Chapter 22

Eliza sat at the table in the virtual space. Moro, her A.I., also had access here and kept her informed of all changes in the boy’s behavior.

"Miss Donovan, he just activated the audio channel."

"Thank you."

Elizabeth communicated with Moro only through a private audio channel. Anji couldn’t hear their conversation.

"Sensors show he’s sitting with his eyes closed, listening to you play. He isn’t moving or smiling. His emotional state can be characterized as pleasure."

"Hmm, so it’s the music. Then let him enjoy it."

Anji sat in his corner, still unmoving. The capsule recordings showed that the boy in the game was constantly suffering physically. On the first day, his father threw him into a lake, and he couldn’t swim. On the second day, he nearly lost an arm from mishandling a trap. Then came arena fights, followed by nearly a full day of being whipped. After that, he spent three days running around the village from dogs, occasionally fighting them off. For an entire week, he battled dogs in the backyard. Watching chunks of flesh being torn from the child—only for them to instantly regenerate—was horrifying. The worst part was that the virtual father emotionally encouraged this behavior.

The audio track, like the game panel, was inaccessible to the psychologist. Lunar prohibited it under the pretext of interfering with players’ gameplay. For the last three days, the boy had been lying motionless in some field. Someone was prowling around. The last in-game day showed only a black screen.

When Eliza inquired with Lunar about the excessive cruelty of virtual parents, the response was: "In-game parents adapt to the player’s desires, aspirations, and emotions, actively encouraging their inclinations." In other words—Anji wanted this himself.