Vivid Stars Online

The navigation arrow from my watch directed me toward a monorail station next to the park. It was part of a network that reached throughout the city, with a station every couple of blocks. One such station was next to my destination.

As I entered the station, my watch informed me that a ticket was required. I could pay for a single ticket at twenty-five credits, or a monthly pass at five hundred. I couldn’t imagine I would make less than twenty trips in a month, so I shelled out for the pass even as I winced at the price. Adding an extra fifty dollars to my monthly expenses had not been part of the plan for today.

Ticket acquired, I sat on a bench watching the station while I waited. There were only about a dozen other people in the station, only half of which left towards the spaceport. The low traffic surprised me, I would have assumed that the spaceport would be busier.

I guess people don’t travel much around here, I mused as I started at a carriage headed in the opposite direction. Agent Darren back at customs mentioned something about space travel being dangerous, I wonder if that has something to do with it?

Before I could consider it further, my watch notified me that my ride would be here in a few seconds. Standing, I entered the carriage as it smoothly slid into the station, taking a seat near the window. Then we were off as the train sailed into the sky under a gleaming steel rail.

As we moved, I realized that all the steel I’d seen upon first entering was a massive network of rails that soared above the city. Trains flew around the city suspended from the rails, only ducking back to ground level to meet stations. It gave me an excellent view of the city as I passed, allowing me to get the lay of the land.

The first thing I noticed was that the streets weren’t sized for vehicles, people and bicycles were all I could see on the ground. Public transport only, huh, I mused, leaning back in my seat. I guess that would cut down on road accidents, but I wonder how they get goods around though.

Beyond the lack of vehicles, I could see that the city was laid out into a strict grid network, each square in the grid being a city block. While the contents of each block differed, they were always the same size and shape. The only exceptions were a few massive buildings in the center that towered over their surroundings.

Even they only broke the rule a little as they kept to the overall pattern by taking up the space of four blocks. The spaceport I’d come from was one of them and I would bet good money the rest were government or military buildings.

Soon the train slid into my target station, having taken less than fifteen minutes from the center of the city to the outskirts. While part of that was the speed of transport, the rest was the small size of the city. Back on Earth, it might not even be called a city, the statistics I’d pulled up showed that it only had a population of a hundred and three thousand people.

It was difficult to imagine the game simulating that many people to the level I’d seen so far. If they actually were, it pointed to an insane amount of computing power. I thought it was more likely they only modeled a small portion of them, but I also wasn’t a computer scientist.

I left the station still in thought, absently following my watch’s direction to a large building across the walkway. It took up a quarter of the block, looming over its neighbors at eight stories tall. Huge silver letters above the double doorway declared it as the Explorers Guild I was looking for.

I paused to enjoy the well-styled Gothic architecture for a moment, whoever had designed the building had done an excellent job. It was rather larger than I’d expected as well, the Explorers Guild must be a wealthy organization.

Grinning at the confirmation I’d made the right move in choosing them, I strode up the front steps and into the building. The double doors swung open as I approached, allowing me entry. Inside was a grand foyer, at least a hundred feet across, with a carved wooden counter in the middle.

Walking up to the well-dressed woman behind it, I said.“ Hello, I am looking to join the Guild.”

She looked up with a smile and responded, “Of course Sir, If you will take a seat.“ Gesturing to a set of lounges against one wall, she continued.“ I will see which of the recruiters can see you.”

I grinned at that news, I’d been half expecting to need to wait a day or more for an appointment, Thanking her, I moved over and sank into one of the plush lounges, pulling up a larger screen on my watch to pass the time. It would be a good opportunity to continue researching the city.

I spent several minutes engrossed in information gathering before the receptionist called me back over.“ Mr. Bradford will see you now. Take the stairs behind me, then it will be office fourteen on your right,“ she gestured to a grand marble staircase behind her.

I thanked her again before moving over to the stairs and beginning my climb. The stairway led to a carpeted hallway with offices in either direction. It didn’t take long before I found number fourteen, where I used the knocker on the door.

“Come in,“ a deep voice came from inside.

I turned the handle and swung the door open, striding into a large, opulent office. An older man, mid-fifties, if I had to guess, sat behind a large wooden desk carved with an intricate forest pattern.

“You must be the hopeful recruit,“ he addressed me with a smile on his bearded face.“ Please take a seat so we can get started.”

