.Chapter completed but far from perfect, should anyone find huge flaws or have advice please leave a comment below. Should any more edits happen I will list them all at the bottom of this page. Please enjoy, the next chapter is to be expected soon.
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“FU--!”
I roared at the top of my lungs, sweping several bottles and even an almost empty plate off the table, as I continuously smashed my fists into it, again and again.
Hitting the ground, the plate instantly broke scattering shards of porcelain across the filthy, wooden floor.
As for the bottles, one out of three survived the fall without causing any harm while the other two… well, let’s just say I should have either closed their lids or emptied them beforehand.
Sadly though I was unable to undo my mistake, my fate had already been sealed and I could only watch in horror as the next few seconds unfolded before my eyes.
A loud 'bang' followed by the sizling of dying electronic hardware, threw a shadow of impeding doom upon my heart and it was with utter misery and despair that I saw the images on the screen in front of me fade.
I screamed at the top of my lungs and the fabric of my soul cracked as the consequences of my action dawned upon me. My eyes were widened in shock and my brain unable to process the terrible truth of what had just happened.
Manifesting behind me and knocking on the back of my head, without producing a single sound, was the transparent shape of 'Alice'.
“Are you alright Sascha, your vitals and emotional stableness are questionable and a cause for worry, do you require medical assistance?”
Her voice, although only faintly female and lacking the high-pitched volume that would usually make a mans heart skip a beat, carried the faint trace of concern
I remained silent, my eyes fixated on the holographic screen atop the table.
Up until a few seconds ago it had been displaying the bright red words ‘You died’ for the possibly hundredth time today, while now it only featured a vast blackness. All the while smoke was slowly rising from beneath the table and dancing around the corners of its' holographic frame.
I dropped off the chair and onto my knees, pulling the damaged console placed down there closer to my chest, as tears started to freely stream down my face.
Thoughts such as: 'Completely destroyed… done… never ever working again… broken…and beyond repair…’ raced through my head and I couldn’t help but let out an insane cackle. All the while I was trying to wipe the damaged console dry with a pair of socks that had been conveniently laying on the floor within my reach.
“Since you have not answered my question and your symptons are causing even me to get scared, I have taken the liberty to inform the closest medical institution of your mental instability. Please remain calm, your friends in white vests will shortly arrive and make sure to make all the bad things go away.”
Alices' words were surprising enough to draw my attention away from the broken console and send me into another fit of panic.
“No!" I instantly shouted as my brain had finally processed her words. "Don't! The last time you called the authorities I got in serious tr- OUCH! GODDAMNIT!!!“
Trying to stop Alice, I had jump up and slammed my head into the underside of the table, sending a wave of pain through my body and immediately throwing Alice into a laughing fit.
I sighed, as I crawled out from under the table, tears still glittering in the corner of my eyes and the old, now broken GameStation V pressed to my chest. Causing Alices' laughter to intensify because of the sorry sight that was myself.
Raising my head and taking a deep look at her laughing figure currently rolling around the floor, I couldn't help but replace the frown on my face with a smile.
I couldn't tell why, but seeing her like this always caused my heart to skip a beat... even though she was 'only' an AI.
Although Alice was an artificial intelligence and one limited to a holographic shape at that, she ment the world to me.
She was the only person in the world that truly understood me, cared for me and whom I felt close to. She was my best friend... my only friend...
She had been with me ever since I could remember and as far as I knew, had been designed by my father and mother in the image of my deceased older sister.
I myself had no memories whatsoever of my sister and had never thought of Alice as a replacement or even my sister herself.
Rather it was quite the opposite. Thoughts such as ‘I’m happy she died because otherwise I wouldn’t have met Alice’ would occasionally surface in my mind and leave me to feel disgusted at myself.
Shaking my head vividly I tried to get rid of the unecessary thoughts, as suddenly an entirely different thought flashed through my mind.
'-and she's hot, too...'
Despite the fact that she was about fourty percent transparent and lacking some initial female charm, Alice was more than handsome. Sure, her face was somewhat boyish and stern, giving her an androgynous look and she had a faint unapproachable air around her, but she seemed to be able to see directly into my heart at times and her gaze would often send shivers down my spine, making every hair on my body stand up and my cheeks flush brightly red.
