Gary Beck
Gary Beck's recent fiction has appeared in Enigma, Dogwood Journal, EWG Presents, Nuvein Magazine, Babel, Vincent Brothers Review, L'Intrigue Magazine, The Journal, Short Stories Bimonthly, Bibliophilos and many others. His poetry has appeared in dozens of literary magazines. His chapbook 'The Conquest of Somalia' will be published by Cervena Barva Press. His plays and translations of Moliere, Aristophanes, and Sophocles have been produced Off-Broadway. He is a writer/director of award-winning social issue video documentaries.

Games in Paris by Gary Beck
312 East 30th Street, #5E
New York, NY 10016
garycbeck@yahoo.com

 

Ted hadn’t been sleeping much for the past few days and he couldn’t take any kind of stay awake pill, because he needed a clear head. He was very close to a breakthrough on his main software project and he felt that if he could just keep working non-stop he would solve the remaining major problems. He didn’t expect anything slick or smooth in the pilot model, but he needed something that would demonstrate the operation of the game, however basic. He had a solid outline of the first phase, but now he needed a military specialist to help him organize the accuracy and details of the action. He also needed to consult a game theory analyst to make sure that his design had the capacity to not only run the system, but also the potential to evolve for more complex functions. Then, of course, there was the big question; would gamers love it?
When the group met on Thursday, the main topic after the progress reports was did they have a winner. They had this discussion many times in the past year and the consensus was always an enthusiastic yes. Suddenly things were different. They were no longer a group of cocky undergraduates, convinced that they could create something better than the next guy. Now they were developers, preparing a product for commercial distribution. Next they would be entrepreneurs, creating a business. If all continued to go well after that, they would have to be successful marketers, otherwise their efforts would be wasted. Ted smiled, thinking about how his father perceived him as a slacker son, but who was now working his ass off around the clock.
"What’s so funny?" Philippe asked. "I was just thinking about my father and how he doesn’t think I take things seriously." They all laughed and Kevin said: "He should see you now." "Yeah," Ted agreed. "He’d probably change his mind." Lys touched him on the arm solicitously. "I’ve been meaning to talk to you about your work schedule, Ted." "Yeah? What about it?" "You’ve been working day and night, without getting enough sleep." "I’m getting real close to making everything work." "I understand. But we need you healthy and happy for the long haul. That’s not going to happen if you let yourself run down." "I know what I’m doing," he said, putting his thumb and index finger a fraction apart. "I’m this close."
Lys looked to Kevin and Philippe for help. "Listen, superman. That’s not the best way to work," Kevin said. "You know that. You’ve told me dozens of times that you have to let ideas sink in and take root. You’re charging ahead like there’s no tomorrow. You’ll do a much better job if you get some sleep, relax and clear your head regularly. We’ve got time." "Kevin’s right," Philippe added. "We admire and respect what you’re doing, but we don’t want you to kill yourself." In a rare occurrence, Khiem voiced an opinion. "Even in war, man must rest, or he will not be able to do his duty." Ted nodded and whispered in a solemn voice: "If Khiem speaks, I must listen." They all laughed companionably and Ted said: "Thanks, guys. I guess I got a little carried away and thought I could do it by myself."
Now that Ted was a bit more reasonable, Lys took charge. "I’m glad you’re willing to be sensible. We don’t have a deadline yet. We’ve barely established our goals, let alone the means to obtain them. We all want to do our share and we’ll all do whatever is necessary to get what we want. But we’ve got to keep things in perspective. We’re not out to change the world. We just want to make lots of money." The others knocked on the table and said: "Hear. Hear." "Thank you, gentlemen," Lys responded. "I’m going to monitor Ted for a while and make sure that he doesn’t overdo it. "Thanks, little mother hen," Ted muttered. "I appreciate your looking out for me. If you ever decide to go straight, give me a try." "Why that’s very sweet of you," Lys replied. When the laughter subsided, Lys said: "We should continue our meeting."
Once they all settled down, Lys turned to Ted. "Why don’t you update us on the current status of the game?" Ted grinned boyishly. "I always enjoy talking about it. I guess that indicates my enthusiasm. As you know, the original idea of ‘Combat Evolution’ was to take a military recruit through enlistment, basic training and advanced training in game one. Then game two would take the soldier to a unit assignment and the first mission, which would either be attacking drug dealers in Columbia, or assaulting terrorists in Somalia. We assumed that further missions would follow, depending on the game’s popularity." He paused and looked at them appraisingly. "I don’t know how you’re going to like this, but I’ve made some changes."
Kevin and Philippe stirred restlessly, but before they could say anything, Lys signaled them to wait. "Why don’t you tell us what you’ve done, Ted." He took a deep breath and plunged into his new idea. "You all know that the internet has become an incredible resource, and the browser allows millions of users to navigate cyberspace …." Kevin interrupted impatiently: "We know about techno-mania, Ted. Get to the point." "Alright. I’ve revised the concept of the game so it can also allow a group to play together at different locations." They looked at him without comment while they digested his statement. Kevin slowly nodded. "You may have something there." "You two are the techno-nerds," Philippe said. "Please explain to us slower processors what you’re talking about."
