11:30am Friday 25 December 2084
‘Your unofficial world ranking,’ said Tom, with a rapidly growing smile, ‘is 10,360. That’s about 20,000 places above me.’
Zak leapt out of his chair.
‘Brilliant!’ he shouted, shaking his fists in triumph.
‘Let’s put that into perspective,’ said Tom. ‘You’ve only been playing True-To-Life for six weeks. Most of the people above you have played for years. And there’s seventeen million registered players.’
Zak took deep breaths, and paced around the tiny clear floor space in his bedroom.
‘On the other hand it shows you how tough it is at the top,’ said Tom, ‘considering you are near perfection now.’
‘I know I can get a lot better,’ said Zak, pointing at Tom on the wall.
‘It will be years of hard work. But you can go all the way.’
‘The next target is the top 10,000. What’s the chance of making that today?’
‘Well the ranking bonus for completing the game won’t be enough,’ said Tom, ‘But if we do this last mission in a super-quick time, that should push you up there.’
‘Then what are we waiting for?’
Zak threw himself back onto the gaming chair, and in a single movement brought the chair horizontal. He slammed his head back onto the Mind Mat, and shut his eyes tight.
*
11:58am Friday 25 December 2084
Zak reached the Presidential Office of Victory Palace. Fired up by his ranking report, he had rampaged through the mission. He had led his team to the gates of the heavily guarded Palace, then split them up to launch a four pronged assault. As expected, he had reached the top first.
