Ⅷ Atari of Tritero Ⅷ

On the top of the highest mountain lives a creature of legend. Lurking in Mountaintop City, they come out under the foggy moonlight to disappear into the underground caverns. They walk in a cloak carrying a lantern down the abandoned train tracks through the tunnels. And if you ask Atari what they call themself there’s only one cryptic name that will suffice: the-winner.

While the rest of Tritero’s sorry fools were busy studying boring lines of code to build increasingly difficult video game levels, the-winner was studying the laser gun. They caressed their famed weapon under their cloak and chuckled like a comic villain to themself. They'd just finished curating an elaborate upgrade that would render them completely invincible in combat. 

Tritero had the last standing major power supply in the world. Even Unutero couldn't compete with the levels generated from the facility up in the mountains. Rumors said Tritero traded their knowledge of machines and weaponry with the elite business owners down in the city in exchange for their ever-increasing demand for energy. Unutero supplied the source and Tritero didn't care where it came from so long as their computers stayed on. 

Atari didn't pay attention to what went on in society. Why would they? It was a waste of time to be bothered about anything they couldn't compete in. They were fully convinced of their Anteno right to seek the highest form of purpose: conquering others. At least that's what video games had taught them. Somewhere deep down they knew the tiny, intuitive electrical currents that connected them via antennae to the natural world had a different reason for being there. Atari had never experienced a positive feeling about anyone, so they decided it must be the grand potential for domination instead. Otherwise, they questioned the importance of having them at all. 

“Good evening good evening Tritero gamers! Welcome to the underground!” The booming voice over the speakers called to the crowd, sitting in their circle around the pit. Atari pulled off their cloak and started strapping on multicolored neon armor in the wings of the stage. The armor wasn't there to protect the competitor, it was there to alert the audience when there was a hit.

“Please put your hands together for our leading competitor, title bearer of the best ratio in the game, the-winner Atari!”

Atari didn't need the applause. They sighed boredly and stepped into the spotlight, waving nonchalantly at their adoring fans. The brown eye that was uncovered by bangs gazed out at the seats and arena. They had two eyes, technically, but one was always covered by their thick jet black bangs. It was their claimed secret for perfect accuracy. 

The arena was square, arranged like a grid. When the announcer gave the green signal the blocks rose up from the floor, forming plain rectangular buildings in a randomized pattern. Atari had about a minute to take it all in and try to determine which blocks would rise and which would fall. They counted mentally, calculating, steadying their hands, heart and mind. The arena was unpredictable, never the same design twice. The competitors were even more unpredictable.

“Today’s competition will relive a long term rivalry between the-winner and their nemesis, gladiatordick420. On your mark. Get ready. Fight!”

Atari ‘reloaded’ their laser gun, which didn't take any real ammo, it was just for the effect. They swerved around the raised gray blocks reminiscent of city buildings without real doors or windows. There was a straight clearing that went pretty far down the middle. It was too much of a risk to run straight down, but someone mindless and stupid might do it instead. They stood in a tight crevice and watched, waiting. 

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The unmapped territory between Unutero and the East was in better condition than the roads at the edge of Kvartero’s marshlands. “It’s strange, these roads are actually maintained. It’s almost like somebody is driving to Tritero on a regular basis. Why would they bother keeping the roads clear?” Bentley questioned aloud. 

“Arbaro does drive into Tritero.” Nakia commented. “My gepatro said they’d take me someday to see the power plant. They use our exports from Septero to fuel it.”

“Exports? From Septero?” Sera was lost. “How could Septero have any exports when none of us are allowed to have jobs?”

“I’m not sure.” Nakia shrugged. “It’s probably all the garbage. Maybe it's gotten so compressed over the years, we’re able to use it as a fossil fuel.”

“Fossil fuels are ancient forms of fuel, and not efficient or sustainable!” Pepsi pointed out. “And if they’re burning straight up garbage, they must have some awful pollution up in the mountains.” She frowned. If that were the case she was not looking forward to the smell.

“Well whatever it is, we're going to need to get to it. Bentley’s truck can only run for so long before we need to recharge. We can't get all the way to Sestero quickly enough on foot.” Esther unrolled her map and pointed at Mountaintop City. “This is the main hub. No one has heard from Tritero in centuries, so we'll have to be ready to expect anything. We don't know how those people will respond to a bunch of travelers from all over the world.” 

