Chapter 1 – Nostalgia

“Ah, shit. That hurts.” I rub the bridge of my nose. The sharp smell of the cheap vodka I drank last night assaults my nostrils.

“I am never drinking again…”

Disgruntled, I raise myself into a sitting position. A throbbing headache and a dehydrated throat is all I’m left with after my late night mourning. I didn’t make it any better when the bad dreams started again. The all too familiar dream of finding myself in a dark hole, all alone, losing everything I hold dear. My body, my memories… my mother…

The bad dreams have increased in frequency lately, and I’m starting to feel the effect it has on me.

I shake my head. I’m not going to go down that mental path again. Not today.

The rain falls heavily on my window. I just know this is going to be one of those days. You know which ones I mean.

After flipping a light switch, I raise my eyelids and get a good view of my room. There isn’t much to look at, considering I have led a spartan sort of lifestyle these last few months. I own so few household items, some might think I’m one of those Buddhist monks. Perhaps I should get myself one of those orange pajamas. They look comfortable…

My eyes are still hazy, but I try to accustom them to the light. I live in a single one room studio apartment, with a shared bathroom. Except for a mattress in a corner, I only own a few basic pieces of furniture. There is a small second hand dining table at the center of the room alongside an old plastic garden chair. You know, the cheap kind you see refugees sit in on the UNICEF aid commercials. I don’t even know why I still got the old thing. I think I picked it up from somewhere when I was blackout drunk some time.

Anyway. That’s not important. The important thing is… well… I suppose it isn’t important at all actually.

I reflexively move my hand to the side of my mattress. My hand grabs a familiar dark metal helmet. The chilling touch of the carbon based material comforts me. My fingers gently fiddle with a few tubes protruding from the helmet as I let my gaze linger on the device for a few seconds. It’s my most cherished item after all. My reason to live.

Why would I cherish this odd little helmet so much? I can’t really describe why it means this much to me. I suppose it’s what allows me to escape it all.

The helmet is a high tech recreational device, allowing a person’s mind to experience a wide array of sensations.

The device is what one would call a Full Immersion Virtual Reality Helmet, or FIVR for short.

I’m not a tech kind of guy, so I’m not the correct person to explain how the thing actually works. I’m going to give it a shot though. And just so you know, I don’t even know if this explanation is medically, or even physically correct. I’m not a scientist. I just read a lot of forum posts on the internet.

In contrast to the classic virtual reality devices, this full dive helmet isn’t limited to manipulating one or more senses by use of external sensual stimulation. The helmet connects directly to the brain waves themselves. The result is that the helmet can stimulate a person’s sensory perception. By stimulating the brain in a specific way, you can trick the brain to think it is experiencing something that isn’t real.

Exactly how this works is superficially simple. Imagine that instead of watching a movie through a monitor, the device will allow you to enter the movie itself. By doing this you can in effect observe the actors from every conceivable angle, smell the shampoo in their hair and feel the wind on your face. All this from the comfort of your own home. It is really a marvelous piece of technology.

The technology is so far ahead of the traditional technology, it’s mind boggling. When you are connected to the helmet, it is possible to experience a wide array of sensations instantaneously. Without any delay. That means you can connect to the device and control it with your mind as easily as you can control your very own limbs. The potential for this technology is limitless. It is like you can live your life in a computer simulated program, with full sensual stimulation, with the ability to modify or enhance your body with no risk of harming yourself.

Really. Why would you even bother with real life?

I have already stopped trying.

This technology was initially developed to allow for paralyzed people to interact with others on a physical level. The potential of this technology however, was quickly adopted by the entertainment industry.

The first purely recreational programs released for the device are obvious.

Pornography. Big surprise!

News programs, sports and movies quickly followed this, before eventually, the gaming industry had its piece of the cake.

My favorite game of all time, Yggdrasil Online was one of the first games released for the full immersion virtual reality device. Alas, like so many of its ancestors, the game died of old age. The servers shut down last night.

I can feel a knot tie in my chest.

The game is… was… everything to me. I spent most of my free time for nine years immersing myself in the huge virtual world. I could spend weeks just walking around, taking in the sights of a fully fleshed out fantasy world. I can still remember the joy of riding across the orc highlands of Tar’Ok and delving into the deep mines of the Dwarven Mountains of Magnia. I will never forget fighting the terrors of the deep sea in the Great Coral Reefs. So many fond memories…

And I won’t ever get to experience that world again.

