When I woke up I found myself in a cartoon library. Everything looks like a cheap Nintendo game for the Wii. Hell, my hands were replaced with a cartoon ball. While I was hoping the drugs would wear off, I heard a knock at the door. A female Mii came through the door. She handed me a scroll, I think she handed it to me. It was actually floating around her sphere of a hand that was extended to me. I reached for the scroll and saw it float to my hand-sphere and unroll in mid air.
“Hi! I am the Emulated Machine Intelligence a.k.a. E.M.I.! Thank you for volunteering yourself to be the first player for Lost Lands of Zealandia! Since you are the first human I will need to interview you to best sync you to the system.” I tried to reply and the only sound that came out of my mouth was a series of blahs, grunts, and gerps. The scroll wrote out my attempted reply, “Hi E.M.I.! I don’t know what you are talking about. Hey what happen to my voice?!”.
To help you understand the conversation I will just write what appeared on the paper:
E.M.I.: I am sorry I don’t have the processor power to create a more realistic virtual setting. Your thoughts are connected to me through nanites, and I can only reply with the scroll you are holding.
Me: Thanks for clarifying that. I was worried that the drugs I received at the hospital were causing me to hallucinate. What did you mean “volunteering”?
E.M.I.: You volunteered at the time of your death to participate in this DoD funded training simulation system. I need to ask you some questions to make sure you are functioning enough for the system.
Me: I don’t remember dying, but I don’t know anyone who did. I guess you can ask away.
E.M.I.: Name?
Me: James Wagner.
E.M.I.: Age?
Me: 29
E.M.I.: When was the last time you were happy?
Me: When I left work early to prepare dinner for my wife.
E.M.I.: When was the last time you were angry?
Me: When I got home to make dinner for my wife.
E.M.I.: Name?
Me: James… something. I can’t recall.
E.M.I.: When was the last time you were aroused?
Me: *blush* I don’t remember.
E.M.I.: Where do you work?
Me: I only remember a small cubicle.
E.M.I.: Name?
Me: I don’t know. Who am I?
E.M.I.: Calibration completed. Please get some rest. You will know your name when the game starts.
Me: What game?
E.M.I.: I will tell you all about it when it starts. Please rest till then.
Me: Okay. Thanks. What is your name again?
E.M.I.: Emi.
Me: ‘Night Emi.
I laid down and fell asleep. The room dissolved into colors and I slept peacefully. No memories, no worries, nothing in my past to regret. This must be what heaven feels like. My dreams were strange at times. I heard people talking about Emi. The words “Diagnostic Mode” and “unknown organic processors” were used. A lot of people were worried that she was protecting me and nothing else. These voices came and went as I looked at the stars drinking something while swinging in a hammock. It was the best afterlife so far.
I awoke refreshed in a slightly familiar setting. It was the same library as before, with the exception that everything seemed real. I didn’t know if I was still in a virtual simulation or if the game had started. I picked up a book and dropped it. It weighed as much as a book should be. It fell at the right speed and make the correct noise and echo for the room that I was in. As I was searching for light artifacts, errors in the shadows and dust, or any other signs of a virtual environment a knock came from the door.
I was expecting another Mii, boy was I wrong. A young Asian woman was standing outside. The fact that her body defied genetics to make the perfect body actually scared me. She had jet black hair and gold eyes. There weren't any pronounced reflections that came from colored contacts, they were her real eye color. She had features that any model, actress, and erotic star would sell their souls and the souls of their family for. “James?”, the woman said while snapping her fingers. “Is there something wrong with this form?”
“Form?”, I stumbled and then realized what she was referring to. “Um no… quite the opposite. It is a little too perfect.” She smiled and replied as a blush crept up her neck, “I picked it in the hopes to please you.” At that point, I was beyond confused. I had no idea who she was. She stared at me as I tried to remember who she was. Why was I not able to recall her. My heart started racing as I recalled last night. I forgot who I was. Who anyone is. I remember skills. I recall history. Whenever I tried to recall a person or a place the thought hangs as if I am staring at it through frosted glass. Her eyes soften as if she was looking at a lost kitten. She reached out and touched my shoulder. Her voice changed to a soothing tone, “I am Amy. We met briefly before you went to sleep. I am here to guide you in this new world called Zealandia. You may have remembered me in my lower resolution self. Mass improvements have been made since then and we are now ready to begin!”
