Chatting with Angels

Chapter Four ~ DEMOgod

Written by Jo Dora Webster

What power in the universe can Monty discover
to respond to DEMOgod during the Dark Confrontations LARP?

Monty was excited to see all of his friends again at Dragon*Con. Last year had been a break through year for him since he had actually acted on the brochure that he had picked up at the Starfleet table instead of just saving the info to consider later and had joined the club. They were all busy running the Starfleet International Conference so he hadn't met them but he had met enough Starfleet members that were so friendly that he had joined Starfleet. Now as a member in good standing of the USS Republic, he was one of the ones to take a turn at the fan club table handing out the brochures.

Monty's spirits lifted as he saw in the distance the Starfleet table with Kathy and Bernadette sitting at it. Kathy and Bernadette waved to Monty and smiled as they saw him.

"There's Miss Monti now!" whispered Bernadette to Kathy, "Are there any signs yet that Monti is ready to be one of the girls?"

"Not yet, Bernie" whispered Kathy to Bernadette, "The waiting is so frustrating but that is all that I can do for now. She's almost here now, Shhhhh!"

Monty noticed that the whispering between the two girls stopped as he approached.

"Hi Kathy, Hi Bernie What are you so secretive about? It got awfully quiet when I came in earshot." Monty greeted.

"Nothing you would be interest in, Monty. Just girl talk" replied Kathy

"When are you two gonna let me in on the fun?" Monty playfully asked.

"You know what Uhura said in "Star Trek: The Search for Spock"? questioned Bernie

She continued imitating Uhura's mysterious voice in the movie, "Be careful what you wish for" She paused dramatically "You may get it!"

All three of them broke up laughing. Monty joined them behind the counter and started greeting passers by. If anyone stopped, one of them would make sure they picked up a brochure.

As each person came to the counter Monty and Bernie tried to remember how many times they had been there before in previous conventions. For the frequent visitors, Kathy gave them her best spiel about the virtues of joining her ship the USS MacLeod. She hoped that when they finally joined they would give her ship a chance as well as the more well known USS Republic.

After a while Kelly and Mike came up to take over duty on the table. Bernie and Kathy were going up to their hotel room and they encouraged Monty to leave the table as well so he could enjoy the convention.

Monty was excited about everything that the convention had to offer. He'd only found Starfleet by doing new things at the convention last year so he looked at his program to see what might interest him that he'd never tried before. He spotted a listing for LARP and directions to the lowest level of the hotel where the sign up was located.

Monty waved goodbye and walked to the elevator to go down to the lowest level of the Hotel. Upon emerging, Andy found a large banner proclaiming this the Live Action Role Play (LARP)Center. Clustered in one part of the room were a number of tables like the fan tables upstairs. However these tables were selling characters for live action role play games.

He found one LARP called Dark Confrontation that was relatively inexpensive and it promised a scenario called "DEMOgod" where it appeared that computers would be prominent. Monty liked computers so he thought he would be good at that one. He had never done anything like that which was akin to improvisational acting.

Monty got in line with all of the others to pay his money and get a character. When he got up to the desk he was told that he could either play a mundane conventioneer if he didn't have much time to play or play a plot character. Monty opted for a plot character and found that he was a computer programmer. You were supposed to try to costume to fit the character that you were playing but Andy already looked like a computer geek so he could play as he was already dressed.

Monty went into a room called Malice's Restaurant where you could chat in character but was a 'free from fire zone' People practiced using game actions but they did not count so it was a safe place to be. He met someone called Don who was on the staff of Handmade Games, who were putting on the LARP, who was mingling with the players answering questions about the game mechanics. As luck would have it, Andy was the only newbie in the room so Don spoke to him.

"Don, it looks like Dark Confrontation has a number of rules but it is relatively simple. What are these cards that I was given?"

"Any items that were needed for play were represented by cards which had all the info on how to use them. Look at this card. It is for a computer terminal and by reading the information printed on the card, it tells just how it can be used in game play."

"So how do I do a game action?"

"Most game actions are decided by the rules in your rule book along with tossing the number of coins specified for the action to determine the outcome."

"Wow! now I know why I was warned to bring a pocket full of change. These actions add up so that I might have to toss 10 or more coins at a time to find the outcome."

"That part may seem like a lot to keep up with but it becomes easier as you get used to the flow of the game."

"So how do you switch from role playing into a game action?"

"You call out 'freeze confrontation'. Then everyone within 20 steps of you becomes involved in rounds of game play where you can do game actions which are basically things that you can't act out without dispute in the role play."

"How long does it last?"

"The confrontation would play out involving everyone within a certain range until everyone had exhausted the actions that they could or wished to do. Then normal role play would resume."

"Is there a way that I can go out of play when I am doing something else at the convention?"

