Eric lifted his body out of bed, carefully adjusting his body to avoid the awful creaking from the old spring mattress that barely supported his modest weight. He cringed internally as he slid off the edge, failing to prevent the rusty springs from scratching against themselves and releasing their dreadful groan across his small apartment. Eric walked hurriedly straight to the bathroom hoping to escape the sound. He was following his usual morning routine that had been established long ago, but an outside observer would immediately notice one anomaly. Eric was wearing an unwavering smile, and not even the desperate state of his rundown apartment could wipe it from his face.

It was finally the day Eric had been waiting for, and he could barely contain his excitement. It was impossible not to let it show through on his normally stone cold exterior. As he entered the bathroom, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He flipped on the dim overhead light and briefly focused on the image staring back at him. Eric was never one of the strongest or largest kids growing up, but he stayed healthy and toned for his six-foot frame. He ran his hands through his messy brown hair and noticed a shimmer in his dark blue eyes. It was something Eric hadn’t seen in a long time, and it invigorated him. The shimmer represented hope for Eric, and it was there because he knew it was the last morning he would have to wake up in his shitty apartment.

Eric’s apartment was located in the middle of a government housing complex outside the city of Seattle. The complex served as home to many low-class citizens like Eric. They all scraped by on the minimal support provided by the barely recognizable government. There was effectively zero opportunity for anyone living in the complex, more commonly referred to as the slums. The unemployment rates topped fifty percent according to the last global census, and there were no signs of any potential improvement. Long ago, the upper class tossed aside the silent majority to the decaying suburbs out of sight. They had no desire to see the suffering masses from their plush high-rises and gated neighborhoods.

Crime and violence ruled in the slums, and there was no chance of escape without a huge stroke of luck. The truly fortunate ones were cherry picked out as infants by the infertile city snobs too cheap for fertility treatments. They opted to look charitable to their friends by adopting, but everyone knew the real truth. Everyone else in the slums soldiered on as best they could, keeping their heads down and hoping to find a tiny scrap of happiness in their shared misery.

That was until the announcement of the virtual citizen program. It offered the chance of a lifetime for those too smart to get caught up in the gangs of the slums, but too dumb to find another way out. It promised the most craved thing of all, a fresh start. The program fed on the desires of those with nothing to lose and everything to gain. A new beginning, the ultimate dream in the eyes of someone stuck in a broken system created by the privileged. Eric was one of many overwhelmed by the possibility. It was his chance to control his own fate and be a part of something important, and he wouldn’t dare pass it up.

Eric was preparing to go back to Seattle for the first time since he signed up for the virtual citizen program several months before. The program’s announcement flipped the world upside down, and he couldn’t wait to get his chance to take part in it. He was scheduled to complete his immersion in the city’s government-run immersion center. The process would allow him to leave behind his old life and enter the virtual world of Teurilia to start anew. During the initial signup, he held the required forms with shaky hands, unable to comprehend a technology capable of transferring one's consciousness from a physical body to a virtual one. He was baffled by the possibility and could hardly believe it was actually real.

Eric knew everything would be different the moment he signed the form confirming his participation in the program. He didn’t have access to all the information feeds about Teurilia like the upper class, but the information he was able to gather and the rumors swirling through his district of the slums left him amazed. The opportunities and freedom a life in Teurilia offered were breathtaking to someone living in poverty like Eric. He had already started dreaming up grand plans for his future life and how he would make the most of it.

Eric quickly finished his bathroom routine and hastily changed into one of his two remaining outfits. He tossed his few remaining items and clothes into a small box to drop off at a donation center on his way to the immersion center. Eric took one last look around the cramped apartment as he reached the front door. He hesitated momentarily, but the brief look at the dark hole he lived in was more than enough to reassure him of his decision. Eric exited without regret, dropping his only keycard into the landlord's mail slot on the way out of the building. He walked excitedly toward the train station a few blocks away. Eric passed by the familiar food distribution center and the handful of retail shops lining his street that sold second-hand goods. He was confident he wouldn’t miss the long lines in the winter to get the weekly handouts or the rude shopkeepers that haggled over every penny.

Eric arrived at the train station in high spirits and stepped up to one of the automated kiosks to purchase a ticket. The machine handled his order with typical robotic efficiency swallowing the last remnants of his savings in one smooth transaction. Eric boarded the already waiting train and slipped into an open seat near the back exit doors of the last train car. He waited anxiously for its departure as the other passengers slowly trudged onboard over the next ten minutes. The train would only depart the station once all the passengers were seated and secured, causing Eric to release a deep breath of impatience.

