New Contract (Perimeter Defense Book #3) Read Free Page B

snowflake, and Miya is a flame." A very astute observation. Miya suddenly began smiling for no apparent reason. She must have been reading my thoughts.
    "It's unusual to see you without a huge belly. What'd you name the baby girl?" I asked, putting forth the first of the three questions allotted to me.
    Miya looked at me in surprise, but quickly went back to smiling.
    "That was the last question I was expecting you to ask, Ruslan. Though it is nice to hear, I won't hide that. Her name is Deia, Crown Princess Deianna royl Georg ton Mesfelle."
    In that Miya's daughter had become a Crown Princess, it wasn't hard to guess that the real Georg had already divorced Marta. I wonder what his ex-wife demanded in return for signing the divorce papers? Should I ask Miya about that? Alright, I shouldn't waste another question on this. I'll figure it out as the game goes on. All the more so given that I had a much more interesting question to ask:
    "After leaving Perimeter Defense , I spent a ton of time trying to find information on the game online. I also tried to find even one virtual reality capsule for sale that looked like the one I got out of. It was a wild goose chase, though. And, if I could perhaps understand why a private game for the elite would want secrecy, why would anyone want to keep the virtual reality capsules a secret? Doesn't it make sense that the manufacturers would actually be doing everything in their power to advertise such a product? I honestly got the impression that this technology simply does not exist. Can you tell me about it?"
    Miya gave another satisfied smile:
    "You've finally started thinking with your head, not letting your emotions rule you. Great question, Ruslan. That's how you should have started this conversation, instead of wallowing in self-pity and complaining about rude neighbors. Everything you suppose is correct, but you have missed one important aspect. You saw a working virtual reality capsule in real life. That was a mass-produced model too, not some experimental prototype. I've given you enough hints. You can figure the rest out on your own. Let’s see if you have a working brain in that head of yours."
    Miya sat back deep in the chair with a glass of juice in her hand, and began observing my intellectual strain, clearly not planning to help me or give any more information.
    I tried feverishly to imagine how this could possibly be. It was mass-produced but nothing had ever been written about it? Some kind of strict military secret? Maybe for working out different scenarios in a virtual world instead of reality? Maybe for working in locations with high infectious disease rates, or under enemy fire. Or maybe it was to train soldiers to overcome fear of death. After a hundred virtual deaths, they wouldn’t be afraid anymore. Or perhaps it was for selecting the most suitable people for especially unusual missions, like a Mars landing or first contact with extraterrestrial life forms... But that all sounded too outlandish.
    "It is the right answer, though" Miya attested, clearly content. "It's good to see that you are not as closed-minded as the vast majority of people. You can think beyond the commonplace. Yes, it is for working out how to use advanced technology still under development. The game Perimeter Defense , and the equipment for it do really exist, though I am not aware of all the goals of this mass-scale experiment. And I also have no idea where former players go to after they get a game-over. Information about Perimeter Defense is not allowed to seep out beyond the laboratory walls. I hope very much that they are simply given new characters, though I cannot say I am sure of that. You have only one question left, Ruslan. Ask it, and we can get to work."
    Easy for her to say... I was still in shock after getting an answer to the last question. Miya and Georgiy, it seemed, were participants in a mass-scale many-year experiment for an unknown secretive organization! Well I'll be