Atop a floating island amidst a sea of stars, James laid back against soft grass as he gazed up at the moon circling above. By now, he’d taken to spending a few hours outside the VR each day and it was certainly helping to ease his mind. After spending an untold amount of time re-creating the Halo universe, these breaks were sorely needed.
*ding!*
A notification came from deep within his mind and a second later, Queens voice echoed through his head, “Sir, all five episodes have finished editing and are ready for upload. Would you like to see the finished product before we do so?”
“No need,” James smiled and waved a hand in the air dismissively, though no one was there to see it, “I trust you, Queen. I’ll watch them as they come out like everyone else, it’ll give me something to look forward to every day.”
Although James had given an outline and Queen had more than enough knowledge to know what he wanted, this was the first time he’d had any of his AI do something without oversight. Thus, he wanted to take the time to enjoy some entertainment he hadn’t entirely created himself.
“Very well, sir,” Queen replied. “The first episode will be released at five o’clock, New York time, right after the Pokémon finals. Each subsequent episode will come out once a day until the Halo universe opens for players.”
James rose to his feet and stretched with a yawn, “Sounds~ good.”
“Was there anything else sir, or would you like to get back to your nap?” Queen asked and the man could hear a smile within her tone.
‘Hmm, so she’s still worried about that incident,’ James thought with a little embarrassment.
*cough* “How long did you end up making the episodes?” he said while trying to change the subject. “I know the original release had its share of problems and, while good, wasn’t quite up to ASTIR standards.”
“Instead of the previous fifteen minute runtimes, I’ve extended each episode to around thirty,” Queen stated with a hint of pride. “This, combined with a more realistic environment, better dialogue, and real ‘characters’ instead of actors, are enough to place each episode at the top of the charts in any world, sir.”
“Hah!” James laughed. “That’s great Queen. I’m looking forward to how the Marvel world will react to it, almost as much as seeing it myself. I’m sure you did a great job.”
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“I aim to please, sir.”
•••••••••••
Times Square, New York City - 5:29pm
•••••••••••
If one were to come to Times Square for the first time today, they would be shocked at how different it appeared compared to all the stories they’d heard. The normally hyperactive streets, sidewalks, and billboards were all deathly quiet as the people, cars, and advertisements had been stopped for the last half hour.
This was far different from when the trailer first released just a day prior. Last time, the announcement came out of nowhere and the trailer played right afterwards. No one had time to prepare and thus, the world carried on in relative normalcy.
Now however, people were given a three hour warning and practically everyone was watching.
From their phones to their laptops, anyone that owned Pokémon signed into the VR ahead of time to watch the first episode. Those that didn’t, opened the ASTIR website and watched it like any other show.
Surprisingly, the announcement of these five episodes actually led to a spike in sales for Pokémon. Those that were never really interested in what they viewed as a children’s game, eagerly purchased it after hearing how different the experience of watching the trailer was in VR.
One minute later, as if someone had finally pressed Play on the world, the streets exploded with activity. Shouts of, “Axios!” and cheers of excitement, rang throughout the air as people walked out of coffee shops, restaurants, or their cars.
On the biggest screen overlooking the square, a massive ad with a timer appeared, counting down until the next episode. Right above the ticking numbers, the image of cadets alongside a tall figure in green armor was shown over a title; Halo: Forward Unto Dawn.
“Wahh, Pete! Did you see how that one chick just shot that guy point blank!?” Ned asked his best friend as they walked out of Baskin Robbins with his grandmother.
“Yeah, they were actually training with rounds like paintballs,” Peter said with equal excitement, “if you looked closely, you could even see shell casings leaving their guns! And did you see their glasses?? They had a full H.U.D. integrated into their lenses! Just imagine if we could make something like that in real life!! And did you see-“
Ned’s grandma looked down at the two boys with a fond smile. While she hadn’t watched the trailer and didn’t understand hardly anything they were talking about, she’d played Pokémon after Ned’s constant begging and so she assumed this next game would be alright as well.
“…it’s just a shame that May probably won’t allow me to pla-“ Peter started, before Ned covered his mouth with his hands. He glanced up at his grandma to see if she’d been paying attention, only letting out a sigh of relief after seeing her hailing a cab.
He sent a glare towards Peter before whispering angrily, “Are you trying to get my Nana to put in the parental controls too?! Just because you can’t play doesn’t mean I have to suffer with you!”
Peter had the decency to be embarrassed, but then remembered something and glared right back with a snort, “Hmph, she’ll find out anyway this weekend when May comes over for lunch. Hah, she might even stop you from watching the episodes after finding out you were hiding it from her!”
Ned’s face paled before he grabbed Peter’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth and desperately asking, “You don’t think she’d go that far right?! I mean, even though the game’s rated M, the episode was only PG-13! She lets us watch those kinds of things all the time, even your Aunt May allows it!”
“Ned, Peter, halika mga bata~” the old lady called out in Tagalog while opening the door of a cab.
Peter brushed off Ned’s hands with a smirk before running to get inside.
“Pete, wait! You have to help me!” Ned cried as he ran after him with an ashen face. “Just because you have to suffer, doesn’t mean I have to too! Pete, please!!”