Visionless Reality

Seven

      Seven hours of gaming, in the second encounter, is all that took me to understand that the game was a world in itself. Without proper differentiation, anyone could be lost between the two worlds easily. I use my wrist watch for the same. After the second session, I had this uneasy feeling in the real world like, something was missing. I don’t recognize it properly. Whether it was the sense of justice among the citizens… or the craziness of handling your own life, something was actually missing. I was missing those old gaming sessions with my teammates… but on the other hand, I had the unexplored world of hidden treasures. Who knew what lay ahead. I was risking my mental health by having longer gaming sessions than usual without taking break. That change was affecting me. I was feeling slight headache in the brain and a feeling of nausea was in and out several times a day. I decided to give it a rest for a day. I didn’t want to lose my mind for the sake of a game. Although I was recalling those moments from the game and the urge to discover more were tempting, I tried to keep it out of my head for a day.

        20:29… Tried to sleep, laying in the bed for I had nothing to do. The memories of the VR game were alluring me. I decided not to think about it but again, my mind was wandering around that devastated city. Looking at the table, there was something shining. I looked at it with more focus and concentration and it was the Beretta… with its rounds and bullet shells. I was agitated. Was everything in that game, happening for real? I stood up from my bed and hesitantly approached to touch it. I touched my wrist watch and it was there on my hand, I can feel it as well as see it. I was terrified. This was more haunting than the shadows of that winter ghost. Getting closer to the object, it turned out to be the mirror. The ruddy mirror. It was not real. That mirror has always been on my desk. I was hallucinating. The things I sensed and made my personal attachments to, were appearing to me, where they can’t be. Then I recalled what Safina used to do in such cases. Meditation… the best remedy to self-healing.

        Laying down on the couch, plugging to the white noise, I continued thinking about myself, in a dark room. All alone, all to myself. My mind was wandering here and there but to sustain that urge, I brought my senses back to myself, in a dark room. It took a few minutes for me to focus on myself, when I was in an absolute silence zone. Nothing was audible anymore. Only I was present in that dark room. It was time when I could think and get answers to all of my questions, but this time was not to ask or answer anything or anyone. It was the time to self-heal. I just kept wandering in the dark room, with no signs of my position. Moving endlessly in the direction of nowhere, I felt the need of listening to myself. Everything that happened to me in the past few days, need to be clarified by my brain… so that I may not feel frustrated all day, thinking about it. I spent a few hours in deep silence, thinking about what I actually want to achieve. I ended up enjoying my deep sleep, without floating across those weird dreams.

        10:43… Waking up refreshed and lively, I was ready to try something new in the VR world. Connecting all the wires and the rig to the internet, getting into the environment, I thought of trying a rifle this time.

‘Welcome back buddy, long time no see.’-Teddy.

‘Hello Mr. Ted, hope you are doing good.’

‘Absolutely dear, I am always doing good. Is my brother able to teach you anything feasible or is he beating around the bush?’-Teddy.

‘Jason is actually a very talented person. He easily taught me how to aim and shoot using a colt python and I actually learned it in no time. He was able to teach a total noob to play. How interesting.’

‘Well that is more of a misunderstanding my child. The most patient and curious person is able to learn faster than the normal crowd… And I can see those traits in your eyes. Keep on going, you will become a champion in the future.’-Teddy.

‘Champion? What do you mean by that Mr. Teddy?’

‘Champion of the Nation-A. With the best skills of yours, you will help our Nation win the championship of Arms. The only competition for the armed recruits, just like you, so that you will continue spreading love and peace in the world, following the true justice.’-Teddy.

‘Many of your words are unreachable to my brain, but all that I can understand is that this is something related to the story mode. Isn’t it Mr. Ted?’

‘Ha ha… You can say that too, but you will understand it with the course of time.’-Teddy.

‘I hope that happens soon. Anyways thanks Mr. Teddy. See you soon.’

‘Hello Jason, what will we learn today?’

‘I am afraid that I have some important work to do today, down the street. I won’t be able to teach anything new today. If you want to practice your weapons and skills, the place is yours.’-Jason.

‘No thanks Jason, I’ll try having some fun around the city. Let me explore this place. I’ll go and earn some more tRs and then buy some more new stuff.’

‘Sure buddy. If you need any help, just contact Teddy and he’ll transfer your words to me as soon as possible. Till then, Hasta La Vista!’-Jason.

