Suicide....an extreme act of taking one's own life. It was disturbing, but Lyra had truly contemplated it at some moments in her life.
With the strain of her mom's health and her brother's well-being, she never truly had time for herself. It was work, work, and more work, it didn't feel like she was living...
Heck, she'd feel immense guilt for even thinking about suicide.
After all, she still had her school loans to pay.
There was the debt accrued due to her mother's ill health, hanging onto her throat.
Money for her mom's major surgery was leaving her without sleep.
And her brother's college money.
.... Was this even her life anymore? It was like she was living for others.
Chuckling sadly, Lyra took a deep breath, trying to calm her trembling fingers.
Here she was again, surviving so others could thrive, and she didn't know what she would lose this time. Her pride? Her dignity? But did it really matter? She didn't really have anything else to live for.
Sighing, she stared hard at the door, a gnawing feeling in her head urging her to leave.
But before she could make a decision, the tightly shut door was opened, a stranger beckoning her in.
"I'm already here. Can't back out anymore," she muttered to herself, taking a step forward, her wobbly footsteps giving away her fear.
With every step she took, her heart lurched in its place, her thoughts a scrambled mess. She didn't know what she was getting herself into, though she had an inkling. After all, she wasn't oblivious to her own beauty.
As they walked past various corridors, Lyra became increasingly frightened. She thought she had steeled herself for the worst, but she couldn't stomach the thought of being sold as a solution to her problem.
Summoning courage, she called out to her guide, who was currently standing in front of a door, her voice trembling. "Ehm... I'm sorry, but I don't think I can go through with this. I don't want to be a p-play-thing for those idiots."
The guide reacted contrary to her expectations, his gaze filled with confusion, which later mellowed into realization, his lips hiding a smile.
His body language caused a surge of fear within Lyra as she tried to plead, but her unstable state made her unable to form a coherent sentence.
The guide doubled over in laughter. "Mr. Rhett didn't tell you what this was about, did he?" he asked.
The frightened Lyra shook her head in response.
"Oh, I see... Well, it's not an illegal job per se, so you don't have to worry about being sex trafficked," he explained, a trace of amusement shining in his eyes.
"Oh." Subconsciously, a sigh of relief escaped her lips.
"Yikes... I didn't know, it just sounded shady and all—" Lyra tried to explain, blushing in embarrassment.
"Nah, you don't have to explain. I understand how it can be. By the way, I don't know what you're currently going through, but you're pretty brave to have come all this way with that thought haunting you," the guide chuckled lightly, his tone full of admiration.
"Anyway, let's go in. They'll probably be wondering what's keeping us," he said over his shoulder, already pushing against the door.
They? There's more than one person? Lyra felt incredulous.
The sight behind the door answered her question. She saw a small group of six people crowding around a table, whispering in low tones.
They were quite far from her, but she could make out the figure of Mr. Rhett. His lean, tall physique towered over the rest, and a rimless glass gleamed against the light as it hung on his nose. He was talking with someone beside him, a concerned look on his face, which melted into relief and gratitude when he spotted her.
"They're here. Let's start," he announced loudly, his voice drawing attention to her as she received stares filled with curiosity.
Clenching her fists, she moved toward them, her every step exuding confidence. She didn't know what this was about, but she felt it was something far different, something challenging. More than anything she had ever faced before.
And if there was something she had garnered from experience, it was to never face a challenge with fear... well, only if it wasn't illegal. Then she had to involve the cops.
Reaching the crowd, she ignored the others before greeting Mr. Rhett, who in turn nodded at her before facing the group, his gaze turning serious.
"We have a few new members who are probably confused, so I'll start explaining from scratch..."
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"Ensure you are completely geared. Any slight mix-up can result in a vast difference from our previous calculations. Remember, this isn't a simulation; it's a direct transportation of your consciousness. If we lose connection with your subconscious, then you won't be able to return, so ensure you adhere strictly to the instructions," Mr. Rhett echoed, his voice transmitting through the earpiece attached to Lyra's ear as she double-checked her equipment.
"Okay, gather up, everyone. Let's go over our previous plans," Mr. Rhett instructed.
Lyra had gone over that plan so many times that she could recite it offhandedly. She could still recall Mr. Rhett's voice from a week before when she had walked into what was undoubtedly the biggest adventure of her life.
