Dave leaned back in his hospital bed, as much as the equipment holding him in place would allow it. As the machines around him beeped away quietly, he rubbed his head, thinking about the events that had led him to the present.

17 years ago

He’d been four when someone had first told him he had a lovely voice. Sure it had just been one of his mother’s friends as they chatted over coffee, but at the time it seemed like the greatest compliment in the world. It had led him to start singing around the house during his childhood, which, while was supported and loved by his parents, it had been heard with less rose tinted glasses by the neighbours who left more than a few noise complaints. But it had started him on the road that he would follow.

11 years ago

He still sang around the house, but thanks to some actual lessons his parents had paid for rather than enrolling him in any sports, it was actual singing now, rather than the enthusiastic screaming of a small child. His habit of singing to himself at school hadn’t done him any favours, though his girlish face and blonde curly hair had already left him with a disadvantage there. But as children always do, they switched randomly between drawn to things that were different and being repelled by them which meant that while not popular, he wasn’t an outcast either.

4 years ago

It was amazing how things that could be considered weird hobbies could suddenly be seen as attractive talents. As his singing had improved over the years, he’d spent some time learning to play a few instruments well enough to accompany his voice. With his latest growth spurts leaving him just under six foot combined with the exercise of helping his dad on weekends with his moving company, he got a lot of attention from girls at school. To the point where he had been beaten up more than once for “stealing someone’s girl”, though usually he hadn’t actually done anything, since there were plenty of single people around, and he wasn’t the type to ruin others relationships.

2 years ago

Confidence in his abilities had begun to turn to arrogance, but unfortunately for those around him it was the kind he could actually back up with ability. He’d tried to join a few bands, but quickly found that his attitude left him more suited to try for more of a solo act. The he’d written and performed a few songs, and put them out on to the internet where they’d received praise, but like all performers, still needed to find his big break. In the mean time, he continued to work for his dad, while performing local shows around the city.

6 months ago

Dave had been doing a small show in a local bar, earning some cash to pay his rent, when a talent agent approached him, wanting to know if he’d be interested in coming in to their studio sometime to record. Several demos and a few weeks of phone call between a few record labels a meeting was set up.

5 month ago

He’d finally gotten around to the meeting, and been about to get out of the taxi he’d taken downtown to their offices. It was amazing the things one can remember when their life flashes before their eyes. The slight snow fall that dusted the streets, women drinking coffee at a nearby cafe, pigeons scattering into the air as a child ran up to them and of course, the bright chrome grill of the truck as it hurtled through the red traffic light before ramming into them.

The taxi driver, he’d been told later, had been killed on impact, a fact he hadn’t realised at the time since his own situation had taken hold. When the cab had wrapped itself around the front of the truck, the drive shaft had snapped in two before swing up, through the floor and then smashing into his back. His legs had been pinned by the crumpling frame of the vehicle, leaving all the momentum in his upper body and causing his head to smash through the side window. The unfortunate angle of the impact caused the glass to be driven deep into his throat, which had been the last thing he remembered before blacking out.

Report 758

This unit Sigma, we’ve located and prepared a new subject for stage three of project Rewire. As per protocol we’ve redirected the ambulance to the selected hospital, and are containing all witnesses. Requesting full whiteout procedure for surveillance in the area, and a team to edit memories for both subject and witnesses. Be advised that subject is currently critical, and should be prioritized.

End of report

4 months ago

When he awoke, he found himself in hospital, specifically in an intensive care ward. As soon a nurse saw that he was awake, doctors rushed in to tell him to remain still. Once they decided he was calm enough, they began to tell him how “lucky” he was. His legs had been crushed, with his left beyond saving, but it had stopped him being thrown around which would of killed him outright. The impact to his back had unfortunately severed his spine half way up, paralysing him, but not so high that it took out either his heart or lungs. It had also stopped him moving around or spasming when the glass had pierced his neck, meaning it had kept the wound closed and prevented him from bleeding out before help arrived.

They kept making it clear just how fortunate it was, and that it was a miracle that he was alive at all and it was only when they brought in a specialist did he finally get some straight answers about his condition. His spine was completely severed, but medicine had come along way, and with a multitude of surgeries they believed they had a sixty percent chance of giving him back the use of his legs, though one would be replaced with prosthetic below the knee. Most of his abdominal organ were badly damaged, but would make a full recovery with time, though the bones in the area would mostly be held together with pins.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

His throat injury, however, was another matter. While the cut had seemed clean on the outside, internally it had torn through everything by force, only narrowly cutting off blood supply to his brain, which he was told was another “miracle”. The throat had been patched up, and would probably heal to a point where he would need medication to get by, but his vocal cords were destroyed. They had considered trying to repair them enough that he might be able to speak again eventually, but in his state, the procedure likely would have killed him.

The news hit hard and, like anyone one would, he broke out in tears, crying and screaming, which tore open his throat yet again. After an emergency 8 hour operation he was stabilized again and it was decided to keep him in an induced coma until his injuries had healed further.

2 day ago

The doctors were at a loss. Physically, Dave’s injuries were healing as expected, and his spine was showing promising signs that it would make a near full recovery with another year of treatments. It had been an on duty government vehicle that had hit him, and they were footing all medical bills involved, so no expense was being spared towards his recovery. But while his body was repairing itself, mentally activity had ground to a halt.

