"Some young people deal with their disillusionment by seeking out illusions of their own" "in an illegal virtual-reality war game." "Its simulated thrills and deaths are compulsive and addictive." "Some players, working in teams called "parties"." "even earn their living from the game." "The game has its dangers." "Sometimes it can leave a player brain-dead, needing instant medical care." "Such victims are called "Unreturned"." "The game is named after the legendary island where the souls of departed heroes come to rest:" "Avalon." "You're not ready for Class A." "Work a little more on B and C." "Well done, Ash." "Still as good as ever." "Charge me for one clip of 7.62mm and two clips of PPK." "Two or three more 'completes' and you go to the next level." "You'lI have a time handicap." "You know that, don't you?" "I'll take the rest of my points in cash." "Solo gets more dangerous the further you go." "Are you sure you don't want to join another party?" "Good game, Ash." "Great tactics!" "Just like Ash!" "He's faster." "And surer." "Move!" "Ash..." "The circuits aren't clear yet." "Even you have to wait your turn." "I'll cancel, then." "Do me a favor." "I can't accept requests from individual players." "It wouldn't be fair" "You know that." "I want data on that "Bishop" who just cleared Class A." "You can at least tell me more than the terminal did." "Why are you interested?" "He's challenging me." "But you never make contact with another player." "Isn't that your philosophy?" ""Avalon..." ""...faraway isle of legend..." ""...of apple groves..." ""...and mist..." ""Avalon..." ""When will that day come?" ""Avalon..." ""Isle of faery..." ""...where heroes go..." ""Avalon..." ""A hero takes ship..." ""...and sets sail..." ""...to that isle of legend..." ""Avalon..." ""To the Nine Sisters..." ""...and Avalon..." ""There together..." ""...on that holy isle." ""O Arthur..." ""...your ship sets sail..." ""...over the misty water to Avalon"." "It's you..." "You're looking well." "I hear all kinds of things." "Maybe because I was in Wizard." "It's a real drag, you know..." "I go to different branches, I hear things sometimes things I wish I hadn't." "Maybe it's karma." "I hear that there's a solo Warrior who's really good and that it's a woman, too." "I started wondering, and what do you know!" "Did you search?" "For what?" "For my branch." "Just dumb luck." "But if we ever teamed up again it'd be like fate was giving us a second chance." "I wish I was a Warrior." "Then I could play solo." "But who ever heard of a solo Thief?" "We scout, we spring traps..." "We're like river pilots..." "..or guides." "Any party would be happy to have you, Stunner." "It's been a while since anyone called me that." "All of us old Wizard members are still angry at each other." "All the other players resent us, too." "People said Wizard was the toughest party of all." "But instead of that making my career it's a handicap." "Wizard was..." "I don't want to hear." "I guess not." "That was then." "I don't have time to rehash the old days." "Ash..." "I don't need thanks." "That's not it." "What about Murphy?" "Maybe you haven't heard..." "Look, if you don't want this..." "He went solo, too." "He got lost." "You must have heard about it..." "A hidden character in Class A?" "A weird 'neutral character' who appears when you're in there." "A silent young girl with sad eyes." "Some people say she's just a bug in the program." "She's called "the ghost"." "Whatever she is no one who goes after her ever comes back." "So you'd think no one would go after her, wouldn't you." "Even if you don't care about sharing data I'm sure at least you've heard the stories about a phantom field called "Special A" where you can't reset to escape." "A dangerous field, but you get tons of experience points." "They say the ghost is the only gate into that field." "So they go after her." "Anyone who wants to get into Special A chases the ghost." "Just like Murphy did." "Stunner!" "Go around to the right and draw them off!" "Copper!" "Cuisinart!" "Masher!" "Concentrate your fire!" "Murphy!" "We're running low on ammo!" "Let's pull back!" "Stunner, you idiot!" "Stop bitching!" ""Reset" is not part of the Wizard strategy!" "Ash!" "Ash!" "Here Arthur lies, King once and King to be." "My ID data?" "!" "Come on..." "Come on come on come on!" "Come on!" "Class A's busy today." "Watch for time-lags." "Have you heard of 'the Nine Sisters'?" "Morgan Le Fay?" "Morgan Le Fay?" "Yes." "One of the nine fairy queens who rule Avalon the legendary isle." "They lay the dying King Arthur on a black ship and take him over the water to Avalon." "The fairy Morgan Le Fay..." "The Queen North Galys The Queen of the Waste Lands and his protectress, the Lady of the