~~ Just a Game ~~
Rashne sat in his room at the apartment he rented looking over the letter he had received not long after his graduation. It was a special offer, one of those once in a lifetime chances. The opportunity for future doctors to work and gain MD status. A paid internship with the Shutensa Corp medical division. There was another sat on the counter addressed to Obsidian.
Shutensa. A name Ra had all but grown to adulthood with. The reason they had been sat for a month, unopened. They had reason to be wary.
Of course he had played, he had been part of one of the original testing groups the elite club at the Aquilla academy. For his high school and most of his university life he had played Shutensa until, in his first year of college his grades had started to slip. He had always been a strong student and the notice had caused his parents, to panic. He had promised his father that missing one of his freshman semesters to travel would not hurt his average. After a long lecture from his father and strong words from his mother it had become apparent that something needed to go.
It was then he had to put a stop to his gaming. Disconnecting himself from the imaginary world to take care of the real one. It had not been easy, the game was like a drug. So easy to get hooked, so hard to leave. Especially his character, Mecca. Though the game had all but collapsed under the global system release he had still been drawn to exploring the world, being Mecca.
Mecca was fun to play, the kind of person he could never be, would never be. It was the perfect form of escapism. When the going got tough you put that little patch on your arm and the world faded, he faded. Submersed in this world where anything was possible, as a character you could easily love to hate. Not a push over or a 'nice guy.'
His girlfriend and fellow Shu junkie, Obsidian had helped him break the habit. Together, like alcoholics giving up the sauce, they had put Shutensa behind them and tried to work towards their future.
For a year and a half he emerged himself back into college life. He studied hard and took extra classes to make up for his missed semester and slipping grades. He re-joined the Kendo and soccer teams, re-connected with those he had lost due to Shutensa. Without the game taking up evenings and weekends he and Obsidian had found extra time together in the real world. They managed to travel around Japan. Kyoto, where his best friend went to college was his favourite place. He loved the peace and quiet of the temples, the hidden little restaurants and tea houses with their delicious food. There was so much there to explore. Shutensa became mostly forgotten aside from the old commercials and die hard fans they came across.
Their last vacation had come right after their graduation from University. They had taken a trip to Shikoku, a small island off the East coast of Japan. It was a peaceful place, filled with natural sights and plenty of history. The second to last day of their vacation was spent at Kotohira, a shrine famous for its many steps and its place on the Shikoku pilgrimage. They had spent the day climbing to the furthest shrine, stopping along the way to take in the shops aimed at tourists and sample the local udon noodles. They did not reach the top of the one thousand, three hundred and sixty eight steps until the light was beginning to fade. There, he had proposed to her and thankfully she accepted. They had been together for four years and friends much longer. It had been a natural step to him.
That was one reason he was contemplating this opportunity. They were hoping for a 2011 wedding date, during spring when the cherry blossoms would be blooming. That, however was not going to happen without money, quite a bit of it. It was ironic really. They never would have become friends if it wasn’t for the Shutensa project, now it would be funding their wedding.
They were on Version four now, the latest release. New promises to be better than ever before. Claims the bugs had been worked out, there were new level systems, new goals to be reached. A whole new game ready to take the world by storm.
He did have his reservations of course. He could remember the side effects from the game. The headaches and mood swings. The pain and effort it took to give the game up. How, once you started it was almost impossible to drag yourself away. Even the mystery that surrounded it, the company and those who headed it.
It had been almost … sinister. Using students, many with emotional problems, as guinea pigs. Didn’t someone end up in the hospital?
He wondered, as he folded the letter back up whether Obsidian would be interested. Like him she had noticed the strange quirks of the game, wasn’t that what had brought them together? Though, maybe it wasn’t as bad as they had imagined. They were teenagers then, easily caught by fads and crazes. Easily addicted to the newest candy, book or band. It couldn’t hurt to dabble again, log into Mecca and find out what was new. As long as they monitored their game play. Only a few hours at a time. What harm could it do.
If the problems were still there, then it would be their job to help correct them. To monitor people’s health. If the game was on general release then it really could not be as bad as it had been back then. Of course, he was only human. The money outweighed his worries. He would only have to work for them for four years and then he would be qualified, able to take up a residency in a real hospital.
He smiled to himself and started to think of the things he needed for his application form. It would be fine, after all it was only a game