“At the beginning, there were even more rules in Tritero than Unutero.” Pepsi told them. “Ancient humans banned them from any forms of competition, both physically and socially. That's not to say they won't be aggressive. I would argue that it proves they're more competitive on average, if the humans found it necessary to ban them from doing any of it.”

  Esther frowned and rolled up her map. She looked at her friends with concern for their safety. It was bad enough Pepsi wanted to come along, and now the rest? Sera had already been kidnapped. She couldn't risk putting anyone else in danger again. “No offense, but we could use another warrior on our team if we can find one. I was raised to hunt, but you guys- if soldiers came after us there-” She looked down at her hands, remembering how her fingers had looked stained with the blood. “I can't lose anyone else.”

“Tritero had warriors once. I’m sure if they’re as competitive as I think, there will still be trained ones who would be willing to fight for our cause. We’ll just have to find some who aren’t opposed to working with people from the other districts.” Pepsi said optimistically.

Nakia sighed. “I hate to say it, but we’d be better off lying at that rate. If you thought the Central continent was bad, Tritero has to be worse. They don’t even work with Sestero, and they never accept alliance deals with Unutero. They’re only interested in helping their own people. And honestly? Even that’s giving them too much credit. We have to tell them we’ve always lived in Tritero if we want to be completely safe.”

Bentley met Sera’s reddish eyes in the rearview mirror. “We have to leave Sera in the truck then.”

“Bentley!” Esther sounded annoyed.

“He’s right.” Sera shrugged. “I’d only cause more problems being around. It’s cool though, I can check out the big factory and figure out what they’re exporting from Septero. If I never find out, I think I’ll go insane. Well, more insane.”

The idea worried Nakia, who reached their fingers through his. “I’ll come with you. You need a diplomat in case something goes wrong.” The thought of losing Sera was far worse than anything that could happen to them if they were caught.

Sera smiled and leaned against their arm. He didn’t know how to admit it yet, but after sharing a tent for a couple of nights, he was looking forward to more time spent alone with them. 

Bentley parked the truck by the edge of town in-between some tall nevergreens. Their orange and red leaves that never went away concealed the truck pretty well. “Stay in your lane, Deidre,” he said, giving her a pat before they walked into the city.

Sera popped an umbrella open and swung it over his shoulder. He made a peace sign and walked off with Nakia towards the power plant. 

“This place is eerie,” Pepsi commented quietly. She peeked around every corner and down every street. Not a person in sight. It was the middle of day, the sun hung lazily in the air as the winds swept through the sections between tall mountains and cliffs. The town was pretty and well kept. So, where were all the people? 

Esther stepped up to a random shop window and tapped the glass. Dust released from it like ancient spores. She frowned and wiped a circle with her hand before looking in. “It’s completely empty. I don’t think these buildings have been occupied in years.”

Suddenly, the group heard footsteps trekking down the block. They snapped their necks to look at the person- person? who was approaching. The thing looked like a person, but with an odd little white box attached to their face completely covering their eyes. 

“What is that thing? Some type of cyborg?” Bentley scowled.

Pepsi shivered and clung onto Esther’s arm. “I have no idea.” She said, and she really hated when that happened.

The unusual being pulled off his VR headset and blinked in the sunlight, confused at how he’d gotten outside. He hissed like a vampire and rubbed his eyes which were coated with black circles from sleepless nights. When he saw the wandering travelers, he pointed in their direction and started yelling.

“Get lost, tourists! You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

Esther stepped in front of her friends and unsheathed her golden sword. She aimed it at the menace and spoke with a low growl. “I am the great gladiator of Tritero! Who are you to question me, sleepless cyborg?”

The dude squinted at her. He tilted his head trying to figure out what her gamertag was. “Wait, gladiatordick420? Is that you?”

Esther frowned and put her sword away. “Sure, why not.”

“Woah man. I wasn’t expecting you to show your face in the daytime ever again, after your loss in the-” He looked around and stepped in closer to whisper the most open-secret in Tritero. “Competition.”