Lake." "There's a story like that in northern Europe." "Odin goes on a journey." "His ship is wrecked and he drifts to an island far across the water..." "There Morgan rescues him gives him a gold ring and grants him immortality and eternal youth." "But Odin doesn't realize that Morgan has set a crown upon his head." ""The Crown of Oblivion"..." "He forgets all about his homeland and all about the world outside." "Begin." "Hold it!" "Don't shoot!" "I'm Jill, of "The Nine Sisters"." "It's a pleasure to meet the famous "Ash"." "Welcome, Ash." "Thanks for accessing." "What do you want?" "I don't expect data for free." "You don't waste time." "Maybe we'll take your gear, then." "Lots of people would pay cash for your equipment data." "Selling that data's against the rules." "There are lots of ways to make a living in Avalon." "Tell me about "Special A"." "You mean it?" "All I know is what I've heard." "Only the real Nine Sisters would know." "If not them..." "Who are the real 'Nine Sisters'?" "They're the ones who programmed this game." "Murphy!" "Those bastards!" "A time-lag!" "Sorry I messed up the room." "Don't worry." "Everyone has days like that." "From Scythia to Camelot C. Scott Littleton  Linda A. Malcor" "The Legend of King Arthur Richard Cavendish" "The Chronicles of King Arthur Andrea Hopkins" "A Kaleidoscope of Arthurian Legend Toshiyuki Takamiya" "Ash you look a bit pale." "Feeling the effeots of reset?" "Don't get mad." "Look, about the gate that lets you into Special A..." "You want to know how you meet the ghost?" "Have you had breakfast?" "You should eat sometimes." "I heard this from a party that lost a few people." "They say that every time the ghost appears there's always a Bishop there." "It's the one common link." "A Bishop?" "A Bishop's there every time a party sees the ghost." "As long as you have a Bishop, you see the ghost?" "Not only that." "Some fools set themselves up with any old Bishop and go "ghost hunting"." "That's not how you do it." "What level?" "Good question." "He has to be Class A-complete." "An Archbishop, above Level 12." "That's the condition." "No mistake." "So?" "Are you going to switch from "Warrior" to "Bishop"?" "Alone?" "Murphy was solo." "A Level-12 Bishop..." "Hey what level are you?" "12?" "13?" "But to switch to 'Bishop' you need double the experience points." "Look at Murphy." "You know how long it took him." "It takes time and money to make Bishop." "You can't do it without a party to back you up." "I couldn't do it." "You could with a party." "But with your reoord, who's going to link up with you?" "And very, very few people make Archbishop." "No, Ash you probably couldn't do it." "Maybe if Murphy were here..." "Thanks." "Be seeing you." "How did you find me?" "Seek and ye shall find." "Anyway, I think it's me that you need." "Real meat real vegetables rice..." "Yours is a lucky dog." "He eats better than people do." "Real alcohol cigarettes wisdom you can't get from a terminal." "All the fruits of Avalon the privilege of a solo player." "But for the best players, the game becomes its own reward." "I've checked you out." "Stunner?" "The ability to analyze data is one of a Bishop's most important skills." "You were a Warrior in Wizard." "When it dissolved, many people speculated as to why." "The details remain a mystery but there are those who say a certain Warrior ignored her orders and called 'reset'." "Ash!" "Can you hear me?" "Shoot at the cockpit!" "What's wrong, Ash?" "Answer me!" "Someone gets soared the party loses its point person and gets wiped out." "Happens all the time." "The only strange thing was that it happened to the invincible Wizard." "I want to form a party with you." "The standard six members." "Three Warriors, a good Thief and a Mage, if possible." "Is that all?" "You're not going to ask about me?" "Would you tell me?" "Inside Avalon I will." "Be in Flak Tower 22 tomorrow at midnight." "I'd like to close." "I'm meeting someone at midnight who can take me to Class Special A." "There's no such thing, you know." "Not inside Avalon." "No matter how real it seems, Avalon is just a game." "But a program you can't clear isn't a game any more." "That's why it's hidden away a forbidden field." "Who are you?" "Bishop scouted me, too." "As a terminal manager, not as a player." "Who is 'Bishop'?" "It's no use trying to track him down." "He doesn't access from a branch." "He has his own terminal." "He just shows up in the game." "Can you do that?" "Sure you can." "With enough money and equipment, it's no problem." "Take my advice." "Keep away from him." "I can't." "Why not?" "Murphy's in Special A." "So that's it..." "Take Room 9." "The Game Master's waiting." "Thanks." "I've input your coordinates." "I'd prefer you didn't go to