Reality Lost

Chapter 1: Realisation (Not finished)

All that can be heard is the pitter patter of rain across the silent, desolate city. The concrete and brick pavements shine under the dull lighting of the now crooked lampposts, their cracks accentuated by the light due to how deep they have become over time. This place was once lively, crowds would gather to see the sights; these sights are now long forgotten. The laughter the famous buildings held echoes throughout them like a slow fading memory, they were once taken care of, cleaned everyday but now they stand and only rot with the past they had.

Where has everyone gone you ask? Home. They are inside their homes, brainwashed by the technology that once advertised reality but now only advertise the virtual online world. As the internet updates the outside world decays slowly, everyone has forgotten what reality is, all that they see is what the totalitarian government wants them to see; it keeps them occupied whilst the government carry out their serpentine deeds.

The once proud Big Ben currently slumps over on one side as it has not been set foot in for over fifty years, its clock once shiny now rusts orange and flakes every time it moves which is once every three months. Roads that once flourished and revolutionised the world lay untouched with elephantine gaping holes, famous streets that inhabited and attracted reams of people carry a sense of loneliness and lay unscathed from the last time they were visited. Our beauteous world now moulders and will continue to do so as long as the government keeps us tightly constrained and we submit to their ways.

I would not have discovered this if i had continued on as everyone else: living each day on the internet browsing sites, playing games, and meeting people online in virtual worlds. If it wasn't for the wretched smell of burning and the sparks of electrical current crackling irregularly, i would still be trapped in the online world. It was rather strange, it happened out of the blue. I like everyone else had forgotten about reality, i spent my days embarking on quests and battling for points to become the superior (or in other words top of the leader board) in as many games as i could, you see the more well known you became and the more successful you were in games the more money you would earn and that meant you were able to access more software and features online. Anyway back to what happened, it was like any other day i was on the verge of completing a quest when suddenly my headset showed a black and white pixelated screen with several numbers upon it that formed an error code, then the wretched burning smell started and the crackling of electricity was loud in my ears. I was unsure of what to do, i like many people as soon as i was born was given a headset, i had never taken it off, so i sat feeling disconcert and blank for at least twenty minutes.

When i finally decided to take it off my headset it was a slow and painful procedure, my hands shook violently as i grasped the thin aluminium bands that kept it secure on my head and i edged it off slowly, my eyes tightly shut, i was too afraid to open them, who knew what awaited me? I had never laid eyes upon the real world. Born into a world in which reality was forgotten can you blame me for the fear that built up inside me? When i opened my eyes my fear was correct to be present, the room was a box of metal, its iridescent appearance made me stare in wonder as i looked around. This room.. no my room contained only a simple bed, toilet and fridge on one side of the room, the other had a large computer system that had a variety of coloured wires which meandered up into the ceiling, but something was off, the system was smoking and sparks were erupting from it.

At this point the heavy weight of reality had not hit me yet,i was too busy being mesmerized by my own living space that i had used every day of my life unconsciously. The headset not only had the internet on it, it also had apps that transformed your room into whatever you wanted it to be, mine was a gamers paradise, full of gadgets in which i didn't even own, so you can imagine that seeing it for what it truly was did cause me to be disheartened as what i thought i had i did not, it wasn't real.

Once reality did hit me however i knew i had to get out of my home that was my comfort zone but now no longer was, i knew that someone would come if they knew my system was down so i had to get out of there. Which is what leads me to where i am now, in the middle of London.