Chapter 4 – Launch Day

A week later, I get off the bus in front of SinTech headquarters. A duffel bag filled with a few changes of clothes resting at my side. I talked to my landlord and got a sublease on my apartment. It’s a bit tragic that was the only thing I had to take care of before disappearing from the surface of society for up to a year…

No matter, that’s behind me now.

Hopefully I last longer than a week in this game… I shiver at the thought of giving my landlord a call tomorrow, asking to get my apartment back.

The SinTech compound is huge. It is several stories tall. Probably around thirty floors? A glare from the sun prevents me from making an accurate count. The building’s facade is made up almost entirely of hybrid solar panels and glass. A testament to modern technology.

A huge crowd of onlookers and journalists are tightly packed around the main door. A small red carpet stretches between the main door and the road, cutting through the mass of people. Two lines of strong looking men in dark suits keep the horde at bay. It looks exactly like how celebrities enter fashionable events inaccessible to the public.

Neat.

I didn’t expect there to be this many cameras though. I did put on my best attire for the occasion, but it doesn’t really say much. I suppose it’s good enough. My jeans doesn’t have a single hole in them, and the coloration of my black jumper is only slightly faded from age.

Several taxis and limousines are queued up in front of the main door. People, most likely my contestants, step out of their vehicles, wave to the cameras and head into the headquarter in an orderly fashion.

It would appear I’m the only poor sucker that had to take the bus… Yay me….

I walk up to the crowd of people. It’s packed tight. I can’t see past them at all.

“Excuse me? Can you guys move? Coming through!” I try to press against the crowd. They don’t budge.

“Beat it kid!” A broad shouldered man sneers at me while pushing back.

“Sorry, but I need to get through. I’m already late for the sign-in, I don’t want to lose my spot in the game!” I plead.

The man snorts.

“Sure you do kid. I’m certain you hide that twenty thousand euro entry fee in your 2nd generation hand-me-down clothes.” The man chuckles at his own joke. “Now fuck off!” He turns away, leaving me behind with an annoyed look on my face.

What a douchebag.

I circle around the crowd to the road, trying to find a way onto the red carpet. I soon find myself face to face with a Schwarzenegger-looking security guard. His muscular features are easily visible through his tight suit. He wouldn’t have to strain himself to terminate my existence.

The guard gives me a once-over look, before he looks away. It takes about a second for him to decide I’m not worth his attention. Should I be insulted?

“This area is off limits.” The guard says in a low monotone voice.

“Sorry, but could you let me through? I need to get in… I have this invitation here.” I hand the security guy a holographic disk I received in the mail a few days prior.

The guard plays the recording to verify the invitation, before he steps aside.

“Sorry sir, right this way.” He waves me through. Finally, something easy.

I thank the stone faced man before I step past and onto the red carpet. The string of cars running up has already stopped, and I seem to be the last contestant arriving. The crowd around the entrance has visibly thinned, as everyone expects the show to be over.

I take a few steps down the carpet before a few journalists even notice me. They seem to be awfully quiet. I suppose they are trying to process why a guy with worn down clothes are walking down the carpet. Some start to laugh, thinking I have managed to sneak past security. A few cameras flash in front of me and more and more of the crowd starts to cheer me on.

This lasts for two whole seconds until they realize something is off. The guards doesn’t try to stop me, and they notice the small holographic disk in my hand. The cheers turn into shock. Hardly anyone makes a sound. I turn around and spot the large man from earlier that wouldn’t let me pass standing with his mouth agape. He looks quite comical. Too bad the situation is too awkward for me to smirk at his expense...

I just keep walking. Great. Why did even this turn out to be so freaking awkward? Some divine entity out there must really have it out for me...

The twelve seconds it takes for me to walk across the square and enter the building feel like an eternity. A few journalists manage to snap out of it for long enough to take a few pictures, but otherwise, I think it should have been possible to hear a pin drop out there.

Not even a moment after the door closes behind me, the crowd outside explodes in cheers. This is far louder than any of the cheers for the previous contestants.

