Six Months Before Launch

Earth had become the shitty old neighborhood no one visited. Jack Hendrickson was getting off this dying cesspool. Earth had still been a reasonably nice place to live in his childhood. Yet, as the climate continued to deteriorate, it got worse. None of the rich lived here unless they absolutely had to, and few did. Humanity had spread across the cosmos, and everyone that could afford it lived elsewhere.

He sat across from the booking agent in the sparse modern office with a faint scent of vanilla, not the overdone chemically tinged vanilla that I person gets from those overpriced candles. Instead, it was just a light scent that was so perfect, he thought that perhaps it was the expensive essential oil misted so lightly in the air that it took him a while to place the sweet scent.

He smiled through his unease at the pretentiousness of his surroundings. Then focused on the woman in front of him. They sat in two of the four chairs centered around a coffee table holding a model of the companies flagship transport ship cut in half down its length showing the hundreds of thousands of medpods linning the hull. It was a model of the vessel he was booking travel on, and yet he still found his focus drawn to his surroundings. The polished cement floors and ceiling of the room were a perfect complement to the white polished stone walls and wood furniture. Yet they worked together to create a sort of sparkly atmosphere. The light from the large windows reflected off of every surface in the otherwise clinically sparse room. The whole thing screamed opulent to Jack. He knew that if you went two miles away in any direction a place, this size would house multiple families. Most people on earth lived in tenements in massively overpopulated cities in the parts of the world least affected by climate issues.

The amount of money he was spending also made him uncomfortable. The amount of money probably added to his distaste for the showiness of this office. Sure he could afford it, but for the man who'd grown up dirt poor, it still seemed excessive. Jack had spent the last twenty years collecting his military pay and much more lucratively designing and building replica firearms for the most particular collectors and museums. Offering both exact replicas and custom made firearms that made use of the advancements in alloys and combustibles to add a fair amount of punch to the antique designs. Jack had made excessive amounts of money, suppling arms for the entertainment industry. Still, he didn't splurge on anything, living under the motto that the Corps would provide it if he needed it. His firearms work hadn't needed more than a computer that he brought with him wherever he was sent. Modern technology had wiped out all human fabrication. All Jack had to do is upload completed designs to a fabrication facility he leased. Then, watch the credits come in hand over fist.

On a chance mission to retrieve some influential people who had crashed on a hostile planet, he met Sam Harrisson. The two became fast friends, and Sam had the expertise to help him invest well. Over time this friendship turned Jack into a wealthy man. Like Jack, Sam hadn't been born with money; in fact, it was one of the facts that bonded them. However, Sam was born with an incredible amount of charm that allowed him to gain position and, more importantly, information easily. The information allowed him to invest money very well. The biggest turn for Jack's finances was when Sam had invested a vast portion of his and Jack's money into a company preparing to begin mining rare ore from asteroids. The rare minerals they collected were useful in high-end tech and nearly priceless.

Their early and substantial investments made them the primary shareholders when the company became very successful. That ultimately lead to a buyout that included a large number of stocks in the megacorporation that also owned the Earth Defense Corps, one of the privatized militaries on earth, that Jack worked for. When the upper levels of the Corp found out about Jack's holdings, his promotions came quickly. The military wasn't immune to the oligarchy humanity had become. His money had changed which side of the table he sat at. For good or ill, his holdings were enough to be a factor, and that saw him enjoying the favors of those who would sway him one way or the other.

"I'm sure someone has gone over this with you, but let me recap your travel package." said a pleasant female voice pulling Jack back into the conversation. "The trip you've booked with take a little over five years even on our state of the art transport ship Frontier. You will be housed in what is essentially a med pod. The ship doesn't have the facilities to house the number of passengers it would take to make travel cost-effective if we were to have to include sleeping chambers and restaurants and the other essential systems for the passengers. For this reason, the passengers are housed in med pods while experiencing life in a V.R. environment." said the well dressed middle-aged woman opposite him at the table.

Jack knew all that. He also knew it was bullshit. They could have all those things just not to the comfort level the rich folks were accustomed to having. Hundreds of thousands of people, along with supplies including animal embryos, plant specimens, and industrial equipment, would be making the trip. The poor people making a trip to the edge of habited space would have a different experience. They would be awake consuming disgustingly bland meal packs, sharing cramped space, and making do with no creature comforts aboard aging and bearly serviceable freight ships. Jack couldn't understand why anyone would want their workforce to show up unable to work at peak even if they didn't care about comfort, but that was the way of things.

For the rich, however, only med pods and lavish V.R. environments would do. Med pods were the pinnacle of health-based technology. They gave the exact amount of drugs, nutrients, to keep a person at absolute peak. They even conducted complicated surgeries through nanobots released directly into the bloodstream. The wealthiest people slept in them every night, making them nearly immune to aging, of course, the most deprived people would die while waiting years get into one. Many of the poorer nations on earth didn't have one in the whole country.

Amanda, the booking agent, continued, " I can see that you will be taking the transport to the end of the line at Pelopious 3, Mr. Hendrick. Have you thought about our entertainment package?

Five years aboard the ship will be rather dull, and even though you have an upgraded fare that includes the V.R. experience, that would make it more attuned to a cruise ship. All the same five years will still be a long time in such a limited environment."

"What are my options?" Jack replied.

"We have recently partnered with Solutions A.I., the maker of the upcoming immersive V.R. game Destiny's Forge. We are super excited to offer our passengers to spend their voyage in their massive game world. If you're a gamer, you may appreciate that you will be able to stay connected to friends in the game world for your trip due to proprietary technology. Plenty of passengers choose this package just for contact with loved ones if that is important to you.

For others, of course, it is the game world that is the real draw you can fight epic creatures, explore fantasy lands, spend your time in lavish manors, the options are truly endless. The game world holds more possibilities than even reality itself. Why spend your life in what is for all intents and purposes a cruise ship when you can spend it on an entire planet twice the size of earth with fantastic creatures, powerful magic, and any level of adventure you can handle?

Furthermore, I am authorized to deduct the price of your upgraded fare from the entertainment package you already purchased. However, it will still be a substantial upgrade. The game membership fee is normally five hundred credits a month; we have to charge a premium. Due, of course, to the cost it takes to maintain the connection to game servers during the trip. The price is one thousand credits, minus your two hundred and fifty credit a month upgrade. It would still be an additional seven hundred fifty extra credits per month."

Jack thought about it for a few minutes. His biggest concern in this change of life was the daunting trip to the galaxy's edge, and if this game could make that more bearable, it would be worth it. However, games hadn't really been his thing since he was a teenager. The expense mattered a little, but the practical side of him hated wasting the money.

This communication technology she mentioned was astonishing, world-changing. This tech being created without a word of it getting out amazed Jack, and he couldn't help but have a small amount of awe at the revelation. How the hell had they managed that?

" I'm stunned at the statement that you can maintain the connection, but to be honest, I'm skeptical," Jack said flatly.

" I'm sure you can appreciate that there is very little I am allowed to say, but to make it simple, we are completely confident in our tech," said Amanda with no small amount of pride on her face.

The pragmatist took over. He asked, "Can I cancel and revert to my upgraded fare should I find the game world unenjoyable?"

"I can set you up so after a month in-game the A.I. will confirm that you want to continue," Amanda said with a broad smile on her face that made Jack reasonably confident that she got some commission or bonus for signing people up.