START
The once silent corridors begin to fill up with murmurs. With every step I take, more ghosts appear around me, fascimiles of students and teachers that busy themselves going about their own business. I pass a hand through one of them – a sullen looking pig-tailed girl – and her image wavers temporarily before reconsolidating itself. She screams, looking at me as if I've violated her somehow, and backs away in tears.
“Sir, please refrain from interacting with background characters in an inappropriate manner.” Looking away from the panicking student, I see a short, blonde-haired girl standing in front of me. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. The voice and appearance is identical to hers, but it can't be Kyrie. I haven't had much experience with full-body dives before, but I know a thing or two about how they work.
“Identify yourself.” I say.
“I am an interactive NPC of the Qualia series, sir. I have been customized to project the appearance you find the most aesthetically pleasing. I am also equipped with an extensive database on World 0, which you may use to guide your way.”
“That appearance is not what I find aesthetically pleasing.” I mutter.
“I am sorry, sir. Perhaps you would like to specify a change in appearance?”
I wave my hand dismissively – impressive, that even in a virtual world the feeling of cybernetics has been reproduced accurately – and shake my head. “No, that is alright. This will do. Tell me more about this world.” I begin walking, and the Kyrie NPC falls into step at my side, briefing me about this place.
“First off, I would like to welcome you to World 0, sir. This is a high-immersion virtual reality world customized for users to explore their own memories in an interactive format. I am afraid that the reconstruction of this world is not yet complete – the program appears to have run into some difficulties in accessing several parts of your mind. Digitization is complete, but translation and interpretation is still in progress.”
I nod. “Is this a custom program? Who is the creator?”
“The program has been customized to perform fully intrusive digitization. The creator is ■■■■.”
I suppose the maker isn't going to reveal themselves that easily, though that's not important at the moment. I continue probing. “Tell me more about fully intrusive digitization.”
“Fully intrusive digitization involves a thorough mapping of the entirety of the user's brain. Whereas normal digitization only recreates surface memories, fully intrusive digitization is a more complete reconstruction of a user's mindscape.”
“How is World 0 structured?”
“World 0's main lobby is a recreation of a public location that has left strong impressions on the primary user. From there, a user can travel to various memories segregated by time and location.”
“What are the memories I can travel to from this point?”
“Please hold on while I search,” says the Kyrie NPC while she closes her eyes. After a short while, she completes her search and looks at me again. “Sir, I regret to inform you that there appears to be further customization to this program than what I have previously described. The memories have been partitioned according to the creator's specifications.”
“That is all right,” I say impatiently. “What memories can I travel to?”
“Records indicate that you can only access a room labeled the Gate of the Beginning.”
I sigh. Railroading, huh.
“Take me there, then.”
“Very well, sir. Please follow me.”
I do so, making my way through the winding corridors of the academy. It appears to be slightly larger than I remember it to be, with less rooms lining the hallways. After some time, we come to a large double-door – if I recall correctly, this led to the gymnasium.
“This is the Gate of the Beginning, sir. Shall we enter?”
I'm about to gesture my approval, when I hear the rapid patter of small footsteps. The background characters did not run. Turning around quickly, I manage to catch a glimpse of a child darting down a set of stairs off to the left. Had those stairs been there before?
“Hey, where do those stairs lead?”
“I am afraid I have no information on that area, sir. It appears to be digitized data, but the program has not yet filtered it through the translation algorithm.”
I walk over to the stairs and peer down. I can see the area underneath – unlike the soothing sunset glow of the floors I have been on, it is barely illuminated by dim fluorescent lighting. After a while, I notice the child's face peeking back at me from between the railings at the bottom of the staircase.
I should have expected something like this, but it's still a jarring thing to see your younger self looking you in the eye. The boy blinks and runs off. Turning back to the guide NPC, I see that she's still waiting patiently for me to enter the Gate of the Beginning.
***
A. I enter the Gate of the Beginning. From the way it's worded, it is probably a trial of some sort – the program has probably set things up so that I can progress level by level. There's no point to chasing after ghosts.
B. I refuse to be railroaded in a construct of my own mind. There's no telling what is a test or trial; this could just as easily be another one. Besides, it is untranslated space – I should be able to find out more by acting beyond the confines of the program. I chase after my younger self.
still probably this gonna be fun like always.
