Chapter 1: (000) The Freedom of Virtual Reality
Electa Roth considered herself a simple woman.
Ok, not simple in the way that she was simple but simple in the way that she knew what she liked to do and what she liked and what she very much didn't like.
If there was a thing that she could, hands down, say that she liked to do it would be stargazing. It was peaceful, it was moving, it made her problems seem not so enormously overbearing.
If it was a matter of what she liked it'd most likely be a matter of who. She loved her family, her children and her grandchildren. All born beautifully and grown into such amazing people. She was nothing short of proud of them.
If there was ever something she dislikes so much that it was borderline hate, it would probably be this situation she was in right now.
"This can't be right," she muttered to herself.
<Statement unclear. Please rephrase your request.>
"Please, just let me LOG OUT."
<System Failure. No command found under LOG OUT. Please contact Support for troubleshooting.>
"Now I can't much do that if I can't exit the game, now can I?"
<Statement unclear. Please rephrase your request>
Perhaps we should back up a bit.
Electa was a fairly ordinary woman who led a fairly successful life. She married her school sweetheart when she was 22 and had her first child when she was 25. A sweet daughter that had a fascination with insects and would grow up to be an entomologist. At age 27 she had the twins. A quiet boy who would become a chess master and pastry chef; and her second daughter who was a pediatric psychologist.
Her grandchildren started coming into the mix when she was 50. Artisans, crafters, a mechanic and a marine biologist.
There were no scandals in her family. There were no tragedies. No earth-shattering secrets kept from one another. For the most part, they all got along well too. So how did anything strange end up happening to her when her sunset years were upon her?
Well, it was perhaps started because she took a tumble down the stairs at age 82. She hadn't broken a bone since she was six and was considered a healthy woman. Sadly, it paralyzed her from the chest down. At her age the outlook for regaining mobility of her legs was low.
Though she hardly saw it as the end of the line, it was a source of frustration that she couldn't move about as easily as she once could. Her grandson was nothing short of a blessing when he gifted her an SVR, a Synapses Virtual Reality.
It was what everyone dreamed of when virtual reality became a more commonplace thing.
Virtual gaming, AI, and neuroscience became one and could truly make alternate realities a reality. In connecting with the actual brain, sensations and incidents otherwise never experienced could become part of reality. It was a paradise for the home-bound and a wealth of opportunity for the poor.
For those that couldn't afford neuro-prosthetics, it was nothing short of a dream. Movement otherwise impossible, sight for those never able to see, sounds for those never able to hear...
Besides, who wouldn't want to experience what it was like throwing fireballs from your hands or cultivate qi to fly?
For Electa, it was a way to learn about and interact with the stars and planets she loves so much. It was kneeling in her (virtual) meditation garden to weed. And, of course, smite armies of goblins with lightning storms.
She was a renowned player in the gaming community, a veteran in the VRMMORPG field, with the moniker Goddess of Lightning. Electa's habit of going for lightning based magic and taking up the username "Electra". So it wasn't the most creative username, how was she supposed to know all those years ago that a sleep-deprived decision would stick to her like a fly on fly-paper?
Either way, her gaming hobby from when she was a bored young mother carried her on and was her escape when her dear husband died and she entered a nursing home at age 85.
It was around this time that there were talks about the game Starfall finally being released. A rumored game that was in development closing in on a decade.
Starfall was meant to be a massive game. One that would be player-driven and flexible in every aspect.
Originally the concept was that there would be a Quest System run by both NPC and Players with dynamic economics and game mechanics to match. The NPCs were said to have been equipped with AI to help maintain the high-performance demand of a human player's creative problem-solving.
This allegedly evolved into a deeper Relationship and Fame Systems being developed. Because of the learning algorithms attached to the AIs. Which led to an overhaul of the professions and classes in the overall world for better diversity. Which led to a tweaking of the economics' system to account for niche jobs and creative ways in earning money. Which in turn forced the skills attainable to multiply exponentially. Which ended up going hand in hand with a better format of fighting, interaction, and titles being made.... and so on and so forth.
In short, what was meant to be a massive player-driven game with quests added in soon became a behemoth of a virtual world that was on par with something akin to an alternate reality with complex social structures, cultural diversity, and lore so deep it'd made the trenches of the ocean look like puddles.
But finally, after years of development and waiting and hype, the mini world would be released to the public.
The interviews by developers, advertisements, beta testers' praises, and content leaks over the years were compiled and analyzed by gamers.
The month before release was chaos. Virtual brochures were bought by the billions. The newest models and even older SVR consoles were bought out in droves.
