At the press conference, Mason calmly answered the journalists' questions.
- Why did you get into the video game industry?
- What kind of game are you making?
- When did you start working on the game?
- Is it true that you invested astronomical amounts of money in the game?
The journalists asked, but Mason focused only on the reporters' main questions.
-This is just for entertainment. I only got involved because games are backward in this industry. My new invention will take gaming to a new level.
All the reporters were more excited and bombarded Mason with new questions.
- What do you mean by a new level?
- Why do you say that current games are behind the times?
Mason was silent, waited a few seconds, and then continued.
-With my new invention, people will no longer play games sitting in front of a monitor, but through a machine - Masón paused for a moment so that they could absorb the information.
-The same machine will put them into a deep sleep where they will be able to access the game and play it with all their senses, that is... virtual reality.
The press conference was broadcast to several countries simultaneously, to people sitting on their couches with their families. Several other countries who were watching TV or Internet broadcasts also heard it through translators; virtual reality. Everyone was hearing what Mason Ashford was saying.
Although virtual reality viewers already existed, they were not the same as this one, the new engine, "Hirion", made a person's five senses feel like they were in the game, making the player much more immersed while playing.
Not everyone listening to the conference understood, and those who did were incredulous and didn't believe it was true, but only those who consumed the products of Mason's companies were convinced he wasn't lying.
Ashford Corps, a company founded decades ago, always kept its word. The company was involved in several industries, and in all of them they left the consumer satisfied.
In the conference room, the journalists were still asking questions, but Mason didn't have much to say, he raised his left arm and saw the time on the clock, with some haste he got straight to the point.
-The project is finished, but it will take at least another week to launch, there are only 10,000 quotas for all countries. This is a closed beta, so it is limited to this number. My company will be in charge of the invitations, it should be noted that anyone can participate by registering their data, also will be filled with raffles and invitations.
With these last words, Mason Ashford left the podium, the journalists, who looked like a swarm of wasps, continued to ask questions as Mason left.
Mason's bodyguards protected him all the way to the car.
He got into the car and drove off.
A few hours later, the Internet crashed, Mason's company websites were saturated, forums were filled with questions about the conference.
Sitting quietly at his desk, listening to his secretary's report, Mason was tired.
Despite doing everything he could, he had no idea what Eira was up to. The only thing his employees were doing was connecting all the machines to Hirion, then Eira would take care of the rest. He was uneasy, if something went wrong, he would be the laughing stock of all businessmen.
Hirion is like Wifi, as long as it is turned on, all machines connected to Hirion will connect to the network at the same time.
Adir only needed one device, and Mason created that device. All the others were just well-designed shells.
Putting the issue aside, Mason had more work to do, and trusting Eira, Mason left the problem to her.
....
Latin American.
At a high school, Jhonatan, a 16-year-old boy, was on his way to the stadium, although it could hardly be called a stadium.
He was on his way to the stadium for lunch. After a while it was time for lunch. This was because the students stayed at school until 4 p.m. Being a national school, they did not have a canteen for lunch. Instead, the principal told them to go to the stadium.
They went every day, from the first grade to the last. Jhonatan went with his friends; some laughed, some talked, and some ran.
Walking at a slow pace, Jhonatan looked around. There was no order: all the children were walking in the same direction, towards the stadium, and it was only lunch time. Sometimes he thought about how chaotic this hour was.
He just thought about it, he didn't say it out loud.
His friends on either side of him were talking about what they were going to eat. You could hear the excitement in their voices.
-I hope it's something tasty this time, yesterday I thought they were going to feed us dog food, yuck.....
-I thought I was the only one?
- hahahaha silly, maybe you were the only one getting dog food because yesterday I ate like a king!
-You want a fight, Luis?
-Come closer, I'll smash your ugly face with my fists!
The three boys argued again, but only verbally. Jhonatan was used to it, he had known them since first grade, although they sometimes called each other names, they never went too far.
-Hey, Toto, help me, these idiots are bothering me.
Jhonatan ignored him, everyone in school knew him as Toto, he got the nickname because of his middle name, his friends also preferred to call him that because it was shorter than Jhonatan or Alberto.
After a few minutes they arrived at the stadium, following Jhonatan, they climbed the bleachers, sat down and waited for their lunch to be brought to them. The stadium was neither large nor small, it was a size that could easily hold up to 300 people.
They had dogs, dogs that brought the food to their hands. The wait wasn't long, after a few minutes some boys brought them their food in a cup, and they roughly lifted it out of the children's hands, they were hungry.
