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(Excerpt from VR Agent Inc website)

Behind the Scenes in Battle of the Kings.

10 May 2027: The Battle of the Kings game brings you a fascinating world that capitalizes on custom-built AI technologies and intensive data mining techniques that help tailor a user’s experience and interactions. Unlike other games, Battle of Kings allows users to dictate a major portion of gameplay. This is supported by a comprehensive analysis of the user’s preferences obtained from a preliminary questionnaire and the choices made throughout gameplay*. The AI characters are also built from a proprietary base and modeled on real people. They are the first of its kind to have passed the Turing test and as such, their interactions with users are as human-like as possible.

*See the Terms of Service for how the software collects user data.

The ticking of the grandfather clock echoed in the large living room, counting away the long seconds until Farah could return to the sanctuary of her bedroom. She sat on the edge of the leather couch, her fingers digging into the leather while her eyes wandered around the wooden floor.

“Farah.”

Her head snapped up to face her parents sitting across from her. Her father, Yusof, a weary middle-aged man, leaned forward with his arms on his knees. His fingers intertwined together as he regarded her with an almost sorrowful look that was exaggerated by the many wrinkles that lined his face.

“Your mother and I had a talk with your teacher earlier today.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Do you have anything you want to tell us?”

She gulped and her eyes flitted from her father to her mother, Miriam, who stared sternly back at her with eyebrows furrowed. They already knew but wanted her to confess. Her lips parted but the words remained stuck in her throat.

Her father let out a disappointed sigh. “It’s bad enough that your grades are falling. And now your teacher is telling us that you’re constantly distracted and daydreaming in class? What’s wrong with you these days, Farah?”

Before she could reply, her mother interrupted sharply with an accusing finger pointed at her. “Isn’t it obvious? She’s always on the computer playing that violent game just so she can fit in with her useless friends.”

Farah bit her lips, fighting back the urge to retort.

Yusof turned to his wife. “Friends… you mean that girl Siti and her lackeys?”

“Yeah I told you she was a bad influence,” Miriam said with a click of her tongue. “Always going on about how meaningless life is and yet, she’s so into boys. Talk about irony.”

A look of disapproval crossed Yusof’s features and his gaze returned to Farah. “I don’t want you mixing with this Siti or her friends anymore, you hear me? And neither do I want you wasting your time on games from today onwards.”

Farah’s eyes widened in shock. As her father droned on in the background, her throat dried at the thought of losing not her friends but Kristian, her only real friend. She could live without Siti and her gang, but without Kristian, who else could she talk and laugh with?

“… you have your schoolwork, soccer, violin… so many other things to occupy your time. If you want company, you have me and your mum. Why waste it on a game? Just uninstall it as soon-”

“I have you and Mum?” she cut in, her tone a mix of incredulity and sarcasm. Her eyes flicked up to see her parents looking back at her questioningly. She took in deep breaths, her heart pumping so fast that all she could see in the corner of her eyes were stars. Blood rushed to her face as the anger pulsing in her veins grew out of control.

“When were you ever there for me, Dad? Have you even seen me play soccer?” Her voice raised, she glared at her father. He remained silent, his eyes almost pleading her to stop.

“How about you, Mum?” She turned to face her mother. “Do you know how much I hate violin until I had to break one of its strings on purpose??”

Miriam was aghast as she regarded Farah with a mix of horror and fury.

“What do you know about me, huh?” Farah shouted. “What do you know about my game? That game is the only reason why I still go through with my life. Without it, without Kristian, I would have just given up long ago-“

“QUIET!!!”

Miriam’s thunderous voice silenced Farah instantly. Big round eyes stared down at the teenager as Miriam stood to her full height, hands balled into fists at her side. Farah shrank back into her seat, terrified at what she had just brought onto herself.

“Who is this Kristian?” Marie asked as her voice took on a dangerous edge.

“N-n-no one…” Farah mumbled. Her eyes darted wildly around, avoiding her mother.

Miriam fixed her in an interrogative look and drew out her words. “Kristian is that game character… right?”

Unable to muster an answer, Farah’s head drooped lower until it touched her chest.

“This…” Yusof wagged a finger. “…is why you need to uninstall that game right now. Whoever this Kristian is, he’s not real. That whole world is not real.”

Taking her seat beside Yusof, Miriam let out a weary sigh. “I have nothing else to say. I just want that game wiped from your computer by tomorrow evening.”

Yusof looked to his wife who was a picture of exhaustion and nodded in agreement. “It’s late now. Go to bed and we can discuss this again tomorrow night.”

Without a word, Farah got up and left, her head bowed until she reached her bedroom. Plunking down on the bed, she buried her face into her plush pillow and finally started to weep like there was no tomorrow.

Because tomorrow marked the end of the world for her.