June 6th, 2114
Day

Today was the start of something wonderful and new for one Lin of the Tang family. The day itself had nothing special to call it's own, of course, save for, perhaps, a massive amount of broken teeth and grumpy clients after her dentistry clinic was chosen by a local gang to fix their ruined mouth after yet another fight, but what had the young woman giddy was what laid after her shift; Today was when her Game Helmet had arrived, and tonight would be when the much awaited Morpheus Online would become online. She felt like dancing all day, and had to fight herself to keep a dutifully professional appearance worthy of a dentist of her stature.

Finally she could take the wasted time sleeping to be truly herself, to enjoy what she loved and to let loose without care! With a brand new identity and a brand new uncharted world before her, she was bound to feel like a giddy teenager with big dreams again. How she longed for those carefree days, and now the nights will be hers once more. Only one more patient awaited her, and while she would appear smooth and calm on the surface, she was already thinking of who she would become. Human seemed plain somehow, when so many races and creatures could be created. Elf, while better, was overdone, she thought as she arranged teeth after teeth with expert precision. But... yes, a demon spirit would do, with this she could get to some delicious mischief!

A lamia, perhaps, she thought as she cleaned her work station later that afternoon, her pale and dainty hands getting rid of saliva and blood. Or she could always have fun as a harpy! Smiling slightly at her colleagues, the small Chinese woman made her way to the teleportation station, eager to go back home and into her new identity and life. Whatever she had to choose, she had to enjoy herself, she vowed.

Frances was walking home from her job as an intern at the small music label that had set itself up downtown, although she wouldn't really call it an occupation or even a meaningful internship as much as she'd call it being the glorified receptionist/coffee girl. She got the gig right at the end of university and had just kind of held on to it while she tried to find some other way of employment. Her luck wasn't exactly looking up though, as most Chinese businesses would look down on hiring someone who came from out of the country.

She made her way to the small apartment where she lived and saw a package in front of her door, there was a card on top of it in an envelop with the name "Francesca" written on the envelope. Frances picked it up and fumbled with her keys for a bit before opening the door and making her way inside. The apartment was what a real estate agent would call "cozy". The walls were lined with posters from various old movies and bands as well as various photographs displaying some of her old American friends. She walked towards the living room which was trashed as usual and she placed the box on the coffee table before running her hands through her long bleached hair. She threw her light coat on the chair behind her and turned on her antique stereo. Music flooded the room as she took the envelope off the box and took out the card written in English. She began to read it

Dear Francesca,
How's China been treating you recently? I know you've had trouble there ever since you left the motherland, but I'm hoping to here that it's gotten better. We're all fine back in the good ol' US of A, your mom and dad are doing well and have been waiting to hear from you. But you can do whatever you want, I'm not going to force you to do anything or whatever.
Anyway, this thing just came out and I thought you might like it. It's really interesting like those old MMOs but with a contemporary VR twist, it's really cool and you should try it out Francesca, maybe we can get together using it or something.
Sincerely,
Vincent

Frances put the card aside and opened the box, taking out the slightly smaller box with the words Morpheus Online printed on it. She examined the box but didn't want to try it just yet, maybe she'll wait until the sun goes down.

June 6th 2114
Day

Aizen remained silent, as per his usual demeanor, while he began to remove his uniform. The chatter in the room was annoying, people talking about meaningless things, distractions. One thing he caught were two people discussing this new game that was just released, Morpheus Online is what they had called it, Another game, another distraction, another waste of time. he thought to himself, finishing getting dressed. He made a quick stop at his desk to sign off on a few reports he finished earlier, then left the station, climbing into his car. He drove home in complete silence, eventually parking in his garage before entering his home, flicking the lights on. The television flickered on automatically and changed to the news, the topic at that moment seemed to be a debate about the game he heard about at work, they were debating the pros and cons to it. He sighed, why did the world have to be consumed by such trivial things? Then he spotted it, the large box on his kitchen table, along with a card. He carefully made his way to it, figuring it was a bomb at first, though when he heard nothing coming from the box, he picked up the card. Hello Mr. I-Have-No-Time-For-My-Sister! It's me, obviously. Anyways, I heard about this game and ordered two copies, one for me, and one for you! Now I know you don't like games, but just try this one once, if you don't like it then you don't have to play it ever again. I'll be on tonight, so you'd better be there mister, or else! he read mentally. "Kira, why do you do these things to me? Fine, I'll try it, it's better than having to answer to you..." he said, unwrapping the box.

June 6th 2114
Day

Bao sat in quiet consternation as the seconds ticked by, his hands moved over the paper almost by themselves, his scrawling handwriting recording every word the suited lecturer at the front of the small room said, in one ear, onto the paper, then out the other ear. He would have skipped today if his attendance wasn't already a shamble's, after another angry letter had made its way home the parents were taking a more active interest in his day to day schedule, to put it lightly.

