I don’t know how long or far the tide carried me. I wasn’t even sure if measurements like ‘time’ and ‘distance’ still applied to me, anymore. Nor did I understand why my captors were so obsessed with constantly moving me around. I supposed data was a lot easier to move around than a physical prisoner (and data was now pretty much all I had to my name), so it hardly mattered… to them at least. But to say I was feeling disorientated would be an understatement.

I was drifting in my strange digital stopover between code and the fully immersive world I’d assumed I was destined for. A wave of information had carried my code away like Alice in the pool of tears, and now rippled all around me like water, my head barely managing to keep above it. Overhead, data streamed off in all directions, a crushing swathe of ‘0’s’ and ‘1’s’ glinting in the darkness like shooting stars, before collecting in the distance to give off a mesmerizing, borealis like effect. I drifted, kicking with my legs and using my now freed arms to steer myself toward the nearest land mass. As the tide pushed against me, I quickly learned that fatigue was not one of the human weaknesses I’d left behind. But undaunted, I pushed on. Eventually, I ‘washed up’ in what appeared to be the edge of a small settlement. And on first glance, it sure as hell wasn’t Wonderland.

To my relief, when I stepped from the ‘water’ and onto the beach a solitary item was waiting for me. It was a neatly folded pile of the item I currently needed more than anything: clothing. With suspicion, I stopped to scan the area, wary that this ‘gift’ was too convenient, and may be little more than a trap. Perhaps, I warned myself, some sadistic AI was praying on my all-too-human vulnerability over my nakedness. The beach looked a lot like the one I’d seen earlier, but unlike my previous location, my arrival to this forsaken place had been announced by a status message. If the bot feeding information into my mind was to be believed, this was one of the aforementioned ‘isles of judgement.’ Which admittedly, sounded a lot more ominous than I would have preferred it to.

There was little sign of life on the island: a few makeshift huts dotted the area, each with the remains of dead unattended campfires close by. The shantytown encircled a larger, hut-like structure. This place had all the signs of a settlement, so where, I asked myself, were all the occupants? And where for that matter, was Mai? Oh well. The settlement seemed abandoned, and if so, there was no sense looking a gift horse in the mouth. Feeling as safe as possible, given the circumstances, I stepped from the water’s edge onto the hard, compacted sand, and gratefully picked up the item.

-[ You have acquired basic swordsman’s attire. ]-

…announced a status message. I dressed quickly, thankful that my ‘body’ was already bone dry. The sea of codes unusual properties had spared me the inconvenience of needing a towel, at least. The robes themselves were of decent quality, crimson, and cut away at the sleeves to reveal my familiar, muscular arms. Leather bindings crossed my wrists and palms, and the black boots that laced up my ankles felt sturdy. I finally had clothes on my back, and it felt good. More than anything, I was relieved that my ‘private data’ was now firmly tucked away where prying eyes couldn’t access it. But as I dressed, I noticed something else was on show, and it immediately took me by surprise.

The odd addition to my avatar was a grey pixelated symbol. It hovered about an inch above my skin and looked crest-like in appearance, yet its design was as basic as it could be. A monochromic representation of a shield, embellished with a basic letter ‘I’. I reached across to my shoulder, and tentatively touched the strange icon with the tip of my finger.

-[ Status, independent. ]-

…echoed through my mind. And that was it. Weird.

“Awww. You put some clothes on,” complained Mai, as she suddenly appeared by my side. “What a waste of such a sexy avatar.”

“Where the hell did you get to?” I demanded, ignoring her attempts at flattery. (They were welcome, I’ll admit.) “I thought you were supposed to be guiding me?

“Sorry boss.” She replied, apologetically. “I might have lost you in the data stream for a teensy-weensy moment, there.”

“You… lost me?”

“Relax, you weren’t at risk of further data loss. I just lost track of which island you were being sent to, is all.”

“Didn’t you know where I was headed? I kinda assumed the help file would know everything.”

The elf looked embarrassed. “Heh. Admittedly, a little bit new to all of this,” she replied, sheepishly staring at her feet as she ran a hand through the back of her long, golden hair.

“New to this?” I spluttered. Are you kidding me? So even the help file doesn’t know what’s going on?

“Yup,” she replied.

I quickly decided that I was screwed.

“But how can you be new? Atone Online has been running for years.”