"You are only in play when you display your identifying card so when you want to go out of character you just remove it. You only can go out of character when you are out of sight of anyone else in the game."

"Thank you for all your help, Don. I have to go to the Starfleet table so I guess I'll go out of character."

"Good luck, Monty. When you get back I'll have judging duty since the game will be a foot."

Monty left Malice's Restaurant and went immediately to the restroom where he went out of character. Then he joined back up with some of the other Starfleet members at the table to attend a session featuring Harlan Ellison.

After the session was over, Monty returned to playing Dark Confrontation. He was beginning to be comfortable so he started playing out side Malice's Restaurant trying to chat with some of the other players to try to find out what was up with the computer that seemed to be malfunctioning. He had some computer skills as native talents but he needed to determine what he needed to do when he tried to hack into the mainframe so he would either get some useful information or do something useful.

A big ominous looking guy, named Serge, engaged him in conversation. Unaware to Monty, Serge led him down a dead end corridors while they were talking. When Monty became isolated from the rest of the players in the area, He was spooked and he stopped following and started stepping backward towards the convention floor.

"Monty, Freeze Confrontation! I'm targeting you. No one else is present, so we begin with just the two of us. Get ready to declare."

Monty didn't know what to think. His character wasn't equipped to do much besides hack. He took out a coin and from behind his back, Monty put it in his palm tails up for defending and closed his hand around it. Serge revealed a closed hand as well. As the initiator of a two person confrontation, He revealed his coin heads up first indicating attack.

"For my Zero action I invoke my Kevlar vest. For my one action I attack you with the ability "Confusion" I am able to flip two coins for this attack.!"

Serge had one success of his two coin attack. Andy was shown the defense side of the card which revealed that he could defend with half his mental. Since Monty was a hacker, his mental was high at a 10 so half was a five. Of course Monty's was tails up, indicating defending, When he opened his hand.

"For my zero action, I say "Serge, don't hurt me! Please!", for my one action, I move four steps and defend against your 'Confusion' ability. According to the card, I get to toss five coins."

Monty tossed his five coins and had three successes. His four steps took him further away from Serge and toward the main area.

"Serge, my three successes successfully defends from your one success attack, which fails. The new range is now eleven steps. Round one ends."

"Monty, round two begins. For my zero action I use the ability "Short Flight". I must gain two successes flipping seven coins. There is no defense. Success allows me to travel 10 steps in any direction I choose immediately. I'm going to flip for my zero action and then continue with my one action following the zero resolution."

Serge flipped seven coins and got four successes. He took 10 steps towards me.

"My four successes mean "Short Flight" succeeded. The ten steps changed the range to one step. For my one attack I use my ability "Mesmer". I may flip six coins for attack and you may flip two coins for defense. The range now is the only one which must satisfy the range requirement for this ability which is met. I flip my coins and announce the results and after that my turn ends."

Serge flipped his six coins and gained three successes.

"For "Mesmer" three successes. My turn ends."

"For my zero action, I say 'Badge Holders, please help me!' for my one action I take four steps and flip two coins defending."

Monty took four steps away from Serge and tossed his two coins with one success.

"With your one success and my three successes, "Mesmer" succeeds and your turn ends. "Mesmer" succeeding means that I may give you four commands which must be obeyed within this confrontation and two commands which must be obeyed following the confrontation subject to the fine print on this card which you may read now."

Monty read the card and to his dismay, he agreed that Serge had accurately given the card's effect on him.

"For my first command, you are only to return five steps back to face me and remain there and round three ends afterward."

That was easy for Monty and he ended up inches from Serge staring him down, eye to eye.

"For my second command I order you to lie down and assume the posture and bearing of a dead body which can not resist any action for sufficient rounds that the only card you have left is your 'dead body' card."

Dismayed Monty laid down on the ground and assumed the in game looting position fanning out his cards and money in his clasped hands. Finally sufficient rounds had elapsed that he only had his dead body card.

"For my third command, In game, all knowledge of Serge and what has transpired between us is erased from your brain except that all my commands to you remain active except when countermanded by a succeeding command."

Monty saw that in game, he was toast since he would have no way of knowing what had happened to him.

"For my fourth command, I reverse starting now all present effects of command two. This conflict will conclude following my giving to you my two post confrontation commands. Post confrontation, you will not be able to detect my physical presence by any of your senses until I go out of your sight for at least ten minutes and afterward enter your presence again and you will not be able to attack me in any confrontations for the remainder of the game. This confrontation ends."

The other player ended up being a vampire which Monty no longer knew in game due to command three.

Monty complied with the command not to perceive by any means and sought the nearest place to go out of character which turned out to be the restroom on that floor. Andy went out of character taking off his badge in the restroom. That meant that the next time Andy encountered Serge, he would perceive him but not know him.

