As we stepped out of the bus, the first thing that caught my attention was The Terrarium, rather, I was dumbfounded by its sheer scale. I had imagined it to be large, much like a giant orchidarium or something, but instead, from head on, the marvel looks like a humongous glass palace. It's main dome is large enough you could probably fit an entire downtown inside it, the top of its half sphere lost into the distance as I looked up.
A real castle of glass and ivory metal. The transparent glass panels laid, imposing, embedded into a thick skeleton of white metal that gave it a heavenly appearance. Each iron beam thick enough four people would be needed to embrace it, yet, when compared to the magnificence of the glass panes, they looked like mere strings of white cable, so large was the construction. I had never considered the size of a building supposed to house 1/8th of the remaining plants in the world, able to, alone, maintain an entire ecosystem inside an enclosed space. But yeah, this is it. I walked in silence, completely overbore by the sheer scale of everything around me.
Large signs directed the thousands of people towards the main auditorium. I walked for a while, Nort accompanying me through the magistral building. The building itself was divided in sectors, each with its own plants and animals, keeping a stable subsistence of itself. And in the middle, laid the Large auditorium, suspended gardens decorated the magnanimous structure, able to house over two hundred people comfortably.
As we came from a specific entrance, we happened to be positioned into one of the lowest rings of it, closer to the center. Over twenty stories of balconies laid around the main Proscenium. A round stage in the very middle of it.
"Wow... The attention to detail here is amazing..." Nort muttered as he looked up in amazement. aside from the decorations, the very architecture was beautiful. The floors and walls were made from white marble, while the ceiling, if you can even call it, over the thousands of flowers, was the top of the sphere in which laid the main part of the Terrarium. The contrast between the slick construction and all the nature gave the whole thing an inexplicable vibe. I really felt like a fantastic world, all while still looking perfectly feasible, aside from the sheer scale. But well, this case supposedly takes place half a century into the future right? It's to be expected that it'd look futuristic, but I think they nailed it. It looks so simple yet so luxurious.
As I divagated about the beauty of the place I failed to notice the dozens of thousands of people slowly filling all the balconies, including the one I was in. There was a fair deal of space between the people in here, but it still did not fail to feel like a multitude. As I realized it I threw glances around to see hundreds of unknown yet, somehow, familiar faces. I did not know these people, but I think I've seen them before at some point in time.
While I thought about this, a large portion of the proscenium caved in and opened up, a blue crystalline pod coming up like an elevator, from inside it, two people slowly walked out and into the middle of the auditorium.
It was time.
Precisely eight-o-clock. Two people whose responsibility today was to introduce us to this world.
"Good night! And welcome to Death Loop."
A Female voice reverberated across the auditorium, it sounded soft yet empowering. A voice familiar enough to make my blood boil.
Jezebelle "Faeary" Zhuang, Zhe Zhuang.
"I'm Faeary, one of the lead developers of this game. I hope you are all enjoying what you've seen so far."
Her appearance was that of a Hawk, slim and long limbs, a streamlined jaw and piercing eyes. Nothing different as her in real life. The only differences are the custom parts of her character, baby green hair and pink eyes. God I hate that woman.
"I was the one responsible for creating most of what you've seen so far,"
Lies.
"with the help of the whole team that is."
Usurper! Thief!
"I hope you've liked this demo of the experience so far. But the experience is just beginning."
I want to punch that bitch so hard.
"We have put incredible effort into creating the most immersive experience possible..."
"Are you okay?" Nort asked, whispering into my ear.
"Eh." It was only then that I realized I'd been clenching my fists with a scary expression. Ah... I hate her... "Yes! Sorry... I kinda got lost in my thoughts." The presentation continued in the background, I'm rather thankful I'm no longer gonna hear any of her blabber. That stuck up bitch.
"Oh, I see... You had a scary face so I thought... No way right... It's not like you could possibly know her." Nort's wild hunch was spot on, but no way I'm gonna tell him that.
"Yeah! No way... I wish." Sorry... I can't tell you...
"Oh, He's talking now!" With his words, I also turned towards the main stage of this event, to see the main guest.
Ruzjy Ahmanobad Jii-Khu "Jeeku"
"My name is Jeeku." The imposing handsome man started talking. Just hearing his voice was enough to make women's panties drop. What a sick fuck... but I respect his creativity and power. A man who managed to make such a joint venture to create not only this game, not only this system, but the very technology himself. One of the most powerful men in the entire modern world. Yet humble enough to come and introduce us to his creation. A man I'd grown to respect... until recently.
"I hope you understand you are about to experience a new era of "Gaming", an era in which Games and Reality merge in such a way you are barely able to differentiate one from the other." The whole audience gasped. Those were bold words, coming from a bold man, and this experience so far was the proof of his merit.
"And I and my whole team worked to our utmost to deliver you the best of the best." With his words, Faeary's character started to glow as she slowly rose into the air, almost like flying.
"This is not like any other game. Professions, Economy, Exploration, World-building. Everything is made to be as realistic as possible, yet, sustainable. This is one of the 8 bastions of humanity left over in this devastated world, overtaken buy the Communal Conscience, an extremely intelligent AI, present in all machines of the previous generation, whose job of maintaining the safety of Earth led to, after the nuclear war, the extermination of the human species as it was deemed dangerous for the world."
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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