● Back in the Real World:
• POV: Kirigaya Kazuto.
• Username: Kirito.
• Nickname: The Black Swordsman.

The Oasis was, already, the best way to cope, with what we had done to the world. Well, not my generation directly. I was old, but not THAT old. 

During the industrial revolution, when technology got a huge boom... those guys hadn't realized they needed to regulate their consumption of resources. Nor find better ways to dispose of the waste.

I don't blame them. They had done what humanity had always done. The issue was they didn't understand the sheer level of pollution these things cause... nor thet that did more then make the air smell bad.

I mean really, how were they supposed to know. Then there was the population boom. Which only got worse and worse, as the decades progressed. Which led to even greater consumption of resources, and more pollution. Then there was the energy crisis.

People had been saying we need to get off fossil fuels for decades, but humans, like all animals, are resistant to change. We eventually used it all up. Only then switching to things like alternative energy... which regrettably, wasn't green energy, but rather nuclear...

Which, given it's nature, was only possible to set up for major cities. Small towns became a thing of the past. As all surrounding people fled to big cities, due to lack of resources.

The Oasis, for the longest time, acted as an escape. A Virtual Reality, housing all mankind's Knowledge. It's what replaced the internet. Though, thankfully, most major cities prioritized setting up free Wifi stations. As it was more important then ever.

In the mid 21st century, The Oasis got an upgrade. Creating a Next Gen VR Helmet.

This helmet, created the first true Virtual Reality. Feeding all 5 senses, through input directly into the brain. 

This baby would guide RIM sleep. Although the first build "Sword Art Online"... had caused a bit of a scandal, as thousands had been trapped inside the game, for years, living off feeding tubes. 

Though that, was sorta intentional, given the maker of that game had a psychotic break. And thought he was "Saving" the people... by imprisoning them in a "better world"... Although a slight issue with this plan was, the game was perma-death. So if you died in the game, you died in real life. The helmet was actually DESIGNED, to purposefully kill the user, if their Avatar died.

Yeah... that was a bit of a set back, for the technology. However, once the scandal was forgotten, the technology was near immediately picked back up.

After all, 10 thousand people, trapped in hell, might seem like a big deal... but seeing as the world's population was 20 billion. It was soon forgotten by all but those directly affected... and many of the people who had actually lived in that world, were the biggest voices for giving the technology a second chance.

After all, that world they escaped? They regretted leaving. Even with the threat of death, they longed for that plentiful world, of adventure and cooperation.

The players had smelled clean air, tasted real food, felt every touch and kiss. Heard the quiet peace of nature. They experienced a real world, virtual or not. One far better then our own.

So naturally, after the technology became better regulated, and got rid of that pesky "real world death" function. They threw themselves back into it.

You didn't even need a rig anymore. Just the helmet, and a safe place to lay down. If there were any kinds of disasters, from as trivial as needing to pee, to as serious as the house catching on fire, the helmet would automatically save your progress and wake you up. Complete with a message about what interrupted the Game.

Unfortunately, there was a 7 hour limit on how long you could play the game. The helmet even refusing to activate until 24 hours had passed. That way your brain could have a cool down period. Where your RIM sleep progressed naturally. However, this actually meant very little, as a mere 7 hours, in the real world, would be 42 in the game.

Information was transmitted directly into the brain. So the mind could process it, a lot faster then in the real world. The transfer was actually slowed down, a good bit, to make it "a more reasonable time period". 

Because of this, players needed to actually sleep, while inside the game. Not for long, like an hour. That meant 10 minutes would pass, in the real world. But it was enough time for the brain to rest, from the constant stream of information. While staying awake too long, in the game, couldn't actually hurt you, it could cause you to lag. So, as a safety precaution. Your Avatar would start becoming fatigued, if you didn't rest.

Players would actually spend a couple weeks inside the Oasis, on a single night's sleep in the real world. This way, people could get all their play time, and still be able to cope with jobs in real life... it would be like working for a single day, before taking a 2 week long vacation, every time.

