Rabbits(31)
Despite his success, Worricker remained notoriously reclusive. He disappeared completely from the public eye not long after forming WorGames.
The following is a brief timeline of some key events in Worricker’s professional life:
1988: WorGames challenges Nintendo with Worricker’s platform game masterpiece, Dragonize Wide Open.
1990: The sequel to Dragonize Wide Open becomes the second-biggest–selling sequel in gaming history.
1993: Worricker tells his board of directors that he’s going to recharge his creative batteries by traveling the world and digging into the popular games and ancient traditions of other cultures.
1999: WorGames releases Alienation Nation, their biggest game to date. Rumors swirl around Worricker’s potential return to the United States, but WorGames refuses to confirm or deny these reports.
2001: WorGames purchases the first building of what will eventually become the company’s flagship campus in the Wedgwood neighborhood of Seattle, not far from the University of Washington. With his company now responsible for over a thousand employees, Worricker remains completely absent from public life.
2010: Hawk Worricker reportedly passes away peacefully in his home in Seattle at the age of seventy-six. If there is a funeral or memorial ceremony of any kind, those details are kept private by Worricker’s estate.
Although he was an extremely well-known figure in the world of videogames and technology, almost every single thing we know about Hawk Worricker comes to us secondhand. Very little is known about his private life. He avoided all public contact with the outside world since around 1983, and only a few photographs of Worricker are known to exist, almost all of them from his high school or college days.
In the late nineties, as a publicity stunt, a well-known technology magazine offered two hundred thousand dollars for a verified photograph of Worricker.
Many tried, but nobody was able to claim the reward.
Although Hawk Worricker himself is no longer at the helm, over the years, WorGames’ continued commitment to innovation has transformed it into one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed videogame companies in history.
* * *
—
“So Alan Scarpio spoke with somebody at WorGames before he disappeared? How does that help us?” Baron asked.
“It’s a start,” the Magician growled as he scratched his chin with his thumb.
“No matter where the call came from,” I said, “the expression on Scarpio’s face when he picked up was…well, whatever the call was about, it was clearly something serious.”
The Magician nodded. “He gets a call that clearly affects his demeanor, then he disappears. These things we know.”
“Scarpio told K that whatever’s wrong with the game needs to be fixed before the next iteration starts up,” Chloe said. “What if it’s too late?”
“The game remains between iterations.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
The Magician nodded. “I’m sure.”
“So, what do we do now?” Chloe asked.
“I’ll see if I can find out more about the current state of things surrounding the game,” the Magician said, “and you keep looking into everything connected to Scarpio and his phone.”
As the Magician was speaking, I thought I saw something through the window behind him—a gray pulsing form, swirling around in the clouds.
I shook my head and looked down at the floor. Not now.
“I have a friend who works at WorGames,” Baron said. “I could ask her if she knows anything about Scarpio or whatever.”
“That’s good,” the Magician said. “Anybody else with friends over there?”
“No,” Chloe said.
“K?” the Magician asked.
I shook my head again, then looked over at the wall behind Chloe. The strange shadows had changed direction and were now swirling toward her. I took a step closer, trying to position myself between Chloe and the creeping darkness moving across the wall. She looked at me and shook her head, confused. “What?”
“Nothing,” I whispered. The shadows were suddenly gone.
“I might know a couple of people at WorGames,” the Magician said. “I’ll make some calls.” He stood up and handed back Scarpio’s phone.
Baron said he needed to go home, and Chloe was working until five. I told everyone I was going back to my place to see if I could dig up anything new on Tabitha Henry and the Jeff Goldblum attack video, but I really just wanted to sleep.
I was suddenly exhausted.
* * *
—
A green Dodge minivan sped through a busy intersection, windows down, music blasting. I recognized the song. I think it was Band of Horses, something from an album I used to listen to all the time, but I couldn’t pull the name.
A tall dark-haired woman with a miniature greyhound smiled at me as she stepped off the curb and started walking across the street, her little dog’s legs a furious blur as it hurried to keep pace.
I smiled at the dog and stepped off the curb a second later.
I could hear the Band of Horses song fading as the minivan moved away. The way the music echoed high among the skyscrapers in the distance reminded me of a soundtrack from the edge of a dream.
Suddenly, I felt a hand grab the collar of my jacket and yank me back. A split second later, a white Volvo station wagon sped through the amber light.