3 Launch Day

(So an FYI for you guys, there will be AT LEAST one chapter each day unless I literally do not have the time. This means that there may be days where more than one chapter comes out. The "unless" thing might come into play next week as I am going to be in Colorado for a week since my cousin is getting married. I'll just write as much as I can to keep the daily releases going. Also, don't expect the chapters to be this long normally.)

-11:45 PM, May 19th, 2053-

It had been just over a day since my friends and I had gotten our headsets. My dad, Ethan, and I spent most of today stocking up on food that would last us for the next month. He planned on playing non-stop for the next week since he was going to be streaming. He had a mini-fridge and microwave setup in his room and would only need to get out of his bed in order to use the bathroom or shower. He would also need to take short breaks in order to edit some of the stream footage and post it to YouTube. It's his job, after all.

The instructions for the headset suggest playing while lying down. How the headset works is quite interesting. Once the headset is powered on, it hijacks your consciousness and inhibits all motor functions. They use the word inhibit here because it does not entirely suppress them. The headset allows for weaker versions of the signals to go through in order to allow the muscles to not suffer a condition called atrophy.

All sensory reception related to the outside word is also hijacked. This information, however, is not suppressed and is instead used in order to ensure the safety of the user's environment. For example, if someone were to enter the room that the user is located in, an alert would be displayed on the UI showing a video of the surroundings. This would also work for animals and can be adjusted to filter out certain individuals via facial and object recognition. There is also a built-in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. These security measures combine a series of built in sensors and the user's own sensory reception to evaluate risk.

This information was all included in the manual that came with the headset. Another interesting piece I found is that the genetic lock that must be gone through when powering on the headset makes use of a cheek swab rather than blood like the initial test. The manual explained that the reason for this is that the blood was also used to test age in addition to giving a more complete DNA sample.

(Someone complained about the blood thing before I could even explain it. You know who you are.)

Since it was late and only 20 minutes until launch, I was doing some last minute preparations. I had already had dinner so I was just preparing my room. Being an only child, I got to have the biggest room! Well, the smallest one too depending on how you look at it. Regardless, I had a lot of space.

My room was complete with a small walk-in closet, a dresser, a large desk with my PC, a high pile area rug to keep my feet warm, a wall mounted TV, and best of all, my queen sized bed. The walls were sparsely decorated with some tasteful posters and a piece of art that I bought in a school auction. It was quite comfortable and the bathroom was right across the hall.

As I was pulling the blanket on my bed back, my dad called from downstairs. "Kyle, come here for a sec."

I sighed, not sure what he could want now. Since he had gotten home from our food shopping spree, he has been giving me countless tasks such as helping him with the minifridge, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the automatic accommodations for our cats. We had two, an orange tabby and a savannah.

Not wanting to keep him waiting since time was running short, I skipped down the stairs. "What's up?" I asked this as I entered the kitchen.

I found him stacking up a bunch of tupperware containers next to a bag of silverware on the counter. "We're all set with food for the next two weeks. I'll take next week's food out of the freezer next Thursday and then portion it for the two of us. Your portions are in the fridge here."

He finished stacking the containers and walked up to me. "Listen, Kyle. This game is really important to me. It might be what I've needed to get my career back on track. But I need you to understand something. No matter how important the game is, you come first. Don't be afraid to interrupt me if you need anything."

I nodded. "I know, dad. Are you all set?"

He smiled. "Yep. I heard that there is a waiting space set up so that people can be logged in as soon as it launches. Do you need anything before I get to it?"

I shook my head since nothing came to mind. "Nope. If you're not too busy in the game, let's run some content together. It'll be just like old times but with less lego animation involved."

He laughed. "That would be fun. Nothing like some father and son time. Alright, help me carry this stuff upstairs, will you?"

I nodded, grabbing a stack of tupperware containers. Ethan grabbed the other stack as well as the bag of silverware.

We walked up the stairs and towards the master bedroom in silence. I hesitated slightly as we reached the bedroom door, memories of my mom invading my mind. After she died, it took my dad a long time to start sleeping in here again. Then, however, I laughed thinking about how cramped it would be with this setup in the guest room.

