Epic: the Game

By Jack Kaminskie

EPIC: The Game, starts out with an entrepreneur pitching his idea for a Virtual Reality game. The game runs on a quantum computer platform. It leads players into dimensions where they explore their parallel lives, and confront fears, during 20 levels of game play. The game is different for each player as it uses Artificial Intelligence to calculate each player’s fears, based on data gleaned from social media and Internet preferences. It uses human energy for power, so if you get cut in the game, you bleed in real life!

The story centers around a family of four. Seventeen-year-old, Billy Middleton, has a sister, Sarah with an alcoholic mother and workaholic father. When Billy dies during gameplay, his father discovers his secret and goes into EPIC: The Game to fish out his son somewhere in time/space. They learn that Life is a form of Simulation...some kind of code that is like The Matrix, only unlike the movie, people are not “battery power for technology”. They are part of a quantum Ancestry Simulation that runs planet Earth.

This book is an epic Journey for Readers as they explore thought-provoking concepts in philosophy, the occult, spirituality, psychology and quantum physics.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669867227

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Copyright © 2023 by Donna Merrill.

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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.

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Rev. date: 02/28/2023

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Five Years Later

Four Years Earlier

Summer 2024

Game Over!

Epilogue: Bryson

Epilogue: Billy

Epilogue: Adrian

Epilogue: John

Epilogue: Pablo

Epilogue: Sarah

Epic: The Game is

dedicated to my daughter, Sophia Grace Hope, who inspired me to think outside the box in all matters of love and life. I also dedicate the book to our Maltipoo pup, the fur baby who slept by my side while I wrote this story and spent his time in his own quantum field of endless possibilities. He died of cancer shortly after I finished the book.

Finally, I dedicate this book to Bruce, Ehab, Ola, Peter, and Darren, who all listened to various versions of the book and helped me craft a surprise ending.

Thank you, dear reader, as well. The book is really for you—someone who lives in a world where there are more questions than answers. May this book open your mind to a world of infinite possibilities and cause you to look forward to future books written by me.

Enjoy!

Jack

**

PROLOGUE

JANUARY 2019

Bryson Carmichael climbed out of his classic silver Porsche and adjusted his silver Ray-Ban aviators with polarized lenses. His golden retriever hopped out of the car and trod alongside him. Both the golden retriever and Bryson had flaxen hair. He parked in a blue handicapped zone, but he didn’t care if he got a ticket. Today was the day he was launching the next big thing. As a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, that’s all he cared about.

Bryson was carrying his demo on his MacBook Pro laptop. Ruby padded along next to him off-leash but never left his side. It had been ten years since he first got the vision for his special project, but only now was the timing right.

Automation, blockchain, Bitcoin, smart cities, autonomous cars, and the metaverse were all anyone in the VC world was talking about. Bryson ignored it all. He had laser focus and only cared about his idea.

Bryson sat in a wooden chair outside Coupa Café. He had ordered an Americano with almond milk and quadruple shots of espresso as well as a spinach omelet with green onions and mushrooms. As he waited for Lawrence, he carefully unfolded a Wall Street Journal that had landed on his doorstep at 4:00 a.m. The paper was cool to his touch as his sprinklers had left dots of dew on the plastic wrapper that enveloped the newspaper. His La Belle Spa–manicured fingers flipped to Marketplace, his favorite section.

Ruby let out one sharp bark. It sounded like an exclamation point given a voice. What is it, girl? asked Bryson. Seeing that Ruby’s eyes were pointed to his right and she was wagging her tail, he knew that Lawrence must have been approaching them.

And how are you, Ruby? asked Lawrence, reaching down to pet the dog whose feathery tail seemed to never stop wagging.

Good morning, said Bryson, not bothering to stand up but politely reaching a right hand at Lawrence’s tall frame, which was clothed in an Armani pin-striped suit.

Lawrence shook his hand. ‘Marketplace,’ eh? he said while pointing at the WSJ that Bryson had been reading. I go straight for ‘Finance,’ he said.

Of course, said Bryson. You’re a VC. Well, I am an entrepreneur, so I always like to see what new mergers and acquisitions and business deals are being made in this town of ours.

