Invitation

Sweden, United Nations Federation Extraordinary University, a young man with light brown hair and dark brown eyes was making his way down the corridor. He was dressed casually in a loose shirt, a well-worn hoodie, and comfortable pants, his footsteps echoing softly. As he walked, he passed by several rooms, their numbers—4018, 4019, and 4020—neatly displayed on plaques next to the doors. His gaze lingered briefly on each before continuing forward.

Finally, he approached Room 4021. The door was adorned with a large poster featuring an image of a wizard, complete with a pointed hat and a star covered robe. The text on the poster read: "FEU Fantasy Role Play Club, anyone is welcome, we meet every Friday at 18.00 in Room 4021 of the engineering department." With a small glance at the poster, the young man pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The room was cozy, with ten chairs arranged in a circle, each one cradling a fluffy pillow. In the corner, ten additional chairs were stacked, ready for newcomers who might be drawn by the poster.

In one of the chairs, a young man with bright red hair—obviously dyed—and blue eyes was sitting while looking at his phone. Hearing the door open, he looked up from his phone towards the brown-haired young man who entered.

He stood up with a smile, his thin face framed by glasses, and raised his hand in a swinging motion. "Arthur! Where've you been, man? I've been waiting for over 30 minutes!"

The brown-haired young man, named Arthur, raised his hand in response, "There's still 10 minutes before 6, Alex. I'm actually early."

Their hands swung at the same time, meeting each other in the middle with a satisfying pop sound.

After a brief exchange with Alex, Arthur chose a chair near the room's wall outlet and sat down. He then retrieved a peculiar device from his backpack. The device resembled a bracelet, it was black and dull on the outside, giving it a stealthy appearance. It looked custom-made, possibly crafted with a 3D printer, and had a rather thick wire extending from it, leading to an electrical plug. Arthur plugged the device into the wall socket, and it emitted a low humming noise before a green light illuminated on the bracelet part.

As the green light came on, Arthur glanced at Alex, who had returned his attention to his phone as Arthur was taking out the strange device, and asked, "Wanna help with the setup?"

Alex, momentarily looking up from his screen, nodded towards Arthur and casually replied, "Sure, why not."

Closing his phone, He then settled into his chair and closed his eyes. Seconds later, a small glowing blue rune materialized on his forehead, signaling the activation of his 'Dream Walker' ability, which began emitting unusual brain waves. Meanwhile, Arthur leaned back and fastened the bracelet-like device onto his wrist.

The moment the bracelet was secured, it sent a mild electric current through Arthur's wrist. Ignoring the tingling sensation, Arthur eased into the comfortable chair. As he activated his 'Simulation' ability, a subtle tinge of purple light flickered within his light brown eyes.

~~~

Arthur's ability was rather unique, it could be crudely described as a really realistic imagination. He could construct a scenario in his head, such as a ball about to fall off a 100-meter wall. Then, his ability would take over, simulating the ball dropping from the wall at the expense of using up energy. However, Arthur could only simulate scenarios involving mechanisms or processes he understood. This limitation meant that he couldn't use his ability for scientific discoveries much, as he couldn't simulate phenomena beyond his knowledge.

The reason why Arthur's ability was deemed extraordinary and not just him being a bored nerd with a rich imagination was because, regardless of the complexity of the simulation, as long as enough energy was provided, Arthur could simulate it without frying his brain. An example would be pouring a bowl of sand. As long as Arthur was given exact positions of each grain of sand in the bowl. He could simulate where each grain of sand would fall as they are poured out of the bowl without calculating them himself. His ability would do the work for him in real time.

Of course, there were drawbacks to this. The more complex the simulation Arthur needed to do, the more energy was required. This energy was drawn from Arthur's body. Which meant that Arthur used to have to eat extreme amounts of food just to be able to use his ability. Recently however, he found that electric energy contained in his body could also be used for the simulation.

Therefore, Arthur worked with some professors to create the bracelet-like device on his wrist. It would send a small current of power through Arthur's body. After Arthur used his ability, that current would be absorbed by his body, the device would detect this and send more current through Arthur, constantly keeping Arthur's consumption and the energy sent through his body at an equilibrium.

~~~

In the vast void of nothingness that was the simulated space, Arthur's consciousness appeared. Moments after he appeared, he felt a peculiar sensation as Alex's brainwaves passed through his head in reality. After waiting a few seconds, Arthur sensed Alex's consciousness enter the simulated space.

Feeling his presence, Arthur's mind moved as he willed two bodies to manifest in the Simulated space. 

Two small blobs of flesh appeared, rotating endlessly in the void. Slowly, they expanded and took shape, neurons connecting and muscles forming beneath the surface. Within moments, facial features emerged, and the blobs of flesh began resembling humans.

First, wisps of hair appeared on their scalps. Then, two holes appeared in the skull as their eyes flickered into existence. Other than facial features and muscles, no other unnecessary structure appeared on the bodies. 

Finally, A blob of energy wrapped the bodies thightly before turning into the clothes that Arthur and Alex were wearing in the real world.

The bodies had dullness in their eyes and their posture was slumping slightly. Seeing the bodies finish, Arthur and Alex's consiousness moved towards the bodies and entered into their brain. Alex's once vacant eyes suddenly brimmed with vitality as he turned to meet Arthur's gaze.

"No matter how many times I see it, it still feels weird to see my own body appear like this," Alex remarked, a mixture of disorientation and amusement dancing in his eyes.