Her slim, beautiful eyes were accentuated by her short hair, which didn't even reach her shoulders and which would often stand up into various directions, giving her a somewhat messy, yet stylish look.
She was also tall, or at least decided to project herself as tall everytime she showed up in her holographic shape, while also always wearing the same plain, patternless one-piece dress, that reached all the way to her knees.
All in all, instead of cute and innocent, she rather looked mature and cool, if not for that bright devilish smile which she would constantly wear on her face and which revealed her true playfull and devilish personality.
Noticing the look on her face, I realized that I had been staring and let out a loud sigh trying to cover up my thoughts.
“Damn you Alice, can’t you be considerate just once?" I said, nervously rubbing the back of my head. "Look at this... My precious console broke. What are we supposed to do now? Now we will never see the end of the game... ” The console hit the ground hard as I dropped to my knees. Planting my hands on the floor and lowering my head as to efficiently increase the dramatic impact of my performance, while also adding a melancholic layer to my voice: "- and what's worse is that it's impossible to replace this ancient piece of tech. Do you even know how much trouble it was getting my hands on this console? These things have stopped being sold ages ago. Ah, I am so unlucky, why must everything I touch crumble in my very hands, if only there was- HEY! What are you punching me for?!"
I backed away slowly from the now pouting Alice and while her punches neither held any impact nor resulted in any pain on my part, I still fervently rubbed the shoulder where her fist had connected with my body, acting as if she had caused me severe pain.
“Damn me? Damn you Sascha, you always do this. Day in day out you complain about all your games boring you to death and then once you get your hands on anything fun you always manage to break them one way or another. What about my feelings, heh? Now I never get to see the ending either and more importantly the other countless times that Boss would have mopped the floor with you.”
It was at this point that I completely dropped or rather, lost my facade and started laughing uncontrollable.
The image of Alices' puffed up cheeks, with her hands buried into her sides was simply to hilarious.
It only took her a coupld of seconds to join me and we both soon found ourselves rolling across the floor, laughing madly to the point where I was fighting for breath, my life-and-death struggle only increasing Alices' amusement.
Once we calmed down we found each other lying on the ground next to each other, Alices’ face resting right next to my own.
We both remained silent, my eyes fixated on the holographic projector affixed to the ceiling, which was the machine projecting the image of Alice, when suddenly she spoke up: “Seriously though, this sucks. That game was amazing… “
Our eyes met and feeling the heat rising in my cheeks I decided to go do something useful.
Jumping up I made my way towards the kitchen, all the while I felt Alices’ gaze drilling holes into the back of my head.
“Where do you think you’re going Sascha, at least say something you idiot.” She shouted after me as soon as I left the living room, entering the kitchen.
My eyes rested on the sink filled to the brim with dishes and I pondered for a second before answering: “Just getting a broom to get rid of the plate I just broke. I don’t want to get another infection just because I forgot to clean up and step onto a shard like last time.”
Hearing this Alice broke out into another laughing fit and I could practically see the image of her wailing away at the floor in the other room.
“What’s so funny?” I shouted a few seconds later, currently in the process of pushing my way through a heap of boxes and past bags filled to the brim with trash, asking Alice who was still laughing.
It took her some time, but eventually Alice calmed down again and responded: “What’s wrong? I was just appreciating your joke, what are you getting mad for?”
Hearing this I stopped for a brief second, but quickly continued my way towards the pantry, which was where I suspected the broom to be.
“What joke? I wasn’t joking, infections are serious business. I couldn’t move straight for weeks, don’t you remember?”
My wrist lit up and her face was projected as a three dimensional holograph into the air just above the screen of my HPCC-watch (Holographic Projection Communication Computer –watch; future mobile phones), revealing an enormous grin covering her face.
“You know, that wasn’t what I meant, I was laughing about you using the word ‘cleaning’, freaking HILARIOUS, AHA- Hey!”
Her laughter was quickly replaced by far off curses, which now escaped the living room as I had shut down my watch shortly after her remark.
“Mie Mie- look at me, I am a holograph, I don’t have to clean anything up and totally know how retarded of a chore it is -blabla…” I said, just loudly enough for her to hear me, trying to be a tease and smiling.
I ignored the following remarks she threw at me from the living room and instead forced the storage chamber open, which wasn’t easy considering the heap of trash piling up in front of it.
