Chapter 1 New Beginnings (Part 3/5)

Dear Mr. Andrew Matherson. We are pleased to see your current interest in pursuing studies in Pharmaceutical Botany as well as your current occupation in patient care. As a predominantly medically inclined corporation, it is within our interest to support and accommodate the needs of promising young talents in the medical field. It is with great honor that we would like to extend to you a scholarship offer with special considerations. If you decide to accept our offer, then there are a few contingencies by which we expect you to abide. First, you are required to attend school at least half time for the fall and spring semesters. While you may attend full-time, it is expected that half of your full-time credits be applied towards your medical degree. Those classes pertaining to your medical degree must be maintained at an average of 3.0 or higher. If at any time you feel that you are unable to abide by these standards, please contact your Millennial Enterprises liaison for further assistance. An additional stipulation is included. Although we have refrained from participating in the massive growth of Virtual Realities up to this point, we have decided to expand our research platform into the public, to better understand its medical uses in the utilization of its sensory functions, as well as potential long-term treatment and curative options in mental health (in a non-interactive and strictly observatory role). As such, we have created a Virtual Reality World of our own, that we wish for you to adventure within. Should you choose to accept possible placement with our early group selection, then we will promise to finance your educational and modest living expenses for the next two years, contingent upon a satisfactory completion of a two-week trial period. The prolonging of this offer is permissible at the fulfillment of certain requirements undetermined at this time. To accept this offer you must insert your DNA within the DNA scanner that arrived with this envelope. . . "DNA scanner" I mumbled to myself. "The box?" Pulling out the small box I opened it up to see a miniaturized version of other units I'd seen before. "Wow! This thing must be expensive!" Going back to the letter I keep reading. . . . Upon scanning your DNA, and entering your name and credentials, a token of our promise will be entered into your private account. If you are selected to participate in the immersion of our Virtual Reality world, then you must spend a minimum of 20 hours per week Real-Time within that world, and provide a short report of your experiences to us at intervals of no less than once a week. "20 hours a week! They don't give much time for full time work and school then." . . . If you cannot accept these stipulations then simply contact your liaison and notify them of your choice. . . Looking down at the bottom of the page I saw LIAISON with a name and phone number. There was a single sentence left of the message. . . .In closing, we wish to thank you for your interest in our company, and hope you make the decision to join us in our desire for a better future. Sincerely,Millennial Enterprises CEONaathan Gnosis "Wow. What a weird stipulation." As I looked up from reading the letter to myself, I saw that some of my neighbors who had also come out for their mail, were giving me strange looks as I stood there, bare foot in a bathrobe by the mail boxes. . . . .I figured I should go back inside. Putting the DNA scanner back in the box and holding tightly to it and the letter, I made a hasty retreat back to my abode. Once inside my second story apartment with the door firmly shut behind me, I wiped my feet on my rug to clean them of debris. With little patience, I pulled out the mini–DNA Scanner which was about the size of my closed fist, before carefully setting it on the limited open counter space in my kitchen. Reading the brief instructions explaining its use, I discovered it was a simple process of powering it up and doing what the screen instructed me to do. Unwrapping and applying the provided sterilizing swab to my index finger, I waited for it to dry before pricking it with the tip of the device, which thrust out a small needle. Honestly it was almost just like getting a blood glucose reading, except with a bigger machine. After applying a band aid, all that was left was entering and verifying my personal data as well as entering my bank account and routing number, on the small keypad and then hitting send. A processing screen was displayed for a few seconds and then an additional message was displayed. 'PROCESSES COMPLETE! INITIALIZING SELF DESTRUCT! PLEASE SET ASIDE UNIT. . . .' My eyes widened at the new message and I briefly contemplated a mad dash to the door to throw the unit out of my apartment. Instead, with my morbid curiosity, I laid it gently on the kitchen counter and stepped back a few feet, watching with anticipation to see what would happen. No loud noises or sparks were displayed, but instead, a weirdly dull black amorphous mass, seeped from its sides to eat away at the sharp edges of the unit. After forming into a misshapen sphere with only the screen remaining distinct, it showed a brief message [SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE COMPLETE] which then went dark with no further movement or lights. I still gave it a few more seconds before grabbing an oven mitt and picking it up to throw it