Fan Fiction ❯ Another World ❯ Introduction ( Prologue )

Steve Michaels sat heavily in front of his computer and switched it on. It had not been a good day, there hadn't been anything specifically bad really but it was just one of those days where nothing can go right and everything seems to be against you. He looked out of his small collage dorm window at the setting Friday sun and sighed. Normally he'd of been happy, it was the weekend and time to have some fun but he'd left his psyk 101 paper for too long and now it had to be in by Monday and he was a long way from finishing it. He looked over at his room mates bunk and to his surprise noticed

she was lying asleep on it. Technically, his collage operated a single sex rooms policy, but due to a mix up they had been put together and there was nowhere else for either, so that was it. Still it didn't matter to Steven, Jennifer Ryan as she was named was pretty cute and they'd quickly become really good friends, they shared many interests and points of view. After almost a year together, they were now almost inseparable, more like brother and sister though still occasionally flirting teasingly with each other but not really thinking about it going any further. He wondered briefly if she was unwell but as he

watched her she seemed to be sleeping contentedly.

Steve shrugged and turned back to his computer which had finished loading up and clicked the icon to check his email. He scanned over the topics marking the junk for deletion and looking for anything interesting. Most of it seemed to be junk today,

except for the usual message from his mum making sure he was eating ok and so on. It was near the bottom however he spotted something different from the usual. It was still seemed to be some mass mailed junk but didn't fall into the categories the usual fell into like free porn and viagra, or low cost mortgages etc. The subject read, 'Enjoy games? Love adventure? Be the first to test the only true virtual reality RPG ever made.'

Steve frowned, curious. Virtual reality had been a fad a few years ago but the graphics were so poor and all the headsets gave people headaches, so it was soon abandoned. But if someone had finally perfected the technology, or at least made some big improvements,

it could be something really cool. He hesitated then opened the e-mail. It opened as a web page with a small text box and a button marked submit. There was a label at the top. 'The first five names submitted will be selected. He felt suddenly deflated. Surly by now at least five people must have responded but he filled in his name anyway. He was about to click the button when he heard Jennifer turn over in his bed and a thought struck him. He entered her name beneath his and hit the submit button. She enjoyed all the final fantasy and other rpg games, maybe this would be up her street to. He waited for a second before another e-mail appeared in his inbox labelled 'Game Test Submittal'. He opened it holding his breath. It read, ' Names Excepted. Be at 36 Winston Road, New York. 12:00 Noon, 25th May'.

That was the day after tomorrow. He wondered if he could make it in time, and still get his paper done. If they went by train he could probably do it on the way. He wasn't really aiming for anything better than a pass in psychology anyway. He decided to wait till Jennifer woke up to tell her, she always had a tendency to be cranky when woken for anything less than food, drink of a good movie. He laughed to himself. If Jennifer wasn't happy about this, then he'd obviously knot got to know her as nearly as well as he thought.

*

Jennifer was not happy. Not because of Stevens surprise trip to New York, she was pleased about that but she was not happy at all at being dragged round New York as they tried to find Winston Road. It had turned out there were six in New York in various parts of the city. Normally there was a district in the address but without that they had been forced to check manually, which had been timely and expensive. So far they had visited a jewellers, a laundrette, a burnt out furniture store in the most run down part of town imaginable and a bank which foolishly she had believed was actually it until they'd walked inside.

"Fifth time's lucky aye?" Steven said as the taxi pulled up outside a large plain grey stone building in a moderate part of the city. The sign over the door was VWTcorp.

"You said that the last three times already." She scoffed.

"Yeah but this is probably it. The other place is in `darkest' Brooklyn and you don't get a lot of computer companies out there. Not legal ones anyway."

