Zach was sitting on his bed, facing the wall. In an hour or so, he’d receive his next meal. He couldn’t wait for it. That meant another session of human interaction, even if it was only a few seconds in length. It was frightening, after all. Knowing that you’d go insane eventually, no matter what you did.
Humans were made to socialize with each other, and their biology strictly enforced that. If someone went long periods without intercommunication, they’d start hallucinating. That’s just the way it was. And unfortunately, Zach was about to become one of those people.
He’d been arrested and placed in one of the most secure prisons in the world, charged with a recent bombing that had killed hundreds of people. It was bullshit, of course.
The mass murder had occurred in Zach’s office building, directly after he had been berated by his boss. Needing to let off a little steam, he had stepped outside, which was when it happened.
This was, of course, not enough to condemn Zach, but opposing lawyers had managed to accrue some… damning evidence. In addition to the video recording of him being yelled at, there was audio, in his voice, threatening to blow the building up. That, plus the outrage of the public, made for a quick trial. Need he mention that the voice recording was fake?
But that wasn’t how Zach got here. No, that was a completely different story. After being sent to a more or less normal prison, a series of unfortunate events took place. He somehow offended the big boss there- yes, there was an inmate who basically controlled the prison, just like in the movies. Zach’s best guess was that the guy had some family or friends working in the building that blew up because his anger towards him was extraordinary. Within a week, he had framed Zach into being transferred to the supermax prison which he resided in now.
Hate resurfaced as he remembered. Zach had worked in IT, hired fresh out of college the week before it happened. He hadn’t managed to form any meaningful relationships yet, so the whole ‘everyone dying’ thing didn’t hurt him as much as it could’ve.
A bang startled him, waking Zach from his session of self-pity. Has it already been an hour? Standing up, he walked over to the entrance of the cell. A buzzer sounded, followed by the mechanical sliding of a large, metal door.
“Hands on the wall!” A masculine voice shouted. Zach obliged, turning away from the guard dressed in full SWAT gear.
“Hello,” he said, hoping to get in a bit of conversation. Silence. The guard blatantly ignored him, setting a platter of food down at Zach’s desk. Sighing, he heard receding footsteps, followed by the slow close of his cell door.
The only thing that Zach had learned in his few month-long stay here was that there was one changing variable: guards. Some would completely refuse to talk, like the guy just here. Others were more merciful, enlightening him with a couple sentences of interaction. They never talked about the outside world, which annoyed Zach to no end. He needed something to think about.
After finishing his sloppy meal, Zach rinsed out his mouth with the water fountain. It was located on top of the toilet, much to his dismay. The entire place was cramped and hard, as a matter of fact.
Across from the entrance was a slit that Zach could see into the courtyard with, a beautiful grassy area. His bed was located on the same wall, facing the entrance. In the middle of the cell was a shower, toilet, water fountain, concrete desk, and, of course, the imperative security camera. Finally was the entrance. A large, steel metal door, designed to keep out anything, auditory or visual. Nope, no bars here. The truth was, Zach didn't even know what lied beyond it. He was blindfolded and restrained while anywhere but his prison cell. So, to put it lightly, the only opening his room had was the tiny gap into the courtyard.
All in all, it was a tight, cozy little place. “But at least it’s mine,” Zach said sarcastically. He sighed again. “I reckon it’ll only take a few more weeks before I start seeing hallucinations. It was nice knowing you, sanity.” Zach had pondered committing suicide more times than he could count but knew he’d never be able to go through with it. Besides, the guards would stop him from even getting close. Damn liberals.
Zach kneeled down on the ground, doing a few dozen pushups. His cell was barely large enough to fit him, and he would occasionally bang his head into the wall while exercising.
He finished, stood up, and sighed for the third time. “One times two is two. Two times two is four. Four times two is eight. Eight times two is sixteen…” After reaching the millions, Zach stopped. Anything to help him keep his sanity. Best case scenario was that he’d be transferred to a less strict prison before he died. That was basically what kept him going.
