by Terry Schott
Chapter 5
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Strayne.” The female reporter shook hands with Brandon before sitting down across from him on the television studio soundstage. She was your typical television interviewer; pretty face, heavy with makeup that looked ridiculous in real life but helped her appear normal on camera. Dark rimmed glasses to help announce her intelligence to viewers. Striking blue eyes, black hair cut in a cute pixie style. Perfect white teeth and a charming smile. She was dressed in a dark and professional business suit, the knee length skirt revealing her tanned, shapely legs which were crossed properly at the ankles. Brandon guessed that she was single and looking for a rich husband; the single reporters often competed for the opportunity to interview and impress the world’s richest bachelor.
“Please, call me Brandon,” he replied. ”Do you mind if I call you Lisa? Or would you prefer Miss Rohansen?”
“I would prefer other things from you, Brandon.” She flashed a comfortable, seductive smile, her eyes looking him up and down appreciatively. It took effort not to laugh at her obvious attempt to engage him. “I would be happy if you’d call me Lisa. Thanks again for agreeing to do this interview. Have they told you how the program is scheduled to play out?”
Brandon nodded his head. ”You’re going to play some old footage that explains the Game, why I came up with it, the history of its rise in popularity, covering some key points throughout. Then you’re going to talk to me about Zack and his chances for retiring at the top. Does that sound about right?”
Lisa smiled pleasantly. ”Sounds exactly right. It’s a fluff piece, really, Brandon. You’re paying for it, so none of us intend to ask uncomfortable or difficult questions about the Game. We are going to try and help you build a following for Zack, or should I say, increase his already incredible fan base.”
Brandon chuckled. ”Thanks, Lisa. Zack definitely leads the pack in fans. His following has been huge for years now. This is a rare occasion, though, and it deserves special attention.”
The intro music started in the studio, the stage went dark, and both Brandon and Lisa turned their attention to a large screen which opened the show. The deep, soothing voice of a male narrator began to give the history of The Game:
'Thirty years ago, the education system was in ruins and the average person suffered from an overall lack of motivation to live in the real world. Multiple generations of video gaming had put society in a dangerous crisis. Adults who had spent their entire lives sitting in front of computers also allowed their children to do the same. Middle and lower class workers were plagued with physical and mental health sicknesses that come from eating poorly, not exercising, and interacting less and less with their fellow man. The upper class recognized the problem but they were unable to solve it. The middle class all but disappeared and the lower class was in serious danger. Historical experts of today look back on that period and agree; civilization was on a collision course with extinction.
Then a man came along who changed everything. Brandon Strayne, the only son of the world’s wealthiest computer developer, joined a small company named VirtDyne. VirtDyne had invented Functional Virtual, the ability to send a person’s consciousness into cyberspace. However, they were unable to bring a person out of it, and after the deaths of several test volunteers, they had no choice but to give up and shut down the company.
Brandon Strayne heard about VirtDyne's problems and approached them with a proposal. If he could solve their issues and save their company, they agreed to give Brandon a 51 percent controlling interest in the company. In a short time, Brandon was able to fix VirtDyne’s problems, making it possible to safely be put into, and brought out of, virtual reality. VirtDyne celebrated his success by quickly transferring majority ownership over to Brandon. With true virtual reality now —pardon the play on words — a reality, every major and minor company in the world got in line with trillions of dollars in hand, hoping to harness this new technology to gain competitive advantage in their markets. Brandon had different plans for his new technology, however, and he quickly announced that there would be only one virtual reality product, developed and controlled entirely by VirtDyne. Not long afterward, he introduced the product to the world. Brandon called it 'The Game.'
The death spiral of society was the problem, and Brandon was pleased to announce that The Game was going to be the solution. Schools and current teaching models had been in place for centuries, but they were no longer effective. With the approval of the government, children would now go to school by playing The Game. Simulations have always been an effective method for training, enabling students to learn safely before being put into real life situations. They have always been viewed as a valuable way to teach. Pilots, surgeons, soldiers, and many other professions have excelled over the years, thanks to simulation training.
The Game was designed to be the ultimate in simulation training — a virtual reality life simulation, where children would start off first as simple organisms and then progress in complexity with each play, as they aged and mastered the basics of the Game, to more evolved characters, known as “avatars.” Each play of the Game would be a lifetime, some short, some long. Time would be measured differently inside the computer simulation for players, allowing them to live decades in the Game while only a short time would pass in reality. The Game would be every child’s new school. At the age of five, each student would enter the Game free of charge for their first five plays. A credit system was created so that students would accumulate credits as they moved through their virtual lifetimes. The credits earned would be deposited into their own account at the end of their play. The first five plays would be free and then the child would use credits from their account to buy into new plays.
Some children would not accumulate enough credits to buy new plays, which would result in them dropping out of the Game.Dropouts would attend old style public schools if they were still young enough to live with their parents; if they were older than 14, the students would attend government run institutions, where they would be trained for labour and simple jobs which would available to them upon reaching the age of 18.
Over time, students would earn enough credits from living as simple organisms so that they could purchase the ability to play as humans. This was the higher purpose for developing the Game and where the real learning would occur. Understanding what a person can learn from just one lifetime, imagine living five or even ten lifetimes, all before turning 18!
There is a saying that “youth is wasted on the young,” which is true in many ways. With the Game, a young person could become an adult with lifetimes of wisdom in their psyche already. It was an incredible opportunity, and the Game as a replacement for traditional schooling was accepted by every country in record time.
All countries quickly agreed to let small test groups participate in the Game. The results were overwhelmingly positive, and in just a few short years, the Game was the primary method for teaching children worldwide. That was a generation ago, and although a few virtual reality products have been slowly developed and introduced, VirtDyne owns them all, and each product revolves around what has become the world’s greatest obsession... The Game.'