Steven paid the taxi and they both walked inside. It was immediately obvious that it was the right place. Huge posters advertising computer products and services on the walls of the large, air-conditioned lobby. The receptionist directed them to take a seat on one of the comfortable white sofas by the drinks machines. As they approached Jennifer realised there were three other people already sitting there. One was a young boy, no more than

fourteen, dressed in the typical skater boy attire and listing to load metal music on his mobile phone. The second was a girl, sixteen or seventeen she judged, dressed fairly plainly in jeans and a t-shirt which showed off her figure nicely. Jennifer looked over to Steven an saw he two had noticed the girl. She rolled her eyes, 'men', she thought.

The third was much older, in his late twenties at least but very well built and very strong looking his dark skin shocking against the white of the sofa. 'Possible a body build' she thought. He smiled as they approached and stood up holding out a hand. He spoke as his Hawaiian shirt and bathing shorts suggested like a Californian.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Logan Moore. You must be the other testers who signed up. This is..."

"Diane Anderson." The other girl said standing up to shake their hands too and interrupting Logan. She smiled at Steven shyly as she spoke and Jennifer was surprised to feel a small pang of jealousy.

"Who's he?" She asked indicating the boy now getting a drink from the machine but who it seemed was unaware or did not care that anyone new had arrived.

"Phillip Smithe. And that's all we've been able to get out of him. He seems really shy but I think he's ok." Diane said looking over her shoulder at him.

"So what happens now?." Steven asked looking round at the posters. As if in answer to his question a man and a woman both in their mid forties and dressed in smart suits appeared through the double doors at the end of the lobby and walked briskly towards the small group. The woman spoke first, her voice was official yet Jennifer felt, trusting.

"Well, it seems you're all here now, that's good. If you'd like to follow us and well take you through what you're going to do today." With that the two turned and walked back they way they came. Steven, Jennifer, Logan and Diane shared a brief look of confusion then followed, Phillip dropping an empty coke can into the bin, then followed them.

*

"Ok folks, I'm Judy Willis, Director of Virtual Worlds Technology and I'm going to explain what we're offering. Here me out, then decide if you want to accept." Steven shifted slightly in his seat. He didn't like the way she said, then decide if you accept. What reasons would there be for refusing to play a video game.

"The game we've designed is simple in concept, it's like most RPG's on the market. The difference is in the way you play it. You don't just get to play the characters, you are the characters. Our hardware system allows you to enter the game in a way never before scene. You will actually feel like you're there in the game, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and really experiencing the game world around you." The woman was

getting more and more excited as she spoke. Diane stuck her hand in the air for a second before asking her question.

"How?" Steven would have laughed at the bluntness but what Judy Willis had just said had intrigued him, and he wanted to know if it was really possible.

"We use a method of electro-sensu-feedback. Basically we plug you into the hardware using little sensors placed on you're forehead. These interrupt the signals between your brain and senses and feed in electronic signals from the computer simulating the game environment. So everything you experience is created by the game."

"And this is safe?" Logan said raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yes, there are safety systems everywhere, and there is no way you can be actually hurt. It has been thoroughly tested by us before we thought about beta testing with the public."

"Sound's like some cool features." Steven said looking at the others.

"We think so but you haven't heard the two really great features. The first is the character design system we designed. It scans you're body and creates a 3d model of it which you can then clothe, customise and change to create a character that is truly yours. This includes giving them skills and abilities that wouldn't be possible in reality." The woman spoke quickly getting excited again. It was clear this was her pet project and obviously something she was really proud of. So far both Steven and Jennifer had to admit it sounded impressive.

"But here is the really important part that will make this game a true adventure." The man who'd stood so quietly behind his co-worker finally spoke. Judy grinned at him before looking them all in the eyes.

"When we say you become the characters, we really mean you become them. Not only does the game interrupt you're senses, it interrupts your memories too. You forget who you really are and that you're just playing a game and become the characters you create. You're past memories are made up from a short history bio you write when you create your character. Everything you need to know about the game world, your skills, your characters past and so on, and all the memories you gain while playing are all stored on a small memory unit. And when you finish, those memories are downloaded to your brain, giving you the most memorable adventure experience ever."

There was silence for a minute, then Phillips hand creped up.

