Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from banks of every computer in the human system.
"Neuromancer" by William Gibson
Lamia logged in...
The message was displayed to players at the top of the game screen. They saw in the middle of the screen a cute blond girl, the Marylin Monroe style. But instead of a white dress from The Seven Year Itch, she had an armor and machine gun. Sweet smile and a deadly weapon - a mixture that players loved the most.
"Ok guys, let start the massacre," said a high charming voice that everyone heard in headphones.
Today's quest: find the treasure chest.
It was nearly midnight. They have been walking four hours through the woods and have been searching the mystery enter to the system of caves. It wasn't their day. Every player from the group killed some dirty trolls and harvested some new weapon but the goal was as far as it was at the beginning of the quest.
"Where is this fu... enter!" Lamia with her sweet little look hadn't got a sweet tongue.
"Your mother should wash you with soap," Max said with anger. "Oh, shut up!" Lamia yelled at him.
Max was a big muscular Viking, no one could talk to him like that. No one but Lamia. The giant grimaced and pushed his helmet slightly over his forehead.
"I'm tired and hungry. Let us end for today. We will play tomorrow, but now we all need rest," Albert, chubby and small elf, was always the first to end the game.
"Are you fu... kidding me?! I didn't walk through this fu... forest for hours just to end without a prize! You lazy little mother..."
"Language!" Cris shout at loud. He was the only man whom Lamia was willing to listen.
"Oh, f... you all, you lazy..." Lamia was really pissed. She walked a few steps and stood next to the big black rock. Suddenly she hit the stone with her sword - or rather stuck him like King Arthur. "Aaaaa!" Lamia screamed.
You find a secret entrance to the system of caves.
Players saw the big red message on the top of the screen.
"Whaaat?!"
"Seriously?!"
"O. M. G."
Guys were really shocked. Lamia stood still and she stared at the hole in surprise.
"Lamia, It's the first time when your pissing off has paid off. I didn't think I'd say it one day, but you need to get nervous more often," Max said laughing.
But something changed and it wasn't the big hole next to the group. The hitherto enveloping clouds parted. There was a full moon in the sky. Bright and shiny. They heard a chilling howling.
"Ah-whooo!"
And something was happening with Lamia.
***
You were logged out.
The red message on the screen was flashing unpleasantly.
"What the... What was happen?!" Lamia stared at the blinking cursor. She was logged out with no rhyme or reason. She wasn't killed.
A few seconds later she got a lot of messages on the game's chat.
Albert: Lamia, what the f...!
Max: Why you did this?!
Cris: WGO? I thought that we are a team!
"I didn't do anything! This f... game logged me out," Lamia tried to justify herself.
Max: Logged out?! Girl, you changed into f... werewolf and you killed us all!
Albert: Killed?! Killed!? She made a bloody massacre!
Cris: You grabbed my arm and ripped my stomach open. Just the gut on top!
Max: How did you do that? Is that a new feature?!
Lamia stared into messages. She didn't understand what had just happened.
"I didn't change into a werewolf. And I didn't kill you. I was logged out! Seriously!" She typed.
Everyone watched the blinking cursor on the screen. No one - Max the Viking, chubby Albert, or even Cris - had an idea, what was happen. They believed Lamia, but they also saw her changing.
Cris: Ok, let's end for today. Tomorrow we will check what happened here. IMHO this is some sort of new feature.
Albert: Ok, see you on Thursday!
Max: See you later alligator.
Cris: CU!
"Lamia, is everything ok?" Cris asked on private chat.
"Yeah, sure, I'm just pissed."
"On Thursday we will crack this out."
"Of course we will!"
Lamia sighed and played a Morphine's album. She hummed along with the vocalist:
We used to meet every Thursday Thursday
Thursday in the afternoon
For a couple of beers and a game of pool
But they didn't have to wait till Thursday...
***
The next day every website for players screamed with big red headers: THE MOST POPULAR GAME ATTACKED WITH VIRUS.
