Please Note: Statements between /* something in italics */ are game system messages.
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Swamy woke up the next morning with a feeling of apprehension. It was the first day and he hoped he would get to make a few friends and hopefully even a girl friend in the days to come.
“TV, Wake, Channel 8” He said as the television flickered to life and switched to the channel.
A lot of things had become voice operated making life easier for everyone. Though it still caused a huge argument if two people wanted to watch different things. After all the technology may have improved and become smarter but the people remain the same.
Knock knock!
He opened the door and found his Aunt with some dishes.
“Breakfast!” he smiled.
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Orientation was always not interesting. It helped that people talked about stuff you wanted to know about campus and its facilities but it also was a day where people made speeches. And that was boring.
Swamy tried to stay awake to listen to the important bits and also to make a positive impression for himself, but he was fighting a losing battle. The person sitting next to him was already teetering on his chair, eyes closed. A couple of rows down someone had tilted his head back and seemed to have completely dozed off. He thought he heard a light snore from somewhere as well.
Well seeing this did nothing to improve his dedication to hearing the rest of the speech as he was already gone by that point. Swamy tried to look at his surroundings in order to stay awake. Being the guy that he is, he immediately started looking at the good looking girls around.
Somehow the speeches ended. And people starting shaking themselves to wake up.
The guy next to him also woke up, looked around for a bit and then smiled at him and said,
“Hi, I am Rajan. Nice to meet you dude.”
“Oh hi, My name’s Swamy. Nice to meet you too.”
“So are you in the virtual reality program as well?”
“Yeah, you are as well then. You from around here?”
“Nah! I am from Mumbai. I just figured that it would be interesting coming here and ofcourse there is heavy competition for this course in Mumbai. Wasn’t sure of my chances there. Well it isn’t like the University of Bangalore is a cake walk though.”
“Yeah” replied Swamy.
“Well do you stay around here?”
“Well I do stay around here. Although I am not from Bangalore either.”
“Oh, where are you from then?”
“Mysore.”
“Yeah well we should hang out sometime. See you in class dude.”
“See you later”.
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The next day classes started. He searched for his classroom (well it isn’t a small campus). As he walked into the auditorium style classroom, he remarked that the room seemed quite big with many seats. It seemed like it could seat almost a 100 people at a time.
‘I wonder how many people actually joined!’ he thought to himself.
He found a seat in the middle where he thought he wouldn't have trouble listening and also stay out of sight. It is a known fact that people always watched the front and back seats the most so he always preferred the middle seats. Slowly the class started filling up. Soon, Rajan also arrived, greeted him and then sat down in the empty seat next to him. And soon started chatting up the people near him.
When the professor arrived, the chatting suddenly stopped and everyone started looking at him. Swamy also focused his attention towards the professor.
“Hello class, My name is Prof. Samuel D’souza and I am the head of the virtual reality department. I am also one of the teachers who will be taking your classes in the 1st year. Nice to meet you. So to start, would you introduce yourselves? Let’s start on the right there with you.”
“Hi, I am………
……………….
……………..
After the introductions and after almost everyone said that they are a fan of virtual reality games and how excited they were to be joining this course the prof started explaining about the course.
“Well here it is", as he put up a slide showing the courses and the credits information.
"Now as you may know that the program requires you to play one of the VR games and write reports, etc based on your experiences in the game. Ofcourse you would also be learning about virtual reality itself. Now you may already be playing a game already, which is fine by us. You just have to submit a form saying you play this particular game. Please note that if you change the game that you are playing, you will have to submit a form again and that can only happen once a term. So please stick to playing a game atleast for a term. If you are simply trying a new game, please don’t write it in the form.”
Swamy was in a bind. He was not playing any games. Even though a lot of people play VR games today, he only had a character in one virtual reality game for that one time he went on vacation. It was not that he was not interested in playing but his parents had always nitpicked on the quality of the VR games coming in the market arguing about the negative effect to human minds, which always seemed to take the fun out of them. Furthermore his one nightmare, writing reports for the game, had made him kinda resistant to playing VR games while in presence of his parents.
‘Never thought it would become this important.’ He decided to look at the various VR games and make a good choice. It might be better to choose one and play it a lot rather than trying different ones to see which one is better.
‘Also I better keep it a secret from my parents. Writing reports aside, if I have to listen one more time about how the VR games are affecting human brains, I might as well never have come to Bangalore.’
Well that decides it. He had to buy the game by earning his own money. He couldn’t even use his savings account; his parents had set up that all transactions are reported to them.
‘I will have to find a cheap game but it also has to be interesting. Wonder how much I would have to earn. And there would be monthly fees as well.’ While he was agonizing over this and that the professor added.
