Chapter 1: The Call

(Jacob POV)

Jacob was just sitting on a virtual bench enjoying the scents of wildflower and pine mingling with his senses. Currently they were sitting pretty much at the very edge of a mountain city facing towards the vast fields framed by the stands of pine to either side of them. Once you left the city it became grassy fields dotted with a herd of bison or antelope here and there. You actually couldn’t leave the city, it was just for looks. Imagine a giant dome-shaped mirage mimicking a real landscape. It was so tantalizing, but this wasn’t just some posh game world. It was his home. Well technically it wasn’t but it was the nicest place he could go. He went to the local school in the city and was just a month from graduating high school. Although he already had enough credit to consider graduating, he still needed the schooling to stay at the orphanage. Despite the conditions of his schooling and life-style, he still considered it his greatest accomplishment. While his grades weren’t great, they were usually at least on par with a B average. He might have done better but he had to help with upkeep around the orphanage. He even sometimes got tips which he used to save up for when he was forced to leave after his schooling. The kids in his sector were 18 now so they could play the mature games if they could afford it. It’s not like he’d played many other games though, considering the only others he had enough for were a flight and driving simulator, even those were safeguarded against any reckless behaviors. His best friend Kent sat a few feet to his left intently watching a show. There was a slightly opaque blue screen hovering a few feet away blocking their view. Or more precisely, it was what they were watching. A series of commercials flashed by talking about some upcoming new hardware for VR pods. The timer in the bottom finally ran out and we skipped past it. A new show came on we had been anticipating.

A middle aged man with round features of about forty sat with his legs crossed on a puffy leather couch. (The host obviously) He had Dark black hair neatly combed to the side and an expensive grey suit with dark blue eyes. The guest sitting across from him wore a simple plaid shirt with an obscure BBQ stain at the bottom. He gave off the impression of a shameless man wearing blue jeans and sneakers. He was a dirty blonde with a skiff of grey speckled every here and then. With a sharp jaw and green eyes, he looked around his fifties. They both seemed about six feet tall. “Hello and welcome to the late night show! This is Tanner Linxe bringing you information from the forefront of events. Today we have the owner of Lightning Software Harry Dinst joining us with a brand new game we will all surely be raving over. Would you be so inclined as to tell us a little about this new game planned for release?” Harry smiles and faces he crowd and faces directly into the crowd. ”Of course! Thank you so much for this great opportunity and thank you for watching!” with that he faced back to the host “Well, I guess we should start by rolling the clip?”

Suddenly the screen above the men’s heads came into focus revealing a space station orbiting a bright red star. The audio took on an ominous tone, almost as if wind were flowing in space. A rumbling became more pronounced as suddenly a barrage of silver streaking outlines of space cruisers flew straight in front of the camera causing the crowd to gasp in surprise and awe. They were monoliths, measuring well over a thousand feet in length, three hundred feet across and about a hundred feet tall measuring from the slightly curvaceously smooth and slim bottom of the ship. They were all decked out in an innumerable amount of turrets and weaponry. All of this came up in a panorama slowly chasing after the ships as laser fire burst from everywhere. A plasma blast rocked the camera and then we were flying through the debris of a ship full of emaciated bodies floating in torn suits. Suddenly the debris cleared and we could see a flourishing mining complex flurry with activity carrying cargo or precious minerals from an asteroid belt in the distance. Then the screen seemed to go black as the camera whipped around to spot a slightly green-glowing dead planet full of skyscrapers and pollution. Again it shifted, this time a volcanic planet burst into life glowing against a dead sun in the background. Red fiery veins aglow in the darkness. Moving again. Now we see a metropolis of a planet and a blue sea surrounded by a plethora of foliage and giant aging trees. Suddenly we are in a city and we can clearly see the inhabitants wandering around scrapyards and working with ships and great machines. The image shifts pulling us out to space as we arrive at a new sun forming from a supernova. It seems there are monsters shifting in the mists of gasses and debris, almost like serpents. A huge fleet is battling in a craze over something not quite apparent. As a red ship looms out of nowhere we glimpse corpses strapped to the hull, spatters of blood rusted on the surface. The guns start shooting directly at the camera and the screen finally starts to dim and in its place some blazing golden words appear forming from a yellow, throbbing mist.