"So you're saying, we'll completely forget who we are, stop being ourselves and be these other people we create?"

"Yes, though elements of your own personality will show through of course but there will be some change in your personality in the game shaped by the character you create."

"And what if while playing we get board and decide to settle down and live a normal life." Jennifer asked, the concern evident in her voice."

"You needn't worry, the game will always keep nudging you along, giving you clues if you get stuck or finding ways to keep you entertained till you finish it."

"Do we play together or in separate games?" Steven said suddenly.

"It can be played alone, but the main idea is to have several people play together, so their characters can interact in a way not possible before. Just think two friends can embark on the quest they've always dreamed of and yet never have to leave home." The woman smiled.

There was quite again as they all digested what they had heard. After a minute Logan looked round at the others before addressing Judy again.

"How do we get started?"

*

Steven sat back in the comfortable leather recliner and found himself staring up at a 3d model of his body slowly rotating on the computer screen above his head. He felt someone walk up beside him and begin to place electrodes on his forehead, he felt their slight tingle as they interfaced with his brainwaves. Judy's voice drifted over the faint hum that had begun in his ears.

"It's quite simple, while the system is changing to match your unique brain patterns we'll sort out your character. You should find you can manipulate the image just by thinking. Try it but don't force to hard, it should be a natural feeling."

Steven waited a moment trying to psyc himself up and then realised that was exactly what he wasn't supposed to do and shook his heard to clear it.

"Right, let's start with clothes." He watched in amazement as the image began to change in front of his eyes, as each item of clothing he imagined himself wearing appeared and disappeared from his model self's body. He flushed briefly as several items of ladies underwear and a pink tutu flashed across his body.

"Woops, guess I'm getting carried away."

"Hey, whatever you want. The game world is a strange and alien land, the boundaries of our world and that world are totally different. Who's to say what you can and can't look like."

"Yeah, thanks." Steven said not sounding at all convinced.

Slowly he built up his character, first appearance then under Judy's directions his special abilities and so fourth till he was completely happy with his character. Finally he added his characters personal background, a little history to give his new personality meaning. Then once he was ready he settled back into the seat and waited for the others to be ready. He wondered what they looked like from the outside, five people sitting in a circle of recliners with wires popping from their heads. Suddenly images of the Matrix, 13th Floor and other movies flashed through his head and out of it all a thought struck him.

At the main consol Judy watched a small screen as she flicked through the character profiles and extrapolated real world data the computer had taken to create their virtual models, they seemed alright and sensible enough for the world she'd help create, if a little over the top in some places but that was to be expected given the freedom she'd given her target audience.

*

New Player And Player Character Profiles:

1)

Name: Steven Michaels

Game Name: Rayne Malone

Age: 20

Height: 5'11''

Build: Average

Game Build: Athletic

Skin: White, Fair

Game Skin: White, Tanned

Eyes: Green

Hair: Short, Blonde

Game Hair: Short, Green

Game Mods: Scar across upper body front, stud in left ear. Wind elemental tattoo covering back.

Game Dress: Heavy black boots, baggy brown knee length cut offs, armoured arm length fingerless gloves, white head scarf.

Game Skills: Extreme swordsmanship, slightly enhanced physical abilities. Some wind abilities granted by his swords.

Weapons: Twin wind elemental kitanas. (Appear from nowhere in a mini twister above his fists when called.

Characters Background: Trained at the monastery of the elemental gods, where he was presented with his swords of the wind. Once trained in the wind element arts, he deserted when he found he was being trained to be an assassin. Practicing in secret to

complete his training he travelled the world looking for a more worthy purpose.

2)

Name: Jennifer Ryan

Game Name: Kitty Kat

Age: 19

Height: 5'5''

Build: Average

Game Build: Athletic and voluptuous

Eyes: Oriental, Blue

Game Eyes: Oriental, Purple cat eyes.

Hair: Shoulder length, brunette

Game Hair: Waist length raven black hair.

Skin: Oriental tan.

