Fountellion in THE SPIRAL: Greenwise & the Nature of the Game

SUPER-LOG 6: The Nature of the Game 2 and First Demo from the Guardian

Greenwise still talks as though there is no time to talk and disconcerting to say the least. But he gets round to an explanation:

"I can see you've already tried to jump. But are you ready to... find your feet? For I will demonstrate the first power – that of Super-Jumping – of which there are many levels. Follow and watch what I do. Firstly, breathe deeply..."

Inhaling, as requested, I'm taken by surprise. I feel a bit like a balloon in terms of gravity. It's a strange sensation of connection with the landscape, as my VR trainer lifts me up and leaves my feet treading actual air. I exhale, quickly, suddenly realising the boost it would potentially give during a jump.

I copy the next move from the old mage, planting my feet into the ground, legs bent a fair amount, looking ahead and trying to guess where I might actually end up in a few moments time.

The breeze flaps our cloaks in the interval. Now for the launch.

He demos a bit of stuff to do with correct gesture, arm position, balance. Before the first jump, he tells me to keep in mind the prevailing weather conditions.

"Can you feel the wind? Note the direction as it will affect the force of a jump."

As though there were elastic bands under both my legs, I jump and then stretch into the air, inhaling deeply. Greenwise goes first and already he's just this shape soaring skyward. A dark ball of flapping cloak. I can sense the wind off the sea to the right of us. I hear it more in my right ear. Back in reality, my trainer lifts me slightly into the air, but in this world, I'm soaring upwards.

Now I see him beneath me, arms out at his sides, descending in controlled focus. I'm not far off, but I'm wobbling, and trying to keep as steady as he is, holding the action with arms and hands. It's working. A real virtual rush.

Next, it's all about the landing. You might say it's been a concern in the back of my mind since seeing the ground taken away from beneath my feet.

But it doesn't last much longer. Imitating the pose of Greenwise, it's a hundred times more graceful than my own first, shoddy attempts. I raise my hands and they act like breaks. I feel the jump slow down so I can touch down lightly, my boots pressing back into soil.

In fact, I thought it was pretty cool the first time round, but with ole Greenwise with me, I start to see the full spectrum of what will be possible here.

Maybe this occurs to me when I do a second mega-leap off the ground, into the wind, and Greenwise reminds me to inhale. There is a slight shimmer and my feet drag behind me in the air as the field gets further beneath me. Now I'm moving out across the shoreline, above the waves of the sea. The sun shines fantastically off the water and the white breakers. I see Greenwise beside me as we glide again, but his appearance distracts me and I start to wobble and it breaks my concentration – and steady breathing – as the sheer sensation of height disturbs my equilibrium.

Falling is... scary. I mean, I can imagine falling in reality now, so I don't think it's cured me of vertigo. I do manage to break with my hands a little, but still splash down into wet sand and water. Despite the shock, it's cool to see my avatar body drenched and I just gaze fixedly at my arms, while kneeling in the shallows, at the detail of foamy water soaking into my cloak. Something – glinting – is mixed up in the white foam. Tiny red, blue and green jewels; perfectly rounded, and more smooth than glassy catch the light in differing strengths. I try to catch one but they're either too small or impossible to catch as they're washed in the foam and water and are revealed for just a moment atop the sand. I look up, and for a moment am completely lost in the breaking waves which are full of them, sparkling in the light and gleaming more than anything you'd see in the Source, as those millions of jewels emerge, fall, then scatter and are withdrawn into the super-sea with a sound than sinks into my senses. Then, Greenwise is next to me, pulling me up with a concerned expression on his face. And well... good! I'm glad to see he cares, even if I know he's just an NPC. He catches my left hand and turns it over, checking the level of the red color inside the green rune mark.