My dad looked back at me upon hearing me laugh. "Hm?"

I shook my head, walking into the room. "Oh, no, it's nothing. Just a funny image in my head."

He shrugged, placing the containers and silverware down onto the folding table he had set up. "Come here, give your old man a hug."

I smiled, placing the containers down before embracing my dad in a tight hug. I'd never want anyone else as my dad. "I love you, dad."

He patted my back. "Love you too, Kyle. Enjoy the game!"

I nodded, pulling away from him. "You too."

Turning, I left the room, returning to my bedroom. It was now quiet in the house. The doors were locked, the cats were sleeping, nothing would break this tranquility.

I walked over to my desk and pulled the headset out of the box, placing it on my bed. I then grabbed the power cord and plugged it into the outlet behind my nightstand. When I plugged it in, a red light had lit up on the side of the headset. It was already preloaded with the game so no install was needed.

Looking at the headset, I talked to myself. "So according to the instructions, I need to press this button here." I pressed a button on the side of the headset. The solid red light turned to a solid yellow one.

After nothing happened for a few seconds, a robotic voice came from the headset. "Please insert a genetic sample."

A small panel on the side of the headset opened up, revealing a plastic cone shaped object inside.

I nodded in understanding. "Ahhh, that's what it was talking about. No wonder there are a few replacements. I should probably just wash them so I don't have to bother ordering more." I then picked up the plastic cone.

*CHHH TU*

After spitting into the cone, I placed it back into the compartment and then pushed the panel shut. It closed with an audible click.

When the panel closed, the solid yellow light turned to a blinking yellow. I presumed that it was processing the sample. Before I could even finish the thought, the light turned green and the voice came again. "Sample approved. Hello, Kyle Zimmerman. Please remove the sample before use."

The panel opened again, revealing the plastic cone again. Fortunately, I had an empty bowl on my nightstand. Earlier, it had some blueberries in it that I was snacking on while cleaning my room. Now, it would be where I left the plastic cone while I played.

With that taken care of, I closed the panel, took my shoes off, sat down in my bed, and picked up the headset. It was almost time for the launch. To be safe, I decided to not wait any longer. "Oh!"

I had already gone to the bathroom about 20 minutes ago but there was one other thing I wanted to do before playing. I grabbed the water bottle on my nightstand and took several massive gulps. Not being super dehydrated when I finish playing would be nice.

Now… Now it was time. My door was open in case the cats wanted to come in, I was hydrated, I had showered, and the house was locked. Nothing could stop me now.

Unfortunately, that was when… nah, I'm just kidding. I put the headset on my head and laid down, resting my head on the pillow. The straps were quite loose, so the headset shook around a bit as I laid back. There was no way I could find to tighten it so I was clueless. Then again, I didn't read the entire manual so it might have been in there.

Before I could think further on this, the robotic voice came back yet again. "User, Kyle Zimmerman, detected. Would you like to begin your session?"

I shrugged, still wondering how to adjust the headset. "Yes."

The voice replied. "Initiating boot sequence."

To my shock, the straps on the headset suddenly began tightening. I immediately got nervous that it would get too tight. Fortunately, the straps stopped without applying too much pressure.

Subconsciously I opened my eyes. All I could see was black since the headset was covering my eyes. Suddenly, this changed. Although I still couldn't see anything, this felt… different. It was like rather than me seeing nothing, I wasn't seeing at all.

Then I realized that I couldn't feel my body. Forgetting that this was supposed to happen, my breathing grew quick and shallow. My panic only worsened upon the realization that I couldn't smell the soap I used in the shower. I couldn't hear my rapid breaths. I couldn't even taste my saliva.

While all of this was happening, something I had never experienced occurred. I heard a voice. What was weird about it was that the voice was not coming from outside, it was inside my head.

It was a much more soothing voice than the robotic prompts from the headset. "Kyle, you can relax. This is all normal. Take a few moments to catch your breath and then we can get you fully set up."