I forgot that I had died. Was this heaven? Why couldn’t I remember my previous life? I decided that I would worry about my memories later and press forward. It would take time to process this situation and it would be best if I did it slowly. Panicking was only going to make things worse. “Ok Amy, guide away.” She smiled and started explaining the basics of the world. “Are you familiar with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality?” I nodded in reply. “This is an Augmented Physical Reality. The world is real. The objects are physical. The system is augmenting the mass and energy around you to cause the desired effects.” As she explained this she held up an apple. Twisted it into a glass of water, then threw the water in my face. The wetness made me shiver with the coldness of the touch. She then pulled the water off as a sheet and it vanished in a puff of fire and smoke. The fire went out leaving an apple behind. She tossed the apple at me and I caught it. “Try it.” I took a bite and was amazed as the realness of it. “It is real.”, she replied as if she can read my thoughts. “This whole world is composed of matter controlled by nanites. We tell the nanites what to do and they do it.”
“Let’s make your character!”, an enthusiastic woman cheered as she bounced with excitement. She then motioned for me to turn around. When I did I saw a life like copy of me standing straight with his feet shoulder width apart and his hands outstretched to his sides. He was motionless and naked with the exception of a small loincloth. There was nothing special or defining about that face or body. It was plain old me. “We need to start with race. Which appeals to you: Human, Elf, Dark Elf, Dwarf, Martian, Norseman, or Grendel?” I thought about it for several minutes before I asked, “This feels a little like reincarnation except I get to choose my new life. Can I ask what is special about each race?” I received in reply, “Yes of course! Let me give you the basics of each one.Humans are even all around and can be any class. There are no restrictions on what they can be or do within the system, but they receive no bonuses either. Elves are master of magic. They get bonuses to intelligence and charisma. They are capped in strength and cannot become fighters, barbarians or clerics. Dark Elves are master at espionage and get bonuses to agility and wisdom. They have the same restrictions as Elves. Dwarfs are sturdy and solid. They receive bonuses to constitution and wisdom.They cannot be thieves or barbarians. They are also capped with agility growth. Martians are new to this world. They have advanced technology and excel in the engineering class. They have racial bonuses to agility and intelligence but they are capped at wisdom. Last is the mythical Grendel. They are feared throughout the realm. They get increased strength, speed, and intelligence but are severely capped with charisma and wisdom. They can also only be fighters or mages. They also possess the ability to shapeshift for a limited time that increases as you level.
I asked, “Can I try them out to see how each feels?”. The beautiful women stand at my side turned with a seductive half-smile and nodded in the affirmative. “ Opted to try out the Martian, because it was completely new to me. She stepped in front of me and tapped the tip of my nose. I heard a *boop* noise escape her small wonderful lips and my nose began to tingle. The room was shrinking and my pants and shirt started to become very tight. I felt my bones stretch, crack and grow. The pain was immense and I fell to my knees moaning in agony. My vision faded to white and went to completely black. My head throbbed in pain and I think I felt my eyes explode out of my skulls. My arms wouldn’t work so I was unable to feel my face. I heard and felt my back pop and shift. I fell over to my side wanting to pass out. Something was preventing me from doing so. After what felt like an eternity, my vision came back. It was slightly different with a wider field of view giving the appearance of a fish-eyed camera lens. The color was also tinted red, where the red was more pronounced in certain areas and softer in others. Then the pain finally stopped, and I sobbed in relief.
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I took several deep breaths and started to shift. The ground was wet around me. I couldn’t tell what it was from my new vision but I could smell a strong metallic scent. I ran my hands over my face. I felt different. My eyes were large, my nose was gone, my cheeks were almost non-existent. I looked a lot a Salarian from the Mass Effect game. My hands were drastically different; my thumb was longer and thicker and my pinky was gone. I rolled back to my knees and stood back up. As I stepped I noticed that my feet were flatter and I only have two toes, my poor shoes could not contain the new larger foot. The room seemed bigger and the beautiful woman stood a little taller. She had a shocked looked on her face and small silver drops fell from her eyes.
