Free Deception City: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 5) by Mitchell T. Jacobs Page A

quite happy with his lot. He had been a programmer working on a contract basis, often wondering if he would still have a job when the project finished. But now he had some security, and was compensated handsomely, to boot. Besides, he was being paid to play a game, and that in and of itself had many perks.
    “Everything checks out fine,” the assistant told him. “Please make sure to report anything if it comes up between now and your next checkup. We want to make sure you stay healthy.”
    “Thanks. I will,” Zach said as he stood up and exited the examination room.
    All of the other doors in the hallway remained closed. The others were probably still in the process of going through checkups, he thought, but that wasn’t surprising. He had been the first one to arrive today.
    “Mr. Wofford?” a voice called to him from further down the hall.
    Zach turned toward the source. “President Starvos,” he said with a bit of surprise. Zach moved to meet him and took the proffered handshake.
    “I trust you’re doing well, today?” President Starvos asked.
    “Very well,” Zach confirmed. They had met many times over the course of the study, but Zach still remained somewhat in awe of him.
    Anton Starvos, founder and president of Elysium Visions, one of the foremost tech companies in the world. They pushed the boundaries of computing technology, being the first to introduce quantum computing for practical use, the first to create fully immersive virtual technology, and the first to create a fully functioning virtual world. World at War Online was a culmination of all those technologies.
    And he had been at the forefront of all that progress, taking the company from a garage to a global multi-billion dollar corporation with branches in several major cities. Without his intellect, determination and savvy none of this would have ever happened.
    Zach felt slightly intimidated by his presence, even though President Starvos had shown them nothing but politeness and respect. Maybe it was his list of accomplishments. It sounded completely ridiculous, but Zach felt small in comparison.
    “I actually have a question I would like to ask you,” President Starvos told him.
    “Ah, yes?” Zach replied, not quite knowing what to say.
    “I think it’s best to discuss in private. If you’ll follow me?” Starvos motioned to him. “My office should suffice.”
    Zach nodded and fell in step with him. A private meeting with the president of the company in his office? What was going on here?
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    “ I appreciate the work you all have done in our study,” President Starvos said from his seat behind his desk. “The data we’ve gathered from your work will help us greatly when designing future projects.”
    “I’m glad to have been of use,” Zach replied, wondering where this was all going.
    Starvos folded his hands on his desk. “And that’s what I brought you here to discuss, those future projects. You were a programmer on World at War Online, if I remember correctly.”
    “I was,” Zach confirmed.
    Starvos nodded. “Communications, was it? You designed many of the communications systems that most players take completely for granted. The designs are marvelous, actually. Simple, effective, but they have a certain elegance to them as well.”
    “That’s gratifying to hear,” Zach responded. “I just designed them in a way that made sense. I didn’t think they were anything particularly special.”
    A smile played at President Starvos’ face. “Ah, you might not have, but others might disagree. Lawrence, our section manager, was particularly impressed by how you were able to design such a system. And you did it almost completely on your own as well. I must say, when I looked over the records I was quite impressed as well.”
    “I really didn’t think anything of it,” Zach admitted. “They were simple designs of something that’s been around for a long time.”
    “Ah, but that’s the trick,” Starvos replied.