"Let me get this straight, just so everything's clear." I said, waving my hand for emphasis. I sat on my comfy leather chair next to my desk. My computer monitor was showing the pause menu of an online game I was playing at the moment. In front of me was a man in a pitch black suit and red tie sitting in a chair similar to mine. His skin was a pasty white, almost like Voldemort. His hair and eyes were pitch black, it almost seemed like the light was being absorbed into them. His nose stuck out from his gaunt, skeleton like face. I wondered if he actually ate anything at all. In fact, the man could've been mistaken for Slenderman if he closed his eyes and mouth.
"You're the owner of a gaming corporation that is testing out a new virtual reality game system that's still in the beta phase." I saw the Man nod at this, so I continued, "And you need a test subject to work out the kinks for you?" The Man nodded again, "My only question is, Why me? There are professional players that could play your game better than me. Hell, I’m just an average nerd with a gaming passion."
I half expected the Man to scowl at me or tell me that I either take the offer or die but instead he smiled, "At my company, we take extensive measures to ensure the best quality of all products. When we saw your personal background, we knew we had our perfect candidate.”
'Okay, that’s really creepy. But what do I have that others don’t?' I immediately crossed off ‘looks’ from the potential reasons list in my head. I had graduated from college a few years ago so they probably aren’t looking for experience. But what did I do that would catch their interest? Was it the potato minigun that I built as a school project? I racked my brain but couldn’t find the right answers. The Man saw my distress and smirked.
“Let me put it this way. You have certain experiences along with a particular personality that I believe could help improve the game play immensely.”
'I take back what I said. This guy is a fucking stalker!' Coupled together with his Slenderman appearance, it’s possible he’s a pedophile as well. I was sorely tempted to give the guy directions to the nearest elementary school and then go watch the news to see how long it would take for him to be caught.
“I’m not a pedophile. Children are just easily corruptible.” He said with a bit of irritation.
'And he can read my mind. Quick, hide the dirty images! And how does that statement mean he’s not a pedo? He practically shot himself in the foot with that.'
“Pedophiles rape kids. I scare them half to death”
'Uh-huh. Riiiiight. You’re still a creeper. And how are you readin-'
“I’m good at reading people and you are an open book. Now can we please return to our original discussion? I have places to be.” He said impatiently
'Touchy.' “Fine. So what’s the game that I’m going to play? Halo? Gears of War? Call of duty?” I asked. 'It better be a decent game at least. Otherwise I’m going to just ruin everything for everyone. Myself included.'
The Man chuckled softly, “I’m afraid not, boy. You see, this game system we built also has a built in game my associates and I like to call: Chess Game of the Gods. It’s a magical world filled with many real and fantasy creatures, most of which that talk. This is also a multiplayer server which is set in real time. There will be other players that were championed by my associates inside the game as well. Some of whom have been in for a while so you won’t be the first. All I’m asking is that you be my champion in this game.”
'Hmm. Chess Game of the Gods…that sounds pretty interesting.' But still there were some things that I had to know about this game. “So how does it work, exactly? Like what’s the goal? And what abilities and weapons does the game provide?”
“The goal?” The Man said with a mocking innocent tone, “Why, the goal of the game is to play to your heart’s content and overcome any and all obstacles you encounter. The storyline of this game is similar to one of your Create-your-own-adventure books.” He reached over to my book shelf and pulled off said book, twirling it in his fingers before returning it. “As for abilities and weapons… I will explain those to you when you’re in the game when the time is right.”
This game was getting more and more appealing as I thought about it. It sounded a lot like the Fable series I sometimes played. Creating your own adventure was fun, especially when you could go back and change all the choices you make to see the end result. Sometimes you save the world, sometimes you watch it burn, and other times you just don’t care. Hell, sometimes I played it so I can see the NPCs I hate the most die over and over again. I’m pretty heartless when it comes to video game trolling.
“What kinds of enemies and monsters will I encounter in this game?” I asked. 'I swear to God, if any of them are like the Flood, then people are going to get hurt. Those bastards are really annoying to kill.'
“Well, if you intend on making everyone your enemy…let’s just say that all you’d have a challenge to deal with are dragons, Gods, bandits, authority and other players.” The Man said, counting the things off on his fingers, “Maybe a couple random encounters. But nothing you can’t handle.”
'Seems legit.' “Okay, I have two more questions. First, What’s the line between Virtual and Reality? As in, what’s going to seem real and what won’t be real?”
He smiled, “Ah, I wondered when this question would come up. I can tell you that our game system is quite realistic to all the senses, so you can feel the objects in the game, smell the air, and even taste the food you eat. Your body will be in a special suit and placed in a zero-gee simulator. The suit will simulate all experiences you feel to the fullest degree. And don’t worry about bodily functions, we have that taken care of. Don’t ask me for the details though.”
'Daayyum. They went all out on this system! I was a bit worried about the bodily functions part but if it’s taken care of, then I’m not gonna ask or complain.' “Alright, second question. How will I know when I’m done, like is there a final boss or something?” 'Gotta know when to quit.'
The Man frowned for a moment before answering, “I’m not entirely sure, but since I will be watching your progress closely, then I will probably throw a few bosses your way as a challenge. I’ll think of a good final boss to signal the end.”
“Can’t ask for anything more.” I said, grinning. 'Every good video game has to have at least one good boss fight.' At that thought, something clicked in my mind, “By the way, what’s the combat system like?”
He raise an eyebrow at me, “I thought you said only two questions? Nevermind, I will answer this one as well. The combat system is like fighting in the real world, where you are directly fighting your opponents. It gives the game a certain…adrenaline rush for those who like to fight.”
My mind shut down for a moment as the information was too much to take in. After a quick reboot, I thought, ' A direct combat system? Holy Shit! That's a hell of a system! I wonder how much it took to make it? Eh, whatever. If I can fight in a video game for myself, then I don't care. Maybe I can use the combat techniques I've learned over the years to help me.'
“I take it from the glazed expression you had on your face that you really want this, yes?” The Man asked. I nod eagerly. He chuckled, “Good, now before we seal the deal, as it were, I must ask this: Any last questions?”
I thought about anything I missed. 'Virtual reality borders? Check. Body stasis? Check. Game plot? Check. Combat mechanics? Check. Weapons and abilities...half check. What else? Oh, I know!' “When I get in the game, what am I going to be? Like, will I be a human or what?”
The Man smiled, “You'll see.” he said sinisterly. Something told me I wasn't going to like my character at all. The Man kept speaking, “Now with that out of the way, do we have an accord?” He stuck his pale hand out to me.
Okay, now normally I’m not a superstitious person but I had this nagging feeling in the back of my head telling me that this would be a life changing experience. Unfortunately, it didn’t say if it was for better or for worse.
...
And yet, I still wanted to do this. To be able to say that I tested out the beta phase of this game system would be pretty awesome. That and I loved strategy and RPG games, plus the real time factor would give it a nice challenge. Fuck it all, I shook the Man’s hand with gusto.
He smiled, “A wise decision.” He stood up (I found out with a small shock that he was about 6’ 6”) and pulled out a small bag that held a white pill, “Now, due to secrecy, I’m going to need you to take this.” He tossed it into my lap, “It’s a sleeping pill. When you wake up, you will be already immersed into the game, ready to play.”
'Someone's been watching the Matrix too many times' I thought. I obediently took the pill out of the bag and put it in my mouth. As I was swallowing, another question came to mind. “By the way, I never caught your name.” The pill was working fast as I began to feel very dizzy. Darkness encroached upon my vision as I saw the man lean forward and give a small grin.
“Call me Erebus.” And then I blacked out.