บท 5: 005 Opening his Eyes to Reality
James cried day after day until he ran out of tears to cry. He did not eat nor sleep. He just laid in his bed staring into the distance with his lifeless eyes.
Seeing James's condition made Sebastian's and Sarah's chests hurt and feel hollow. Sarah could not bear it.
She had tried for days to get James to eat. She made all kinds of food to coax him into eating. Some were rich in taste while others bland. She wanted anything to work.
James refused to eat or even acknowledge her presence. Any food that did make it into his mouth fell right out. He didn't try to chew nor swallow the food. In fear that he would die from starvation they had to use the nutrition packs.
While Sarah was working with James; Sebastian was working on the capsule. He wanted to implement the relic into the capsule as soon as possible. John had designed the machine well. All he had to do was plug-and-play.
There was a spot for the relic in the cockpit of the capsule. Sebastian placed the relic into the spot and connected all the wires up. He had to make a few adjustments here and there but he integrated the relic after two days of work.
The last step was to fill the cockpit with a gel. As the gel was poured in the relic glowed green like on the plane. It infused its powers into the gel giving it restorative properties. While its power was not nearly as strong as it was while on the plane it still contained plenty of power to easily enrich the gel.
The relic looked slightly damaged compared to when he originally saw the first three pieces. He figured the lightning strike had something to do with the damage and the weaker output.
"Sebastian, what do we do? James is not being receptive at all. He might as well be in a coma."
"It is disheartening to see him like this. Especially with the sacrifice his family made for him."
Sarah was still confused on why Sebastian created a forged letter. "Why did you modify the letter? You removed the parts about Atlantis. He deserves to know."
"You can see the state he is in. He is not ready to get the full truth. We have to get him stable enough to comprehend just what his family did for him. Until he does that we cannot give him the real letter nor show him what his family discovered about Atlantis."
Sarah sighed, "Maybe you are right. What are we going to do though? [Broken Chains] is being released today and he is in no state to play. Should we just load him into the capsule and force a login? The sooner he plays the sooner he will be cured."
"We can't do that. He will just be more confused. He might not even play the game in result. I think it is time for some tough love."
Sebastian walked over to the lifeless James.
*Slap*
James felt a stinging sensation on his check but it was not enough to knock him out of his trance. He was still lost about losing his family. He did not know what he would do now. The only reason why he was still alive was his family's love. Now he doesn't have that to rely on. He was conflicted about living or committing suicide. He was hung up on the final sentence his family left him. They want him to live on.
*Slap*
Another stinging sensation appeared.
"Sebastian stop! Don't hit him anymore! I beg you! The boy is in enough pain!"
Clearly annoyed, Sebastian continued this time without a slap, "JAMES! Snap out of it even just for a little while! You can mope around all you want but you must see what your family left behind!"
"Huh? Left behind?"
James's eyes cleared up a little when he heard what Sebastian said.
"Yes, your father and the rest of your family left you their lives' work. Quite literally! They died so they can complete their work."
His eyes cleared up even more now, "Their legacy that the letter talked about? Show it to me."
Relieved that he was responsive Sebastian and Sarah wheeled James to a large lab room. There were futuristic machines, computers, and other equipment all over the room. They are had wires, cables, tubing, and piping running all over. Everything appeared to be connected together, especially connected to the machine in the middle.
James looked annoyed. He scoffed at the machine. "Is that not just a tricked-out [Breaking Chains] gaming capsule? I thought you said it was my family's legacy."
Sarah was about to tell him off but Sebastian cut her off.
Before Sebastian could explain further James looked interested and changed his tone to a calmer one. "Wait a minute! Wheel me over to the capsule. It is different from the gaming one."
They were surprised but also glad. They could tell that a bit of the old James came out with that request. It fit the stories and descriptions his father used to talk about all the time. They knew James was a calm, smart and perceptive person.
