Part 6 (1/2)
Bliss snorted. ”Overrated. I beat that on my second try. I expected more.”
”Super Mario Suns.h.i.+ne, the-”
”Corona Mountain level,” she finished for him.
”How fast did you beat that level?”
She considered. ”It's not about how fast, okay? Only gamer newbies or people who don't game care about time. It's about how. For Super Mario Suns.h.i.+ne, you can only get to Corona Mountain by clearing the seventh episode of all other areas. But the real challenge is the boat controls. You have to propel a boat by facing backwards and turning on the spray nozzle, then navigate through a section of platforms with either retracting spikes or fire. But you have to figure out how to use the Hover Nozzle.”
Hu tried another. ”What about level forty of Dead Island?”
”Not really a fan of zombie games.”
”But you play them.”
She gave him another of those coquettish smiles. ”I play everything.”
”Did you beat level forty?”
”Yes. On my third try.”
”The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game for NES? The underwater bomb disarm section?”
”Set the Way-Back Machine, but sure. When I was eight, I think.”
”You're making me feel old.”
Another smile. ”You're not too ancient.”
”What's the hardest game you've ever played?”
She had to think about that. ”None of them are what I'd call skull-crackers. If I had to put one up at the top, maybe Super Ghosts and Goblins. I underestimated it because it was harder than I'd heard.”
”But you beat it?”
”Yes, and it taught me a lot about making a.s.sumptions.” She paused. ”Excuse me, but are we really going to dissect every single game I ever played? I mean, is there a point to this?”
Instead of answering directly, he said, ”Do you have any practical experience with game design?”
”Some.”
”It's not in your resume.”
”It was just for fun.”
”'Fun'?”
”Well, for the challenge. I, um, hacked into the game programs for Halo, Battletoads, and Gears of War and wrote new levels.”
”Why?”
”Like I said-”
Hu shook his head. ”I want the real answer.”
Miss Bliss took a moment, stalling by adjusting her clothes and s.h.i.+fting to find a more comfortable position on the bench seat. ”I ... have a few friends who are gamers.”
”Gamers of your caliber?”
”Pretty much.”
”And-?”
”I wanted to see if I could create game levels that they couldn't beat.”
”Could they beat them?”
”The first few, sure. But the more recent ones? No.”
”Can those levels, in fact, be beaten?”
”Sure. Otherwise it wouldn't be a game.”
Hu smiled.
”What?” she asked.
”I think you'll enjoy where I'm taking you.”
”Meaning-what?”
Hu threw a different line into the water. ”What do you hope to accomplish?”
She didn't turn. ”Specifically-?”
”In life,” he said. ”With your career.”
Her response was casual, with no trace of defensiveness. ”I don't know. I'm keeping my options open.”
”And yet you applied for a job with us.”
”Sure, I applied for a job because the job description, though necessarily vague, was designed to hook someone like me. You dangled the bait of this being either under the DARPA umbrella or connected to it in some way. That's where I want to be.”
Hu nodded. ”And you think you'd flourish in a DARPA setting?”