Tristan was cleaning his room, when he ended up with his old Esports Championship trophy.
It was a golden cup, beset with an emeraldine gem. On the base, the boldfaced words, ESCS is written and embossed. The trophy was caked in dust, and some clung to his hand as he held it. Twisting the cup to the backside, dust bunnies danced in the air. Tristan waved at them, scratching his nose from the whiff. He read the inscription engraved on the grooved metal.
๐๐ด๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฑ ๐๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด
๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ 6 ๐๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ด
3๐ต๐ฉ-6๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ณ 2029 - ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ซ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข
2029. Nearly 8 years ago, when he was just 19. Once a world champion. It seemed like it had been ages.
A somber, wistful feeling swept over him. Tristan stared at it for a moment. Memories of the championship began to replay in his head.
His team preparation. The big day, that large stadium. The lineups, and the massive cheering crowds. The intense, nerve-racking deathmatches. And finally, that epic winning moment, followed by such uproar and a hail of confetti, culminating at the awarding. At that moment in time, the cup felt like the Holy Grail.
Now it was just some dusty, forgotten decoration. A keepsake of his former glory; a reminder of the distant past.
As if woken from a daydream, he stirred back to duty. Tristan took the handheld vacuum, and tapped the sensor. A soft humming filled the air, and the dust bunnies began to leave the trophy, gravitated towards the vacuum cleaner. The golden sheen of the cup and the sparkle of the crusted gem started to return.
That's better.
When his room was spick-and-span, he placed the vacuum down, tapping the charge setting. The wireless hub device on his desk blinked.
Tristan walked over to his treadmill for a few morning rounds. He increased the rate, jogging faster, until beads of sweat trickled down his face.
After a while, he dialled it down to a stop. Tristan exhaled deeply, gripping the heart monitor handle, his damp hair covering his face. His shirt was drenched in hot perspiration.
Proceeding to the bathroom, he switched the shower on. A sprinkle of cool water drizzled over him. He sighed in relief. Cold water, just as he liked it.
Cold. Just like your heart, a certain person would say. Would've said.
Another icy pulse of shower, and his mind finally became crystal clear. He stepped out of the shower.
Putting on fresh clothes, he sat down and swivelled to his PC. A thin film of curved, transparent glass, a circlet, and a streaming rig lay before him. Tristan wore the ArcBand, adjusting the slick, curling sensor behind his head. With his thoughts, he willed the computer to turn on.
The crystal glass became opaque with high-def display.
Though he was not entirely fond of the neural tech, at least it was unidirectional, and could only read the brain, not write or influence it. There was little to no risk at all with the device, except privacy. The ArcVisor, however, was a different matter.
Still, Tristan sometimes wondered if the ArcBand could read one's thoughts without permission. To be able to read someone's deepest, darkest, secrets...how much of a compromise is that?
It's not like he had any choice. Keyboards and mouses became defaced since a decade ago. All of the new computers now relied on the mind remote. His option was either use the computer or not, and there was no way he could live without it.
Tristan fired up the DragonTail game with his mind. The app client came up instantaneously. Loading screens and lag were a thing of the past, with new fiber optic processors and net cables.
679 ๐ช๐ฃ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐จ๐จ๐๐๐๐จ
Tristan ignored the notification. Beside it, he saw another message, but this time, it wasn't from a stranger.
(1) ๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฝ๐ช๐ฃ
Tristan couldn't remember the last time they spoke. He willed the message window to open.
EsteemedBun: Yo, yo, yo! How u doin my bro?
The green tick lit up. EsteemedBun is now online. Tristan typed with his thoughts. The letters appeared on its own with lightning alacrity.
Raizen: Fine. And you?
EsteemedBun: Very gud! Long time no chat, bro!
Raizen: Yeah...
EsteemedBun: Btw, there's something I need to ask.
Raizen: No, I'm not buying your Lvl 77 Monk account.
EsteemedBun: It's not about that this time, LOL.
EsteemedBun: Rai, you have an ArcVisor, right?
Raizen: Hmm, before. I sold it. Why?
EsteemedBun: Wait, you did? Why would you do that O_O
EsteemedBun: Thing is, there's this new game on that console. It's insane, bro!
EsteemedBun: Have you heard of DSO?
Raizen: DSO?
EsteemedBun: Defiant Sins Online!
Raizen: Nope.
EsteemedBun: Wtf bro! Are you living under a rock? XD
EsteemedBun: Let me show you DSO!
EsteemedBun: *๐ญ DSO.thought* (30.61MB)
Raizen: I can't view that...
EsteemedBun: Oh shoot, you're using an ArcBand, not an AV...
Raizen: Look, I just don't care about something that writes to the brain, and anything that comes with it.
Raizen: If its games, I'm staying on the PC. I'm fine with DragonTail myself.
EsteemedBun: Yeah, DragonTail is a classic. No arguing with that! Hey, we once were world champions on it, after all ;)
EsteemedBun: All I'm saying, this new game is just on another level, it's crazy. It's all so hyperrealistic!
EsteemedBun: An online dream app but instead it's a game! A fully controllable dream! What's do you call it again??
Raizen: Lucid dreaming.
EsteemedBun: Yes, exactly! Lucid dreaming! Who knew gaming could evolve into something so epic?
EsteemedBun: You're inside this virtual world, and all your senses work! And the bots, man the AI is realistic as hell!
EsteemedBun: I'm not talking about chatbot realistic. I'm talking about near-human-realistic! You can actually hold a good conversation with one. That's how advanced it is!
Raizen: Highly advanced AI? Interesting.
EsteemedBun: Right? I bet you'd mistake one for an actual player!
Raizen: I didn't know we have reached that kind of tech. The ones I can remember are mostly robotic sounds and chatbots that repeat themselves.
EsteemedBun: Rai, you're really out of touch! LOL
EsteemedBun: Bro, I've just sinked a couple of hours in this game, and I'm already blown away. I can play this forever!
EsteemedBun: You really need to join, man! Maybe I could get our team back again. We'd rule, bro!
EsteemedBun: What do ya say?
EsteemedBun: Rai, you there bro?
Raizen: Sorry. I'm not touching an ArcVisor.
EsteemedBun: Boi, you rly allergic to AV, huh? O_O
EsteemedBun: You don't know what you're missing!
EsteemedBun: Well bro, if you change your mind, contact me right away. My ign is my name. Estevan!
Raizen: How cute.
EsteemedBun: I'll get going! Nice talking with ya, bro! I'm itching to get back to DSO XD See ya!
๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฝ๐ช๐ฃ ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค๐ฌ ๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐.
Raizen: Bye_
Raizen: By_
Raizen: B_
Raizen: _
Everyone's losing their minds over this DSO. Was the enjoyment really worth the risk? How could people be complacent about write operations on the brain? If a computer breaks down, you can get a new one. But if a brain malfunctions, that's itโyou don't get another chance. Do they trust the Arc and the developers that much with such a heavy responsibility?
Defiant Sins Online, huh?
A virtual reality dream. A complete fantasy game, with intelligent, conversable bots. Full, sensory control.
Tristan looked up some info and screenshots on the net. Various photos of players, breathtaking environments, and diverse monsters popped up. It was at least, from what he could see, very impressive. He'll give it that. Tristan could only imagine what's it like to have a game that is playable like a lucid dream.
He was curious. Just a little.
A shame the mind had to be tampered.
Scoffing, Tristan closed the browser. He willed back the DragonTail game client to focus and exited out of the spawn area, remnant thoughts about DSO quite lingering on his mind, making his avatar pause every so often.
The Assassin character entered a dungeon, twirling obsidian blades.