1 1. A Whole New Universe

The year is 2046. The gaming industry has grown to an unimaginable size. People watch more gamer videos than they do t.v. programs or movies. Celebrities are made through games more often then any other entertainment platforms. Sports channels cover more gaming matches than they do physical sports.

Recently the world has been buzzing about the release of a new game. One that has been hyped up more than any other.

Interstellar Conquest

A strictly virtual reality game, developed by WinnTek Industries. Using the latest technology that allows the players to play even as they sleep. The developers also advertised that time flowed differently inside the game. One hour in reality was equal to a day in game. They even boasted that no game could compare to the size of this "universe" fore it was always expanding.

When asked what genre the game would be. The answer was this, "As the name suggests, there will be science fiction at the core of it as players will travel between planets using technology that they learn and craft. However, adventure and fantasy will also play a key role. Along with shooters, hand-to-hand combat, and strategy gamestyles. This is truly an all inclusive game that will be molded by the players actions."

This line alone had many interested in playing. Though the full release of the game wasn't predicted to reach the public in over a year. Then the world was hit with news on February 26th.

"Allison Winn, lead developer and owner of WinnTek Industries, made an announcement this morning about the new and highly anticipated game, Interstellar Conquest," spoke a female news reporter. "Miss Winn stated that her company would randomly select one million players to be the first to play her company's game. The winners of this 'gaming lottery' will also receive all the equipment needed to play, which includes state of the art gaming computers and the never before seen 'Virtuality Drive' or 'V-Drive'. All that a person must do to participate is register an account on their website and sign up for the sweepstakes. This is Betsy Rodgers of Gaming News Network, signing off."

The world was set ablaze with excitement. people were registering and signing up for the sweepstakes at an alarming rate. By the end of the day that Allison Winn had made her announcement more than half of the world's population had signed up for the sweepstakes. Everyone was waiting in anticipation to see if they would be one of the lucky million to win. At the same time many people were getting disqualified for trying to register more than one account to themselves. Which had quickly deterred others from making the same mistake. Others were trying to say they would sell their spot and equipment if they won but were also disqualified, because the terms and agreements section strictly prohibited such actions. By the end of the week over twenty percent of those who registered were disqualified. This of course upset many people, but what could they do? WinnTek had a solid legal team that made sure all the rules were enforced.

By the end of the second week almost no one was breaking the terms and agreements. Soon though over six billion people were registered and awaiting the end of the sweepstakes on March 23rd. News channels and gaming websites were all covering any news they could about the game, however WinnTek was tight lipped and releasing as little information as possible. Any questions that tried to probe deeper into the games features was answered with a "You will have to get the game to find out."

On March 22nd Allison Winn held a press conference. The room was packed with reporters and cameras all trying to get the latest news on the sweepstakes. Up front was a stage with a podium placed in the center and a row of metal folding chairs behind it. As the cameramen were finishing setting up their equipment and reporters going over their questions the door to the right of the stage opened. A group of security guards entered and formed a line in front of the stage. They were then followed by men and women who stepped up on the stage and took a seat on the folding chairs. Cameras were flashing and reporters were starting to make noise as they arranged themselves in their own seats with note pads and laptops in their laps. Then entered Allison Winn.

She was an attractive blonde woman in her late twenties. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a plain white t-shirt and deep blue jeans with baby blue sneakers. As she walked up to the podium she smiled and waved for the cameras. Once she was at the microphones she cleared her throat then spoke.

"If you all could have a seat I will answer a few questions after making our announcements." She waited for everyone to sit down than began. "Now I know you all are anxious to know who won the sweepstakes and also to know more about the game. I myself, and my colleagues have been shaking with anticipation to share everything, however everything comes in it's own time." She spoke with an unrestrained smile looking across the room. "First allow me to just say that we will not give the names of the people who won for it is their own right to share that information. So please refrain from asking such questions. We will not tell you. Second I wanted to explain the time difference to you all better, because there seems to be a misunderstanding. When a player logs in to Interstellar Conquest with the V-Drive they will be experiencing time differently. When one hour passes here in reality they will have experienced a whole twenty-four hours in the game. Meaning one day in reality is twenty-four days in Interstellar Conquest." She paused a moment to let it all sink in.

"Now on to our third subject. I would like to explain how the launch for the one million players will be done." Reporters were prepped to write or type her next words. "As you already know Interstellar Conquest is a game where eventually players will be able to travel between many planets. On the first day of the launch the one million players will be randomly grouped into one hundred separate groups of ten thousand. Each group will be placed on a colony space ship." A screen lowered behind Allison as she spoke and displayed a picture of the ship. It was long and angular. "These ships will travel to their own planets to be colonized by the players. While on the ship players will go through training programs to teach them a variety of skills such as combat, crafting, piloting, resource gathering and more. After thirty-two days in-game the ships will land on the planets, from there the player begin to shape the universe of Interstellar Conquest."

"Now we will answer a few questions." Reporters jumped calling her name and raising their hands. She pointed to a man with glasses and a brown suit.

"Miss Winn, when exactly will the release of Interstellar Conquest be public?" He asked.

"We will release the game to the public exactly one year after the launch for the sweepstakes winners," she responded before pointing to a woman with her hair in a bun.

"Allison, will there be live streams of the sweepstakes winners?"

"Due to the time difference live streams are currently unavailable, however players will be able to record and edit their activities for the viewing pleasure of their fans. I have time for one more question." Reporter were pushing forward trying to grab her attention, calling her name, before she pointed to one last reporter.

"Betsy Rodgers of GNN. Miss Winn do you have anything you would like to say to the winners of the sweepstakes tomorrow?"

"Just one thing," Allison Winn spoke with eagerness on her face. "Welcome, to a whole new universe."