What the fuck?

With the loud cheering at my back, I now look upon a large foyer. About a dozen drones are quietly hovering above the crowd, each sporting three cameras. There is no doubt about it; the show has already begun.

A group of well dressed individuals fills the room, making me look like a proper bum. Everyone is properly dressed up for the occasion with wide smiles plastered on their faces. Probably smart… the whole world is currently watching their every move. I’m starting to feel a little self-conscious about my attire.

A small transparent army of waiters slip unseen among the crowd, carrying serving trays filled with champagne and food. You know, those fancy little sandwiches. My stomach grumbles. I need to get my hands on some of those...

The well-dressed crowd seems to have noticed the sudden explosion of sound from outside and turns around. Everyone's gaze lingers at me.

My face turns bright red. Come on damnit, give me a break!

I stand completely still, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. I try the best I can not to make eye contact with anyone, but a certain group of individuals across the room catches my eye.

Richard notices me at about the same time I notice him. His jaw drops and he looks completely stricken by confusion. Eva clutches his arm and looks at me with horror. I guess I’m the last person they expected to see here. I give the assholes the coldest glare I can muster.

Richard sneers at me and starts to make his way over. He doesn’t make it far before a couple of the security guards intercepts him. One of them puts his hand on Richard’s shoulder and whispers something at him. His look of anger quickly fades and his face goes pale.

What just happened?

From across the room, my eyes are drawn to someone trying to gain my attention.

An overweight man with brown hair and a matching full beard waves at me. The man is beaming in my direction and his small gray eyes appraise me. He looks as if he already knows me? And why is he so glad to see me? He does look kind of familiar....

Oh shit! That’s… Oh god! My eyes widen.

Shit! What do I do now? When I talked to him last week, I was kind of… yelling at him. What should I do? Smile and nod at the man? I don’t…

My chaotic train of thoughts is interrupted by the sudden start of orchestra music. I recognize the sound as the offical music from the game. Its magnificent music entrancè gamers all over the world and fills them with excitement. I can feel how the music gives me a familiar warm feeling of nostalgia. It’s truly a remarkable piece of art, true to the fantasy genre. A masterwork.

The entire room goes quiet, savoring the playful music. The silence remains even a few moments after it ends.

Logan steps onto a podium and catches everyone’s attention. His renowned youthful smile plastered on his face.

“Greetings competitors! Welcome to the launch of the game we have all been waiting for...” He throws out his arms as the light dims. A single spotlight focuses on him.

“FANTASY ROYALE!”

Massive applause erupts from the crowd. A couple of camera flashes can be seen at the front of the crowd, signalling the presence of a select few journalists. My muscles tense in excitement. This is it!

As the applause fades, Logan continues.

“Everyone! I’m certain you are all aching to get ingame... and we will get to that! But first, we will reveal a little information about the game!” The mood instantly changes from one of delight, to one of intense focus. You can literally taste the competitor spirit in this room. Good to know everyone is serious.

Logan grins widely.

“Now that I have everyone's attention, allow me to talk a little bit about the game world.” As his sentence ends, a large 3D hologram appears above his head. It’s a map of sorts.

The map shows a game world shaped like a large hexagon, made up of even smaller hexagons. Not only that, but every hexagon appears to have its own environmental biome inside it.

The first thought that strikes me when I look at these biomes is: ‘Hey! It looks exactly like the map of the old board game, Settlers of Catan!’

Looking closer at the map, I can see that the smaller hexagon squares are made up individual environments. I can spot several different ones, like snowy plains, golden deserts, green forests and jungles, and a lot more! These odd climates don’t seem to affect each other, and their locations seem to be completely random! A snowy mountain is located next to a desert, and a lava sort of environment is on the other side. Wouldn’t that cause the snow to… you know… melt?

I focus more on the structure of the map. The center hexagon is grayed out. The remaining map is made up of five layers of hexagon circles expanding away from the center, making up a large hexagon grid sort of world.

