Haven

Chapter Two

The main lobby of DigitalDynamics never ceased to astonish. Marble floors and pillars stretched out for what seemed to be forever. Large glass elevators shuffled up and down on their magnetic lifts taking the countless drones to their various offices. They scoffed at his disheveled appearance as he pushed his way into a crowded elevator. He pressed the button for the top floor and the fingerprint reader granted him access. A silent murmur went around as they tried to decide why he had executive access.
Ben kept a low profile and most of DigitalDynamics employees didn't know who he was. When he reached the top floor he was alone. The doors opened silently revealing the large executive foyer. Arched marble ceilings and chandeliers glimmering in the soft light. A receptionist sat at an oversized desk flipping through a magazine.

"Damien is waiting for you in his office, " she said with a perky smile.

Ben pushed his way through the double doors into the office to find Damien looking out the sweeping window into the horizon.

"Well hello there Ben. I trust you got your reports done?" Damien looked at him for a moment and turned back to the window before he got a response, "this close to release we need your input in our meetings. We need to know your thoughts, Ben."

"Sorry buddy, I got caught up last night. Been polishing up the AI. I don't want NPC's to feel like NPC's." ben sounded bored.
He hated dealing with Damien. All business and no fun does not stimulate the mind.

"You know I left all aspects of the game up to you. I need to know if we are on schedule. This is not a video game company. Our shareholders are already nervous about this project, we can have no more delays, " with this Damien spun around, anger flashing in his eyes.

Ben suppressed a smirk, "don't ruffle your tie Damien. Everything is on track." He dismissed Damien's concern with a wave, "Just a few frame rate issues. I already assigned guys to fix it."

"Very well. I need you on a plane to New York. You are going to be announcing the release tomorrow morning live."

Ben blanched at that. "Live? Oh no I don't think that's a good.."

Damien cut him off, "You are going. Or I'll find you in breach of your contract and all the rewards of your hard work will go to someone else. We need you to take point on this so we can use you as a scapegoat to calm down the shareholders should this be a flop."

Ben laughed out loud, "wow. That's nice of you. But I'm not worried. This game is going to kick ass. I can't wait to announce tournaments!"

His excitement at that thought was genuine. Ben was a huge eSports fan and knew the competitions he had planned would draw thousands of participants.

"Krystal has your travel arrangements. I need those reports. Email them to me from the plane."

Ben made his exit and Krystal handed him an envelope with a wink.

"Have a nice trip!" she said sweetly.

With a final look around Ben walked back to the elevator. He made his way back through the lobby and down the hall to his small office. He needed to shower before his flight and thought he would pack some extra clothes. Stepping through his door he found it slightly ajar. Strange. He remembered locking it before he left.

"Ben! My boy! How is Haven coming along?" The founder of DigitalDynamics was sitting cross-legged on his cot. An old man, he stayed in shape doing yoga and water aerobics. While spritely for his age, there was a tiredness to his face that was not there even a few short months ago.

"When I first met you I was absolutely taken aback by your drive and your genius. And you are so innocent all you wanted to do with the tech you created was make a fun game! I can't wait to see the finished product. And I'm honored that you let me help when I could."

Ben beamed. He has grown very fond of old Elliot. Of course he had known who he was. The founder of the largest tech company in history. A leader in pushing the boundaries of AI and cybernetics. And now Bens benefactor and friend. Elliot was like Steve jobs, Elon musk, and mark zuckerberg rolled into one super brain on crack. He is the one who set the rules for the limits on AI, and had the clout to enforce those rules. If Elliot had not been there to put strict structures on Artificial Intelligence from the beginning AI could have gone a very different way than it did. And it had been pretty great so far. It even helped solve the mass unemployment wave that failed to recede in the aftermath of the collapse.

"I couldn't have done any of this without you Elliot. The AI development was mostly you! You helped me make Haven seem life like in every aspect of the game."

This was more than flattery. Elliot's work in AI made this possible. The characters in Haven are as life like as possible. With countless conversation paths and a simulated amount of free will. There was very little that gave them away as NPC's.

"Well my boy, I just wanted to see you off before you leave. Knock em dead for us!"

"You knew Damien has me making the announcement?"

"Did I know? It was my idea! This is your show. You are the one to take the lead on this in public. The only one to get the spin we need. No games. Just reality!"

"That's so corny. Besides, it is a game." Elliot smiled at that.

"To some it's money. To some it will be a game. And to some it will be something even more.." Ben looked confused at that. "But enough of that! Time waits for no man. You have a plane to catch!"