AIN SOPH Part 1

Episode 3

Leading this army would require an unprecedented commander. For his Master’s Thesis, Andy had designed the Automated Intelligence Network Sophisticated Optical Parabolic Hyperbole. Using a formulated question, or even a jumble of words, AIN SOPH assembled a battery of data-bases allowing users to hear, see, and even feel their answers. The young, idealizing Andy had envisioned a future of realistic learning environments, where students could march at the side of Darius the Great, pilot a descent on the Moon, or be chased through the underbrush by a Deinonychus.

AIN SOPH showed 85% accuracy for problem solving and leaps of logic, which Professor Habernacky called “miraculous.” The startling upset of grades narrowly prevented Andy from being thrown off campus. Adult, career-oriented Andy shoved AIN SOPH in the brain of King Dagon, a visual homage to every giant lizard/fish/dinosaur to ever stomp across the silver screen.

King Dagon was so big that PC’s engaged in combat would never see more than a third of the monster, whose claws could sweep away an entire warband. It's razor-filled mouth could swallow a dragon and rider without chewing. No weapon or spell in the game did more than a single point of damage to the monster, and King Dagon rarely stood in place for more than one combat round. Even worse, King Dagon gave ScornFish the ability to swim. When the monster was complete, Andy plopped King Dagon in the ocean trench off Grave Island.

King Dagon’s first attack came Christmas morning, when the beast surged out of the ocean at Odessiya, a port city on the south shore of Grave Island. Most players were offline, busy unwrapping their “King Dagon” expansion packs, which unlocked a multi-angle video of the attack. Viewers could toggle through ten different perspectives of the event, which were posted to the game’s website as it happened. PC’s already logged into the system found themselves stars of a real-time war video, crushed to bloody spots under the feet of King Dagon, or torn limb from bloody limb by an insurmountable force of ScornFish.

Go to Episode 4