SENTENCED TO LIFE 2

  ©2025 MARK SPROWLES

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  Also In The Series

  Sentenced to Life

  Book One

  Book Two

  Book Three

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  Contents

  Prologue 1

  Prologue 2

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  Thank you for reading Sentenced to Life 2

  Groups

  LitRPG

  Prologue 1

  Bernard Kristoff considered himself a patient man. He admitted that this wasn’t always so, but in his fifty-eight years, he’d learned a few things, and one of those was that you couldn’t rush innovation. He understood that genius occurred at its own pace, but he also knew that there came a time when R&D had to step aside and allow the business to profit from its accomplishments. Research and Development ate up fully a third of Ex-Terra’s gross profits. Not net, gross. They’d been tiptoeing a fine line between the red and black sides of the ledger for almost five years now.

  As CEO of Ex-Terra, Kristoff had championed AI projects from the start. He pushed through the massive purchases for the quantum computers and approved the long years of development for the AIs themselves. He’d stood as a bulwark between the board and the Virtua project time and again as the stockholders whined about ROI and their hoped-for dividends, but he could hold off the board no longer. Today had to be the day. It was time to take Virtua to market!

  Checking the time, he saw that it was almost two o’clock. The troops would be here momentarily. Bernard stood from behind his desk and, grabbing up his tablet, moved to the head of the conference table that filled the front half of his enormous office. He arranged himself comfortably and then shot off a message to his assistant that he was ready and to let his visitors in. He knew that Jerry would make sure that everyone was present and had what they needed prior to the start of the meeting. The kid was a wonder in spite of his flamboyant, almost prissy manner. Jerry often gave others the impression that he was weak and ineffective, but anyone crossing him soon found out there was steel underneath the fussy façade. Jerry was the best assistant he’d ever had, and Bernard knew that. He couldn’t care less about the kid’s life choices. One didn’t throw away such a valuable tool just because you didn’t like the style in which it came.

  “The kid would never make it as an executive,” Bernard thought, “but he’d stand behind a few good men in his career, he had no doubt!”

  He had to cut short the quiet laugh at his unintended humor as the butt of his joke opened his office door and marched into the room. Jerry’s appearance was perfect, as usual. Perfectly coiffed hair, crisp white shirt fronted by a bright crimson power tie, slacks with creases you could shave with… he carried a tray of beverages into the room as if he carried the crown jewels.

  “Mr. Parker has arrived, sir,” Jerry announced succinctly as he set the drink service on the table within his employer’s reach. “I’m sure the others will be here momentarily.”

  “Thank you, Jerry. Send Claude right in, please, and send the others in as they arrive. We need to get this meeting started.”

  “Of course, sir!” his assistant affirmed as he exited the room.

  Jerry disappeared into the outer office and was quickly replaced by Claude Parker, Ex-Terra’s Chief Counsel. Parker was the man that Kristoff depended upon to keep him out of legal trouble and in control. He was a personal hire when Kristoff first became CEO, and the man’s loyalties were to him first and Ex-Terra second. He was a formidable weapon in Bernard’s arsenal, a shark among men. It didn’t hurt that he was an imposing black man to boot! Claude could keep opponents off balance just by raising his voice. Like Jerry, a tool that Kristoff valued more because of his shortcomings, not less.

  “Claude! Come in and have a seat. Everyone else should be here soon. What’s the good word?” Kristoff said in his best just-one-of-the-guys voice.

  “Everything is a go from our end, sir,” the big man said deferentially. “The agreements have been signed by the last of the new prisoners, and the Erickson boy’s parents have agreed to our terms. We should have him prepped and tanked before the end of the week.”

  “Excellent, and the fees?” Kristoff returned quickly.

  “We’ve come to an arrangement with the Erickson’s insurance company stating that they will pay us a monthly fee that is ten percent lower than the current hospital costs, so they’re on board now. We’ve also arranged for any liability to be covered by a simple rider on our standard coverage, so I think we’re good there as well.”

  “And the gaming side of things?” Kristoff continued.

  The attorney didn’t look as comfortable with this query as he had the others. “Well, we don’t have any specific legal roadblocks, but I think that there are still a couple of hurdles to get over yet before the gaming aspect of Virtua is ready to go.”

  That was not what Kristoff wanted to hear! The game was the quickest avenue to profitability! Yes, the government contracts would ultimately be more lucrative, but the game was almost instant cash once it was released.

  “What roadblocks could we possibly have at this juncture?”

