Chapter 1 New Beginnings (Part 4/5)

*Bzzzzzzzz* *Bzzzzzzzzzzzz* "What the Dust is going on?" I mumbled to myself as I staggered out of bed in the pitch dark. Finding the switch to my bedroom light I turned it on, blinding myself in the process again. Then I grabbed my phone and turned that on as well to check the time. It showed it was 7 am in the freaking morning and someone was at my door. *Sigh* Nowadays, no one ever showed up unannounced at my door. Okay, I take that back, I have seen the Landlord or maintenance come by once or twice after placing a repair order. But I hadn't put in any new repair orders for the past 3 months. Quickly donning my bathrobe over my night clothes, I made my way to the door. The one-sided viewing screen showed what looked like a delivery guy with a clipboard. With a sigh I opened the door. "Hello, may I help you?" I asked the guy while trying to not let my morning countenance and frustration at my early morning wake-up call show through in my expression. I'm sure my hair and eyes were copying the image of a mad scientist with sleep deprivation right at this moment. Looking up from viewing his clipboard he smiled. "Ah yes, you wouldn't happen to be Andrew Matherson, would you?" With a nod I answered with an affirmative. "Yes, I am him." "Very good." He said, "We have a 'for your hands only' package from Millennial Enterprises, I just need to gain a secondary verification so if you wouldn't mind holding up a finger, this will take only a moment." I was surprised to be getting something additional from them already, but whatever it was, I was sure it would be wise to accept. Pulling out a larger hand-held DNA scanner he pricked my finger and ran my blood through the device. Jotting down some notes on his clipboard he looked up and smiled again. "Looks like things are in order, Mr. Matherson. Where would you like for us to put your capsule?" "Wait, What?!" I exclaimed. I had not been expecting that! I hadn't bought a capsule and I certainly hadn't gotten any notice from Millennial Enterprises saying they had chosen my DNA . . . unless . . . "Um . . ., hold on just a second." I told the man. With a simple nod he went back to reviewing his list. Rushing back to my bedroom and picking up my phone, I opened my message history and I looked at the message that had woken me that night, which I just barely recalled receiving. Rereading it now being fully awake, it said the following. *To Mr. Matherson. Congratulations on being one of the first few chosen to receive this amazing offer of a lifetime membership for our new VR world, and free personalized Capsule, pending successful completion of a two-week trial period. To verify that you accept this capsule and accompanying registration, please select yes and we will send the capsule at our earliest convenience. * I saw a highlighted 'Yes' that had been pressed just after 2 am that morning. "Oh . . . my . . . goodness." I muttered under my breath, feeling a little stunned. Shaking myself out of my surprise, I came back to the delivery man to open the door and invite him in. He was about to step over the threshold when he seemed to notice he'd forgotten something. "Hold on a moment." Rifling through the papers on his board he finally pulled out a paper, densely filled with writing. "Forgot to have you sign the release form." Handing me a 2-page liability waiver, it basically translated to that the company will not be responsible for anything that happens to me mentally or emotionally in the VR, or damages to the Capsule due to neglect or tampering. Only physical symptoms that cross over from the VR or from the capsule into my actual body, will be liable for compensation and medical treatment. Mental or emotional symptoms will be assessed on a case-by-case basis while Millennial Enterprises reserves the rights to judge regarding if and what treatment and compensation may be provided when reported. Considering how trustworthy the company had been up to this point, I figured it sounded fair to me. Signing on the line that said "I accept these conditions," I returned it to the man. With a nod of his head, he called out to two other guys hanging out by a delivery truck that I just now noticed. "Alright guys, bring it on in!" My eyes widened at the size of the box that contained what I assumed to be the capsule. I did not have a pre-planned location for this monstrosity of technology, and so I rushed off to 'clean up' my second bedroom. I had been using it as a storage room of sorts for now. It was filled with camping gear, an old used mattress, several special purchase sets of apothecary tools that I kept intending to use, and other miscellaneous junk. Pushing that which could be relocated to the side, I made as much space as possible for the workers to set up the capsule. As the three workmen came through the door with the load, I noticed it was in two parts that I assumed to be the bottom and the lid since they were both of almost the same size. Put together, they would not have fit through the door. I turned back to the guy with the clipboard. "Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked. "Naw" He replied, "We've got this taken care of. However, . . ." he said as he pulled a thick booklet from the packaging mess that they were already making. "Since it will take us about an hour or so to set up your capsule, it is suggested that you read at least the introduction of this book before starting your immersion." Handing it to me I graciously took it, and with a last glance back at them working, I went right back to my bedroom to check it out. Flipping over the front cover that displayed the Millennial Enterprises logo, I began reading. Welcome to New Earth. There are some similarities to the original earth as certain landmarks remain partially intact such as the Grand Canyon, Great Wall of China, and Stonehenge. There are quite a few differences however. One, is that many cities that you may be familiar with are now covered in dense foliage. Another, is that several new land masses have appeared amid the ocean as well as other locations. The world's surface area has increased exponentially, causing what would normally be a familiar coast line of continents to become misshapen from the upheaval of new mass. Most of the awe-inspiring man-made structures have fallen into ruins that more often than not breeding grounds for dangerous creatures which will zealously guard their homes against any intrusion. The current fully sentient and sometimes