Chapter One
I looked around my room, making sure everything was all set up. My tablet opened to a five-way conference call. Four holographic heads were hovering above it, sharing an assortment of expressions from excitement to Daniel’s sleepy yawn.
“Okay, three minutes until the early access servers come up. Everyone all set? You remember the plan?” I called out.
A chorus of “Yeah, sure…”, “Got it” and groans emerged.
“Hey! A little more enthusiasm! I spent a ton getting you guys all setup with rigs and fake ID. The Premium Starter packages alone cost an arm and a leg.”
A flurry of apologetic responses made me feel a little better.
“Just remember, head to Dumeril asap we’ll meet at the bind stone just outside the castle.”
Daniel, always the jokester. “Sure, take a Demerol and sleep for a week, right?”
“Asshole.” I popped back with a smile. “Alright, one minute, hang-up and log in!”
My parents were always gone on one thing or another, and I only saw them a handful of days each year. Mother was cruising in her shipboard apartment as the city liner traveled the ocean. Father currently was en route to the Mars colony to set up their new environmental AI. Since I had turned sixteen, I hadn’t seen them at all and had recently discharged all but a weekly cleaning staff.
The only ones I saw regularly were my school friends, outcasts and nerds all. The five of us had been friends and had been playing together since middle school. Just having graduated from our Junior year in high school, we had almost three full months to dedicate to the newest VRMMORPG from a new company, Second Heaven Studios. I looked at the wall poster for the game, other than some pirated in game video from the beta testers little was known about the game, ‘Rage of the Gods’. In theory, players could at some unknown level, if they had sufficient followers they could challenge a God and replace them or even ascend to be a new one.
The game is rated as Mature, 21+, for language, drug use, sex, and violence, but the third-party site they were using for age checking had been shown online to have faulty verification software. I had more than enough money to afford five fake ID’s and had provided them to the gang. Daniel, Jimmy, and Patrick were 17 already, while Hector and I were still 16 for another month.
Stolen story; please report.
A head start in a new game, touted to be generations ahead of earlier efforts, couldn’t be passed up. I loved the stealthy kills of my assassins, confounding the law as I left a trail of bodies. Daniel was the perfect foil, his tank the nominal leader, but always subject to my guidance.
I lay back on my bed, neuro stim patches in place to prevent muscle atrophy.
=-=-=-=-
Slipping the neural induction helmet on, I spoke,
“Session Start!”
Immediately I was in the white room of the VR Lobby. Public Access Net was down that path, Education and School were down this other path. But I turned to yet another and moved down Entertainment and came to the door that now bore the Rage of the Gods splash screen. Putting my hand on the door, I willed myself inside.
I felt dizzy for a second and almost fell over, then as my eyes cleared I looked out at a mountain valley from a lofty plateau. A silver ribbon of a river wound through the valley. The true height of where I was standing was shown as a cloud passed by below me. A cough caught my attention, and I spun to face it.
A pair of figures in robes faced me. An older Man and Woman smiled at me as they spread their arms in a welcoming fashion.
“Greetings Jason Fontana.” A chill went through me, that wasn’t the name on my fake ID. “Please Wait, as we finish the Multiphasic Inventory. Please direct your attention to the viewing crystal here while we begin testing.” A crystal rose from the ground like a giant pillar of quartz, glowing softly as pictures appeared in its depths.
I had no idea what they were testing as they rarely asked questions, and when they did, they never waited for my answer. The crystal flashed images, some from newscasts, some art, some just abstract paintings. The images flashed faster and faster, I couldn’t even make out what most of them were, but at the same time they pulled at me, and I couldn’t look away. The images were becoming more and more interesting, tugging on me as I chased the feelings they evoked. With a snap that left me reeling the images vanished.
“Thank you, Jason. Your character is being generated, and you can enter him shortly.”
“But! Wait! Don’t I get to choose?”
The two figures looked at each other and laughed. “If we asked all 3450 questions and waited for an answer, well, you would be here all day. We scanned the answers directly from your brain.” The male said.
“Well, not so much the answers, but rather your reactions to the questions and images themselves. Your ideal character will soon be ready” The female nodded sagely as she added. “The one thing we must tell you, you can be a single class, losing adaptability in favor of focus.”
The male continued, “You may dual or even triple class. Mixing say Melee and Magic! But, whatever path or paths you choose, be wary, it is difficult and often impossible to change an established path!”
The woman turned to me with a sad look,
“It was naughty of you to spoof the game restrictions. You have earned a Warning and a Punishment. Desired Race and Class Branches have been barred from you. Your account has received a Ban, Human, and Rogue, as well as the name Balthor, may never be chosen on this account. Enjoy your stay in ‘Rage of the Gods!’, have a lovely day.”
“Wait! What?” I tried to jump up and grab the pair, but my hands passed through them.
The woman smiled, “Your appearance and name can be changed once in the game. You will have a one-use ticket for both options, simply visit one of the salons.”
“Bye!” The two said together, and I was sucked into and then shot down a column of light.