  Mr. Parker opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted as the door to the big office opened once more, allowing a short and slightly rotund woman to practically bounce into the room. Millicent Wycoff, Ex-Terra’s Director of Marketing, was a hyperactive ball of energy that filled a room with her presence. The woman bounded into the room, talking happily over her shoulder as she walked.

  “Thank you so much, Jerry! I appreciate the help!” she turned and, as she found her seat and began to rummage in her voluminous bag for her tablet, she continued. “Mr. Kristoff! Claude! So good to see you! We are right on the verge of exciting times now, are we not?”

  The woman seemed completely unaware of Kristoff’s glare as she went on. “The prison project is ready to begin its final testing before we can go live, we’ve got a medical test subject on his way in, and we’re about a month away from actually allowing beta gamers to enter Virtua! This is so exciting, don’t you think?”

  “Mr. Parker and I were just beginning to discuss the roadblocks still in the gaming area?” Kristoff said evenly in spite of his glare raking the woman.

  He’d never been fond of Ms. Wycoff; her appearance was always shoddy. The woman was always so dumpy regardless of the expensive suits she stuffed herself into, and her incessant talking was always so bubbly. It was just irritating! If the woman hadn’t proved time and again that she knew how to reach every market and wring out every last dollar, he would have sacked her years ago!

  Looking up, tablet in hand now, she met her CEO’s eyes for the first time since she entered the room.

  “Well, of course, there are challenges, Mr. Kristoff! Projects like this are almost living things! You have to roll with the punches and meet each challenge as it arises. That’s what makes this fun!”

  Taking a deep, calming breath, Kristoff tried again. “I don’t need fun, Ms.
Wycoff. I just need to know about these challenges.”

  “Why, it’s the safety concerns, of course!” she supplied, seemingly unconcerned. “The FCC won’t give us a license to proceed until they are sure that our customers will be in no danger from the gaming process!”

  “What dangers?” Kristoff demanded. “And what does the FCC have to do with our game?”

  “Ah, sir,” Claude replied before the loquacious Ms. Wycoff could respond, “the government decided that our gaming system was a communications medium and, as such, fell under FCC oversight last week. The panel that the FCC quickly cobbled together to oversee Virtua wants a larger body of test data available before it grants us our license to operate.”

  Turning his glare onto his chief attorney now, he asked, “And why hadn’t I heard about this yet?”

  “I apologize, sir; my fault. I informed my staff to notify everyone of this but failed to follow up. I’m truly sorry.”

  Normally, Kristoff would revel in the subservience of the big fellow. Having someone so obviously strong show his submission like that was what he lived for but not today. Today, he needed answers.

  “Sorry doesn’t help me, Parker! What are we doing about this?”

  “Actually, it’s not going to be a problem, sir!” Wycoff burst in, completely ignoring the red-faced glare that turned her way again. “We have a solution to the problem that will keep the schedule for the game release intact! It even has the possibility of moving up the acceptance date on the military side of things! We’re fine!”

  This startled both men, and Ms. Wycoff, noticing that her audience was speechless, took that opportunity to explain further.

  “My team has been working with both R&D and the military to see if we can’t get them to provide a Beta Team for our gaming world. Our position is that this would not only provide the FCC’s needed data, but it would also give the military personnel the access they’ve been asking for to get their people acquainted with the benefits of virtual training! It’s a win for everyone!”

  Kristoff was once again amazed at this fat little woman’s ability to turn a steaming pile into roses. Once again, he congratulated himself on being able to look beyond a disagreeable appearance to find such unique and valuable tools!

  The door to his office opened again as he collected his thoughts. Jerry stuck his head in to announce, “Doctors Sandeep and Malcolm, sir.” The young man stepped back to allow the two scientists into the office, closing the door behind them.

  Regaining his equilibrium, Kristoff welcomed the newcomers. “Doctors! It’s so good to see you both. It’s been a while!” and it had. He hadn’t seen either of them since the prison alpha test began.

  The two white coats smiled and returned their ultimate superior’s greeting as they seated themselves at the table.

  “I apologize for being a few minutes late, Mr. Kristoff. We’d just completed our final report on the alpha test subject, Russell Logan, and wanted to make sure that we had that report to give to you here today,” Dr. Sandeep said as he ran one finger across the face of his tablet to send the report to everyone at the table.

  “Ah, very good doctor! Your timing is actually perfect!” Ms. Wycoff applauded. “We’ve just finished reporting on the other aspects of Virtua, so the prison data is next on our list!”

