Hugh squeaked at the sound of a man's sweet tenor. He looked around for the source, but didn't immediately find it.
"Over here," the man said. "Come closer to the fire. You're out of range of the illusion."
Hugh climbed to his feet and dusted himself off, carefully keeping the Book open to the Navigator's page in the process. As he inched toward the fire, he asked, "Who are you?"
"Come closer and you'll see," he replied playfully. The taunt backfired. Hugh stopped moving, mentally reminding himself this was a game. For all he knew, the owner of the voice was an enemy set to spawn at a certain time of day.
"I'm staying here until you tell me who you are," Hugh said stubbornly.
"I can't tell you who I am until you give me a name, but I can tell you what I am. I am your Fully Optimized Navigator Assistant, created for the dual purpose of providing you with support and acting as your liaison with the Navigator Core System. My appearance was created using the Book of Life in your hands, although I can't be finalized into a corporeal form until you're within viewing range of the illusion and confirm my appearance meets your expectations."
"Corporeal," Hugh repeated. "That means 'solid'. Right?"
"It does. I can speak more plainly in the future, if you prefer."
Hugh nodded, even though he couldn't see who he was talking with. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. I've picked up some big words while gaming, but half the time I'm just guessing what they mean. My mom would be the first to tell you I'm dumb as a box of rocks."
"I don't know about that," he replied dubiously. "It's widely believed there are multiple forms of intelligence. Perhaps you're not book smart or street smart, but you possess gaming smarts? I can see in your profile you're an avid gamer with a massive amount of achievements attached to your gaming alias."
Hugh gaped. "You can see that? How?"
"The World Council's information network is as vast as the Net itself. When they gave the Navigator Core System full access, everything they know was integrated into our databanks. What they know, Navigator now knows. As a subprogram, I'm only allowed to see information pertaining to you specifically, but my access level was sufficient to trace you to your gaming alias through links to the bank accounts in your profile. Why? Was it confidential? If so, you don't have to worry. I'm programmed to keep secrets."
"You talk a lot," he replied.
There was a long pause, then the Navigator said, "You didn't understand half of what I just told you."
"Not really," Hugh agreed. "But you don't sound like a bad guy, so I'm going to come closer now."
"Take your time," the Navigator soothed. "I'm aware most humans have trouble accepting things that seem magical, hence why the range of the illusion was limited to make players more comfortable with its existence."
That didn't make sense to Hugh. "Why? We're in a game. Of course magic can be real here."
"That's a good way to look at it, but many of the beta-testers had trouble remembering they're in a game. It's one of the drawbacks of using a full immersion interface. Many players needed technology to explain the magic rather than accepting the very air they're breathing is artificial."
"Is that the backstory for the factions?" Hugh asked as he began inching closer to the fire again. "Is magic for people who accept the unexplained and Tech for those who don't? What's neutral then? For people in denial they're in a game at all?"
"And you said you weren't smart," the Navigator teased. "I think you're going to have a very strong magical alignment when we get to that part."
"Magic is cool, but—oh." Hugh's jaw dropped as he finally approached close enough to see the illusion. Between one step and the next, the Navigator appeared hovering over the fire like a ghost. He looked exactly like Hugh's typical gaming avatar, which was the epitome of a ruggedly handsome fighter. If this had been a zombie game, it would be automatically assumed the Navigator was the token cop. In a fantasy game, he'd have been the human archer. Science fiction games would equal a roughneck Captain and post-apocalyptic games would make him a mercenary.
Aside from all the tropes, he was everything Hugh wished he could be. He was tall and muscled, but in a way that made him appear lean and compact. Hugh felt like a hulking brute in comparison. The Navigator's face was chiseled and his laugh lines were visible through his black five o'clock shadow, whereas Hugh's face was more rounded and he'd never managed more than splotches of peach-fuzz. The most telling of all was the Navigator's bright blue eyes. They were vivid with humor and self-confidence, both of which Hugh knew he was lacking.