Dissonance

When the impossible happens, PANIC!

Everyone has seen, read, or heard of the genre. Where people get pulled into video games and are forced to live out the story. Sword Art online, Overlord, Log Horizon, all examples of what we all dream could be. To escape our mundane lives and be someone who matters in a fantastical world, but we all know it could never happen. Until it does.

"Anchor up, Anchor up. Turn on tank mods, primary this guy." We were on a fleet to take some strategic objective in nullsec. I didn't really care, it was all content for me, plus it was on my alt account. I had to take a break from shooting NPCs and making money, it was just too much of a grind, and I doubted I'd ever be able to afford the super carrier I had my eyes on. I needed something to break the routine, so this fleet, however controlled it was, gave me just that. Besides, my zKillboard was looking really red lately.

"No god damnit! Tevo, shoot this guy" the FC reprimanded me. Maybe I should pay attention, but our fleet was already in shambles, logi wasn't holding reps, and our DPS was minimal at best. My guns weren't going to change this fight. And there's the noise signaling my ship is dead, ok, and there's the screen saying my pod has been killed, fine. Go to Zkill, copy the killmail link, post on SRP forums and wait for reimbursement. I guess it was fun, got a few kills, talked with the guys, I've had worse days for sure. Time to log off for the day.

This is EVE Online, probably a boring game for most people that see it, but it's in depth. Everything you buy, from the smallest bullet to the biggest ship, was built by another player. The game has no real story or end game, just player driven conflict and drama. You accumulate your wealth through a variety of means, industrial players prefer to mine asteroids and take the minerals from that to build and sell ships, or just sell the minerals. Some players prefer to "rat", or to shoot NPC pirates for instant payouts of bounties. Literally anything you can think of is a way to make money. Market trading, exploration, PVP, theft, and none of it is against the rules of the game. You take that money in turn and do things you enjoy. Buy ships to go fight, buy a larger mining ship, or pay people to go kill your enemies. It's a simple merry go round, but it keeps us coming back and logging on every day.

I was docking up and taking stock of what I lost verses what I gained for the day, I had a strange sense of pride, I made out ahead for once. Definitely not a terrible day! Hm, and an in-game mail too. I didn't have any ongoing conversations. I opened it up and read:

Dear Capsuleer,

There is a growing threat to New Eden, our home. We would request your immediate assistance in dealing with this most grave of threats. Enemies have infiltrated the highest echelons of the 4 Empires and are moving to unleash an unspeakable evil upon us. We plead for your help.

Ior Labron-Director of Academy of Aggressive Behavior, Jove Directorate.

Who the hell was this guy, some sort of role player? I clicked on his name and the first thing I saw was his NPC Corporation. Academy of Aggressive Behavior, which in turn was a part of the alliance Jovian Directorate. Hold on, that's not just an NPC owned newbie corp, that's pure NPC. And Jove at that! The Jove are the 5th race in Eve, and no player can select them as their race, only the DEVs can. This was HUGE! Was Crowd Control Productions coming out with a new Event, and a Jove one at that? I Excitedly called out for my wingman and best friend Gee Nyx.

"Gee! Did you get this Eve Mail? IT'S FROM THE FUCKING JOVE!!!"

"Yeah brother!" he replied, "I can't wait to see what they're doing next!"

"I think we have to reply? Like some sort of lotto thing, sort of like they did with the tech II blueprint originals"

"Hm, I guess that makes sense."