The door to the elevator opened and six people pushed their way into the already stuffed lift. Kevin was trapped in the back with at least thirty more floors to go before he would reach the lobby. The elevator space was large enough to fit fifty people but between the bags, tools, space suites and other miscellaneous items they were already at capacity. Kevin wished he had left the box at his apartment since he isn’t going to his locker anymore. To keep the contents of his cardboard box from getting crushed he had to hold it over his head.
What made it worse for everyone was that the door seemed to open at every floor as more people tried to squeeze into the crowd. Then the sound everyone had been waiting for finally happened. A monotone buzz and red light meant that they were at full capacity. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief because now the elevator would not stop unless someone was getting off. The elevator did stop a few times and someone would squeeze out just to be replaced with another body.
It wasn’t long before they finally reached the lobby. The door opened and the mob moved in a mess of legs and conflicting directions as people reoriented themselves. Kevin was one of the last people out and immediately turned right. The lobby was a massive multi floor room with minimalist design. The floor and walls were the same reflective white metal. Thin metal beams held up the upper floor from the lower one. The lobby wasn’t more than twenty yards wide but stretched left and right for at least a mile and a half.
People scurried in and out following their normal routines of work and sleep. Kevin was walking to the local Housing Authority office knowing that they would otherwise throw a fit in him changing his move out date. The Housing Authority offices interspersed between other amenities along the lobby floor. As he walked along he received a call and answered it as soon as he saw Wynn’s name.
“Kevin, hey how are you?” Wynn said as soon as the phone connected.
“I am alright. I Just spoke to Jason a few minutes ago. He seemed out of it.” Kevin responded.
“Pillars of Creation! That idiot went home instead of to the hospital?” She said angrily.
“You know how he is about the hospital.” Kevin responded with a slight chuckle. “He didn’t look like he was injured, just dirty. So you may have a mess to clean when you get home.”
“It’s better than him being one of the unrecoverable.” She let out a sigh.
“That’s true. How are things going on your end? I am surprised you aren’t swimming in paperwork or something since this happened.”
“I am good, a little bored honestly. I am out on patrol and my partner is sleeping in the back now. Normally something like this would fall under the Bridge Police jurisdiction. We would come to play if the accident happened outside of the bridges. The weird thing is I am told that the Home World Guard has taken over the entire incident. So no one knows what is going on.”
“That’s really weird. Was it a terrorist attack?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway I was calling to check on you. I know you were supposed to be leaving today. Because of what happened at the dock I am guessing that’s not what’s happening.”
“Yeah, I am on my way to the Housing Authority now,” Kevin said with audible grumbles.
“Oh, you should call the Orbital Movers Association first. See if they can transfer you to another ship at a different civilian port. Then when you talk to the Housing Authority you will have a timeline of how long you need. If you are lucky you will be able to leave today or tomorrow. If not, at least I’ll actually be able to see you before you go and Jason and I can throw you another going away party!”
The two talked for a bit longer as Kevin finally approached the Housing authority office. The line inside was so long that it stretched outside into the lobby. Kevin went to the kiosk and scanned the Sensory Augmentation jewel on his left wrist. The ticket number D-1505 and wait time of five hours appeared in his vision. He shook his head as he looked at the line deciding that calling would be better than standing in a line for five hours.
Kevin and Wynn talked about a variety of subjects as he made his way back to his apartment. She was obviously just passing time with little to do while drifting in space on patrol. When he got home they ended their call and he called the Orbital Movers Association. The representative Ms. Solina sounded tired like she had been dealing with a lot of logistic backlog since the spaceport was closed. They moved him to a ship that would be leaving for the interchange in two days. She also informed him that the Housing Authority is notified.
He closed the call and looked through contacts. Now that he had everything figured out he wanted to call Jessica and let her know. He scrolled through the contacts with his mind and found Jessica’s name. He selected her name with a thought and there was a low ringing as the call connected to the nearest HTN tower.