The whole ordeal cost me five precious minutes of my life…
After I had finally acquired the one and only broom of the household, I made my way back to the living room, which as mentioned beforehand, was easier said than done.
I was breathing heavily by the time I finally reached the doorway and swaying my eyes from one corner of the living room to the other, I once again had to admit that Alice did have a point.
This place was a mess, no, worse… it was a complete dump.
Not even mentioning the stuffed trash bags, there were cardboard boxes stacked atop more boxes all the way to the ceiling, everywhere. I wasn't even aware of what most of them contained...
Filthy clothes piled up in a corner of the room, burying my one and only expensive possession beneath them, while empty bottles, half eaten plates and even food was strewn around the room seemingly at random.
The only free space where one could walk without stepping into something sharp or risking the collapse of a box-tower, was a relatively small open space in the middle of the room, which was completely clear of any and all objects, except for a blanked and a bunch of pillows, just thrown on the ground and left as a tangled mess.
Just a bit further up ahead, resting against a wall was the only table of the entire apartment, featuring a hologram projector, my computer and the most comfortable chair in existence, which also served as my bed.
“Boo-“ Alice jumped in front of me, her tongue sticking out of mouth and her eyes squinting, in miserable attempt of a grimace.
At the sight of this it took all my self-control to once again collapse into a laughing heap on the ground. I still laughed my ass off, though.
As I calmed down I took in the sight of her and felt warmth rising inside of my chest.
All I was, everything I had, was solely thanks to her. Alice was my ‘everything’, the one pillar that kept this wreck of a building which was me together. Without her I… I didn’t even dare to think about what would happen to me without her…
A sigh escaped me again and I noticed her starring at me, no longer laughing but looking sincerely worried. The sight filled me with happy thoughts once again and I promised myself, like so often, that I would never leave her side.
“Alice, has anyone ever told you that you’re the best?”
Giggling she whirled around, her face coming to a halt right in front of my own.
“Yes, you do it at least a hundred times a day. It’s actually really annoying. You should go find a real girlfriend already.”
I felt a stab in my chest and grew silent. Quickly moving up to the table I swiped all the broken shards aside into one of the piles of thrash looming around.
I couldn’t say why Alices words caused a stab of pain in my heart, but they most definitely did. She seemed to be aware of my reaction, too, at least that’s how I read her expression as I threw a glance her way. She didn't mention it though and simply watched me in silence as I went to clean the mess I caused earlier.
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Finishing the tedious bit of swiping, I didn’t hesitate to toss the broom and without even looking where it landed, jumped back into my chair.
“So anyways, since the console is broken and we can’t play the game ever again, what are we supposed to play now? Actually, what day is it?” Alice asked, coming to a halt next to me, just as I had gotten comfortable.
Not waiting for my answer she jumped up into the air, shrinking her size down to that of a small kid, without any of her features changing accordingly and landing safely without a sound in my lap.
It was always astonishing how movements like ‘leaning against somebody’ or sitting on something were integrated into her programming and translated into her appearance.
If it wasn't for her transparence there was no way to tell her apart from any other human, causing me to often forget the fact that she wasn’t, at least when I wasn’t consciously thinking about it, but situations like these, her resting on my lap without me feeling any contact whatsoever, always pointed out the actual differences between us. And, while she didn't seem bothered by that fact, I certainly did...
“Meh… I don’t know. Probably… Sunday? Maybe? No… wow, actually it’s Thursday, who would’ve thought and it’s almost 6 Pm, too. Holy cow-” My eyes were drawn away from my reactivated watch as Alice suddenly screamed.
“WHAAAT?”
Her face almost instantly turned dull and expressionless, while at the same time my computer and its holographic monitor sprung into action.
Of course I knew that Alice had just started them and was currently doing… something. But, I had no idea why...
“What the heck is going on Alice? Why did you have to shout into my ear all of a sudden and why are you starting the computer? Aren’t we playing some more?” I asked.
“No! I almost missed something VERY important. No buts’ we are watching this now, I have to see this and you have to, too. Thank me later.” Was the fiery response she gave me, her features still expressionless as she was clearly concentrating on opperating the computer.
“Err… okay then, if you say so. But, that means that I decide the cartoon for tonight!” I said, giving in to her demands.
