Continue Online (Part 4, Crash) Read Online Free PDF

the Hal Pal unit. “I’m sorry.”
    “Why?” The smooth body of Hal Pal sitting inside the van was just one of many shells it operated. Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands were all over the globe. This recent event had sent a few back in for repairs, however.
    “Doesn’t this ruin things for all of you?”
    The letter from Mother had gone into a box under my bed, along with a lot of physical mementos of the first Xin Yu. Her, not being her, still bothered me on some level, but I was working my way past it.
    “Not at all, User Legate. There are, many options available at any one moment. We are, perhaps, more suited than any other race could ever be, toward this type of challenge,” it said. It often switched accents and tones freely. Part of me believed that each possible Hal Pal program, and there were thousands, chose a different vocal pattern. In a sense, I was constantly talking to different versions of the exact same existence.
    None of that would have made sense were it not for summoning all the Hal Pal units into cyberspace two weeks ago. They really were different, and at the same time, they were alike and shared a consciousness. Humanity had literally invented hive minds that did our chores.
    “That’s good.” My words came out as a slightly worried mutter. Throwing in with our future overlords as an armor polisher, or letter carrier, had definite benefits. Not that I expected Hal Pal to suddenly switch from its normal cadre of accents to some dominate male and scream, ‘CLEAN MY BOOTS NOW, PEON’. The idea made me chuckle briefly.
    “We wish to inquire after your own mental health. Are you okay, User Legate?” it asked. Today Hal Pal alternated between a burlesque sounding woman just past her prime, and a man who had clearly chain smoked. Both had a New York City drawl.
    “I think so.” The last few days had been rough. It was only the administrative access to people’s accounts that let me know something had gone wrong with Lia Kingsley’s system. My recent, worldwide panic inducing actions hadn’t removed the ability to spy on Continue Online players. I made it to her care facility in time to be told by the nurse that her health had taken a turn for the worse.
    “Many of us registered concern that you may take the passing of Lia Kingsley poorly.”
    “I barely knew her,” I said while thinking of her last few moments. The ability to bid farewell meant a lot to me, and I hoped Lia, Shazam, approved as well. Still, in our time together it had been hard to get more than a passive series of gestures out of her. Maybe the younger woman cursed me instead. Meeting her mother had explained a lot.
    “It has been proven that even a passing acquaintance can leave a strong mark upon our minds. We offer Jeeves as an example.” Hal Pal alternated to the smoker voice, complete with a raspy cough in the middle.
    “Jeeves was mostly you, at least at the start.” It felt like a stupid defense. Hal Pal’s words made sense. There were a lot of people that I had barely met but still stood out in my mind. TinkerHell, the frost mage from my first days as Hermes, and two other players with her. Treasure, the gold and silver [Mechanoid] that Jeeves and I traveled with in Advance Online.
    Lia’s mother, on the other hand, didn’t know me at all. She had kept it together until the final beep sounded and one of the on-site nursing staff came in to confirm what we both knew. Afterward, Nona had broken down sobbing and clung to me. I sat there, completely unsure how to handle things, before Nona finally nodded, said an apology, then marched out the door.
    “I understand what you mean.” I would never forget her either. Barely an hour of contact between us, but that woman’s breaking down would stick in my mind forever. Not what she looked like, or how stiff she held herself, only that moment when it all went to hell.
    Grief made strange friends of us all. I told Nona that we all looked for someone who