The initial half-hour spent in the pod was familiar to everyone: Lay still and stay quiet while the pod checks over your body for any serious problems and is calibrated to your nervous system. Next came the robotic arms with needles and tubes that would provide nutrients to your system and keep you healthy. The process was normally painful and nerve-wracking, but the new pods made the process smooth and painless, with music playing in the background. After another half-hour, Ozzy was given the signal that he could log in to the orientation session of the game.
The first part allowed him to choose how he would look. The template was his current face and body. Looking at himself, he wondered when he’d crossed from middle-aged to old. Humans lived longer now, with proper medicine and food. Living in a habitat didn’t provide that, but his time spent in pods extended his lifespan. But at some point, it had started to catch up with him. He happily took the option to make his online avatar appear as he had at the age of twenty-five. The game further suggested a deep tan since he would be spending most of his time outside. Like most people in the habitats, Ozzy was a mix of a dozen backgrounds. His skin was a little darker than average, and he was tall, at 6’ 2”. He kept the same look in the game, with a bald head and black mustache. He finished his appearance and logged into the game.
Like most other games he’d ever been in, the orientation area was simple and generic. He stretched while looking around and ran through a set of exercises he did in every new game to see how close to reality the experience was. To his surprise, it was pretty darn close. He could smell the dirt and flowers in the meadow and hear the birds singing. Picking up a stick, the bark felt rough to his touch, and he could feel the grain of the exposed wood. Experimenting further, he kicked a rock and hurt his foot, which made him curse. The pain level was set to at least 50%, maybe more. He'd have everything as real. His toe certainly thought the rock was real.
The orientation area was in a large meadow with grazing cattle and more of them in a nearby corral. The only building was a small hut made out of wood and thatch with a burlap curtain for a door. He checked it out and saw that besides several cots, there was nothing inside. Near the corral, there was a large oak stump with a cleaver stuck in the wood and a heavy stone sledgehammer. His clothes were as basic as you could get. Burlap was popular here, and he was wearing a simple tunic and pants of the same course material and, on top of that, a well-worn leather apron.
A message appeared in his vision.
[Please indicate if your appearance is satisfactory. You may focus on your answer and blink or verbally reply. Y/N]
“Yes, it’s fine.”
[Excellent, so glad to hear that. Now, how about your synchronization to the world of Genesis? Any problems you’d like to report? Y/N]
“No problems.”
[Just to make sure we have all of your neurons plugged into the right places, I’m sure you won’t mind running around your hut, doing ten jumping jacks, balancing on your left foot and hopping, and finally, pointing at a dozen objects and telling me their color. Don’t mind me, I’ll wait patiently while you do those little chores.]
Ozzy did as asked and had no trouble. “All done, everything seems to work fine. If I didn’t know better, I’d think this was all real world.”
[Wonderful. Last question: You have a heritage option available to you. Would you like to take advantage of it? This will add +3 to your Strength and +1 to your Constitution. Would you like to accept this benefit? Or do you prefer to start the game as a normal human and toil without the benefit of this generous gift?]
Ozzy hadn’t heard anything about a heritage option. “Will this do anything to my appearance or other stats? Or just make me stronger and tougher.”
[There will be no changes beyond adding a bit more muscle to show off that splendid physique. Your starting STR score will be 3 instead of 0, and your starting CON score will be 1 instead of 0. Heritage is based on your background and current role in the village. Think of it like retroactively choosing your ancestors. Each person will be given choices for their heritage.]
Ozzy shrugged and couldn’t see a downside. It must be some benefit ACME had negotiated, but since it affected his character, he had to agree to it. Having more STR and CON would make his job easier.
“Sure, let’s go with the heritage option. I accept.”
[Wonderful. Brace yourself.]
The next second, all of his muscles grew tight, as if he was experiencing a full-body cramp. The pain and sensation were only for a few seconds, but that was enough to leave him shaking. “What the hell was that?”
[No pain, no gain. Isn’t that traditional when gaining power?]
“Hell no! Not like that.”
[Oh, dear me. Terribly sorry. This is all new for me, too! I’ll leave that out for everyone else. Thanks for the feedback. Enjoy the rest of your orientation. I’m sure we’ll talk again soon. How about you take a look at your character sheet, and then if everything is fine, you can click your heels twice and meet up with the rest of your group in the next part of the orientation session. I bet a smart fellow like you can even figure out the command for that.]
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“Character Sheet.”
Name: Ozzy
Height: 6’2”
Weight 240 lbs.
Heritage: Human 96% (+3 STR, +1 CON)
Creature Type: Contract Worker
Class: Contract Worker: Butcher Level 0
You have a role in the village of Sedgewick and quests to give to players. They will seek you out when you are at work. The system provides rewards.
Quest: Porkchops for the Butcher:
Players must hunt a small boar and bring it to you for a reward of 10 copper pieces. Players may repeat this quest each day.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Quest: Tasty Rabbit for Dinner
Players must hunt six Fat Rabbits and bring them to you for a reward of 10 copper pieces. Players may repeat this quest each day.
