There was little time before I entered Codename: Freedom. Chewme was the only other person I knew that had been selected to participate in the experiment. It didn’t surprise me with his freakish size and athletic ability.

We started training. I already ran daily. To be a professional gamer meant you knew the benefits of keeping one’s body in shape. I followed their example. In many ways we were similar to endurance athletes, just not as extreme. I upped the number of miles I ran and added body weight training. Destiny was quick to set up a daily routine for me.

When the day came, my body hummed in excitement. I was alone, except for the kind curly brunette in a white coat guiding me down an elevator leading deep underground.

When the sterile metallic doors opened, my mouth dropped. I felt a tingling sensation in my knees. An underground expanse at least half a mile wide extended further than I could calculate. There was a polished steel walkway before me that seemed insignificant to the underground world I had just discovered.

Humor filled eyes met mine. The female Dr. must have grown to expect this kind of reaction. She placed her hand on my shoulder and motioned me forward.

The walk way reached out twenty meters before we met a yellow railing stopping us from falling to a painful death below. I didn’t hesitate to approach it and grabbed ahold of it tightly. Looking down, I saw them for the first time.

Hundreds of house size, black cube structures lined either side of the bunker running off into the expanse of the room.

My guide led me to a second elevator to our left that was little more than a steel cage. Entering, the creek of steel followed us down.

The cage opened to the ground level. Following the Doctor’s lead, we approached the first structure. As I neared, it was at least two stories tall, with numerous cords, metal arms and pipes coming out the top and the side facing the wall. It was too high to see the top of it, but there was movement.

Were these really what I thought they were?

I was suddenly thankful we had taken the advice to get in shape seriously. After centuries of virtual reality, neuro-linking was “the way” virtual reality worked. If you wanted to fight an orc, join a battle, siege a castle, blast some aliens, fly a spaceship, or explore new worlds there was no doubt that current technology would let you do just that. Could this machine do better?

“Sit here.”

She directed me to sit on an aluminum bench staring up at one of the house size machines. Looking around, there were other benches in front of each structure with players waiting.

“Impressive huh?” The lady said. She was looking at the house size machine-room before us. “We call it the Cube.”

Her eyes closed as she smiled to herself.

In all seriousness, I suspected that everything I thought I knew about virtual reality hardware I could throw out the window.

After a long while sitting, the time finally came. My doctor friend directed me through a doorway to one side of the Cube. She had me stand in the middle of the room as my eyes adjusted to the lack of light.

I soon dangled six feet in the air with countless industrial arms of all sizes hanging from the ceiling and reaching out to me from the walls. They came in all shapes and sizes. I stood on a platform that was compiled of dozens of smaller arms and platforms coming together under my feet.

To my embarrassment, I had no clothing on, but I had been left me alone.

There was a sickly, green light running along the wall just above head level that gave the room a haunting feel. Only the silhouettes of the massive mechanical arms were visible. I was surrounded.

A man’s voice sounded from a speaker in the wall. “We will now begin. First you will feel a slight chill, and then a loud sound will start the countdown. This is nothing to worry about. We are in the final stages of preparation.”

He wasn’t kidding about the chill. I proceeded to try and cling closer to myself for warmth, but it was a losing battle.

The promised loud siren started to go off like a dying whale. I realized in that moment that I would be spending a year without ever leaving this crazy machine. I held my breath.

The siren started to sound at a quicker tempo.

Something was coming.

It came quicker.

Then suddenly the remaining light ceased.

I screamed through grit teeth like a startled animal.

Darkness everywhere.

There was no logical threat, but I found myself posturing defensively.

Light slowly started to brighten all around. There was no light source. It came from every direction at once. Soon I stood in an empty white room with no walls, ceiling, or floor. The texture of the floor had even changed. It felt like I was standing on well hydrated earth. It was soft and smooth like a finely woven sheet.

“Welcome Lucius Edwards, to Codename: Freedom.” Came a kind woman’s voice from somewhere in the distance. No one was in the direction the voice had come from.

“Today you will be joining approximately 100,000 men and women in the largest virtual experiment in the history of the world.”

“To you Freedom will be a new world, to the viewers of the Metaverse, it will become the next big thing in reality entertainment. You will have no direct contact with anyone outside of Freedom, and all fan comments and messages will be scanned for information that might give you an unfair advantage. Once inside, there are many small starting cities and the total player population will be split between them randomly. Your starting city will be Willingham. I will now appear before you.”

A translucent, colorless face with the consistency of water appeared. She had a long elegant face, but was no doubt an artificial intelligence like Destiny.

“You can leave Freedom at any time, but if you do leave you cannot return. To do so, go to the city hall of any starting city. Please consider seriously what the consequences of leaving will mean. How will such an act affect your current followers and public image? There are thousands of people in line to take your place if you decide to leave. Lucius, your chances of becoming a professional gamer will be greatly hindered. But if you stay and fight...”

There was no surprise that the game’s AI new about me. All they had to do was scan my social media.

“It is time for you to choose.” She smiled reassuringly.