“Oh I forgot to tell you, but you have a 1 month deadline for the form this term.”
Just 1 month!!
Most VR games in the market he knew cost around 8000 – 10000 rupees (Indian currency almost 130 to 170 us dollars) just to buy and then monthly fees which are almost 3000 – 5000 rupees (about 50 to 85 dollars) depending on the game. Over the years the hourly pay in India had improved to almost 170 rupees per hour minimum but that would still require him to work 30 hours per month. Still he could manage that if he could find a suitable job, but what would he do about buying the game. Simple calculation he will have to work 60 hours. Considering the labor laws today which basically limit the hours a student (you still have to be 18 or older) can work to 20 hours a week and no working after 6 pm, he would have to basically work in the day time. Also he would have to attend his classes which would be from 8 am in the morning till evening 6 pm (practicals and homework included) meaning he would have to work all day long on the weekends.
Swamy groaned. So much for enjoying a parent free life.
The professor kept giving information and answering questions till lunch time.
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After devouring his lunch, he always thought brain work takes up a lot of energy so you need to eat appropriately; he quickly headed to one of the labs where he could get free internet. He had to start searching for the game he wanted to play and also for a job. He opened up various games websites and looked at game reviews sorting through them carefully. Finding a bunch of them which seemed interesting, he quickly made a note of them thinking to look more closely later. He then started looking for part-time jobs.
After careful searching, he finally settled on a movers job. The job seemed simple, requiring a bit of physical work. Well most of the heavy lifting is done by machines anyway with humans giving them commands. But still the lighter loads are left for people to carry as using machines for them would not be economical. He also figured that most people would do their moving over the weekend and he would be able to work full time. He quickly filled in his details and applied online.
After lunch, in the classroom….
Rajan came back to his seat next to Swamy. He nodded.
“Hey Swamy, where did you disappear to?”
“Oh I just went to the lab to access the internet”.
“What! Why? And don’t you have internet on the phone?”
“Well I do, but I wanted to apply to some part-time jobs and some other stuff.”
“Jobs? On the first day itself! Man! You are dedicated!”
“Oh well that’s that. So what did I miss?”
“Ah, we were just discussing which games we are playing and what we will register with.”
“Oh really so which game do you play?”
“Right now I am playing Wild Terrain. It’s got some cool features. Its got like this time travel thing where you are a time traveler and you can go back in time to the dinosaur age. And instead of goblins you get tyrannosaurs. It’s a clone of another VR game on the gameplay however.”
“Wow seems like you know a lot about them.”
“HAHA that’s saying a few. Well I ain’t putting that in my form though. Planning to start a new game coming out next month. Its called Long Island.”
Hearing it again, Swamy remembered the time in the bus and that couple talking. It seems that this could be a worthwhile game, if people seem to be eagerly expecting it. He added it to his list of games.
For the next month, it was a regular routine of going to classes and studying up on various games. On the weekends he would go to his part-time job and work hard moving stuff. He soon found out that he could handle the heavy-lifting machines as well, earning him a bit more than the minimum.
His list of games was slowly becoming smaller as he cut out each one based on the metrics he had drawn up. He was good at this sort of thing as he had been writing reports all his life. He critiqued each factor of a game and came up with what he called the interest rating. The higher the interest rating, the more interesting he would find the game.
And so far he was making lists. First he made the top ten list, then the top five, the top three, till he reached the conclusion.
Long Island.
This game was creating quite a buzz on the scene as the first VR game without classes, common or othervise. Some people were scoffing at the concept while a lot of them were eagerly anticipating, but all of them were eager to play.
It also boasted the ‘character age’ system. The information on this was still limited, but people were saying that it might be equivalent to levels. The game makers, ArcheSoft, still kept the lid on this feature and simply stated that your age would be an important factor in learning and vice versa, your learning in the game would affect your age. Players were eagerly waiting to find out what exactly it entails.
The next day, he placed an order for Long Island.
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Long Island was released today. Hopefully his capsule would arrive today too. Swamy had been patiently waiting for it since he ordered it, but due to the high demand, the company was having trouble delivering it to everyone.
Soon however he received the call. It was after 6 pm so he was at home anyway. The technicians installed the capsule and explained some basic security features. He listened attentively to all that was said. Soon after he closed the door behind the technicians who left. He entered the capsule.
Swamy opened his eyes to find himself in white cube room with square like tiles. A female voice spoke,
/*
Welcome to Long Island! Your scan shows you are an unregistered user. Would you like to create a character now?
*/
"Yes" replied Swamy.
/*
Please choose your character name
*/
Swamy thought for a bit, and then said.
"Raka", he chose a character name from an old comic he once read, secretly ofcourse.