I sit on the mattress for an unknown length of time. Just staring at the helmet beside me.

I reach out and grab a tablet-pc that rests on top of a pile of old clothes. Turning it on, I am soon greeted by the last webpage I visited before I passed out. I was looking at a news article listing all the most anticipated upcoming games for the FIVR Helmet. A few of them caught my attention, but one in particular stood out.

Fantasy Royale.

The game promises to deliver an intense high-stake player versus player combat oriented strategy role playing game experience.

I know. It’s quite a mouthful. I had to read it twice.

In layman terms, I would describe it as a game where a lot of players are all crammed into a game world where they all get to command and manage their own fantasy themed settlement. The settlements’ populations are all individual artificial intelligence entities. This means they are advanced computer programs that simulate real people, but are not accessible to the players. Gamers refer to them as Non-Playable Characters, or NPCs for short.

After creating and cultivating a settlement, you must command the NPCs to combat other players and their NPC minions, making for some epic battles for supremacy.

I already have visions of myself as an armor-clad king of a medieval army, launching thousands of troops at my enemies by making a simple hand gesture.

This game is just perfect for me.

A pity I won’t get to play it.

The marketing of the game is the most unique stunt I have ever seen being pulled by a game developer. Never before has so many players been enthralled by a game idea, and everyone wants to play it.

Literally, everyone!

However, the game developers… They won’t just let anyone play. No, they are actually only letting an incredible small amount of players play it. Cherry picked by the developers themselves.

Why would they do such an odd thing?

To explain that, I have to point out a few key specific requirements.

First of all, all players only get one life. The game mode is set as a battle royale, where all players start at an equal footing, and the game isn’t over until you either win, or die. One simple slip up or a moment of distraction or hesitation can mean one dreadful thing; Game over.

The crowd goes wild over this point. The free for all battle royale mode has been the peoples favourite kind of entertainment since the roman empire. The sight of countless gladiators fighting one another until only one is left standing. The victor who stands above all others. The champion who wins the heart of the crowd by magnificent displays of their superiority. What better recipe can one have for creating true entertainment?

Genius.

The second requirement is a bit more dull. Every contestant will have to travel to the Game Developers Headquarters. Here they will enter gaming capsules designed for long time immersion. These capsules haven’t even hit the market yet. A fact that is thrilling in itself. The problem is, most people can’t just uproot their lives to spend weeks, months or even years at a time playing a game.

So what would make everyone want to play the game regardless? That is of course: The money.

The third and most detrimental requirement of them all is that all players have to pay a hefty sum to be able to compete. A whooping entrance fee of twenty thousand euros deter most people from even attempting to sign up for the competition. This limits the game to only the wealthiest of players, or the most dedicated ones.

An interesting game concept however, isn’t enough to convince people to invest both their time and their money into a game they hardly know anything about. The real kicker of the deal is that the winner takes it all. Yeah, you heard me. The winner of the round gets to keep every single euro the other players spent to play the game. The developers doesn’t keep any of it.

So, how do they make any money?

Exclusive broadcasting rights of course. The entire game will be televised for the masses. With hundreds of players battling it out in a stunning fantasy setting, there is no short supply of entertainment material. The marketing budget for the game is insane. There are commercials everywhere. The internet is overflowing by it! It has already been announced that the developers are sponsoring several celebrities to compete in the game.

It is really a stroke of genius by the game developers. Combining the people’s interest for prizes, violence, celebrities and reality TV; fantasy-edition. It’s a recipe for instantaneous popularity. People of all ages, genders, intellectual- and socioeconomic classes unite in their interest to watch this game. I wouldn’t have thought it possible to hit every single target group out there, but these guys did it. Brilliant bastards.

One thing is surprising though. There has been a lot, and then I mean A LOT of advertising of the game and the game concept, but there has hardly been any information released about how the game really works. People are scratching their heads from left to right trying to decipher what the game mechanics are.

There has been a lot of general information about the game release, like what sort of races will be available to play, but there is no mention about what their strengths and weaknesses are. The game boasts of having over a hundred different fantasy races, and each one offers a unique play style. How does someone balance that? What is the numerical values of each and every race? What is… GAAAH!

I have so many questions about this game, and the game developers give me nothing. NOTHING. It’s frustrating as hell!

