Sleeping Player (Project Chrysalis Book 3)

Project Chrysalis
Book Three
Sleeping Player
John Gold
Translated by Jared Firth


 
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Contents:
Contents:
Part One
Algeron
Part Two
The Riddle
Book Recommendations:


Part OneAlgeron
Alice Walton watched the sea through the window. She was waiting for Robson, her brother, who was supposed to introduce her to the hospital staff.
A week before, she’d picked up her certification as a clinical psychologist. The girl’s whole family worked in that area, and so finding an internship hadn’t been hard. There was a special clinic in Project Chrysalis for the mentally ill in the archipelago called Clover. Alice’s family had worked there for eight years, ever since the game was released. Miss Walton had arrived that morning, and she was waiting for her brother to show up and bring her up to speed.
Rob walked up quietly and sat down in the chair next to her. He looked to be around thirty, with the same typical beer belly he had in real life. The short beard and barely visible scar on his eyebrow completed the picture: real-life Robson and Project Chrysalis Robson looked exactly the same.
“Hey, Alice. Okay, let me be up front with you: I’m happy you’re following in our footsteps, but the work is anything but a piece of cake.”
“Rob, don’t even try—I know where I am. My dissertation was on Clover, so I know a lot about our patients.”
“Exactly—you know a lot about them. But you have no idea what kind of people live here. We have maniacs, nutcases, criminals, the insane, and run-of-the-mill problematics who were purposely sent here. This is the archipelago’s administrative side, so you can’t see how terrifying they are from here. When I arrived, I couldn’t sleep for the first few months. I just about went crazy!”
“Rob, I’m not some little girl you can protect or scare. When I was sixteen, I already had my specialization diploma. Don’t underestimate me.”
Robson shook his head at how presumptuous his sister could be sometimes. When she was in this mood, Alice never listened to anyone. The view she was taking was just too superficial.
The archipelago that Clover was on had been man-made in the Sea of Monsters. The benefit to this was that the patients were free to move around on their islands. In total, there were six. Five were shaped like petals around a circular island at the center, and the circular island was where the clinic’s administration was located. Around forty similar medical institutions for the mentally insane had been built in the Project Chrysalis world. There were also analogous organizations for rehab and serving prison sentences in the colonies.
The clinic’s islands were delineated by patient aggression. Each was given a negator bracelet that blocked the use of spells and combat equipment. When fights broke out, the bracelets were used to calm things down by sending out an electric shock. Pain sensations were boosted to fifty percent.
Rob took his sister to the acceptance room, which housed the portal that represented the only connection to the outside world. Swimming was impossible, and the sky was full of monsters.
A new batch of “guests” had arrived that day, and they were going to be Alice’s problem.
The head of the family, Sam Walton, was Clover’s head doctor, and he was already in the acceptance room when Alice and her brother walked in. Belish, a large Siamese cat, was sitting on his lap and enjoying some attention.
The new patients started filing out of the portal. All of them were in nothing more than their underwear, their personal effects confiscated during the trip to the clinic. The women held embarrassed arms over their chest, even if it and their other more interesting parts were covered by clothing that was at least symbolic. The men were calmer, just a few showing nerves at their perceived defenselessness.
The medical staff placed negator bracelets on their arms and got them dressed in the clinic uniform. The father began his speech.
“Good afternoon. Starting today, you will be undergoing treatment in our clinic. You will have two lessons a week with a psychologist,” he continued, pointing at Alice, “who will be your supervisor for as long as you’re here with us. The bracelets on your arms block spells and combat equipment, and will also shock you if you get into a fight. In addition, they boost your sensitivity to fifty percent, so think twice before you decide to throw down with someone.”
One woman took issue with this.
“What if I’m provoked or someone tries to come on to me?” she shrieked hysterically.
“The shock punishment lasts several minutes for entrapment or goading other patients into a fight. Exactly how strong it is and how long it lasts is determined by the ArtIn in your bracelets.”
That got the men going.
“So, I guess we’re going to be here for a while,” shouted one. The father nodded. “Where are we going to live?”
“Each of you will have your own personal house on one of the islands. Your respawn point will be there, and that’s where you’ll have your conversations with your psychologist, too. Oh, and let me tell you right up front: your things were confiscated and will be returned when you leave the clinic. Your inventory bag was replaced by the starter version, and your chat and friend lists have been blocked. Only live conversation is permitted