You’d be better off with eating breakfast at Buck’s if you’re hoping to make a deal, remarked Lawrence.

Oh, that place in Woodside where PayPal got funded and Tesla had their earliest meetings? said Bryson.

That’s right, said Lawrence while adjusting the tail of his jacket so he could sit across from Bryson.

Well, this meeting isn’t about funding, commented Bryson.

Oh? said Lawrence with a cocked brow while leaning on his left elbow.

Yeah, that’s right, said Bryson. I want to get a meeting set up.

With whom? asked Lawrence.

It was Bryson’s turn to speak. Lawrence, he said, I want to meet with Bernie Grin. Do you think you could arrange a meeting with G-force next week—twenty minutes tops?

I don’t know. What do you have? asked Lawrence, a venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers off Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California.

I am going to do for G-force what that guy did for Apple when he brought the concept for the music player to the company, said Bryson.

Ruby, his faithful companion, adjusted herself so she could rest her head on his brown Italian loafer. She had traveled everywhere with him since 2014, which was when Kara Fiore, his fiancée, moved in with him and brought Ruby, who was a puppy, home from a Palo Alto shelter.

Well, that’s a tall order. That music player was the precursor to all smart handheld devices, Bryson. The miniature Toshiba hard drive and PortalPlayer chip, as well the Apps feature on the phone, were brilliant moves.

I know! exclaimed Bryson. Lawrence, do you realize that quantum-physics professors are leaning toward a theory that we all live in the Matrix or some kind of coded world of information?

Of course, said Lawrence. But why are you changing the subject? Are you manic again, Bryson?

Nah, I haven’t been manic since Kara died. More like depressed, but I’m fine, Lawrence. Really.

Then, said Lawrence with a cautious tone, what does a digital world have to do with your meeting with Bernie Grin?

Everything. We all know that virtual gaming is becoming more and more realistic. I have access to a quantum computer at my Uncle Tom’s university, and what the world doesn’t know yet is that it’s proven that we live in parallel universes.

Rrrreeallly? said Lawrence, half-chuckling with a hint of sarcasm and half-surprised.

Bryson, oblivious to Lawrence’s sarcasm, continued, It gets better—what I’ve got is a virtual-reality game that enables players to make decisions in parallel universes. It takes place within an Earth just like this one, but each action changes reality in THIS version of Earth. We EXIST in a parallel world. It’s like the player creates his or her own reality, and it’s totally realistic.

Hmm, said Lawrence, smoothing over his goatee with his fingertips. You say it’s totally realistic. What sort of gaming environment is it?

You must wear VR gloves and goggles. You can play it with a laptop, like this one, but it is much better with a high-definition big-screen TV.

Sounds expensive—more expensive than what most consumers can afford, commented Lawrence.

Well, yes and no. It’s got a box that’s plug and play with any high-def TV set. Other TV sets can meet the monitor requirements as well. But my business model for this generates revenue. Playing the game, which I call EPIC, actually earns players cash that they can redeem for gaming products or bitcoins.

How will you support such a business model, Bryson? inquired Lawrence.

Bryson responded, Fuck pay-per-click advertising and banner ads! When everyone starts playing Epic, G-force won’t be making its money off the search engine. That will be spare change as a business model.

Why? asked Lawrence, stopping his goatee stroking for a moment.

Well, it has to do with consumer choices. As you play the game, you are exposed to life choices. These life choices can be sponsored by advertisers who can use product placement and hints and clues in the game to unlock rewards for the gamer.

Huh, said Lawrence with a nod.

Epic is a game like no other, remarked Bryson enthusiastically. From where you’re sitting, it taps into streams of consciousness. What will be proven in the future is that quantum computers will reach into parallel universes for resources and solutions and may even alter timelines. Consciousness is one global field that we tap into with the antennae that exist in our brains. But it’s the antennae that exist in our brains, not consciousness! And we simply experience individual views of events that we call time. Hey, Lawrence? Time doesn’t even exist. What Nassim, a leading physicist, says is Einstein’s space is memory. To him, it’s like we experience events, and they become stored memories on a hard drive in the universe. In reality, this memory is hard-coded in our cells but can be rewritten by DNA when DNA is altered, which changes history in real time. What’s real are the memories we can recall. Also, science is often divided. We have chemistry. We have physics. We have biology. We have computer science. But that is a human construct. In reality, ALL science is threaded together and exists as a unified system that is highly organized. As such, I have managed to use a quantum computer to tap into the biology of human energy and use it to power the game. This energy is simply zero-point energy, and it MAY be the same thing as consciousness. Therefore, what we perceive as reality is merely a hologram of information, and players can cross dimensions of space to enter this virtual world, but it is really ONE world with different dimensions or portals into different versions of reality. Perhaps even multiple Earths!