Game Mods: Cat ears poking through her hair, higher on her head than her normal ears would be. Retractable nails that become claw like as they extend, very sharp. She also has a tail.

Game Dress: White Chinese dress (Cheong-Sam) Cut up leg to thigh. White fur boots resembling cat paws. Cat collar with small bell round neck.

Game Skills: Extreme agility and great climbing ability. Cat Fu fighting style. Great night vision

Characters Background: A furry, human half breed she grew up in a furry village deep in the countryside.

However as she grew up, her cat curiosity and human desire for excitement, a trait she got from her father, made her long for an adventure. Finally on her 19th birthday, the furry day when a child becomes an adult, she announced her intention to leave the village and travel to Mew Ork, one of the last remaining ruined cities of the ancients and supposed birth place of the furries. So bidding a sad farewell to her parents, she set out on her little quest.

3)

Name: Logan Moore

Game Name: Xavier (originally X171 which was stamped on the cryo tube. See background)

Age: 27

Height: 6'5''

Build: Very muscled

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black dreadlocks.

Skin: Black

Game Mods: Muscles expand when angry and using his strength skill.(see game skills)

Game Dress: Sandals, blue jeans, red muscle top.

Game Skills: Extreme strength.

Characters Background: Discovered in a chryo tube during an archaeological dig in the Roswell desert, believed to be the last surviving super soldier from the war of ledged. Not remembering anything of the old world, he went to work for a construction firm

as he tried to dig a neash for himself in the new world. Generally a nice and friendly guy and doesn't like hurting people, probably why he never fought in the war.

4)

Name: Phillip T Smithe

Game Name: Angel

Age: 14

Height: 5'8''

Build: Slim

Eyes: Brown

Game Eyes: All black.

Hair: Brown, short

Game Hair: Short, black

Skin: White, pale

Game Mods: Black angel wings attached to his back.

Game Dress: Black shorts with skater chain, black T-shirt with two rips from the bottom for his wings but held together with a white belt that ties at the side.

Game Skills: Flight (with wings).

Weapons: A black metal staff.

Character Background: A Hell Waste mutant, angle is in fact only 2 years old. After being captured by a circus owner, Angel escaped and went on the run, hoping to find a way to return home.

5)

Name: Diane Anderson

Game Name: Cyan Phire

Age: 16

Height: 5'9''

Build: Slim, attractive

Eyes: Blue

Game Eyes: Blue, going red when using her powers.

Hair: Ginger Red

Game Hair: Fiery Red

Skin: Tanned

Game Mods: Flame tattoos up both fore arms from her wrists. Both ears pierced.

Game Dress: Short green skirt and purple shirt, and long flowing red coat.

Game Skills: Can create and manipulate fire, including creating a projectile blast.)

Character Background: Despite being a fire witch, she has had a relatively normal childhood. She is still at school, though she also receives lessons in how to control and use her magic. She is also

very curious as to where the elementals came from, and believes the answer lies somewhere in one of the ruined cities of the ancient world.

*

She looked up as Steven gave a little cough.

"Um, hey how long is this going to take. I mean, apart from the essay I've got to give in Monday, what about meals, and the toilet? I mean we ain't going to piss ourselves here are we?" Steven tried to keep the worry from his voice as he spoke but he could feel the nervous tension shoot round the room.

"Oh don't worry. The system stops any actions you take in the game from being replicated by your physical bodies. As far as time length goes, you'll be finished in a

few hours if that. Because it works by electronic computer signals direct to your brain, it doesn't need to work at your reflex speed. The whole thing runs about five hundred times faster than the real world, so even you were to spend years in the game world, you'll only actually be playing for a few hours. A day at most." Judy replied walking over to the central console.

"One last question. What happens if we get killed, is it game over?" Diane piped up. Judy shook her head.

"No, there's a way back into the game but I'll save that for a surprise in the game. Even if I told you how, you wouldn't remember. So is everyone ready?"

"Yup!" They all said together.

"Here goes." She said and dropped her palm onto the large green button marked 'start', and the five players world faded away.