“True, but the workload is growing constantly, so the system is always having to generate new guides to keep up with demand. And we all have to start somewhere, so I’m as new to this as you are.” She grinned, then playfully turned the blame back on me. “there’s just too much demand for our services. You humans sure do like to misbehave.”

“Yeah, I guess we do,” I admitted, feeling slightly ashamed on behalf of my species. “So, what can you tell me about this place, then?”

“The best way to find out information is to check your status menu,” she replied, tapping the pixelated shield that hovered next to my shoulder like a pixelated, holographic tattoo.

-[ Status menu enabled ]-

“What did you just do?” I asked.

“I unlocked your window to the world, silly. Go on, give it a try.”

I was a bit lost as to how, at first, but I quickly realized that by willing it, I could call up all of my stats in an easy to read format. They took the form of a translucent window, which hovered an inch or so from my hand, like a holographic display panel. It all looked pretty straightforward, so I called up the first menu, entitled ‘general status’.

USERNAME: UNDEFINED

PRIMARY SKILL: SWORDSMAN – LEVEL 1

PERCENTAGE REMAINING UNTIL NEXT LEVEL IS UNLOCKED – 100%

Rep: 0/30

HP: 80/80

Mana: 0/40

Alliances: Mai (Elf, guide)

The second menu was dedicated to physical stats, and the third, my woefully nonexistent ‘intangible’ stats. They remained completely unchanged from the figures that had been presented to me during avatar selection. But I hadn’t done anything to improve them, so no surprises there. I quickly skipped past the familiar information and onto the next section.

The fourth menu was labelled ‘inventory’ and was split into multiple sub-directories, such as weapons, armour, and potions. It was pitifully empty, containing my only item. I clicked it, if only to better familiarise myself with the item selection process.

SWORDSMAN’S OUTFIT

TYPE – ARMOUR.

Defence: 0

Durability: 20/20

Armour? I couldn’t imagine the flimsy material offered that much protection, which probably explained the ‘zero’ rating next to the items defence stat. Oh well, at least my outfits durability was full, and given that my homemaker skill was a big fat zero, it was good to know that I shouldn’t need to patch it up, any time soon.

Satisfied that the inventory system was straightforward enough for even a newcomer like me to operate, I moved onto the next category: quests.

OUTSTANDING QUESTS – Seek judgement

You have accepted Norahc’s offer of redemption, and the taken your first step toward achieving redemption for crimes committed IRL.

Goal: Acquire your redemption target.

Type of quest – Personal, one off.

Reward: Unlock secondary quest ‘Redeem yourself.’

Rep effect – Unknown.

I guessed that made sense. Well, as much as anything here did, at any rate. I was here to atone for my crimes… but how would I know when I’d done my time, without being allocated a target to achieve.

When I spotted the final tab, I realized that it must be the one that the elf had been attempting to guide me to… location.

LOCATION – High priests’ settlement.

PURPOSE – Circle of judgement. Priests are the primary arborators of justice in the world of Atone Online.

MAPS – Warning, this realm exists on its own dimensional plane. No maps available.

Clear as mud. I was still convinced that this digital sea was some kind of preliminary zone before I entered the real ‘game’, but I couldn’t be sure. I asked Mai, but she didn’t really seem to grasp the question, stating that it was all real, to her at least. Oh well. At least I’d gained some clothing, and a better understanding of my access to my avatars interface... most notably, the fact that it had one. Now all I had to do was-

I was suddenly pulled from that thought by a low, guttural growl. Shit, I’d spent too long staring at my status screens, and not enough time keeping an eye on my actual surroundings. We were no longer alone. Slender figures were exiting the shanty little huts, each with rocks in hand. They were clearly ‘inhuman’ class, but they bore no resemblance to the four options I’d been briefed on, so far.

Each had a skin that was a darkish olive green, sporting features that were angular and elongated to match their spindly bodies. Said bodies were draped in simple loincloths, and the creatures wore what looked like the skulls of tiny animals around their scrawny necks. Their eyes were blood red, and if their aggressive-looking stances were anything to go by, we were in trouble.

Shit, I thought to myself, these ugly bastards are looking for a fight, and I haven’t even got a fucking weapon yet. Well, if they think I’m going down easy, they’ve got another thing coming.

My fists tightened as I readied myself for the inevitable assault. I’d lost one body today already, and I’d be damned if they were going to take this one without a fight.