“After many arguments both scientific and political, the new and fully immersive, virtual reality game, The Stars Of Fate, is set to launch next week. Simon Matthews has more.”
The screen switched to show a young man in his late 20’s standing in front of an impressive compound.
“Thank you Kirsty. The stars of fate is a new and fully immersive virtual reality game. Accessible with either a headset or through the specialty pods, stars of fate can be played anywhere you want. As many of us remember, back when this game was first announced, human rights activists around the globe heavily and, at times, violently protested the technology used in the headsets and pods. At that time there was a valid concern about how this tech might affect the brain and body, despite these protests the Azure branch company continued to work on these devices. Four years ago the World Health Organization gave the company the go ahead for prototype testing on volunteers and, after a rather rocky start, have finally declared that their tech is ready for launch.”
As Simon was recounting a brief history of The Stars Of Fate, he was walking towards the main gate, where a large group of new reporters and paparazzi had gathered, all shouting questions and furiously photographing a man who stood just inside the open gates. He was a handsome man in his late 30’s, with rich and curly brown hair which exactly mirrored his eyes. The man was wearing a standard black suit and tie and was flanked by four security guards in similar suits, with dark glasses and earpieces.
“The CEO of the Azure Branch company, Arthur Pendragon, announced yesterday he would be giving a public speech outside the company compound at 12:00 pm.” As Simon turned towards the compound he noticed that Arthur was looking right at him and, with a nod, began to speak.
“Thank you for showing up this afternoon. I gave the announcement that I would be talking to the Press This afternoon, however, I will not be taking questions.”
The crowd of reporters went wild, demanding to know why he was not willing to answer any questions that might come up.
“I know, I know. This is not what you were expecting, however, the reason I wanted this meeting was to give out some information regarding The Stars Of Fate. From little bits of information that will help people in the game, to the pricing of headsets and pods.”
Saying this, Arthur took out a folder and riffled through its pages.
“I think I’ll start at the pricing. The headset and pods are classed similarly. Ranging from copper to iridium. So, copper headsets will be priced at $299, indium headsets at $399, Silver headsets at $499, Palladium headsets at $599 and iridium headsets at $699. The different headsets have different synchronisation levels depending on which one you use. With a 60% synchronisation rate at copper to an 80% synchronisation rate at Iridium. As for the Pods, well, copper pods start at $1000 with a synchronisation rate of 85%, indium pods at $1200 with a 90% synchronisation rate, silver pods at $1500 with a synchronisation rate of 95%, Palladium pods at $2000 with a synchronisation rate of 97%, and iridium pods at $3000 with a synchronisation rate of 98%.” Arthur turned to another page as the reporters started muttering about the pricing and synchronisation rates. “Before anyone starts complaining about minimal increase in the synchronisation rate of the more expensive pods, I would like to point out that it is difficult and far too dangerous to put a person into a pod at 100% synchronisation due to mental problems that come from being completely immersed in the game. These symptoms can include loss of memory due to brain damage, or complete chaotic insanity leading to the individual going on a rampage. I say this as a warning to those who will inevitably try to modify the headsets and pods, if you mess with the synchronisation rates of either, the Asure Branch company will claim no responsibility for any damages that come for the use of those devices. On that cheerful note, I shall now give you some information regarding the start of the game, only the start and no more.”
The reporters felt cheated after Arthur said he would only be giving out information about the start of the game, they had all shown up thinking that they would be getting exclusive information not shared before about secrets of the game.
“Many of you are dissatisfied with the amount of information I am giving you, however I would like to point out that the start of the game is one of the most important aspects of The Stars of Fate.”
This reply seemed to calm down many of the reporters that had been muttering about the lack of information.
“Upon launching the game players will appear in an isolated location, to choose their name and class, following that, they will be transported to the bazaar of the Gods, or was it the other way round. I would like to implore everyone who plays the game to treat all NPC’s as real people, while races such as the Orcs may appear primitive, they are as intelligent as many other races. Oh, and before I forget, if you die to a god, or an NPC 15 levels above you, you will have to buy a new headset.” With those final words, the gate of the compound closed and Arthur Pendragon walked back inside.
*****************
Jessie sat back on the couch after turning off the television, it had been months since he had started to save for a headset that would allow him to play The Stars Of Fate, but fate was not kind to him, as an almost broke college student, he had his student loans to pay off, and his roommates and friends would often strong arm him into going to a bar or nightclub every other night. Even if they shouted him drinks, they would always make him pay for them in one way or another, be it with books, lectures or drinks at some other place. True , he didn't hate going to bars or nightclubs, there were always plenty of girls that caught his eye, and though he would always deny it to others, there was always the occasional boy that would catch his eye each time he went to a nightclub or bar.
“You coming with us to a nightclub?” a voice came from behind him.
Jessie briefly glanced over to see Seth leaving his room, he has straight blond hair, which he combed with a swoosh to the left, and a handsome face that made most women swoon over him. It wasn't just his face that attracted women, his body had the perfect build with just enough muscle to look attractive, but not too much to make him large and imposing.
“I’m fine.” Jessie replied, “I don’t have enough spending money this week anyway.”
“Still saving for that headset are you? It’s just a game, come meet some women and get a real life.
“I don’t have your intense desire to impress as many women as possible.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“At least come to the first one”
“Depends on which one you're headed to first.” Jessie replied with a resigned sigh
“The orange lotus.”
“Ah, the teashop with the club outback, aren’t the looks of the women there higher than you usually start with?”
“Of course they are.” Seth cried joy clear in his voice. “I’m celebrating.”
“Celebrating what?”
“My birthday of course.”
“But that's not for another few days.”
