“Look Michael, it isn’t going to happen,” the Career Counselor told me.

I looked back at the man. He was a veteran of thirty years in the United Earth Navy, and his son was one of my best friends. If he said it wasn’t going to happen I believed him, but my stubborn streak wouldn’t let me just give up like that. I responded, “Why not? I have almost completed my initial tour of duty, have no marks against me in my file, and I even managed to get two degrees while still doing my job.”

The older man smiled and said, “You have. Granted I’m not sure what a degree in Mythological Studies will do for you, but the degree in Military History doesn’t hurt. It’s not your capability that is in question. I’ll level with you. If you wanted to become an officer for a post that didn’t require a security clearance you could go far. You however are trying to get into Military Intelligence. That involves a substantial background check, including looking into your relatives. While there is nothing illegal going on, your father is an unknown and your mother is in debt. You have a college loan to pay off, which is a moot point with the military subsidizing the cost, but your younger sister is also in college. You wouldn’t be able to get the security clearance necessary.”

There it was, like always, money made the world go around. I had joined the military to help pay for college and start a career that would carry me out of the near poverty I had grown up in. My friend Ken had told me his father could help me choose a good path, and I had gone for it. While I had done well in the physical demands of the military; I had always known it would be my mind and my ability to absorb and break down information that would help me succeed. Unfortunately I hadn’t considered the problem of an unknown father or the family financial situation when I put forth my desire to go into the officer program.

“So my option is to either be an officer in a job where I’m going to be spinning my wheels, or muster out and start over?” I asked.

A calculating look entered the old man’s eyes as he looked at me, “Maybe not. Look I don’t want to get your hopes up, but there is another option that will allow you to start fresh. It’s a bit of a gamble, and will require you to push yourself to your limits. If it works however you could be set for the rest of your life.”

I was interested so I asked, “What can you tell me?”

“Not much, mostly because I don’t know all the details. You have heard about the Pioneer mission right?”

I nodded; the United Earth Federation was launching its first colony ship, the Pioneer, into deep space on route to a new planet for colonization. No one knew how to get a place on the ship, but many adventurous souls were gnashing their teeth to see a new world. I asked, “What about it?”

“Apparently anyone in good standing with the military who will be mustering out within the next few months has the option of going on the journey, provided they agree to serve four years after landfall on the militia or in civil service positions. About half the people this was offered to have declined the option because of family obligations. There are rumors that colonists will have the opportunity to gain land and wealth of their own on the way to the new planet but I don’t know the details,” he continued.

I considered the old veteran. Even if he had more information, it was likely being kept secret from the public and he had always been a straight shooter. He wouldn’t tell me what the details were, but if he was offering me the chance it had to be worth it. I asked, “Is there a catch I need to know about?”

He waggled his hand in a so-so gesture and said, “Nothing that I can share that isn’t obvious. It’s a long journey to another star system, so time will pass here while you’re on your way there. So you will be giving up on any life here. You can’t take any wealth you have here with you, but everyone will be getting a fresh start.”

I caught his hedging of the catch and knew there would be another catch to this obviously good deal. The fact that he couldn’t share it bothered me a little, but I asked anyway, “And the not obvious part?”

He grinned and said, “Without violating any rules all I can say is you won’t be the only one looking for a fresh start.”

I nodded, my mind spinning with the limited information and forming chains of logic that gave me a few dozen possible reasons for others seeking a fresh start. The most likely options being either minor criminals seeking to get away from their past, or others that were in hiding such as those under witness protection; or people like me with family history that would hold them back from being able to rise as far as their talents would take them.

I smiled and said, “Where do I sign up?”

He returned my smile and reached into his desk to pull out some papers, “Well first I give you this Non-Disclosure Agreement.”

We began the process that would put me on the UEF Pioneer.