“What will be your player name?”

“Lucius Edwards.” I answered.

“Very well. Lucius Edwards accepted. Your body size, weight and facial features have been uploaded. Because of the nature of the experiment you will not have an option to change them. If you want to get stronger, then you must work hard.”

Behind the AI, three large wooden displays with five shelves apiece shot up from the floor. It had been impossible to see the floor because everything was white with literally no horizon or objects to give it context.

“You currently have 10 silver coins to spend on the items before you. Just look at them for longer than a second and the price will appear. Money works as follows. 100 copper coins equals 1 silver. 20 silver equals 1 gold. 20 gold is equal to 1 silver talon. 20 silver talons are equal to 1 gold talon. You may now proceed.”

Looking down, I wore silver boxer briefs and a sleeveless undershirt. No socks? Immediately I felt the fabric of my shirt and at my waist. The shirt was more finely woven than the boxers, so the only difference I felt was the texture. How was that possible? Literally moments ago I had been without clothing. When had I been dressed? How had it happened? It seemed the Cube I was inside was also my personal assistant.

Stepping forward, I was immediately fearful I would fall off the platform. I stood 6 feet off the ground. My senses swore I was in a virtual world, but I knew my consciousness had not been placed into the normal dream state that allowed deep dives. Logic told me the Cube had already been activated and I was safe. I reached out one foot at a time and tested the environment. After I had gone ten feet, twice as far as I needed to go to fall off the platform, I started to relax.

With a deep sigh, I walked the rest of the way. Somehow the Cube was simulating my real world steps into this world. There was no treadmill and every step felt as solid as walking on real ground. My toes clenched at the ground and felt a rubbery surface.

At least I wasn’t as cold as before. My newly acquired boxers and shirt blocked the appropriate amount of air and radiated my body heat back at me.

I hadn’t felt this uncertain about technology or a virtual world in a long time. I was a newbie. There was also a vividness to this place that wasn’t a visual thing. I couldn’t place it.

My heart thundered in my chest. My pulse quickened.

Standing before the three displays, I found myself unsure how to proceed. The left display held clothing and armor. If I spent all of my coins I could get a thin leather vest and leggings. It was the best armor on display, but I didn’t believe it was worth the cost. The sand colored, cotton tunic and pants were only 2 silver and seemed fairly durable. A pair of leather boots came with the set.

The next stand held a number of purses and bags, sleeping bags, and hats... Why hats? On a single shelf sat canteens and pouches of a variety of dried fruits, seeds and nuts.

Finally, there were weapons. Even though they were all rather worn, the bronze swords, spears and axes stole my attention.

I grabbed a used bronze short sword and examined how it felt in my hand. The texture, weight and balance were pretty good. A single swing was all it took to feel the difference in feedback my muscles gave in comparison to normal virtual reality. Normally deep diving bypassed the nervous system and spoke to your brain directly. When you swing a sword in deep dive, the motion is always perfectly smooth. Almost too fluid to be real. The variables increase significantly when your own arm is involved.

Grabbing the heavy cotton clothing I got dressed. The sword had cost me 4 silver and the outfit 2. With 4 silver left I grabbed a well fitted hemp backpack that went over each shoulder and tied across the chest, filling it with a pouch of mixed nuts and raisins on top of my new sleeping bag and a canteen of water. After that I was left with a single silver.

Since I had no idea what Freedom would throw at me, I thought being prepared for anything would be better than just being ready for a fight. All this talk about survival, and looking at the items offered, made it seem insane to pass up this opportunity to not take advantage.

Not seeing anything else I just had to have, I kept the final silver as a trade item in case I had not chosen well.

“Your total is 9 silver. You will find your silver coin in the coin purse on your belt.”

With my backpack on my shoulder and sword at my side, I turned to face the AI. Though the pack really wasn’t too heavy, I didn’t expect to feel it at all, which set me off balance. I easily caught myself, but my moment of clumsiness clarified for me what the vividness of this world really was. Not only was I experiencing this game with my waking consciousness, but my real world coordination came with it. It was not something a deep dive could measure or simulate. I was really in the game.

Looking down, a small leather pouch was now fastened to the side of my belt.

“That finalizes your purchases. Now it is time to reveal to you a few things that have been hidden until now.

First, there is a leveling system in Freedom just as in the role playing games, but that is where the similarity ends. In Freedom, the system is based off military grade mixed reality. Similar technology is used by you every day in the real world. Mixed reality warns you with information about your surroundings that can save your life in an emergency. This has revolutionized the battlefield by giving individual soldiers the ability to see things that they normally couldn’t and hear things impossible for the human ear. This information makes them super human.

Imagine seeing the threat before it presents itself and being able to spot any ambush before it happens. This is what Freedom’s Leveling System is based on. You will have the most advanced military tech become available to you as you level. It will be implemented like a normal gaming system and keep true to Freedoms fantasy setting. Choose wisely.

Side note. All of this tech is available in the real world under a different name. Master these systems and you will have a set of skills to add to your resume.”