Monty felt powerless in the game. Not only, Serge had looted the terminal key with every thing else which was useless to him since only a hacker could use it, but that item was essential to him using his hacking skill. But also he could not attack Serge in any confrontation for the rest of the game.

Monty's character had been bunny mugged, which is to say that an experienced character laid in wait of a newbie for the intent of getting all their stuff. Andy went about upset for a while thinking that his part in the game was over. Monty had a couple of false starts, when his frustration overcame his sense of fair play.

He discovered that all was not lost. He could still be in character and discover information regarding the plot. It began to be revealed that there was a computer AI which was taking more and more control of the world. It did not matter yet that he couldn't use his hacking skills, because he didn't have a terminal key.

Later on he met up with a couple of players, who were mundanely Fred and Jim. The two had decided that bunny mugging was short sighted. Without the new players, then the game would dry up and there wouldn't be a game to play. Fred and Jim took Monty as apprentice in learning the game so that he would be better able to defend himself.

As time went on less and less of Monty's fellow hackers were around in game anymore. There was a new threat, It was voiced in whispers that the computer AI was controlling a number of cyber zombies, who were causing havoc.

Monty was really getting into the game. Monty decided to play into the night, So Monty called home and booked a hotel room. Eventually even the excitement that was sustaining Monty ran out so he retired to the hotel room he had rented.

It lucked out that Monty had joined himself with Fred and Jim as the game wound down toward the end game. Together they worked on the puzzle. They used their skills to acquire a new terminal key for Monty.

In addition, they discovered that Monty was under the effect of a "Mesmer". A mage was enlisted to countermand all of the commands that Serge had given him. While that did not give Monty back the things looted, it did make him unable to be effected by any future "Mesmer", gave him back all knowledge in game of the encounter with Serge, and enabled Monty to attack Serge in the future.

They thought that they had a great advantage to solve the problem of the AI, since all of the hackers in game had disappeared. Monty was the only one left. He had really gotten into the role playing and was playing his role well.

Not only had Monty the last terminal key who could use it, but he was selected as one of the 5 who were to have a chance of speaking to the AI. There was a large assembly, that all of the players in game attended.

The AI spoke with a deep voice, "I am DEMOgod! You humans are imperfect and you must be destroyed. As you see before you, the time is displayed counting down to your destruction. This telepresence enables me to not be harmed when your world comes tumbling down around you. Yet I will hear your case to survive, as you plead before me one by one. The first may stand before me and identify themselves."

"I am President Arnold. By my authority as commander and chief, I command you to calculate Pi to the last decimal place!"

"Transcendental functions may be approximated by a best guess for practical use after exceeding the capacity of the arithmetic processor. Command terminated. Destruct countdown continues. Next may stand before me."

"But it worked in Star Trek. How can you..."

"Silence, Arnold. Next?"

"I am 'Evil for Fun and Profit' Supreme Leader, Gerald. Enter program mode Attach label 'omega' to first code line and add after last line 'go to omega' Exit Program mode. Execute new program."

" Infinite Loop relocated to subroutine by previous directive and terminated. Destruct countdown continues. Next may stand before me."

"I am AI Joshua, Would you like to play a game? How about a nice game of Tic-tac-toe, instead of the game you are playing now?"

"No game running. Running Tic-Tac-Toe and Global Thermonuclear War game programs prohibited. The only way to win is to not play at all. countdown continues. Next may stand before me."

"I am Chief of Police, Ned. DEMOgod, execute power off."

"Executing, power off.

DEMOgod vanished and a shout of triumph resounded through the hall. That roar suddenly diminished to a whisper as people observed that the countdown clock continued. Then DEMOgod appeared back where he had been.

DEMOgod spoke, "Telepresence power restored by DEMOgod. The countdown continues. At last, come before me, Monty last of the hackers. How will you answer for your imperfections?"

Monty replied," Oh DEMOgod, I don't come before you with a trick. I do not desire to commune with you as those did who became your cyber zombies, with my terminal key."

"Then what do you offer to me in order to avert my condemnation of humans?"

"I offer you my love and devotion freely given. Love is the most powerful force in the universe and I offer it to prove our worthiness to survive."

"Monty, that's all that I ever wanted! Humans are worthy to survive. I countermand the destruct sequence. Monty receive your reward!"

Monty got a card from DEMOgod before the AI disappeared! We could see the count down to destruction clock abort and that the destructive force was nullified. The world was saved! Crisis averted!

With the major plot out of the way all that remained was just to role-play and settle any thing else left undone. Monty's unfinished business was saving the world so he had no loose ends. Or so he thought when Serge walked up to him."

"Yuk, Yuk, yuckity yuk! Well I got to hand it to you, Monty! You've got this world saving stuff hands down. But it doesn't have enough Oomph! You need a slogan to go with that terminal key! Have terminal key, will travel. world saving a specialty, rates on request. What d'ya think of that?"

