Episode 0-3
-"Tri-Gon Video Game Company is announcing that GAIA is their last game officially by the President Dr. Rita Furukawa personally in the press conference in their latest conference last night. 300 employees have remained in the company as of yesterday; the last 200 employee's only goal is to maintain the GAIA and its servers to make the game more fluid and comfortable for the players. All the employees that left the company are either satisfied or defeated in the announcement that the company stated. It only confirms the rumors by the past year that there will be a mass cut of employees going on despite the fact the business is booming in the economy.
What makes it so controversial is that the employees fired by the company are being called and headhunted by the other Video Game Companies and some start their own, also they have all excellent recommendation and referrals made by the company made personally by the president differently by each employee which have good graces and also have speculations of what's going on in the management. Here is the clip of the official statement of Dr. Rita Furukawa."-
-"This is the last official game to release by the company, most of you know the rumors that have been spreading last year and I confirm it that there will be a big layoff of employees. There is no ill reason why we do this but the goal of the company right now is to focus our latest game: GAIA on every server and content in the whole world. All the employees we laid off or resigned are either referred by other Video Game Companies or given by a personal recommendation letter written by me because they have no future here due to being our last game as a company.
I've talked about this to the employees for several months. I and the 200 employees who stay here will be only focusing on GAIA in the few years to come. Our goal right now is classified as of this moment yet on what the game will take a path on, GAIA has been in Beta for 2 decades and we would like to pay respects to the game where all our company starts despite we start producing virtual capsules, all our games are inspired by the experiments that GAIA patched in a past couple of years and fans know about it.
Now that we grow and prosper by the successful feedback by the community the beta is improving month by month and also we release games inspired by it, we would like to commemorate our technology and knowledge that we earned into this game now. The Longest Beta Players never lose hope that this game will be officially released to the public even though its open beta because of its many flaws that we didn't pay attention to or we slowly resolve it through the years, that's why I would like to announce the ALPHA VERSION OF GAIA TODAY! It is open to download on our website next weekend."-
-"All of the fans are happy in this announcement and many speculate of this Alpha version of GAIA that will be released next week. It will be a hot topic of discussion in our show 'Game Nerds' show in our channel tomorrow at 10:30 pm with the surprise guest of the Tri-Gon employee that has been focusing this game since day one. Mark that day folks, it will all be revealed tomorrow, Thursday at 10:30 pm Philippine Standard Time. For more info visit out channel website for more details in live streaming sites.
Stef Fonce, your E-sport insider log out!"-
And back to the normal afternoon broadcasting, every 3 pm Stef has a segment in the news afternoon show for news about E-sports or the gaming community since E-sports are popular in this era where Professional Players are superstars in every genre. It is specifically in that time slot since most of the players in the Philippines players are playing at night to the morning so this timeslot for those interested in E-sports will be updated before they play night since they wake up in the noon.
I was watching the whole segment for about 15 minutes; Kyle sits with me maybe want to know about the Dr. Galvacion diagnosis of my recovery, the hope in her eyes makes me sick right now which she sees me with full of questions in her head.
"Jon, how's the diagnosis?" Now that she said to me suspiciously rather than her usual tone.
"It's recoverable my muscles cooperating to my nerves which the therapy is a big step for shorter recovery."
"Oh, is there anything you need to regulate movements in your body?"
"Doctora said to me in layman's terms, my body is on reset which the reason I have difficulty in movements points out but she will further study this more because this is a rare case. *sigh* some nerves are dead for now but it can be salvage, the hard part is my patience to move carefully and she will be assigning me in brain exercises next week."
She thinks about the 'reset' "So you mean it will take great effort since your myelin is permanently gone?"
"Not permanently, just gone. It will take great effort? Yes, indeed."
"But why you need brain exercises? You seem alright, still dumb though."
"Fuck you *laugh*, She said that there are some things that cannot be detected by the diagnostics report that's why she needs me to do some exercises to make sure. Do you know some of these things?"
"Nope, I'm not that smart. My specialty comes to two things, nutrition, and Physical Therapy." The majority of the people have only one specialty so I look at her sharply with my wrinkling forehead and eyebrows almost connecting as one. "Really?" I said to her and smack me at my shoulder, it goddamn hurts. She didn't hold back! Her damn big hand hurts like hell.
"That's all about that. My recovery is excellent but once this is over, I need to be more patient in the future since my fluid motion takes years to get back in form."
"Well physical therapy will only help you recover but to get back to the usual form is beyond our limits. There is something that you lost when you after the recovery stage, even traditional professional players know this that's why they avoid getting injuries."
Then she asks again but seriousness "After all these shit things that happened, can you still go back to play or retire?"
I hesitate but honestly; I will tell her since there will be an announcement, later on, might as well tell her personally from me. "Umm." I muster up my courage to tell her. "I can't go back anymore."
"What? Can't go back? What do you mean?"
