The sound of anguished screams echoed through the darkness that surrounded me. I did not know how much time had passed, but after what felt like an eternity, I was past the point of screaming, and simply floated in the dark void of space, my mind rehashing the events that had brought me to this virtual prison.
“Our little boy, attending your alma mater, Madden University. Maybe you misread the report? It’s an easy mistake to make; Marcus’s and your identity numbers are only a single digit different after all.” Danica’s words reverberated through my head like someone had recorded the bitch and put her on repeat.
“Only one number different, an easy mistake to make.” Bitter laughter bubbled out of me as tears pressed at the corners of my eyes.
“What’s the bet that mistake was made with a well placed bribe?” I scoffed, looking around for something to hit or scream at, but finding nothing beyond the distant stars.
“Is this what my new virtual life is? What happened to the so-called, grand and fantastical worlds that await me?” I shouted into the void of space, glaring at one of the bright stars.
As I watched, the star grew brighter, as did several near it as they swirled in an intricate dance of light. The stars danced around in a fast-moving pattern until I was no longer able to make out each individual light.
They coalesced into one single bright, golden glow that raced across the expanse of space towards me, and as the light drew closer, it shifted and dimmed until the form of a woman appeared, her slender body clad in a shimmering, one-shouldered gown.
“Welcome, child. May I inquire as to the name by which you wish to be known?” The woman asked, her expression serene.
I was silent for a long moment, mesmerized by the appearance of the woman whose beauty couldn’t even be put into words.
Only when the woman repeated her question did I manage to pull my gaze away from the hypnotizing lights dancing across her dress.
“Kadia,” I informed her, while struggling to keep my attention on her luminous face.
“Are you ready to proceed?”
“I’d rather get out of here,” I informed her.
She nodded with a soft smile. “I see you have a Gaia Corp platinum life plan; this allows you to choose from any of these worlds.”
The golden woman waved a slender hand through the air. Dozens of planets appeared from the void to encircle us, each one no larger than a basketball.
Platinum life plan; ah, yes, my father's gift. I laughed bitterly at the memory of my father’s words about how he’d purchased me a platinum life plan. Did he expect me to be grateful? Perhaps I should consider myself lucky, as most who underwent mandatory digitization did so with a government-issued basic life plan.
Those on basic plans only had access to half a dozen worlds, as opposed to the hundreds of worlds available for private digital citizens to live on.
The platinum life plan my father had purchased was sold by the Gaia Corporation which, according to what I knew, was the most popular virtual life company currently operating. Their worlds were created with the newest technology and were the most accessed of any worlds available. With my platinum plan, I could access all of Gaia Corporations' worlds, including any new worlds created during my lifetime. Lucky me.
Turning my attention to the nearest planet, I watched it floated closer the moment I began examining it.
Videos played on screens around the floating planet, showing different scenes and providing information about the world.
As I tried to gather my thoughts into some semblance of order, I watched with moderate interest as a scene showing a large-scale space battle played out above the planet closest to me.
I didn’t have much knowledge about the different virtual worlds on offer. In the past, I had only casually spent time in a world called Avalon, at the insistence of Marcus who was an avid gamer.
Despite my hatred of Danica, and even my initial resentment of Marcus, we’d slowly managed to form an amicable relationship over the years.
Have they told him yet? I wondered, as I located Avalon among the many planets. For the last six months, Marcus had spent almost every waking moment, and even every sleeping moment, inside his capsule. He’d skipped most of our classes in the last half of the school year and would sulk anytime he was forced to leave his capsule for more than a few hours.
The last time I’d seen my brother was three days ago, when he’d briefly left his capsule to wish me a happy birthday, before rushing back to his room when his mother caught a glimpse of him in the hall.
In six weeks, Marcus would have his own eighteenth birthday and I knew he was expecting to receive a mandatory digitization notice due to his low academic scores.
I could already picture the look on his face when he saw the much higher scores on his exam, thanks to his mother “arranging” for our exams to be switched.
That exam score had been my way to avoid this life, and now it would also be the thing keeping my brother away from it.
“Is this the world you wish to choose?”
Ignoring the ethereal woman, I stared down at Avalon. The world was a fantasy-based world, and I had a decent avatar there with all kinds of gear Marcus donated.
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But, did I want to live my life as a Faerie? I’d only chosen that race because Marcus told me they got the best perks as alchemists, being able to imbue increased magical effects into different herbs and plants.
Is this the world I want to live in? No, don’t think like that. I need to find Marcus, so he can get in contact with the right people and get me out. Ah, wait. He isn’t in Avalon anymore, is he? Marcus mentioned something a while back about the guild moving to another world six months ago. What was it called again? Kaledon? He kept trying to get me to create an account there and hang out, but I’d been so busy with preparing for the exams. I sighed, looking over at the dozens of planets.
After asking the woman if there was a world called Kaledon. I watched as she waved a slender hand and a new planet came floating towards me.
It was larger than the others, but only one continent on the rotating orb appeared to have any cities on it, despite there being dozens of landmasses visible on the planet.
“Is this the world you wish to transition into, citizen? Please be aware that some features of your platinum life plan will be altered if you choose Kaledon.”