/*
Please choose your starting race
*/
"Human"
/*
Please choose your starting location
*/
"Random", which was no doozy as no one knew about the advantages of the starting locations as yet.
/*
Your character Raka has been created. You may modify the appearance as you wish although your base facial features will remain the same.
*/
Saying which a 3D model of Raka came up, allowing him to make changes here and there.
Raka didn't make a lot of changes, simply removed his glasses, and made his body just a little buff. He didn't like his skinny self a lot. He also thought of adding a tattoo of a dragon on his arm, but finally settled for an anchor tattoo on his shoulder.
"Changes done"
/*
Your changes have been incorporated. Your starting location has been randomly selected to be Ilmentia Island, Gurrow Village.
Game starting now....
*/
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Raka opened his eyes to see a town bustling with players and NPCs (Non player characters).
"What exactly are they wearing?!!" Somehow the first question that came to his mind was what the players were wearing. The NPC's seemed to be in various attires but all the players seemed to be wearing togas. Yeah the roman kind of toga.
He quickly looked at himself and found himself wearing the same plain drab white toga as everyone else.
Not that he cared about what he wore. Eventually he would be able to buy proper clothes like the NPC's but a lot of the NPCs as well seemed to be wearing a similar kind of toga, just more fashionable and colorful, adorned in jewellery and what else.
'It must be inspired by ancient Roman civilizations.'
Raka moved around a little bit and started taking a walk looking at the sights and sounds.
Some people were bashing rocks using some kind of pointed rock. Some were carrying things. He found a few who seemed to be exercising, doing sit-ups and like. Some were walking like him but some others were actually running. And some seemed to be jogging; yeah there was no other way to describe it.
He also found a lot of players standing in front of NPCs trying to wave their arms and using signs. Some of the NPCs responded by giving them food or water or asking questions if they did not understand (in signs ofcourse).
He passed by a couple of female NPCs, one of whom was wearing some kind of a sexy sleeveless dress which came loosely down to their ankles and was tied using some kind of cloth belt. She carried a book in her hands. The other one seemed to be wearing an ancient warrior kind of clothing, kind of a leather skirt and vest topped off with metal of some kind. Also she was carrying a type of sword on her belt.
These two women were talking with each other in a language he couldn't understand. In fact now that he noticed he saw several NPC groups talking to each other and he couldn't understand any of it.
"Holy cow! What is going on?" he could hear his own voice asking.
He was flummoxed, bewildered beyond words. Where the hell had he landed up.
He decided he needed to get some information. He thought for a while and walked up to one of the players on the street side who seemed to be trying to lift a wood plank up and down. No matter how one looked that seemed like weight lifting.
"Hi, could you explain to me whats going on?"
The guy seemed puzzled.He started waving his arms around. Has everyone gone crazy?!!! He remembered the effects to the human brain speech his parents had often given and was seriously worried now!
But the guy smiled looking at his scared expression. Then he made a sign like clicking a button and a square window.
'Oh, is he talking about clicking and opening a window. Maybe...?'
"Character Window"
/*
Name Raka
Age 1
Satiety 100
"You have been born. You have learned no stats or skills yet. Just like a baby, you have no ability to speak or understand any language yet."
"When satiety falls, you will feel hungry."
*/
"Amazing!!!" was the word which he thought justified all.
So the game had this kind of start. When the developers said you can learn any and all skills, they actually meant all of them. So if you did not gain the skill to generate strength stat, you will never have the strength stat.
Swamy started thinking. He wasn't sure what to do. He did a thumbs up to the guy who was looking like he might have to do some more waving and communicated he understood. The guy smiled again and went back to his lifting.
Raka figured the guy was trying to generate the strength stat. Was there a way to generate the stats using exercise? Well, he understood that in theory it made sense. After all didn't most VR games allow developing skills if you do them repeatedly! And most of the people had played it or similar games so they were trying that.
He did not know if anyone had been able to generate the stat already and were increasing it with exercise or they were still trying.
He had two options. Either he start imitating them and hope for the best, which he definitely thought some people would be doing already, or should he log out and check the forums if someone had posted something about it.
Acting without information was against his nature in the first place so he chose to check the forums first.
'If that doesn't work, I can always try the other way'
He logged out and started looking at the forums on his laptop. His parents had gifted him one on the occasion of him getting selected for university. Although nowadays laptops are as cheap as PCs were once.
As he expected, there was not much information about the game so far. He did find posts complaining about the difficulty and the nature of the game however, which was also within expectations. He figured some players would find it kind of annoying that they couldn't understand language and they did not have any stats.
Well you did have Satiety and Age but so far absolutely everyone had figured out that Satiety meant keeping your stomach full and absolutely no one had a clue to Age.