away. Strangely enough, it began to show signs of crumbling as I threw the black spherical mass away in the kitchen trash. With a shrug of my shoulders, I went to the kitchen sink to wash my hands and finish up my grilled cheese sandwich. Going about the rest of the day, I felt a seed of hope slowly growing inside of me. It was tempered with a strong sense of cynicism and realism, considering my previous experiences in Virtual Reality. Despite not finding the fulfillment I was looking for within other games, I felt that at least with this one, I'd be helping the progression of science, as well as gaining money for my own studies. Considering their advancement in the medical and technological fields, I had to wonder if this new Virtual Reality would have what the others lacked. The past VR games that I had tried, were too structured with little to no leeway for creating your own skills. In trying out multiple games, I had sought a safe and anonymous platform that might give me a hint as to what my unique feelings could potentially transform into. It was hard though to have this feeling in real life that at times could be so overpowering so as to make me think anything was possible, and then come to find out that I really couldn't manifest it into reality in any way which I could discern. Having finished my morning routine of a quick breakfast, personal necessities, and then a shower, I went over to my computer. Turning it on took a scant couple of seconds to load, before I started accessing my bank account. To be honest, I had been a bit leery of giving out my bank information just like that. Still though, I figured that with my bank covering any fraudulent transactions so long as I recognized and notified them within 7 days of their origination, then I was decently safe. The only thing I'd have to suffer from, were this to be a hoax or scam, would be a few point drops on my credit score, and needing to make adjustments to my auto payments and deposits after changing my banking credentials. Going about my daily cursory check to make sure I had the expected amount; I honestly didn't think that they would have sent the funds yet. After entering my username and password I checked my available balance. . . . . . . "NO WAY!" I screamed. My new account balance was $14,578 and 53 cents. Deposited within my account was $10,000. "They call that a token?!" The idea of being given that much money, just for signing up for their project made me wonder, what would they give for their 2-year sponsorship if accepted?! Double checking it to make sure it wasn't an error of some sort; I refreshed and viewed the detailed listing of the latest deposit. It was definitely legitimate. With a broad smile I signed out from my account before deciding to take a look at my social media LifeBook. I was met with another big surprise. Close to a dozen messages filled my inbox from friends I thought had completely disappeared from my life, as well as a few co-workers. Opening up the first one from Thomas, a friend that I had gone gaming with years ago, I read the message. . . . Hey Drew, my man! Did you get a package today for the new VR game? The news sites have been blowing up about the hyped reality percentage and the fact that it came from Millennial Enterprises. Not many people got the packages today but the news reports said that those studying or working in fields that Millennial Enterprises specializes in, were more likely to receive the first wave of DNA raffle entries. So, I automatically thought of you. Call me or message me back when you get the chance. Catch ya later! . . . Raising my right eyebrow in an arch, I muttered to myself. "I wasn't aware it was a game." The remainder of the messages were a variation of what Thomas had sent me. Some even offered to buy my DNA scanner if I hadn't used it already. Growing weary of the many requests for getting back to them, I contemplated escaping the social pressure and delving into the plethora of eye grabbing video clips. I had to be careful in my use of Lifebook to not be sucked into the many distractions available with a single click and baited with an interesting preview. I had lost hours at a time, giving into the latest entertaining videos of dogs excitedly jumping into snow drifts, turtles humping slippers, and emotionally and mentally reaffirming videos which were based off of my algorithm of online actions. However, with more than a passing interest now, I decided to be more productive. Instead of giving into either of those bad choices of responding to peer pressured spam or watching senseless videos, I opted to look up online to see what kind of information there was on the new VR 'game'. After a half hour of several refined searches, all I could gather was that Millennial Enterprises was keeping its cards very close, without revealing anything outside of what I learned from my distant friends. A video broadcast by one of the delegated public relations members, only revealed that after this first wave of DNA raffle entries and subsequent drawings, that there would be several more as time went by. Being unable to gain any more information from the many news outlets, I decided to log off and go about the rest of my day. First stop was the supermarket to stock up on next week's food. Some of my favorite cereals were on sale as well as chicken. With that, I decided to buy a large package of stir-fry mix and egg noodles. Just