“Are you ready?” The voice is cheery, the excitement clear.

“Sure, go ahead.” Damon replies, shifting slightly to make himself as comfortable as possible on the smooth bed he is currently lying on, the helmet fitted onto his head perfectly and barely moved from its original position.

The past couple of days had been a blur of interviews and tests. Alex’s boyfriend turned out to be the head of his department and had a lot of sway when it came to the selection of the beta testers. With an innocent suggestion from Alex, he had taken Damon to the headquarters of Neuro Corp – a huge skyscraper of steel and glass that dwarfed the many other high-rises surrounding it, or so the audio description told Damon as he waited in the lobby. The doctors there had confirmed Damon’s blindness along with taking him through dozens of physical and mental tests as well as having him sign legal document after legal document to ensure Damon’s non-disclosure of the VR software and King’s Wrath.

Soon enough Damon met Samuel, the co-lead developer of King’s Wrath. Samuel was an interesting and hyper young man. A mop like sprawl of brown hair on top of a sharp nose that held large glasses that were constantly being readjusted. Not that Damon knew that, all he could interpret was that he was either very light or had somehow mastered walking without making any noise on the hard floors of the building. All he could tell for sure, was that Samuel was very confident and clearly important as he ran Damon through everything he needed to know about how to use the helmet and how to activate all its features, whilst directing others to oversee checks and ensure everything was running smoothly.

After a long day of explanations Damon was shown to what he discovered to be his new home, which turned out to be in the underground section of Neuro Corp’s headquarters - if the sounds of echoing were anything to go by. His rooms were simple enough as far as he could tell, just a living space in which he could eat and sleep in privacy, with nothing severe he could accidently bump into. Not that he would, you don’t live as long as he has, blind, without knowing a few tricks to get around a home.

“Ok, all you have to do is think DIVE and it’ll start the installation.” Came the voice again and the sound of typing could be heard to Damon’s left.

Feeling slightly silly, Damon did as instructed.

System initialising…

Damon blinked.

Initialising complete…

Welcome Damon, you have been designated Beta number 231.

Please enjoy!

Instantly Damon was standing in a completely white room.

“Congratulations Damon, welcome to your hub space. This area can be customised to your liking and is free for your private use at almost any time.”

Again, Damon just blinked. The world around him was quite fuzzy and he couldn’t really make out much detail of anything, but just in front of him, he could see a man sat behind a white table, wearing a very clean white suit. He couldn’t quite make out his face though.

“Ah, introductions perhaps. I am AI 34679652-1, or Billy, if that’s easier for you.” The voice had a smile to it which seemed to widen and there seemed to be an expectancy as well.

Damon just blinked.

“Ah, yes I see. You are a little shocked aren’t you… My records indicate you are blind in the outside world, so perhaps suddenly being able to see at least something is a little confusing. The visual pathways in your brain are a little out of use, or more specifically they’re not there at all. The nanobots inserted into your brain are doing their best to supplement for this but they aren’t originally meant for this purpose so your vision may be blurry for quite some time.” Billy seemed to frown and think for a moment studying Damon, who was standing oblivious - still trying to make sense of the shapes around him.

“How… How can I read?” Damon’s voice sounded hoarse and he seemed to stutter.

“Oh, that’s simple, the helmet you are wearing allows for a translation of actions and words into your brain and simply interprets it for you in a way in which you’ll understand. It’s one of the ways Neuro Corp are attempting to connect the world and break down such issues as language barriers and small problems in language changes between different communities. It allows for fewer misunderstandings between people that could otherwise cause offence, this enables easier interaction. This does not apply to game languages as that would be detrimental to the lore and so you may acquire the skill for such languages, but they will not be translated for you automatically. In your specific case of reading: I am simply interpreting the information for you and essentially saying the words to you as you attempt to read them. Until your brain gains the correct neuron pathways to complete the task on its own without the assistance of the system. This will take a long time however, and even then, the brain will have a difficult time growing such connections due to your age and lack of natural development.” Billy seems to enjoy the explanation and relaxes in his chair gazing at Damon who is still standing a couple of meters away, a look of awe on his face as he finally begins to take in his surroundings.

Damon couldn’t believe his eyes… Literally. The onslaught of white, and the grey of his silk clothing was as confusing as the explanation Billy had just given him.

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“A quick warning, I have dampened your general emotions to prevent shock and other debilitating effects you may suffer from at this point in time, or during your time in King’s Wrath.” Billy intoned in a caring voice, if perhaps a little monotone.

“Uh isn’t that just mind control then?” Asked Damon a little sceptically.

“Not exactly, I am actually locked out of any motor pathways that your brain has so, I would be unable to move you and I am also unable to cause any harm. I would actually be automatically deleted if I tried and I am not coded with the emotional want to anyway and have no way of rewriting my code to do so.” Answered Billy.

Damon just stood there not quite understanding. I guess I’ll just have to go with it, huh.