“Here. I am unlocking your two starting systems, the Personnel Condition Monitor and Metaverse Access Hub. There are a few hidden systems we will not speak about to encourage you to explore the MR menu.”

As she was saying it, the Personnel Condition Monitor popped up to the left in my peripheral vision. It was ethereal and only lost that status when I looked directly at it.

No surprise, it was basically a red health bar with a large round circle above it that shown green. There was no advanced training needed to interpret it. Green meant I was healthy. To its left there was an outline of a person. This should indicate what part of my body was injured if I took damage in the future. Clicking on the person brought up a very basic Character Status screen. It resembled parchment in color and texture, but was really just a digital display.

It read as follows.

Character Status

Player Name: Lucius

Level: 1

Combat Level: Unknown ?

Strength: 28 ?

Dexterity: 40 ?

Endurance: 33 ?

Abilities Unlocked: Personnel Condition Monitor (Basic), Metaverse Access Hub.

What was with the question marks and combat level unknown? The stats themselves were also fairly high for level 1 weren’t they? It sounded like my stats and level really wouldn’t have any direct relationship, so these must be a numerical estimate of my strength, dexterity and endurance that my real body was capable of. So my stats would grow as I got in better shape. Very nice.

“As you see, this menu is basic just as its rank suggests. Your height and weight are not used in the calculation. A tall person with the same stats as a shorter person may have less powerful movements because it takes more strength to move longer limbs. Although, the tall person maybe faster than the short person with the same stats because they have longer legs. As you level you will unlock higher levels of detail and numerous tools to help you plan your training.”

Closing out of the Character Status screen, I removed my focus from the Personnel Condition Monitor, (health bar) and looked back to my AI guide.

“Very good. You can access the Metaverse Access Hub in two ways. The first is with a verbal command. Say ‘activate Metaverse Access Hub’, or Hub for short.”

I did just that.

A Game Menu popped up in the same parchment style window the Character Status screen had. There was a list of different options.

Metaverse Access Hub

Personnel Condition Monitor

Lore

User Interface

Metaverse

Everything was grayed out currently except for Personnel Condition Monitor and Metaverse. The rest must be things that I would unlock as I progressed. Clicking on Metaverse a very familiar list of options jumped up from the scroll as a holographic user interface. It was a grid system where I simply had to touch the option I wanted and it would allow access to that part of the Metaverse.

Find a Mentor

Freedom News

Player Channel

It was pretty straightforward, and we were locked out of the majority of the Metaverse as expected. They took no chances with us cheating

Find a Mentor was as it sounded. It was currently grayed out, but there would be mentors available to teach different skills and martial arts.

This aspect of the game had been highly publicized. Hundreds of famous names and faces had been advertised. Every form of martial arts and fighting system would be available.

Freedom News was a link with a number of well-known gaming news celebs who had talk shows and internet channels. They didn’t completely cut us off from the outside world.

Player Channel gave me a portal to read comments by my fans. There was no way to respond to them sadly. I currently had 260,447 followers. The number had only grown since it became public knowledge I would be a participant in Freedom.

Already there were 72,581 people watching me live! It was no surprise since it was the first day of Freedom. It was a personal record and all I had to do was show up! I knew opening day for Freedom was going to be a big event, but this was beyond all expectations.

Unsheathing my sword, I stood in an open stance, my arms open to fully display what I now wore. After a few moments, the camera angle was exactly where I wanted it and a new 3D selfie was created.

Immediately after my image was posted as my main profile pic, over 2,000 new viewers started watching. A countless number of people were scurrying around online trying to find out all the information they could about Freedom. I had to take advantage of every photo op. It wasn’t exactly communicating with my fans, but it was close.

“The other ways of accessing your Access Hub is through the hand gesture…”

Bringing her hands together in her lap, like an open book, the AI brought them to her face. This gesture also brought up the hub as she said.

“That is it Lucius. We are finished except for one final thing. If you get injured while playing you will feel pain. Injury simulation is also at 100% realism with no time limit. If you die in the game, you will feel 100% of the pain associated with that death. There is little doubt you will survive the experience, but there is no guarantee that it won’t harm you psychologically. The study of such trauma, and how people rise above it, is one of the focuses of the Codename: Freedom experiment. You will also drop all of the equipment and money you were carrying, and then respawn at the inn in your city of residence. Thank you for participating.”

Wait what? 100% pain from injuries? Pain stimulation wasn’t a new thing, but the most any system could simulate legally was up to 40% for 5 seconds.

My gut tightened like a fist. I wracked my brain to search for any information related to this.

Nothing. They had hidden this aspect on purpose. What was I getting myself into? What other surprises did they have waiting?

I dangled six feet in the air with dozens of mechanical arms surrounding me. Such machinery could tear my body in pieces and now I knew it was designed with a very sadistic ability. To perfectly simulate pain.

A cold sweat broke out on my back and chest. I clenched my fist trying to keep myself from feeling woozy.

My reaction to the news had made me oblivious to a new countdown. When the voice reached zero everything went black.