*

Rayne Malone woke slowly as if from a heavy sleep and stared blearily at his surroundings from his horizontal position. He had a headache, that much he knew but not much else. He sat up and took a closer look at the room through half closed eyes. His mouth was furred and dry and his voice was raspy as he spoke.

"Where in the hell am I?" Finally he caught sight of something familiar in the corner, his trusty twin kitanas resting against a rapidly aging chest of draws. He stopped thinking for a moment as it was only worsening his headache. Something didn't feel quite right here, like he wasn't quite himself today. However he quickly realised in his current state no answers were going to be fourth coming, so he set about his mourning task of walking up properly. Wondering slowly round what appeared, judging by the welcome card to be a dingy and cheep hotel room he gathered his few possessions and began to dress. He would have washed but the running water seemed to have taken a holiday.

Eventually he slipped his two swords in their scabbards across his back and clipped the shoulder harness into place and then stood back in front of the rather grimy mirror

to examine himself and remember who he was.

The face that stared back was strange, it was his and yet unfamiliar but as he turned to examine the rest of his body he found the feeling passing and the recognition of

himself returning. He stared at his reflection a last time, making sure his knee length brown cut offs lacked any nasty marks and that his heavy walking boots were on the

right feet. He ran a finger along the old scar that ran diagonally across his bare athletic chest before giving a final adjustment to his black plate armour arm length fingerless gloves and sword slings. Than a quick check to make sure his short green hair was suitably untidy before he strode purposefully across the floor and threw the door

open on the sunshine filled world outside.

"Woof, bright out here." He said closing the door behind him and catching a last brief glimpse of the strange tattoo across his back. Somehow he knew it was the sign of a wind

elemental user but he didn't know how he knew that. He shrugged it off, 'it must have been one hell of a night', he thought to himself.

The streets of the small town were dusty and empty, something reminiscent of an old style western except the buildings were far more modern in design, a mix between a Texas range village and a fairytale esk New York. It was not the architecture that surprised him though, on the contrary, it seemed perfectly normal to him for a town in the Caidana desert. What really struck him as weird was the lack of people. Since leaving the hotel he'd walked almost half a mile through along the main street and hadn't seen one sign of life around, though it was clear there had been people only a short time before. Food lay still warm on cafe tables along the road and doors left open banged closed in the wind with an eerie echo.

A sudden crash further along the road made him jump, he drew his swords and made his way to investigate. On the porch of a small cafe among the broken remnants of a small round wooden table and several smashed plates and cups lay a figure curled up in fright. It appeared to be a girl wearing a white Chinese style dress who looked up at him from amid the mess, fear evident in her eyes as she darted looks between the person towering over her and the two sharp swords he carried. Rayne suddenly realised the sight he made standing over her and sheathed his swords, then held out his hand to her.

"Hi, I'm Rayne, can I help you up?" The girl was hesitant at first but finally reached out and took his hand allowing him to pull her from the wreckage and to her feet. Rayne's eyes darted over the now standing girl in surprise. He hadn't realised it when she was lying down but it was quite clear now she wasn't human. A long silky black tail rose from her waist and stood curling and uncurling behind her while two pointy and furry cat like ears protruded from her head amid the almost waste length raven black hair which was a stark contrast against the white of the dress and her pale skin. Her eyes two were different, more oval and oriental but her pupils stood vertically in their purple iris. Finally he noticed her boots, mostly hidden under the dress but visible through the side slit to her thigh, the boots were furry and white knee length boots but the feet were shaped more like cat paws than human feet and Rayne wondered what her feet really looked like.

"Thank you, I'm Kitty Kat." She said in a soft purring voice.

"Pretty name. What happened to you anyway." He said looking round for some reason why she would have been there.

"Um, I jumped from the window, I expected the table to hold my weight, but it didn't." She stated mater of factly pointing up at the open second floor window.

"I see. Why did you jump from the second floor window?"