        He was looking tensed. Like he was in some kind of trouble. I was not aware of his problem and neither did I want to know. I left it where it was. Roaming around in the place, enjoying the environment, finding interesting things on the bulletin boards, I was tired of finding work to do. Although this world was virtual, it was made to look similar to the real one, with the weather effects, clouds all over the sky and the windy days. Everything seemed to be natural except for the fact that bathing in the game will never be equivalent to bathing in reality. That was the first time I was at the correct time. The sun was going to set and I was excited to see the virtual sunset. Sitting on the broken bridge, with scraps of metal and bricks, I found the perfect position for the sunset. The sun looked bigger than the real world and more pretty than I have ever seen. I have never spent such a wonderful time alone. ‘It feels like I am me. Hope Safina was here with me. I will definitely bring her once I gain some popularity here.’

        With the setting sun, I saw my anxiety and stress go away, bringing enjoyment and fun. Ending the game, I realised that I have not discovered the whole game. What about trying some story mode? Quitting to the main menu, I chose the option for story mode which prompted an error message.

‘Seems like you have not played any match in the pathetic mode. Atleast one match in the mode is necessary to start the story mode.’

        This is ridiculous. I mean why is it that every time I try to start something great, I end up in a mess. Well, no problem. Pathetic mode is not a big deal. These must be the timed short matches to cope up with the mechanics of the game and make the players feel comfortable inside the world. I was okay with that until another requirement pops up. Selecting the ‘Pathetic mode’, the whole white environment shifted again. The transition was fluent and unnoticeable. The room spread out into a warehouse with players all around. This was the first time I was crowded with the people just like me. All of them had their badges with different recruit codes. Recruit-32, Recruit-339 and many others were present. Looking at the scenario, I was excited for some fun but was more anxious about the task. As usual, all the rules were mentioned on the notice board. The rules were same as the practice match, only the new statement added was that of gaining higher ranks with increase in experience points. Another pamphlet that caught my eyes was that of the introduction to stage-1.

‘Stage-1: Covering the basics.

This session is based on the basics of the game for all those who have not yet experienced the game. This is important to give you some experience before playing the mainline story mode of the game. Levels in the stage are as follows:

Level 1 – The movements.

Level 2 – The environment.

Level 3 – The weapons.

Level 4 – The aiming.

Level 5 – Survival of the fittest.

The levels in this mode corresponds to the count of experience points to be gained after completion of each task. Make sure you are sober before trying this mode. Once you start a Level, you can’t quit. So, are you ready for some action?

Welcome to the Arena-1.’

        Well, enough of the introduction, I was craving for some action. There was nothing that could stop me from gaining some experience points. The whole warehouse had many digital watches, hanging on the walls. They used them to indicate the timing left for each session. At that time, all of them were having a timer of 1-minute left. Soon, the time ended and a siren ran through the warehouse. It was noisy and irritating. None of the players were aware of what to do. They stood where they were. The speakers all around the room buzzed and a deep male voice could be heard. He was the instructor of the match.

‘Welcome recruits, to the Arena-1. This is the place to showcase your skills and serve for justice. We all want to do something exciting in our lives… this is the time to prove yourself. Let’s go on a journey of wisdom… The first task of yours is to check your movements. Please try to map your movements and reach the place with blue bulb, one by one. Pass through the door and leave your belongings at the table. We will take care of them.’-Instructor.

        Well, that was an easy task. Many people were not able to even move. This was all about just crossing some paths, moving on a bridge, jumping from a box and ending up in the blue bulb. But wait, so clever. These people were not testing our movements, instead it was a security check all around. The whole place was fitted with scanners and continuously checking for suspicious things like, I don’t know. This whole place was already suspicious. I kept my bag at the counter and was attended by an armed person. He had a badge of ‘Major’, which seems to be of great importance and experience, for he looked old from his white beard. He was a nice person who was smiling and accepting everyone’s belongings. After all the bags were collected and the checking of the players was over, we all succeeded in clearing our first level.

‘Well done recruits. You have successfully cleared your first level. Your experience points will be added to your tablets. Time for another level. To help you with the next level, I introduce to you, one of our most experienced faculties, Colonel Peithin. He has survived in the most varying environments and knows the ultimate secret of survival. Enjoy your next level.’-Instructor.

Colonel Peithin was slender, but muscular. Anyone could be deceived by his looks. He was handsome. He should have worked in Hollywood but rather than doing that, he was surviving in weird environments. I was sure he must be an interesting personality.