Now that he was closer he got a better lock at the capsule. "Hmm, the gaming capsule does not have liquid in the cockpit. Why did my dad design it with gel... It looks like the liquid from DBZ that Goku was floating in while being healed for the Frieza fight... The gel is glowing too, how strange. No wait… The glow looks like it originates from the circular shaped plate at the bottom of the cockpit."
Sebastian and Sarah were surprised at how quickly James gathered information.
"This circular plate is my family's legacy isn't it?"
"You really are his son. Yes, that is a relic from an ancient society that your family was studying."
"What other secrets was my family hiding from me?"
The couple was stumped. "What do you mean secrets? You know they would never lie to you."
"Lying by omission is still a lie in the end. While they did describe their adventures they choose to share truthfully but it seems like they actually left out a lot."
James needed to take a moment to calm down. "Sebastian, Sarah I need to apologize. I lost sight of who I was. My family loved me, I know that. However, I really need to know the truth. They would not lie to me without any good reason to."
They were happy seeing James as he is now. He had no cloudiness left in his eyes.
Sebastian asked for forgiveness as well, "We need to apologize as well. The letter you read was not completely real. I created a duplicate of the original and modified the copy to exclude some information. We knew it would be hard for you to take in too many things at once. I hope you will forgive us."
James just looked at the couple. While receiving his gaze they started to sweat under the pressure they felt. They both though that the apple does not fall far from the tree; James got his father's death stare for sure.
"How about we strike a deal. You tell me everything and I promise to eat and sleep properly. If you really feel the need to spoon feed it to me I will understand but it must be complete truth. No hiding anything about the topic."
They took in a breath of relief. The couple agreed to his proposal.
"Okay James, where do you want to begin?"
"Sebastian, I want to know what connection my family has with the company who is releasing [Breaking Chains]. This capsule is more high tech but is lacking the nutrition module. It is strange to me."
Sebastian was glad James wanted to start there. Internally he thought, 'That is easy to explain and it will be a good entry way to the full story.'
"It would be best for Sarah to explain that as she handled most of your father's business deals."
Sarah started her exposition, "Your father saw it as a good investment for your future. Since it is a VR game that was designed to be fully immersive he wanted you to have the best immersion possible. He believed that while playing the game your brain would develop the needed motor skills that you are lacking since birth. He said it was the final stage to curing you."
"What all did he invest, are there strings attached, and does the company expect more from the family?"
"Your father invested five billion dollars into the company. He improved the design of their game capsule twice. The first was to give the capsule better sync functionality and the second was to add the nutrition system. He also convinced the company to lift the time limit on the game so that you can remain in the game indefinitely if you so desired. He put a lot of faith in how the game will affect you."
She paused then continued, "As for the rest, the company does not expect anything else. The company does not know of your existence. In fact, the only people who know you exist outside those in this lab are the celebrities and theater groups. Your father made all of them sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) that ensured that his involvement would be kept secret." She did not bring up the fact that those people were also under constant surveillance to insure they kept their word. It was not time for James to learn about his father's ruthless side.
"Thank you Sarah for being transparent about the cooperation my father had with the gaming company. I only a few other questions but I have a feeling they are in Sebastian's specialty."
"What are they? I will answer to my best ability."
"Thank you. First things first, what is that relic and where did my family find it?"
Sebastian was hesitant, "Honestly, this was one of the questions I did not want to answer."
James showed a look of disappointment after hearing Sebastian.
"However, I will give you some bits of information as the whole thing would be too much."
Sebastian continued, "The relic used to be in four pieces. First your father found one of the pieces on an expedition to Europe. It was after that when your mother joined your father in the search for the others. Together they found the second fragment in South America. Then, after your sister graduated she joined your parents. The third piece came from Australia. Finally the last piece came from the unknown."
"What do you mean it came from the unknown?"
"Both Sarah and I have no clue precisely where each of the pieces were taken from. Your family was secretive, even to us. While they told us what countries that the first three pieces came from your family completely kept us in the dark about the final one. The only other people who knew the locations of the relics either died with your parents on that plane or died during the expedition."
