the room and a single podium in the center. Across from the podium were five men, sitting patiently at a table. One of them was Frederick, but Van didn’t recognize the rest of them.
“Will Mr. Van Vanyushin please step forward?” asked one of the men who’d been sitting across from the podium. He was wearing what looked like an army uniform. A placard that read Major General Connick was sitting on the table in front of him. No one else had a name placard.
Van slowly walked to the podium as the crowd settled down. Sang went off to the side and sat in a booth with a few other CIA agents who Van had casually encountered in the past.
“Van, please state the nature of your relationship with the CIA,” the major general asked.
“Oh, yes, sir. Uh, I’m an independent contractor, hired to navigate through a computer simulation.”
“And you have been navigating through this game for several months now, correct?” the general asked.
“Yes, sir,” Van replied. He found himself sweating a bit. It felt more like a press conference than a statement.
“Excellent. We have on record the sworn statements of Agent Sang Ngo in regard to the militant activity of a terrorist organization. You were part of the recovery team that acquired this data, is that correct?” The general waved to the right, bringing up a holographic screen of various pieces of the data that Van had fought so hard to recover.
“Uh, yes, sir, I was part of that team.”
“Thank you, Van,” Frederick said. “Now then, there has been discussion of aliens and extraterrestrial activity. However, we have no proof of such a thing. In light of that, this information that you have retrieved contains highly classified information. This information indicates that there is some kind of terrorist plot against both the United States and the rest of the free world. In our reports, Agent Sang mentioned you made contact with one of the terrorist leaders, a man by the name of Lemuel. In your own words, please explain to us what his purpose was.”
Van wrinkled his face as he looked at the large collection of people. They were all leaning forward, ready to listen intently to every single word that he had to say. He took a deep breath and began to share the story.
“Lemuel is part of a radical organization called Draco. They originally designed this game as a means to actively bring them into contact with individuals who they could recruit and radicalize. These radicalized individuals are known as Draco pros. Through threats or bribery, Draco was able to establish a network that has one and only one plan: to bring about destruction to the rest of the planet.”
“Why is that?” Frederick asked.
“They believe that their organization operates on a higher level than the rest of the world. They see the chaos, the anarchy, and the suffering of the planet, and believe they have a solution. They wish to seize political power by leveling all major governments in a concentrated effort.”
“And how have they managed to go undetected for so long?” a man in dark sunglasses who was on the far right of the table asked.
“Well, it would seem that since they operate exclusively within the Dragon Kings of the New World realm, no one would really be privy to that information. They recruit within the game, give orders within the game, and train people inside of the game.”
“The perfect terrorist training camp,” the major general said. “I’ve heard enough. Gentlemen, it would appear that Draco has become a serious thorn in our side. Now, I understand there is some discussion of aliens or whatnot, but I will make my opinion known right now, that I don’t believe a word of it. But what I do believe is that an organization of freedom hating sons of whores have gotten access to highly classified military documents.”
“I concur,” Frederick said. “While the subject of alien invasion or extraterrestrial influence remains to be unproven and a matter of conjecture at this point, it is undeniable that there is some powerful force working against the United States’ interests.”
“Indeed,” said the man in sunglasses. “It would appear that this threat goes beyond national security. Draco must be stopped. For good. Van, how would you recommend stopping them?”
“Well…” Van said as he glanced at Sang. She mouthed the words “I have no idea” to him. He took a deep breath and spoke. “Sirs, if I may, regardless of whether you believe in Draco being extraterrestrial, there is something that we must accept. They are hidden and nearly untouchable in the real world. However, in my recent exploits, Sang and I have discovered that Draco’s leadership structure operates in areas known as Designated Reality Zones within the game. These areas are designed to simulate the real-life experience of physical danger, hunger, and thirst. Several players have died in the real world due to injuries sustained within the DRZ. I know this because I was present.”