Finally after several automated announcements to train eased away from the terminal and got up to speed. Eric gazed out across the broken landscape from his foggy window. It was filled with the depressing sight of buildings threatening to collapse from years of neglect and abuse. Eric had always dreamt of more from life and wished for an opportunity to start a new life away from all the poverty and sadness found in the slums. He felt with the release of Teurilia and introduction of the virtual migration program he was finally offered the chance to realize those dreams. He would finally have the same opportunities as everyone else and the emotions he felt at the realness of it all almost overwhelmed him.

His mind had hardened living amidst violence and heartbreak throughout his entire life. With a suicidal father and the death of his mother to a deadly virus strain when he was a teenager, Eric never learned to trust many people in his life. It was one trait he vowed to try and improve once he entered Teurilia. Eric knew there was good in the world and keeping himself locked away from others would land him right back where he started. He was being given an opportunity to get a fresh start to live his life in the way he wanted and carve his own path, and he planned to take full advantage of it. He vowed to present himself to the world on his own terms without the instant judgment given to anyone from the lower class.

The train ride to the city dragged by unceremoniously. The slums unhurriedly faded in the rearview and each minute felt like a slow crawl forward for Eric. The trip ended after a little over an hour. The train pulled into Seattle’s central station located in the center of the sprawling city. Eric didn’t hesitate to exit and was one of the first passengers out onto the platform. He headed through the terminal at a swift pace. He momentarily glanced up at the historic clock hanging high overhead in the main terminal and confirmed he still had two hours until his appointment at the immersion center.

He had planned to arrive early for his appointment and was relieved to see he still had plenty of time. He didn’t want to take any chances of unexpected delays that would prevent him from reaching the immersion center punctually. He left the train station eagerly and stepped onto the sidewalk outside. The spring sun reflected brightly off the tall glass skyscrapers causing him to blink rapidly to help his eyes adjust. The city was nothing short of amazing compared to the poorly constructed slums. It was a dream of many to live and work in a large urban city like Seattle. It offered the latest consumer technology, clean streets, and security that was desperately absent in the slums.

Eric observed the city’s residents rushing around for a few moments before tightening his grip on the small box of belongings he carried and heading toward the donation center around the corner from the station. He had meticulously mapped out his route in the weeks leading up to his appointment. He had planned out every possible detail to ensure there were no hiccups.

He arrived at the small donation center and was greeted by a computerized female voice. The donation center turned out to be completely automated, and a gentle voice directed Eric through the various drop boxes neatly lining the center’s far wall. Each slot was assigned a category, and the voice helped efficiently identify and sort Eric’s small box of belongings into the correct categories, advising him where each item should be placed.

The entire process only took a couple minutes at the direction of the pleasant voice. Eric dropped in his last possession, a small metal bird statue he had inherited from his late parents, without regret. He stepped back outside with only the clothes on his back and a broad smile on his face. He felt like the final weight holding him to his former life had been lifted, and it left him with a feeling of elation.

He headed directly to the immersion center after exiting the donation center, quickening his pace with each step. Eric felt the excitement building in his chest, and his heart began to beat rapidly. He reached the tall gray concrete building in no time and stopped right outside for a moment. He stared up at the overbearing structure. It filled his entire vision, and it was impossible for him to see the top that reached far into the clouds above. It was a testament to the volume of participants in the virtual citizen program. The massive structure had been converted into an immersion center within a few weeks of initial signup after a huge surge in interest.

Eric entered the lobby and found himself amid a crowd of people wearing shabby clothes that were regularly worn in the low-class districts. Unsurprisingly, the primary clientele for the program was from the slums. Eric scanned the room and located the registration desk along the opposite wall; it was surrounded by a small crowd of participants. With no other choice, he fell into the back of the line snaking out from the desk to await his turn to sign-in for his appointment.

He quietly listened to the other participants discussing their plans for their new virtual lives, and it only reassured him a grand adventure awaited him. Although Teurilia was initially designed as a game, it did not skimp on the freedom offered to its players. The game was developed to evolve with every player interaction and create a unique experience for each person to provide a level of immersion far ahead of its time. It was a world filled with epic fantasy and offered spectacular feats of magic which intrigued Eric and many others.

It was well known Teurilia was full of secrets and mysteries to encourage players to explore its depths, but it also offered simple lives for those seeking to live in comfort and peace. There was something to be said about finding a simple profession with a promise of a comfortable living, but Eric had bigger ambitions than to settle into a simple life. It was hard for Eric to completely understand why many people would waste such an incredible opportunity for a fresh start to become a farmer or some other general crafting profession. To each, their own was a motto he used to brush away his misunderstanding.