Arthur's eyes mirrored Alex's newfound vitality as he flexed his arm in a playful gesture, a grin spreading across his features. "Well, compared to the empty feeling we got when I created bodies out of thin air, I think this is still better."

"Yeah," Alex replied, his voice tinged with a sense of wonder.

They were already veteran Roleplayers at this point. When they first met, Arthur would simply construct the bodies out of thin air; however, these bodies were like balloons filled with air, there was nothing under the skin of them. It felt like they were just controlling characters in a video game.

Nowadays, Arthur would simulate the growth of a body, making it full of muscles, skeletal structure and neurons that made it feel much more real. The sensation was profoundly different. They were fully immersed, the ability to move their muscles independantly and the feedback from the simulated neurons made the world feel much more real.

After a small stretch to test their bodies out, Alex looked at Arthur and asked,

"So, what have you prepared?"

Arthur smiled as he closed his eyes and focused on the fantasy world he had crafted for the past week just for this event. 

A vast large plane made of shimmering purple glass, seemingly stretching to infinity, materialized beneath their feet. 

Then, above the plane, a layer of grass sprouted, each blade glistening with dew as if it was a spring morning. Majestic trees emerged, disfigured animals materialized some having no fur, some with a third eye. Far off in the distance, Alex could see a structure that looked like a Nuclear Power plant, with one of its walls melted into the ground.

The infinite void of nothingness slowly transformed into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, which was the premise of their roleplay night today.

At this point, in reality, the bracelet that Arthur was wearing was no longer emitting just a small amount of current. 

In fact, if the electricity was allowed to flow freely through his body, Arthur would've died long before now. However, almost all of the electricity that entered into him from the bracelet was absorbed by his body to run the simulation. 

The bracelet was carefully calibrated to provide just barely above the required energy for the simulation, ensuring efficiency and safety. 

This extra power was crucial for the bracelet to detect changes in energy consumption and adjust accordingly, it provided a buffer period for the bracelet to provide more power to Arthur. 

This meant that there was still some residual current flowing through his wrist, but as a healthy young adult, Arthur didn't mind the minor discomfort it caused.

In the simulated world, Arthur gave a quick overview of his planned plot tonight to Alex, asking him for suggestions and changes to the plot when necessary.

In about 5 minutes, people started coming to the room, Arthur and Alex left the simulation to greet them. After some greetings, seasoned players just picked a chair and layed down, while Alex explained to the newcomes how Arthur's and his ability worked.

In a few moments, a blue rune was glowing brightly in Alex's forehead as his brainwaves gradually synced up with everyone elses. A subtle hum filled the room, signaling the beginning of the transition. The players, both seasoned and new, felt a gentle tug at the edges of their consciousness. One by one, their physical senses dulled as the simulated world came into sharper focus, colors and sounds blossoming around them with vivid clarity. After giving a rough backstory for the setting and letting people modify their characters. Everyone began enjoying the feeling of roleplaying.

~~~

Five hours later, Arthur and Alex left the room after saying goodbye to the last few people that had stayed until the end. As Alex fumbled with the lock, Arthur absentmindedly rubbed his wrist, which had become red from the small but persistent current that always flowed through it. The fabric of his hoodie brushed against the sensitive area, causing a sharp twinge of pain that made him wince.

Chatting and walking towards the gate of the campus, they traversed the rugged pathway made of uneven rock, their way lit by the warm glow of the campus street lamps that punctuated the darkness. Arthur and Alex raised their hands once again and slapped each other's hand in a parting high-five.

"See you Monday, Alex!"

"See you later, Arthur!"

Their voices echoed slightly in the cool night air as they parted ways, Alex heading into the student dormitory and Arthur stepping out of the campus. Arthur's walk home was short, the property was given to him by his aunt who lived here in sweden, ensuring he never needed to buy a dormitory room. It was a cozy place, just right for one and too cramped for two, which is why despite being such good friends, Alex and Arthur had decided to live separately.

As he was walking towards his house, a black car approached through the road, slowing down before stopping near Arthur. Instinctively, Arthur took a subtle step back, an unease settling in as the distance between him and the vehicle widened slightly.

The car's window slowly descended, revealing a middle-aged man whose tanned skin contrasted sharply with the black suit and sunglasses he wore. His straight black hair was slicked back, and as he spoke, his voice was deep, unnaturally so, as if he were intentionally lowering it to sound more authoritative.

"Arthur Lasley?" The man in sunglasses inquired.

"Yes, how may I help you?" Arthur responded, his wariness growing as the man addressed him by his full name.

"I'm Derek from the FBI, we're in need of your 'Simulation' ability," the man stated, first flashing some official-looking documentation before revealing his purpose. 

"I cannot say what you'll be simulating, however, be assured that you'll be compensated greatly. If you're willing to work with us, please call our contact number and then enter this code on your phone." 

He then handed Arthur a business card that felt unexpectedly metallic to the touch, with a small blue logo of the FBI engraved on its back. Before Arthur could process the encounter, the man closed the window and the car pulled away, leaving behind a cloud of black smoke as it merged back into the traffic.

Arthur stood there, dumbfounded, not doubting the authenticity of the offer—the man had simply told him to call the official number and input a code into it. He was just confused by the situation. 

He had worked with NASA last year during the school's mandatory internship class, helping them in simulating various shapes and designs for a rocket intended to land on a meteorite. 

However, this time, the other party's approach was so hidden, from a car in the middle of the road, that he couldn't help but wonder what could make a state agency take such weird precautions. Was it possible an alien had been spotted? Or perhaps the rocket he had simulated was a failure, and they sought revenge against him?