"Died during the expeditions? Just how dangerous were they?"
"Well... Your family needed to find replacements for their expedition party every time they came back. From my count, 22 people died during the first three. Then, including your parents, all 28 participants died during the last one. At the crash site only five bodies were found. Your mom, dad, sister and the two pilots; we suspect that the rest died on site."
Hearing about the crash site made James feel a rush of sadness. Not only that, but the amount of people who died just so his family could find the relics and come back home made him feel sick.
"What of my family, did they ever return injured?"
Both Sarah and Sebastian were dead silent.
In a weak voice James asked again, "My family, did they ever return injured? Please I must know."
Since he promised they would be honest Sebastian reluctantly answered James's questions, "Yes, they did come back injured every time."
"How bad was it?"
"Through all the expeditions combined your father came back with cuts and bruises that would have covered 70% of his body. In one expedition your mother's face was cut so bad she was almost unidentifiable and from another one your sister almost completely lost her right leg. The technology your father invented used resources and knowledge your family found as they went. If not for technology being so great they would have not been able to continue their search. They were able to heal their wounds so well that you could never tell they lived a secret life.
Guilt was all James felt. The length his family went to just to cure him. He started to weep again.
Just when James was about to continue his questioning again Sebastian interrupted him.
"James, I don't want to keep this from you. The technology could heal most of their injuries it didn't heal all of them. The cut your mother experienced blinded her in one eye. Your sister had to give up dancing due to her leg injury. Finally some strange force prevented their internal injuries from healing properly. I theorize it has something do to with the ancient civilization's technology."
"Enough!" Unable to bare anymore James had to stop him. His emotions were in turmoil.
Gritting his teeth James asked his last question, "What does the relic do?"
Sebastian thought carefully the best way to explain. Should he give a full explanation or a quick one? He was conflicted. He could tell that James what on the edge of what he could handle.
"I will give you a quick explanation for now. If you want a more in-depth one later I will give it to you."
James only nodded his head in response.
"In short, the relic produces different kinds of healing properties. For example, the nutrition packs for the game capsules were created from water that was exposed to the energy from the first three relic pieces your family had. All you need is a single drop of the enriched water to convert a whole swimming pools worth of water. It can create an unlimited supply of itself. The longer the water was exposed to the relic pieces the higher the nutrition values became."
"So the game capsule's nutrition packs tiers are based on the water's exposure time then?"
"That is correct; your father provided a single drop of water for each tier of the packs. After that the company only needs to add it to the water they wish to enrich. As long as they have even a single drop left they can keep producing their nutrition packs."
It seemed like James was able to put two and two together. "So, since the gel is always in contact with the relic that means the gel is some of conduit for the relic's powers?"
"Also correct. If you were to compare the three pieces your parents had to the completed relic it would be like comparing a drop of water to the ocean. The enriched gel not only provides nutrition to those who are submerged in it but also provides a healing factor."
"Thank you, for now I want to go back to my room to let all of this information sink in completely. I have a lot of decisions to make."
"Wait!"
"Yes, Sarah?"
"[Broken Chains] is releasing later tonight. Don't you think we should prepare for it?"
"I will play tomorrow to at the latest a couple days from now. I need time."
"He is right, give him time to process. At the worst he will start a little late. From what I can tell from the game is that progressing will be brutal. Besides, his father only wanted him to play. He said nothing about him being the best."
Sarah was clearly displeased, "Fine! But James, you better do your research! Your father might not have expected anything out of you while in game but I do! Do not squander what your family gave you."
James feels like he can finally think now that he is in his nice and quiet room.
"So many secrets. I can feel that my family meant the best for me. I always thought something was off but I simple thought I was over thinking things."
"I will have to slowly get Sarah and Sebastian to tell me everything they know. I will get to the bottom of things. But for now let's take a look at this [Broken Chains] that everyone is talking about.
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