Game of Tag. Fantasy

“It’s decided, I’ll go to the university, especially if I go by sunbus, I’ll have time to get some sleep.”

AUGUST 14, 2057, 20:15, OFFICE OF THE RECTOR OF FEFU

The new office was dim, and only one lamp burned at the rector’s desk, the main light was turned off. There was a smell of new furniture, paint, expensive cognac and cigar.

In the huge chair sat a gray-haired man and looked at one spot. In the ashtray, the Cuban cigar was almost completely decayed. He played with a glass of cognac but did not rush to drink it.

“And why did I agree to this fucking grant from these monsters? Now, I practically work for them, sit and wait for orders from Moscow, and not from the Ministry of Education, but from a private company. How angry it makes me! F….ing Art. soul Holding group’.

The sharp sound of the stationary phone made him wince.

“Yes, Marina.”

“Mikhail Vladimirovich, you have a direct conference with Moscow in a minute’, – said a very young secretary.

“All right, put them through.”

“Finally, well, let’s go.”

After the conversation, he felt a little relieved, the tension that pulled his nerves into a ball all day, let go. Now he can take a vacation and go for a week with his wife to the country house. There, they with his neighbor Oleg Gennadievich will fish on a boat. There is a blissful silence and peace. Without an overseer in the face of the world corporation. Which, like a malevolent chain dog, follows his every step, gesture, word.

He called for his car and driver. At such a time in the city, there were no traffic jams, and he came in twenty-five minutes, rejoiced and in the best mood, he embraced and kissed his wife. And he announced his intentions to go away for a week or two to the Baikal country house.

AUGUST 15, 2057, 10:20, SUKHANOV STREET, 8, MAIN BUILDING OF FEFU

All the students gathered around the building. There was such noise and hubbub that it was audible for a couple of blocks. An outsider, watching what was happening, most likely would immediately be worried and called the police. But this did not happen, all ordinary passers-by were aware of what was going on, and terribly envied the students of this institution.

Sergey went to the building in the hope of receiving a schedule and finding out the scheme of payment for tuition, since this year the grant was to end.

“What the…” – he thought, hearing the screaming and whistling.

Then a familiar car blinked into the lights. From the window of the new white Range Rover, the redheaded Roma Babitsky stared a homely, skinny, intelligent Jewish boy from a respectable, and therefore wealthy, Jewish family.

“Serega, hi! Have you already received your ticket?” Shouted Roma.

“What ticket?”

“Lottery one!!!” – grinned the guy.

“… – the guy opened his mouth in surprise.”

“So you don’t know? Ah, well, yes, you do not get in touch! Get in the car, I will tell you smart things’, – said Roma copying a Caucasian accent.

Serega crossed the road, opened the door of the car and flew into the new cabin of the very expensive car.

“What did you hear about the new super game with full immersion into the Virtual Reality, Ouiet Running?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about now, Roma, stop shilly-shally, tell me already what the ticket is and what is an Ouiet Running is?”

“Oh, oh, my ears wilt from your accent!” – he grimaced.

“Rum, do not f… with me!”

“Ok, while you, our proud bird, unload the wagons.”

“Ships.”

“Planes, for all I care. So, while you are doing god knows what, the world moves on. It just jumps, damn it!”

And the red-headed Jewish Roma began to tell:

“Today there has been a message for all students – a gathering for a general meeting. To which you did not come. And there was our Rector, the same one that owes my dad a tone of money.”

“Roma, I had enough of your sh…, what is the ticket for and what is happening?”

“Do not interrupt me, so, our Rector gathered everyone in the hall and said that only our university will be awarded Lottery tickets from the company Art. soul Holding group for free. It just happens so, that they are launching a new on-line game Ouiet Running in three months. But, before the official launch, they are looking for twenty gamers that will be the first to test how it works. Everything that will happen in the game will be broadcasted around the world! Each winner of the lottery will receive ten grand, a per-unit AOUA Robe worth five grand and ninety days for the maximum development of the character.”

“Hot damn!”

“I’m surprised as well, like you said. Oh, I went through an Internet today. In word, they say that it will be possible to use virtual money to pay for services in the real life! It’s like if you order something on the internet, you can pay by the points from the game, and the company then covers everything and is the garrant of the deal.”

“Is this real? Delirium of some sort, it seems like a set-up!”

“No, Serega, when thinking about it, it’s a trifle. Just think, one such ticket is worth a hundred bucks, and milliards of them printed for the whole, so to say, blue ball. Secondly, aquaRob is a purchase, maintenance, repair plus a subscriber’s fee for gaming. Already, they say that more than fifty million orders for them have been received, and in fact, they have not even launched the game. To avoid disturbances, in fact, and to warm up the interest, they invented this yobbo-lottery epic.”

“And what do you have to do with these tickets?”

“These tickets are also not very simple. As I saw, it’s a white plastic with a transparent circle. You need to unwrap the ticket, touch this circle, and he will either be red, and you shame the corpses, or, green, and you are the king of all the mermaids.”

“Have you taken the ticket already?”

“No, as I was saying, he Rector owes my dad money, so we have a VIP-appointment, in an hour we have to come to him ourselves. Sergey, did you eat breakfast today?”

“No.”

“Then we’ll go to the pizzeria. (Laughs.) At the same time, I will tell you, my port and smelly friend, why do you need to play this game with your grandfather.”

“What?”

“Believe me, my dad has already ordered aquaRobs for himself, my aunt and Sophie.”

“I’m not smelly!”

“You do not worry about that, Serega’, – Roma said, and for some reason stopped joking. And started the car.

AUGUST 15, 2057, 11:50, SUKHANOV STREET, 8 MAIN BUILDING OF FEFU RECTOR’S OFFICE

Today, from the very morning, a ticket machine was brought, older students and faculty staff unloaded it and divided into groups of lottery tickets. Each student got one ticket. Total five hundred and seventy thousand pieces or fifty-seven boxes.