I nodded and slid into the plush armchair in front of the desk as he dismissed the multiple large holograms he’d been examining. A small plaque on the front of the desk read ‘Bradford. Senior Recruiter. Operations manager.’ It seemed the receptionist had directed me to someone quite important.

“Excellent,“ he said as I settled in.“ Now, tell me why you want to join our illustrious Guild, it’s not every day we get an applicant who has only been on the planet for a few hours.”

Seems they’ve done their research, I sighed internally as I tried to come up with a response. I thought it was odd that the receptionist didn’t ask for any details, they must be able to pull them from my watch or something.

Deciding that honesty was best, I replied.“ While I didn’t know about your organization before I arrived, I realized it was the perfect fit for me once I was here. Part of what drew me to Althea was the promise of unexplored wilderness and the opportunities that it presents. I had nothing else planned for my first day, so I came straight over. I actually expected that I would have to make an appointment for a later date.“

“Understandable,“ he said with a nod, “many organizations would have made you wait for a day at least. Here at the Explorers Guild, however, we value speed and efficiency given how long many of our expeditions take. We wouldn’t get anything done if we tied ourselves up in bureaucracy on top of that.”

“As to your reasons for joining,“ he continued, “while they are not an ideal fit for our charter, you would be far from the first member to join for personal profit. As long as you contribute to the Guild, in addition to your own pockets, we won’t have any problems,“ he finished, squinting at me with a stern glare.

I guess it rather comes across like I’m just here to profit from their lands, I thought. Not like that’s inaccurate either, better try to smooth things over. Nodding my head in agreement, I responded, “Of course, I am more than willing to help any Guild I join.”

“Excellent to hear,“ he replied, now smiling again.“ Then there are just a few formalities left. I assume you already have your own gear?”

“Ah, not exactly,“ I replied with a wince as I realized it may have been smarter to do that first.“ I wasn’t able to bring any of my possessions on the long trip here,“ I finished, hoping that didn’t sound too strange.

“Of course, I understand,“ he spoke with a small frown.“ However, I won’t be able to process your application until we are sure you have gear that meets our minimum requirements. I will forward you the details, please feel free to ask for me by name when you have gathered them.”

My watch pinged with a message, however, it was the System pop-up that drew my attention first. Using my watch as a pretense, I looked it over.

Objective Update for Quest Guild Initiation

Objectives:

Join the Explorers Guild (In Progress).

Acquire 1 x weapon

Acquire 1 x scanner

Acquire 1 x hiking pack.

Acquire 1 x camping gear

Acquire 7 x ration packs

Acquire 1 x first aid kit

Damn, that is a lot of gear, I thought, concerned about how much it would all cost. I guess this isn’t the type of game where I just walk out and start slaughtering monsters then.

I checked over his message as well, seeing that it contained the same list in more detail.“ Of course,“ I replied, trying to keep my tone steady.“ Could I ask if you have any tips for a beginner?”

“Hah,“ he replied with a booming laugh, “far too few of you think to ask that question. My number one tip is to buy the best scanner you can afford, that’s the one item you shouldn’t skimp on. Many cheapskate explorers have moved through areas they thought were empty, only to hear later of the wealth others had found behind them.”

“Behind that,“ he continued, “Are you used to a particular weapon?”

I shook my head in reply, having not considered how the extreme realism of the game would affect weapon usage. It was intimidating to think that I might need to learn how to fight as If I was in the real world.

“Just how soft are you core worlders anyway,“ he spat incredulously.“ Well, if you haven’t any experience, a pistol will be your best bet. It gives you a bit of range, yet it’s still useable in close combat when you miss and a beast charges you. Make sure you get plenty of ammunition with it, running out in the field gets people killed.”

I stood at that last dire pronouncement and thanked him. That was very useful advice, as I wouldn’t have had a clue what to get otherwise. It hadn’t felt scripted either, like Agent Darren, Bradford had held a conversation better than some people I’d spoken to in the real world.

As I left the office and moved to the stairs, I pulled up the map screen on my watch. A quick search for the term scanner brought up several stores, one of which was only a single station away. Since It sounded like I’d be spending the most on the scanner, it made sense to purchase it first.

Leaving the building, I made my way back to the monorail station. I could already feel my credits dwindling at the shopping to come.