TM.1 - Anticipation
Kai and Alexandre can’t always play games with me. I get it, both of them are over thirty and trying to figure out how to be real adults. I’m just a twenty-four year old who’s too chronically ill to go to college or work a trade. Instead, I’m stuck in my parent’s house playing games, scraping by on uber and fiverr gigs. After Liberty and Strife trapped us all in the game and almost killed us, most people would stop playing games or at least take a break. Not me, I don’t have anything else to do. At least not anything fun. I could be panicking about how I’m going to pay for the ridiculous hospital bills that I’ve got left from the whole ordeal. But I’m not really worried since I’m already one of the millions of Americans crippled by medical debt. Catching up on the news when I woke up left me surprised, I missed that whole Luigi Mangione thing. Too bad they didn’t push for Universal Healthcare after that. Maybe next time, because there is always a next time.
During that whole thing I met Kevin. He was also playing as a swordsman in a game full of people with super advanced guns and drones. The two of us got along right away. Anime, movies, comics, and everything else. We were both fans of all the same things. We exchanged information in the game and promised to find each other in the real world. As soon as I got home, I had a friend request from him waiting. We’ve played a few games together since then, but it’s been a little sporadic. He’s been playing catchup to make sure he finishes school, but he’s got time to play this weekend.
Tribe Mind is a new virtual reality game. I was scared to ask if he wanted to play but it seems like neither of us learned our lesson. I haven’t played any VR games since getting out, but I still have the itch for it. It seems like most people do. When a game traps nearly a million people from all across the world, it tends to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths. I spend most of my time wishing I could be someone else or even just do whatever I wanted. That’s the cool thing about games like Liberty and Strife. There’re no limits on what can be done. I don’t have to worry if my body is going to give out on me. I was excited when he was willing to play.
The game is supposed to be some kind of spiritual successor to Liberty and Strife. It’s set in a futuristic desert city with a lot of places to explore. The point of the game is supposed to be some kind of evil tech company taking over the world through brain implants, and it’s up to players to stop it. It doesn’t exactly sound groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to be. It just needs to be good enough for an escape, a basic Isekai is all that’s needed. A temporary escape.
“We still on,” a new text message from Kevin.
“Affirmative.”
“Great,” he responds with an emoji of a man saluting.
I’m sure Alexandre and Kai have been leaning on each other to get through this. I’ve talked to them a few times, but sometimes I feel like the little brother playing third wheel. They knew each other before I came along and they’ve got plenty of stories from before I was around. I’m really grateful the two have taken me in and they swear I’m part of the team, but I don’t always feel that way. It’s nothing they’ve done, just my own thoughts. That’s why it’s been great chatting with Kevin since we met.
My VR gear hasn’t even gotten dusty. It was just sitting here, waiting on me to pick it up again. Well, the wait is over. Today is the day when I hop back in the game. I wasn’t feeling nervous before, but now that the headset is in my hands, I can’t help but feel my heart sinking into my stomach. I guess I am a little scared after all. Still, I never go back on my word, that’s my nindo, my ninja way.
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