As he dismissed the boys, Jhonatan opened his, what was inside was just rice with a small piece of meat and some vegetables, he didn't think much about it and ate it.
Luis was screaming like crazy, saying why are they giving dog food again, he was boiling with rage.
-Didn't you say you ate like a king yesterday, why are you getting angry? If you eat like a king again today, you will eat like a king.
-Shut the fuck up, Joel! I've had enough, I feel like I'm in a prison with this shitty food.
They all laughed, their laughter was very loud.
Luis whimpered, gritted his teeth, held back his embarrassment and began to eat. Jhonatan finished quickly, the only thing he needed was something to fill his stomach, even if what he ate didn't fill him completely, at least it served to keep his stomach from bothering him.
-Toto finished eating, he's always quick.
-Wait Toto, I'll finish quickly and we'll start.
When Toto got up from his seat, the others hurried to eat.
Jhonatan waited a few minutes for them to finish. The boys who had been waiting took the cups from the others and left,
-It is time, Luis, Joel, Axel, get ready.
Jhonatan urged the others. Axel took the lead, grabbed the small speaker and turned it on.
-Jhonatan said, "I'm going to turn on the loudspeaker, go to the center of the field.
Everyone listened to Axel and obeyed him, and the three of them walked to the center of the stadium.
All the students who were eating, chatting and texting on their cell phones saw the three of them in the middle of the stadium. They noticed them - it's Toto, he's going to do it again, I want to see him - the kids talked about them, as time went by they got used to it, but every time they did it they were still impressed and fascinated.
-On the count of three... three - shouted Axel, just like that the loudspeaker started to sound.
Jhonatan, Luis and Joel started dancing in the middle of the crowd, without any shame.
All the young people shouted. The three young men began with an explosion of energy, moving to the rhythm of the music with natural, fluid movements. As they progressed through the choreography, they demonstrated perfect coordination with each other. They performed synchronized turns, precise jumps, and complex dance steps with impeccable timing.
Their steps were spectacular.
A few minutes later, the music stopped, they stopped dancing, and all the children in the stadium screamed with excitement. It wasn't the first time they did it, but every time they did it, all the children were thrilled with their steps.
They threw money; it was coins that alone were not enough to buy anything, but together they could be enough for a banquet that would last a whole week.
Axel and the other boys hurried to pick up the coins from the ground. There were a lot of them, and they kept throwing more.
Jhonatan left the place and waited for his friend Axel. After 15 minutes, Axel picked up all the coins the boys had collected and put them in a big bag.
- Toto! I estimate there's at least 40 dollars in there! -Axel shouted with boundless excitement.
The others were as excited as Axel. They had come into a good amount of money. Their country's currency had been devalued somewhat, so Jhonatan preferred to be told the total in dollars.
They were about to divide the money equally when Joel spoke up.
-Look, a few minutes ago there was a press conference with CEO Mason,- Joel said.
- And why do I want to know if there was or not? I don't even know him.
Joel got angry and a vein in his forehead started to swell.
- Mason Ashford is a multi-millionaire who controls several companies! Almost all of them are at the top of their respective fields. Sometimes I wonder why I keep talking to this idiot?
Luis got angry again, but did nothing but insult Joel.
-And the press conference was about video games, listen, he said he created a new technology that immerses your five senses in the game to make it more alive!
Joel was excited, but it didn't last long, he continued to listen to the conference and understood that there were only a few seats.
-Damn, I don't think we can play it, there is only limited space.
Joel was sad, his spirits dropped when he understood that it was unlikely that he would be able to play it.
- What? keep talking idiot, don't leave me in doubt, limited to what? - Luis said impatiently, curiosity got the better of him.
Joel, coming out of his stupor, told them what he understood.
-It says that it can only be done by filling out your personal data and with a raffle... it also mentioned invitations, but surely that is for the rich... we are dead, it is not only for a few countries, but for the whole world, imagine, do you think you have a chance to play it? Planet Earth has over 8 billion people, just take away the brats and old people, if we do some calculations...I estimate that we will at least compete for the draw against...2.08 billion people, which is equivalent to having no chance of being selected, it's all over....
Joel lay down on the floor, feeling that he had lost the strength to continue.
- You're so dramatic. Look at Luis, he doesn't care about the numbers, and he's perfectly fine even while listening to your complaints... Huh? Luis? Are you okay?
Luis dropped to the ground—literally. It was as if his legs gave out, and he collapsed.
Axel was left speechless.
- Did it really hit you that hard, Luis?
Jhonatan thought the same but didn't say much about it. He became curious about what Joel had mentioned and promised to check out the website after class. He wanted to try his luck.