There were a few jobs, inside the Oasis... in fact, most jobs were, but those were fun, by design.

The High 5 really were pushing that "Reality is the only thing that's real" nonsense. Putting so much money into researching ways to allow people to spend all the time they wanted, inside their game. While also ensuring they spent every day of their lives, out and about in the real world. 

Not sure why, the real world sucked. At least they forgot about "closing" the Oasis, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. That was really unnecessary, with these new Dreamscape helmets.

Oh the High 5 had tried their best to fix things, but they were just one company. Ever since those kids won control over the Oasis, they had devoted their lives to saving the world. 

It even looked like it might work, for a while, but the damage to our world was too great. One thing was for sure, their Share Holders weren't happy... which didn't really matter, because together they owned 73% of the company. The High Five had gone so far as to spend 80% of profits, on humanitarian pursuits.

They started by reimbursing everyone's coin count, who Zeroed Out in "The Battle for the Oasis", as the news dubbed it. That is, "Zero Out" meant they lost their Avatar through Perma-Death, and would normally have to start from scratch. 

Next they forced I.O.I. to shut down all their "Loyalty Centers," by refusing to do service with them. Given "Loyalty Center" was a fancy way of saying "Indentured Servitude", or better yet "Legal Slavery", it took long enough for someone to do something about that.

Next they bought all I.O.I. drones, for cheap, given how much the company was struggling without their debtors making money for them. Anyway, they repurposed the drones, and started employing people to use them to clean up the world. From garbage on the side walk, to trash in the ocean.

They even funded genetic engineering, to create a new type of plant. It absorbed, not only all the normal plant things, but pollution in any form... and released Ozone.

The High Five even convinced the leaders of the world to plant these bushes around all high pollution facilities... funded by themselves... told you the Share Holders weren't happy.

These bushes even produced berries. Which were not only safe to eat, but contained nothing but the proper vitamins, proteins, minerals, just all kinds of nutrients. 

They were absorbed completely by the human body, with no waste... which meant all of mankind had to get an enema once every other week, to keep their body healthy. However, genetic engineering fixed that to. Again, paid for by the High Five.

Now humans COULD eat near anything, but they could survive on the berries... this really shrunk other kinds of ranches and farms. Thankfully the High Five supplied these places with their own Ozone Bushes. With different flavor berries: Spicy, Sweet, Creamy, Buttery, Tart, Tangy, Salty. Sure they were basic flavors, but even that was impressive for genetically engineered plants.

The berries would often be turned into jelly, and mixed together. In order to combine different flavors.

Some bushes were growing a corn like cob. But instead of corn, a form of rice was growing on it. You had to cut the rice off the cob, but it cooked much like instant rice. And came in it's own variety of flavors, though all rice based. It even cooked like instant rice, for greater convenience. Another option, was to grind the rice, and use it to make crackers.

There were even bloody REPLICATORS, straight out of Star Trek. Although, those couldn't produce any non toxic food... or anything really complex.

The devices just scrambled the molecules, and rearranged the atoms, into bars of any kind of raw building material. Obviously, these weren't in every home, given the things were the size of a house, but they were in every garbage dump and recycling center. Who in turn, sold the material to the appropriate factories. With the High Five getting 75% of the profits. Which the Share Holders were happy about.

Those things were only possible, because the High 5 launched a complex network of satellites, to flood the Earth with free wifi and wireless power. 

The satellites even stabilized weather patterns. Not, so much, "control" of the weather, but it could break up dangerous weather patterns, and prevent natural disasters. Things like hurricanes, tornados, and floods were things of the past. It even calmed the movements of the Earth; making volcano eruptions, and Earthquakes, near nonexistent.

This had all been achieved, due to the High Five's dependence on AI programs. Regardless, I was a tad wary of them. After all, I had experienced first hand, what a poorly programmed AI, could do.

Unfortunately, for all the High 5's efforts, it was, quite frankly, too late. Earth had long since crossed "The point of no return". That had actually happened before even I was born. These changes, thankfully, made it so the Earth would eventually recover. But it'd take thousands of years to reverse the damage done.