New Life

Rated 18+

The Host is completely stunned along with the audience, then the questions start to flow in a torrent around the room. Some even run up to the stage and get knocked away by the guards. “Well, this game seems like a quite an interesting experience indeed!” Tanner had regained his smile and composure during the confusion. “Is there anything you can tell us about the game before the release? We already know the basics and that it is the first full space sim that self generates more worlds but what’s the hook? Of course you can get 1 out of a million free pods, but whys should we replace our current consoles for one of yours just to play this game?” Harry gathered himself up obviously beaming at the reaction from the reveal. ”Well, this is a full realism game. The pain is at 100% and you cannot combat log. You have to eat, sleep, drink, you get the point. But that’s not even the tip of the iceberg. Sure you have the typical stats and racial bonuses and what not, but now you can bring your own talent into the world. If you can cook, you can cook. If you can weld, you can weld. Just because you start as one class doesn’t mean you cannot do the things others can. Everyone is equal and is given greatly equal opportunities. You can do anything in the game and even work for real credits to transfer tot eh real world. The transfer rate is steep but it is ten credits either way. Ten credits to one dollar, then ten dollars to input one credit. This keeps the economy stable at the same time allowing hard workers to make a new life in game while holding themselves outside of game as well. As for the free pods you asked about earlier. First off, why? Well we are generous for one. It allows lower and higher class citizens alike the chance to gain access to a better life. Second, you need a new pod because it has special stasis abilities that keep you fit, fed, and healthy while you play. The game has a one to four time dilation. This means you can live at least four times your expected life span not even counting if you got back in afterwards and replaced some parts. Not only that but your body is kept in a secret composition of nutrients keeping you healthy longer extending your youth beyond normal means. You could stay in the game for over a four lifetimes at least to wake up as the same person if you wanted. That in itself is worth it, all you need is a space rented out to plug in at and your fine for a long time. Plus the free batch will have the option to stay in an area in one of our own buildings in New York to stay free of charge indefinitely. Of course this will air at the end of the show so stay tuned to call in for your chance.(he turns and winks at the camera before continuing) Now back to the game, you will all start on a station of your choice in any of the three territories. These include the Kostaries, Liberation and the Relue. While you may choose any of these you can still become a free-man and enter uncharted territories. Of course you will have to get started in one of these territories first though. The Kostaries fight for a Monarchy and want total control over everyone and anything. They will not stop until they are the supreme rulers. The Liberation is more of a Democratic society wanting to simply stay away from conflict. They stay neutral and tend to feed the economy in bother the other warring factions. This keeps them safe and the liberation continues to pressure peace and exploration in the name of humanity. Lastly, you can play the Relue and play in another Democratic society, though they oppose the Kostaries and fight for supremacy also. So basically you can fight for the good or bad side or just stay neutral. Either way you will be stuck very far apart, separated by unknown space. A big part of the game is exploration and expansion, so go crazy. The current date is December-01-2222 so in exactly a month, on New Year’s the game will be released. Currently beta testers are helping us fix bugs and optimize the gameplay! Until then that is all I can tell you. Now, it seems my time is almost up so I will play the trailer in the background for you until the time ends. The commercial for free pods should air just after this so pay attention! For those who play please remember that this is a new life so make the most of it! With that I will Bid good luck and a Good night to everybody!” The host stood up and shook hands then waved at the crowd with a huge grin.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Well, you heard the man. That’s all until next time, I wish you all the best of luck. With that the screen started replaying the video and then the prices for the new stasis pods required for the game came onto screen with a bunch of numbers for contacts and info were displayed.

The Two boys stared in rapture at the screen until the last screen appeared. Suddenly they broke from their trance and started pulling out their digital phones waiting for the right moment while memorizing the regular numbers advertising a 10% discount. As the episode of prices faded a screen advertising a free 1 million pods popped up with a number. The boys practically speed dialed the number and were immediately put on hold. Jacob stood in rapt shock, though a flicker of hope and disparity roiled just under the surface. (Now, for those of you who think that a million pods is a lot, please be noted that the world is overpopulated as is and a million people wasn’t even a twentieth of any countries population around the world. So when they gave out a million, they were guaranteed a huge competition.) He didn’t know what would happen if he didn’t win one of the free pods. He would probably end up a beggar or a customer service worker. None of which could pay for a pod like this anytime soon. Plus he wouldn’t have the schools so he would have to rent and that usually got you sick from some stranger’s old germs or diseases. Suddenly his dark train of thoughts were swept away as the other end of the line picked up. He was so stunned he forgot to speak. A ladies voice erupted in his ear loudly about making him drop his phone.

“Hello this call is currently the 998,233rd caller to win one Savior Pod 2000, if you could please switch this channel over to face-time this will go a lot faster. Do you have that available?” uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… I look over and see that Kent somehow got his call across too. It must have been by sheer luck and timing that they squeaked in. ”Hello? Are you there? Dam it not another empty caller…Sir can you hear me?”

I finally get a hold of myself just as she’s about to hang up. I spring forward and press the icon with the two people facing each other on the interface. ”Hello!” I blurt into the call and I watch as a blonde in her twenties about pees herself jumping. “Yes, I am the caller.” As she sits back down still breathing hard she glares at me. “Next time pick up! Jerk… Name and social security please... and hurry up!? I don’t want to be here all day too ya know.” I recite my general information to her including my date of birth to confirm I’m old enough to play, my address to send a driver for the airport, patron household to relinquish me and my rights to myself, and then of course she takes an id picture for the driver to recognize me, my airport passes, and the permission for the skyscraper located on the border of Canada and new York where we will be staying in our own rooms. When I mention Kent she talks with the man on his line too and they end up ordering rooms next to each other along with connecting travels. They said it was safer for them to travel this way. Especially in the city. When the call finally ended they logged out and stepped from their pods. As the final waves of relief wash over them they high five and jump around squealing like teenage girls. When this finishes they go to the head councilor’s office to talk over the rest of their stay and pass over their rights as adults.

End of Chapter1

(Authors Note: Thank you for reading first off an second, this is my first attempt at a story so please leave ideas and criticism below. All is accepted! If you want please leave a comment on what kind of classes their should be and what one Jacob and Kent Should have. Much appreciated, have a great day/night. : )