Ted grinned. "Alright. We formulated our game concept for a player sitting alone at his PC, and that’s what we based our plan on." The words began to spill out faster and faster. "I came up with the idea that a group could play together. They would enlist at the same time, go through basic training together and have shared or individual experiences. They would take advanced training in specialized skills, such as special forces, missile tech, artillery, or tanks. When they finish training, they’re assigned to a combat unit. Once they’re integrated into the unit they go on their first mission together. While they’re playing they can communicate with each other in character, therefore personalizing the game. Other missions will get more complicated and more difficult. There’ll be casualties, awards, promotions and when players drop out they’re AWOL, or killed in action. New players go through the training game, then become replacements ….Well. What do you think?"
Kevin was impressed. "This is a Pentium-class idea. Tell me, O rapid processor, where did it come from?" Ted was beaming fit to bust. "Remember those guys at school in our dorm who used to play those jet fighter games?" Philippe nodded. "Yes. They used to bet a lot of money on who got the most enemy fighters." "Right. They’d stay up playing all night sometimes, but they were just competing for kills. They weren’t really involved except for racking up numbers. I started thinking that it would be a lot more interesting if the goals were more sophisticated, and it would be a lot more exciting if you could do it with others." He looked at the others proudly and waited for their response.
Now Lys was impressed. "That’s a lot more complicated than the original concept. Is it practical?" "I’m not sure," Ted admitted, "but it may be. I have some more work to do, then I can sit down with Kevin and we can try to figure out if it’s doable." "What’ll we need if it is?" Philippe asked. "A lot more money," Ted replied. "A world class graphics artist. A great scriptwriter. Maybe a military consultant." "If the idea is practical, I’m sure we can raise the money," Philippe said reassuringly. "In fact, if it’s as good as it sounds, it’ll probably be easier." Lys was looking a bit worried. "What is it, Lys?" Ted asked. "I wonder how difficult it would be to get a group of players together?" "That’s the beauty of the new design," Ted explained. "If you don’t have a group you can play alone. But I think word will spread on the internet and people could post messages on bulletin boards."
"Well, you sold me," Lys said. "It sounds like fun. I’d like to go through basic training with you guys." "You already did," Philippe quipped. "How soon will you be able to tell us more, Ted?" "Maybe another week or so, until I’m sure the software will run. Then Kevin’ll have to figure out whether or not the hardware exists to operate the system. How long will that be, Kevin?" "Maybe two or three weeks. I can’t go day and night like you….We’ll have to rent or buy some equipment and that’ll be expensive." "I’ll open an account for us," Philippe said. "I’ll put in fifty thousand dollars to start. Do you think that’ll be enough, Kevin?" "I’ll let you know once I figure out what we need and how much it’ll cost." "Listen guys," Lys said. "We should set up a corporation immediately and do everything the right way. I’ll draw up an operational plan and we can review it Monday. If everyone approves, let’s end the meeting now. I’ve got a lot to digest."
They went their separate ways with a specific sense of purpose. Ted went back to his design problems. Kevin got out his equipment catalogs and got on the phone with manufacturers and suppliers. Philippe started preliminary talks with prospective investors. Lys barricaded herself in her room and drew up an outline of the company structure and a basic operating plan. Khiem monitored them all carefully and decided that Ted and Lys needed special attention. On Saturday evening, when Ted and Lys didn’t come downstairs for dinner, Khiem arranged for two Vietnamese girls to bring dinner trays to their rooms and provide sexual services. The visits obviously proved satisfactory, since Ted and Lys joined the others for breakfast Sunday morning in particularly good spirits.
By the time they concluded their meeting on Monday morning, the group was convinced that they were developing a great game and they would find the means to produce it. The big question remaining was would the game actually work. Ted informed them that it would take two to four months before he was absolutely certain that the game would operate as it was designed. Lys, beginning to organize and take charge of their schedules, insisted that Ted set a regular work schedule with breaks, evenings and weekends off and a healthier work pace, since the problems couldn’t be resolved overnight. Philippe proposed that they actually take a vacation and suggested that they go to Nice, rent a boat and sail in the Mediterranean for a few days. Even Khiem grinned with pleasure at the enthusiastic response from the rest of them.
They left the next afternoon, just early enough to beat the Friday traffic that would flee Paris for the countryside. They leisurely drove south, stopping the first night at a four star inn in Dijon. They slept late Saturday morning, then continued to drive slowly to Lyons. They spent that night at a chateau that had been converted to an exclusive hotel. After a luxurious night in elegant rooms, they breakfasted on truffle omlets. The last leg of the trip was through scenic mountains and when they arrived in Nice the weather was beautiful. They rented a luxurious villa that came with a 38 foot sailboat, and for an absolutely indolent week they sailed, sunned and swam. When they returned to Paris the following week they were refreshed and ready to renew their commitments to the next stage of the project.