This is all so esoteric, remarked Lawrence.

Well, said Bryson, the reality of us drinking our espressos here at Coupa Café is the same reality that we would experience in the game while battling demons. In other words, we can be in BOTH places at the same time because time is NOT linear, and there is the issue of quantum entanglement, answered Bryson.

You’re blowing my mind. But I’m more interested in the business model for the game. Sounds invasive—like presenting an advertising cloud to a consumer as he leaves the house.

No. It’s quite subtle. Every object that the gamer encounters is a form of product placement advertising as an NFT, so it’s based on impressions. But it doesn’t FEEL like advertising—it FEELS like being in the natural, real world, responded Bryson. What I’m trying to say—and the point you’re missing—is that gamers face life choices with real-world consequences.

‘Real-world consequences’? This game affects one’s real world? asked Lawrence with two raised eyebrows this time.

That’s just it—we DO live in a DIGITAL world, Lawrence. I have proved it. Through the quantum computer, I’ve been able to enter another dimension or world that is just like ours. When decisions are made in the game, they affect our 3D world. It’s something like when you time travel and life changes because of what you did as a time traveler.

You’re saying that you invented a time machine?! exclaimed Lawrence in disbelief.

Not exactly. The timeline for one’s world in the game, as well as reality, stays the same. It’s the different DIMENSION that seems to impact reality in THIS dimension. We live in a Multiverse. And infinite Earths may exist, where we live in every possibility that one can calculate. What I believe is that there is ONE Earth and it has overlays of realities—it’s more like viewing 3D or even 4D in a 2D version of reality. Take Picasso’s paintings. That’s what reality is like. Earth’s reality is a shadow of a quasicrystal containing other dimensions that is merely flattened into a 2D perception, but it is actually four or more dimensions, and each dimension of existence is an overlay on our current reality experience.

Complicated. Give me an example, said Lawrence.

If you get cut in the game, you bleed in reality.

No! exclaimed Lawrence. That’s impossible!

It’s true. I’ve already proved it.

So, if I understand you correctly, it’s something like you are navigating reality in another dimension in the game, and it is connected to your reality—is THAT it? asked Lawrence.

Yes! And more! hinted Bryson.

Sounds dangerous. You could KILL someone in the game, and that person would be dead in real life.

Yes, but those killed are only NPCs.

‘NPCs’? You mean nonplayable characters? asked Lawrence.

Yeah, said Bryson. Like avatars. They’re people put in the game for a specific purpose, like demons, or act as cannon fodder if you’re on a mission.

Sounds complicated and totally unbelievable.

Just arrange the meeting. I NEED to see Bernie. G-force will be all over it!

**

FIVE YEARS LATER

JANUARY 2025

Adrian Middleton poured herself another stiff one. She was watching the new president of the United States be sworn into office during a beautiful inauguration ceremony. She turned to her daughter and said, Sarah, who WOULD have thought that Dan Carlyle would be sworn in as president?

Yeah. He’s kind of an asshole, said Sarah.

Sarah! said Adrian. Watch what you say.

But it’s true, Mom, continued Sarah Middleton. He berated women, protests broke out during his campaign, and we’re facing a global disaster. He addresses none of it. What I don’t understand is why we get such lame candidates. It was between Carlyle and Kiplinger. And Kiplinger can’t defend himself in debates to save his life!

True, said Adrian.

Billy Middleton, Sarah’s seventeen-year-old brother, entered the family den and broke up the conversation. Mom, can I borrow the car?

Maybe, said Adrian. Where do you want to go?

Billy pulled at the crotch of his Levi’s jeans and said, Jake Hilton from school is having a party.