“Altered? What do you mean?”
“In most worlds, a platinum class citizen has access to various bonuses and the ability to choose among several special races. However, Kaledon is not like those worlds that have come before it.” The gold-skinned woman said, her tone prideful as she gazed down at the planet with a loving expression on her face. “Just as in the physical world, one's life in Kaledon is left to fate. As a platinum class citizen, we will grant you the choice of six races. Of those six, you will be reborn into one at random.”
“I see,” I mused, looking back at the world with interest. A world where you didn’t pick your race? That sounds interesting. “What happens to any accounts I hold on other worlds?”
“I see you currently retain a life within the world of Avalon. If you wish to join that world you may, however, please be aware that you can only reside in the virtual realm as one being. Should you choose to reside in another world, your life in Avalon will be brought to an end.”
So, I’m free to reside in any world, but can only have one character? That means if I change worlds, the character I leave will be deleted. I concluded, gazing down at the world. I need to find Marcus, so for now I have no choice but to choose Kaledon- and pray I can find him.
“I want to enter Kaledon,” I told the golden woman, whose face lit up with a beautiful smile in response.
“An excellent choice, citizen.” The woman said, and with a wave of her hand the various worlds disappeared. With the disappearance of the planets, the surrounding stars glowed even brighter.
In a blur of golden light, dozens of stars flew towards where we stood, and when the light shining from the stars dimmed, I saw the forms of several women standing motionless in a circle around where I stood.
Each of the women appeared featureless, with no hair, and only simple clothing covering their form.
“These are the different races you may choose from.”
How do I even choose? How does anyone choose? Why so many? Pursing my lips, I examined the tallest form at the front.
Eyeing the figure, I guessed it was an elf, and the information window that appeared confirmed my suspicions.
“Why doesn’t it have a face?” I asked, peering up at the elf as I read through the information which spoke of the four elven subspecies consisting of high, wood, dark, and light elves.
“You have not yet chosen an appearance.” The woman stated, and I furrowed my brow as I turned away from the elf to look at her.
“Don’t I look like I did before?” I asked,
As I finished speaking, the faceless elf’s features changed.
Eyes wide, I watched as a wave of hair grew from the elf’s head, the color a mixture of red shades starting with a deep crimson and lightning to lighter, coppery tones. The hair kept growing until it fell about the figure's shoulders and was pulled back by invisible hands into a braided hairstyle.
Looking over at the other figures, I saw that each of them now looked the same, with slight differences depending on their race.
Moving away from the elf, I stopped in front of the form which looked the most like me.
Race- Human.
The most prolific race in Kaledon, their mighty empires span across the lands. Able to learn a variety of skills and master grand magics, this race is known for its skilled craftsmen, warriors and mages.
Waving away the information box without bothering to read further, I stared at the girl who looked so much like myself and tried to find something about my appearance I wanted to change.
The only thing I could think of was my eyes, those dark, emotionless brown eyes I’d inherited from my father. I didn’t want to be someone other than myself, but I also didn’t want to keep any part of myself that acted as a reminder of the man who brought that vile woman into my life.
“You said I can choose how I look?” I asked, reaching out to touch the red hair of the girl.
“Yes, please note that any changes you make will be permanent once you enter Kaledon.”
“That's fine, tell me how to change my appearance.”
“You may change your appearance through the customization menus.” The shining woman said as several windows appeared around the form of the human mannequin.
Flicking through the customization options, I found myself overwhelmed by the choices, but soon located the option to change eye color.
As I looked over the selection of colors, I pondered changing my eyes to the same leafy green as my mothers, but found my attention drawn to the more exotic colors and ended up choosing a deep purple.
After examining the customization menu further, I slimmed my nose down a little, before smoothing out the few pimple scars left behind from my pubescent years.
Happy with the changes, I exited the menu, and took a step back to admire my new purple eyes.
Next, I spent an arduous amount of time walking through the forms of all the different races, and in the end gave up trying to work out what races were good.
I had gone over many of the race descriptions, yet nothing jumped out at me and said “hey pick me”. I didn’t really know what was considered a good race in this world, so choosing six was no simple task.
Huffing out a sigh, I turned the woman who’d stood silently observing me as I examined the figures.
“I don’t know enough about any of these races to make a choice. Is there a way you can help me choose, or provide more information?” I asked.
“There is a test you may take which will pair you with those races most suited to yourself. Do you want to select this option?”
I nodded, and in response she handed me three pages of paper along with a metal fountain pen.
Is this some kind of personality test? I pondered as I read over the questions.
What is your favorite hobby?
Who do you admire most?
If attacked, how would you respond, fight or flight?
What is your style? Might, Magic or Guile?
What is the best way to become stronger?
What element do you feel most attuned with?
What animal is your favorite?
When are you most active, day or night?
After what felt like an eternity, I reached the last question and handed the woman back the pages.
The paper disappeared from the woman’s hands, and I waited impatiently, curious to see what races would be chosen based on my answers.
“Very well, citizen, your answers have been reviewed and the six most suitable races were selected. Let me be the first to welcome you to Kaledon.”
As the woman’s voice faded, the world around me glowed and I squeezed my eyes closed against the blinding brightness.