We smiled at each other for a long moment. My resolve started to settle as did the vision of what I desired the most: to compete with the best in the world as my father watched awestruck.
I took a good look at her one last time. She wore a modestly cut, full-length gown of rich purple. Her modest dress had purpose. I would miss her partnership. No, she was a friend. As a precision instrument, she had helped me grow in knowledge and character. Her constant presence and encouragement helped me be better than I ever would have been without her.
Closing my eyes, I sighed heavily as I took off my headset. It was something I rarely did except at home.
Destiny could not come with me where I was going and mixed reality withdrawals were a very real thing. Instead of facing the symptoms when I began Codename: Freedom, I would start now.
With my headset cradled in my lap, I opened my eyes to the dreary world around me. Most everyone wore clothing that reflected the acceptable amount of light.
Everything was suddenly very simple. There were no streaming notifications or augmented holograms. Destiny was gone. It was overwhelming for the first few minutes and I sat there and just allowed myself to take it all in.
It was as disturbing to look in the direction of the perverts as I had imagined. Cyborg-Snot!
Turning away, I determined not to do that again. Destiny. I already miss you.
Remembering my purpose, I began exploring my suddenly unfamiliar world anew.
Today I would only be here for an hour and then walk home without help from Destiny or any mixed reality. After today I would start to add a half an hour each day until I could make it eight hours without it bothering me. In two short months I would be living in a virtual world full time without Destiny or any Metaverse. I had to be ready.
Chapter 3 – Tutorial
There was little time before I entered Codename: Freedom. Chewme was the only other person I knew that had been selected to participate in the experiment. It didn’t surprise me with his freakish size and athletic ability.
We started training. I already ran daily. To be a professional gamer meant you knew the benefits of keeping one’s body in shape. I followed their example. In many ways we were similar to endurance athletes, just not as extreme. I upped the number of miles I ran and added body weight training. Destiny was quick to set up a daily routine for me.
When the day came, my body hummed in excitement. I was alone, except for the kind curly brunette in a white coat guiding me down an elevator leading deep underground.
When the sterile metallic doors opened, my mouth dropped. I felt a tingling sensation in my knees. An underground expanse at least half a mile wide extended further than I could calculate. There was a polished steel walkway before me that seemed insignificant to the underground world I had just discovered.
Humor-filled eyes met mine. The female doctor must have grown to expect this kind of reaction. She placed her hand on my shoulder and motioned me forward.
The walkway reached out twenty meters before we met a yellow railing stopping us from falling to a painful death below. I didn’t hesitate to approach it and grabbed ahold of it tightly. Looking down, I saw them for the first time.
Hundreds of house sized, black cube structures lined either side of the bunker running off into the expanse of the room.
My guide led me to a second elevator to our left that was little more than a steel cage. Entering, the creek of steel followed us down.
The cage opened to the ground level. Following the doctor’s lead, we approached the first structure. As I neared, I saw it was at least two stories tall, with numerous cords, metal arms and pipes coming out the top and the side facing the wall. It was too high to see the top of it, but there was movement.
Were these really what I thought they were?
I was suddenly thankful we had taken the advice to get in shape seriously. After centuries of virtual reality, neuro-linking was “the way” virtual reality worked. If you wanted to fight an orc, join a battle, siege a castle, blast some aliens, fly a spaceship, or explore new worlds there was no doubt that current technology would let you do just that. Could this machine do better?
“Sit here.”
She directed me to sit on an aluminum bench staring up at one of the house-sized machines. Looking around, there were other benches in front of each structure with players waiting.
“Impressive huh?” The lady said. She was looking at the house-sized machine-room before us. “We call it the Cube.”
Her eyes closed as she smiled to herself.
In all seriousness, I suspected that I could throw everything I thought I knew about virtual reality hardware out the window.
After a long while sitting, the time finally came. My doctor friend directed me through a doorway to one side of the Cube. She had me stand in the middle of the room as my eyes adjusted to the lack of light.
I soon dangled six feet in the air with countless industrial arms of all sizes hanging from the ceiling and reaching out to me from the walls. They came in all shapes and sizes. I stood on a platform that was compiled of dozens of smaller arms and platforms coming together under my feet.
To my embarrassment, I had no clothing on, but I had been left alone.
There was a sickly, green light running along the wall just above head level that gave the room a haunting feel. Only the silhouettes of the massive mechanical arms were visible. I was surrounded.
A man’s voice sounded from a speaker in the wall. “We will now begin. First, you will feel a slight chill, and then a loud sound will start the countdown. This is nothing to worry about. We are in the final stages of preparation.”
He wasn’t kidding about the chill. I tried to cling closer to myself for warmth, but it was a losing battle.
The promised loud siren started to go off like a dying whale. I realized in that moment that I would be spending a year without ever leaving this crazy machine. I held my breath.
The siren started to sound at a quicker tempo.
Something was coming.
It came quicker.
Then suddenly the remaining light ceased.
I screamed through gritted teeth like a startled animal.
Darkness everywhere.
There was no logical threat, but I found myself posturing defensively.
Light slowly started to brighten all around. There was no light source. It came from every direction at once. Soon I stood in an empty white room with no walls, ceiling, or floor. The texture of the floor had even changed. It felt like I was standing on well-hydrated earth. It was soft and smooth like a finely woven sheet.
“Welcome, Lucius Edwards, to Codename: Freedom,” came a kind woman’s voice from somewhere in the distance. No one was in the direction the voice had come from.
“Today you will be joining approximately 100,000 men and women in the largest virtual experiment in the history of the world.”
“To you, Freedom will be a new world; to the viewers of the Metaverse, it will become the next big thing in reality entertainment. You will have no direct contact with anyone outside of Freedom, and all fan comments and messages will be scanned for information that might give you an unfair advantage. Once inside, there are many small starting cities and the total player population will be split between them randomly. Your starting city will be Willingham. I will now appear before you.”
A translucent, colorless face with the consistency of water appeared. She had a long elegant face but was no doubt an artificial intelligence like Destiny.
“You can leave Freedom at any time, but if you do leave you cannot return. To do so, go to the city hall of any starting city. Please consider seriously what the consequences of leaving will mean. How will such an act affect your current followers and public image? There are thousands of people in line to take your place if you decide to leave. Lucius, your chances of becoming a professional gamer will be greatly hindered. But if you stay and fight...”