Then Starfall hit the proverbial shelves. The massive amount of downloads crashed the sites it was being offered, even though the company behind the game went through great lengths to keep it from happening.
For Electa's 86th birthday, she had pre-ordered a <Lord's Starter Package> which she could redeem upon entry to the game.
The starter packages were something of a unique thing in Starfall. The concept of a starter pack itself wasn't so unique, real-world money for in-game perks.
Starfall took it a step further... as it seemed to do with just about every aspect of its creation.
There were the standard ones:
<Basic Pack> : 100ggc (Global Gold Coin), 1x Tier 3 Weapon Ticket, 1x Tier 3 Armor Set, 5x Random Items, and Skill EXP. (Players could buy this as many times as they wished.)
<Basic Starter Pack> : 100ggc (Global Gold Coin), 1x Tier 3 Weapon Ticket, 1x Tier 3 Armor Set, 5x Random Items, and Novice Skill Book (Unlocks Basic Skills). (Players could only buy this pack once.)
<Commoner's Pack> : 50ggc (Global Gold Coin), 50g's worth of Simple Goods (Bread, Cheese, Eggs, Candles, Matches, Soap, Torches, etc.), and 5x Tier 2 Tool Tickets. (Players could buy this as many times as they wished.)
Then there were the uniquely based packs where the player could choose the amount they wished to spend on the pack and the player would receive an in game's equivalent's worth:
<"N" Global Gold Coins> : A varied amount of gold from 100ggc – 1,000,000,000ggc depending on how much the player wishes to convert from real-world money. (Players could buy this as many times as they wished.)
<"Class": Supply Pack> : Player [Name] receives item supplies in relation to [Previously Unlocked Job/Class]. (Eg. <Candlestick Making: Supply Pack> : Beeswax, Scented Oils, Dyes, Wicks, Molds, and Special Add-Ins.) Only applicable to previously learned specialized skills, classes, and jobs. (Players could buy this as many times as they wished.)
<Homestead Kit> : Player [Name] receives a Land Deed of [Selected Available Land by Yardage], 1x Set of Basic Farm Tools, 1x Set of Basic Carpentry Tools, 2x Cows, 5x Chickens, 2x Sheep, 2x Goat, Farmer's Basic Seed Package, Cook's Basic Herb Packet, Hedge Witch's Herb Packet, and 1xMagic Shield Stone.
<Land Deed of "Select Available Land by Yardage"> : Player can add to a plot of land they previously own or create a new plot. (Players could buy this as many times as they wished.)
Those packs could be purchased in the game at correlating shops and establishments.
Then there were the limited packs that could only be bought outside of the game. These had established places in the game's world. The limited spots meant there was a cap on how many players could purchase the pack and the title that came with it.
For example...
<Baron of Malcassthorn> : Minor Noble Title, 55 Acres on the Cass Mountain Range, 100,000ggc, and Rosestone Manor located in the Cass Mountain Range.
That in itself would cost a good chunk of someone's salary. But it went beyond just the Baron of Malcassthron.
<Baron(ess) of [Name of Land]>, <Viscount(ess) of [Name of Land]>, <Count(ess) of [Name of Land]>, and <Marquess/Marchioness of [Name of Land]> were also available, each progressively getting more expensive. There was a risk to buying into these packs, however.
For one, you could only buy a single one and never be able to buy one again. The other was the pitfalls of what equated to modern-day nobility and all the pitfalls you'd experience from being in the Noble System.
The Noble System couldn't be completely be bought over with real-world money. You were warned when buying it that could lose your titles and land and fortune based on your actions. The NPC kings and queens could strip them away and likewise could ennoble a favored player or other notable NPC in your place.
You had to manage your fief and if run poorly, you'd run the risk of being overthrown by your people.
The benefits however are what drew people to it anyway. You'd be given tax revenue by your subjects, you'd be approached by Traveling Merchants, you'd have access to exclusive events, and would have a "key" to high-ranked quests.
With the foundation of the game so laid down, there was an inheriting factor in place. You would be able to name your successors by blood or by adoption.
So what was Electa's package all about? Well, it was something of an amalgamation of the other packages. Customizable to a degree. She could, essentially, set up her own fief. It would allow her to take up a fair amount of land, perhaps create a decent cottage, and have a nice little nest egg to let her live a virtual life of luxury!
In short, she was going to find the most secluded and beautiful place in Starfall and enjoy her pain-free, unhindered youthful body in the ultimate retirement plan she had been planning since she heard of Starfall.
Nothing could stop her now!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
QueenKoala
QueenKoala The prompts made me do it.... let's see if it turns out to be any good or just a flaming pile of gärbagé.
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