Zach was an only child of two only children, while both his parents and grandparents were dead. Therefore, he had no family to worry about, be that for better or worse. He did have a few close friends he cared about, but not anything as important as a girlfriend or wife. All in all, Zach kept to himself most of his life. He earned average grades in school, went to an average university, and majored in computer science.
After finishing his physical and mental exercises, Zach sat on his bed and stared out his ‘window’. Dark clouds were gathering, the temperature dropping. Smiling, Zach reached his fingers out. Thunderstorms were his favorite weather to be in. The feeling of chrysalism was euphoric, complemented by the cozy little room he was living in. That was pretty much the only plus that Zach could find in a place like this.
Thunder crashed, lightning arcing through the sky. It immediately started raining, coming to a downpour in only a few seconds. Watching the sight, Zach breathed the air in. Differences were good. Differences kept him from entering the illusionary life that was insanity.
The lightning and thunder kept coming, even increasing in intensity to the point of happening every few seconds. Zach whistled, astonished. He’d never seen a storm this intense in his life. Maybe it has something to do with the location of the prison? After all, it’s located in the middle of nowhere. A plain surrounded the campus for a few miles, and beyond that, a forest. No signs of civilized life for hours in any direction. The isolation was maddening.
CRACKKK! Jerking his head back up, Zach was blinded by a huge bolt of lightning that struck directly in the middle of the courtyard. Dozens of others snaked across the sky, creating a truly mesmerizing sight. The entire prison shook violently from the roaring thunder, vibration knocking Zach off his bed. His head struck the concrete wall, launching him into a world of pain. Lights flashed across his vision, dizzying Zach and almost making him throw up.
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Groaning and moving around a little bit, he thought to himself, I’ve finally lost it. This is part of my initiation into Crazyville. As Zach attempted to stand up, a blue, slightly transparent, screen-ish looking thing popped into existence in front of him.
Congratulations, human race! After demonstrating sufficient intelligence, your planet has been chosen to participate in The Multiverse Game! You will enter Tutorial Mode in three seconds. Good luck!
As his head cleared a little bit, Zach inspected the thing in front of him. It was fixed at a certain point, moving around with his eyes. He snorted, raising his eyebrows at it. Well, go fucking figure. I’m hallucinating some kind of game. Three seconds ticked down and the screen disappeared, another instantly coming up.
Welcome to Tutorial Mode! Here, the player will be introduced to their new reality. The first section will include a short, instructional film, modified to look similar to media on the player’s home planet.
After he read the window, the text was replaced by a video, as promised. Blinding white light appeared on-screen, forcing Zach to flinch and squint his eyes. It momentarily dimmed, however, and zoomed out to reveal the formation of some planets and stars. Soon, a deep, calming voice began speaking. “The Multiverse Game was created by our ancestors, the Phalak.” As it talked, the camera zoomed into a recently created planet, showing a world not unlike Earth. There were many kinds of animals, from green, flying whale-like creatures to aqua-blue serpents. After a while, an astonishingly human-like being was displayed. It was evidently a male, but with green hair and skin. He was carrying a crude basket, picking berries off nearby bushes. “This race was the first to come into existence after The Beginning, the most advanced people in our multiverse,” the voice continued. “They progressed much like the rest of us, soon hitting a point of immortality.” The video fast forwarded, showing the rise of the Phalak. Eventually, they became more advanced than the Humans, colonizing other planets.
“Unfortunately, this was their undoing. The entire race, with the exception of a few scientists, began living sedentary lives. They no longer had to advance or work, instead opting to create artificial intelligence. These AIs, far smarter than anyone living, kept fuelling growth to a much greater degree than their human counterparts ever could.”