Dave spent his days lying quietly in his bed, all but ignoring his visiting friends and family. They’d tried to prompt him to respond, to break him out of his stupor, but the closest they’d gotten was when his mother had asked him if he wanted to come back home when he got out of hospital. He’d slowly reached over to the table beside him and scrawled a few words.

What’s the point

If a patient didn’t want to get better, then recovery tended to grind to a halt, since little had more control over a person’s health than their own mind. Then had come a day when they’d wheel him out to a window overlooking the hospitals garden, to at least give him something else to look at it. That was when he saw it, something that made him shake the cobwebs out of mind and actually pay attention. Stopped at the traffic lights on the road beyond the garden was a bus with an electronic advertisement playing, advertising the latest in virtual reality gaming.

Play your way in The Expanse

Fight for good, fight for evil, or don't fight at all

Don't just do the impossible, be the impossible

Stand alone or work together

Give a voice to the silent or crush them beneath your heel

What is The Expanse?

You Decide

And for the first time in months he signalled to the attending nurse, and wrote about something other than painkillers.

What do you know about The Expanse?

The Present

The nurse had not only known had good deal about it, but had called for their resident specialist in such matters to come and speak to him. Several hospitals, including this one, had been doing experiments on placing patients in VR for extended periods of time while recovering, rather than an induced coma. From a medical point of view it was largely the same, since it was an entirely mental connection that left the user incapacitated, but had the benefit of reducing the cognitive dissonance of being unconscious for a long time. And since Dave’s injuries were purely physical, he made for a perfect candidate, if he was willing to give consent.

With a single nod, he accepted, and his parents had been called and informed. While at first they were concerned, they agreed, deciding that anything was better than watching him just lay there staring at the ceiling. A nurse had come in earlier to shave his head provide clear access for the cap of sensors that served as the input for the system, leaving him rubbing his now bald top. It wasn’t entirely necessary, but hair could cause disruption in the signal leading to lag or out of sync movements, so hair styles that accounted for this were coming more into fashion as the technology gained popularity.

“It’s time to go Dave.” A doctor said from the door way. “Are you ready?”

With a nod, a team of doctors and nurses moved him onto a new bed, one fitted with both restraints to keep him secure, and removable sections to allow for procedures.

“Now Dave,” the specialist said to him, holding the headpiece in his hand along with a documentation camera. “I need you to give me firm, clear answer on this. Do you understand that once we do this, we can’t reverse it quickly, because of the treatments required? In the event that you change your mind and contact us via the virtual reality system, it will be at least two months before we could safely bring you out fully. With that in mind, do you wish to continue?”

“Of course I want this! I have built everything on my singing, it’s not just what I want to do, it’s who I am! I would do anything to be able to sing again, and I mean anything. But since that can’t happen, I’ll at least spend my time where I can at least say this stuff out loud.”

But with his voice taken from him, all he could do was nod to the camera, and the doctor lowered the headpiece onto him, then everything faded to black.

...SYSTEM INITIALIZING...

Before long the light came back and he found himself floating in a pale blue...space. There wasn’t anything around him, just a low light that filled the area, and went he went to see what he was stating on, he realised he didn’t even have a body to stand with. Before any panic set in, a voice came out of nowhere and rang through the air.

“Welcome to the Character creation portion of The Expanse. Please relax, we will begin shortly.”

And slowly the colour changed, the blue giving way to a rich gold that began to solidify into various shapes.

“In the beginning, there was darkness. Until the gods-“

“Skip.”

The voice paused in its speech, as did the images. “Excuse me?”

Dave was overjoyed with himself at that moment. He’d actually said something! Yes it had been in a simulation and he didn’t even really have a mouth at the moment, but it was an improvement over the last month.

“Skip it.” He repeated, wishing he had a face to smile with.

“I'm not... this is the history of the entire world you’re entering, and you just want to skip it?”

“I’m here to be able to sing, not rule the world. If I want to sing something historical I’ll look it up, so other than that, skip.”

“...Fine.” the voice said, with a surprisingly accurate tone of annoyance. “Moving on. As you would’ve heard, there are a wide variety of races to-“

“Skip.”

A sound like a table being slammed echoed around him.

“You can’t skip choosing a race! You obviously have to be something, and rude doesn’t count.”

“Look, I just want to sing, other than that I really don't care. If it bothers you, you can pick one just make sure it can do what I want.”

The voice sighed. “...I’ll mark it down as random then. Normally id let you customize your avatar, but I guess we’ll “skip” that. Instead let’s move on to class selection, and before you say it, you have to pick something, and I can’t do it for you.”

“Sure. What one is good at singing?” Dave said, mentally shrugging.

“There are a variety of tests available to find a class that suits you best; I don't suppose that you’d..? No, of course you wouldn’t. In that case, there are several possibilities, and I believe you would likely find a bard of some kind most suitable. Specifically an untyped bard, so you can change to a specialization later, if you ever feel like participating in your own new existence.”

“I accept. Are we done here?” Dave asked impatiently.

“A name is generally recommended. Though perhaps we could call you Skippy?”

“Funny for a bunch of ones and zeros aren’t you? No I’ll stick with Dave.”

“Bunch of...? And will you be participating in the highly recommended tutorials?”

“Take a guess.”

“Skipping that then. In that case all that’s left is to pick your starting location. Would you like me to take care of that as well? Be aware that once you leave here that all of this will be finalised according to-”

“Sure, whatever, a city would be good.”

“In that case, I have just the place.” The voice said with a touch of satisfaction as everything around him went white.