"Notice to all humans. For research purposes, the S.T.U.D.Y. (Special Testing Unit to Discover You) has been made available to your species.

The S.T.U.D.Y. can be somewhat reminiscent of virtual reality games that have been developed by humanity prior to the Knowledgeable's interference. However, it should be realistic enough that discerning the simulation once inside of it should be impossible. The purpose of opening this facility to your species is to conduct extensive studies of human behavior in a wide range of situations, including past, future and altogether different environments. Entering the S.T.U.D.Y. is a deep immersion that must last at least one full year. Because of the wide range of environments available, and the modifiers that we can provide to the very experience of living while inside the S.T.U.D.Y., we fully expect volunteering for this research program will be a very rewarding experience for individuals choosing to do so.

Should enough humans agree on entering the S.T.U.D.Y., we are confident that we will eventually gather enough data to safely introduce humanity into the galactic community.

The closest evaluation center to you, for entry into the S.T.U.D.Y. or any questions you may have on the topic, is at the number 31, Liberty street.

Please note, we encourage that looking at this offer should be considered a one way trip. The time you may spend in the worlds of the S.T.U.D.Y. has no upper limit and could very well last until your biological death. In fact, such an event is optimal for maximum data gathering.

Best regards,

The Knowledgeable."

I probably don't even need to tell you how much of an uproar this notice created. Beyond being the first time we had hard proof that the Knowledgeable are at least in contact with aliens, this was a true game changer for people on Earth. An exit that isn’t quite an exit, but close enough. A mean to travel further than anyone else before that isn’t quite traveling, but close enough.

People liked that.

The thing with the recent progress is that suddenly, humans as a whole were a lot less busy than before. The frenetic rhythm of capitalism had been broken. Neither surviving nor living well was an issue anymore, people suddenly had most of their time free to do whatever they wanted.

While that is objectively very nice, a lot of people grew bored. Sure, you can party, you can travel, you can play games, you can read, you can enjoy or create art, invest yourself in sports and all sorts of activities. But the fact is that for the majority of people, they moved from being very busy to having more free time than they could really fill. There’s only so much one can watch series or play video games before turning to other hobbies, and for many of those, they can hardly stay fresh and wonderful for ever.

I think the timing of The Offer was pretty good, it was a big decision, with a "NO RETURN" stamp on it, a big one but not big enough people wouldn’t give in to curiosity and visit those evaluation centers, just to ask questions and see what the fuss is all about. And inside those, the sales pitch was on point. Explore untouched worlds, alone or with friends! Discover the best cities of the galaxy! Live as a knight or princess in the middle ages! How about a world where psychic powers are a given? All of these and countless more were offered with beautiful views in holographic displays or giant screens.

And obviously even if you wanted none of it, absolutely everybody was talking about the Study. Some wondered whether they would go, the adventurous types were trying to entice their friends into going along, the more investigative types were sharing extra information obtained after hours of questions in their local evaluation center. Meanwhile, the conspiracy theory crowd was all over the place, claiming it was a deathtrap and whatnot. As if the Knowledgeable needed such a convoluted plan to do whatever they wanted.

It very quickly became common knowledge that the first to go in would have advantages over those who waited. And so, anywhere between 5 to 10% of humanity walked into the evaluation centers to go into Study in those first few days. Me personally? I chose patience obviously. It’s not an extremely original position but hey, even though the chance to live an adventure far away, leaving Earth behind really resonated with me, I chose to wait the one year and see what the first people to come back would have to say.

What a damn long year it was.

I got all the info that I could and then did my best to not think too much about the topic. I didn’t want to give in to the incredible attraction of that door towards the unknown. I often caught myself daydreaming about possible choices, trying to imagine scenarios and figuring out what I want. Video games and stories felt all the more tantalizing as I knew I could go in the Study and experience similar things first hand.

By now, I think a full third of all humans went in. Old people would go in to be younger, dreamers would go in to live in fantasy lands, and folks trusting the Knowledgeable would go in for whatever they fancied with no strings attached. There were groups too, some quite big as entire traditionalist communities went in together to settle a world that wouldn’t challenge their way of life as much as ours now does. Smaller scale, there were groups from networks of enthusiasts, fans of one fantasy genre or another picking a fitting world in which they could live it for real. Families with young children would also all go together to give the kids a taste of the wild. Speaking of family, all of my close family went in too, which certainly was a bit of a bummer, even though we weren’t extremely close. Mom and Dad went in together quite early actually, they asked me and my sister if I wanted to come along but I stubbornly refused while she had plans with friends.

I kinda regret that decision now, but it can't be helped anymore : there's no such thing as joining someone in the Study, either you go in together or you're on your own. Even sending a letter isn’t possible.

"We’re sorry but it’s not possible for technical reasons."

I wonder how many millions of times the clerks and Robotics in evaluation centers had to say that.

Finally, one year did come to pass and the testimonies were overwhelmingly positive. Sure, there was struggle sometimes, and pain, and suffering. But there was variety and endless adventure and magic too. The Study delivered in countless things never seen before, and endless discoveries, and magic too. Almost everyone walking out only did so to go back in with their less adventurous loved ones who stayed behind.

Somehow, those people who allegedly hadn’t moved for the past year in some kind of VR pod mostly seemed to positively glow with health. That… Did seem a bit strange to me. A bit of an inconsistency but the information campaigns about the study did claim the uplink pods were not only safe but also perfectly tuned to keep people in good shape. Nobody seems to care anyway.

And neither do I, really. If I’m here today, it’s not just to escape the “cage” of Earth. Sometimes I even think I got used to big brother Knowledgeable, accepting the price of progress. No, the truth is, I also want to live my very own adventure in another world never seen before! The initial evaluation is a bit of a long process that is needed for avatar synchronization within the Study. It takes an appointment because it’s estimated around 4 or 5 hours, finishing with the uplink, the process of going in. So, I’m steeled for paperwork and for a bunch of exams to make sure the ‘me’ in the Study wouldn't feel alien to my consciousness.

That’s the reason why I’m going – probably for the last time – to the number 31st of Liberty street, an almost brand new white building 4 stories tall. I would know, I actually oversaw some of its construction. It has a large and modern welcome hall, with huge windows that let people passing by catch a glimpse of ever changing landscapes found within the Study.

I’m abandoning my own flat in a rather sorry state, there’s empty bottles and various dirty dishes on the table, but that’s no big deal : a Robotic will pass by later, clear up everything and gather my stuff to store it in a warehouse until I come back.

There’s no such thing as bringing personal effects inside the Study.

Even your very body is left behind, sleeping in a special pod.