Virtually Criminal

By John Broughton

Virtually Criminal is a story of life in Detroit, Michigan, in the year 2053. A game is invented that lets you fight any living person at any time in history, any place in the world. This game and changes to the constitution have all but eliminated crime in the streets. Its a new society, a new day, but some things never changelike corruption in high places, greed, and organized crime. When Jasmines best friend is imperiled by crooked cops, a crooked judge, and a prosecutor, she has to enlist her allies in the game to save her friend from harm. It takes all of her skill, cunning, and a little help from her friends to take the fight to the enemy. Its on! Its for keeps!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 18, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514407714

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by John Broughton.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015915153

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This 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 any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 09/17/2015

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Acknowledgements

The Society Changing Game

My Best Friend

The Weekend

Trial and Error

The One Voted Least Likely To…

Making Plans

Bad Guys Make Plans Too!

Further Preparations

Twin Geeks

The Pep Talk

Seeing Red

The lion’s den

Furious!

Unnamed Chapter

Fighting With Erica?

Epilogue

Glossary

Introduction

The year is 2053. American society has changed markedly. Detroit has emerged from squalor and decay to vibrancy and prosperity. Laziness is not only shunned but has become illegal. Felony joblessness will cost people their voting rights, their 2nd Amendment rights and access to the games. It can land them in the welfare colony located in the Nevada desert.

A game was invented for people to act out their frustrations in life by fighting. This game allows people to battle anyone at anytime in history, in any place… Virtually. Jasmine and Erica are championship players in the game. In spite of improvements in law enforcement, there are still criminals. Street criminals are few, but organized crime and judicial corruption are still problems.

Erica is imperiled by corrupt officials who are connected to organized crime. Jasmine enlists her allies in the game and some local friends to rescue Erica. The enemy finds out that they chose the wrong people to mess with. The fight is on!

They go to war, with Jasmine as the commanding officer of a small motley army. Her unique background, skills and personality combined with those of her friends and allies give the enemy a fight like they’ve never known.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and

courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be

discouraged, for the Lord your God will be

with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:9

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Louis Tucker, Kristi Carpenter, Scott Westhoff, Shanna McCann, Natasha Dawes and Kimberly Sargent for their interest and enthusiasm for my stories. They have been very encouraging. Special thanks to Joyce Long and the Cherryvale Writers Club. They are good company and a very positive influence.

Saving the best for last: I thank God for giving me a peculiar imagination and thought process that, until recently, I didn’t think was good for much.

The Society Changing Game

I just love modern gaming! I am particularly pleased today as I have killed another recognized champion! I am one to be reckoned with! Oh! Allow me to introduce myself… I’m Jasmine. Anyway, by defeating Peril-Master2427 in the virtual time travel battle game, Wanna fight? Anytime, Any Place, I’ve shown them that I am no longer just an up and comer. It’s great! You go to the Game Centrum downtown to activate. You go into a game chamber and appear in whatever year and place you select. You can start with your choice of weapons from whatever a soldier, anywhere in the world would have been issued in that day. You have to kill opponents to take their weapons. The first kill is always the most difficult. It’s you and your weapons against them and whatever they have for weapons. Learning to fight against strange opponents and weapons is very dangerous. You must learn fast! Learning how to use a weapon you’ve acquired is another time when you are vulnerable. It’s common practice to either learn by watching the fights with those particular weapons on TV or if you are logged on in the game, to conceal yourself and watch others as they fight with the same weapons. The down side to the second strategy is that an enemy could sneak up on you while you are watching fights and kill you. The game employs anonymous players to do that. No registered player would backstab anyone. If they do, bang goes their reputation! Once you are confident with your new weapons, you come out of concealment and wait for an enemy to present himself. Calling out an opponent to meet for a prearranged fight is the most common practice.

Perhaps I’ve oversimplified things. A more detailed explanation is clearly indicated. First, you have to strip off your outer clothing to put on the game suit. Thin nylon is the only compatible fabric for necessary coverings. The game suit covers your entire body except your eyes, ears, nose and mouth. (We women had to file a class action lawsuit before they would start making suits for us! The men’s suit was ill-fitting and quite uncomfortable.) The game suit looks like mesh with tiny rectangular blocks at every intersection of the fabric and has several purposes. The tiny blocks are sensors and actuators. You need it to place yourself in the collective electron cloud so the game and your opponents can see you and engage you. It’s as if you are standing in their game chamber and they are in yours.

Secondly, the suit induces pain your enemy inflicts on you. When they slash you, stab you or strike you, you feel it, although you are not really injured. If you lose a hand or arm, you have to use the other hand, arm etc because the game suit interrupts motor nerve function in the disabled or missing part. You have the pain of your injuries the whole time you are playing. First generation suits from the 2024 to 2036 were recalled because they could cause nerve damage. Second and third generation suits are quite safe.

Really rich people have their own game chamber at home. Some groups of people go in together to build one and timeshare it. There are private fight clubs also. Regular people go to the Game Centrum in their area and sign out a chamber. It is a large empty room the size of a basketball court. You are surrounded by an electron cloud that stages when and where you are. You are virtually there! Your weapons are virtual so they register on the game as does your game suit. You usually pick a fight with another player and meet at the mutually agreed upon time and place. If another player selects the same time and place, you can either fight or make friends and become allies. You have to be cautious about chancing your arm because the game sends dedicated enemies after you if no one is there to play. When you win, you can virtually confiscate all of your enemy’s weapons and the game registers them for your use in subsequent battles in that session. When you win, your weapons restore themselves. Break a blade, win, grow another one!

Non-kill victories score less than kills, but you can make allies by showing mercy. To win a non-kill, after you’ve disabled your opponent, you stab the ground next to them. So far, I’ve collected a squad of seven. We will fight an Australian squad this Saturday. The feature where you get other players to join you and you lead them in battle against other factions has it’s benefit. The Army has awarded commissions to successful gaming officers since an officer can lead his soldiers from anywhere.

There have even been wars fought between countries in this game. Today, the only real wars are fought when there are real aggressors. The United Nations had their going out of business sale in 2040! Their former world headquarters became New York City’s main game centrum.

You have to be brave to play this game. I have been virtually slashed, stabbed, shot, clubbed and had parts