Chapter 2: Oculus
Bing… Bing…. Bing… I startled awake, blinking rapidly in hopes of reorienting myself. The noise had been coming from Pieces' speaker.
“Piece, display my notifications please” I said in a groggy voice.
Piece made a reverberating noise signaling her assent. Greeting my sleepy eyes were responses to my many applications, some obviously automated, others handwritten, by the hundreds. Obviously I had forgotten to ask Piece to only apply to the top 40 or so.
“Piece, please sort the responses by notability of the respondee.” I moaned. After a brief pause, the list began to sort itself out. Walking over to my kitchen, I grabbed a few week old pastries, and stuffed them in the toaster. Glancing over at Pieces holographic display, I froze. The foremost reply was from Oculus, regarding Project Daedalus.
Opening the letter, I began to read.
Hello, Locke Seleanne
This correspondence is in regards to your application last night to Project Daedalus. Unfortunately, the position you have applied for is no longer available. However, our administration is pleased to offer you another role in Project Daedalus. If you are interested, please have your PHC schedule a call with us, our information is below.”
After rereading the message more times than was strictly necessary, the smell of burning pastry yanked me back to reality.
“Piece, respond to Oculus, and schedule a call” I said excitedly, tossing the volcanic pastry from hand to hand as I quested for a plate.
I would likely have at least a couple days before I could expect to have the call take place, so I planned to do some research into Proje-
“Sir” Piece intoned “The meeting has been scheduled for two PM, one hour and thirty seven minutes from now.”
“....W-What?” I asked, not quite believing the speed at which they were willing to meet with me. Oculus was worth billions, why did they care so much about a meeting with a failed professional FO player.
“Did you not understand the measurements of time that I have given?” Piece asked, no hint of mockery in her synthetic tone.
“Uh, no. Thank you Piece”
I spent the next hour and a half browsing forums that contained speculation on what Project Daedalus was, though the consensus was extremely unhelpful. It seemed no one knew anything. No information on the games genre, the size of the development team, its release date, anything. As annoying as it was vague, the mystery excited me in a way I hadn’t felt for what seemed like forever. And that I might play a role in some part of the game's development was an added bonus. Perhaps it could even offer an opportunity to return to the pro scene.
I jumped as my silent pondering was broken by a familiar ringing. Looking up I saw Pieces display, flashing with an incoming video call notification. The caller was Oculus.
How was it already two PM?!?
“Piece, you did not tell me that the call was supposed to be face to face!” I hissed, panicking.
“My apologies Locke, but you did not ask.”
I stumbled around the room, haphazardly putting on ill-scented garments, all while the phone rang like a ticking time bomb.
Ending my mad scramble, I licked my dry lips, and pressed the green Answer button.
“Hello, is this Locke I am speaking to?” a kind looking woman who looked to be only a few years older than me asked, after a small pause.
“Uh, yes.. It is.” I said, half smiling.
“Wonderful, I am Sarah Green, the current head of Project Daedalus.” she said, maintaining a friendly but professional tone.
“Before we begin, would you mind signing an agreement to not speak of what we discuss here to any degree?” She asked.
After looking over the agreement and finding nothing alarming, I signed it.
“I have a couple questions about this opportunity, if that's ok?” I asked, picking at my nails.
“Naturally. And I'm sure you’re surprised we contacted you so quickly.” She said, nodding for me to continue.
“First off, why is Oculus developing a game? Is it a method for testing an AI or something, perhaps an environment for one to learn in?” I asked, genuinely curious.
Her eyes widened minutely. “Oh, that is a very interesting guess, and surprisingly close to the truth.” She said, “Oculus is devoted to improving the day to day life of all, in as many ways as we can.” she said, as if reading from an official company slogan.
“Project Daedalus is in fact intertwined with our main goal. We had aimed to break into the gaming scene for a while now, but we struggled to find a way to integrate our AI into a video game's core gameplay loop, until recently, that is.” She said,
“What kind of game, do you think, might be able to use one or more extremely advanced AI to improve the gameplay in a meaningful way?” She asked, her face breaking into a small smile.
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It was my turn for my eyes to widen, there was no way. Yet, if true, it would clear up why Oculus was especially interested in me.
“Not an MMO?”
“Yes!” she exclaimed, “an MMO.”
“More specifically, a virtual reality massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, or VRMMORPG for short.”
After taking a few seconds to digest the information, I met her gaze once more “The genre does fit Oculus rather well, that makes sense. But why me?” I asked, already suspecting the answer.
“After your fallout with your team yesterday, and considering the ending of the tournament, I believe that we can help each other.” she said
“Wait, how do you even know about what happened between my team and I?” I asked, dreading the answer.
She raised an eyebrow “You were unaware of the official statement from Invictia… as its former unofficial leader?” she asked, a look of not so mild reproach on her face.
“Yea, no.” I said. “I called one of my teammates last night, and found out they were all together, talking about the game.” I said, my eyebrows narrowing. “Without me.”
“Oh, I see, so the parting was less than.. Mutual.” she hedged
“Well, it's certainly mutual now.” I said, hopefully ending that line of conversation.