At that moment the holographic screen in front of me lit up and the tiny video frame instantly expanded to full screen, while the holographic screen also expanded to about three times its former size, effectively making this a small home-cinema.
I tried to speak up and ask her once again what we were even watching, but was instantly shushed as the show began.
To my surprise, it was just the general VR-News, though today seemed different. The intro was at least half a minute longer than usual and there even was a big ‘SPECIAL’ attached to the shows name this time around.
‘Well, if Alicia is interested it can’t be boring, but why the VR-news? She knows what I think about Virtual Reality…’ My thoughts were interrupted as the shows’ hosts were finally done introducing themselves and about to cut to the chase.
The camera zoomed in on the male moderator, named Jerry, who, with a big smile on his unnecessarily handsome, obviously enhanced face, had to repeat the whole intro again. Going on and on about how special this episode was going to be…
'God, damnit jackass, get to the point already...'
Finally he wrapped up his unnecessary introduction and went on: “…so now, we proudly present to you, CEO of ‘Virtual Realms’– Mr. Hayao Miyamoto.”
The lights in the studio went off and on as in-game scenes of several VRMMORPGs’ were displayed on a screen in the background, all the while Jerry and his female coworker were clapping.
Shortly thereafter, a surprisingly old man walked up to the podium and took a seat next to the two moderators.
The Japanese man didn’t look at all what you would expect a game designer to look like, although he fit the CEO image just fine.
White, full hair covered his head, combed backwards in a neat, orderly fashion. The suit he wore looked much more expensive then the suits of both moderators combined and several rings decorated both of his hands.
All of this, together with the calm and gathered expression he wore on his face gave him a very dignified appearance, which didn’t even suffer by the fact that even the female moderator was about a head taller than him.
The two moderators exchanged a few words, after which Mr. Miyamoto stood up and spoke into the camera for the very first time: “I am very happy to be here and thankful to VR-News for having me as a guest. I greet all the VR-fans out there and hope you will enjoy this show.”
He then performed a slight bow, before sitting down again, leaving me speechless.
It was not the politeness of his greeting, but the fact that he had spoken without the least trace of an accent, which had surprised me.
In an instant the man had completely changed the image I had off him and I couldn't help but feel intrigued by him. Didn't the majority of japanese have a really hard time pronounciating english words? Why didn't he?
“We are also very happy to have you as our guest Mr. Miyamoto, especially since this is the first time we hear from your company again after ten years, isn’t it? Please Mr. Miyamoto, without further ado, share your news with the worlds.” It was Jenny, the female moderator who had spoken and who now activated the big screen in the back of the studio.
“Well then. The fewest of you viewers probably know me or my company ‘Virtual Realms’, it is indeed the truth that we have been rather inactive concerning publicity in the past years, but we had our reasons. When we first started working on our project, it was with surprise that we saw the years fly by. Before we knew it five years had passed, then ten and here we are today, twenty years later…”
The screen in the back of the studio lit up as slowly a slogan appeared, woven together from hundreds of glittering lines.
“It has been a long journey and not an easy one at that. But, today, after twenty years of hard work, I can finally present you all; SECOND LIFE.”
An orchestrated musical piece with a soft but beautiful tune started playing, as the words ‘Second Life’ in the back of the studio slowly faded.
I averted my gaze as what seemed to be a trailer was shown and instead focused on Alice.
“This is what you wanted to see? Why? Isn’t that just another VRMMORPG? What’s so special about it?”
She threw me an annoyed glance, then answered: “You would know if you would just shut up and watch. Just believe me, by the end of this you will thank me.”
Though I didn't exactly believe her, I still found myself quickly captivated by the trailer and the scenes accompanying it. Yet, after all she had said I couldn't tell what was supposed to be the difference between this and all the VRMMORPGs of the past.
'It really is all the same.' I thought. 'A dull fantasy world with repetive monsters using repetive movesets and all players will go for the same overpowered skills and builds...'
Though that was part of why I disliked VRMMORPGs', it was not the actual truth.
Speaking completely honest, I actually quite liked them.
They were fast paced, interactive to the max and simply outragiously fun. But... I couldn't help but feel bad for Alice everytime I wanted to try out an VR-game.
We both had been amazed the first time we tried out an VRMMORPG together. After all, who would have thought that an artificial intelligence could also join a virtual world?
