Nathan finishes his food and lets out a content sigh.
"Easily the best cheesesteaks in town."
Nathan crumples up his trash and places it in the bag. He takes the bag outside to the garbage bin, so his uncle does not see it.
He quickly heads back upstairs to his room, closes the door, and locks it.
He opens his laptop up and sees the Sanctuary Annihilation Online pre-selection banner and clicks it.
On the screen, he is prompted to enter his Firestorm log-in information. After logging in with his username the screen goes black.
"Welcome to Sanctuary Annihilation Online." a smooth robotic woman's voice says. "The pre-selection application is conducted via voice application, I am Scion, would you prefer to go by your username or government name?
'This is different and unexpected. Mr. Mariano did not mention anything about it being an automated voice application for the screening.' Nathan thinks to himself.
"I will go with my government name" Nathan replies. 'My username is cringe and was made when I was 12, I do not want the world to associate me with it.'
"Welcome Nathan, when you are ready to begin, please let me know."
Nathan quickly grabs a pair of earbuds and sets them up so he can be quiet during the application process.
Once he has his earbuds in, he responds to Scion.
"I am ready."
"Excellent, the first section will be gathering information for the background check. I can gather the majority of the information from your Firestorm account. May I proceed with the information in your account, or would you like to answer the questions in their entirety?" Scion puts up information on the screen showing Nathan's basic information such as his name, address, phone number, and his date of birth.
Nathan does a quick scan of the information shown and replies, "You can use the account information."
"Thank you, I have a few more answers to collect for the background check before we can move on to other sections. First question, what is your mother's maiden name?"
Nathan grits his teeth while he gives his answer, "Clearwater".
"Second question, how long have you lived at your current address?"
"I have lived at my current address for the last 10 years."
"Skipping additional previous address questions as you have lived in your current address an adequate amount of time."
"Third question, do you have a next of kin we should contact if anything were to happen to you while deep diving into Sanctuary Annihilation Online?"
Nathan pauses long enough for Scion to repeat the question.
"No, no next of kin."
"Is there anyone you would like to put down as an emergency contact?".
"I have no emergency contact, please leave it blank. Leave any family questions blank, I have no family." Nathan clenches his fist while telling Scion to further skip any additional family questions.
"Noted, skipping the next series of questions. Last question, what is your government-associated ID number (GAIN)?"
"My GAIN is 3625367827." Nathan quickly rattles the number off.
"Thank you, before proceeding with the background check, Firestorm will collect a $5 processing fee. This processing fee is non-refundable even if you fail the background check or are not selected as a participant in Sanctuary Annihilation Online. Please say your full name and "I accept" if you agree with these terms." Scion shows the same words on the screen as she says her speech.
"Nathan Emblem, I accept." Nathan does not hesitate to respond.
'Even with skipping the family sections of the background check, I should have no issues with passing. I hope it comes back quickly so I can move on with the application.' Nathan thinks to himself.
"Processing your background check now, please be patient," Scion says.
As the background check is processing, images of Sanctuary Annihilation are being shown on the screen.
"It's amazing how Sanctuary Annihilation looks like real life, of all the FIVR games I have watched, this one truly is incredible. The art design team deserves a huge bonus once this game goes live. The amount of money Firestorm will make from these processing fees alone is going to be astronomical."
Nathan mutters under his breath while looking at the different images that scroll by on his screen.
Two minutes later the screen changes and the voice of Scion is heard saying.
"Congratulations Nathan Emblem! You have successfully passed the background check and are ready to move onto Phase two of the pre-selection application."
'I knew I was going to pass, but that was a lot faster than I expected.' Nathan thinks to himself.
"Phase two is about Firestorm's streaming network and if you would like to participate in streaming if you are selected. Please note this section may be completed at another time and has no bearing on whether you will be selected as a participant in Sanctuary Annihilation Online."
"Would you like to continue with Phase two or complete it at another time?"
"We can move forward with Phase two, thank you," Nathan says with a bit of excitement in his voice.
"Very good, first question, do you want to have your gameplay streamed via Firestorm's network? This gameplay will become the property of Firestorm and can be used for however the company sees fit."
Scion asks and starts to show the contract on the screen for Nathan to review which has more in-depth details of everything the gameplay may be used for.
"Scion, I have a question regarding streaming the gameplay. If I accept, is there a way while diving to back out of streaming and stop?"
The screen changes and highlights and enlarges a section of the contract, Scion then responds.
"In section 3a paragraph 4, as shown on your screen, it is not possible to stop the streaming process while in a full dive as there is no way to have you fill out an additional contract that is legally accepted. I hope this answer is satisfactory to your inquiry."
Nathan nods to himself, "Yes, that answers my question. My next question is, is there a way to pause streaming services such as when using the bathroom or while sleeping?"
Scion changes the screen again and highlights another section of the contract."
"In section 3a paragraph 1, as shown on your screen, streaming a player's gameplay is constant and anything you do while diving can be used as content. Does this satisfy your inquiry?" Scion asks.
"Yes, thank you. That is what I assumed from reading and hearing from other streamers." Nathan responds.
After a brief pause Scion asks, "Do you have any additional questions that I can clarify?"
"No, I have no more questions. I will allow my gameplay to be streamed." Nathan answers resolutely.
"Very good, streaming acceptance has been added to your profile. Next question, where would you like funds distributed from streaming revenue?" The screen changes to filling in information for a financial institution and the amount deposited in each account.
"You can distribute 100% of the funds into my linked bank account in my user profile." Nathan answers after reviewing that the information is correct.
"Thank you, Nathan Emblem. You have been flagged for streaming if you are pre-selected."
"Please review the contract and information entered. If correct, please say your full name and I accept if you agree with these terms." Scion shows the same words on the screen as she says her speech again.
"Nathan Emblem, I accept," Nathan responds.
"This concludes Phase two of the pre-selection application. Please note, this section can be reviewed and changed at any time until full dive commences."
"Phase three will be the question-and-answer portion of the application and the last section of the application. Be aware that answers are timed so answer honestly and quickly. Once this section begins you will not be able to pause and must finish it in one sitting. It is recommended to conduct this section in a quiet area where you will have no distractions.