“As you all may have guessed, this is a map of our game world! I see a lot of confused faces among you all, so allow me to explain our peculiar choice of a game world.

I’m not that good with explanations, so bear with me everyone. Right. So as you may all know, this maiden voyage got five hundred and forty contestants. Why this odd number? Why not five hundred? Or six hundred? Well, this is because of these hexagon grids you see here.” Logan waves his hand upwards, pointing to the grid system.

“Apart from the center one that is grayed out, I will explain that one later, each of the other biomes are randomly generated. Six of you will spawn in the same biome. Afterwards, when you enter your capsules and have selected your race, you will be presented with a list of available biomes for your race. Here you will rate them all based on which biome you prefer to start in.

Choose carefully. You might not want to play as a dwarf in a lake biome, or an elf in a swamp biome.” Logan lets out a wink to the crowd after that last statement.

Personally, I’m thrilled! I love these sort of refined nuances in a game. The information so far isn’t particularly helpful as of yet, but it’s cool nevertheless. Logan continues.

“I wish you all the best of luck in the random seeding! Oh, and by the way, the biomes on the map here is only used as a representation. We will adjust the number of biomes based on your preferences, but some of you will be unlucky in your choices. May lady luck smile upon you…

Next! The purpose of the hexagon grids.

Obviously, since this is essentially a strategy game, some late game issues can affect the game in a negative way. When most of the five hundred and forty contestant are eliminated, travel distance between the players could become a real issue.

That is why, when every inhabitant on a single biome grid has been defeated, the grid will disappear after twenty four hours. That’s right, it will go POOF! So you’d better get your troops off it ASAP!”

Logan points to the holograph, and a single hexagon grid disappears, the third from the top. After it is gone, another interesting feature presents itself. The two grids above the grid that disappeared move down towards the center. Almost like a game of tetris. A wave of excited whispers washes through the crowd.

Funny enough, or perhaps as expected? I am left out of these small conversations. Great… I have been singled out… This is gym class all over again… I stand sullenly in silence until Logan continues his speech.

“Right! You guessed right everybody! The system is designed to keep intense action from start to finish. As you saw, if a grid disappears, the outer ones move towards the center gray one.

Yes. The gray one! I bet you all wonder what is up with the gray one? Allow me to explain! The center grid is uninhabited, and inaccessible to everyone. The first outward line of the grid that got a single biome left, will activate the center biome. This biome will then copy the environment of the activators biome, and grant the player a ten percent increase to offensive and defensive values within this center hexagon!

Yeah you heard me!” He literally shouts that last part.

The room explodes in a torrent of excited cheers, questions and even outrage! This game mechanic is a complete game changer, and truly promotes aggressive playstyles.

Excellent! Nothing annoys me more in strategy games than people who lock down their bases in a turtle-like defence. It takes forever to root them out!

...

AAH! My body is shaking. I want to log in now. I NEED to log in. Hurry up!

Logan is sporting a wide smile.

“All right then everyone! Let’s quit this diddle daddling, and get this show on the road! Contestants! When we call your names, leave through the large doors to my left and we will take you to your personal capsule.” Logan gestures to a couple of large oaken doors to his side. A couple of scientist looking people are typing something on their tablet PCs. Apparently oblivious to the attention graced upon them.

Logan makes a move to get off the stage before he freezes. He turns back to the microphone and grins.

“Also, a little tip to those of you planning on making alliances, there is a reward for conquering your own biome.” He gives the crowd an exaggerated wink. I look out over the crowd and can see a couple of people losing their confident smiles. Typical rich kid asshats that plan to buy their way in to a strong alliance. Thank you Logan! I could kiss that furry rascal.

Logan quickly departs the stage and disappears off to… god knows where. With a shrug, I try to flag down one of the waiters to get myself some of those nice little sandwiches. I won’t be able to eat solid food for a while after all… Gotta get dem priorities straight!

The emptying of the room is a slow process, and naturally, I am one of the last ones called. It doesn’t matter to me though, I get to eat six sandwiches and drink half a liter of soda. Good times.

