Arvium

16: Avatar

Section four had been split into four separate smaller groups, each led by an Alpha player. Aella was near the middle of the group of twelve players, and she swallowed. Her breathing was quick, and she shifted every time someone bumped into her. Do they have to get so close?

The Alpha had brought them through a glass hallway with a canopy of trees crossing over the top to a different building, explaining what they were seeing every twenty feet they walked. The Game Center was composed of three sections--Assembly Hall, the museum, press center, and in the upper sections, the auditoriums and classrooms that squads could rent for hour-long sessions; Future Alley, the name affectionately given to the buildings that housed the pods they would use to immerse themselves into the Beta Game; and the living quarters, with a dorm building for the Alpha players and one for the Beta players, and a cafeteria building. If I'd wanted a tour, I'd have read the manual.

Aella stood on her toes to see the front of the group where her tour guide was still talking. They had entered the Beta Game pod building, and were standing in the Atrium. She turned her neck and looked up to the second floor where another group was standing, looking down at her group.

"This building has ten floors," the Alpha said. "Each floor holds twenty pod rooms. Each room has three numbers. The first number will denote which floor you are on. The other two will designate which room it is, whether it be 01 or 20. Your pods are located on the firstfloor. Please form a single-file line, and I will bring you to your rooms to begin the avatar creation process."

Aella shuffled into position and walked forward as the line of players followed the Alpha through a doorway that led into a curving hallway with doors along the right side of it.

"Another thing," the Alpha said. "The pod room you enter today will become your assigned pod. No one else will have access to your room, and it will be yours until you exit the Game."

Aella watched as, one by one, the players entered a room, then the next entered the next room, and so on. She glanced at her door, number 005, as the Alpha held out her hand to it.

This is it.

She put her hand on the handle and the door slid open and she stepped inside. The carpet beneath her feet was soft, and muffled the sounds of her footsteps. It was black, and contrasted with the white metal and marble that made up the Game Center.

"Name?"

She glanced up at the technician that was smiling at her from his seat in front of a row of monitors. He was middle-aged, with a kind smile and a low ponytail of black hair, edged with pure white. "Aella Rynnex, player number 200," she said, remembering the ID number that had been in her informational folder.

"Please, take a seat," he said, motioning to a stool sitting next to an eight foot long, egg-shaped machine on her right, it's massive insides filled with clear tubes and a green gel. "My name is Luke. I will be monitoring your activity in the pod while you are submerged."

She sat down and smiled at him, nodding to indicate that she had heard him.

He stood and pointed to the machine next to her. "This is the pod system. It's the tangible form of the I.L.S. system, and much more immersive than the uniform and head gear of the Alpha Game. This pod allows for full body simulation, rather than sensing your mental activity. Here, you will control every movement of your avatar with your own body, instead of relying just on mental focus. It is more efficient, and your reflexes are much more responsive than a computer algorithm. You will wear a headset that will act as your eyes, ears, and senses in the game. It will be duplicated in the game as your setup menu. Do you understand?"