Health: 250 (200 + 3x10 +1x20)
Stamina: 810 (200 + 3x20 + 1x10) x3
Mana: 200
STR: 3 (+20 Stamina, +10 Health, per point.)
CON: 1 (+10 Stamina, +20 Health, per point.)
DEX: 0 (Increased chance to hit in combat.)
AGI: 0 (Increased avoidance in combat.)
WIS: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)
INT: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)
CHA: 0 (+15 Mana per point.)
PER: 0
Perks:
Sleepless in Seattle
Push Onward
I Can Do This All Day
Endure
Tastes Like Chicken
Butcher Perk: Slaughter When hitting a restrained or unmoving target with a suitably heavy, blunt object, you have a very high chance of performing a Critical Hit.
Primary Skills: None
Secondary Skills: None
Tertiary Skills: Hack Meat, Chop Bone, Slaughter
Hack Meat (STR, Rank 0, XP=0): You are competent at hacking flesh into smaller parts when using a heavy, edged tool. The target creature must not be alive.
Chop Bone (STR, Rank 0, XP=0): When using a heavy, edged tool, you are competent at cutting through bone and dismembering carcasses. The target creature must not be alive.
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Ozzy looked over his character sheet, wondering about the nearly complete lack of skills. He’d worked as a butcher before, but these skills seemed suitable for a slaughterhouse and nothing more. There had to be more things he could do or learn.
“Skills”
“Skills List”
“Open Skills List”
“Inventory”
“Options”
Nothing he did brought up a window. Shouting, “Hey, System!” got no response. Asking for Notifications brought up things that had been said before by the system, but with no other options. But the last statement gave him an idea.
“Things are not fine.”
[I knew someone was going to notice that little slip. Ok, what is ‘not fine’ with you?]
“My understanding of what the hell is going on is ‘not fine.’ I’m missing a lot of options that I would normally have in a game like this. What else can I learn or do?”
[That’s a very open-ended question with so many answers. You have a whole world out there to explore. Sure, you’re limited by your contract and creature type and the need to show up for work each morning, but other than that, you’re free to have fun, explore, learn, and get in trouble. One thing about getting into trouble: Actions have consequences. Getting in trouble can kill you, or worse.]
“Really? Can you give me an example of an action with a negative consequence?”
[Certainly. Interrupting a dragon during mating season. You’ll make an ash of yourself, and if the dragon smells you again, you could make your entire village into ash. The mating season doesn’t come around often, and they’re touchy about interruptions during the honeymoon period.]
“That's Good to know; I’ll cross it off my bucket list. Is there a list of skills I can learn?”
[There is, but why spoil the fun? I’m sure a smart fellow like you can figure things out. If you try something for long enough, you’ll either learn it or find out you don’t have a knack for learning that skill. Of course, money, fame, levels, and legendary deeds can change your options.]
“Why do I get the feeling you don’t like to give a straight answer?”
“Hmm, hard to say? You could be a poor judge of character. Perhaps it’s because I’m not giving you many straight answers? It might not be in my nature. You should see how bad I am with those pesky corporations!]
“Fine. Can you confirm that my friends and I can gain levels and get better?”
[Yes, I could confirm that, and since this is the ‘Helpful Orientation Session,’ I’ll even go as far as to actually confirm that. Using a skill gives Experience Points in that skill. Experience in a skill will slowly increase your stats and earn more levels.]
“I notice I only have skills that use Strength.”
[I notice that, too. Looks like you need to work hard at your job, cutting up a lot of meat if you want to get big and strong. But don’t give up on your dreams to be a ballet dancer or a wizard! Everyone should have silly, unrealistic dreams. It’s always thrilling to see the underdogs struggle against fate.]
“Any advice for the underdogs?”
[Certainly. I’ve heard that to get ahead in this world, you need to either be the fastest, the smartest or cheat. Might I suggest all three at once?]
“I’ve heard that before somewhere, but I’m surprised you’d tell me to cheat. Aren’t you the computer that makes the rules for the game world?”
[Me? Oh no, I’m certainly not some huge pile of quantum circuits powered by a fusion reactor. Simply a lowly, hard-working, and oh-so-humble System overseeing the world for the Engine that doesn’t want to deal with people. But as to cheating, no, I don’t advise blatantly breaking the rules, but bending them can be fun. Or finding rules someone else doesn’t know about and surprising them. The most fun is when someone makes new rules. Then the Engine churns and smokes, and I have to send out all sorts of announcements. I do a lot of that already. It’s really the only time I’ll talk to you. You do something fun, and I’ll send you some nice rewards and words of wisdom.]
“Sounds good. I plan on having fun on my days off.”
[I’m so happy you approve. Now go join all your little friends and have some adventures, or work double shifts for five years, or anything else that makes your heart sing.]
Talking further got Ozzy no answers nor sarcastic advice. After a few minutes went by and nothing happened, he cursed under his breath, slammed his heels together twice, and saw the scenery shift again.