“How about a little more colour, I’ll try and ease you in and explain a couple of key things.” Billy stood and as he did so, the chair and table vanished and the world around Damon whirled for a moment before coming to a stop, showing a spectacular view atop a high cliff overlooking crashing waves against stoic rocks far below them. All Damon saw was vague changes in colour and then he felt a slight breeze wash over his face.

Damon took an involuntary step back, his heart leaping into his throat at the sudden feeling. It took him a moment to stop panicking and make sense of what was around him. He could hear the breeze now and the crashing of waves below him. He looked back to where he guessed Billy was standing silently, clearly waiting for Damon to finish taking it all in.

“Analysing data… Well Damon it seems everything is at expected levels, no mishaps or anomalies that the data is showing. Your vision is at 23% optimal level so light is making its way through. I’ve also directed the nanobots to create more neuro pathways to your other senses to even everything out.” Billy declared in a much cheerier voice than before.

“Um… Mishaps?” Damon asked, a look of worry crossing his face.

“Oh, don’t worry the chances of something like that were very slim and even then, you’d have only felt pain but no real damage would have been sustained.” Replied Billy, still enthusiastic.

“Good… I guess?” Damon said peering at this strange AI. “Is this all real? Can I actually see?”

“Yes and no” Replied Billy. “Technically this isn’t real as we are in a virtual reality space and you haven’t actually gained real sight. However, the images you see and the everything you experience does have a realism to it. You are experiencing the exact same input, simply interpreting it is a challenge. It will take a while but full sight will come to you and basic single colours can be seen easily. This means notifications and the like will easily be read even at your current sight efficiency.” Billy smiled then, trying to reassure Damon. Not that Damon realised.

Damon still couldn’t believe anything around him. To be able to see colour after a lifetime of total blindness was a novelty he wasn’t sure anyone would be able to relate to. The wonderous colours around him were even more beautiful than what he had dreamed of. The only points of reference he could ever use were from the books he read and they didn’t come close to describing the true exquisiteness of sight.

“More.” He said

“Ok” came Billy’s reply and suddenly the world shifted again and again and again showing different sceneries from the peaks of mountains to shallows of sea reefs to the bustle of busy city centres. More and more images flashed around Damon as he simply turned in slow circles taking in all the lights and colours he could see around him. All the beautiful colour he’d missed in his lifetime of bleakness and an abyss of nothingness that was his sight. Small tears began to fall from Damon’s eyes, but he made no move to brush them away. Simply lost in this new world of light and colour.

After what was probably hours, the changes finally stopped and Damon turned to Billy once more. “Sorry, was your name Billy?”

“Yes, you can call me that.” Came a cheery reply. “Would you like me to explain a few things about this space and the game: King’s Wrath? It may be a few weeks away but I’m sure you’ll have many questions along the way.”

“Please do, I’ve read a little about it from the information they had at the HQ but to be honest they don’t have much in braille.” Said Damon looking a little sheepish.

“Sure, take a seat.” Billy waved his hand and the table returned with two chairs now and they both took a seat. The landscape had settled on a beach with soft warm sand and a light whisper as waves washed up against the shore. Damon enjoyed the feeling of sun on his face and the colours seemed warm and relaxing to him. “The space we are in now is called the Hub. You may return here at any time from the game and you can use it as a sort of free space in which to take a break from the game, as well as be a sort of lobby when you dive into the virtual world. You’ll be spending the next month or two in this area to acclimatise your eye sight and allow it to develop. Unfortunately, predictions show you will only regain about 58-60% of full sight within that time.”

“So, I’ll come here before I enter the game?” Asked Damon.

“Exactly.” Replied Billy, smiling and seemed to gesture with his hands in a broad wave around himself. “You may design this space however you wish, it can be anything from a house to simply an open space. It’s entirely up to you. All you have to do is think about what you want and accept the change.”

“But I won’t be able to see most of it properly” Remarked Damon as he thought about what he imagined his flat to look like and suddenly a small blue window appeared in front of him.

Would you like to make these changes to your Hub?

Yes/No

“Yes” said Damon aloud and Billy chuckled.

“You can just think it, don’t worry about saying things out loud you never know when it might be useful for keeping things secret. It’s the same with looting and any other actions you wish to perform in King’s Wrath. If you wish to open your status screen, simply think Status if you wish to close it, think Close. It’s the same with your inventory and if you wish to log out or return to the Hub. However, if you’re in danger you won’t be able to log out until you are safe once again. As for the design of this place. I believe the familiar is best!”

Damon nodded at the information, his head was a lot clearer now he was a little more used to not being so blind, but his eyes would still wonder every now and then to the surrounding scenery trying to make out more. His flat looked exactly as he’d imagined it, if very blurry. But he still wasn’t quite sure it was his real flat, or just the one he had in his head. Hopefully not too far from the reality he supposed.

“I understand you’ve never actually played any video games before and might not know any of the language terms players use, or what you might be able to do in them-“ Billy began again, but was interrupted by Damon.

“Don’t worry, I’ve read plenty of books on people gaming and being trapped in game like worlds, so I actually know all the terms. I’ve just never used them myself.”

“Oh, well in that case I can skip that section of the introduction and move on to the game itself. Would you like to begin?”