2

Izak opened his eyes and looked around. "Shouldn't I be dead?" He blinked a few times and realized that something else was wrong. "I haven't lived here in over nine years." He looked at his phone and checked the date. It was a month before the Earth: Reboot launch. "What in the hell is going on?"

Izak was sitting on the side of his bed still trying to organize things up in his mind. Was it all a dream? Did he dream a decade of his life in a single night? How was that possible? He could still not wrap his head around the incident. But now he was more curious than anything about how much of his dream might be true and usable. He got up and headed to his office and looked over the case that he was currently working. If his dream was right he could finish it up this evening but then his life would be in danger. The limp that he had was from being shot by a jealous husband who was aiming for his wife. He would have to keep that in mind.

The knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He opened the door and saw a huge box with a couple of men. "Good morning sir. We are here to install you platinum pod. Once it is up and running you will be able to log into Earth: Reboot."

"But I didn't order one. Are you sure that you have the right address?"

"Izak Smith. And this is the address on the order form."

"Can you show me who paid?"

"Actually there is a letter that comes with it. I had not got that far yet sir, I apologize."

"Okay then bring it in the living room and give me five minutes to get a space cleared. This is a surprise." He took the letter and headed into his study. He tore it open and read it quickly since it was only a couple of lines.

'Izak, please log into Earth Reboot at least an hour but no more than four hours early. There will be communications in your inbox to read before the game starts. Use code AIVEN on login. Thank you. A.lice I.vy'

Izak read the letter twice as he moved things and his investigator instincts kicked in and he saw the periods in the name. The AI from Earth: Reboot was sending him the pod and telling him to log in early. That was weirder than anything he could think of but it made him think that the last ten years was not a dream and that in a way that defied the laws of, well any know laws of anything he had been shifted through time to this point. Even while his mind was going a million miles an hour he quickly finished moving things and had the men set the pod up in his study.

"Would you guys care for some lemonade while you work?"

"That is very kind of you, but no thank you." The second man only held up his hand in agreement.

The platinum pod was top of the line and the inside was more comfortable than most beds. This also made the setup easier and harder at the same time. The setup required a lot less work to get it operational but leveling the thing had to be done to some of the strictest standards out there. The reason was that the pod needed to be just right so that the IV and fluid operated the right way. The high end pods allowed the gamer to stay in the pod for days at a time if they wanted. It had different levels of strength which had a huge impact on the industry.

"Gentlemen since this is a gift and I am not tracking anything, does this one come with the supplements?"

"It does sir. This one also comes with the small containment unit that keeps them at the perfect temperature. It is plugged in, in the truck so we did not want to bring it up to the last second to ensure that it stay as close to the perfect temperature as possible. We are about 95% of the way complete with the setup and then we will verify power and connectivity and when that checks out we will bring it right up. Also even though it might seem like a month is a long time from now it will go faster than you think. The fluids that are in the container now are to be consumed over the next month to prepare your body for the game. There are very specific instructions that come with them.'

'Also from personal experience I would recommend not going anywhere on the days when you move up to the next higher grade. The supplements are designed to be efficient and they will clean a lot of toxins out of your system. And if you do not have one I would also recommend a gym. The bottles might give you a lot of energy since they are taken with other food and your physical condition in real life can have some affects in the game, if you have the high end pod that is."

"You seem to know a lot about that."

"I was a beta tester. I did not have a pod but I still had one of the external systems from the company for the fluid."

"Okay then thank you very much. I will join a gym in the next day or so." Izak went to the desk and fired up his laptop and started working so fast it was like he was possessed. Once he realized that everything was real he knew that he needed to get on top of it if he wanted to be able to not only stop the assassins in the game but also become one of the top players and become rich. He had started playing after he was injured finishing up a case and given his nature he dug into all of the forums and things the minute that he started. And while he did not have an identic memory he was close enough that it was seldom that he forgot anything that he read or experienced.

He was not sure how long he was in the zone when the mouthpiece of the group tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, you are all set up and your fluid and its containment are here as well. Could you check everything out and then sign for receipt?"

Izak checked everything out and was even more surprised to find the purple serum in the containment. This was the highest grade of nutrient. He had never seen so many at once. He had only used it a few times in his previous experience and he had managed to stay several days on one. This was only set up to not be used back to back. There were some of the dark blue ones that were for in between. He opened it up and checked everything and saw that the needs were still wrapped in sterile padding. He quickly signed the receipt and pulled out his wallet. He handed each of them a twenty. "I am sorry guys, this is all I have on me."

"Oh thank you sir. It is much appreciated. And as for the amount, you should know that you are the first person to get a platinum grade pod to tip. Sorry, I should not be starting rumors."

"No one will hear anything from me." He opened the small fridge by his desk and handed them both sealed bottles of water. "Hope you guys have a great rest of your day."

"Enjoy the game sir. I might see you there."

"What name do you play under? I will look you up if we end up."

"Oh, I usually play under the name Silver Raven."

Izak almost froze but the PI in him kept rolling. "Then I will definitely look you up. I am not sure what name I will be using but I will send Izak over so that you know who it is."

"That would be appreciated sir." The men shook hands and the two men left and Izak blew out a long breath. Silver Raven was one of the top players in the game. He was a guy who was a natural at games and the like and if memory served in about two years he would split from the guild called Destiny and start his own guild called Raven Roost. If he could become friends with him early in the game he could gain a lot of things later. He did not intend to join his guild and he knew that the man joined under a guild contract but he could work with him on things that occurred at the guild level. Yes definitely a good person to befriend as soon as he can.

Once they were gone he read the instructions on the bottles and grabbed one of the lowest grade ones to get his body used to it. He had used them before and the advice he had been given was sound but he also wanted to get started as quickly as possible. It took him two big drinks to finish the bottle and then he went back to his computer. He still had some work to do in this life. Within ten minute he was starting to sweat as the serum started working in his body. Within the hour he was in the bathroom. It was going to be a long day.