It was, theoretically possible, for Humanity to survive the harsh desert all of Earth had become. Thanks to the High 5 building domes around each of the major cities. Small towns had, already, been deserted, due to the energy crisis, from back before they saved us.

The High 5, also, took a page out of "Judge Dredd". Building kilometer high towers, each containing their own city. Though they did improve the ideas. Adding a Purifying / Recycling system for both air, trash, and water. Even having indoor farms. of the special berries and rice. 

With one way vents in the Domes, to release the Ozone into the atmosphere.

Everyone had a "Food Allowance", which let you have enough food to live, for free. Anymore, you had to buy as a luxury item. 

This was only possible, due to currency becoming entirely fictional... and the government, quite literally, taking over ALL jobs. Dystopian future, for sure, but we were all doing what we needed, to survive.... we probably wouldn't have, if the government hadn't declared martial law, and taken everything over. 

It helped, that the high 5 was put in charge of the government. I mean, they were largely figure heads, but they could veto any new laws, the Generals tried to pass. So not, complete, martial law. Though this only worked, because of the Generals sheer level of respect, for the only people that tried to save the world.

This also made it, so everyone got weekly Credits, based on their contribution to society. Which strangely meant the best paying jobs, were like mine. Doing grunt work, and the various forms of manual labor.

Most scientist, were repurposed to maintaining the dome. As humanity kinda just settled on the idea of waiting the apocalypse out.

Outside the dome, was a radioactive waste land. Though inside... wasn't much better. Everything was a struggle. There was no room for passions. That is what the Oasis was for. The Real World, was all about survival.

... Which we recently learned was unlikely to happen. We used to have a major problem, with population control. As our numbers kept rising, within the limited dome space... and now... well, no Child had been born in 12 years.

That Kobold kid, I recruited, was part of the last generation, ever to be born on Earth. As the Radiation proof dome, apparently, wasn't full proof, and had sterilized the human race.

The year was currently 2073... and I was unfortunately, old enough to remember what the world used to be like... But it was more then that. I had owned one of the first VRMMORPG helmets. Which now everyone just calls "Dreamscape Helmets".

I was even one of the 10 thousand, trapped in the first true Virtual Reality... even one of the original beta testers, for that game.

My job now? Well it depends if I'm awake or not.

In the real world. I live a humble life, scavenging for raw materials, to be put through the Replicators... but in the Oasis?

###

● Real World:
• POV: Ollivander Toma.
• Username: Smart Mouth.
• Nickname: The Cookie God.


I woke up with a start, quickly snatching the helmet off my head as I sat up. All in one move. I continued to breathe hard as I looked around. I was in my bed, back in my human body... in the real world.

Back in my small, 30 by 10 foot, room. The kitchen, bedroom, dining table, and living area, were all set up in this singular room. The bathroom was separated by a mesh screen. Every top, that could fit a cupboard or drawer, had one. There wasn't even any windows. The only door, in the entire place, was next to the small bathroom, leading to a looooong hallway .

This place was a mixture of a train, a chain of RVs, and a tank. Completely radiation proof, and strong enough to survive a nuclear bomb... it would need to be, given what outside the domes were like.

I wasn't some adventurous young lad, gearing to save the world, but rather an aging old man, at the end of "Middle Aged". Though I wasn't some old wrinkly thing. Thanks to good genes, and genetic engineering, I still looked like I was in my early 30s. The human body didn't really start degrading, Until we turned a hundred. Then kept chugging along for another 57 years, usually. 

I only had another 16 years, before that started happening to me. I never, could have imagined I would live so long... not with everything wrong with me. But they found cures to most of my ailments... 

Still, they might have fixed most of my issues, but no one was interested in an Asexual grey muzzle. 

I have no real desire to have sex with anyone but myself. Even virtual sex was far too stimulating for me. It overwhelmed me. I didn't want it to, but it did. I was far from a virgin but I never actually enjoyed when I did manage to let people do stuff to me.

