ANGEL FIRE

The day Ben has dreaded for years has finally come, the day of his release from prison.

He strides into the Great Hall to bid farewell to his fellow knights and squires. Sir Gilthwaite hails him with a raised, mailed fist, his other hand clutching the leg of a roast grouse. Sir Bryllwyn, the senior member of the order, a pockmarked, red-bearded giant of a man who lost his left ear in close combat with a Moor, stands from his chair and roars at him in greeting, his words indistinct, as he also lost his tongue. Two other Crusaders, the youngest of the crew, whose scripts and characters Ben spent less time on, making them less distinctive than the others, respectfully nod at him, then go on eating. They are watched by a hungry raven, Angel Fire, whose cage hangs from the ceiling by a gold chain. The gold was an indulgent, capricious touch – the chain would have been made of iron, Ben’s research showed – and he was docked two ReCoins for the error, but when given the chance to correct it, he declined. His castle world, he felt, belonged to him, and the ReCoins he’d earned devising and building it were his to sacrifice if he desired.

In the lower right corner of the screen, next to the box displaying his ReCoin count, a digital clock ticks swiftly down. The Exit Protocol will start in moments. “Goodnight, my faithful brothers.” He bows to them. He hears the hinges of his armor creak and exults for the last time in the magnificence of his build and stature. Soon, he will shrink six inches in height and lose the strength to draw the bowstring that slew so many foes. Soon, he will leave the Forest of Four Peaks and return to the dismal flats of his old life.

The Exit Protocol blacks out the screen. He finds himself seated in a small office decorated with stubby desert plants and color photos of Olympic athletes, both on the stand wearing medals and in action, kicking balls and grappling on mats. Across for him, on a backless stool with casters, a slim young fellow in a loose grey jacket with a pocket ID badge that read “Russ” is already speaking to him about his future.

“The good news, before we preview the conditions of our changed society,” says Russ, who is