So It Begins
Although the technology had been advancing on Earth for the past couple decades, the 2030's brought about an extensive research mission to combat societies main issues around the world. Breakthrough after breakthrough hit the scientific fields like a storm; cures for many diseases like cancer, STD's, & many other non-lethal & lethal diseases were found. Many new forms of renewable energy sources were discovered & international infrastructures began to change to best adapt to living with nature to better fight the pollution that countless generations before them had brought about.
Along with the change of infrastructures, Governments worldwide found it hard to retain autonomy & authority with the update in technologies that allowed every person around the globe easy access to all information from their phone. With firewalls strong enough no one could hack, it made sense to vote entirely through a global database ran by an always updating AI. With laws & votes being based regionally & passed through countless feedbacks from the AI; Gaia, it was getting easier to live a prosperous life in the world without barriers.
It seemed like an Act of God the way the things changed for the better in only 2 decades, granted human nature wasn't all good, so of course there were downsides to the major technological advancement. The beginning of a journey is always filled with a few rough patches in the road, nonetheless humanities desire for peace & a piece of prosperity is what drove the world to where it was now. A time in history where the thirst for knowledge started to drive people to want to explore new places, whether it was among the far away stars, the vast wilderness yet untouched by man or the sea. That desire for exploration gave birth to the newest trend everyone has kept there eye on for months.
Even if it weren't for the thousands upon thousands of advertisements that had been pushed through all forms of social media worldwide, the hype for the release of the first fully immersive virtual reality game, was beyond estimations. Although no one had ever heard of the company who created the game, all anyone wanted was to buy as much stock as they could.
The excitement for the company, at least to non gamers, originally had nothing to do with the game, it was because they had created a software & coding that allowed the AI; Gaia to act as an intermediary to run the game. What that basically meant was as long as you kept your phone plugged in & updated, you could be sleeping & use your phone as the connection for the game and neural monitors.
What investors got drawn in by was the accessibility they offered to the game, plus the ability to transfer in-game currency to real life currency. With just that bit of information ran on a loop of the same video showing a few shots of different otherworldly landscapes & animals of legend, it wasn't hard for everyone to have their own hopes and expectations for the game, especially since it was a brand new world with a brand new way of life. The same could definitely be said for Leo Blancas.