Chatting with Angels

Chapter Five ~ DEMOgod

By Sasha Zarya Nexus

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.