friendly humanoid inhabitants are expecting you. Their ancestors were just like you and me, only they experienced a calamity of epic proportions that ravaged everything in its wake. Plants, animals, humans, and even diseases were all changed at the genetic level, some in the smallest of ways, while others to such a degree as to become entirely unrecognizable for what they had once been. Humans seemed to suffer the most seeing as more than 75% died, or were terribly mutated from the effects of whatever it was that swept over the face of the Earth. Close to another 20% were lost in the immediate fallout, whether they were killed by the initial chaos or eaten by the monsters that seemed to emerge from the surrounding wild lands. These monsters had begun to make their homes in the ruins of collapsed or vacant buildings. Millennia into their exile from all upper-level technology (which was rendered unusable due to electricity no longer working as expected due to magic fluctuation), these inhabitants have been slowly losing ground against various groups of monsters which have been seeking to increase their territory. As was witnessed by the native inhabitants; on a single day, all around their world, an anomaly appeared in all large and medium sized cities. A cyclone of crackling energy opened up in the middle of the heavily populated areas. To a few of the more magically observant onlookers, they hypothesized it to be a bridge of some sort from an unknown origin. Lasting only a few seconds, once the energy cyclone disappeared and those around it had recovered from the shock, what they saw was a large black stone pillar left in its place. On the pillar in an ancient language, it spoke of how the deities had seen their plight and in their time of need would send them help. Their help would come in the form of Travelers, who would travel across the fields of time, originating from their very own past before the calamity occurred. The engravings go on to tell that the travelers will be unsure as to if it is a dream, a game, or even reality. They are informed that it is only your minds that are brought forward through time. New bodies, compatible with the world, are created for you on their end. To them when your body is destroyed beyond the ability to repair, it takes a total of 6 of their days (48 hours Real-time) to reconstruct your body. (Their deaths on the other hand are permanent.) It is instructed to them that when you arrive, you will have no understanding of their language and must first touch the stone pillar to gain the ability to understand the local dialect. A few other things are spoken of on the pillar, but for a full description of what it says, turn to Chapter 6 of this guidebook. One very important thing of note however, is that in addition to each other, you should treat the denizens of this world like they are inhabitants of your own reality. As this is not a game but a research project, any discovered mistreatments of the innocent residents or other Travelers from the perspective of the Travelers, will be rendered as punishable at Millennial Enterprises discretion. *End Introduction* As I browsed through the table of contents, I turned to a chapter that dealt with the start of the project. Listed up at the top were the restrictions.Project Restrictions: *Cannot change genetic gender of your Avatar/Character: Exceptions may be made for those born as Hermaphrodites due to their unique genetic circumstances. Gender fluid species selections will be opened to them if they so choose. All other participants are able to choose non-gender creatures such as pure elementals if they so decide. Those who seek to perform body modifications to their character outside of the initial character creation may attempt to do so once in the simulation through surgical, genetic, or magical manipulation. Be aware that there may be a disconnect or fluctuation with your character's natural talent and capability if certain modifications are made. Some modifications may be effective in assisting you in achieving your personal goals and quality of experience, while others may be detrimental to such, resulting in greater regret for having initiated them in the first place. If you desire to have such changes saved, you must make voluntary physical contact with the black translation pillar in your local city. Such physical or genetic changes will not be able to be reversed, except possibly through additional in-simulation modification, once the action of intentionally being saved has occurred. *Failure to make voluntary contact with the pillar after modification and prior to your next death, will result in the removal of those changes upon your Avatar's reformation/rebirth, as they will be treated as injuries to your body. * Character Reset: Each participant who has had their genetic data recorded in Millennial Enterprises as a Traveler may have the opportunity to reset their character 1 time. Only a complete reset of your character may allow for a complete removal of all saved modifications and changes made. All progress and accomplishments will be lost and your area of spawning will be random. Time will not stop for you as the world will continue on. The actions taken by your prior character will remain, however the character themselves will be gone. The benefit of a reset is that any past failed and burnt-out elemental paths attempted, will be allowed to be attempted once again. It is strongly advised that you seek out advice and evaluation from your local mages' guild, prior to any attempt at elemental assimilation, to determine your affinity and compatibility to the various elements. *Starting age: All Travelers/Avatars will be age regressed to 14 years of age (due to that being the general prime age for learning mana manipulation), except in unique circumstances, where such would be an extreme detriment to their ability in affecting the world around them. Some racial cognitive and physical development is either accelerated or further regressed to accommodate a more optimal development for affected avatars.IE: Some types of demonic races are still in their pupal stage after 14 years, while some insectoid races are far past their prime at 14 years. *Cannot voluntarily change more than 0.1% of facial identifiable features and 1% of body mass/distribution at world start: Involuntary change of appearance based on species selection should be expected. Inside the VR, overall physical appearance (but not capability) will change along