@ @ @ @ @ @

Six months later I found myself settling myself into a long term stasis pod while a bored technician droned on with his safety speech, telling me how to get out in the case of an emergency and how I had nothing to worry about. I had already read through the technical documents regarding the pods. While I didn’t understand the specifics of how they worked, I had memorized the safety features and general use information. Tests had indicated that the mind had to be kept active during prolonged stasis, such as would be required for the travel between stars, or the mind would atrophy along with the body. While keeping the body active had long ago been mastered for the pods, it was keeping the mind going that had proven to be a problem. People as a whole grew bored with repetitive exercises that most researchers had tried to implement. Knight Technologies had introduced the idea of giving the players a game to play instead; something that would simulate life, but provide challenges to the people in stasis. Full Immersion Virtual Reality technology was still a dream when they came up with the idea, but the stasis pods proved to be the technology that was lacking. Knight Technologies made enough money with their ground breaking Beyond the Looking Glass game, which was based loosely on the classic Alice in Wonderland story, when it was released. Now apparently we would be immersed in a new version of the game, using the same core system, known as Project Looking Glass.

I thanked the technician when he was done with his briefing and settled in, breathing deeply as darkness took me, only to open my eyes seemingly moments later to find myself sitting in a comfortable rocking chair looking at a small blonde woman petting a white rabbit across from me in a matching chair.

I stuttered a bit and said, “Hello.”

The woman smiled, and I could admit she bore a passing resemblance to the old Disney version of Alice, as she said, “Greetings, and welcome to Project Looking Glass. I am Kathryn and I will be your guide for the start of your adventure.”

I chuckled and said, “So not Alice then.”

She smiled softly and said, “No; but I am the AI in charge of helping settle new players into the game, and explaining the rules of the contest.”

“Which do we do first?” I asked.

“Which would you prefer?” she asked in response.

I pondered for a moment. I hadn’t played many games, but knew that if I was going to build myself toward a specific goal it would help in the long term. I stated, “How about the contest rules first then.”

She nodded and said, “The contest is relatively simple. Each player will be able to eventually earn land and wealth in the game. The world setting is a mirror to the planet Seras that you are traveling to. A portion of the land you claim within the game, and prove you can hold, will be yours to begin your homestead on when you arrive. Due to the time dilation within the game, and the length of the journey, you will have effectively twenty years to stake your claim.”

The math took barely an eye blink as I realized that meant that there was a four to one ratio of time, as the trip was scheduled to take five years to cross the distance. I asked, “How much is a portion?”

“That would depend on how much you held. It is listed as a sliding scale. Anything over one hundred acres would be subject to diminishing returns,” she answered.

That made sense, even as far back as the European Dark ages a plot of land that size was able to support a large family. This meant that placement of the claim would be important. I asked, “What is to stop other players from trying to claim the same land? Do we get any resources at the end of the contest?”

Kathryn shook her head and answered, “Only you can prevent others from claiming your land. As to resources, a portion of the wealth you earn during the time can be converted to resources or tools to help you develop your land. The exact price will depend on how much wealth is gained within the game. I know that basic housing will be provided to anyone who claims a holding, but beyond that will require you to prove yourself.”

Now I understood the gamble that the counselor had referred to. If I didn’t earn enough to start a life for myself, I would be back to square one. At the same time I could manage significantly more that what I started with. In addition it seemed that all players would be starting on the same foot regardless of previous financial standing.

“What about guilds, or clans, or whatever they are called in this game?” I asked as the thought struck me.

She smiled and responded, “Not many have thought that far ahead to ask me about group claims. The terms are interchangeable depending on the world region as far as what you are asking. For the most part Guilds will refer to various trade specialists such as crafters and gatherers. For the purpose of this conversation I will use the term Clan as it doesn’t have much of a place outside of a family group within the game. If a clan holds land; each member of the clan is entitled to an equal share, or a share defined by the clan charter, of the land they hold. The wealth of the clan will be used to determine additional purchases after landfall for housing and support. Individual purchases will be made for individual land claims. It will be recommended for players to be part of a clan they can get along well with as if the clan holds land they will likely be neighbors.”

I considered that, it would seem that a large enough clan could hold an equally large territory. It did bring up a concern for much further in the future however and I asked, “What about future colonists? If the land is all claimed before they arrive how will they get a chance to start their life here?”

