“You’re a lucky bastard, you know that right?” Joe Said shaking his head.
“That may be true Joe, but I kind of had to give up a lot,” I said from my wheelchair.
“Yea I guess your right but, full immersion pod, free access to Ality for life. That’s hard to beat.”
Though saying that I was hugely excited, waiting over two years for this. Finally being able to walk again.
Today was the day, finally I’d get my grubby hands on it. Well I say that actually my nurse would be the one handling it as I haven’t been able to move anything below my neck for almost ten years. Mortimer Crowley the name, yea go ahead I’ve heard them all. And yes I’ve seen the old cartoon I don’t know anyone named rick, anyway some guy jumped the curb as I was on my way to class. C3-C4 vertebrae shattered, broken ribs a crushed pelvis etc...It was pretty bad but mom didn’t raise a quitter.
“So which game did you end up getting?” Joe said, you could almost hear the grin in his voice as he was half buried inside the guts of the silver pod.
Like he really needs to ask, we both know it had to be Ality, CEE’s newest game.
After I got out of the hospital to most that may have been it for them, I mean I was petty set the driver had been some big Ceo. A big court battle and well… let’s just say I wouldn’t go for want or need for pretty much anything short of a country.
Not one to sit around for long doing nothing, with the help I got hooked up to a new state of the art computer system with a primitive, but functional neural to computer interface .
A year or so passed of programming and tinkering with the software and hardware when I had a breakthrough, I managed to get ahold of abandoned AI prototype through well less than legit methods. With it as the missing piece I had finally done it, full neural body mapping. More of a proof of concept than anything it still aloud me, for the first time in a while to be able to at least digitally to use my hands again.
You have no idea what a pain it was before to type with eye movement or even with the NTCI ( neural to computer interfaces) it tended to lagged horribly or to misinterpret what I was trying to do all the time. So Cutting Edge Entertainment (CEE) contacted me after hearing about my little project and offered me a lot of money to share my tech with them.
I wasn’t too interested till they mentioned first dibs on their new full body gaming pod. I had been a huge gamer and Otaku before the accident, one of the things I missed the most with only recently being able to start gaming again with the help of my little module I was calling the NEET.
Fast forward back to the present, CEE had come through on their promise on first dibs on the new pod. After waiting eighteen months, with almost constant back and forth with them the NEET was intergraded into the pods, giving them a completely realistic emersion.
Well the pod showed up all shiny and chrome, and as it happened I had a seizure. I was, well not great but alive. A month and a half of medications and checkups I was at least back to where I was minus some headaches. Due to the seizure CEE had to almost gut my pod to jump some of the dark areas in my brain. So finally it was here once more, today I would finally get to play.
Joe Swindler, one of the CEE tech was here hooking up the pod. We had become pretty close friends Joe and I both having a birthday a few days before Halloween and both being 20. Joe was head of the R&D over at CEE as well as being my gaming buddy these last two years.
“Well todays the day Morty, you may have missed out on being in the alpha in Ality. But atleast you can get in game now.” Joe said splicing in the dedicated hardline back to CEE’s servers.
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My live in Nurse was checking over my vitals before I went in to the pod. He was a quite guy but generally pretty cool to have a round if not the most talkative. I scanned over the forum, CEE had revamped their whole MMO library, making leaps forward with the NEET and even expanding on the IN-GAME AI’S using the code from the one I acquired, though Ality was where it was at.
“Well that’s that,” Joe said closing the side of the pod with a click.
“ So there’s nothing you can tell me”? I pleaded with a grin causing Joe just to roll his eyes.
“ You know I cant say anything man, your on you own like everyone else.”
Ality Online was the game I was most excited about. It was CEE newest title, boasting an experience like never before. The only annoying thing was their true to life race selection, like you don’t get to choose your race it’s completely random. The more common race’s are higher weighted, Human, Elf, Halfling Dwarf Etc.. With the variants such as Wood Elf and Hill Dwarf being rarer.
“You ready Morty?” Tim asked me picking me up as I nod and carrying me over to the pod.
I couldn’t feel it until the gel of the pod presses coolly into my hair, looking up and seeing Time and joe staring back.
“See you in game man,” Joe said. That I will, I will I thought that I will.
I waited excitedly as the lid descended going suddenly black, my scalp beginning to tingle and drowsiness washing over me as I close my eyes. Through the darkness I drifted weightlessly falling till I suddenly stopped, a blue window popping up in front of my face.
[window] Synchronization 5% [/window]
Slowly I felt the familiar pull of gravity on my lower body, something I hadn’t felt in a long time. A gentle breeze began to wafe over my face, I shuddered as an electric tingle ran up over my body and the feel of a ground below me as I stood
[window] Synchronization 57% [/window]
In the distance I could start to make out a stone structure and a path of dirt lead towards it.
Ahh this must be the Altar of Rebirth, where Ality randomly selects your race and patron deity.
Even though I couldn’t see my body I moved forwards following the path. Inside the building torches lined the walls flickering and filling the structure with the smell of wood smoke and oil. Against the back wall lay a pedestal with a mist filled sphere floating at eye level.
“Welcome Traveler,” a voice said seemingly from all around me.
“Um hello?” looking around I couldn’t find the source of the voice.
Suddenly a weight settled onto my shoulders and small arms wrapped around my neck, causing me to let out an oomph and stagger forward.
“Is so good to see you stranger,” said an excited voice with a strong Scottish accent.
What the hell?
Pulling the figure around only to see a loli sized teal haired girl grinning at me as I set her down and eyed her warily.
“Have we met before? I asked watching as she bounced in place looking me over.
“No Traveler we have not, though ya do look familiar,” she tapped at her lip crossing her arms staring up at the ceiling in thought. With a cute huff she shook her head and looked back at me grinning again rocking on her heels.
“Enough distractions I am Eostre, the goddess of new beginnings, decider of Fate!”…
I burst out laughing at the small figure trying to look so powerful posing. I did try and keep it in but she just look too adorable.
“I dina say that in jest, I have total control here.” She said stomping her dainty foot and puffing out her cheek angrily.
I smirked playfully bending my not there body so I was eye level with here.
“Aren’t you a little too adorable to be a goddess?” I said teasingly.
Eostre cheeks warmed redly as she stammered,
“A-a-adorable, I’m- I’m not, adorable,” she looked sideways at the ground.
She look up at me taking a deep breath before continuing. “What name will you be known as Traveler?”
Thinking hard as names were both important and difficult at the same time. I mean who wants to listen to a hero named Brent, or Trevor? Then it hit me,
“Hmm, well I will be known as Rune, Rune Shadespeaker.”
Eostre nodded as if thinking on my name before getting a leer on her face,
“Ok Rune Shadespeaker, then walk for and place your hand onto the Orb of Choosing, so that it may taste of your essence and your race may be chosen.”
Nodding at Eostre, I walk over to the Orb slightly suspicious at the look on her face.
Placing my, what amounted as my hand onto the Orb, it pulsed warmly against me. A wave of curios energy passed around me, like a giant dice rolling. Slowly coming to a rest before me.
“Very interesting a first, this will be fun to watch.” She grinned wider at me as I started to fall through a new hole that opened under my feet. Watching as Eostre disappeared above me
“We will meet again Traveler Rune, we will meet again.”