For some reason, I couldn't resist the urge to comply. My breathing rapidly slowed down, followed by my heartbeat. It was a strange feeling. Feeling compelled to do something just from being told to do it was not normal. Nonetheless, I did it.

The voice spoke again and I listened more clearly this time. It was female and sounded like it came from a goddess. "That's good, just like that. In… Out. Okay, now that you are a bit more relaxed, let's get you set up. First, let's get you connected to the internet."

A holographic window suddenly lit up before me. It was a list of WIFI networks, not unlike one would see on a smartphone or computer. "Which one is yours? Just focus on it."

I nodded, at least in my head I did. It would seem that I did not yet have a body. My WIFI network was suddenly highlighted as I focused on it.

The voice spoke again. "Now think about what the password is and we can get you online."

Not hesitating in the slightest, I started rattling off my WIFI password internally. It was a string of letters, numbers, and special characters. All of our passwords were like this.

I expected to have to repeat the password internally but I was quickly proven wrong. "Perfect, your connection has been established. Give me a moment and then we can begin the full body scan."

What I presumed to be a minute passed before she spoke again. "Alright, this will only take a few seconds."

As soon as she finished speaking, light came from where my body was supposed to be. After a few seconds, I found myself able to look around. Looking down, I watched as my body formed into existence but I was still unable to move. Another few seconds passed and my body was fully formed. However, I was only in a pair of plain white briefs.

She spoke again. "Alright, I'll send you to your virtual home now. Enjoy!"

Everything before slowly turned to white before objects that I couldn't discern began forming around me. The first thing I was able to identify was the floor. It was dark stained hardwood and perfectly smooth. Next were the walls. They were made of concrete but rather than looking industrial, they were quite visually appealing. Next came some furniture such as a bed, a couch, a chair, and a desk. Lastly, a kitchen formed. I wasn't sure what the kitchen would be used for but it was there nonetheless.

Once everything formed, one of the walls suddenly turned into a display. It looked like a grid of applications but there was only one option there. In the top left corner of the display was a digital clock. It was now 11:58 PM. Looking back to the grid, I saw that the only option was grayed out with a transparent padlock over it.

From what I could see of it, the icon read "Star Wars" on the top and "Galactic Expedition" on the bottom. In between the two lines of text was a circle. However, it was blocked by the transparent padlock so I couldn't make out what it was.

My attention was grabbed by the clock turning to 11:59 PM. Whatever the circle was, I'd find out in less than a minute. I decided that for the next 30 or so seconds, I'd walk around this virtual home. I felt the couch and bed. Both were firm but soft. I also, for some unknown reason, checked if the faucet in the kitchen had running water. It turned out that it did. I took some of it and splashed it on my face. What shocked me is how it felt just like it would in real life.

I could only shrug though as I did not have time to investigate further. Unfortunately, I did not get to look for any clothes. Thus, I was still in a pair of underwear. A quite boring pair too since I usually wore briefs with fun patterns. It was just a stupid yet fun thing I liked to do.

In unison, the clock turned to 12:00 AM and the icon for the game was brought to life with color. Within the second that I observed it for, I noticed that the circle in the middle was a planet similar to Earth. In the background were stars that appeared to be moving across the black canvas that was space.

Getting on the tips of my toes, I stretched my arm up and basically smacked the icon. A menu then opened. The options were "Launch", "Add to Favorites", "Properties", and "Manage". Fortunately, this menu was in the middle of the screen so I was able to return my heels to the ground. I tapped "Launch".

Once I did, the menu disappeared and a loading animation appeared on the display. This only lasted a few seconds before my vision went black.

Just a few seconds later, a dim light appeared in the center of my vision. Looking down, I could still see my body and move around but I was floating. When I looked back up, the light appeared to be getting brighter.

Then, a deep, male voice completely enveloped my surroundings. "The universe is a vast and mysterious place. As humans, we have only managed to explore what amounts to less than a grain of sand on the beach. Outside of our reach, awe inspiring worlds and occurrences lie, much of it beyond what the feeble mind of man can imagine."

