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Welcome to the Porcelain Reality User Interface.
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ENTRY #001. -[a new game]-
K- typed fast, the computer screen's blue glow reflecting in her eyes. The lights were off, her laptop emitting a low whirring sound under the loud clacking of the keys. She wanted to get onto RO, but she just needed a few more minutes to finish installing her copy of Porcelain Reality. Her "puppet", now just a small, robotic figurine, lay on the table beside her, lifeless. Attached to it were long red wires, curling into a pile behind the computer, where they plugged into the back through a special hardware called the "log in scanner.” A vial of a strange, glowing liquid was propped next to a pair of large, ungainly goggles, also connected to the log in scanner. Piles of shopping bags, broken packaging, old coffee cups and candy bar wrappers littered the floor around her desk. K- stopped typing to take a large bite out of the sticky apple pastry in her hand, one foot kicking back and forth in the air, agitated. She knew that this game was new, but it shouldn't take that long to load.
She had flipped through the owner's manual a few times, and had already entered the data for the puppet. Right now, the puppet's software and the log in scanner were working with the program CD to write up the "Puppet Data" and enter it into the online PR database. K- yawned. This was getting boring.
These days, everything was "Online gaming" this, and "virtual reality" that. Popular MMORPGs came in and went. Every year, there was a new game. Every year, the technology advanced a step further into reality. And now, came something new. All the people on gaming BBSes were hailing it as a "pioneer" game, something that revolutionized not only gaming, but consumer robotics as well. They even covered the opening ceremony of the first store on the national news.
And how could she resist? A few months after the release, K- had made her way to one of her local game shops, purchased the male puppet "starter set", and promptly forgot about it. She took another bite out of the pastry before setting it down to type, the log in scanner flashing promisingly. So she had waited a few weeks to create her puppet, so what? She got to it, eventually. Finishing off her post, K- sent it and closed the browser, reopening the Porcelain Reality game file.
The screen flashed, and the words " Loading..." flickered on for a moment before disappearing again. The screen flickered, in what appeared to be an attribute of the program, the empty space giving way to a crowded screen labeled the "Porcelain Reality User Interface". In big, bold letters across the page read: "Congratulations user ID: queen_of_speeders for registering your puppet, Jin Hai. Your puppet's personality and battle system data is being uploaded to it right now!" K- sighed.
The log in scanner began to whir loudly, making strange scratching noises, its lights blinking on and off. K- watched it with interest, finishing off her sweet in the meantime.
In a few moments, the lights of the scanner turned red, then orange, then yellow, flickering up and down its side. Then the buzzing grew faint, and the machine beeped. Looking over to the laptop, K- saw the screen displaying a new set of text: " Thank you for installing Porcelain Reality. Your puppet has been programmed. Remember to keep the essence bottle with it during the first few weeks, or else it will not grow!"
The puppet opened its eyes.
