Alan leaned back against the metal railing, his eyes scanning the stadium below, as masses of people swayed and chanted in synchronicity in support for their team. The lights and holograms from the giant scoreboard floating above the stadium reflected off the shades of his wayfarers, hiding a glint of mischief in his eyes. Beside him, the Aussie, Linus, fidgeted with a small, glowing orb.

“Mate, you sure this’ll work?” Linus asked, his voice tinged with hesitation, or maybe nervousness.

“I’m sure. I’ve done it before."

Linus nodded, a grin spreading across his face. “So, how do I get this thing to multiply?”

“It’s all about timing and location,” Alan began, his voice dropping to a whisper. “First, you need to find a spot where the code’s running a bit… loose. A place with a lot of users, where the servers are stretched thin from too much processing. That’s why we’re here.”

“I was wondering about that. I thought maybe we were gonna watch a hyperball game instead,” Linus laughed. He looked down at the arena. Players were running across the synthetic, obstacle-laden field, chasing the ball carrier as he grabbed power-ups on his way to the end zone. “This is insane. Never seen a game like this.”

“Exactly,” Alan replied. “The system’s working overtime to manage all the players, the power-ups, the crowd, and the playing field. That’s our chance. We need to get close to the field, near one of the power-up dispensers.”

Linus raised an eyebrow. “Power-up dispensers?”

“Yeah. See those nodes around the field?” Alan pointed to several glowing spots where players raced to grab temporary in-game boosts. “Those dispensers are a high load on the system because they have to track who grabs what, when, and how it affects the game. It’s a lot of data to process in real-time, on top of so many users in one place. And we’re not in an MTP world. This is just some regular user’s."

“I was wondering about that. Whose world is this?”

“I dunno, some hotshot. A lot of users in New Horizons have thousands of multiplayer slots, and they like letting in shmucks like you and I for special occassions like this.”

“How did you find him?”

“Browsing streams. And when you’re in their world, just know who they are, and if you bump into them, treat them like royalty.”

Linus nodded, understanding. “So, for the glitch… I do that trading sequence you showed me, when the game hits a peak—like during a big play, right?”

“Exactly. If you time it just right, you’ll give me a copy of the orb and keep one for yourself.”

“Ripper! How will I know if it’s lagging enough?”

“Once you’ve been in here long enough, you’ll start seeing signs. An easy one is when the textures start repeating. The floor or the walls will have the same pattern every five or six feet. When you see that, wait for the peak.” How long had Alan been in here? He wondered.

“Alright then, let’s get to it!” Linus led them down the string of bleachers on their way to the sideline.