Special A, though..." "I'm sorry." "A good game master does not intervene." "Let me ask you something..." "Are you accessing from a terminal somewhere or are you part of the system itself?" "What does it matter?" "You couldn't confirm that anyway." "All right." "Begin." "Thanks for your help." "Don't thank me." "This team was neoessary." "Did you find out about me?" "You're one of the Nine Sisters, rulers of Avalon designers of the program." "I'm a Bishop." "A successor to the Apostles." "I'm not responsible for its creation." "But you're not a player." "You're on their side." "Would you like to be?" "I don't trust myself to join them." "There's no need to join their party." "They're just ciphers." "Nothing but a mass of data." "Ash..." "You know which is the better game:" "One you think you can clear but can't or one that looks impossible but isn't." "Finding that subtle balance and maintaining it up through all the levels is our side's job." "Right." "It looks like we're all here." "Let's move out." "Nice to be working with you again." "No response from up ahead." "I don't like it..." "Ash...go up top." "Makanito, Zilwan, Badi... forward." "Shit!" "It's a bloody citadel!" "Of all the goddamn luck!" "Settle down." "It's a Class A-strength opponent, but it has a weak point." "The cannons will get us if we attack head-on..." "Ash we'll get out in front and stop it." "You get behind it and aim at the grill." "Damn it, Bishop!" "Are you trying to wipe out your front line?" "!" "They're just dummies created by the program!" "Forget them!" "Move!" "Don't wait around!" "Where are you, ghost?" "Stunner!" "I screwed up again..." "And this chance never comes twice..." "I'm just not very lucky." ""Again"?" "You saw her." "The ghost..." "Your chance comes when she leaves the wall." "Get the ghost and you open the gate to Special A." "Say hello to Murphy." "It wasn't your fault that Wizard got wiped out." "The one who ran...was me." "I wanted to tell Murphy that." "Ash!" "Hurry." "The ghost won't wait for you." "Just as I thought..." "you're the only one who got through the gate." "Is this "Special A"?" "We call it "Class Real"." "Bulldlng it has taken huge amounts of very sophisticated data." "In many ways, it's still very experimental." ""In many ways"?" "There's just one thing you have to do to complete it." "Finish off the Unreturned." "Your equipment and skill parameters are returned to default." "All you have is a pistol and one clip of ammunition." "There are neutral characters operating under free will." "Hurt one of them and your game is over." "There's no time limit." "The only exit from the game is completion." "If you get back safely you can be one of us." "Any questions?" "Why did you send me here?" "Surely the answer to that lies within you." "If there are no questions, we'll begin." "Look behind you." "He'll be there." "Fight well, Ash." ""Avalon, faraway isle of legend..." ""...of apple groves and mist..." ""Avalon, when will that day come?" ""Isle of faery, where heroes go..."" "Why did you come?" "Because of me?" "Isn't that a good reason?" "You know why Wizard broke up." "I thought I did." "That's why I kept my mouth shut." "I let them think I oalled "reset"." "So why did you come here?" "!" "Stunner told me you were lost." "Back there, you're just another "Unreturned"." "You wanted to go all the way." "We were too complacent." "We were in your way." "None of us wanted to break up the party." "We were invincible." "Everyone else envied us." "All the more reason you needed a pretext to dissolve it." "But is this what you wanted?" "Did you abandon us to spend your life as a vegetable in a hospital bed?" "Do I look like a vegetable to you?" "Remember, this is "Class Real"." "Reality is nothing but an obsession that takes hold of us!" "Why shouldn't I make this into my reality?" "You tell yourself that, but all you're doing is running away." "I don't want to argue!" "Have you noticed what color your hair is?" "Where's that beautiful silver streak that makes them call you 'Ash'?" "Have you ever been shot?" "Do you want to feel real pain in a real body?" "Does it have to be this way?" "When one of us dies and that body doesn't vanish the other one will know." ""...so many of the brave are cut down..." ""...and heroes lay fallen." ""As bright, shining death approaohes..." ""...the spectres appear..." ""...and shroud them in darkness..." ""...as black night desoends." "Ash..." "Don't let appearances confuse you." "This is the world where you belong." ""Avalon, the heroes set out..." ""...for that isle of legend..." ""Avalon, isle of spirits..." ""Avalon, heaven of shadows..." ""Now, with the Nine Sisters..." ""...across the misty water..." ""...the ship sets sail..." ""...to Avalon"."