SHIAM Conspiracy- Book 1 Read Free

them in their game.
Isn’t that kind of strange?”
    “Not really.” Zak raked his hand through his
hair, impatient for the elevator to reach their designated floor.
“You probably have a different version of the game than they
do.”
    “No, I checked that” Jonas said. “We all have
the same version. Besides, all the game modules are run from the
server. Only the player’s characters and possessions are stored on
the local machines. It just seems really bizarre, having all that
stuff in my game and no one else has them in theirs. Tahmore
Ferry . It could be another whole module or something, but how
can my world be different than theirs if we are all running the
same game module?”
    “Look, I got more to do than worry about
somebody’s sloppy game coding.” Zak told him. “It’s probably just
some sort of error. You may have somehow triggered some forgotten
code left over from an earlier version of the game that was never
deleted. It happens more often than you might think.”
    Jonas seemed to finally pick up on the fact
that Zak wasn’t much interested in helping him with his gaming
mystery. He stood silently studying Zak for a moment. “You don’t
like us very much, do you? SHIAM, I mean.”
    “About as much as I like my toaster,” Zak
said.
    The door of the elevator opened onto the two
hundred and tenth floor. The half-dozen SHIAM remaining in the lift
made no attempt to allow Zak an easy exit, their expressions fixed
in hostile glares as he pushed past them and out the door.

2
    T he Dwarf looked absurd sitting behind the
oversized desk in the middle of an equally oversized office. The
room was modern to the point of appearing sterile. The large desk
was all shiny black metal with a spotless white work surface.
Shelves, also black metal and filled with neat rows of electronic
media, spanned the length of one wall. The only decor on any of the
bleached white walls was a painting opposite the shelving. Zak
recognized it as a famous Dwarven work of art, an oil painting of
the Temple of Bha Kalhan. The actual temple was located deep within
the southern ranges of the Bakkhen Mountains and was the central
point of the Dwarven religion. Although he recognized the painting,
he couldn’t remember the name of the famous Dwarf who had painted
it. He figured it to be an original work though, based upon the
luxurious atmosphere that surrounded it.
    Everything in the room spoke of money,
including the Dwarf. His shaggy red beard fell from view below the
desktop, hiding most of the expensive dark blue suit he wore. He
wore gold on all his fingers and when he stood and held out a hand
in greeting, a thick gold chain bracelet dangled from his right
wrist.
    “Ah, Mr. Milliandur,” the Dwarf greeted him
in a booming voice. His face appeared as leathery as the expensive
chair he had been sitting in. Combined with a large nose and long
bushy eyebrows, his face looked almost like a mask. He was
obviously standing on some sort of platform hidden behind the large
desk; he stood nearly as tall as Zak, his knees peeking over the
desktop. “I am so glad you could come. Tobias Grimrok, at your
service!”
    “Actually, I believe he prefers to go by the
name Harris . Isn’t that right, Zak?”
    The voice correcting the Dwarf came from a
man Zak hadn’t noticed when he entered. He was standing at a window
behind Grimrok’s desk, his hands poised behind his back as though
he were leisurely taking in the storm that raged beyond the plate
glass. Zak froze as he reached out to take Grimrok’s offered hand.
A shattering crack of thunder emphasized the suspended moment. He
knew the voice instantly.
    After a dramatic pause, the man turned to
reveal a less than friendly smile.
    “It’s good to see you again, Zak.” The smile
took on a malicious edge and his tone made it clear that he didn’t
really mean what he said.
    “Yeah,” was all Zak offered in return.
    Dorjan Vennhim was a predator. Although he
was middle aged, he had