with Real Life physical appearance, with allowances made for age discrepancy and certain health conditions. GM note: This is to encourage maintaining personal health. *Species selection for Avatar: All participants will be given a large variety of species to choose from with varying advantages and disadvantages, such as several types of elves, dwarves, barbarians, fairies, giants, halflings, various demons, and more, as well as being able to create a blend of 2 different types of their choice. There are cases of non-viability of some parental offspring. These issues will be addressed at the time of initial character/avatar creation. *Special note: In rare cases, a Unique species blend will be offered (in addition to the regular options) to participants at the start of their adventure that will give special traits and possibly extra racial abilities if selected. *Cannot choose starting location: Your starting location will be based on your species makeup of which you will get no previous knowledge regarding where they normally start at. *Status Plate, Learning Skills, Abilities, Traits, completing Quests, & Growing in Levels: To start, this world is meant to be very lifelike and as such there will not be the trappings of Virtual Reality games. There will be no Status plates, skill or ability descriptions, gaining of levels, or numerically valued growth. There are Tiers of magic and development aided by the assimilation of various elemental stones. [A more advanced description and clarification is found in Chapter 12 of this guide book] *Logging out: Logging out will be available the moment you set foot in the new world. Simply think or say the words 'Log Out' and a small transparent icon will appear in the upper left corner of your vision. Simply turn your eyes in that direction, focusing on the '5' second countdown without interruption for it to reach '0' and you will be ejected from the world. In unsafe areas, your avatar body and personal gear however will remain behind for up to an additional hour VR time and if your body is killed in that period, it will count as a Death with the accompanying penalty. GM NOTE: If you believe yourself incapable of maintaining a steady gaze on the countdown in stressful circumstances, then we advise that you not participate in this virtual reality experience. At the signing of the waiver, you should understand that there is no guarantee that you will receive either reconciliation or compensation for ill deeds done to you inside the Virtual Reality. Millennial Enterprises will be held entirely blameless for your choices and for the choices of others. We do apologize for our inability to fully monitor all participants (or Travelers as they are labeled). We strongly emphasize that if any are caught in the act, or proven to have sexually assaulted or committed similar atrocities to another Traveler or even natural inhabitant of that world, then at our discretion there may be varying levels of consequences for said Traveler. *Pain Level: We are unfortunately unable to reduce the pain settings in this world as it would negatively affect our intended research. All forms of pain will be felt in full. *Simulated Virtual Reality time: Due to possible unique circumstances, Participants (also known as Travelers) will be allowed to stay (on rare occasions) in the simulation for up to 48 hours (RT)Real-Time which comes out to 6 days in-(VR)Virtual Reality time in a 1 – 3 time dilation ratio. Upon the end of those 48 hours, they will be forcibly logged out no matter the circumstances. They will then suffer a 24 hour RT period in which they cannot log in, during which they are strongly encouraged to exercise their body and refresh themselves. The Capsules have a built-in body monitor that will react accordingly to the stressors upon the body. This is not foolproof as the mind is capable of suffering enormous levels of pain before our bodies may reflect said pain. Thus, adequate self-regulation is strongly advised. It is recommended that you spend no more than 12 hours RT in-VR for every 12 hours RT out of the VR. It is however permitted for you to spend up to 24 hours RT in-VR for every 3 hours RT spent out of it since SLEEP is accounted into the equation of the Capsule usage. Further monitoring and application of time restraints may apply depending on bodily stresses discovered. *Death Penalty: Each time you die, depending on if there are scavengers in the area, you are at risk for losing whatever you have on your person except for the basic garments gained at the start of your adventure. You will not lose levels since there are none to lose, and you will not lose skills already gained, since once learned, those can only be lost through neglect or other more rare factors. There are personal growth opportunities that may be lost to you forever, if your character expires or logs out prior to successful completion of an ongoing elemental trial. Further details of elemental trials may be found in chapter 23 of this guide book. Re-spawn or rebirth locations are assigned as the last city or village with a black translation pillar that you have touched, in order to learn the local language. Beware that some villages or cities that contain pillars may be hostile to Travelers. Every death will result in a 48-hour Real Time lockout from the system. If too many deaths occur in a small time frame, or if this feature is found to be intentionally abused, then further action and consequences from the GM may result, depending on the situation. *Healing and Recovery: Each pillar may be used once a day to heal most ailments. Unless other means are found, entire lost limbs or appendages will usually not be replaced except upon resurrection after a death. Some ailments such as strong curses or slow acting poisons may be considered incurable or may require other sources of treatment in order to resolve. Most injuries and maladies have multiple methods within this world to receive treatment for. Apothecaries and Mage healers are the main go to for most injuries and illnesses. Divine treatment is also a main source of treatment, but beware, the cost may be far higher than is originally told. It can, at times come with a high cost, be it financial, mental, or physical compulsion. *Other restrictions: Other restrictions may show up throughout the Simulated VR, but for the most part, anything you can set your mind towards accomplishing, with enough power, skill, and wit, nothing will be held back from you. * * * * *