“You are connecting to the Hyperspace Telecommunication Network brought to you by HyronTec Inc. Interplanetary Fees may apply. Please hold as you are connected.” An automated voice stated as the ringing continued for a few seconds. “Connection established, thank you for using the Hyperspace Telecommunication Network brought to you by HyronTec Inc.”
Kevin and Jessica had a short conversation but she was in the car with her sister so she had to be vague on her side of the conversation. Kevin understood that her family did not like him and would most likely stop her from leaving Mars if they found out if the two of them were moving in together. Kevin also knew Jessica planned to tell them when she knew it would be too late to stop her. Kevin suggested that they talk in the game Deicide since there is no way her sister can eavesdrop on them there.
Kevin had already sent the majority of his gaming equipment with the movers. Which meant he wouldn’t have have what he needed to have a more stable connection to Deicide. Things would load slower than he would like but he did not have a choice. He dimmed the lights to a soft glow as he walked to the center of the room. He lied down on the bare hard floor and looked straight up at the ceiling. The floor was cold and uncomfortable but he knew he would not feel it for long as he scrolled through all of the apps he had saved in his Sensory Augmentation. Everything was done with a thought as he closed his eyes and the senses of the real world were cut. For a second The sensation of floating weightlessly in a cyberspace void rushed through him as his body was recreated as little more than a black silhouette with a dim blue light separating him from the virtual world.
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In front of him he saw the words “Deicide No Gods No Kings” stylized in exaggerated lettering. Underneath the title was a loading bar slowly filling with what looked like a green glowing liquid.
As soon as the bar was filled completely Kevin felt a rush of air as the darkness fluttered around him and he was standing in a selection space where he saw his two accounts. The account window on the right said “press account” which is the one he used during his live streams and was set up to record when he played. The account window to the right simply had “AFKIRL” the name of the guild he and Jessica created in the game. This account was their private one that He and Jessica played together.
Kevin stepped forward into the AFKIRL window and he was thrust into the character select room. Here he could select which of his avatars we would play as. There were five of them all together, each one specialized for different roles in the guild. The room was designed to look like one in the guild hall although it was a separate space just to select which avatar he would play. Normally a player’s avatars would be in a blank void-like space standing like statues or in a t-pose. However, Kevin spent real-world money in the Cash Shop to have the selection space customized.
Kevin was a professional Deicide player and spent the majority of his days in the game. He also spent the majority of the money he got from streaming donations, brand deals and tournaments on in-game purchases for his various avatars. On average he would spend roughly half his earnings directly in the game. This left him with some of the most customized characters in the game and placed him well in the highest spenders in the game.
The room was large enough to comfortably hold the six of them. It looked like a waiting room with a hardwood wood floor and a beautiful persian rug. The ceiling had a complex and expensive looking gold and crystal chandelier. The furnishing in the room looked to be hand crafted and polished to perfection by a master of their craft and each one was a piece of art all on their own. There were two chairs and two coffee tables on opposite sides of the room. There was a window on the side opposite a door. The room smelled of spiced cinnamon which seemed to originate from a candle on the coffee table in one of the corners of the room.
Four men and one woman were in the room with Kevin although they didn’t seem to notice him. They were actually the avatars and playing out predetermined animations until he chose which he will play as. Each looked very different from one another and were members of different fantasy races.
The closest was named Hyperion and was of the celestial race called Hemburs. They were beings made from the fire of the God Hephaestus’ forge. He looked like living molten metal with hair that flowed like fire from his head. He sat at one of the wooden tables that despite how hot he appeared to be, did not catch fire. He wore plate armor which was white and highly decorative with gold accents. The armor was tight fitting and seemed to produce a dim light. His helmet was on the table and was just as flashy as the rest of the armor. Hyperion was level 100 and the combat class Cavalryman which allowed him to summon mounts during combat.