He made it sound like a drug deal. Esther slowly nodded, understanding. “Ahh, right. The underground competitions.” She gave him a dramatic wink pretending like she knew what that was. “The thing is, I would go back to restore my honor if I could remember the way.”

The guy laughed at her stupidity. “What, did you get hit in the head by an Xbox? You literally can’t miss it. You just take the north tunnel all the way down.”

Esther smirked at her newfound knowledge. North tunnel all the way down? Now they were on the right track.

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“What did you say your gamertag was again?”

Esther blinked, maintaining a dead serious expression as she repeated what she heard before. “Gladiatordick420.”

The arena manager wrote that down. “It says here you lost to the-winner back in 194. Is this a vengeance match?”

“Oh yeah totally. I love vengeance.”

“Alright, fine. I’ll submit your request and see if you get approved for tonight’s session.”

Esther pumped her fist in the air. This place already looked cool. It was all dark with neon lighting and weapons she’d never seen before. It was something out of one of Pepsi’s novels on space and science for sure. 

Pepsi and Bentley sat in the stands eating deep fried popcorn. “Where’s Esther?” Bentley asked, leaning forward to try and see her in the wings.

“They’re about to announce the fighters!” Pepsi chimed excitedly. 

“What do I do with this?” Esther asked as the stagehands helped her get armored and thrust a laser gun into her hands. The stagehands only laughed at her joke and shoved her towards the arena. She gasped as the blocks rose up as if by magic. Technology of any kind was a foreign concept, and this was much more advanced than anything she had seen in Unutero.

“Today’s competition will relive a long term rivalry between the-winner and their nemesis, gladiatordick420. On your mark. Get ready. Fight!”

Esther knew how to be fearless in battle. As soon as the match began, she raced down the nearest straight path head on. She didn’t know how to use the weird sword they gave her, but she held onto it tightly waiting to swing at her opponent. As she neared the end of the path, a loud horn blared in her ears. She stopped and looked around for the source.

Atari sighed and came out of their hiding place. They let their gun hang lazily from a finger and glared at Esther, unamused. “You’re a fucking idiot.” They shook their head.

Esther took her opponent in. They were similar in size, but Atari’s horrible posture made them stand a bit shorter. Their olive skin looked like it could tan if they’d spent a single minute in the sun, but they hadn’t. Their heart shaped lips wore an ever-present pout. Atari shoved past Esther to walk back to their side of the arena for round two. The back of their hair was decorated with braids and clips, dark blue feathers, and silver trinkets. 

Esther stared in awe before the referee started yelling at her to get back to her starting line. Atari was fascinating to look at. Their uncaring, closed off aura drew her in. Maybe it was the toughness that reminded her of her Oktero culture, or the overconfidence in the way they walked. There was something about them that made her want to earn their respect.

Once she was back at the start line, she took a deep breath and prepared herself. How did Atari use this thing? She practiced pumping the gun and aiming it like a crossbow as the stage reset and rose again. When she felt she had the hang of it, she slowly walked into the battlefield and stayed close to the walls this time. She kept peeking around corners and practicing aiming her gun, ready to shoot the slightest movement.

“And that’s the game!” The announcer said over the speaker. Esther stopped and looked around, confused. Atari appeared once the stage flattened out. They looked full of rage.

“You’re such a bitch!” Atari shouted.

Esther frowned and looked from her laser gun to the-winner. “What happened? Why did they call off the match?”

“I won, idiot. I shot you in the back the first time, and you used up all your shots the second time. Stop making fun of me.” Their brown eyes glistened with frustration.

“I used my- where?” Esther kept clicking the trigger on her gun cluelessly. It didn’t actually fire anything visible. She didn’t understand what a laser even meant.

“Don’t play dumb, I know you kept firing at the walls to end the match early. Get lost and stop wasting my time. And your costume sucks by the way. Your makeup is terrible.”

Atari smacked the gun out of her hand with their own and left. Esther was bewildered. Her heart felt heavy with memories from Oktero. How she used to practice her battles with her peers- but never seriously enough for their tastes. Atari gave her that sinking feeling of rejection she had felt back then in her 20’s. Why couldn’t people just compete for fun?

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