The light continued getting brighter and larger. It started as small as a star in the night sky, but was now the size of a baseball. At this point, it was no longer just white. It began to pick up tinges of yellow, red, and blue.

The narrator continued to speak. "For now, all we can do is wonder about what might be out there. Throughout history, we've asked the same questions time and time again. Is there life that originates from outside of Earth? Well, in a galaxy far far away, our questions may be answered.

Suddenly, the light exploded into a massive swirl of lights and patches of color. It was awe inspiring to the point that my jaw was hanging loose. My point of view sped inwards past the extremities of this gargantuan body. I quickly realized that this was a galaxy.

After a few second pause, the narrator resumed speaking. "Life thrives in every corner of this estranged place. It lives…"

My body was flung at an unimaginable speed. A sphere quickly came into view, growing into a planet sized rock. I entered the atmosphere, rapidly approaching a city before stopping on a dime.

Not having been able to process anything related to how I got here, I looked around. The buildings around me were made of what appeared to be sandstone. Weird looking metal structures that resembled antennas were positioned both on the ground and on the roofs of these buildings. None of the structures extended for more than two floors above the sand covering the ground.

Looking up, I noticed two suns in the sky and immediately realized where I was; Tatooine. Well, this was just a guess. There could be other desert planets with two suns out there. The galaxy was a big place.

Now I looked around. The streets were teeming with life. Countless species, many of which I didn't recognize, were walking around, conversing, and going about their business. There was only one thing that all of them had in common; none of them took notice of me.

As if the game had decided that I had taken note of everything around me, my body was flung off of the surface, soaring into the skies and through the atmosphere. The sand covered rock quickly shrank into nothing, fading from my vision.

The voice came back again. "It dies…"

Everything turned to a blur again. The weirdest part about this was that despite the rapid acceleration of my body, I felt no discomfort. Before I could think into this more, another scene started to form.

A bright light in the distance grew, turning into a star. Then, small dots which I presumed were planets quickly became visible. However, something was out of place. There were bursts of light between the planets.

Soon enough, their source came into view. Massive starships were battling near the planet. Chunks of the ships' hulls were blown off, floating away to never be seen again.

As my approach continued, I noticed some objects that were much smaller than the debris growing larger. After a few seconds, I realized that these were the occupants of the destroyed starships. Their corpses motionless as they froze over and floated through space.

I was still too amazed to even process that I was watching hundreds, if not thousands, of people die in front of me. The sight of lasers flying past me and starships exploding was too entrancing.

Just as quickly as I had arrived, I departed. My body accelerated again, speeding off to who knows where.

"And it begins anew."

I once again found myself being flung towards a planet. This time, however, I did not get placed into a city. Instead, I found myself on a farmstead. The rolling hills of green, the fields of crops, the tall, unkempt grasses swaying in the wind. I could even smell the fresh scent of nature. It was quite calming.

By the time I noticed all of this, I found myself standing in front of a ranch style house. In front of the house was what I presumed to be a father, playing with a young child while the mother stood off to the side holding an infant. This was all I could take in from this heartwarming and beautiful scene before I was once again dragged away.

"All life is connected. It comes from the same place and returns there once its fleeting moment expires. To the inhabitants of this galaxy, this place is known as the Wellspring of Life. Much like life itself, you too will start your journey here."

Another planet quickly came into view. From a distance, it looked barren and dead. So much for being called the Wellspring of Life. As I approached, I noticed something peculiar. Across the surface of the planet was a vast network of fissures. From some parts of these fissures, ethereal geysers shot into the atmosphere. The geysers were not solid. They were made of what looked like fingers of a strange energy that ebbed and flowed.

I waited a few seconds but the voice didn't come back. The only thing that happened was the rapid approach of one of the fissures. I couldn't see anything inside of it other than darkness. Within the space of a few more seconds, I entered the fissure, the darkness robbing me of my vision.

For about a minute, silence reigned supreme over the darkness. It was quite ominous to me. Going from this grandiose and epic speech to silence and darkness was quite jarring. Fortunately, it wouldn't last for long.

"Greetings, traveler."