Desmond Puck glared at a flashing red light.
ERROR.
“Hmmmm.”
His fist hammered the console and the error message disappeared. Turning to the screen to his left, his eyes scanned lines of text.
Sector 1–Ae 13 [Galactic Internet protocol status]
Tower stability: Optimal
Signal strength: Maximum
Power status: Online
He smiled. Another successful job completed. Through the thick glass of his office, he could see the rocky extra-planetary horizon covered in bright orange space dust. Right smack bang in the middle of his vision was a single signal tower that was responsible for boosting a high-powered signal throughout the entire sector. His sole job was its maintenance, and he was sick to death of it.
Desmond sighed.
He had lived in this desolate hellish landscape almost his entire life, inheriting the position he only ever left this tiny asteroid a few times in over forty years. He swore when he was younger that he would earn enough money to get himself off this dead rock permanently. However, life had other ideas. Now he was the only person on this rock, and alone he slaved away for scraps of change.
Bing!
A mechanical voice croaked. “Developer Bob, has come online!”
Desmond's eyes widened and scrambled for his tablet. His fingers trembled as he quickly flicked open the game developer's live stream. A green goblin popped into view and waved to the camera.
“Hey everyone! Great news! Our testing phase has completed, and a release date has been set.”
The goblin pointed at a timer in the corner.
13 days 23 Hours 55 minutes 15 seconds.
“I know everyone has been waiting patiently, but now the time has come! Get ready! Fanswald awaits!”
Desmond's jaw dropped as excitement welled in his chest. "Heck yeah! " He screamed in his tiny little office as loud as he could. As he brushed away potential tears, he glanced at the stream’s chat window.
Chat:
BubblezNShift: OMG Finally!
Sammyggg: Seriously???
Arlexior: Holy shit! Fuck yeah!
Sunnyside68: HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!
SoldierSilver: This is going to be so fucking epic!
Fang:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ChickanDippas: CHIIIIIIIIIICCCCKKKKKKKAAAANNNNNDIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPAAAAASSSSS!!!!
SparklesAndUnicorns: XD XD XD
R3ktRa1d3r: DUDE!!!!
Sunnyside68: HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE! HYPE!
BubblezNShift: I’m so going to roll mage!
Online: 72,019,122
Desmond couldn’t believe his eyes. His lower lip quivered.
“I just need to finish all my work here and I can…”
Above his office, a sizeable meteor soared in slow motion, like a soggy sponge thrown from a dangerous height. The massive Chuck of rock appearance was deceptively peaceful.
Crunch!
The signal tower disappeared.
“Fuck!”
ERROR.
Sector 1–Ae 13 [Galactic Internet protocol status]
Tower stability: none
Signal strength: none
Power status: Offline
“FUCK!”
Desmond threw up his arms. His connection had been torn away in a second. He glowered between his dead tablet and the destroyed tower. The operation to fix the tower would be left to him alone and would take him months.
"This is just my luck..." His rambling faded as a perculiar idea struck him.
Maybe he didn't have to fix it.
The time had come to make a decision. It could be a chance to escape, leave this hellhole, but it was a gamble. He'd saved all of his money, slept at work, skipped some meals and sold his vehicle. It was just enough to get his way in. And now the time had come.
Fate had intervened and thrown a literal curve ball his way, and his dream was only a stone's throw away.
Fanswald Online was a new gaming experience like no other. It wasn’t just a full dive game. It was an actual planet terraformed and digitized into one amazing fantasy world. With new and improved nano technology, even an old guy like Desmond could start over in a new body.
Desmond ignored the flashing error light and grinned.
“I quit!”
He stood up and walked away from his desk and out of the door.
“Two weeks!”
Just enough time to get to the docking station. Desmond marched to the orbital terminal on the other side of the office and purchase a one-way ticket.
The automatic public transporter was cheap and hardly ever used. It was nothing more than a steel flying tissue box with rockets strapped to each side. Since Desmond had spent most his lifesaving on buying a pass into Fanswald, this heap of junk was all he could afford, not like there were any options in such a desolate place, anyway. He approached the flying trashcan and quickly found the least mouldy seat inside.
Desmond glanced around the rusty cabin. Of course, he was the only passenger. It wasn’t like there was anyone else on this dead rock.
Is that a crack in that window? He wondered.
Thud! The doors slammed close. Clunk!
ERROR.
“Um, that’s not a good sign!”
A flash of light forced Desmond to close his eyes as the rockets ignited.
He let out an involuntary cry while holding his ears as the entire trashcan shook and strained. Ever so slowly, the transporter gained power until it exploded upwards. The jolt forced ripped off his rusty seatbelt and tore him off his seat. He screamed as he rolled onto the floor and hit the back wall of the bucket.
“Ah!”
He would have liked nothing more than to look out the windows and experience his final flight off his prison. Unfortunately, he struggled to even get up, spending the entire time screaming. The fuel crazed ascent only took a few minutes but when the transporter entered open space, the ride then became surprisingly smooth.
Desmond stood up and watched the tiny rock he had called home vanish into a sea of darkness. He would now spend the next two weeks stuffed inside this tiny space with a tiny bathroom in one corner and a vending machine in the other.