the thought of eating my home-made stir-fry made my mouth water. I don't make a lot of time-consuming meals, but when I do, they taste awesome! Following my shopping, I dropped by at the gym. Sometimes I'd come to the gym for my swim since the water was heated all year long, and it was much bigger than the apartment complex pool. On the way, I could see the construction work being performed on the plot of land where the previous Arch had stood upon before the war. Prior to WWIII, according to my grandfather who had once lived here for a couple of years, the Arch lay directly next to the Mississippi River, where it had stood proudly since 1965. Its shining metal exterior reflected in the sun, and the city offered rides through the interior to those who sought the high vantage point to gaze across the city. All that area had been devastated during the war. Without the intervention of Millennial Enterprises, it would have remained a nuclear wasteland as St. Louis, among many other cities across the US, had been ground zero for nuclear missiles and such. Now, newly designed buildings and green pastures spotted the premises where once radiation held sway. A beautiful alternative to what would have once offered only a slow painful death from radiation poisoning amid the previous dust and glazed bowl. After my rigorous hour-long swim, I used a few other exercise machines to work on my pectorals and abs, before showering and heading home. On the return trip, I passed a flashing banner sign by the roadside showing the latest VR game on the market. "Endless Advent" was seen in 3D letters with background video of high-definition graphics. *Sigh* Virtual reality has become extremely commonplace by now. Almost everyone played at least a few hours a week. The business boomed and with it so did the number of medical patients suffering from a sedentary lifestyle increase. There were systems that included body suits which provided Real Life exercise while in the game, but those were much more expensive than what the average gamer could afford. Pulling into my assigned parking space, I shut off the engine and locked up before heading to my apartment. Glancing at my watch, it showed 4:23 pm. Still time left to get a few other things done. Back inside my apartment I set about making a quick early dinner by mixing canned chicken noodle and cream of chicken soup with some milk. Ending up with a tasty, noodle filled creamy concoction; I brought it with me to my desk. Lying back in my comfy seat, I started up my computer again. While most others might actually use their summer break as a break, I felt a drive to truly understand my field of study. Bringing up my latest research on medicinal plants and their uses, I continued to research for patterns in their makeup, location, visual, and scent related characteristics. There were several other aspects that they could be judged by, including their base genetic structure, but that required a software program and equipment that cost more than most upper-class houses. For now, to supplement my studies, I sought to familiarize myself with ancient methods of evaluation, processing, and usage of plant-life in the treatment of ailments. Unfortunately, I did not have access to any of the mutated plants that I would need to make significant progress in my personal research. Not that I would be able to anyways. I did not have the lab facilities or the testing subjects, such as lab mice and such, but it would be nice to be able to break out of my current stalled rut with some progress. In addition to that, the samples that were sold online were usually priced exorbitantly, and even then, would often either turn up as being fake, or having been incorrectly processed. This would have rendered them as compromised for the sake of medicinal practice. There were so many different ways to extract the medicinal essence of various plants that could best maintain the potency and efficiency of the final product, and yet those methods quite frequently could cause more harm than good when utilized incorrectly or for the wrong specimen. I finished my dinner and studying, feeling somewhat more at ease as I had been able to run several scenarios in my mind, regarding the few possible methods of extraction and processing that I had found during this study session. I looked forward to when I might be able to put those methods into practice once I had access to a fully furnished lab. Shutting down my computer, although I was feeling fulfilled at what I had accomplished, I was still a bit burnt out from the dedicated effort and little relaxation time. Pulling out my tablet I began browsing online novels to catch up on the latest chapters which the authors had posted. Hours went by as my eyes began to droop in exhaustion. Finally forcing myself to get ready for bed, I did my normal pre-bed routine, then lay back down to read one last chapter before falling asleep. Soon I was in dreamland, imagining a weird mishmash of scenes from the various stories I had read that night....At about 3 am, having been woken from a convoluted dream of being a wizard whose magical powers became progressively less potent and more useless as I ran from relentless pursuers, I saw a message on my phone. Barely glancing over it, some part of my mind must have understood what it said, since my finger pressed the screen and I promptly fell back asleep with more peaceful dreams this time.