  Kristoff glared again at the little round woman as she usurped his meeting momentarily. Calming himself quickly, he smiled at the scientists and nodded his approval. “I’m sure we can read this in detail later, Doctor. Why don’t you just give us the highlights? Are we ready to send in more prisoners?”

  Dr. Sandeep looked over at his assistant, Dr. Malcolm, before he answered.

  Turning back to Kristoff, he replied, “Yes, sir, we are ready for the next phase on Tarsus. We have accepted three new prisoners, as you know. What you probably don’t know is that they are being prepped for insertion as we speak.”

  “That too is good news, doctor, so why the hesitation before you spoke? Is there a problem?” Kristoff feared another shoe was about to drop.

  Again, Sandeep looked to his assistant, and this time, it was she that answered. “Well, sir, while the first subject, Mr. Logan, did very well in acclimating to Virtua, his family has contacted us and is demanding visitation rights. They want to see their son, sir.”

  Kristoff immediately looked to Parker for a response. “Well? Do we have to let them see him?”

  The big attorney flipped quickly through screen after screen on his tablet, looking through the documents signed by Logan, the courts, and the company that detailed all aspects of Mr. Logan’s incarceration.

  “We have a document signed by the incarcerated and the State of Illinois that Mr. Logan will under no circumstances leave Virtua except at the discretion of our medical team and only for life-threatening issues,” Parker replied.

  “Well, that should take care of that… doesn’t it?” Kristoff asked.

  “Not quite, sir. Since a Supreme Court ruling in 2028, allowing family access to prisoners is considered a human rights issue now. Denying such would be seen as a violation. We have to let them see him, sir.”

  “Of all the… how could we have missed this? What are our options, doctors?” Kristoff bristled, his aggravation at an unforeseen problem popping up at the eleventh hour quite apparent.

  “We have two options, sir,” Sandeep said. “The first is to see if we can’t get the family members to accept a virtual meeting. We could have the AIs facilitate a virtual call between the parties at any time…” he trailed off.

  “And, doctor? That sounds feasible, so what’s the problem?”

  “The Logans demand to see their son in person. They have an attorney ready to sue if they can’t. I can’t imagine that’s the type of PR we want Virtua to have just as things are ready to begin,” the scientist said quietly.

  “No! We most definitely do not want a lawsuit at this stage of things!” Kristoff began loudly. “This could cause all sorts of repercussions if we…”

  “Excuse me, sir,” Dr. Malcolm broke in. Startled at the temerity of the usually reserved woman, Kristoff just turned to face her, eyebrows raised in question.

  Seeing that all eyes were on her, Angela Malcolm began to cautiously convey an idea she’d gotten from Gillean, the AI known as the Mother of Creation. They’d been talking quite a bit lately.

  “Why don’t we let them go to him, sir? They’re the ones making demands! Force them to buy the gaming gear and enter Virtua themselves if they want to see him! Ex-Terra will make a profit on their equipment and licensing, and we’ll get even more test data from their visits to the FCC! They’re the ones making the demands. They’d have to meet us halfway, wouldn’t they?”

  The table was shocked silent. The doctor was beginning to look a bit nervous that her idea was about to flop until Kristoff snapped out of his shock.

  “That’s perfect! Doctor, you’re a genius. What an excellent idea!” Turning to his lawyer, he went on, “Claude, get the proper papers together for this! Make sure we’re safe from any litigation once they sign! Ms. Wycoff! Meet with the family and explain the mechanics of visiting Virtua and the costs involved. If they want to see their son, they’re going to have to pay!”

  “They may not be able to pay Mr. Kristoff. What do we…” Ms. Wycoff began.

  “Then we discount the package and get to play the humanitarians for our caring efforts on these family’s behalf. As a matter of fact, do that anyway! That’s PR gold!”

  “Yes, sir. I quite agree! We can make a lot of hay with a story like that! I will take care of it at once!” the excited woman babbled.

  That was it, then! Everything was on schedule. All projects are moving forward as planned, with no more roadblocks! All that needed to be done was to do it. Kristoff stood at the head of the table.

  “We’ve talked enough! Let’s go do this, people!” Everyone stood. “Keep me informed but don’t slow down for anything, and for God’s sake, keep me posted on everything!”

  There was a chorus of “Yes, sirs!” and “Right away, sirs!” as everyone left the office. They all had a lot of work yet to do, but Bernard Kristoff was very happy indeed. Virtua, his project no… his baby, was about to start making money; lots and lots of money! His eyes positively gleamed at the prospect as he returned to his desk and the rest of his day. There was still so much to do!