“True, my birthdays not till Sunday, but I'm partying all weekend to celebrate my 20th.”
“Fine. I’ll join you for the Orange Lotus, then I'm leaving.”
Seth smiled in glee at this response, then he looked at what Jessie was wearing and frowned but said nothing.
The Orange Lotus was located across the road from a large shopping mall, the building that housed the nightclub looked like an old tea house. With two large half hexagonal windows that protruded from the white wall and overhung by black tiles, the building was a relic of another era. Inside the Orange Lotus the main tea house was furnished with Victorian style mahogany furniture, and lit with a comfortable warm light emitted from the many lamps around the room. Towards the back of the room and to the left of the counter was a heavy oak door with a plate on it that simply read ‘Night club, open 10pm - 6am’. The reason the nightclub was not where the tea house stood was because the owners had wanted to run a tea house, but they also wanted to accommodate their sons wishes to also run a nightclub, and therefore the nightclub was built underground behind the tea house. Currently the tea house was filled with people sitting around and nibbling on cakes, all clearly dressed for a night of clubbing. As the clock ticked ever close to 10pm, people started to leave their tables and Stand in front of the door to the nightclub. Seth walked over to one of the tables in the corner of the tea house where five people were already seated
“You guys want to go in now, or finish your cakes?” he asked as he took a seat
“The cakes are delicious.” Said Michael. “But the line is getting longer.”
“I say we finish the cakes while things ramp up inside.” Dylan chimed in
“What do you think Jessie?” Cooper asked
As he threw himself into one of the arm chairs that surrounded the table, Jessie gave his standard answer. “I could not give a shit.” Before grabbing one of the smaller cakes and throwing it into his mouth. The group sat there finishing off the cakes for a few minutes, and waiting for the club to fill up a bit, before spending another few minutes waiting in line to enter.
“You're early.” The bouncer said as he checked their id’s. “And sober. What’s the occasion?”
“Celebrating my birthday.” Seth said a small amount of his arrogance showing in his tone. The bouncer clearly picked up on it if his verily slight frown was anything to go by.
“Very well, just don’t do anything stupid while you're inside.”
The bouncer pushed the door open revealing a flight of stairs that led down to another door and allowed the group to enter. Once Seth reached the bottom he pushed the door open and Jessie was engulfed in a tidal wave of noise and lights and it took him a moment to adapt to the new environment. The instant the group entered they went their separate ways, it was like this all the time. Seth would ask everyone if they wanted to hang at a nightclub then immediately ditch them upon entering to look for alcohol and women. One of which Jessie couldn't be bothered to look for and he made a beeline for the bar, not that he was planning to get drunk, but because he was there and he may as well grab a drink or two. Though when he got to the bar, he didn't know what he wanted. So he simply went around the bar and grabbed himself a bottle each of rum and vodka before finding himself a table somewhere in the corner of the club.
He was approached a few minutes later by one of the bar staff who asked
“Do you want these on your tab?”
“Seth said he was paying, also says he's celebrating his birthday, so be prepared to hear about that.”
“Ah, good to know then.” she said, then turned and headed back to the bar, which was slowly getting more crowded as more people flooded the club.
Jessie stayed at the club for another few hours, and after barely touching the rum and not touching the vodka, and without a glimpse of Seth or the rest of his friends, granted he had hidden himself away in the corner of the club, he decided to leave and, on his way out, he grabbed a bag from behind the bar and snagged a random bottle of gin from the shelf, all while the head bartender was watching him.
“Put it on Seth's tab.” Jessie said as he noticed the bartenders gaze
“I was going to, but do you mind waiting in line and not jumping behind the bar for whatever you want?”
“The fact you don’t stop me goes counter to your words John.” Jessie replied as he walked past “besides, Seth invited then ignored me for the night, i may as well get something out of it.”
“You sat in your usual spot and ignored most everyone for two hours, you don't usually like coming to these places.”
“The fact you know how much I dislike these places, and the fact that I literally have a permanent tab open here, tells you just how much of a hypocrite I am.” Jessie began to walk away but turned and faced John again. “I’ll probably see you again next week.”
“Do try and get a hold of your life, you don’t need to follow Seth to the night clubs.”
As Jessie opened his mouth to say something John interrupted him. “And don’t use ‘it’s his birthday celebration’ as an excuse, you would have come anyway.”
“Yea, you're right.” Jessie said, a small sigH escaping his lips
“Well, I'm glad you finally realise that.” a small smile playing across John's lips. “Now get going before I throw a bottle of tequila at you, which will be charged to your account.”
“Oh fuck you, and good night.” Jessie said as he walked towards the exit. After walking up the stairs and saying night to the bouncer he exited the Orange Lotus tea house.
As he made his way home alone in the moonlight of the early morning, he passed by a tech store that was still open with large crowds of people entering and exiting. Curious, Jessie made his way to the store to see what the commotion was about. Upon entering the store and following the crowd towards the section with all the VR things, Jessie started to understand why the store was still open and decided that he would obtain his own headset and create an account for the new VR game that he wanted to play. As the crowd in front of him began thinning out and he could get closer to the shelf, he decided to check how much money he had saved, and after realising he only had enough for a copper class headset he made his way to the far end of the shelf where the lower class headsets were shelves. Grabbing one of the last copper class headsets from the shelf, he made his way slowly back through the crowd towards the checkout where he proceeded to empty what savings had had managed to obtain in the past month, before making his way home and unboxing the headset and plugging it into a socket next to his bed. As Jessie lay down with the headset in his hands he thought about what he might experience in the game, after all, barely any information had been revealed about The Stars Of Fate.
“Well, if I spend too long thinking about this, I may fall asleep.” He muttered before putting the headset on.