Draconia Offline vol. 1

1.1. Welcome to Draconia Online - Part 1

Osaka in Japan, 2083

The sun was shining through the window with summer intensity, filling the hospital room with its warm light. But death wasn't picky; it didn't need depressing atmosphere to come.

The line stopped going up and down and became straight. The beeping faded after a while, it wasn't needed anymore.

There was silence for a moment. A second of deadly tranquillity. Then sobs.

"Time of death—14:32," the doctor noted down into his datapad.

He pulled a sheet over the woman's dead body, looked at the child crying next to her bed and let out a resigned sigh. The boy couldn't have been more than four years old and was adamantly holding his mother's hand.

"Is the boy her only family?" the doctor scratched his chin with concern. "I've never seen any visitors. Where's the father anyway?"

"I'd already checked the register, his birth certificate says father unknown," the nurse shook her head. "The social services are taking care of him for now and are searching for his relatives in Europe."

"He's half Japanese, though. Do they really want to send him there?" the doctor bit his lip. He was mostly successful at keeping things emotionally professional but it was hard in cases when children were left behind.

"Doctor, is it true what they say?" the nurse asked, nervously studying the patient's medical record. "That the brain tumour was caused by VR?"

"Who said that?" the doctor frowned. "That's ridiculous."

"But she was some kind of game developer, right?" the nurse insisted. "She must have used that damn VR helmet a lot. There're people who report headaches and..."

The doctor didn't get time to answer as four men in formal black suits suddenly entered the room. Without hesitation and any greeting they quickly put the woman's dead body on a stretcher. They had to forcibly tear the small boy from his mother because he refused to let go.

"Too soon for the mortuary service," the doctor frowned. "Who are you? Who gave you permission to take the body?"

"A thorough autopsy is in order," one of them said dryly. "We're taking the body to a better facility."

"Okaa-chan!" the boy screamed in Japanese and tried to get hold of his mother again.

"Ryuuto, your mom is gone," the nurse gently caught him. "I've told you, remember? She was very sick. She's in a better place now and doesn't feel pain anymore."

The doctor argued with the intruders for a while but they shoved official custody papers into his face and quickly left with the body.

The little boy, Ryuuto, started to cry uncontrollably. The nurse tried to comfort him and hugged him firmly but it didn't help much. The doctor sighed and went to call the social service lady who was waiting in the hall.

"My mom's not thinking anymore. Not thinking, not feeling," the boy kept repeating as he was sobbing into the nurse's uniform.

*****

Prague in the European Union, 20 years later

The underground metro is always packed at this hour. A mass of turbulent emotions is the hardest to deal with but I'm somewhat used to it. An elderly woman bumps into me as she's trying to secure her place at the last second before the door closes. No word of apology. Instead, her anxious emotions hit me.

I twitch and squeeze my way closer to the other door. A man holding a suitcase to my right is nervous about something but, thankfully, I'm not close enough to feel more. A girl opposite of me is looking in my direction but her eyes are unfocused. I notice she has an implant so I guess she's browsing the Internet right now.

For a while I was considering getting one myself but after a product presentation with a mock implant that gets attached to one's temple temporarily, I quickly changed my mind. Unlike full-dive VR, implants provide only partial virtual experience which messes with my telepathy. And I wouldn't have the nerve to use it among people anyway.

When the train starts moving, windows change into advertisements banners.

"UrgoLogi corp. wishes you a pleasant journey."

God, I hate ads. But this train is sponsored and therefore not as expensive so the commuters have to bear with it.

I notice a man eyeing me from a few metres away. I pull my face mask higher and check that my hoodie didn't slip. Even though lots of people have all kinds of crazy cosmetic procedures done these days, my natural androgynous features still attract unwanted attention. Being harassed on my way to school is something that would ruin my morning so, after some unpleasant past experiences with train perverts, I always travel in disguise.

I turn my back to that man and take out my vibrating phone.

Erik, 9:36

You free tonight? ^_^

I smile to myself and start typing a response.

Ryuuto, 9:37

Yep, I can drop by after school.

Erik, 9:37

Cool, looking forward to it. Should I order some food?

Ryuuto, 9:38

Sure, no time for lunch anyway.

Erik, 9:38

Eat, skinny, you dumb.

Ryuuto, 9:39

I will... at your place. Promise. See ya.

Another stop, more pushing. The girl leaves and her place is taken by that elderly woman. It's evident that she doesn't approve of people who aren't ill wearing face masks. She gives me a stare as she's trying to guess my gender and shakes her head. She's one of those people who hate ambiguity, I can feel her discontent. But I'm just a random stranger to her so she lets it go.

I close my eyes, trying to clear my mind. Too many emotions can overwhelm me to the point of a severe headache and that's the last thing I need when I have an entire school day ahead of me.

*****

A paper ball hits my arm and wakes me up.

"Ryuuto," one of my classmates hisses at me. "The professor..."

I blink, confused for a moment. Then I realise that I must have dozed off for a few seconds. I get angry at myself—wasting precious time with a real teacher! At least she wasn't looking at me; I don't want to seem rude. She's not here as a mere hologram, after all.

I stretch and finish my coffee from the campus cafeteria that is totally cold now. This is only my second lecture today but I feel exhausted already. When I think about it, I've been feeling pretty tired lately. And my back feels sore today. Maybe I game too much? But I don't think I put in more hours than usual.

The coffee helps a little and focusing on the most enthusiastic students who really pay attention does the trick, too. One of my coping mechanisms I've developed over years. I like school even if it poses all sorts of problems for me. Like sitting in a lecture hall with twenty other students and perceiving their emotions whether I want to or not. I wish I could switch it off at will. But I can't.

I buy another cup of coffee in the short break between lectures and manage to pull through the rest of the day. I look forward to seeing Erik which helps me tolerate another overcrowded train on the way to him. It's not like we're dating but I still really enjoy spending time with him.