Year: 2057

America

"America has just created the world's first super AI, it's said to have the capabilities to manage all the world's technology. With this said what is the next step for the human race? Perhaps time travel?" reported a news anchor on the television of a dark apartment building.

There was someone sitting on the couch, flipping across channels, but wherever he went the same news was being broadcast. The whole world seemed fixated on this new scientific breakthrough, but Ares was indifferent.

"I need a job." sighed Ares as he covered himself with a blanket and fell asleep on the couch, not bothering to turn off the television.

"Well, we are working on a project that might change the way we look at the world. We call it project Laplace Online. We can't reveal too much about it yet but I can tell you this. Our dreams will soon become a reality," said a scientist on the television as Ares slept soundly.

"Well you heard it folks. On other news .....".

***

"Please I really need this job I'm begging you. At this point I'll do anything, I'll even be a cleaner," shouted Ares in the office of a big company, Nidia Corp.

"Ares, even if we were once friends in the past I already told you. You're too qualified to be a cleaner and we don't have any open jobs that fit your CV. I'm sorry man I just can't." replied the man sitting on the office chair on the other side of the desk.

Ares was about to leave the office in a melancholy mood when the man on the office chair asked, "Life truly has turned its back on you man. Who would've thought you would end up like this? You once had a bright future ahead of you, what happened?.

"Life happened," replied Ares slamming the office door as he left the room.

You see Ares wasn't always like this. In high school he was a high achiever, constantly passing first in his classes without even trying. He hardly studied and relied on his ability to quickly grasp concepts to consistently place first in the academic rankings.

After passing first on the national exams in his final year he was admitted into one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Everyone had high expectations, including himself. He aimed to finish his degree within 3 years when it normally took 4, however, this is where all his troubles began.

Ares wasn't a bad-looking fellow, actually with his sharp features and fit body, some girls found him attractive. But what attracted them more was his potential, it wasn't hard to see that Ares was going places, so girls began paying more attention to him.

To Ares this was something new. In high school he focused on scientific documentaries and books talking about the latest technological advancements. He would sometimes even bunk classes just to go home and watch a few videos. In short, he didn't know how to handle this new attention.

In the same year all this was going on, the first virtual reality game called New Frontier was launched. Ares had heard about it on the news. It was said to be the biggest breakthrough in VR technology at the time. And since he was on a full scholarship he could just barely afford to buy the cheapest VR set.

He became completely immersed in the game and it was an understatement to say that he was just good at it. He was the best, his control ability was truly something to be reckoned with, some even called him an 'Oracle' it was as if he could predict what would happen and react accordingly.

However what was most scary about him wasn't his techniques or control, it was his ability to quickly grasp game concepts and mechanics which quickly took him to the top. This resulted in him consistently placing first on the regional rankings for the game.

He spent hours grinding in-game, and hardly ever took breaks. He had finally found something he was thoroughly interested in, but at what cost?

He neglected his studies thinking that university would be as easy as high school but he was mistaken. University was nothing like high school, he wrote his first test and completely flunked it.

He kept it a secret from his parents, passing the failure off as a 'minor' setback. He vowed to do better on the next test, but between all the girls trying to talk to him and New Frontier, he couldn't focus.

It was around this time when he met Stacy, a girl doing the same course as him. Her eyes were different from all the other girls that looked at him with greed. She was a shy girl who didn't talk much. Actually, the only reason they became acquainted was due to a project that they had to work together on.

After a few months of talking, they fell in love. If there was ever a time Ares would log out of New Frontier, it was to see Stacy. They would always be seen holding hands together walking around campus.

Although Stacy was a shy girl she couldn't keep quiet about Ares's game addiction. She warned him many times that if he was not careful he would end up failing his course. Ares was confident that he could pass, even if he didn't study that much, after all it's what he'd been doing all his life.

The end of the semester came and he failed, he was forced to repeat a number of courses. When he found out he was devasted, he had never failed in his life and didn't know how to deal with this newfound feeling, so he turned to New Frontier.

He started spending less time with Stacy and more time in the game. The results showed, he was praised as a god in the game. And pretty soon he got sponsors to pay him for playing the game. After the first few paychecks he realized he didn't want to go to school anymore and decided to drop out.