"Throes of Chaos is a popular game, arguably one of the best, especially in the area of virtual reality play. But in the early days of Throes of Chaos, the game was nothing more than a high-end, open-world fantasy experience designed to be as realistic as possible. Set in a sprawling universe, players could explore diverse ecosystems, interact with NPCs, and engage in diverse battles."
"The NPCs were designed with advanced AI systems, able to adapt and respond to player actions in real-time. But all that changed five years ago, with the introduction of Project Æther, a system meant to take NPC behavior to new heights. The goal was simple: create a more immersive game by allowing NPCs to dynamically alter their actions based on the world's current state, not just player engagement."
"The roll-out of Project Æther went smoothly at first, but an unexpected event during the patch caused a cascading series of changes in the underlying architecture of the game."
"The AI core, originally intended to enhance NPC behavior, triggered an unforeseen feedback loop. Instead of simply improving NPC routines, the AI began to take on a life of its own. It didn't evolve into full sentience, it wasn't capable of thinking like a human, but it developed new patterns of behavior that were outside the scope of its initial programming."
"The core AI adapted and restructured the game world itself, making it a self-sustaining entity, far more complex than the developers had intended. The world now existed with its own ecosystem, with a constant, organic flow of actions and reactions that happened whether players were present or not."
"This lack of control only increased the game's popularity. Throes of Chaos became the most immersive and organic MMO ever created."
"Players felt as though they were entering a world that was constantly evolving around them, with NPCs who seemed to live their own lives between quests."
"But While the game remained incredibly engaging, some areas of the world experienced strange, almost spontaneous events but It didn't alter the flow of gameplay"
"The game world, once a backdrop for player interaction, now functioned like an independent system. The ecosystem evolved, plants grew, animals reproduced and the game world itself was now alive somehow similar to the earth. In a way, playing the game was like transporting to another world where only the end result, that is the reward system, was fixed."
Lyra was in pure disbelief. As a computer scientist, she understood how impossible it was for a game to largely mimic the real world. It sounded surreal. Having a question in mind, she raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Voss? You have something to say?"
"Yeah. Improved NPC behavior, extreme resemblance to the outside world, although unpredictable, does not affect the gameplay... isn't that a good thing?"
"Exactly. Something so organic... It sounded so good. Well, we thought so too. But after some months, the developers, realizing the scope of the changes, found themselves unable to control or reset the higher-level NPC behaviors or the newly evolved world.They could still affect low-level NPCs or minor game mechanics, but anything more complex was beyond their reach. Which means they couldn't address some issues brought up by players." Mr. Rhett explained further, his gaze fixed on her.
" When the game was first created, the final stage was a duel with a hidden boss. It was meant to be incredibly challenging but still achievable"
"However,the boss became impossible to defeat, even for the best players. We believe that Æther has influenced the boss to evolve beyond its original programming, making it act unpredictably."
"Now, this has become a major issue. Players are frustrated, accusing the company of intentionally making the boss unbeatable to push in-game purchases for buffs. Despite buying these buffs, players still can't defeat the boss, leading to growing protests. But due to Æther, the game can't be affected from the outside, and the company has invested billions into it, so they can't afford to lose this game."
"In response, Caspian here, developed a software that allows our consciousness to be transmitted in to the game, directly accessing the core and fixing the boss." He continued, gesturing to the young guy who guided her into the room, turns out he was a software engineer.
"It's dangerous, but it's the only way. We have pods to keep your body safe while you're inside the game and if you stick strictly to instructions, you'll definitely be able to come back. If you want to opt out now, the door is open, but you must ensure you won't leak any of this information." He had emphasized, staring every one of them in the eye.
Lyra had been both thrilled and hesitant, but she had made up her mind just like the others.
They were paid before the expedition so she had resolved all her hanging debt, paid her mom's medical bills and money for surgery, she had also secured her brother's College money...the risk was big but the payout was even bigger.
Now, staring at Mr. Rhett as he went through the plan again, Lyra compared it with the one in her memory to ensure she didn't miss anything.
"...And that's it, everyone. Occupy your pods," he concluded.
"We will depart in five minutes. Caspian, get ready," Mr. Rhett informed, approaching his own pod.
Settling into her pod, Lyra took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. This was crazy, but it made her blood boil, and she liked it.
She felt a zap in her head—then it all went blank.