Chapter 1: Booting Up
He knew himself. One dose of this game, all that nostalgia mixed with the euphoria of a new experience… he would be hooked. All he had to do was say no…
Luxury apartments don't come cheap in the big city. Which is why Carter couldn’t afford one. His apartment was barely big enough for a kitchen, a toilet, a bed, and a suitcase. A skinny window that had a glorious view of a brick wall that he could reach out and touch if he felt like it, a single vent for an A/C unit built back in the 2130s that oscillated wildly between Desert and Tundra climates, and a fridge that took up the majority of his living space were his only amenities.
Both of his door's hinges squeaked at different octaves as he shouldered it open and shoved his way inside. The building shook from the roar of a passing hover-train, but this did not slow Carter in the slightest.
He dumped his backpack unceremoniously onto his mattress in the same moment that he kicked the door shut with enough force to loosen some flakes from the popcorn ceiling that drifted down lazily and landed on his shoulders as he turned towards the kitchen, flicking on the light with a lazy gesture.
He treated his sparse surroundings as rough as they treated him, and it showed in the wear and tear on nearly everything.
The small box in his hands, however, he treated with the utmost reverence, placing it upon the small cutting board with the care of a new parent setting their first child in its crib. He grabbed his chef's knife, whose sharpened edge and pristine look stood in stark contrast to the rest of his apartment, and perforated the package with the most delicate of incisions.
A thin sheath of plastic and three useless layers of child-proofing that could not keep out a teething chihuahua were all that stood between him and his prize, and they stood no chance. In minutes he was holding the Oneiron Dreamcatcher in one hand and the instruction manual in the other.
'Manual' is a strong word. It was actually just a rectangular plastic chit with a barcode and the company logo on it. Carter scanned the barcode with his embedded Eye-Ris implant and downloaded the information. Muscle memory he did not possess three seconds prior now drove him through the steps to setting up the Dreamcatcher, which was no larger than a shot glass. It took some tinkering but eventually, he set it up on top of his fridge and took one of the two starter bottles of nano drops from the ruined package.
Oneiron knew what they were doing when they designed the delivery method for the nanobots. Eyedrops that transport users into an escapist fantasy world during a time when most addictive substances are delivered optically? They knew.
Carter took a deep breath and held the drops tight in his hand. It was not too late. All he had to do was shove it all back in a bag and walk to the Oneiron Dispensary. No refund necessary, because the Dreamcatchers and the first dose were both free to him, thanks to his participation in the game's Beta.
But then he wouldn't get to see the Triskelion Galaxy again. He wouldn't get to see how much it had grown up while he was busy doing the same. He wasn't a kid anymore. And Triskelion Saga was no longer a screen-bound video game but an entire digital galaxy he could explore in his dreams.
He knew himself. One dose of this game, all that nostalgia mixed with the euphoria of a new experience… he would be hooked. All he had to do was say no.
The building shook once more as a passing hover-train roared past. Scattered flakes of loosened drywall drifted down from his ceiling like ash in a forest fire.
His fist opened, and the nano drops were still there.
"Screw it."
Carter shoved one of the small vials in his fridge and applied one drop to each eye before setting the other vial beside it.
His Eye-Ris system began scanning the hundreds of nanobots and communicating with them as they invaded his system and started altering his brain chemistry as they saw fit. He knew from the 'manual' that he'd have about 10 minutes before it was game time, so he spent that time pulling up the group chat he had set up over the past month since the announcement.
(User: Chefs_Kiss has entered the chat)
(User: Sam8nTheSame says "About time! Everybody else is already in. You booting up?")
(User: Chefs_Kiss says "Just dropped, 9 minutes and counting")
(User: Sam8nTheSame says "Right behind you Carth. Any word from Ghost?")
Carter paused halfway through undressing for bed and tossed his shirt down the recycle chute by his door. With a small shake of his head, he dropped down to his mattress and got as comfortable as he could.
(User: Chefs_Kiss says "Nah. You know how she was though. Her name says it all. She probably just ghosted us like last time.")
A beat passed without a reply, then his friend shot back.
(User: Sam8TheSame says "We aren't kids anymore Carth. People grow up. Maybe she just doesn't want to play games anymore, you know? Don't trip. You still got us!")
Carter smiled, alone in his small apartment.
(User: Chefs_Kiss says "Thanks, Sam. You're right, as per always. See you in-game. Know what you're gonna be playing as?")
(User: Sam8nTheSame says "Guess")
(User: Sam8TheSame has left the chat)
Carter snickered to himself and rolled over, succumbing to the lull of the nanobots' artificial sleep. Without their aide, there was no way he would have been able to fall asleep. Not while he was this excited.
His eyelids sealed and his mind expanded. An Oneiron logo flashed once, twice, and then blazed against the back of his eyelids before fading along with his consciousness.
-
"For Hope. May you find her still wandering these worlds she used to love so much."
-
Carter opened his eyes and found himself knee-deep in cool water. Above him was a swirling nebula of vibrant colors, multiple suns, and dozens of planets that made up the Triskelion Galaxy.
He smiled.
It had been ten long years since the third release in the Triskelion Saga franchise had gone live. Despite Odyssey Across the Stars—the glorious finale of the old trilogy—largely being regarded as the greatest entry into the franchise, Carth and his friends still preferred the second title; Dread Harvest. Either way, it had been too long since he had last stepped foot in the Triskelion Galaxy.
At long last… he was home.
