Name, birth date, sex, gender, favorite hobbies, education, etc. Once that was finished, the tests began.
Math, Science, History, Writing, Programming, Pop Culture - every single piece of knowledge that he had ever learned was being pried out of him. He was tested on foreign languages, guessing at what words he’d never heard of meant, not recognizing even half the languages presented. He was forced to make lists of everything, from programming languages to Pokémon to US presidents.
The questions were multiple choice, short answer and long answer. He wrote essays, he wrote poems, he performed calculations, and he drew stick figure portraits when he was asked to draw famous figures.
As soon as he finished a page, it disappeared, and a new one appeared. Somehow the Game always knew when he was done with a page, and kept pages if he wanted to use them as reference. After the first three hours, when his hands began to tire after writing so much, a sleek laptop appeared on the desk.
Concentrating, the laptop shifted and became similar to the desktop setup he was used to back at home. Then the testing resumed. As each subject was introduced and Alan answered the questions they either grew harder or easier, developing as he went along. Once he no longer had any idea what was going on, the next subject would start.
There were portions of the test that taught Alan new concepts, branches of math and science he’d never heard of before. The test then tested him on what he learned.
Every so often, Alan’s attention began to stray, but then suddenly he’d find himself looking directly at the screen before him, and a message would pop up:
Please complete the test.
This reminded him that this was part of the tutorial, thus he should concentrate and do his best, but it was so mind numbingly boring.
A few hours later, the next subject arose - AI development - and Alan developed an AI as best he could. It would probably do a lot better at this test than he would. He wondered why Eve wasn’t allowed to be used, it’s not like she’d ever be separated from him. Shaking his head, he got back to work. He was probably being timed as well.
Yawning, Alan looked at the time. It was nearly 7 a.m., which explained how tired he was. Still, he was used to late nights, and was already on a nocturnal schedule. He’d gone to sleep at 3 a.m. the night before, far too excited about the game.
While he’d been taking the test the Game had provided him with a bathroom, as well as colored blocks of food to eat and water to drink, but he felt like asking for a bed to sleep in was stretching it a bit too far.
He also wasn’t quite sure how eating, drinking and what not worked if he was in a virtual world inside a virtual world, but didn’t question it. Instead he asked for a cup of coffee, got it, then resumed the test. He hoped the end was in sight.
Three hours later, Alan finished the final section about alien politics, that is to say, he answered every question with “I don’t know,” and a message popped up:
Please wait while your test is analyzed.
Sighing, Alan sat back, and a white bed appeared. Not questioning it, Alan climbed in, and fell asleep.
***
When Alan awoke he found himself in the same white space he began in, although it now had a desk and computer similar to his own, along with a table to eat at, a toilet and a bed. The clock in the top right hand corner of his vision said it was 3 p.m. He had no idea what time zone he was in. The female robot remained motionless, standing in the same spot.
Yawning, Alan got up, walking up to the android to inspect it.
A message appeared:
Results gathered. Ready for introduction to the Game?
Yes, thought Alan.
The android turned to look at him.
Welcome, traveler, to the Game! I am an Administrator, at your service. This introduction has been designed based upon your answers to the test and actions thus far.
Used to Eve speaking within his mind, Alan wasn’t too surprised this administrator did so as well, though it sounded more robotic. He sat down at the desk. This would probably take a while.
As you know, the Game was created to replicate the real universe, but it still differs greatly from reality. It would best be likened to a virtual reality MMORPG, where the entire universe was copied and put into the Game, many years ago. For your information, Earth was first scanned approximately six months ago, and this version was then put into the Game. Since then, the Game and the earth have taken a divergent path from reality. For one thing, the resources within the Game are virtually infinite, as creatures, materials and entire worlds spawn at various rates, unending in number.
Currently, you are in a capsule within the Game, a virtual space within this virtual space. Where you currently are is known as your Home Base. Any capsule you enter within the Game will return you to this Home Base, the space you see now.
The Administrator gestured about, pointing at the few pieces of furniture that had appeared when Alan expressed his desire for them.
Uh, can I rename my Home Base? Alan asked.
Certainly, your Home Base may be customized as you desire, though apart from basic amenities, additional environments and furniture will cost additional credits.
Uh, great. Rename it to um, uh… call it Home.
Rename confirmed. Additionally, death within the Game is never the end. Instead, you will be respawned within a capsule after a death timer, wherever you set your last spawn point. A loss of credits and other penalties depend on the circumstances of your death. Please set this capsule on board the Titan ship as your spawn point now. Simply do so by expressing your desire to set this capsule as your spawn point. Any capsule may be set as your spawn point once you are here at Home.
Alan started to think his affirmation, Um, I want this capsule— wait if I keep respawning here, couldn’t the Haxlards keep me here indefinitely, trapping me on their ship?
The Administrator didn't respond.
Eh, well, then the others would be trapped here too… I guess I’ll trust Pharaoh. I want this capsule set as my spawn point.
Spawn point confirmed, the Administrator sent. Upon death in the Game you will now respawn aboard the Titan in the Capsule Room. In addition to where you set your spawn point, your Home is also where you may spend ability points. Please note that you are also able to set spawn points and spend ability points while in a medic bay, or at various other places within the Game. The Home is typically considered by most players the most convenient place to perform either task.
For the first 100 levels you are awarded with 5 ability points for every level you gain. These ability points are able to be spent to develop abilities and increase attributes. The primary attributes are strength, agility, perception, endurance, intelligence, willpower, luck and charisma.
While certain primary attributes are fairly straightforward, for instance leveling up strength will increase your physical strength, others are not. Increasing your intelligence may improve your ability to remember things, or it may improve how quickly you are able to think, or it may do something else entirely.
It should be noted the names for these attributes are imprecise translations into your language, English. However, the intention behind these attribute categories are accurate enough that the result based upon which attribute you wish to invest in will be the same as far as you are concerned. Being approximations for these underlying entities, attributes may be modified or new attributes may appear as you proceed in the Game.