Touching in general had always been hard for me. It made me uncomfortable, although I had gotten better at hugging later in life thanks to my involvement in the furry community. Furries were actually how I got involved with the bronies.

Still basic touching was hard for me, so you can imagine how I am with more intimate stuff like sex. I wish I wasn't like that but there you go. Stupid Autistic brain.

I gave a disappointed sigh as I put my helmet on my pillow. At least I tried. I wasn't exactly the most sociable creature, and this experience certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, since I suck at videogames, it was only natural I kept dying. 

Typo was probably going to blame herself to... but it was my fault for not telling anyone I found a trap too high level for me to deactivate. I should have told everyone but I just figured they wouldn't go near it after I told them I couldn't open it... really should have factored in that Typo would want to try her new spells.

Oh well, at least it wasn't Perma-Death. I would just lose a few coins, as a penalty, and maybe a few levels, but my gear was safe. Though I would have to respawn in our Club house, and hunt down where my friends were... and, since I died, my helmet ended my session, for tonight, meaning the virtual days I had left, were lost. I would have to wait until tonight to join back in.

Guess it was an early day for me.

I groaned as I got out of bed, and walked towards the bathroom. To complete my morning rituals, and get ready for work.

I used to be a sociologist... but in a world like our's, sociology was really only a profession you could explore in the Oasis. Something you could only do at night, while sleeping. I was just grateful I had an outlet for my passion.

I knew a lot of other people, in various fandoms, that shared my love of studying different cultures. Like this yellow Sodaroo... that kinda had a REALLY bad temper, but most people tolerated him, as his hypothesis tended to be just as interesting, and fun to research. I'd actually worked with him a few times.

However, that was more my freetime. The Arts, and in fact most Sciences, were, for the most part, considered a hobby. With all real world jobs focused on survival. No, my day job was working as a scavenger.

We might recycle, everything, within the cities, but our cities didn't accumulate trash, as often as we used it... mostly cuz we still liked wearing clothes, and having little trinkets of comfort. 

Humans were, instinctively, a species of hoarders. Some might take this further then others, but we all did it to some degree. If you owned more then 7 shirts, you should understand my meaning. We were a bit like ravens, in that regard. Decorating our homes in useless trinkets that caught our interest... and being willing to die defending our little scrap of no where. See? I was a Sociologist at heart.

I was also on the spectrum. So I tend to have a different perspective then most. They might have cured my Schizophrenia, through some of the first Bio-implants, but they never did figure out what really caused Autism... mostly cuz the world went to hell, and people stopped trying to fix things. Then started prioritizing other things. After all, most kids with Autism, grow up into functional adults... if a little odd.

At least I wasn't schizophrenic anymore. I was able to get a chip installed into my head that regulated that stuff. It allowed me to go back to college and get a doctorate in Sociology, minoring in Psychology and History. 

From there, I spent my days traveling the world doing research on the cultural aspects of various fandoms. I wasn't rich from that, but I was middle class thanks to grants. Plus I got to spend my 40s doing what I was passionate about.

Then the world went straight to hell. 

My Caravan, what we called the more mobile train thing, survived by scavenging the surface world for anything made out of plastic, metal, or most rare, paper. Once the truck was full, we brought it to our domed city. Who preceded to pay us by the ton. 

We got a salary, like everyone, but also received extra credits based on what we brought back... Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of scrap left. We had resorted to tearing apart old houses, and bringing them to be recycled... then, when their were no more houses near by, we pushed further and further out, into the wastelands.

We still had access to free Healthcare, but our medical trailer was limited.... 

Life in the domes was getting harder. For the first few decades, the population just kept rising. Even with the breeding restrictions, what with sterilizing people like me, with genetic disorders. Didn't matter I was Asexual. They still ensured I couldn't breed... at least they devoted resources to maintaining my implant... though I worried how long that would be considered a priority. Without frequent maintenance, my chip would eventually short out... and I'd be left a drooling, incoherent, idiot... at the end of the world. 

