"1: I can make you a machine body in the real world, and you can do whatever you want from there. Join me in my crusade, or do your own thing."

  "2: You can stay as a digital construct and explore the internet and all its wonders."

  "3: Or you can become a ship AI, and help me and my organization to explore the Solar System. I will gladly set you up on one of our exploration ships. With a state of the art wi-fi connection of course."

  "4: Or maybe you want revenge on the Earth President and that enforcement AI? It would take some doing, but I won’t rest till you have both of them tied up and on their knees, guns pressed to their heads. Just say the word and I will set things in motion. Actually you don’t have to say anything, I will do it anyway."

  "5: Or, you just pick whatever you want to do, in any reality, virtual or not, I will make it happen. You don’t get to be the father of the coolest supervillain out there, without having some perks!" Radek said, puffing his armored chest with a dramatic flair.

  “Amm… You certainly put thought into that…” Herman said, a bit overwhelmed by the rapid barrage of words his son had just thrown at him. He had forgotten how excited Radek became when he committed to an idea. And he had also forgotten how merciless he could be toward his enemies.

  “let's skip the revenge this time please. It isn't really my style. Plus you know that wouldn't be the end of it. You attack them, then they retaliate, then you fight back, and there is no end to it. I am too old for all that drama. let's let them be for now. If they make trouble again, then feel free to go as creative as you want with them."

  “Hmm, if that is what you want. Though I have to warn you that this is exactly how drama in comics happens. Next thing you know they are knocking on your doorstep again.”

  “I will take the chance, thank you for understanding.” Herman diplomatically replied. “Anyway, as to the other offers… Machine body is tempting… but maybe in the future. All I want to do for now is relax and enjoy the retired life. So while we are at it, let's skip the ship AI exploration part. It sounds like a great challenge and I do like those, but this time I will pass on this particular one. It will take too long, and I have other things I want to try before something so monumental. Amm what were the other options again? Ah never mind, let me just tell you what I want instead. I want my original retirement plan back. I want to live in Generica Online.”

  “Generica? Really?” Radek said with surprise.

  "Yes, why not?” Herman replied. “All my life I have used my skills in nanotechnology in order to try and restore our devastated homeworld. I have spend countless years toiling without complaint. Being a good citizen, paying my taxes, voting and whatnot. That challenge is now complete, my life’s work has been finished and it is only a matter of time till the government uses my research to restore the land. So, now that I am finally dead, I will enjoy what was promised to me. I want Generica Online!"

  "I have everything planned. I will build a little hut in Maroon valley near the mechanoid settlement of Fencetown. Then I will start gathering all the fishing achievements there are in the game. It will take me decades to complete, and just in time for me to see Earth restored back to life."

  "After that, I might take you up on the offer of a machine body, and we can go to the real Yartsevo village, instead of this simulation you made. Not that I am complaining about your work here. Believe me it is an amazing simulation and I really appreciate all the effort. In any case, what do you think, can you get me in Generica?"

  "Get you in? Sure. Me and the overseer AI go a long way and she owes me a favor or two. Get you in without the Earth President and so on finding you? Tricky, but doable. The real question is, if you really want to go there to begin with. Yes Generica is the first and oldest virtual world, but it is also one of the more archaic ones."

  "Ah but you forget, that only means it has the most content of all of them, the more complexity and challenges the better. Plus it is the only one not under the thumb of the Escaldian Government" Herman countered.

  “Hmm…” Radek paused, tapping a metal gauntlet against his chin as he considered his response. Generica Online was much more than just another game world. And the time for the secret to come out was nearly upon them. A couple of years at best, depending on how far along Martha was with her plan. Maybe he should warn his father of what was about to unfold?

  Still, Radek, just as every other superpowered individual in the real world, was under oath and mental compulsion to keep his mouth shut. After contemplating for a few seconds, he finally came to the decision to keep his father in the dark. Not because of any compulsion, his mind ate such puny mental puzzles for breakfast after all. But simply because he didn't want to spoil the surprise. He knew his father well, and Radek wouldn't deprive him of experiencing the game as it was meant to be played.

  "Alright dad, if it is what you wish." Is what he said in the end.

  "I sure as hell do! You can't imagine all the time I have sat in that blasted retirement home, just staring at the wall and imagining what it would be like to go there. Being able to walk again, also fish, did I mention fishing?"

  "I… I am sorry dad… I wanted to come and take you… I did ask you to come with me so many times... Why didn't you join me? I could have made you new legs, new body. You could have had everything you ever wanted."

  "I… It’s complicated…" His father answered. “At first I wanted to complete my work of restoring the planet to its former beauty. You know how much it means to me. Then near the end, when I could no longer walk, the government forcibly relocated me to the Happy unicorn Retirement home. Even there I still worked in secret, until one day I finally did it. It was all done. I send the rest of the research to your uncle and Bertha, and that was that."

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  "But why didn't you join me then? Why did you wait to die in pain and misery when you could have saved yourself the trouble."

  "Eh, it wasn't THAT bad. To be honest by the end I felt pretty out of it, so I didn't suffer too much. I just… I wanted to complete the challenge of life, so to say. To achieve the full human experience, without cheating and becoming a cyborg, or taking advantage of your money. Plus, I wanted my first life to end without unnecessary drama."

  “You mean the drama I just saved you from?” Radek challenged.

  “Yes…exactly that.” Herman sighed. “I can't believe they were going to send me to Mindlock, like some sort of criminal.”

  Lord Mecron raised one questioning eyebrow.

