Terrasphere Commercial | Page 2

New York, New York, USA
3:30 AM EST
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The rattle of several year old tracks beneath the subway car gave him company in the absence of commerce. Despite late night activity gaining prevalence in more of the urban areas of the city, most of the Burroughs were desolate this far past 2 AM. Most of the bars were already closed, and the few people still outside their homes were as a rule, up to no good. Thom tapped busily at the screen of his smart phone more to assuage the anxiety that always nagged at him when he headed home from work. The train car he was riding in lurched from a bump, then settled.

He glanced up. "This city could afford to pay for maintenance on the rails," he complained in a low voice. "Infrastructure my ass..."

A light somewhere near the front of the car caught his eye, and Thom glanced toward the glare with a hint of fear in his eye. Things that he was not accustomed to or that deviated from the norm always came as something of a shock to him.

Everything about his life was always the same, until recently. His gaze trailed back to his phone for a moment as he recalled something recent, a fond memory. His lips broke into a slight smile.

An envelope flashed across the screen of his phone, and the youth flicked over to a doting message from his mother. "You're late. Sorry, work called, I have to go in early again. I won't see you, but there are leftovers in the fridge. Don't stay up too late tonight- you barely made your train this afternoon, and I won't be able to drive you to work."

He sighed and thumbed a quick, "Okay. Love you."

As if. The only thing I wake up for anymore is Terrasphere. I'm not going to lose any play time.

In the other world, Thom didn't just dream of new, unexplored lands or behemoth enemies to be conquered- inside that world, he did all of it. He went the places he wanted to go, and he did things he never dreamed possible.

Everything about his life before the game was a restriction. A matter of circumstance, wherein he was trapped forever in a cycle of poverty and wages that were doomed never to rise. So, when the news came to him in whispers...

He froze, then glanced back up at the television. What did that girl just say? "The ultimate virtual reality life?"

Sitting in reverent silence on a New York Subway Car, Thom realized that his secret was out. People would see that add. The word Terrasphere flashed across the screen in alluring print, and his heart sank.

More and more people would flood the servers. More people would come to compete for his glory, and they would try to steal away his promised life.

Was the dream over?

"No," Thom assured himself with a soft smile, gripping his phone in one hand and the arm of his seat in the other. "This is perfect."

More rivals meant a bigger challenge. A larger pool of resources for the game. More freedom to grow. It meant Terrasphere would become something...

Even more fascinating.

 

And this was it. Manya watched, half-silent and half-ready-to-speak out at the commercial. He was watching it on TV, surprisingly enough, and the sudden interruption caught him by surprise. After all, don't shows usually announce when they're going to take a break?

Still, the commercial itself was something. The music was quite...strange. Uplifting, and hypnotizing. And the whole thing felt a bit strange. Over here, games were usually not advertised on TV - it goes around by word of mouth and the internet, but otherwise, the television wasn't the place to shill a game.

But then, this was no ordinary commercial, was it? Perhaps it was the glitchy aesthetics. Or the fact that linear perspective aside, the mascot's eyes followed him. More so than a screen, it felt like it was talking through a thin veil, where it controlled everything on the other side and he had no power over his side.

It didn't exactly play out like a trailer either, but then it moved to what was a calm and cozy scene - people gathered together, celebrating, happy. And that gave him pause.

Happiness...

Past the adrenaline junkies and the addicts, isn't that what gaming was all about? Spending time away being happy? And this game was promising that. Hell, the fact that it was even promising this live on television, was something else. Did they finally allow the company to advertise it, despite the authorities (He forgot their name. VRDSA, VRSA, whatever.) trying to suppress it? Usually, when a game got a terrible reputation it was considered dead...but this was no ordinary game, was it? It was the only one of its kind apparently, and that made it all the more alluring. It had a monopoly on the full-dive gaming and it was playing it to the hilt.

Harry slumped back onto the seat, breathing in and out. Thinking, contemplating, brainstorming. It was a Pandora's Box, and the curiosity crept over him, making him wonder.

How would it be to play it?

And now he wanted to know it, badly. He felt like he was being cut out of the loop, kept in the dark, hidden away from something huge. An inside joke, perhaps...or maybe he was playing right into the hands of the people who're doing this. He wondered about all the other people all over the world with the same thoughts running through their head as his own. He will not be alone, that was for sure.

A soft ping on his phone indicated a message. Sighing, he picked it up, stood up from the couch, and headed to his room, planning to read it on the way.

And that marked the change of all things.