Oh, Billy! said Adrian. You know how I feel about that. Your high school has been known for parties with alcohol, and I don’t want you drinking and driving. The answer is no.

Fine! said Billy, and he stormed out and retreated into the basement; no one else in the house knew where he was going.

**

THE NEXT MORNING

Adrian was in the kitchen and making breakfast for her family, which she had done every morning since she married John. Sarah?

Yes, Mom, answered Sarah.

Pancakes are almost ready. Your father is on his way. Will you please go wake your brother up?

Sarah uttered Ugh! and stomped out of the room.

What IS that? she wondered as she neared the stairwell. As she neared the stairs to examine what looked like a smudge from a distance, she realized it was a bloody handprint on the rail of the stairs. Slowly she followed the path of dripping blood to Billy’s bedroom. She knocked on the door. Usually, she’d hear a groan or Lemme alone! from Billy, but today, only silence greeted her. Billy? called out Sarah. No response was heard.

Billy! yelled Sarah; still, there was no answer.

Sarah barged in. She found her brother dressed in his jeans and gray hoodie. The hoodie was pulled over his head. He was slumped over a journal on his bed as if in a deep sleep.

Billy? said Sarah. Didn’t you sleep? She tugged on Billy’s sweatshirt, and he fell over like a rock. When Billy did not move, she realized he was stone-cold dead. But his eyes were wide open like he was looking at something in fright.

Sarah screamed. Mom! Dad! she yelled out.

John Middleton had been upstairs in his own bedroom and arrived first. He looked over his son’s corpse. He draped his arms around Billy’s shoulders and hugged him. Oh noooooooooo! cried Billy’s father. My son, my son! he cried out. What HAPPENED to you?!

The only clue of the possible cause of death was found in Billy’s eyes. The Symbol was tattooed to his pupils. The Symbol looked like a multimedia symbol: >>|.

What the fuck?! said John, lifting his son’s eyelids to look at his pupils. Sarah, what IS that?!

It’s a logo, said Sarah. That is Epic’s logo.

What’s EPIC?! asked Sarah’s father.

It’s a stupid game that he plays, she answered.

**

Adrian Middleton poured herself a drink. It was only 10:00 a.m., but she was in shock. She could not cry or console her husband, who was so distraught and filled with emotional pain. She just watched him carry on in the living room. He was sobbing like a baby on the couch.

All Adrian could think of was her getting into a fight with Billy fourteen hours prior—when he said he wanted to borrow the car to go to a party. What if I had just LET him go to the party? she thought. Would he still be alive? She had not wanted him to drink and drive. The irony of it struck her hard.

Sarah seemed to be the only one with a head on her shoulders. She had called 9-1-1. The police and fire department showed up minutes later. John was mute. He could not speak to the officers when they tried to question him. He was angry, depressed, and emotionally withdrawn. Billy had always been his favorite child, and Adrian had always loved Sarah the most. It wasn’t that John did not love Sarah; he adored his little girl and gave her all that she ever wanted. It was that Billy was more like John; Billy reminded him of himself. Billy played on a Little League team when he was a coach. Billy had learned to drive from him. Billy confessed to having sex with Jen Harper to his dad, who gave him condoms to use. His ego loved having a child like him, and all these memories were flooding into his brain.

Adrian put her drink aside and joined the family and investigators in the living room. The police were examining Billy’s body upstairs. It was entirely unclear how Billy had died. Blood dripped out of the corners of his eyes and ears. Drugs were suspected, but an autopsy proved that he was entirely clean. Not even a trace of alcohol was in his system. In fact, they didn’t find anything but a half-digested slice of Pizza Hut’s pepperoni pizza in his belly. Could he have been poisoned? No one knew. There was no trace of poison in his system.

**

The following morning, Adrian sat in front of a breakfast of eggs and toast. The eggs seemed to be laughing at her. One of the yolks ran out of its circle and onto the plate, like the life of her dead son. She could not take a bite.

John had crossed the yellow Caution tape that went across Billy’s doorway and stood in Billy’s room, deep in thought.

Sarah stood at the doorway and slid her fingers back and forth over the Caution tape. She was in a daze.

Sarah? said John.

Sarah answered, What is it, Dad?

John