When my name finally is called, I step out and meet with a tiny woman who appears to be in her early thirties. She is wearing horn rimmed glasses and has her brown shoulder length hair in a tight ponytail. She isn’t wearing any makeup, and some deep furrows and bloodshot eyes gives me the assumption that she hasn’t slept for at least a day. A dirty lab coat finalizes her appearance.

Her sour expression makes her seem to be unaccustomed to smiling. Can’t really blame her, I’m sure launch day of the hottest video game of the century takes a toll on anyone working at the developers’ headquarter.

I follow her through a short white corridor and into a spacious elevator. We take it all the way up to the twenty eighth floor.

“Around the corner to the left, room 2909. Ask for Glen.” The tiny woman says before she disappears into the elevator again.

Right. Lovely woman.

I start walking towards my room, eagerly peeking into the few open doors within my vision. Every room I pass seem to be similar. Five capsules are lined up next to one another, with a large host of odd cables and hoses attached to them. Some of the cables go inside the capsule, probably to provide sustenance to the occupants, and…

I shiver.

Oh hell no. They ain’t sticking one of those hoses up there. Nah-ah!

I pick up my pace. I reach the end of the hallway and turn left. The rather abrupt turn causes me to bump into someone.

“Ow, Watch it asshole!” The person yells. He manages to catch his balance just in time. He brushes his golden blonde hair to his side before he raises his eyes. We immediately lock eyes.

It’s that fucking asshole. I do my best to quell my budding anger.

“YOU!” Richard sneer. His face stiffens in a look of hatred. I do my best not to break his face.

“Yeah me, motherfucker.”

“What are you doing here?” He snaps at me. A vein starts pulsating on his forehead.

It’s my turn to sport a smirk. “To fuck you up, Dick. What else?”

His eyes flicker for a moment, and he seems unable to comprehend that I’m now in a position where I don’t have to pretend to be polite to him. Bitch ain’t got no power over me anymore.

His eyes widen and his nostrils flare. Richard is so far out of his comfort zone his mind seems unable to act rationally.

“You lie… There is no way you can be here...I’ll… I’ll call security! They will get rid of you.” He rambles. His mind overloading.

“Oh little Dickard… Don’t be dumb. I mean dumber than usual. See this?” I raise my hand and show him my holodisk while simultaneously flipping him off.

His face goes red.

“You insolent little… You better get out of here. My father…” He hisses at me through clenched teeth.

Something clicks in my mind, causing my left eye to twitch. The little shit is pissing me off somehow. “Your father won’t do jack shit to me here. He can’t protect you. You can’t hide in his shadow like the pathetic little bitch you are.”

His eyes go round in shock. Richard is about to lose it. His eyes darken and his jaw clenches further. From the looks of it, I only need a little push to make him physically assault me, effectively disqualifying him from the game. Through gritted teeth, he speaks.

“Y-y-you…” He takes a step closer to me. His muscles seem to tense and his face turns a deeper shade of crimson.

“You better back off before you get hurt.” I tell him, getting ready to defend myself.

Ignoring my words, he raises his fist and swings wide at me. I take a step back and feel the wind pressure from his extended arm swiping at me horizontally. His fist misses my face by a few centimeters. The force of his swing and lack of contact causes his body to rotate with the punch, making him lose his footing. I take advantage of the situation and step in closer, shoving him hard in the side. He falls over.

Richard hits the ground hard. He quickly rolls to his side and stare at me. His face is full of pure rage.

“You little shit! I’ll get you... I am going to make you wish you got skewered like that bitch of a mother of yours.”

My vision goes red.

I don’t know exactly what happened next, but two of the bulky security guards appear out of nowhere and are now pressing me facedown into the floor. Richard is laying a meter away from me, heaving for breath. His nose appears to be broken and a small pool of blood is forming besides his head.

Unbeknown to us both, a small camera in the roof above us caught it all on tape.

Somewhere in the building, the bearded architect of this little meeting is laughing.