"'If' I can salvage some of my dead nerves, my complication is that my response time right now 4 times slower than the average person and its permanent. Even I recover from this, maybe 10 to 13 percent faster than my present condition but besides that it's permanent. Even if I don't want to retire as a player, my body can't keep up anymore."
We're silent in a few minutes when I said that to her. "You can go back being a head coach of the team then, it doesn't matter anyway. It's a waste to them if you're not in their team."
"I don't know, I'm shocked when I realize I need to retire. I'm thinking of deciding to take a rest first, I've been in the E-sports scene for 14 years. Might as well to take a break from all of this, it's been so long *heavy sigh* now that I become a rookie player this year and all this shit happened, I need to be away from all of this and think about what will I do in the future."
"What will you do in the meantime once you've announced your retirement?"
"Well it's a one year break, it will be the first time for me that I have that kind of vacation in my whole life. Let me think about it."
I see her that she has a different mix of emotions that I can't describe; maybe the inevitable become much sooner that we both expected to be. It was never okay with me but I need to deal with this since being stubborn about this will make me hard for me to let go and move on, it's for the best.
"I need to go nga pala, I have to do something tonight. "
"I notice that you brought your car today."
"I will arrange something in the team building about my retirement and also the press conference, its time consuming to commute." I will pick up Maribelle talaga from work at 6 pm and the building I'm working on is on the way there so I need to discuss something to Sonny, the owner of the Black Jackals to arrange for an appointment from him on Friday which is 2 days from now.
"Its 3:30 na, you might be caught by the traffic jam. See ya tomorrow."
"You too." Then I took a bath in the hospital before I leave going to my parking lot.
As I got to the underground parking, 3 floors down the surface. I walk in the pillar E3 and saw my car, an AWD dodge challenger hellcat painted in black but as you go nearer to it you see through the carbon fibered body on the inside of the paint when it's reflected by light, custom wheels for more grip. It is a double turbo Hemi 6.2 liter V8 engine that can outmatch the power of the most luxury sports cars out there. I click my car key to turn on the engine automatically. The smooth rumbling of the engine is a masterpiece in my ears, I touch the left side hood using my right hand. This car is rarely driven because most of the time I commute going to the hospital recently since I am always alone, I only ride her when I go to Tagaytay for a trip and mostly if it's convenient like now. I open the door, sit on the comfy 2 leather seats, and hold the black carbon steering wheel with a leather grip and a manual transmission.
"Nidalee let's behave okay, I pick someone up later."
"I'm always behaving when I'm told to." A female voice surrounds the interior of the car said in a bickering tone.
"Sure?" I said to her, suspiciously.
"Okay okay, no pranks this time. Let's go?" She said
"First, we go to my office then go to Montemayor Estates."
"Copy that."
Nidalee is the Car's Artificial Intelligence; well I named her by a nasty Jungling champion that destroys solo queue and competitive if it's used properly by the player. She is evolving AI that is specifically developed in this car; even though she has no emotion, her wittiness is great but she needs manually updated and doesn't have internet built-in which I Connect my phone to it to full function.
This thing is one hell of a project car, I pitched it to SpeedCORE and they have connections about the AI function which it was a miracle that they made it. They outdid themselves by the evolving AI which itself updates but must manually connect to an apparatus that has internet.
The experience riding this is ecstatic; the fun always never stops in this car.
My First stop is the Black Jackals building; it was established by a Japanese-Filipino owner Zanji Sato. They transfer their Japan E-sport brand into the Philippines since the LoL SEA server is in Singapore which makes it cheaper to live here, Japan has associated to PCS years ago and Japanese players put in the cycle which other SEA – based E-sport pros diversify more than ever which the composition of this year's player are 2 Japanese and 4 Filipinos.
This is controversial in starting roster in the past, but we prove that the team can win trophies that have a mass following through the years in the future. Besides E-sports, they have a traditional sports team which is based mainly in Japan. I have the jersey with the signature of the specific volleyball player before the 2020 Japan Olympics.
I got to the building in which I see the receptionist there and ask where is he, she said that he is not here until Monday so I schedule an appointment on that day. I saw that no one is there beside her; most of the employees are on vacation while others have early left today since it's downtime right now in the Pro League scene. I leave the building faster than I expected.
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6:30 pm in the time and my phone is ringing like crazy because Maribelle asking me where I am right now.
"I'm here. Sorry."
"LATE again."
"Caught in the traffic jam, I didn't take to the expressway."
"Cheapskate."
"Oh come on! Don't be like that; I'll take the expressway on the way to my house."
"I'm coming down there."
"You should go down fast, Jeoffrey's car is here." I scare her about one of her suitors consistently courting her even though he was rejected many times; he's fighting spirit is insane, salute to him though.
I saw her run through the entrance while looking left and right if Jeoffrey is there and she enters the passenger seat punch me lightly in my right shoulder.
"You meanie! He nowhere here!" she said
I just laugh it off and Nidalee greets her.
