The two men sat across from each other in the small office, one behind a large desk that filled most of the room, its surface covered in various stacks of paper and documentation, the other in front of it, his face a mask of betrayal. The older of the two was a grizzled looking man, thick arms and chest, his khaki uniform barely containing his bulk as he sat in his simple chair, scratching his thick beard. The younger was slightly taller than the bear of a man, but considerably thinner. Not to say that he was any less muscular, but compared to the other, he was far wirier. He had slightly long dark brown hair and deep brown eyes that were currently wide in shock.
“So…you’re firing me?” Jake said, staring at the Head Ranger, his voice flat.
“Oh, no! Gods no, Jakey!” Albert replied hurriedly, waving his hands, “You’re one of the best Rangers we have, there’s no way we could fire you!”
“Then…then what is this?” the young man asked, looking down at the sheet of paper in front of him, “Why are you forcing me to leave?”
“Because you’ve been working yourself too hard, Jakey,” Albert replied, a softness coming into his eyes as he spoke, “Look, it’s being call ‘Enforced Leave,’ you aren’t being fired. You’ve never taken a day off since you started working for the NPS and have built up quite a lot of overtime. We just want you to take a break. It’s only six months.”
“Six months?” Jake swallowed, “What am I supposed to do for six months?”
“I don’t know,” Albert sighed, giving the younger man a fatherly look, “Visit one of the Cities, maybe? Catch up with your friends. Go see your family?”
Jake flinched at the last suggestion, Albert catching it with a practiced eye.
“Shit,” the man breathed, “Sorry, I forgot that you’re not exactly on speaking terms with your family at the moment.”
“That’s one way to put it,” Jake muttered.
“But seriously? No friends you could stay with. No one in the Cities that you’re sweet on?” Albert asked, Jake just shaking his head, “You didn’t make any friends at University? Didn’t join any clubs or anything?”
“I was in the Tae Kwon Do and Free Running clubs,” Jake shrugged, “Though that was mostly just to keep fit in preparation for the Ranger Acceptance Exams.”
“And you didn’t make friends with anyone there?” Albert pressed, letting out a defeated sigh when Jake just shook his head, “Jesus, you’ve worked here how long? How old are you again?”
“Twenty-nine as of last February,” the man replied, “I’ve been working for the Natural Preservation Society since I graduated University.”
“Christ, you’re older than my son,” Albert sighed, suddenly shifting in his chair as he sat upright, “That’s it!”
“What is?” Jake asked, watching as his boss quickly pulled up a holo-screen and started to make a call.
“Andy! Andrew!” Albert said as they waited for the video call to be picked up, “My son! He lives in City Twelve, which is pretty close to here! He’s plenty sociable and has been looking for a new roommate for the last couple of months.”
“But I’ve never met him,” Jake said as the older man grinned behind the floating screen, the call still ringing, “How do you know that we’ll get along?”
“Oh, everyone gets along with Andy!” Albert chuckled, “He’s a great kid, and he has a pretty interesting job. He’s a Games Journalist!”
“And that means?” Jake said slowly.
“That you probably won’t be lonely too much!” Albert laughed, his grin only getting wider as the call connected, the image of a round face appearing on the screen, “ANDY, MY BOY! I’ve found you a potential roommate!”
------
Jake sighed as he sat in the air-conditioned Auto-Taxi, staring out of the sealed window at the mostly barren landscape, only a few dead bushes and sparse cacti left of what may have once been a teeming ecosystem. It had been a few decades since humankind had finally tipped the scales on the global warming front, temperatures rapidly rising, and the sea level with them. Almost a third of the original global landmass now sat underwater, and a good portion of the vegetation that had been unable to survive the increased temperature had died out.
This had all led to the barren wastelands that stretched out on either side of the road that Jake was now travelling along. All because a few people were too greedy or stubborn to let it be fixed. Now humanity lived in massive domed cities spread across the globe, just like the one he was currently hurtling towards on the otherwise empty road.
It wasn’t all bad, there were still areas of nature, smaller domes dotted around containing the last of the world’s ‘wild’ vegetation and animals. It was in one of these Bio-Domes that Jake had worked. Still worked, technically, just not for the next six months. He looked up at the massive dome of City Twelve as it came into view on the horizon, the Auto-Taxi zooming down the long road towards it.
It took another hour to reach the dome, Jake’s Auto-Taxi waiting patiently outside the massive, sealed doors until they opened, allowing it inside the receiving bay. A quick wash, clearing the dust and grime of the outside world from it, and the vehicle pulled up to the empty terminal. Jake got out, grabbing his small bag from the back seat, and walking uncertainly forwards.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
He followed the marked path on the floor, eventually coming to a door that led into the rest of the building. It opened near silently, Jake blinking as the clinical air of the city washed over him, making his nose crinkle. He knew about this, the careful climate control of the Cities was something he’d grown up in, but this was the first time he’d returned to one in years. He immediately wished for the familiar scent of rotting leaves and tree sap that was his Bio-Dome, a sense of longing clawing at his chest.
“Hey!” the shout pulled him from his thoughts, looking up to see a large man waving at him from behind the dividers just in front of him, “You’re Jakey, right? Great to finally meet you in person! Quit standing around and letting all the air out and get in here!”
Jake complied, walking over to the man, Andrew Wheeler, or Andy as he’d insisted on being called over the video call. The young man was definitely his father’s son, standing at an easy six feet and hefting his bulk around easily. Though, where Albert was all muscle, Andy was mostly fat, his stomach hanging over the divider as he waved to Jake.
“Sup!” the rotund man said as Jake finally drew near, before blinking and waving his hand in front of his face, “Woo man! But you reek! Do they not have showers in that Bio-Dome of yours?”