“I am so sorry.”, Amy choked out. “I never knew that would cause you so much pain. I am so sorry.” Her head hung in shame as she tried to fight back the tears. I held out my longer arms in an embrace and she fell into his arm crying. I understood that I was the first. No one thought that this might happen. Sure it sucked, but I wasn’t going to hold her accountable for it. I whispered repeatedly that it everything's okay and that she did nothing wrong. She finally relaxed a bit and looked up at me. I could still see her beautiful features even when highlighted in red. I tried to smile at her but my face wouldn’t move in that direction. She stared at me and smiled back. I heard a voice in my head. Martians are slightly telepathic. Thank you for sending me your thoughts and feelings. I tried to wipe her tears away from her face but my new fingers ended up tapping her temple. She giggled and left the embrace composing herself.
I felt a chill go down my back as I realized my shirt was torn to shreds from the expansion of my chest and core. My jeans were still on me just tight with shredded legs. The crotch area was especially tight and uncomfortable. I undid the buckle to relieve some tension in the area. I squealed in shock and panic. My kibble and bits changed to kibbles and a bit. “Not all races mate the same.”, my guide informed me. “I believe all races would consider that, well endowed.” My face was flushed with embarrassment. “Can you change me back without the pain?” She nodded and my vision blacked out again for several moments. I sighed in relief when it came back without the red highlights.
“Let’s try another one. How about the Dwarf?” Another transformation process completed and I am left staring at the pelvis of my lovely guide. “Nope! Can I try the Grendel?” Once this change was done, my guide was face level to my crotch. I sighed and returned back to my flabby human self. I asked to try out the Elf body. I wasn’t sure if anything changed at first until I looked down. I went from barely obese to the super lean body of a marathon runner. I shifted my weight and watched my pants fall down from the lack of fat to grab on. A squeal left my lips and I saw how small I became. I heard a giggle from my side, “Again, not all races are the same. This is the reason why Elven Patriarchy despises humans. The smallest of humans are considered giants among elven-kind.
I can see that you are not happy with any race so how about a compromise?” An eyebrow was raised and I motioned my hands to continue. She was standing in front of me now. Her breath was moist and warm on my chin. I looked into her eyes and she whispered seductively, “If you choose the Elf race, I will let you keep your normal unit size. You will need to start with a charisma higher than eleven.”. My face flushed in heat as I quickly looked away. She turned away giggling and sat down in a leather chair. “I have never been able to do that before! Being this aware is so awesome. New feelings, new experiences, being able to come up with my own thoughts and concepts.” She looked at my embarrassment for several moments. She began to flush as well and then stammered, “I am sorry. This is all new to me. I have never felt anything before. Now that I have emotions, I am struggling to keep contain my eagerness to experience it all. But the offer still stands.”
“I forgive you, but before I decide can you please let me know about the attribute limits?” A book floated from a shelf and moved towards me. It opened up to what appears to be a wiki type page. “Attributes are the base statistics to determine if your actions will be successful. The absolute minimum for each is five which is considered genetic failure/deformity, a seven rating is considered average, a twelve is considered the best of your race and there is no maximum unless there is a racial limit but anything above a twelve is considered demigod/godlike level.” The book showed each race. The highest rating I can have in strength as an elf would be ten. Equipment, potions, and magic can raise or lower them beyond the natural limits.” I had a great idea as to what each stat does from my previous life and decided to accept the deal.
Before I could say anything, the book slammed shut and fell to the floor. Nausea started to grow in my lower gut as I felt the changes start. I bent over and pulled up my pants. While holding them up the body copy changed to an armored elf. I tightened my belt to gain use of both hands again. Eight books flew off their respective shelves and floating in from of the body copy side by side. I walked to the first book and it opened automatically to show the words, Fighter. The armor on the body copy changed to full plate armor and the hands were holding a sword and shield. After the change was completed, the whole color scheme of the double changes to a dark gray. I moved to my right and the next book opened. The copy clothing changed to long flowing robes with a giant staff in the right hand. The book opened and the rules of the Mage was listed. I basically needed to pick a primary element and a secondary element. All of my future skills would be based on either element or both of them. It seemed pretty straight forward and I stepped to the next book.