The secret behind my success at being a solo dungeon diver at Yggdrasil Online is mostly thanks to my ability to plan my every move thoroughly. Maximizing my efficiency by use of information and the numerical values of my available resources. How can the fact that I know there will be trolls and gnomes in the game help me when there is no way to know how the little guy will beat the big guy?

An image of Bilbo Baggins shoving a hellfire missile up Smaug’s nostril passes my mind.

Tssk, annoying.

There is no point in getting annoyed about the game mechanics of a game I won’t get to play anyway I guess. I refresh the page to see if any new information has been added while I slept.

The site updates and a fresh interview with one of the lead developers appears at the top of the site. My eyes widen for a moment when I see the number of views on the interview already. It’s already in the millions! And it has only been an hour since it was posted! The interest for this game is enormous.

I quickly tap play.

The smile of a beautiful woman reveals itself on my monitor. The woman appears to be in her mid-twenties, with the body of a supermodel. She has long curly blond hair, bright blue eyes, smooth white skin and an ample bosom. Any man’s first impression of this woman would be that she got the job purely because of her looks, and it’s not too far off to assume her brain size only matches the tiny piece of cloth that makes up her dress.

The truth is far different. Amanda Hemingway is a shrewd journalist, who, despite her age, has accomplished far more than most journalists would during the entire span of their careers. Some suspect her good looks is only a tool for her to gain information. I’m the first to admit I would probably give her the pin number for my bank account if she asked…

Oh, I’m getting off track.

Amanda is sitting in a chair across from a slightly overweight man, who has a full bundle of curly brown hair with a matching wild beard. It appears the man has never has even heard about the concept of a comb. It is the sort of look only a successful programmer could pull off.

His small gray eyes spit life into his youthful grin which is wide enough to outshine even a Jehovah’s witness who got past your entrance door. The man is Logan Andrews, the lead designer and creator of Fantasy Royale.

Amanda’s head turns towards the camera, her long blond hair swaying as she move.

“Good evening everyone and welcome to Fantasy Now! The official broadcast channel of any news regarding the upcoming release of Fantasy Royale. Tonight we have a special interview lined up for you.”

She winks at the camera.

“I’m sitting here today with Logan Andrews, lead designer and creator of Fantasy Royale.” She pauses only for some background applause. Logan takes his time waving to the crowd, his youthful eyes beaming.

“Mister Andrews…” Amanda starts after the applause settles down. Her eyes are fixated on Logan. I can see her straightening her torso ever so slightly to amplify the effect of her cleavage. She is good.

“Word from SinTech Entertainment is that there is only a few spots left for the contestants, is this true?”

Logan straightens his back. “Yeah, most spots have already been filled, but there is a handful of spots left open. I will personally make the final selection over the next coming days.”

Amanda perks up. “Can we expect the spots to be reserved for some last minute celebrities?” She keeps good control over her tone of voice, but I suspect she is about ready to burst from excitement. Amanda must be a gamer by heart. My kind of gal.

“Maybe, who knows? Anything can happen at this point. I aim to make the show as interesting as possible.” Logan shrugs, leaning comfortably back in his chair.

Sensing there isn’t any more information to gather here, Amanda smoothly switches over to a new topic.

“There has been quite an uproar on the forums lately among the core of the gaming community about the lack of information on the game’s mechanics. I myself am dying to see the specifics of the Pixie race. Are SinTech Entertainment planning on releasing any new information before game launch?”

Logan’s smile widens. I have no idea how that is anatomically possible.

“Please, call me Logan. All that formality is giving me the shivers.”

They smile warmly at one another. “Sadly dear, the investors won’t let me reveal much I’m afraid. You know, to keep things fair for the contestants.”

“What do you mean?” Amanda asks.

Logan scratches his beard. “Well, you know… some of the contestants have really deep pockets, and releasing too much data about the game mechanics for the public gives them an unfair advantage. We have seen countless times before how professional organizations gather and analyze data in a very short time. This would allow for some of the players to have an advantage before the game even starts.”

“Interesting, so it’s a way for you to even out the playing field for everyone?” Amanda is leaning in forward. She can smell a scoop.

“Well yeah, that’s the official statement on the matter…”

“You wouldn’t be so kind as to reveal just a tiny bit of flavor about how the game works for us would you?” Amanda presses on. Logan starts grinning again.