“Reek?” Jake blinked, looking down at himself and sniffing, not smelling any different to how he normally did, “We do. I had one before I left.”
“Well, it obviously didn’t do you any good,” Andy laughed, walking with Jake to the end of the dividers, “Come on, let’s get you back to your new digs and get you properly cleaned up.”
“Digs?” Jake asked as he was led from the terminal building and into another waiting Auto-Taxi, sitting beside Andy as the man held his nose.
“Your new home!” Andy laughed, “Well, our home, now.”
“Right,” Jake nodded along as Andy started talking rapidly, pointing out buildings as they passed them. The man didn’t fall silent until something started playing on the small holo-screen in front of them.
“Oh! It’s the ad for GNW! I love this!”
Jake watched as the man increased the volume with a gesture, the sound of the advert filling the small space as the screen grew larger.
“This is the land of the Grande New World,” the narrator said as the image panned over a beautiful landscape, before the image changed, showing a desolate swamp, then a bustling medieval city, “As is this, and this.”
“These are the denizens of the Grande New World,” the narrator continued, the image changing again, showing several people working a field, before the screen filled with the visage of some sort of giant insect, the creature roaring at the camera, before jumping to a herd of some sort of grazing animal Jake didn’t recognise, “As are these, and these.”
“With a world more than twice the size of the globe, there is much to discover and learn in the Grande New World,” the narrator hummed, showing people dressed in glowing armour and flowing robes fighting the monsters, fire, and ice leaping from hands as swords shone in the sun, “Become who you are destined to be with our specialised levelling system, where your actions determine your stats. Fight in the latest version of a real-world analogous system, where every move and action are made in real time. Discover…the Grande New World.”
The video ended, Andy bouncing excitedly in his seat as he looked at Jake’s confused expression.
“What was that?” Jake asked.
“That,” Andy replied, pausing for dramatic effect, “Was the launch trailer for GNW, or Grande New World. And you and I are going to be playing it!”
“We are?” Jake blinked, “Why?”
“Why?” Andy snorted a laugh, “Because it’s Grande New World! It’s the latest and greatest piece of FDVR software out there!”
“Ef-dee-vee-are?” Jake blinked, Andy grinning at him like an excited child, “You mean like the educational chairs in the Bio-Dome?”
“Ha! Hardly!” Andy laughed again, “Those old things can barely be considered VR nowadays! Nah, GNW is a game, more specifically an MMO. In fact, it’s the first actual MMO built to run entirely in FDVR. I mean, plenty of people have tried to make MMOs like that, but they were all indie or failed soon after due to costs. But GNW is the real deal!”
“Em-em-oh?” Jake just said, still staring at Andy blankly.
“Dude, I know my pops said you were a little out of touch, but seriously?” Andy chuckled, “Have you never played a video game before or something?”
“Not really,” Jake shrugged as the Auto-Taxi pulled up outside a high-rise apartment building, the architecture almost identical to the others around it, all clean lines, mirrored windows, steel, and concrete, “I had a couple of games consoles when I was younger, but never really used them.”
“Really?” Andy hummed as they got out of the taxi, making their way through the foyer of the building to a bank of elevators, “So you’re an utter noob when it comes to games? Interesting…”
“How so?” Jake asked as Andy swiped his hand over the console, a number appearing on the screen as the doors closed, the small space suddenly moving as they sped down, much to Jake’s surprise.
“Nah, it’s nothing,” Andy chuckled, as the elevator slowed to a stop, opening into a dimly lit corridor that was barely wide enough for Andy to walk down, leading Jake to a door about halfway down, “Just means I’m going to have to teach you some stuff, so you don’t get eaten alive when we play.”
“Oh, okay,” Jake nodded uncertainly as Andy waved his hand over the biometric lock on the wall beside the door, which slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a room beyond, “Where are we?”
“Twenty-third basement level,” Andy grinned as he entered the apartment, “I know my old man probably hyped my place up a bit, but there’s no way I’d be able to afford something even a tenth this size on the upper floors, especially not above ground.”
Jake only nodded as he followed Andy into the main room, looking around the sparsely decorated space. It was barely two by five metres in size, making Jake wonder about what Andy meant by there being smaller places, with three doors lining one wall, a food fabricator and mini fridge installed into the corner. The only furniture in the room was a large plush couch which sat facing the wall and a shelf packed with strange boxes at the far end of the room. Jake stared at the boxes for a moment, trying to figure out what they were before Andy spoke.
“I see you eyeing my collection,” he said as he dialled something into the food fabricator, the machine whirring to life a moment later, “One of the perks of my job, I get all the latest consoles at a huge discount cause the company pays for most of it.”
“Discount?” Jake blinked, “You mean you don’t get them for free?”
“No,” Andy snort laughed again, “Why would I? Nothing’s free, Jakey. You’re just lucky to get a discount.”
“Oh, I see,” Jake nodded slowly, jumping when the food fabricator chimed loudly, Andy immediately grabbing the four burgers from the machine and placing one on a small steel plate, which he handed to Jake as he balanced the other three burgers on his own plate.
“Anyway, time’s a-wasting,” Andy chuckled as he squeezed past the couch, sitting heavily in it as the piece of furniture protested, “Come sit down with me and eat, then we’ll start your education!”
“Education?” Jake asked as he sat down beside the large man, the couch having just enough space for him to fit, “What do you mean by that?”
“You’re a noob, Jakey,” Andy just hummed sagely through a mouthful of synthetic meat and bread, “We gotta change that before we start playing. Though first I think you need a proper shower.”