A small giggle erupted from her mouth and she answered, “Very good. Only claims on the eastern continent of the planet are guaranteed. In addition any land claim will have a secure claim of twenty acres that will not be taken away from you or your family while a member lives or until ten generations have passed. Claims made on other land masses are exempt from this rule except for the island chains within five hundred miles of the continent. The details will be announced for defending a far off claim when the next colony ship is ready to be launched. Do you have any more questions regarding the contest?”

A few questions tickled the back of my mind, but I couldn’t quite bring them forward, so I asked, “Is there a way to ask further questions during game play?”

She nodded, “Temples to the gods will permit you to ask questions of the game AI, me, at a later date. It is in message format so be sure to include the details you wish to know about. If the question is common a notice will be provided to all players in some manner. If that is all I will explain the game and we can proceed with your character creation.”

I nodded my acceptance and she explained the game restrictions. Most of it was standard fare for a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG). The major rule however was Non Player Characters (NPCs) should not be told that the players were playing a game. If this was done the player would be penalized and their statement garbled. We were expected to immerse ourselves in the world. NPCs had some knowledge of the game mechanics but thought it was a standard way of life.

“So mention of statistics, depending on context, is fine; but saying we are playing a game is a no go?” I asked.

Kathryn replied, “That is correct. Be careful of what and how you bring up game information, even among other players, as you never know who is listening.”

I accepted the caveat and said, “What about character creation. How do we do that?”

Kathryn waved her hand and four medallions on simple chains on a small coffee table appeared between us. Next to the medallions was a small sheet of paper and a mirror. “You may use the mirror to make minor physical adjustments to your appearance. The paper holds a listing of your statistics, and the medallions each represent a class option available to you. Once you have finalized your appearance and looked at your character sheet I will explain the statistics.”

I looked in the mirror first. Instead of my reflection it showed a three dimensional model of me along with some various sliders to adjust it. I was listed at six feet two inches, and two hundred and fifty pounds though I looked more like I was a runner with my build. My hair was a sandy blonde that showed hints of bronze except in bright light. My eyes were a hazel green that I had always thought made me look like a villain. I used to wear glasses but had gotten surgery to fix them when I was in the military. I saw no reason to change my appearance and set the mirror down to review the character sheet.

Name: Michael Wolfe Class: None Core: None Strength 5 Offense 5 Agility 6 Defense 5 Vitality 5 Spirit 5 Willpower 6 Unassigned Luck 5 Unassigned Skills None Abilities None Traits None

Most of the information was standard, though I noted the lack of a health point system and an intelligence score, as well as a statistic that represented social interactions. As I reviewed the information Kathryn said, “Most of this information is as it sounds. Strength is your physical strength and will affect those tasks. Agility is a combination of your various motor skills along with your hand eye coordination. Vitality is your general health and physical wellness. Willpower represents your mental fortitude, while Luck affects everything in a general sense. The Offense, Defense, and Spirit scores are based on your primary statistics and represent your base values for combat activities related to hand to hand combat or magic. There are more statistics that will be unlocked as you meet the requirements and each can be reviewed by focusing on the stat in your character sheet. Skills are your active skills that you learn or demonstrate within the game. For example your record indicates you served in the military so have a basic training in marksmanship. If you display that skill within the game you will see a record of that here with a rating based on how it compares to others. Abilities are special abilities learned in the game, such as various magic spells. Traits are passive abilities that are always active even if they do not always have an effect in whatever activity you undertake.”

I nodded and stated, “I don’t see and Intelligence score, or hit points for that matter.”

She responded, “Intelligence is hard to measure. There is an old argument regarding book smarts versus street smarts, and the designers decided it was better to let natural intelligence be the only way that is represented. The same is true for a stat like Charisma as in most games it represents both looks and social interactions. As far as hit points are concerned, that is a hidden value based on your vitality. Players will see a health status icon for themselves as their health deteriorates but no numerical basis. The designers decided that having a score indicate you were only down a quarter of your hit points when you get shot in the head is a detriment to the realism. Instead the numbers are hidden and attributed to various body parts, when those hit points are depleted the part can’t be used.”