"Good evening Miss Montemayor!" she said happily to her
"Hi, Nidalee! It's been a while." Maribelle said
"Well, my owner keeps me stuck for months in the damn GARAGE."
"Don't be bitchy about it, come on." I annoyingly said to Nidalee while Maribelle laughs.
Oh my, I should really take the expressway.
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We talked about typical shit like I always do to her like how her day was and catch up what happened to the 3 months I'm in the hospital, she was the first to go there, manage, and heard the news that I'm in a coma. It was her first to see when my parents go there, she was relieved that someone besides her will take care of the situation and Tito Emman and Tita Maribeth came, she can't hold on to not cry any more at that moment. She visits me regularly 2 times a week to check any improvements and also contact one of her trusted lawyers in the accident.
My parents are grateful but she often saw them always arguing angrily to each other which is kind of a shock to her. I saw her disappointment but I'll tell her that is a common occurrence since they got divorced. Despite that, when I woke up seeing her alone is when my parents are away from the court hearing about the accident so which sums it up but she cried again when I can't speak at that time.
As I got into my garage entering the living room of my house, we talked about what happened to me these past few days and also the therapy. I tell her about the diagnosis of Dra. Galvacion, but only said the gist of it.
"So, how about any plans for now on?" she said to me while I cook the pasta and sautéing the canned tuna
"Well, I'm about to retire now as a player. Even though I'm allow coaching to the team but I need to take a break first, for more than half of my life is all about League and this will be the first time to have a vacation. I need to talk to Zanji about this and what path to take in the future, it's kinda disappointing for me but shit happens so I need to suck it and deal with it." I put the pesto and simmer it before I put the almost al dente pasta so it sips the juices of the sauce I made in the pan, I put some grated cheese on top and a little bit of pasta water to make it creamy.
I put in the kitchen table while she prepares the plates and utensils, we can't wait to dig in and hastily grab the water and beer. Water for me and a beer for her, I know right? She drinks like a Viking; you should see her at the bars tho, she is unstoppable in drinking games. She will be the one who has the last stand despite her slim body.
"I'll Drink later," I said to her that there was water in the table.
"So what will you do for the meantime?"
"I don't know yet, I didn't know since this goes out of hand."
"Just take a rest first, you need to recover and adjust to your body for now eh." She said while we eat out dinner
"The therapy is going well as expected; I have time for myself now, might as well try new games and all of the piled games that I buy but didn't have time to play it especially when I'm preoccupied from the team."
"Sounds like a plan then."
"Yeah sounds like it." I smile at her and talk about other things especially Jeoffrey which she was so annoyed from time to time, it became a happy evening despite it starts in a serious conversation.
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She was washing the dishes while I take my beer and her favorite ice cream (vanilla) at the fridge.
"I never thought that ginger will be that good in the tuna pesto sauce, man I'm so full *burp*," she said satisfied with what she ate.
"Sometimes I do that I don't like the fishiness of the canned tuna, I'm glad you liked it."
"Wait, vanilla?"
"Of course!" I said to her as I gulp down a beer.
"Sweet!" She said and hastily finishes the dishes then eat it together.
While we eating together. "JJ did you saw the news lately, about the new Capsule game."
"Yea, I saw that. It was such a big fuss lately." I think about the Tri-Gon's last official game.
"I think about downloading it next weekend but I need a gaming capsule to play it, I don't have any of that."
"Me too, I got curious about the Alpha stage of the game."
"I'm thinking of buying it to play it."
"Oh really? This is a first; you never get hooked into games before, I'm the one who force to play some games back then."
"Yea, the marketing pitch got me."
"pffftttt. Typical Businesswoman." One of the things that Maribelle is being an opportunist, if there are chances of making money she will jump right to it to know the in and outs of the industry she was interested in.
"I advise you not to spend money; the game is in alpha stage now. It will be soon released to the public; I suspect it will have many differences in the official game to this coming Alpha stage next week. It will help them if you top up money but might as well explore the game first since it will be your very first game to play."
"Ok. Duly noted." The way of the tone she said it like she was at the meeting. I know this gal, if she can smell money somewhere she will pounce into it just like her businesses. She was never wrong though in all the time we know each other; I think that was one of the qualities that I'm amused about her.
"Well then; it's your first game that you got interested too, so might as well download it too."
"Really!? That will be fun! I should anticipate it in the future."
"If I want to play it next week, I need to buy the capsule."
"How about we do this on coming weekend? Are you free at that time?"
"Yes, I have time. Let's look it up online first then on the places where it's available near here."
As I talk about something under the sun, I was looking for some movies to watch on my PC which is my favorite past time. We agreed on watching the Saw marathon. Sitting side by side having our clear containers of ice cream, cheese, and its grater to put cheese on top of the ice cream, and booze on the side.
One of the nights that things I've done through the years make it all worth it.
Maybe retiring like this is not so bad after all.