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Desmond checked his credits. He had just enough to survive for two weeks and buy the game pass. If and only if he rationed.
His destination was one of the older yet well-known docking stations.
'The Astronautical Space Station'.
It served as the largest distribution centre of all tech-based trade goods within the galactic sector and also as a terminal for deep space exploration.
His excitement increased as the days went by. With nothing to do but fantasise about the game's dynamic systems and snack on bland space food from the vending machines, he found the days crawl by far too slowly. The only way to track the time was by a mechanical clock in the cabin.
The outside view was a smudge of darkness and stars.
Desmond sighed as the time crawled by.
The only food in the machine that didn’t taste like cardboard was the chocolate chilli bar and unfortunately, he’d gone through the vending machines' entire chilli bar stock in three days.
On the fourteenth day, a red light turned on in the cabin.
DOCKING SOON!
Desmond grinned as he spotted the space station appear in the distance through the thick window. His entry into Fanswald Online was only hours away. All of his chips had been placed on this single bet and there was no going back.
The station was massive. It made his home asteroid look like nothing more than a cheap toy compared to this mechanical monstrosity. Around the station, thousands of smaller crafts zoomed by in all directions, transporting goods to the farthest reaches of the sector.
The flying trashcan was caught by the station's docking system and sharply turned.
“Ouch!”
His head struck against the roof as he was again knocked around like a rag-doll.
The rust bucket continued to approach the space station erratically, veering towards a large box-like structure labelled with a giant pink letter P. The public terminal. The trashcan flew into the dock and connected with a nerve-wracking thud.
The doors half opened and Desmond took his first breath of fresh, recycled air. Travelers meandered through the terminal, going about their day, ignoring the random sparks and pops from between the station's foundations.
Desmond's eyes widened at his first ever experience outside his own desolate rock. Butterflies filled his stomache as excitement overpowered him.
There was so much to see, so much to smell. Dozens of fast-food shops and automatic tellers were fixed into the steel walls, displaying plastic looking food and pharmaceuticals. Yet he forced himself to ignore them all.
He checked the time.
“Shit, I’m late.”
Fanswald had been online for over an hour.
He quickly checked his surroundings. He had to hurry.
Above the shops were rows of televisions that extended outwards horizontally in all directions. A warning flickered on all of them.
NEWS: Sector 1–Ae 13 Galactic Internet tower Down! Expect slow speeds and regular interruptions.
He turned away guiltily and spotted the sign he was after.
Shopping District.
His eyes lit up and raced down the metallic hallway. After a short while, he found himself surrounded by flashing lights and displays of games he had seen streamed but never could afford to play. He was tempted in the past to try them, but he decided a long time ago when Fanswald was announced that he would save all of his money for that and nothing else.
"Where is it, where is it?" he mumbled. "Ah!"
He'd found it. The Fanswald Online display.
He fought against the urge to skip and forced himself to walk slowly, with composure.
"Good evening, sir," spoke a sultry voice. The woman behind the Fanswald counter gave him a warm smile as he approached
"Uh, hello," he managed to say.
“May I help you?” she asked. Her uniform was bright orange with a tiny hat to match.
“I have a ticket!” Desmond grinned and handed over a small card with a code printed on its surface.
She brightened and punched the code into her computer. “The full dive replacement, streamers package. Oh wow! Follow me!”
She directed him out back and they swiftly moved to a back door and through what looked like a row of super computers.
"Not many have chosen this particular package. You must be brave," she spoke as they moved.
Desmond shrugged, it wasn't his courage that steered him rather his financial circumstances.
At the end of the hall was a giant white pod, and his final gateway into a new life.
“It’s company policy to inform you, even if you’ve already signed the waver.”
Desmond looked up expectantly.
“You’ve selected the discounted one-way option. Your body shall be recycled and your mind shall be placed inside a player's vessel. To exit the game, you must repurchase a new body.”
Desmond knew that wasn’t a financial possibility. He had chosen the one-way option that sold off his old body just to afford the streaming package.
“If you die in Fanswald, your vessel will be transported to the original spawn point. You will lose everything in your inventory and a percentage of your class stats and levels. Okay, Sign here.”
Desmond scribbled with his finger on a screen.
“Thank you for playing and good luck!”
He smiled at her and climbed into the pod, then waited for the door to close as everything around him went dark.
A song echoed from a far-off location, sounding as if it was getting closer and louder. A massive white logo of the developer's company flickered, then faded.
The music erupted ten times louder and golden text washed across the dark expanse.
FANSWALD ONLINE.
“Please enter character name!” said a sweet voice. It was kind and welcoming.
Desmond froze. It was his chance to start over and that included choosing a new name and identity.
What sounds cool?
“Um, okay. How about Slayer?” asked Desmond.
“Checking name availability. 3. 2. 1. Name currently in use, would you like to be Slayer7154?”
Desmond shook his head. Since he was late to the grand opening of the game, a lot of the plain names would’ve already been taken. I don’t want numbers in my name.
“No, thanks.”
