GigaByte : RePurpose

Prologue - A Phantoms Prelude

Prologue

Title：Prologue : A Phantoms Prelude

Tonight was a very exciting night for Gaston.  He was currently on foot making his way to the 7th district and there was a noticeable spring in his step. He slept all day just so that he wouldn't be tired that evening. He looked down at his wide screened wrist computer and saw that it displayed today's date, with a notification that read, "DigiWar Underground Hack-Off". Gaston was amped.
DigiWar is a kind of 3D Digital Chess except each piece is a small army. It's played on a life like digital battle field complete with alternating terrain and weather. The 2 opponents strap on helmets that allowed them to see the field, and use an included
game pad to control there pieces.

Although the game was originally made for children, the 14 year old Gaston really had no bussiness being here. The Underground Hack-Off, was illegal, and mostly for adults. There are however some exceptions, usually the best way around age restrictions is with a little bit of smarts and a lot money. Gaston had learned how to siphon credits from his dad account years ago, so he definatly could pay to play.

The hacker community found the tactical gameplay in DigiWar to be fun and balanced but the input for them was way too simple. Shortly after its creation, hacker groups began playing with modded controllers. Eventually opting to have opponents live code each of there game movements. This required each hacker to create there own form of input system that would allow them to interface with the game and control there digital soildiers. Some hackers would even create artificial inteligent assistants, known as RAIs, to assist with controlling there teams.

The young Gaston felt that he didn't need a "digital parent" to win a game. He never knew his mom, and his dad was always working, all Gaston could rely on was his brains. He had been programming and modding since he was 6, as far as he was concerned playing against the grown ups had been childs play.

Gaston had arrived around the corner from the abandoned building, so he had to walk a litle before he got there. His walk was tall, and confident. Even though he was young Gaston had a strong sense of himself. He knew well on what he was capable of and the things he could do. He had gotten these traits from his dad, a hunger for knowledge and ways to use it.

The 7th district was by far the most run down of the eight, the housing modules in its residential areas  could be described as  janky at best. The streets where littered with garbage and the roads where unkept. GeoMod did only the bare minimum maintenance in district 7.  Although The people living there where of the lowest class, most of them barely made enough wages  to afford there living modules.

As he neared the abandoned factory where the tournament was being held, Gaston checked the account balance on his private account, there was more than enough. There was a 500 credit buy in for the finals, he would need to pay before he could enter the building.  He flashed his wrist computer at the front desk and the money was deducted to be stored in the pot.the lady at the desk waved her bony fingers teord the door and he continued in. Most of the hackers there recognized Gaston, he had taken money from half of them and other half knew they didn't stand a chance. The inside of the building was pretty dark except for the neon lights that hung throught the halls. The bright orange, red, and yellow glow radiated against Gastons brown skin as he moved swiftly through the halls. He knew where he was going.

Gaston's match was scheduled to begin in about 20 minutes, so he needed to make sure his equipment was calibrated correctly. After navigating to the prep room that was filled with other hackers. He sat down at a small table off to the side

His method of coding was simple, he used a digital keyboard that only he could see and interact with.  He wore a custom glove that fit the length of Gaston's forearm. The circuitry within would register where he touched on his invisible UI. With this display he could input a wide array of commands. With the flick of his wrist his soldiers would annihilate the enemy.