The long wait passed slowly as Eric listened to the other participants discuss their plans. They talked eagerly about anything and everything for their new lives, and Eric learned many had already made plans to band together in the new world. It made him regret not having a single person to lean on in his own depressing life, but it invigorated him to focus even harder on finding true friendships once he entered the virtual reality. He had carefully avoided close relationships in fear of losing someone close to him, but Teurilia promised something that stifled all of his insecurities.

It offered immortality, the long sought human desire that eluded humanity at every turn. The idea that a person could live forever in a virtual world was a revelation that had yet to be fully explored by psychologists of the world. Time would tell how the effect would impact the malleable minds of humans. Taking away the fear of death would likely be the thesis of thousands of doctorate papers within the next decade.

Eric was forever the strategist and tucked away valuable information he gleaned from the conversations spilling out around him in the teeming lobby. He had always found his mind tended to focus on the long-term and would try to analyze every detail available in hopes of determining the most ideal decision. Eric had always soaked up information like a sponge, devouring any publicly available information about his favorite topics. It was part of the reason he had stayed out of trouble in the slums. He learned to identify conflict ahead of time and would avoid it with extreme caution whenever possible.

Eric’s analytical mind had caused him to become extremely frustrated by the limited amounts of information about Teurilia available on the public net. It left him desperate for more details about the new world. He wanted to ensure he made the best decisions was cautious not to corner himself into a useless character configuration that offered little long-term benefits. Eric had prepared and studied as much as possible in the months leading up to his virtualization, but he still felt woefully ignorant. He would be forced to make many snap decisions moving forward, so he decided to focus on the variables within his area of control whenever possible.

He spent most of his time researching the decisions he would have to make immediately following his immersion, during the character creation process. He knew he had to be particularly thoughtful when considering these choices since they would have one of the largest impacts on his future growth. It was intimating to consider the decisions he made would potentially follow him forever. Living in a virtual world, especially; one based on a role-playing game would take some adjustment. Teurilia being intended at its inception to be a role playing game added another layer of importance to his decisions.

The developers, in all their grand wisdom; decided a change to the base design of Teurilia could have unforeseen consequences and concluded the game world was suitable to support the needs of its new virtual citizens. With only a few minor tweaks to their masterpiece, it was announced the test trials of virtual migration passed with glowing results. The program moved forward rapidly with the support of impoverished countries across the globe. The mass popularity of the game from real life players also helped support its almost immediate adoption.

According to the news agencies, the technology allowing virtualization was partially controlled by Teurilia’s ever growing artificial intelligence. This was the key that allowed stable transfer and was initially discovered accidentally. One of the brightest technical specialists realized the full virtual immersion pods were accessing more than just the senses of a player and found a way to amplify the connection. With the help of an A.I., the first virtual transfer was performed and initially caused an underground panic at the unexpected results. It wasn’t until a cheeky executive offered to spin the discovery into the greatest political tool ever created, did the technology take on a new life as a saving grace to the planet.

The A.I. that controlled Teurilia was reported to be beyond anything previously created, and the architects had sealed many secrets away no one could access outside of the virtual realm, adding another layer of mystery to the world. The designers relied on the game’s A.I. to learn and grow organically. The independence from outside influence was part of the draw for many players seeking to escape their oppressive lives. It gave the appearance of fairness, but money still ruled even in Teurilia.

The wealthy took advantage of the real money exchange, converting their five thousand dollars a month limit into piles of in-game gold. This resulted in bloated pockets for the alliance of corporations in the real world that controlled Teurilia and all its large-scale automated server farms. The good news for virtualized players without deep pockets or real-life sponsors was the A.I. moderating the inflow and outflow of gold ensured the economy wouldn’t collapse under massive inflation. It was reported some of the most popular kingdom’s central banks had already started limiting real money transfers. The reports claimed the non-player characters or NPCs as they are called managing the banks simply refused to process the transfers. This, in turn, infuriated players looking to complete that legendary set of gear by purchasing one last item from the auction house but gave penniless players hope things would be different than in their past lives.

Eric finally reached the front desk after a long wait and stepped up to one of the workers who oversaw the sign-in process. The worker was a middle aged woman with short cut black hair that ran down to her pointed chin. She was vigorously typing at her terminal when he stepped up to the high counter of the desk. She gave him a quick glance and paused her work to pass a tablet across the counter.