Why the rush you might ask? Today just happened to be the day his copy of Morpheus Online arrived at his home, and if the delivery companies text was anything to go by, MO should be sitting safely at home right now, waiting for him. Still, it's just a game right? another like the thousands already available, not that big a deal surly? no, Bao had seen the preliminary reviews, seen the trailers and 'sneak peaks' and this was different and Bao was well and truly determined to sink many hours into finding out just how different it would be.

Which explains why, as the lecturer dismissed the group, Bao was on his feet and halfway towards the exit before anyone else had even finished packing their bags, his quick strides had him into the hallway and off into the distance in no time at all, his notes, if they could feel, might have been slightly put out, to say the least, as they sat abandoned in an emptying lecture hall.

June 6th 2114
Day

"Idiots."

Chie sipped juice as she walked down the street. Her day at school had been filled with the faculty reprimanding her. And for what? She did her schoolwork, it was easy. She didn't have trouble with any of it at all. She behaved in class, unless someone acted stupid enough that she couldn't resist commenting on it. It was all because of how she had dressed. Of course there was a uniform in place for school, but why should that stop her from dressing as Cure Cent, of the Century Precure! It was Pretty Cure's one-hundred-and-tenth anniversary... and while it was nearly impossible to get the hair right, Chie had bought an incredibly accurate costume. The shorts, the poofy skirt, the bracelets, everything! She had bought the best Cure Cent outfit available... and the stupid school faculty yelled at her for it.

It was their loss, she supposed, for not appreciating Pretty Cure.

However, the young girl's mind quickly turned to a different subject. There was that new game... and, naturally, she had obtained a copy of it. It wasn't difficult for her at all. She sipped more juice as she strolled along. So... she would play it while sleeping, and... truly, the first course of action would be to decide what race and class to play. Chie was naturally concerned with what would be most fun and most advantageous in gameplay. She was predisposed towards mages, so perhaps a race that worked well with such a class...

Even though she didn't immediately show it, Chie was excited.

June 6th 2114
Day

The bell rung, signifying the end of the day's final period. Students began flooding the hallways, looking forward to having the rest of the day either to themselves or with friends.

Takahashi Tatsuhiro was the former.

As much as his friends wanted him to string along for an after-school trip to the nearest row of shops, he was the resident gamer of their bunch, after all. Not a single bone in his body didn't know of what would be waiting for him at home. Virtually leaping inside, the boy took off towards his room after having his shoes come undone and yelling "I'm home!". He passed a reflection of himself sitting on the couch in the living room, except a few years older.

"Oh, Hiro, the mail came in for you today. Some package from--" the young man said, pulling away from the television.
"Got it, bro." replied Hiro without stopping. His brother turned back to the set, showing a few people debating the values of a next-generation, deep-immersion game, simply known by the name Morpheus Online, or MO. It was easy enough even before that - as he's already heard about MO - to guess what the package was about. There could only be two things in that package that he'd run all the way upstairs for, and the only place he's ever known Hiro to order something fish-related from is the local McDonald's joint.

Upstairs, Hiro opened his bedroom door and took a moment to let the sight of the large, dark-gray box on his bed sink in - it was that exciting a prospect to him. Imagine listening to the sounds and serenades of the game not flow out from his headphones - but flow and wrap all around him instead! All the sights, all the scents, all the new treats for the senses! Hiro walked inside, prompting the overhead fan to come to life, and closed the door behind him. The quality of the packaging alone was enough to convince him that all the pocket money he'd saved up for the helmet and the game was worth it.

A whole new world, once fiction, now fact.

Hiro's lips curved into an excited smile.

Gustav's eyes fluttered open to reveal the familiar sight of the ceiling to him. His apartment was an OK living space when Gustav had first bought it. But now it had been changed into a total man-pad. Gustav had replaced practically every generic 'work' of art that had come with the apartment with posters of various gaming, comic and movie canvases. Bruce Lee stood side by side with Big Boss, Travis Bickle stood next to Garret, Judge Dredd stood next to Gordon freeman, the list went on. Gustav's bedroom was nothing special, just his bed and an old TV he had scavenged at the end of it. He had a bedside table, but that was mostly occupied by various sketches, notes and comics he was either drawing or writing down. His job made life pretty lax, he had to pop out a new issue of 'Askia Tyron I' every month and his pay came the month after. The comic was an idea of his own, it hadn't quite caught on when it was first released, but it gained a boom 2 years previously and had a good sized fanbase that were buying comics monthly.

Gustav felt like he should have been more excited. That new games console that would actually let you see into the game was coming today and Gustav had been pretty hyped up for it all week. Right now all he felt was an overwhelming urge to play Rollercoaster Tycoon 2. Specifically the map that he had made in which the guests died if they got on the ride. It wasn't a sadistic thing or anything, he had just made it to see if he could. Soon enough the doorbell rang. When Gustav opened it, a short, chubby Asian man stood facing him with a parcel in hand. He simply asked Gustav to sign off on the purchase and he'd be on his way. Gustav obliged before taking the package, closing the door and unwrapping it in his living room. He hoped that the customization options in-game wouldn't be too crappy, those were practically his favourite parts of the game.