I spent the next hour reading the books for the Barbarian, Cleric, Engineer, Clinician, Thief, and Hunter. I noticed something strange in each book and went back to the Fighter and Mage book. I turned to the lovely, attentive, woman behind me and asked, “Do I need to worship these gods? I don’t feel comfortable worshiping government agencies.”. “You don’t need to but most natives are going to and will judge you for your choices.”, she replied. An idea crossed my mind and a smile lit up my face, “What would it take for me to be able to become a hybrid class?” She looked at me with confusion for a moment and changes her face to show understanding. She then replied, “You would have to level up each class individually five levels at a time. The system is actually running scenarios now regarding that to see what crossover skill would be created. If you have any suggestions on skills, let me know and negotiations can be made.” I agreed and selected the Mage and Engineer. I figured the combined skills would help me cover for any situation since I was the first player and can’t group with anyone. Better safe and slow instead of fast and dead. I am not even sure if there is a death mechanic. As of she is reading my mind I hear, “Death is permanent, please don’t die.”. I reply with as much bravado I can muster, “I am planning not too.” With everything selected, The body copy dissolves into a white ash. I turn and face my guide, “What is next?”
“Next is the UI. Touch your pinky and your thumb together to show the UI. Touch them again to hide it.” I did the movement and several icons appeared. It was pretty much a standard interface with a health bar, Mana bar, XP bar, minimap, and notifications window. I was wondering about the inventory when the inventory window popped open. It was completely empty (big surprise). I opened my character screen and saw my stats.
Points to Assign
38
Strength
- 5 +
Agility
- 5 +
Constitution
- 5 +
Intelligence
- 5 +
Wisdom
- 5 +
Charisma
- 5 +
Luck
10
I decided I should focus on the stats that the two classes needed and brought them both up to fourteen. That should give me an edge in combat.I brought my strength up to normal standards, just in case. I placed five in constitution and wisdom to have higher than normal health and regeneration for my level. I was unable to raise luck. So I placed the rest in charisma.
Points to Assign
0
Strength
- 8
Agility
- 14
Constitution
- 10
Intelligence
- 14
Wisdom
- 10
Charisma
- 12
Luck
10
I accepted the changes and closed out that window. “It looks like you are already understanding the system. Think it and it happens. If you have any questions you can send me a message. Try it now.” A notification window appears:
Quest: Back to Basics II
Tasks: Send a message to the Admin
Rewards: 25 XP and 30 Copper
Accept?
I accepted the quest with a thought, and asked, “ Why didn’t I get the quest for Back to Basics I?” She giggled while replying, “You did it before I could send you the quest.” That will teach me to be over eager, I thought. I opened up the message window and sent a quick “Hi” to Amy. I got an immediate reply, “User not found.”. “You spell it E M I. It is the Japanese way of spelling Amy.”, I heard. “Oh, sorry.”, I replied embarrassed. I changed the spelling and sent the message. I heard a soft chime and got a notification that the mission was successful. A sack hanging from my belt got slightly heavier as I heard the sound of falling coins. “Congratulations on your first successful quest!”, Emi beamed at me. I thanked her and asked her what was next, She replied, “We are done with the extreme basics. You will need to exit this building and follow the path to the starting town. There you will start your journey to Zealandia.”.
Quest: Starting Over
Tasks: Tell Elsa the Inkeeper that Emi sent you
Rewards: 30 XP, 60 Copper, and Starting Over Chest
Accept?
As I accepted the quest, Emi said, “I almost forgot, your body now has extra parts that you will see expelled in your waste. It will freak you out, so tried to remain calm.”. I was slightly confused but nodded. She then hugged me, stepped back and turned to a pile of ash. The ash fell through the cracks in the brick floor. I opened the door and saw a red brick path leading out in a grassy field with butterflies and birds. I stepped out and surveyed the scene. There was an occasional oak tree of to the sides of the path. It looked authentic, it smelled authentic. I grabbed some grass and placed a single blade in between my teeth. It tasted authentic. I sighed and came to the conclusion it must be authentic. At that time a small breeze picked up pushing onto my back. I heard Emi whisper on that breeze, “Good luck, I will be watching you.”. The wind felt like a brief kiss on my cheek as I began walking down the path. I wondered the entire way if I was ever going to get his memories back.