“Haha, of course my dear. Between you and me, it just makes things much more interesting doesn’t it? Make the players take a chance! Choose and play a race you really want to play based on your guts, and not the one you think will give you an edge. Unknown strengths and weaknesses can make players take a chance on any race, and some players will definitely find a hidden gem, while others… others will not be so lucky.” He winks.

“Fascinating…” Amanda lowers her shoulders. “But tell me, won’t there be some obvious choices? How can a hobbit hope to ever be able to match the strength of an ogre?”

Logan leans in closer. His face only inches away from Amanda’s.

“The same way any weak side throughout history has beaten stronger foes. Tactics and numerical advantage.”

Holy crap!

I can feel a shiver crawl down my spine. Did I just hear him right? That sounds… AWESOME! He was being sort of vague about it all, but he definitely just hinted that there is a deep tactical aspect that transcends any expectations I had about the game!

I WANT TO PLAY THIS GAME SO BAD!

I’m shaking. Shit. This game… Shit. Fuck. Why did they make this game when I don’t get to play it? The game is such a tease…

The rest of the interview continues in the background about upcoming events and profiling of the celebrities that will join the game.

Personally, I’m too riled up to pay any attention. I can’t believe this… I sigh. Now I’m getting depressed again…

Oh well. I can’t sit here all day reading up on a game I won’t get to play.

I get out of bed and prepare for work. The adrenaline from before is quickly draining from my system and the somber mood soon creeps into my very soul once more.

I take a quick shower before I get dressed. For clothes, I wear the same black hoodie and jeans I do every day. My imagination isn’t exactly top notch in the clothing department. I enter my equally spartan looking kitchen and grab the same dry slices of bread I eat every damn day. I soon have to leave.

My mood is hitting rock bottom.

With the rapid modernization process of modern society, a large portion of the population have been rendered obsolete. Further and further automatization processes creates an ever increasing rise in unemployment.

In the early 2000’s, the unemployment ratio around Europe was lingering around four to ten percent of the population. Not too bad in reality. This was easily sustainable levels for most societies. A couple of decades later however, when we developed our first artificial intelligences and affordable robots, society was thrown over itself. In just ten years, the rate of unemployment had risen to a staggering thirtyfive percent of the population.

Jobs became harder and harder to come by, and a race for higher education began. Naturally, most people don’t have the ability to become nano-engineers or neuroscientists, and this creates a clear divide among us. The ones who didn’t get to attain a higher education became bottom feeders of our society. Society’s surplus. Human trash.

Oh, I’m one of those by the way.

My life… well my life has really been a mess.

I never liked attending school and wasted my years playing video games and procrastinating like the best of us. I’m not trying to make excuses, but my life fell apart when my mom died on me at my eighteenth birthday.

My mom and I didn’t live a life in luxury. She had a decent job working as a quality-inspector at a local robotics factory. She didn’t have a fancy degree, but one wasn’t needed to check if all the computer chips had the correct shapes and all the little lamps were blinking. We weren’t wealthy, but we got by well enough. We were happy.

And it all ended the day my mom got hit by a drunk driver who was driving a non-automated car veered off the road and hit her while she was waiting for the bus.

And how was an eighteen year old kid who hadn’t even started college yet supposed to cope with that shit?

Surprisingly well actually...

With me just having come of age, and suddenly left all by myself, the world around me started to come apart. I had to sell the apartment, as I couldn’t afford the down payments. I had to sell everything we had. Every memory I had of my mother and my own upbringing; sold. For a few measly Euros.

The only thing I had left was twenty thousand euros, a bag of clothes and my FIVR helmet. Homeless, alone and devastated.

I managed to find a small studio apartment, which I now rent. I haven’t bothered buying any furniture apart from the dining room table, a microwave oven and the mattress. Can’t say I need it. I spend my days at work and my evenings immersed in Yggdrasil Online. And now I can’t even do that anymore.

The sound of water pouring down the window is all I hear while I tie my laces. I put on my standard timeworn gray jacket while I reach for my umbrella.

Can this day even get any worse?

Well… time to stay positive. I struggle a little, but I pull my facial muscles into some perverted kind of smile. Perhaps Richard died?

…

Maybe. That’d be great.

The small embers of my positive thinking shine weakly as I walk to the bus stop.