“Either way, it really doesn’t matter. It may be difficult for you to continue your career in FO now, as I'm sure you’re aware.” she said.
“But we can offer you a second chance. A chance, that if played right, may allow for a path back to the top. This time, in Daedalus Online.”
I coughed, more than a little skeptical, and a little confused. “I really do appreciate you contacting me, and I would love to play your game, but what are you offering me?” I asked “A sponsorship? Early access to the game?”
“Neither. Oculus is set on maintaining neutrality, as well as fairness in Daedalus Online. No early starts for anyone, and no sponsorships for players, at least not from Oculus as a company.”
“I believe you have the potential to be at the top though, and so I am offering you the means to play.”
“Uh, I do already have a pod for VR games, ya know, from FO.” I said, confused.
Her small smile reappeared, widening this time.
“You seem to misunderstand,” she said “Daedalus Online will require its own hardware.”
“Just.. for the game,” I asked “Only for the game?” There was absolutely no way anyone would buy a pod for one game.
“Indeed! I know what you’re thinking, very few people will be willing to spend thousands on a device specifically made for one game. And that would normally be true, but Daedalus Online is different.” she said.
“In order for me to reveal more, you must -unfortunately- agree to our offer. We want as little information revealed accidentally or otherwise before launch as we can manage.”
If I declined, I would be back on the hunt for another job, likely one that did not include being gifted cutting edge technology, as well as support from a project head belonging to a multi-billion dollar company. Additionally, my savings from my time on Invictia were getting low, so I would have to find some way to earn money. Perhaps I would be allowed to agree at a later date.
“I would love to agree, but unfortunately I need to find a source of income beforehand, for rent and the like. Would it be acceptable for me to take a few days before I give you an answer?” I asked
“Unfortunately,I can make no extensions to the deal” she said, her smile retreating fractionally, “However, the pod I’m offering comes with living quarters, as well as other amenities for as long as the contract lasts.” she said
“What about the no sponsorship rule?” I asked.
“Oculus is not the one offering. I am.”
“Oh.. I see” I said. I, in fact, did not see.
She smiled at my response. “Again, I would love to offer you time to make a decision, but it is simply not possible. Suffice it to say that I think you could play an important role in Daedalus’s future.”
With a place to stay and free food, my dwindling savings would be able to last at least half a year.
“How long exactly is the duration of the contract, and what happens when it ends?” I asked.
“The duration starts at 3 months, and depending on your performance, I am willing to extend it indefinitely.” she said, her smile reappearing.
“Although, if you succeed as I think you can, you will not need my support.”
While I didn’t completely understand her reasons for the seemingly huge investment in me, maybe I didn’t need to. As the leader of a branch of Oculus, the money she was throwing around was probably inconsequential to her. But to me, it wasn’t, and it was another chance at doing what I loved.
“I.. agree.” I said, tentatively.
“Wonderful! I am sending your PHC the contract now” she said, folding her arms.
Alongside the display of Sarah, a window containing many pages of text manifested. I really wasn’t the lawyer type, so I scanned it for anything nasty, then signed it.
A few seconds later, Sarah smiled. “I am glad to have you on board, Locke.”
“Now that you’re unable to tell the world about our precious secrets, I can share some of them with you!” she said, a little too excitedly.
“Uhm, ok” I said.
“Oh, and the reason I couldn’t give you time to come to a decision, is because Daedalus Online launches tomorrow!”
As soon as my brain processed her words, I started.
“What? How? There haven't been any trailers, announcements, newsletters, or even offhand mentions from Oculus.” I said, counting each on a separate finger.
“Also, there will be no time for people to buy pods, assuming they can stomach the price in the first place.” I said, before Sarah could get a word in edgewise.
“Over the last few years, Oculus has purchased land in many major cities over the world. On that land, we built the foundation for Daedalus Online. Your concerns about the price of our hardware is warranted, but we believe only the most well off players will own a pod, at least in the beginning.”
My understanding must have played across my face, because she nodded, and continued.
“Currently, we have a little over three hundred thousand locations across the world completed.”
“In each location, there are between fifty and three hundred pods available for rent.” she said.
“How has no one noticed this?” I asked, shocked.
“People have, Oculus has made no secret about buying the land, only what is being built inside the walls.” she said, “Until recently, there haven’t even been any pods inside the buildings, only living quarters, and other necessities.”
“Oculus's public reason for the buildings is as testing grounds for AI.”
She laughed, “And I suppose that reason is not a false one.”
She glanced down at something offscreen, and raised her eyebrows. “Where did the time go! It's about time we got on that trailer you were mentioning earlier” she said.
Before I could respond, a video began to play behind her, on a screen I had not noticed.
As I focused on the screen, she spoke. “It's about time we wrapped this up, I have sent your PHC the information regarding the whereabouts of your pod. If you have any questions, feel free to call or message me, my personal number is also included.”
“I have high hopes for you, Locke” she said, hanging up before I had a chance to reply.
After spending a few seconds contemplating Sarah’s words, I remembered the trailer.