A post explained Satiety in full including a couple of ways on how to get food from NPCs. Apparently you also had some food in your Bag, but being shocked as he was Swamy had not checked it.
"Um...that was pretty obvious."
Swamy spent almost an hour reading every post which was posted in forums. Players were posting as soon as they found something new, or just something new they thought they would try.
One of the posts was saying that if exercise could generate the STR stat maybe reading in a library could also get you the Intelligence stat.
"I would be reading in the library to find out and will let you know", it said.
After sorting through everything, he concluded that not much information was there. Not that he expected people to have solved all the problems so soon; the game had released just a couple of hours ago. But he also suspected that those who had found the ways might be keeping quiet too.
"It's a competition after all. Everyone wants to find the one thing that makes them better than the rest."
He doubted having the knowledge to generate stats would be kept secret for long though. Eventually just having a stat did not guarantee you would be strong.
Swamy did not know what to do now. He had no choice but to go back to the game and try doing things like everyone else. Should he try waiting for a bit longer? No, that would be counter-productive. He did not know how long it would take for someone to figure out and post it online.
He had to do things himself.
Swamy logged back in and decided he would try the library. It seemed better than running aimlessly.
He walked around searching for the library when he saw a big building, like 5 stories tall in the distance. He had found out different shops by looking at their displays but this tall building didn't have any such display. Furthermore it seemed important as it looked like it was made out of marble.
Raka entered the building and found rows and rows of book shelves. There was this counter as he entered, which he supposed was like the checking out desk of a real library. There were a few players browsing and reading books. Correction, they were trying to read them based on the dull confused expression on their faces. Some of them opened a book, looked hurriedly and then put it down, seemingly not understanding a word of it.
Raka too, picked a shelf and took out a book at random. He looked at the cover, which was quite plain, but having strange characters written on it, which he presumed might be the title.
He opened it and looked at a few pages before putting it down.
'Nope! Can't understand a thing.'
He tried the same thing with a few other books hoping for some realization but all was in vain.
He looked at the other people to see if they found something different but all of them were the same. One of them had dozed off on the chair probably tired of looking at this nonsense.
'This won't do, there has to another way', thought Raka.
He has to look for a different way. He first decided to check his bag which he had forgotten earlier. He had 20 breads, 20 canteens of water and a plant which was unidentified.
Next he checked his character window once again.
"Character Window"
/*
Name Raka
Age 1
Satiety 100
"You have been born. You have learned no stats or skills yet. Just like a baby, you have no ability to speak or understand any language yet."
"When satiety falls, you will feel hungry."
*/
He tried to read it again and again looking at it from different angles but he could deduce nothing from it.
In frustration, he sighed and closed his eyes.
'This is going nowhere.'
He tried remembering everything about virtual reality he knew. He hadn't played any VR games other than that one, which he played during vacation, so he even tried remembering the reports he had written then, even though it had been a nightmare. He remembered he had written about the functions of stats and skills, how he played the game, about the sceneries he saw, about the company which made the game, about the highest ranked player and a lot of other things.
He had to research a lot of information about some of these things from the internet. He remembered an interview with the 1st ranked player which was published worldwide. It had contained excerpts and quotes from people who knew and interacted with him. One of the quotes he particularly liked was said by the professor of the virtual department of some universtiy. He said that when asked about the difference of virtual reality and reality,
"Dividing reality and virtual reality is meaningless..."
Suddenly, Raka sat up. He was repeating the line again and again in his head.
'Could it be possible?!!'
He was now thinking of a way. If virtual reality is the same as reality then that means what works in reality should work in the game. And in order to raise a baby, you need.....
He stood up and started looking around. Not finding what he was looking for, he climbed up to the next floor and the next looking for it. He climbed up to the 5th floor but he couldn't find the thing he was looking for. He climbed down again to the main floor not understanding where it could be, when he saw a trap door right behind the stairs leading up to the first floor. Lifting it, he found stairs leading down.
He found some more rows of shelves but this place was colorful. Infact the walls had been painted in various colors and you could see doll figures and fruit paintings on the walls.
'Ah! This is it. The kids section! Must be somewhere here...'
This floor was hidden by the trap door but he figured the trap door was mostly to get the kids excited and not for actual hiding. He walked down the rows of books and finally found some books which showed promise.
"Finally found it. Picture books!!"
He opened one and started to look at the pictures of various fruits in them. The first one was an apple with some characters next to it.
Raka looked at the characters carefully and then said it aloud, "Apple".
/*
Ability to learn languages: 0.1%
"Learned the ability to learn languages."
Language of Ilmentia Island: 1%
"You have learned the language of Ilmentia Island."
"When the learning of the language of Ilmentia Island reaches 100%, you will be able to communicate with the residents of the island."
*/
"Eureka!!!"