Information Blackout

Colt slowly open the door to his home. Stepping inside, he shook the rain from his hair. A puddle was slowly gathering around his feet. With a heavy sigh, he placed his box of belongings on the floor. He removed his thick black coat and put it on the hook by the door. He was unconcerned with the water dripping from it. It was not like he lived with anyone that would care.

He walked down the short entrance hall to the door that led to the living room. His shoes tapped against the laminate flooring, reminding him to remove them before going any further. He quickly kicked his shoes off and to the side. He had been a bit too forceful about it as he heard them bang against the wall.

The noise made him look at them, and from the corner of his eye, he spotted his box of belongings. The fact that he had been fired had obviously not sunken in yet, and as such, he had forgotten about it soon as he put it down.

His face contorted into a dejected look as he backtracked to retrieve the box. As he picked it up, he noticed a photograph of better times. It was a team photo of when they had first won the championship together. That was before Robert had joined the team. The memory brought a warm smile to his face. He only wished the good times like that had lasted longer. His eyes then lingered on the invitation envelope.

Being invited to a beta test was quite a big deal. Colt could use the knowledge gained from it to earn a living for a while. This would require knowing the right people to sell that information to. At least he had that going for him. In his time as a pro gamer, he had met plenty of people. He was sure at least a few of them would play this game eventually.

The company behind this new game was the same one that created Mayhem. So as soon as they began marketing it, he was sure that it would gather a lot of attention. It would just be a question of whether or not it would have any staying power. Especially since it would be competing against the current top game. The letter itself did not have many details about it, which made him wonder what kind of game it was.

He was sure it would be some kind of RPG. Since this was the type of games that the company specialised in. He wondered if he would find out any details online if he were to search for it. It could not hurt to at least have a look. It would make a world of difference if he was at least a little prepared. It would allow him to make the most of the opportunity.

Passing by the couch and the television, he made a beeline straight from his computer desk. He sat the box down off to the side and removed the envelope. He retrieved the letter from within and searched through the contents to find the web address to register for the testing phase. Having seen the information he was after he pressed the button to power on his computer.

The black half-sphere resting on the desk suddenly glowed with blue light as a screen's hologram took form in front of his eyes. This reminded him that it was an older model. Since he rarely spent any time at home, he did not really bother to upgrade it.

Not that he would be able to afford to for some time now anyway. He should really consider himself lucky since most people were still using solid hardware computers.

The system booted up instantly. Colt clicked the icon for the search engine that was displayed with his finger on the hologram. He suddenly chuckled to himself as he remembered his father complaining about computer systems these days.

His father had grown up during a time when people still used keyboards and a mouse to navigate through the computer software. He never missed an opportunity to complain about it since he could not get the hang of the new technology.

He tapped on the search bar with his finger, and a hologram of a keyboard appeared on the desk in front of him. He clicked his tongue at the sight of this. Colt had forgotten about this feature since all of the computers at Camelot's headquarters were state of the art.

They used Thought Integration Technology, allowing the user to project their thoughts onto the hologram. It was rather convenient, and once you get used to it, far faster than anything that had come before it.

He reluctantly placed his hands on the keyboard and began typing. As soon as he entered the web address and pressed enter, he was directed straight to a secure site. It immediately asked for his security key code to gain access. He wondered if this was really necessary just for a game. He entered the credentials printed on the letter that he had received, and the next moment a contract suddenly appeared on the screen.

He had thought it was just going to be the usual terms and conditions that everyone would usually just accept without reading them. However, that was far from the truth. A full-blown contract stated that anything he discovered about the game must be kept confidential until the game was released. As he read on, it stated the number of penalties for revealing any of the information.

Even Mayhem had not been this secure during its beta test period. There was plenty of information going around, and it was even encouraged by the company as a form of marketing. 'It's not like they can be hiding some big secret, right?' Colt thought as he read through the remainder of the contract.

Without a second thought about it, he quickly accepted the terms and was redirected to the central hub of the developer's website for Pantheon Online. As he promptly looked at the tabs' names on the screen, he felt a bit of dismay sinking in. Not a single one seemed like they would hold any relevant information about anything in the game.

He quickly clicked on the tab to register and filled out all of his information. He promptly got a response back that told him the software will download to his personal rig in seven days to coincide with the beta test release. 'I guess all I can do now is wait…'