At first we had been filled with joy, for the first time we could actually touch and interact with each other, not to mention play together. Those were probably the best three years of my life, but what happened next was simply to horrifying.
As time passed and people got accustomed to the game, they grew bored and before we knew it we found ourselves in the middle of a massacre. People slaughtered NPCs' left and right, laughed at their pleas for mercy and continued to wipe out all the artificial life in the world, cleaning one city after another.
Then, after there was nothing left to destroy, they simply left, off to fight new battles in the next game, not caring for the damage they had done in the former.
Though Alice never openly talked to me about this, I knew this had left her deeply scared. We both had learned a lot from each other and just like her I wasn't able to view artificial intelligences as anything but a digital life form. Not the least bit inferior to humans or animals, depending on their programming of course.
Seeing humanity care so little for their creations and with complete disregard had even shocked me, I didn't even dare to try and comprehend how scared and shocked Alice must have been in the middle of all of this.
Anyways, ever since that incident I had made sure to stay clear of anything virtual reality related.
My own enjoyment wasn't even remotely as important to me as Alicas' feelings and I was fine with us being seperated into real and digital bodies as long as that meant that neither of us had to experience anything like that incident again.
'So why are you this interested in that game Alicia? You can't have forgotten all of this...'
Back on the screen Mr. Miyamoto was visible again, now sitting opposite of Jerry, a big smile covering his face. In the background different in-game scenes from the trailer were displayed, again and again.
Yet, all the focus was on the two men.
“That was amazing Mr. Miyamoto and we are pumped to hear all about your game during this three hour special. But, right off the bat, what do you feel is the biggest difference between Second Life and other VR-MMORPGs’ out there? And why exactly did it take you twenty years to produce this gem?”
“That is a very good question Mr. Jerry.-“ I couldn’t help but giggle at this slip-up from the CEO, adding a Mr. before the moderators first name, but I quickly shut up as I was actually genuinly interested in the answer he was going to give.
“You see, the biggest difference would be… the world itself. While it may not look much different from your typical role-playing game world, it will definitely feel different. It is simply… more alive, more realistic, and less like a game. Every single NPC in this game is an Artificial Identity with the complexity of a real human being, allowing each and every individual in this world to indeed, be much more than an accessory and be its very own unique existence within that world. When we made this game the goal was not to make the best game out there, or the most fun game, but to utilize virtual reality to its fullest and make a game that feels as ‘real’ as thinkable possible, and, excuse me for bragging, but I believe us to have succeeded.”
Miyamoto left a small pause for everyone to digest this new information before he continued, but I had already grasped why Alicia was this interested in a mere Virtual Reality. This was different...
"You see, this is also the reason it took us twenty years to create the game. Pretty much all of the time has been invested into creating the world itself and fostering an AI capable of managing it. Allow me to explain something. Normaly, a game is like a nice painting, it may look like something real, but that is really just an illusion. We have went much much further and actually created the entirety of this world on an atomic level. Everything you see, every monster, every person and every environmental feature has actually been build so detailed that were you to take them apart layer by layer, you would find yourself facing something not extinguishable from reality. Just like how we humans are made from cells, flesh and blood, so are the living beings in our game. True, their cells and flesh are still data, but data so very finely coded, you would never be able to tell the difference were you not aware of this information beforehand."
Everyone was silent. Only the images of the trailer in the background were constantly moving, while everyone else, me included, were frozen solid.
'Creating a game on an atomic level? That's ridiculous... How is that even supposed to work? What computer could possible manage all that information? What.... How....'
Jerry the moderator must have had similar thoughts as he was breaking out into cold sweat. There was simply no way such a thing should be possible, or was it?
I didn’t say anything else for the following hours, only listened as I got more and more enticed by Second Life.
Everything the japanese man had said had hit a nerve and I found myself not only agreeing with him on topics concerning gaming and Virtual Reality, but actually started to admire him.
It was then, at the very end of the show, that all the build-up tension all my newly acquired hopes and dreams were crushed in an instance. Leaving me completely and utterly destroyed.
With the very essence of my being, I shouted out in despair:
“TEN THOUSAND BUCKS?”
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27.5th
-Major edits following TeaAddicts advice. Readability and grammar should have improved. No major content change
29.5th
- big shoutout to KuroYousei who helped me with tons of grammar stuff