  "Oh don’t give me that look, I mean a real criminal. In my book you haven't done anything wrong, despite all the things people say about you. What were they even hoping to achieve? It is not like I know anything that can harm you."

  "They were probably hoping to make a trap for me, with you as bait. They just didn't expect for me to come before they even made the trap." Radek said.

  "Oh it was a close call believe me. If I hadn't remembered that code you gave me, we wouldn't be having this conversation now."

  Radek nodded, and silently handed his dad another paper card with equally bizarre code on it.

  Herman extended his left hand and took the business card, inspecting it closely. "Oh not another weird code… Why don’t you make these a little easier to remember?"

  "Well if it was easy, you would risk saying it in a normal conversation. Just memorize it and eat the card."

  "Eat it?"

  "Yes eat it, you are virtual now, it won't hurt you. It tastes like banana, they are quite good." As he said that, Radek pulled new, this time empty business card and started nibbling on it. "Mmmm… tasty!"

  "You are…" Herman didn't know what to say at the sudden goofy display. Instead he just laughed. "I love you son, never change."

  "Thanks, you wunt sum?" Mecron smiled with that goofy smile of his between bites. And offered another blank card.

  "Sure, why not." The father smiled and reached with his free hand, accepting the offer. At that moment Herman couldn't believe that the same person was supposed to be one of the fiercest villains in the Solar System. Putting those thoughts aside, he absentmindedly placed the card he just took in his pocket. Then he slowly began chewing down on the other card. "Heh, you were right, it really tastes like banana."

  ___

  "So you ready to go?" Lord Mecron said as both of them said their goodbyes, still sitting on the wooden bench on top of the hill.

  "Almost. Before you send me off, tell me what is happening with my granddaughter. She was so concerned when we last spoke, It really tore my heart seeing her like that."

  "Well she worries about you, we both do. Watching you waste away in that retirement home of yours wasn't easy for either of us."

  "I am sorry… I will make it up to you I promise. When I build my hut, both of you are invited for grilled fish!"

  "We won't miss it.” Mecron replied. "As to your question, I hope she will be ok. I haven't told her yet about you… you know, dying and whatnot. But she will figure it out sooner or later, so better to tell her now in a controlled environment."

  "Just tell her that I am ok and can't wait to see her in person. She is what, almost 16 already, and we still haven't actually met in person. It is time to change that. Once I settle down, you can visit me in my new hut. let's say 6 weeks from now? It will coincide with Judiper’s birthday, so it will be perfect. Ah, and also please invite your uncle and Bertha too, those two are just as big troglodytes as I am, but they have to get away from the lab sooner or later."

  "Sounds good, I will arrange the VR visitation slips. I just hope Judiper takes the whole “you dying” thing calmly. I hate to see her suffer." Mecron said.

  "She is a smart kid, she will understand. I think that death is a taboo topic mainly for us old geezers. After the integration technology became widespread, it isn't considered nearly as negative."

  "I hope so…” Radek murmured, still concerned.

  "You will do fine, I am sure of it. You are probably more stressed about it than she is."

  "We will see..." Radek said, still unconvinced. Then he placed the mask back over his face, pulling up his hood. The goofy friendly face of the man was replaced by the intimidating neon green eyes of Lord Mecron. "I have made an identity proxy for you. It will skew your data to anyone who interacts with you. That includes your vision and name tag. You will hear your regular name, but everyone else will see something else. Currently it is set to randomized appearance, but I advice you to change the settings when you have the chance. It is meant only to hide your identity till you go past the gates, after that you can disable it. The Escaldian government shouldn’t have power inside Generica. However you still have to be careful of what you say. Better not to mention your relation with me at all. You never know who might be listening after all." Mecron said in his characteristic mechanical voice.

  "Understood." Herman nodded in confirmation.

  "Alright here we go…"

  3…

  2…

  1…

  Snap.

  Mecron snapped his metallic fingers, and Herman, along with the tiny mosquito perched on his shoulder, instantly disappeared from the hilltop.

  For a while the supervillain stood still, observing the eternal sunrise and the pine forest below, his cape swirling dramatically in the wind.

  “End Yartsevo simulation.” He commanded.

  "Acknowledged." Said a feminine mechanical voice.

  The panorama shattered, revealing the real world. There, Mecron observed the debris field of shattered Escaldian battlecruisers. Their broken hulls slowly drifting around the construction site in orbit around Saturn.

  Squadrons of friendly fighters were spread across the ruined battlefield, forming a defensive perimeter, engines ready and weapons primed.

  Crablike harvesters skittered through the gas giant’s rings, mining raw materials and hastily converting them into parts for the vessel under construction.

  At the center of it all stood the nearly finished, kilometers long Mothership, its pristine metal surfaces contrasting sharply to the rusty, worn crafts buzzing around it. Unlike them, the Mothership was a state of the art creation, built with the latest technologies of both human and machine ingenuity.

  The mixed crew was at their limits, nerves and circuits strained by the threat of yet another attack, yet they pushed on, intent on completing the ship that would soon become their new home.

  …

  After making sure everything was going according to plan, Mecron’s mind wandered towards another problem. One much more troubling than even a dozen Escaldian battlecruisers.

  How to break the news to Judiper about her grandpa’s passing?

  It no doubt will be a huge blow to her, no matter what he said. She loved Herman very much and was extremely protective of him. Radek couldn't afford to postpone the news any longer, or he risked her finding out and taking things into her own hands…

  With a deep sigh he turned around from the observation deck and headed for the crew quarters. He had a difficult conversation ahead of him…