Chapter 1 - Prelude (1/2)

Earth Defense Research Division, Experiment Lab #1.

"Sara, you may begin." A middle aged man stated methodically.

"Affirmative sir, beginning test." Said a computerized voice, "Test subject AA05 has started to enter preliminary startup phase."

"Vitals?" said the man while looking anxiously at what appeared to be a large humanoid robot.

"All green sir."

"Begin transfer." The man looked hesitantly at the robot again. The robot appeared to spasm slightly as the transfer began showing that the subject began to link with the robot and could control the artificial musculature. The man looked up hopeful as this lasted longer than the previous subjects, but his hopes were quickly dashed as several alarms started blaring.

"Sara! Report!"

"Sir, vitals are going erratic, the subject is unable to control the robot as his mind destabilizes, recommend immediate shutdown"

A loud garbled noise is emitted from the robot, one could only describe it as a robot screaming in pain.

"Shut it down…" The man looked dejectedly at the robot again as it stopped moving and screaming. He slammed his fist on the control panel in an uncontrolled fashion and winced slightly at the pain. Suddenly though, his eyes lit up with an idea.

"Sara! Gather everyone, we're going about this all wrong! It's not the technology, it's the people!"

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Kindness and bravery will get you far in life is what Gray Wilhelm's parents had always taught him. If 'getting far' meant being a code-monkey for a multi-trillion dollar corporation and only a few steps above a basic entry-level employee, then his parents were correct. Unfortunately Gray did not agree with them anymore since he was 29, single, and living paycheck to paycheck. Gaming was his only escape, and also partly to blame why he was living paycheck to paycheck. He read several fantasy novels from the past about where people get reborn or transmigrated into a game and he hopes that this will happen to him.

Finally… His dream… has NOT came true, that's pure fantasy. Still, doesn't mean he can't dream.

In the year 2080 neuroscientists had developed a method to transfer sensory inputs and thoughts to a machine. Initially it was very awkward. While the human was still conscious and trying to control machines that didn't mimic humans, they found it almost impossible to control them without extensive training. Fortunately humans will always find a way to get around these issues and now controlling humanoid robots could be done by anyone with a healthy mind.

In this day and age, almost everyone was a gamer to some extent. Adventure MMOs usually lead the pack since everyone needs an escape from reality ever now and then. With the latest in VR tech, you would feel like you were immersed in your own world. Combine that with a MMO, and you could be in a completely different world with people you've never met.

Gray sighed to himself on his way home as he looked at the various advertisements for VR games while staring out the window on the Tram. He could only afford the previous generation of VR hardware so it was never fully immersive as only his hands and head were giving input to the game unlike the current generation which gave you full immersion. Many of the best gamers actually received a VR suit for free as they had been signed by various corporations or special interest groups to promote their own agendas and advertise within the games.

"I'm not as good as the pros, but I still love gaming and I think that is what makes it still enjoyable for me even without all of the fame." Gray mused.

"And THAT is why you suck at competitive games!" A loud voice said from behind Gray.

"Screw you Jono! At least I'm not stressing over games so much that my hair starts to fall out!" Gray says childishly while pointing at Jono's hat causing Jono to lower his head slightly while holding the brim of his hat.

"It's hereditary!"

This was Jono Randel, his best and one of his only friends. They both seem to be hating each other, but for some odd reason Gray and Jono were very close friends. Gray thought it may have been true that the closer you were to someone the more you fought over things. If that was the case, they could've been brothers.

Suddenly Jono threw his arm over Grey's shoulders and hunched down whispering to Gray.