Everything around Alan was crystal clear. He had always had a bad sense of smell, and his vision wasn't perfect. Now, though, he could see the tiny drop of water on an individual blade of grass nearly twenty feet away. He also smelled everything, from faint dewy grass to animal scat to lemon trees.
Trying to get a grasp on where he was, Alan looked for noticeable landmarks. He was on top of a small hill in some rural part of what he assumed to be California. There were two small buildings: a quaint one-floor farmhouse with a small garden in front and a barn that had been turned into a house with a few rusted solar panels on the roof.
There was a dirt road between the homes, but where it led Alan had no idea. There was nothing else but forest and brush as far as he could see, up and down the hill, or mountain, or whatever it was he was on.
Standing up, Alan looked down at his body in surprise. He clenched his fist, then took a few steps; Alan felt more fit, more in-shape than he ever had in his life. It was like he was at the peak of his fitness level back when he had ran cross-country, although he’d quit since it was too painful. He felt like he could run a six-minute mile easily.
Jogging up and down the hill, testing his movements, Alan realized he also felt more balanced, almost super human. He wanted to try a front flip, but then reconsidered.
The authenticity of the Game amazed him. He was stronger, faster, and more perceptive than he’d ever been, but it still felt like him, his body. He suddenly noticed the small icons that were in the corners of his vision, and stopped jogging. They were faintly outlined, but when he concentrated on them they became more opaque. These icons were ones that could be found in any game, mostly aggregated in the bottom right hand corner of his vision.
There was the character button, where he could look at his status, and the social button, where he assumed you could send messages as well as add friends or people you wanted to block, although he wasn’t yet sure that was part of the Game. There was an inventory button, showing what items he had, as well as a log button that would list what happened to him, a guild button for stuff relating to a group of people that formed a group to play together, and an options menu. There was also a map with a clock in the top right corner of his vision.
Alan momentarily panicked once he realized there was no log out button, but then he remembered that he’d need to stay in the Game for a week in real life time, about a month in-game time, thus the whole changed living location. This would probably be explained with time.
Wondering what each button did, Alan reached out in front of him, pressing in the air where he saw the character button. Nothing happened. He waved his arms in front of him, trying to press the buttons he could see so clearly.
“What the hell is happening? How am I supposed to open these menus?” Alan said aloud, thankful no one was around to see his frantic flailing.
Simply think the command, a voice in his mind said.
“What? Who’s there?”
No one detected is here.
“Wait, no, I mean, who are you?”
I am Eve, the AI you constructed and brought into the Game.
“Are you inside my mind?”
Uncertain. I am connected to the Game, which is connected to you. I detect everything your senses do, as well as your higher-level thoughts. Thus, there is no reason to voice your questions and commands aloud, simply think them.
Half sure he was going crazy, Alan thought in rapid succession, Damn, Eve can read my mind… Whatever, she’s just a program… He directed his thought at Eve. So then, are you like my personal search engine? Do you know where I am?
Eve responded, I do have access to the 200 terabytes of data you stored on my hard drives, but I am much more than a search engine. I am capable of anything you would have commanded me to do in a game. Additionally, based upon our surroundings, the temperature, the position of the Sun at this time, and the local wildlife, I believe we are in Sonoma County in California.
Cool. Can you show me these things too? Like can you highlight all the living creatures in my sight?
Affirmative.
Immediately Alan regretted his decision. Hundreds if not thousands of bugs all around him were glowing bright red.
Shutting his eyes, Alan thought, Stop. Highlight living things larger than a mouse, all right? Actually, anything that could be potentially dangerous like a poisonous spider should be highlighted too… No, highlight everything that could harm me in red, and tell me if anything that could be potentially deadly appears.
Affirmative.
Alan opened his eyes. Everything was red, from the Sun to the ground. He had no idea how leaves could be deadly, but they were highlighted.
Okay, highlight things that could kill me in an hour, not just someday somehow.
Affirmative.
The trees, everything on the ground, a few sharp sticks, and the houses remained highlighted. Groaning aloud Alan sat back down and thought for a few minutes.
How about this, Alan sent. Highlight and tell me about things that you believe if made aware of would be likely to increase my chance of survival or decrease my risk of injury. Additionally, once I am aware of things, you don’t need to constantly highlight them unless they escape my awareness.
For example, if a car was coming at me, you would tell me to dive to the left or right, along with an indication of how soon I should move, with a more frantic voice if I should do something right the hell now or die otherwise. Can you change your voice in my mind?
Whatever, it doesn’t matter. Another example, if there was a deadly creature fitting this description I should be made aware of, you would let me know where it was and how best to avoid or kill it, got it?
Affirmative, Eve replied.
Also, it’s boring if you keep saying affirmative, so try to switch up your vocabulary when confirming stuff or talking to me, okay?
Okay.
If there are any significant resources, alert me to those too, and display the location on my minimap. Actually, do the same thing for enemies.
What is the definition and parameters of significant?
Sighing, Alan thought some more…
***
A bit later, Alan hoped he had worked everything out. If he had missed something, it’d become apparent, and he would change it. The thought occurred to him…
Backup my commands and settings, Alan sent to Eve.
Redundant command. A backup is constantly being updated.
Wait, you’re recording my thoughts?
I am recording everything you experience and see, as well as your thoughts.
Great… stop recording everything I think.
Very well.
Rolling his eyes, more amused than he maybe should have been, Alan scanned his surroundings. Everything was back to normal, there weren’t any glaringly red things in his vision or thousands of creepy crawlies.
He looked up at the clock by his minimap. It was 4:44 p.m. in the afternoon, Pacific Standard Time. There was also a countdown that read 00:15:43.
What’s the countdown for? Alan asked Eve.
You wished for any significant event to have a countdown displayed next to the clock. That is the remaining time until the Tutorial begins.