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Evo was located near a giant blue star and was made up of several large islands with different landscapes and miles of vibrant blue water. Each island was host to a different setting or stage within the game, and was supported by a complex electrical grid, advanced nanotech, and an extensive network of satellites that surrounded the planetoid.
While the entire planetoid was essentially one giant amusement park, it was also home to several hundred employees. There were a large number of people who worked in the command center, security, and on the various maintenance crews. Then, there were the staff members who worked at the luxury resort, medical centers, shops, and other businesses.
The only thing not under the Artanes’ strict control was Wonderland, the massive sanctuary that was located on the main island. Wonderland was run by Fenris, Raek, and Charm Barra, and was practically big enough to be considered its own sovereign city. The Barra siblings had recruited their own staff for the sanctuary as well as for the casino that was run on the property.
There were still more stores and restaurants to be opened in the new towns and villages at each of the various game locations, but the Artanes were still going through the process of deciding what to keep in-house and what spaces to lease to outside companies. Inviting some established businesses to Evo would be beneficial to all parties involved, but they wanted to make sure they chose the right partnerships. Just like they had carefully selected each of the supervising positions, including choosing Zenix as Evo’s new Chief of Security.
He had agreed to work for them before the Evolution project had even been completed since the Artane brothers’ offer had been too damn good to pass up. Not only was he making a shit-ton of credits, he’d also been given luxury living accommodations, gourmet meals, and all the additional perks that came with being a top-level employee for Artane Electronics.
His only demand had been that he be allowed to bring a few individuals he trusted to serve on the security staff with him. Zenix had never been much of a gamer, but Travis McClain, his friend and the first selected member of his team, was. Travis was the computer expert he had worked with during each of his missions. He had met Travis back in the academy, and the two of them had become fast friends.
While they had very different personalities, they both had rebellious souls and an underlying problem with authority in common. Travis had originally failed to become an elite after he had purposefully bombed testing. He’d had no interest in joining the military, but when he’d gotten caught hacking into an Alliance network, he had been given the choice to serve time at the Academy or in prison.
The choice had been easy to make.
Taking the easier route, he had gotten enhanced and had become an Elite. Once Zenix had started going out on missions, Travis had been paired up with him as support. While Travis claimed it was luck, Zenix knew it was because he was the only one who could control the snarky computer expert.
Travis freaking loved living and working in a mixed reality game and was now in nerd heaven as one of the specialists in the command center at headquarters. He was also one of the members of the security team that worked exclusively on problems inside the game, using virtual reality or holo to enter the system to resolve any issues.
Zenix’s other two choices for his security team were a little less thrilled by the gaming aspect of the job, but they loved the physical aspects of exploring the different landscapes on each island.
Anissa Lazuli, a lethal Helios warrior with a hardcore grudge against anyone who preyed on the weak, had been chosen as his second-in-command. Zenix had met Anissa during one of his early missions. He had developed a healthy dose of respect for her exceptional fighting skills and her unwavering sense of honor.
While her abilities made her perfect for security work, her personality took some getting used to. She was often seen as being kind of robotic and lacking emotions, but he knew her brain was just wired a little differently. That was why she had been kicked out of her tribe and had been living as a bounty hunter for most of her life. He had thought it would be a long shot to ask her to join his team, but she had been considering settling down in a place she could call home, so the timing had been perfect.
The last addition to his team was Xian Renn, a Krytos-D’Aire hybrid who had been instrumental in helping him gather intel for several of his missions. Xian had the big, muscular frame of a Krytos, but his seeker ability came from his D’Aire half. As a seeker, he could hear the thoughts of whoever he touched, so he normally wore special gloves to protect himself.
Not that many people were willing to get close to him.
Besides being physically intimidating, Xian had one iridescent blue eye and one black eye, which most people found a little disturbing. He also had a fierce expression on his face most of the time, so very few individuals could hold his gaze for long. Some might have chosen to wear dark glasses to hide his unusual eye colors, but Xian didn’t give a shit about pretenses.
Zenix was pleased his friends had agreed to join him on Evo and thought they had adapted to their new home better than he had. To be honest, he thought it was pretty fucking strange to be living and working in a video game simulation. Initially, he’d been worried that being the Chief of Security on Evo would be the equivalent of working in an insane asylum where everyone had voluntarily signed up to be there, but thankfully, it wasn’t that bad.
Sure, there were a bunch of freaks running around playing make-believe, but that was sort of how he felt everywhere he went. He did admit that some of the people he’d met on Evo were a little strange, but so far, he’d had no issues with anyone besides a few drunk and rowdy revelers. He definitely wasn’t used to the slower pace yet, but not having to worry about people constantly trying to kill him was kind of nice.
Evo was a place where people could come and have fun, relax, and experience the extraordinary, but that was only the surface. At its core, Evo was an advanced, groundbreaking ecosphere formed by integrating nature, technology, and magic into an innovative world.
Some might argue against a new society structure being created by a corporation, but Zenix gave the Artane brothers props since they were basically in charge of governing a whole planet on top of supervising the entire game world. Because of that, the security team was also a police force and fire and rescue team rolled into one.
For now, he was in charge of approximately a hundred people on the security team. Thankfully, his friends and several other capable commanders were helping him run things, but he knew that their division would only continue to grow as time went on.
Besides being a physical presence, they were also in charge of monitoring the safety of the players inside the game system. But that wasn’t as difficult as it seemed since they had some unique help with that.
Evo wasn’t just the nickname for the planetoid. It was also the name of the artificial intelligence system that managed all of the tech on-site and in the game. But it had turned out to be so much more than a mere computer system. Since the Artanes had programmed it with the latest nanotech and adaptive learning capabilities, Evo now had a human-like personality that was almost as annoying as the real thing.
“Chief Li, your vital signs are concerning. You should take a break and eat something before the next wave of shuttles arrive. Adequate nutrition is essential for humans to function at optimal levels.”
Speaking of the damned AI system, he thought wryly as Evo’s voice came through the earpiece he was wearing in order to connect with his team. The nanotech tattoos he had on his body gave him easy access into the system, but Evo had taken that as permission to constantly monitor him like it did the Artane brothers and their mate, Brielle.
“Evo, I told you I don’t need meal reminders,” he grumbled. “And stop monitoring my damn vitals.”
He had spoken softly, not wanting to draw attention to himself as he observed the crowd of excited visitors that had just arrived on the planetoid. Thankfully, the various greeters, porters, and guides were there to sort out the mess of people and make sure that everyone got to their final destinations safely. Most of them would be staying at the main resort, but a few of the more adventurous souls would be staying on some of the different island locations.
Those individuals needed to be directed to the teleporting pads located on the other side of the transport center. The teleporting pads allowed people to get from one island to another in a blink of an eye. While the technology was new and arguably experimental, the Dragon Warriors who had helped terraformed the planetoid had magically enhanced the teleporting pads to ensure they were the safest and fastest mode of transportation.
“Unable to comply, Chief Li. As an important member of our family, ensuring your safety and welfare is one of my top priorities. You have been on duty for twenty-two hours and only had approximately three and a half hours of sleep before that. All you have consumed today is coffee, an energy bar, and half of the sub sandwich you stole from Travis when you stopped at the command center this afternoon.”
“Coffee. I just need more coffee,” Zenix muttered.
