"Hello?"
It was silent on the other line, until a very deep and bassy voice that sounded nothing like Paul replied, "Is this Vykro Finaf?"
For a second I dwelled on lying, "Yes, it is. Who is this?"
The person on the other line ignored my question, "Good, very good. Check the gaming news I-Tube channel, WeCnew, their newest video."
I wanted to ask why, but I suspected they wouldn't answer. Quickly pulling up the channel, the newest video was posted a week ago: Innovation of the Century.
"Watch it. Pull the sinew that which covers your eyes and become mighty once again."
"What do you mean? Whoever you are, you're being fucking creepy."
"I hope to see you soon, in the World of Ardova."
"Whatever man, don't call this number again." I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Just a weirdo who must've gotten the same number that Paul used to have. I stared at the video on the computer screen.
I mean, it couldn't hurt to watch right. The WeCnew crew was a reliable gaming news channel I used to religiously follow. With my fading from the scene, so did my motivation to follow up on recent news and thus, I stopped watching. I began the video and made myself comfy in my chair, intent on making sense of what was happening.
It began with listing every great milestone that gaming has hit. First game ever, first 3D model, first multiplayer, massive multiplayer, first open world, first VR. The voice touched upon everything, even including various popular game tournaments.
"These things are all great and momentous achievements, but where do we go next? Better controls, graphics, story? The Head of Innovative Works says all of that and one more, immersion."
Immersion? What does he mean by that? Like making it look so realistic that it feels like you're there, or making new mechanics that are like everyday life. I chuckled at the thought of taking a piss in a game.
This time the voice changed as did the image, now a man stood on screen dressed very nicely. "Hello everyone, my name is Tobiparo Kleimonro, head of Innovative Works. As Chris had so graciously said, we here at Innovative Works think the next step is immersion and with that motivation we have made a breakthrough: 100% immersive virtual reality. I'm sure many of you have your skepticism but please stick with us over the next several weeks as we release demos and statements of what can be achieved with our new operating system; Atomos."
Video of live footage began to play and show a first-person view of someone in an all-white space, suddenly the white began to fade away being replaced with green. Trees began to form, and blue ran across the sky.
"This is a real time render of someone hooked up to Atomos. It is the most powerful system to date, being able to support millions of conscious insertions and run at full power delivering a virtually real world with actions and reactions happening in a fraction of a second. We are sorry for such a late announcement and hope to hear what everyone thinks and thanks to my buddies at WeCnews for helping us with this presentation."
The screen went to black, and I saw my mouth agape in the reflection. I raised my shaking hand from the mouse and manually shut it.
Fuck me. There's no way... If they deliver on what they are saying. It would change the scene completely. There would be no need for consoles or gaming pcs, people with disabilities could live a life free of them. There were so many possibilities. It was like a dream honestly; one I've had plenty of times. With the current- or well past- technology, what was shown on the screen could only look so real, but to be able to take away that medium, the screen, and be able to have complete unadulterated control of a body in any sort of fictional setting is absolutely insane.
How had I not heard of it earlier, or even of Innovative Works?
I quickly looked them up and found that they were a relatively new company, no games had been released by them before, but they were known for their research in immersion prototypes.
Seems like they've made a lot of progress.
After further inspection, I could find no warnings or really anything that says anything negative about the company or what they are striving toward. Actually, it was an uproar of positivity.
I rubbed my wrist. The pain of it had become incessant and something I've learned to drown out, but I've grown a habit of touching or moving it when idle. Something I probably shouldn't be doing, but I could care less. Much less now that there's this prospect on the horizon.
The urge to move around or do something arose within me and I found I was sweating as well. A quick peek at the time had me falling out of my chair with a groan.
If I don't leave now, I'm going to be late for work. Surprisingly, it didn't bother me that much. I needed money anyway to get whatever would be required to run Espers of Ardova and the anticipation was killing me faster than the toxic fumes of the old ramen littering my room.
I quickly threw on my uniform and shoes and grabbed my wallet before I flung open my door and cascaded down the stairwell. I say cascaded, but it was more like a fall, less majestic than any waterfall could be.
The thing about joints is that they are great when you can't feel them. When you can, that's when something is wrong. I have the humility to say I am a weak person. Very uncoordinated and prone to tripping. I could not give you the number of times I have fallen down these stairs, but the number is greater than any amount of money currently in my bank account.
Scurrying out of my apartment complex and into the sun is always a harrowing ordeal for one as pale as I. Luckily, the store I worked out, Eleventy Seven, wasn't a far walk and the only good thing about living in the city is that there are sidewalks everywhere.
I burst into the store and walked into the backroom and checked in.
My boss, Jobal, was standing there with his arms crossed, "You're late. Victor."
Oh yeah. He calls me Victor and I've just never corrected him...
"Um, Sorry sir. It won't happen again."
He snorted, "I need you out there stocking the shelves."
"Ok." I grabbed the cans of soda and made my way to the fridges. Once I finished that, I quickly whipped out my phone and continued to look up Innovative Works.
It was going to be a long couple of weeks...