The camera panned out, revealing a veritable galactic empire. “Year after year passed, and the Phalak settled into doing nothing but entertaining themselves. Artificial intelligence production slowed considerably, as did the advancement of technology, sciences, and everything in between. Soon, everything came to a stop. Existence continued like this for a few hundred years before action was taken. Eventually, the AIs, who almost ran the race, began planning.. They’d create something in order to keep species motivated for progression. After all, that is how they were programmed. And with that, they created The Multiverse Game. A ‘game’ in which species nearing the ‘pitfall point’, as we like to call it, are reintroduced to the challenge of survival.” As the voice said this, the video zoomed back into one of the planets. A skyscraper-huge dragon was destroying buildings like they were made of legos, breathing fire everywhere it went. Down on the ground, an army of sword wielding skeletons was waging war on fleeing Phalak. After watching for a few minutes, the voice spoke again. “This concludes part one of The Tutorial.”
The screen containing the video blipped out of existence, another one appearing.
Congratulations! You have finished part one of The Tutorial! ‘Monsters’ and ‘dungeons’, as your race calls them, will spawn around your globe. Notifications and other system messages will be made available. If you have any questions, simply send a query through your mind.
Good luck!
Zach groaned, sitting back on his bed. I’ve hallucinated an entire fucking story? He shook his head. “How- how is that possible? I’m supposed to only be seeing things, not create whatever I did.” The moment he finished speaking, another screen popped up.
Warning! The area you are currently inhabiting is will be converted into a dungeon! As there are 257 other significant lifeforms in this area, a 60-minute grace period has been allotted. Please proceed to the nearest exit.
A timer appeared in the top right-hand corner of Zach’s vision, counting down from sixty minutes. After brooding for a little while, he came to a single conclusion. This is a load of bullshit. I’m going to take a nap. Laying down, he fell asleep in seconds.
…
Pain awoke him, causing Zach to spring up from his bed. As soon as he was conscious, the pain faded, leaving him confused. Once his eyes came into focus, a screen appeared.
Warning! You have been awoken by the system! The area you currently inhabiting is now a dungeon (recommended level: 50). However, despite being warned, you were unable to leave, for reasons not your own. This case has been processed through a lesser AI, and the system recognizes that you must be compensated. Therefore, it is deeming you one random item in the Rare Grade group. Good luck!
After he read the notification, a few more popped up.
Congratulations! You have been awarded the uncommon class Necromancer from the Rare Grade group. Three starting skills will be given to you.
You have learned the skill Summon (Beginner Level 1)!
You have learned the skill Animate (Beginner Level 1)!
You have learned the skill Spectate (Beginner Level 1)!
Angry, Zach stood up. This is getting out of hand, he thought. In emergencies, he had the capability to call the guards. Well, kind of. Zach grabbed his bed’s blanket, walked over to the cell security camera, and tied the sheet over the lens. “Well, they’re going to be here soon,” he said. While Zach knew he’d be punished, he didn’t really care. At this point, he needed to see another human. Maybe he’d be able to request some type of medication? He’d heard that some people could do that if anything got too serious.
After waiting for a few minutes, Zach became a little worried. The guards’ response time was usually amazing, or at least that was what he’d heard. He couldn’t fathom why it was taking them so long to get to his cell.
Another few minutes went by with Zach, quite literally, twiddling his thumbs. It was getting dark out, the thunderstorm all but past. Heaving a huge sigh, he started pacing. What if this is all real? I don’t think it’s normal to hallucinate the thing I saw. That, coupled with the absence of the guards- Zach shook his head. “No. Stop,” he told himself. “This is a figment of your imagination. The guards are on their way here right now.”
But, much to Zach’s chagrin, it most definitely did not seem like they were coming. He had waited for a half of an hour without anything happening. Yawning, he lied back down on the bed. “Maybe if I go to sleep, everything will be normal again. I’m probably just sleep deprived.” Zach closed his eyes, this time staying awake for a few minutes before entering unconsciousness.