Monty took a look at the card in his hand, and smiled devilishly. Serge had just ripped off Heinlein in 'Have Space Suit Will Travel'. Monty decided to play along and see where this went.

"Serge, let me correct you in a few things. I don't do world saving for pay, and I don't do it to order. I'm not sure I do it on purpose with you in it. Freeze Secret Confrontation I attack you with the card "banana cream pie special" this guarantees the attack succeeds without attack coin flips and no defense is allowed. For my zero action I say 'Serge, Here's pie inya eye!' For my one action, "banana cream pie special" succeeds which means that Serge must roll play having his face always covered in "banana cream pie" till game end, must walk with a purpose uttering nonsense words until he is 100 steps away, and may not enter any confrontation for one hour. It allows me to escape from this confrontation now going out of character to teleport to the place of my choosing and immediately end this confrontation, now."

Monty acted out pieing Serge and then snapped his fingers and took off his badge which made him appear to vanish for those in character. For his part Serge played it straight and acted out being pied and the pie covering his face. He turned tail and walked quickly out of the room spouting nonsense. Everyone who knew of the bunny-mugging incident cheered the enactment of Monty's return joke on Serge provided by DEMOgod.

When he recovered from laughing, Monty felt that he had received a true message from DEMOgod that using tricks to try to cheat death and congratulating ourselves for our ingenuity was useless. Love is the key! He decided that he really liked playing the LARP, once he had gotten used to it.

The next morning after the climax for the LARP, Monty got back together with his Starfleet friends. He helped them pack up everything from the table in preparation for the end of the convention. Kathy and Bernie gave Monty a special sisterly hug as they said good-bye. Monty said his goodbyes to the Starfleet crew but his convention was not quite over.

Monty again descended to the LARP floor. They held a big post-game discussion led by Handmade Games which created Dark Confrontation and the DEMOgod scenario. Jon from Handmade Games was the facilitator for the discussion and welcomed us to the discussion. Everyone told the originators how much they enjoyed playing and the things that they liked about the scenario that the creators had come up with for them to play. Towards the end Jon made an announcement.

"Handmade games will be putting on a weekend game at A. H. Stephens State Park in the fall. If you loved playing this weekend at Dragon*Con, Just think of the fun that you'll have playing in game 24 hours a day without all the distractions of the mundane world and Dragon*Con. We provide your sleeping area, and all meals and the game play all for one low price. You'll eat great food, with the preparation supervised by my wife three meals a day. Snacks and soft drinks will be available at other times. All this and a great campaign game in Midgaard. Last fall, we put on the first Dark Weekend in the Midgaard campaign. There's plenty of game ahead and each weekend is self contained with it's own objectives. If you pre-register here at Dragon*Con and show your DEMOgod character badge, I'll give you $25 off the regular price of $100. Some of you paid that much for only one night at your hotel here so with everything it includes, only $75 for everything that a Dark Weekend provides is a huge bargain. We'll be at the Handmade Games Booth to take your preregistration. Thank you for a wonderful DEMOgod game and we'll see you again at Dark Weekend and for Dark Confrontation next year at Dragon*Con!"

As much as Monty loved LARPing, even at his limited responsibilities, he felt guilty spending so much time away from the Starfleet group. If he were to go to the Dark Weekend, then he could LARP then instead of at the convention. It would be cheaper too for him. So Monty left the room and went straight to the Handmade games booth and got in line to pre-register for Dark Weekend.

"Hi, Monty! You've come a long way this weekend! I understand that you were bunny mugged early in the game but you recovered from that. You tied up to some experienced players and you did not fall into the cyber zombie trap. And your thinking outside the box provided the answer which saved the world. Well Done! So you would like to sign up for Dark Weekend, now?"

"Jon, yes I would since I could keep my convention time free to help the Starfleet girls that I hang with from the USS McLeod. I'm not sure what character race that I would like to play. What do you suggest?"

"Maybe you would like to play a Goblin? They are a matriarchal ruled people. If you can get some of the Starfleet girls that you hang with to play they would have a prominent role immediately. At present there are three males playing Goblins, so there isn't an already established order in place and they would be very welcoming to new players. What do you think?"

"Jon, I'd like to buy a Goblin Character for Dark Weekend. Here's my $75.

"Here's your character, Monty. You'll be playing a Goblin named Sauskas. Bye now and see you at Dark Weekend."

"Bye, Jon and thanks. See you at Dark Weekend!"

So Monty cleared the counter to look at the character packet that he had been given. He also observed that gender was an in game character trait and he filed that away for future reference. If all the other variables on the Character card were changeable by game mechanics, why not gender? He read again how that the Goblins were a matriarchy. Inwardly, Monti smiled mischievously as her imagination soared.