Lamia read few articles. Every news portal informed about a virus called Cyberwolf that was changing gamer's avatars into werewolves randomly. Hacker responsible for the attack published a statement in which he demanded from creators of infected game Land of Magic one million dollars. He signed the statement as Big Bad Wolf. Creators haven't commented yet.
"You little motherfu..." Lamia muttered.
"Guys, have you read the news?" Lamia typed on their chat. "We must hunt down this Big Bad Wolf."
Albert: Hunt down? What do you mean?
Max: Hold off, girl... This is not our problem.
Lamia: Not our problem?! This motherfu... change my avatar into bloody werewolf! This is my problem!
Cris: Lamia, hold on. What do you want? Hunt him and what?
Lamia: Kill him!
Albert, Max, Cris: Kill him?!
Lamia: His internet personality. All his online world. Just like he killed our fun.
Max: Girl, I'm really afraid of you...
Albert: You are psycho. But I'm in!
Lamia: Great, who else? Max? Cris?
Max: Ok, why not...
Cris: Wait a minute. How would you - or we - do it?
Lamia: I know this guy. And I have a plan.
***
Finding the Big Bad Wolf in Land of Magic took them three days.
First step - new persona and avatar. Lamia create a brand new user - who would be better for Big Bad Wolf than Little Red Riding Hood? But that wasn't a childish character from fairy tales. Do you know this MGM cartoon Red Hot Riding Hood? That's right! The new user was slutty and sexy, and not only the Big Bad Wolf would howl and chug at the sight of her.
Second step - dissolving rumors. All team members spread information that Little Red Riding Hood was creating a new team - she was fast, furious, and motivated to win.
Third step - waiting. But that was the most fun part. Lamia AKA Little Red Riding Hood recruiting to her new team. And that meant cutting, decapitation, grazing, and all kinds of torture. She was just delighted to show a bunch of sneaky idiots that a tiny girl could defeat them all with one sword slash.
Big Bad Wolf came on Thursday. His avatar was as simple as it could be; a muscular man with a loincloth and big heavy sword. The Conan Barbarian style. And this username: Atilla; what a cliche.
How did Lamia know it was Big Bad Wolf? She knew him very well, he was her first game mate and he never play fair. He had always looked for a chance to hack the game. So when she realized that she was lying with a broken arm in a second after they started the fight, she knew that he was cheating. And he was cheating very well, inconspicuous.
"Nice to see you again, Marthy," Lamia said aggressive.
"Well, well, who do we have here... So I thought it was you, Lamia. No one could dress such... inappropriate," Atilla AKA Marthy said with a laugh.
"It's just for you."
"Oh, you are sweet. So what's up?"
"You hacked my favorite game and ruined all the fun."
"Yeah, what can I say. Shit happens. And what do you want to do with it?"
"Kill you," Lamia said very gently.
"Kill me? You are joking, right?" Marthy laughed.
"Not really..." Lamia and Marthy looked at each other for a while. Marthy was a little bit concerned. He has sure that Lamia said the truth.
"How..." His voice shook. "How you want to do it?"
"Have I heard a fear in your voice? Oh, come on, I don't want to kill you as a human. I just want to kill your all cyber life - all your data, avatars, and so on."
"Hahaha!" Marthy laughed. "Seriously? It's too hard for such a pretty face."
"Oh, but you know... When Little Red Riding Hood lands in the wolf's belly, the hunter rips the belly open. And he do it... right now." Lamia smiled.
Marthy's avatar started to fading. "What is happening?!".
"My teammates tracked you because you showed up. And just right now they are infecting your computer with our new invention: Cyberhunter. Sweet, right? Cyberhunter will rip Cyberwolf's belly open."
Marthy was looking with anger and fear. Suddenly, he disappeared.
"Bye-bye Big Bad Wolf," Little Red Riding Hood said and waved for goodbye.