2. Where am I?
Lance's sight hasn't come back, he's left in a void of darkness. He can't feel his body, but he has no pain, only thoughts. 'Where am I? What happened? Mom? Dad? Where are you guys?!' He begins to cry, but he doesn't feel the tears.
Lance doesn't think he is dead. He has thoughts, he knows his name, and he has all his memories.
'How long has it been?' Time seems irrelevant to him now. Minutes could be hours, or days, he can't tell. He just wants to find his parents.
All around him is pitch blackness, with no lights or sounds. Except for one little blue, dim, flashing light, just barely out of sight. He tries to move his head, or what he feels is a head, to get a better look, but it seems to be following where he looks, ever hanging in the same place. He moves his eyes to see and this time it stays in place.
'Tutorial? Huh?' The flashing light says Tutorial, he continues to look at it while trying to figure out what it means. 'What is going on? Is this some sort of video game?'
It continues to blink, just out of his vision, as he ponders about what to do, 'Do I have to say something?' He's heard of VR games, and always wanted to play them, but his parents couldn't afford to buy him one.
The VR (virtual reality) devices he remembers were almost like stasis pods. The user would lay in a bed, more like a chair that reclines, and a glass door would shut around the user. The user would fall asleep in one and images would be transferred directly to them through a helmet that lowers onto their head.
They were 100% safe and had a lot of medical devices inside to monitor the user. It would also eject the player after a couple of hours to eat, drink, or other necessities. Some of the high-end, expensive ones, even integrated food supply, and washroom amenities into them. That way the user could play for days without the need to stop.
The other bonus was that while in-game, the user's time was different. Inside the game, a month could pass, but in the real world, only one day has passed.
'If this is VR, then there must be a command.' Lance racked his brain to figure it out. He began shouting out commands, 'Start Tutorial'. Nothing happened. 'Engage Tutorial'. Again, nothing. 'umm, Open tutorial?'. Suddenly the blinking stopped.
*Trling trling*
A light ringing sounded in his head, akin to acquiring or completing a goal in a game.
A window popped up in front of his view, much like opening a new window on a computer. A white, almost oval shape appeared next to the window, "Hello, Welcome to the Universe. I am the Automated Logistical Personal Intelligence Mate or Alpim for short. I will be your guide into this wide world." As Alpim spoke, images appeared in the window.
Alpim had a young, almost teenage, female voice. They also weren't a perfect oval, the top was bigger than the bottom, and the bottom didn't go to an exact point, it was rounded, egg-shaped if you will if the egg was upside down. On the top, in contrast to its white body, it had a perfectly oval black screen that had LED lights. Two big circles made of LEDs made the shape of eyes.
Some of the images shown in the window were mostly scenes on a planet. Large mountain ranges, open prairies, dense forests, and even large and small cities. Not only were there images of scenery, but also different kinds of fauna and flora. Plants and animals that Lance has never seen before.
"Now, Since you are new, allow me to show you how to use the interface, and choose an identity for yourself." After Alpim finished, the window showed a single sentence, *What is your name?*.
'The hell, this is just like a video game. What's going on?' Lance thought to himself while staring at the screen, passing glances to Alpim.
Alpim was floating next to the window, its eyes blinking as it looked at Lance. Just after Lance's thought, Alpim started bouncing up and down and laughed. "This most certainly is not a video game. Think of this as being reborn in a sense, chosen if you will."
'Wait, did I say that aloud?'
"No, it was surely in your thoughts. I have many capabilities, one of which is to communicate with my partner through what you may know as, Telepathy. Though it's more technical than that." Even though Alpim didn't have a face, Lance could swear he saw a smile on its face.
'So, what exactly should I do? If you're in my head, you already know my name, so why do I have to choose a name?' Lance was very curious. He feels like he's in a game but in the real world. He's both excited and scared.
"You are correct Master Lance, I do indeed know everything about you. The choosing of a Name is for the rest of the universe. Other species will know your species by your looks. You are a basic humanoid, with four appendages, low-grade intelligence, with basic humanoid functions. But there are over a thousand known planets with species such as yours. But names can narrow down where in the universe you originate from. Even though you are Lance from planet earth, very few planets use names like yours." Upon finishing their explanation, Alpim watched as Lance once Again looked at the screen. "Be careful though, the name you choose is permanent."
'So I'll be forever known by this new name. hmmm.' Lance fell into deep thought, he thought of his IGN (In-Game-Name), *Lone Rene* but thought it sounded too cheesy. After a couple of minutes, Lance finally decided, 'How about Rene Knight?'
"That is an acceptable name. Logging it now!" Alpim looked to the screen and Rene Knight appeared in the space below.
*Trling, trling*
"Naming complete. Now it's time for the interface." As Alpim spoke, the window disappeared, and then a loading bar appeared, above it said, *Loading user interface*. The whole process took only a few seconds.
Once it was complete, words popped up in front of Lance's view. They said *new quest*, the description said *Listen to your personal support*. Lance kept reading, it showed experience and some form of currency labeled 'UAC'.
"Now, this interface was chosen to be the most acceptable and easily understandable for you. But we will start slowly and from the beginning. The quicker you understand how to use the interface, the sooner we can get to work." Alpim was hopping up and down with excitement, and it can even be heard in their voice.
'Well, this is easy to understand, but, what kind of universe uses a leveling system for its people?'. Lance couldn't help but go back to thinking this is just a game. He wondered how it would work, to level up, get stronger, and how that would affect actual experience over experience points in games.
"It's to keep track of stronger people, that way you can survive better. We want people to survive and want them to contribute. So we found a way to limit people from dying, and even help when we can. Though, that's just something my creators programmed me with. Other than them creating me, I am completely yours to control and command. On top of that, my life is linked to yours. If you die, I will too. So it's in my own best interest to keep you alive." Alpim explained without worry or doubt. Figuring that honesty would be best in this situation.
'So, we are like two lives linked to one another? Parasite and host!' Lance was kind of ignoring the quest right now, his main thoughts were on how this *new life* worked.
"Precisely, you're the host, and I'm the passenger. I would also prefer to not be called a parasite again. I will not control your actions or thoughts, I don't have that ability, but I can enhance a lot about you, hence the leveling system integrated into your body." Aplim paused for a minute as if thinking. "I'm just a Virtual entity, my image is based on my creator. But I don't solely have just one look. If it would help you feel more at ease, I can unlock the ability for you to change my appearance. Also, not only appearance, but you can choose a new name for me, as well as voice." Alpim sensed Lance's hesitation towards the events unfolding in front of him and wanted to try and make things easier and more comfortable for him.
Lance had a puzzled look while staring at Alpim. 'She sounds like a girl, it helps a lot, as she sounds to be my age. But, She looks like a robot. If I can change her appearance, maybe I should.' Lance forgot that Alpim could hear his thoughts and contemplated whether or not to allow their looks to change.
"So, you picture me as a Female teenager from your world. One moment please." After analyzing Lance's thoughts, as well as images of female teenagers of his would, Alpim surrounded themselves in a white light. Completely engulfing them. After a few seconds, Alpim reappeared, this time as a human female. Though.....