I clarified, “So the score is still there, but players won’t be able to see it. Instead we get an indicator when our health begins to get low?”

She nodded and continued, “If you are in a party you will see a representation of another person’s general health as well. Beyond that you will need to discover on your own. Now every new player is granted a chance at one of three bonus traits based on the player’s history. Please choose yours.”

Lucky Break: Sometimes you just get lucky. There is a chance when you are dealing with others that they will attempt to help you however they can; this may or may not be the result you were looking for.

Basic Training: You have completed military basic training. You will begin with an increased skill rating in ranged combat, hand to hand combat, and etiquette. You will also receive bonus reputation gains with friendly military factions.

Learned Man: You have established yourself as an intellectual individual, set to prove brain is better than brawn. You will receive an increased skill rating in research and lore skills relating to your chosen fields. You will begin with texts of creatures based on your knowledge. You will also receive bonus reputation gains with friendly scholarly institutions.

I took a moment to think of the options. Both Basic Training and Learned Man would give me increased reputation gains, which from my research were always a positive in games. I wasn’t worried about the skill bonus, as Kathryn had said that the game would record demonstrations of these skills. I decided to settle on Lucky Break, because like the old saying went ‘I’d rather be lucky than good.’

“I’ll take Lucky Break,” I told her.

She nodded and I saw the entry on my character sheet change to reflect my choice. She then continued, “Each of these medallions represents a class option you have based on your history.”

Each of the medallions had a different geometric design on them, with between three and eight small colored indentations. She indicated each medallion as she explained, “This is the Warrior class, focusing on physical combat of one form or another. This is the Scholar, a hybrid magical class with no focus on offense or defense. This is the Spy, a hybrid fighter and magical support class with an emphasis on information gathering.”

She stopped and looked at me for a decision. There were four medallions though so I asked, “What about the last one?”

She held up the final medallion, with five white indents and said, “This is the Freelancer class. It is always an option to new players, but has does not give anything but general benefits. It is commonly used by adventuring tradesman who wishes an increase to their survivability when traveling far from civilization. While it does not have any major strength, it also lacks any major weaknesses.”

I grinned, I thought I would prefer to be flexible in my options; especially since there was no indication if we would be stuck with a single class or not; which did raise the question, “Is there a class change option in the game?”

She nodded, “Yes, though the exact method will need to be discovered once you start playing.”

I reached out and claimed the medallion, hanging it around my neck and said, “I’ll take the Freelancer than.”

She cocked her head and stated, “Honestly I expected you to choose Scholar or Spy. The only other Freelancer so far is an engineer who wanted to have combat options.”

I shrugged and said, “Since I won’t be limited in the future I figured starting out with a flexible class would be of the most benefit.”

She nodded and then started showing me how the game’s abilities would work by granting me a spell Ice Shard and letting me do some target practice. It was based on intent and all I had to do was focus my will on using the ability and a shard of ice flew from my hand to impact the wall. I said, “This is cool.”

She winced at the unintended pun and said, “Unfortunately you don’t get to keep the ability. It was merely used as a demonstration.”

I sighed and watched as the spell disappeared from my character sheet. She continued, “I think that is everything, unless you have more questions?”

I shook my head and said, “No, I’m ready to get started.”

She nodded and said, “Enjoy the show.”

I sat down and my vision darkened into a sea of stars. I saw the UEF Pioneer flying through the emptiness. My vision passed through the halls to see the crew working daily tasks. Suddenly an alarm sounded and a voice announced, “Unknown object approaching. Brace for impact!”

The ship rocked and a pure white crystal speared into a corridor. Alarms blared and emergency lights kicked on. I watched as the crew ran to their stations and damage control teams rushed to the breach. From the crystal emerged small three foot yellow creatures, they reminded me of the classical fantasy goblin, with sharp teeth and glowing red eyes. In the end the security team for the ship managed to defeat them, but they could not extract the crystal from the hull. As the ship continued its journey toward Seras the view faded, but not before I noticed the crystal shift slightly outwards, growing along the floor.