Next was a woman named Svaralfer, she was drinking tea at the window looking out into the blank space beyond. Svaralfer is Kevin’s only female avatar which Jessica made to be the most feminine avatar she could make. Kevin created an avatar on her account named Kokou that is as manly as Svaralfer is girly. Anytime Kevin played as her Jessica had to play as Kokou and they had to act as if they were the opposite sex.
Svaralfer was a dark elf with flawless gray skin that lacked any blemish. Her face was a mixture of girlish charm and womanly maturity that would not give a solid idea of her age. She had silver hair which flowed in loose curls around both sides of her face framing her beauty. She had black leather armor that hugged close to her slender form. On her right side she had scarlet plate armor interspersed. There was a quarter metal breast plate which terminated just under her chest, also a metal pauldron with short neck guard and armored gauntlet. Her right thigh also had metal plates covering down to her boot. She was the archer class and Kevin’s second oldest avatar on this account and was level 150.
Aureole was at the other table eating a never ending steak. He looked the most human out of any of the avatars here. He only wore animal hides with bone armor protecting his extremities. His hair was black and unkempt and he had a short cut beard. Despite sitting at the table and being covered in pelts his muscular frame was obvious. He had a savage danger to his aura which even though Kevin designed him still put him slightly on edge. Aureole was a lycanthrope and could transform into several mythical beasts. He was the assassin class and level 95.
Standing next to Aureole was Kevin’s avatar he made as a troll to a toxic player he met and became a continuous problem for them. The avatar was named xxMurder3L0rdD3athKill69xx which even made Kevin ashamed for having named him that. He wanted to change the name but didn’t play as him very often anymore so he didn’t want to pay for the name change stone.
xxMurder3L0rdD3athKill69xx was an ecratine which looked like what would happen if you mixed a human with a spider. He only had two legs but had four arms and six eyes. He had black exoskeleton which did not reflect much light making it difficult to make out any defining features. His mouth was little more than different interlocking mandibles with two large fangs. He was wearing dazzlingly colorful and expensive looking robes. His belt was covered in potions of various colors some of which glowed. Glowing runes flowed out of him into the air where they dispersed into a sparkling vaper. He was also level 150 and was in the combat class Black Wicca Grimoirist.
Lastly leaning on the wall nearest the door was Kevin’s main avatar named Harahel. He was also the most impressively kitted out. Harahel was a member of the celestial people known as angels. His appearance shares many similarities with the depiction of Judeo-Christian angels though his skin appears golden yellow. Harahel has short straight brunette hair with lines cut into the sides for style. He also has his facial hair cut into a light chinstrap. His eyes were silver with the computer power icon as his pupils, another change made through the Cash Shop.
As an angel he had two wings which were various dark and light shades of brown and tan. He had five golden rings piercings along the patagium of each wing each with different enchants. When his wings are not in use they were draped over his shoulders giving the appearance of a feathered cloak. When using magic or some sword skills an orange-red halo appeared behind his head which was changed from its original white color using a Cash Shop item Kevin paid for with real world money.
Harahel was a paladin and he wears magically enchanted plate armor. The armor was red with sterling mithril accents and complex engravings. The pauldron for the armor floated above his shoulders so as not to restrict movement. He has additional armor which floats around his waist down along his legs. The helmet was extravagantly engraved with gold and has a crown. Although you cannot see his face when the helmet is on, when using skills an orange-red glow can be seen from the eye holes.
Kevin did not question which avatar he was going to choose. He nonchalantly walked over to the glowing monolith that was Harahel. His silhouetted form merged directly into the waiting avatar and with a brief surge of sensation Kevin opened his eyes as Harahel. He tapped his helmet and it vanished giving him a clear line of sight. This was another Cash Shop ability that made headgear invisible while still offering all the protection they would have otherwise.
Kevin stepped over to the door and opened it as he did a light surrounding him and he was inside of a new space. He was loading into the grand entrance to the Silver Estate, their guild hall which he had seen many times. What cut through everything was the voice he was waiting to hear this whole time. He turned and saw the pixelated form of Jessica’s avatar as the assets still struggled to load in.