"Rise of the Wizard please," I said. The sales clerk told me the price and I paid for it. My hands shook with excitement as I took the wrapped package and headed to my home. This was not the greatest part of town at night, and I didn't want to be out here at night, so I hurried. The other stores had sold out and this was the last store in my city that still had a copy. I lugged the package to the subway and made my way home.
Once at home I opened the package and removed the four rectangular rods, two of which were eight feet high and two were three feet wide when set up. They flowed together into a doorway. Next was the hard part. I went over the instructions and accessed my copy of EIS, the Evolutionary Intelligence System.
"EIS please interface with Michael Tanner's Rise of the Wizard, I would like to join the game as myself. I would like to become a mage of the Fortune and Temporal Arts. Then contact the rest of the Wise Kings Guild and set up a time and place in the game for a meeting."
That taken care of I watched as the room that I was in changed shape. The far side of the room was a thick pane of glass looking out over the city. The walls, floor, and ceiling stretched out into the air and in this new space on the left wall was a doorway made from the rods I bought today. On the inside of the doorway, I saw a beautiful floor of green grass and a blue and white sky.
Tearing myself away from the beautiful scenery, I went into my bedroom, stripped, went to the bathroom and took a shower. Once refreshed I went to my dining area and sat. I ordered a grilled ham and cheese from EIS and within moments I was eating.
"EIS what is my financial status now after this purchase?" It was time to deal with financial matters now. It was June 3rd, 2053 and my EIS system was my sole source of income. The EIS system created and rented movies for me. There were millions of movies being made every day, and the EIS system created some for me. The movies were unique and interesting and made me a lot of money, but this doorway cost a lot of money.
According to Michael Tanner, this was a doorway to another universe. It was a universe that he created or found, I am not too certain of the particulars of pocket universes, but I would be able to record what happens there and sell the movies of my experiences. It was a shared world where hundreds of thousands of us can adventure and play together.
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"Your finances are low Henry, that package was almost as much as I am. You should have taken my advice and gotten a limo with armed guards but that is as it may. I am creating more movies with characters by others in the guild, this should increase the value allowing us to sell more. I would strongly advise against any large purchases for at least six months." EIS was a master business operator. It was a master of many professions. It was a master of all of them actually. The EIS system held the total knowledge of all of humanity. Art, physics, spirituality, all of it was within EIS. It was my most important possession, though the portal I just got was a close second. It was a doorway into another world.
I listened as EIS went in-depth describing my current assets but there were other things I wanted to do. I went through it as fast as I could and as soon as possible I moved on to the game portal. The interesting thing was that when this gaming universe was found, it altered this universe. A bridge formed that changed both universes forever. Magic could be used in this universe and tech in that universe. The only catch was that you needed to spend time in the other universe and absorb the changes that Rise of the Wizards made to you. I touched the doorway and it began sensing me. I stood there for a good five minutes before the doorway became opaque.
"Scan complete. Henry Trent, age twenty-three, African American, six-two, two hundred and twenty-five pounds, above-average intelligence, average perception, above-average wits," EIS followed the instructions sent by the Rise of the Wizard.
"You are to begin character creation," EIS intoned. I was given several characteristic points to spend making myself better using energy the other universe possessed. I got enough points to raise my intellect to the maximum and did so. I went through my points quickly. My physical stats were left alone, and I focused on my mental stats first, and then social stats. I slowly designed the Henry that I wanted to be.
Fate, End, Life, Time, Spirit, Kinetics, Matter, Mind, Knowledge, and Magic were the disciplines that made up the world, I would gain proficiency with each of them. I spent my entire allotment of points for magical knowledge, but I couldn't be any more versatile. I chose how I cast my spells.
I cast my spells by writing them on parchment and then disposing of the parchment. If I wanted to cast a spell that gave me the ability to cast three lightning bolts from my hands, I would create three poems, or any type of prose and I would burn them. I would then have the ability to cast lightning bolt three times. When I was satisfied with my character, I was ready to go.
Then there was a phone call. He answered it to find that his mother was in a hospital.