1 Chapter 1 - Silver Skies

Two people sat across from each other. One, a girl with light orange hair and large bags under her eyes. The other, a man with short black hair and glasses. The girl faced the floor and held her arm as it shook uncontrollably. The man looked saddened and pulled a yellow folder from his desk drawer.

"Miss Horne as I'm sure you already know, I've prepared a new treatment for you today." The man said, handing the folder over to the girl. She opened the folder expecting some new type of drug or exercise. But to her surprise... it was a game title.

"Silver Skies? What kind of joke is this Dr. Flores?" The girl was confused. What kind of treatment involved playing a game.

"Let me explain Miss Horne. This is a game that requires sleep to play it. The game allows the body and subconscious mind to rest while you are in the game. It was released 2 weeks ago and is extremely popular with people your age. The game was supposed to promote people getting 8 or more hours of sleep a night." Doc. Flores explained with utmost detail.

"So your saying a game will help me get the sleep I need? What kind of game is it anyways?" The girl asked a little unsure if this was the right idea. But Dr. Flores only smiled confidently at her questions.

"Just to be safe I tested this game myself and took the time to explore what kind of game it was. First: the game has a high chance of succeeding as a treatment. Second: after spending multiple nights in the game, I was able to conclude that it follows a similar game genre of the past. An MMORPG or as I would call it FDMMORPG (Full dive massively multiplayer online role player game)." He was explaining it with glee as he praised the game.

"So you're saying this game is something that could cure my insomnia? Just to be clear, Dr. Flores. No matter how many meds we've tried, we know it doesn't cure me. Only increasing my chances of waking up during the night. This game isn't some kind of drug like the last 26 we've tried right?" The girl didn't buy it. Doc. Flores noticed this and sighed.

"Believe me, I know how bad you get with sleep drugs. There's no way I can have you coming back here like the last time. I can reassure you that this game is no drug for you to take. You could think of it as another exercise for you to complete. I myself have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of the game and made plenty of likeable friends." The doctor said with pride.

"Just to be sure, I want you to think a little about it. I'm sure it costs a decent amount of money. I can't have my parents spending money like that on a whim." The girl wore a guilty expression on her face. She remembered the amount of money that her parents have spent on her for the past year and felt a pain in her chest.

"That sounds just fine. Now if you don't mind, I would like to talk about the idea with your parents." The doctor said as the girl got up opened the door. Outside she saw her parents sitting down. They were disheveled and nervous. She hated this. Her parents gave up so much of their money and time due to her condition. For a year, her physical and mental health were plummeting and her parents tried to support her. They both looked at the girl as she walked out and called to her.

"Luna how'd it go honey? Is there anything Dr. Flores recommended to help this time?" Luna's mother and father were used to going with her to the psychiatrist. Each time Luna left the room with Dr. Flores it was always the same two questions. Luna looked at her father with a half smile and said: "He said he wants to see you two."

They both got out of their seats and left Luna behind. Luna sat down and stared at the door. Her eyes were heavy to blink. She thought that if she had to get up again she couldn't. Her body wouldn't let her. Leaning back she prepared herself to faint. It had been hard for her to fall asleep last night. Just like all the other nights, she fell asleep late. To finally go to bed, Luna would need 3 hours to calm her mind. She used multiple techniques for the purpose of sleeping.

It was over the course of this past year that she learned effective exercises before and during bed to help her fall asleep. She luckily told her parents about the problem before it got too out of hand. Luna was thankful that her parents supported her. But their financial situation was getting worse because of her. If this problem kept up for the next couple of weeks. Then her parents wouldn't be able to afford going to Dr. Flores anymore.

As thoughts of her future health filled her head, she noticed her parents coming towards her. Luna's father spoke lightly. "Honey we've talked over the idea with Dr. Flores and we just want you to make the final decision on the matter."

"Dad I'm not sure. What he's said is promising, but can we trust some game to solve the problem just like that?" Luna was skeptical of the game and what it promised.

"Hey don't be like that. Dr. Flores personally went out of his way to find out if this could be a suitable treatment. We could at least try the game out and see how your sleep goes tonight." Luna's father said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"If you're worried about the price." Luna's mother spoke up. "Then don't worry, the price of the game itself isn't that much more expensive than a normal game. But the device on the other hand might be a bit expensive. So we're going to have to work a bit more hours to pay it off." Her mother said with a smile.

"Are you sure it's ok?" Luna felt like breaking out into tears. But she controlled herself and hugged her parents instead. Her father, while hugging her, replied: "Of course it's ok Luna."

-

It was a long car ride back home. It was about a 45 minute ride from the office to home. But Luna didn't mind. This time her mother took a detour and took them to the Blink Store. Blink was a large company built around having the latest craze for tech. They worked together with the game developer Bow Draw Games to create Silver Skies. With the newest and most popular tech belonging to Blink. And the hugely popular genre of MMORPGs. The two companies hit gold and sold over 30 million copies in the first two weeks of the game's launch.

After they visited the store, Luna held in her hands a brand new NeuroCast. It almost looked like a pair of small headphones. They were supposed to go around your neck, kind of like a neck pillow. Somehow the companies were able to program it to synchronize with your brain waves. The NeuroCast acts almost like you're on the internet while you're asleep. It could do a ton of other things than just play games. But with the release of the new game, it got a lot of attention from the masses.

'Is this really going to be my solution?' Luna was nervous, but also strangely excited. It was going to be her first time playing a game like this. Her last experience playing a game was over two years ago at a friends house. Her skill would most likely be non-existent in the game as it was a genre she's never played before. But she kept herself calm as she remembered her real goal with playing the game.

After they got home Luna took the NeuroCast to her room and installed the game onto the system. Her family then sat around the dinner table to have a late dinner as they talked a bit more about the NeuroCast's features. After she finished her dinner Luna went straight to her room to log onto the game. Her heart raced as she said the command to start.

"Link dive!"