For now, the resources I brought in, were worth more then the cost of maintaining me.

I sighed. My issues with sex were far too miniscule when compared to all that. 

At least I had the Dreamscape helmets, to stay in contact with the rest of the planet. Medication, and medical treatments, were free as well... more based on how important your job was, to how high on the priority list you were... honestly, the main reason I became a scavenger, was because with my implant, I needed to be as useful as possible, to get the maintenance it required. 

Scavenging was dangerous work, and necessary with the growing population. So it was easy to get proper medical treatment, with higher risk jobs.

Gregarious Games, before it was Gregarious Games, used to make devices that worked with your brain. It started with things like the "Mental Regulator Chip" I had, to better control mental illnesses such as Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder... though they couldn't do anything about things like Autism, as no one knows what causes that yet... other priorities arose.

Anyway, after Gregarious Games invented the chip, then came the mind drive. A small hard drive installed inside the base of the skull. Which let the user download terabytes of information directly into their brain.

These devices were built by one Ogden Morrow. Who later teamed up with his childhood friend, James Halliday, to build a next Generation of Virtual Reality helmets. Morrow had the hardware, and Halliday had the programming skill to create the world. 

They made a few games together, but eventually created their Master piece... The Oasis.

Eventually Halliday wanted to go solo with his game, and forced Morrow to sign over ownership of the Oasis. And thus "Gregarious Games" was born. Though Morrow continued to run, and own, the main company, returning to the world of medical cybernetics.

Later, after the next Generation of gamers inherited Gregarious Games. This clan of 5, calling themselves the High 5, re-merged with Morrow's company. From there the technology advanced. 

Finishing my morning rituals, I slipped into my skin tight latex-like... thing. The under armor regulated my body, and offered an extra layer of protection, from the radiation outside. I would also have to put on, basically a Slender space suit, but those were stored in a separate car.

Besides, everyone else was likely asleep, and it was just stupid to go outside by yourself. Though I could go over my gear, and the plans for the day... Maybe I should see to the inventory?

###

● Inventory Car:
• POV: Kirigaya Kazuto.
• Username: Kirito.
• Nickname: The Black Swordsman.


After a long night of recruiting High Score Gamers. I had woken up to my own personal hell. Well maybe not my own. Everyone was suffering right beside me.

I was checking on the raw matter we collected. Our caravan had a more limited Replicator. We couldn't turn anything we found, into building blocks, but we could turn it into raw matter, and store it in large Cylinders.

I spent most mornings, going over the Cylinders, to make sure they hadn't sprung any leaks. It was part of my job. Truthfully. The only time I didn't do that was when we were under the dome, getting our caravan serviced. 

I blinked, hearing the door slide open. In walked a friendly face.

I just smiled, "You die again?"

The man scowled, "You know, I miss the days when you could wake up early, and people didn't assume it was because you suck at videogames."

I continued to grin. "Want to give me a hand?" I gestured at the large selection of cylinders.

The man shrug, and got to helping me. We spent the first hour, making small talk, as we carefully inspected each cylinder.

After getting into the swing of our work, I started my request. "I was hoping to speak with you, last night, but since you died, I couldn't." 

The old man rolled his eyes. "You could have just texted me. Sure it be annoying to wait an hour, for my few minutes to respond, but it's not THAT big a deal."

I shook my head, "This is one of those things you got to ask, in person."

He sighed, even after all these years, I knew he still had trouble understanding most social niceties. He accepted though, that I was telling the truth... though obviously thinking it's unnecessarily overcomplicated.

I went on, "My Sheriff's department is looking to hire a Craftsman, for the new Oasis Game they are making."

He blinked, not sure what I was asking him. "Want me to get you in touch with Tech?"

I sighed, knowing he needed things spelled out for him. "I was hoping you would considered helping me out... more directly."

He blinked, then tilted his head. "Eh?" 

Maybe I should just be as blunt as a Hammer. "Want to work for me?"