A red light flashed. “Would you like us to suggest a random name?”
He thought for a moment, curious about what kind of names the computer generator would come up with.
“Um, sure.”
“Randomising name criteria depending on physical and mental characteristics. Name selected.”
“Would you like to select the name, SadLoser?”
“Hey! What the fuck? No!”
Another red light flashed.
“Please, enter character name!”
Desmond grumbled and sifted through his memories. His name should reflect who he was, how he felt. He was about to be reborn. Then he thought of something.
“Um, how about Phoenix?”
“Checking name availability. 3. 2. 1. Name unavailable.”
“Would you like ‘Phoenix999’?
He shook his head he would have to use numbers but there was always another way.
He tilted his head. “Can I be,” he said carefully slowly spelling out the name. “P H E Zero N One X?”
The voice deliberated. “Checking name availability. 3. 2. 1. Name available. Confirm?”
“Yes!”
The name ‘Ph0en1x’ flashed into existence somewhere above him in green text. He felt a thrill as he stared at it.
The voice behind the menu seemed annoyed as it continued, “please select class.”
Desmond ignored the voice’s attitude a dove into the options.
A list of available classes flashed before him. They ranged from the basics and well-known options such as warrior, priest, mage and hunter. But none of those impressed him. He wanted to stand out and be noticed so he needed something that would allow for the most interesting gameplay.
Then his eyes fell on the Adventurer. A well-rounded class that was not bound by the design of other classes. May evolve the way the player desires and its power potential depended on the choices the player made. A class that requires both skill and strategy to pull off.
“I select Adventurer!” he said confidently.
Suddenly, everything went blank and silent. It was if the power had gone out.
“Um hello?”
Pixels rippled overhead and the text boxes slowly reappeared along with the music.
What was that?
“Class selected.”
A light flashed and above his ethereal form were written the words Ph0en1x, level 1. More lights flashed far off in the distance as Desmond felt his feet touch something.
Wait? Feet?
“Please select race!”
He looked down to see thick green toes and long black nails. To his right was a floating box that described a race.
Race: Orc
The Orcs are a proud race full of stubborn idiots who spend more time bashing each other with sticks than forming cohesive social structures. They’re well known for being mighty and brutish and excel in melee-based combat but fail in basic arithmetic and manners.
Strength: Impressive
Agility: Nothing special
Intelligence: Pathetic
Magic: Clannish
Stamina: Stubborn
Charm: Non-existent
“Yeah, no thanks.”
The text box changed before his eyes, morphing his arms and legs with the new option. Instead of beefy green, they were now skinny and scaly. Tiny grey fins fanned out on each arm and leg, flapping like he was drifting through a sea current.
Race: Merkin, Kin of the Merfolk
These fishy characters are one of the unique races of Fanswald. They use their ‘pufferfish’ like torsos to defend themselves from predators while using their human arms and legs to attack foes at random. While not great at any sort of fighting, professions, magic, skills, stats or artistry, they excel in creating a horrid stench when left out it the sun to dry.
Strength: Meh
Agility: only good in water
Intelligence: goldfish memory
Magic: none
Stamina: mid
Charm: delicious
He shook his head. That just sounds stupid.
“Next!”
Race: Dwarf
The Dwarfs obsession with gold and grog are legendary. In Fanswald, they have taken this ideology to the extreme, allowing the race to benefit from both. They may be small but their potential is bound by their excessive lifestyle.
Strength: Impressive
Agility: Enhanced by Ale
Intelligence: Reduced by Ale
Magic: Runic
Stamina: Only on short distances
Charm: Beardtastic
“Um, no.”
Race: Rat Person
The Rat person race is an elusive group of shrieking individuals. They’re well known to obsess over matriarchal figures and shriek if they are disturbed in any way. They’re quick and do well In scrap fights but lack any strength to cause anything other than minor damage.
Strength: Low
Agility: Nimble
Intelligence: Low
Magic: low
Stamina: Nonstop
Charm: None
“What the heck? Hell no!”
Race: Human
For some strange reason, every fantasy game has more people playing the boring human race than any other. Come on sheeple try something interesting! Humans are human.
Strength: strong
Agility: fast
Intelligence: smart
Magic: magical
Stamina: Stubborn
Charm: pretty good
“AH maybe? Next.”
Race: Elf
Elves are a proud bunch. They are smart, beautiful, strong and long lived. Their potential is vast and skill in all things unparallel. If I were you, I’d chose this race! Elves are overpowered and live forever!
Strength: Impressive
Agility: Remarkable
Intelligence: Extraordinary
Magic: Inspiring
Stamina: Notable
Charm: Lothario
He stared at the option and read through it a few times. If he was going to level in this brand-new game, he wanted a race with the right benefits and the looks to match.
“I select Elf!”
A mirror flashed before him and he could see his face. It looked just like his actual face only more refined. Much younger, skinnier, and far better looking. His ears were pointy and his black hair looked perfectly sculpted. Short and spikey. The style he always preferred in his youth.
“Perfect!”
The Fanswald Online text faded and was replaced with a loading screen.
5. 4. 3. 2. 1.