“Confirm the information and sign the waiver at the bottom of the screen,” she said callously.

Eric discovered some of his information was already populated in the digital form. He noticed small scanners pass over his face and the remaining information flickered into existence on the digital screen. He shook off the feeling of privacy invasion and confirmed everything was correct on the form. He hesitated briefly before signing the waiver at the bottom. The waiver indemnified the government and associated parties of liability for any mishaps.

“Typical bureaucrats always have to cover their own asses,” Eric thought as he slid the tablet back across the counter. The worker immediately exchanged it for an ID card containing his appointment information.

“Take the elevator through the doors behind me to the room listed on your ID card,” were the only instructions given by the woman before she turned back to her terminal and continued typing.

Eric nodded and replied with a habitual, “Thanks.”

He stepped back from the counter and made his way through the doors on the left side of the desk where the worker directed. He passed through the designated doors and found an elevator bank. He noticed there were at least a dozen elevator doors on each side of the wall. He found an empty elevator near the middle and boarded tentatively. He glanced down at his ID card and confirmed the room number of 4853 while he waited for the doors to close. The elevator showed the 48th floor on its queue having automatically sensed Eric’s ID card as he stepped onboard. The elevator waited for a couple more passengers to enter before the doors silently closed. As soon as they sealed, the elevator rapidly ascended the tall building. Eric was the last to get off after two quick stops. The elevator doors closed immediately after he stepped into the 48th-floor lobby and he was left in still silence.

He looked around uncertainly for a moment as he began to feel excitement and anxiety build in his chest. He found a simple etching on the wall indicating his assigned room was to the right of the lobby. He made his way toward it through an entirely white painted hallway. It was completely absent of décor and color except for the various doors and numbers etched into the walls directing participants to their assigned rooms. Eric found the number 4853 imprinted into the last door in the long hallway. He stood facing his assigned room and was left unsure of what to do next, staring at the sealed door patiently.

He stepped forward in front of the door to look for a clue and heard a hardly noticeable beeping sound. The door slid open and revealed a bare white room with a single capsule centered in the middle.

A soft woman’s voice broke the eerie silence, “Enter for virtual immersion treatment.”

Eric slowly crossed the threshold, and the door slid closed behind him with a soft thud. He glanced back anxiously as his nerves tightened. Eric realized the time had finally come. He felt bizarre knowing it was the last time he would be in his physical body. He had to mentally calm himself and remember he was facing the opportunity of a lifetime.

The voice returned and interrupted Eric’s thoughts, “Insert ID card into the console.”

A white pillar rose from the floor as the voice spoke, revealing a single thin slot perfectly shaped to accept the card he was holding with a shaky hand. Eric stepped up to the pillar and slid in the ID card. The console returned an affirmative beep and immediately escaped back into the floor.

“Remove all clothing and enter the immersion unit,” the voice said mechanically.

He could only assume the immersion unit was the capsule in front of him, so he began carefully removing all his clothes. Fortunately, a bin appeared from the floor while he undressed to be used for disposal, relieving his momentary stress of where to place his dirty clothes. He pulled off his torn t-shirt and grungy jeans and dropped them into the bin. He felt a small shiver creep across his body as he made his way toward the capsule.

As he approached, an entrance panel broke away from the capsule’s seamless side and revealed a cushioned interior. He settled inside after examining the capsule for a moment, sinking into the soft material. The panel closed gently and prevented any light from entering. Eric suddenly found his breathing starting to rapidly increase, and he could hear his heart beating heavily in his chest. He felt a wave of hyper-awareness, and after losing his sight, his sense of hearing and touch seemed to dramatically increase.

The mechanical voice returned and calmed his nerves, “The immersion process will begin in 5 seconds, do not resist.”

The capsule came to life and straps appeared around Eric’s wrists, ankles, chest and waist tightly holding him in place. He took a deep breath knowing it was all part of the process. He recalled the details explained during the registration process and described on the waiver form he had previously signed.

The capsule swept a red light across his body, completing a full body scan followed by the injection of thick needles along his neck and spine. The needles pumped a wave of micro biotic sensors into his blood stream. Eric felt the sensors crawl throughout his body as they mapped all of his nervous and muscular systems. He squeezed the cushion of the capsule tightly in response and let out a short yell when he felt an unexpected sharp pain run down his spine.

His head started to spin, and the straps began to feel tight across his bare skin. He slowly began to lose consciousness. He closed his eyes for the last time in his former world and felt his mind float away from his body as it was sent to his new one in the world of Teurilia.