"The door was locked and I couldn't get out. Anyway it's not a problem, I'm half cat, I could drop twice that. I always land on my feet."

"So I see." Rayne replied scanning the wreckage a last time. Kitty blushed slightly.

"What's happening here anyway. Where is everyone? I woke up here like half an hour ago and haven't seen anyone and I know it's weird but don't even remember how I got here."

"Hmm, I had the same experience. I woke up in a dingy little hotel room somewhere back that way, with no memory of how I got here. I don't even know why I am here either." Rayne looked round the streets again.

"And apart from you, I haven't scene anyone either. Wait, make that you and two others."

"Where?" Kitty said looking round nervously.

Rayne noted how gracefully she seemed to move even when doing so little.

"Right there by the market." He said pointing out the two figures walking towards them. The one on the right was a young boy wearing black shorts and t shirt but strangely had two large black wings almost as tall as he was, tucked in behind him. At first, Kitty thought they were just ornamental till she saw them unfurl slightly and fold away again as a short gust of wind blew down the street. The other figure was a girl a little older than the boy, with fiery red hair and a deep red long but sleeveless coat that swept behind her as she walked and two large fire like tattoos that spread up her arms.

"Quite an odd couple aren't they." Kitty said drawing closer to Rayne.

"I don't imagine we look like normal company though, do you? This is getting stranger by the minute." Rayne was cut off by a high sing song voice that seemed to come from the approaching girl.

"Hello, are you stuck here too? Wow I wonder how many others there are." She rushed forwards to greet Rayne and Kitty properly, her friendliness only making Rayne more nervous. He also noticed her companion seemed less thrilled about this sudden discovery. The new girl started to speak again.

"Hi, my name's Cyan Phire, I'm a fire witch and that over there is Angel, he's a Hell Waste mutant but got kidnapped by some freak show but escaped ands is trying to get home, though me I'm just trying to find where the hell I am and how I got here. Who are you." She rushed out here words on one breath then stood panting slightly looking expectantly for an answer from them. Rayne and Kitty shared a glance, they knew they were both thinking the same think. How many happy pills had this girl taken this mourning?

*

Judy sat back in her seat and watched the scene unfolding on the screens buried in the consol. Suddenly she felt hot breath on her neck and a large firm hand was placed on her shoulder. She peeked around at the man beside her.

"How is it progressing?" He asked in a cool voice.

"Perfectly, two minutes real time and four out of the five have already gathered. Once the fifth has joined them, I'll start the main program and we can watch them deal with their first problem."

"Do you think they'll fight or run?"

"Well me, I'd run from a fifty foot monster but who knows."

"Mm." The man slowly massaged her shoulders.

"Are we going to test the Siras Protocol?"

"Maybe, we have to background check them first. We can't have people disappearing that might be missed."

"True but it would be interesting though, wouldn't it? To see how they'd do, trapped in there personally. Especially if we gave them their own memories back too."

"You're an evil lady do you know that?" He said teasingly.

"No more than you're an evil man. But think about it, once our hardware is in every home in the world, we'll be able to suck everyone into our world, where we'll be gods and they will all do our bidding." The man laughed as she spoke, quietly at first and then louder as she joined in.

"Yes, the world truly will be ours, ours and ours alone. Now if you'll excuse me my love, I have a plan for world domination to complete, all the control protocols are still sitting unprotected in there. If the players get their hands on them, they could ruin everything. I must complete the coding before they reach the end of the game."

"How long do you need? I'll slow the game speed a bit. They won't mind an extra day or two. That reminds me, the next test group arrives in an hour. Shall I plug them in or not?"

"Of course plug them in. It's not like the test groups are going to get that far into the game anyway and a little multiple group interaction might be good. Make sure the communication code works properly."

"Ok, see you later, I have another room to prepare." She smiled as she watched the mans figure fade into the shadows of the dimly lit corridors behind the game room then smiled to herself.

"You're a brilliant and useful man but there will only be one ruler of my new world." Then she stood up and went to prepare the second game room for the next group of testers before they arrived.