Universe Online - Enter the Game: Complete Edition (4 page)

“Alright.  I didn't expect you to accept it that quickly.  Next on the list is a personalized race you are free to use.  It is... quite close to your real life condition, but comes with boosted starting points as well as an enhanced trait.  This one is completely optional though, so you are free to decline and choose one of the other starting races if you desire.”

This time Gabby's tone is low and more than a little hesitant.  No one at SD is really sure how Allec would respond, but it was decided to be part of his starting surprise after his outstanding performance during the Beta Test.  If he refuses it, well, no sweat off their backs.  They could always recycle the race for later user in-game.

I barely have time to arch a brow at Gabby when another window pops up.

*DING*

This time I take a longer while to read over the racial information.  It doesn't stop me from flinching though.  It was like seeing a nightmare.  But at the same time...  The bonuses and the racial trait really nice.  It would basically double what I received from being an Advanced User, and would greatly help should I actually die.

There were pros and cons to it, but this time I turn my gaze to Gabby, who's waiting patiently and obviously trying not to fidget.

“Can I ask you questions about this race?”  Okay, my question is more than a little blunt.

Gabby jerks at the sudden question but nods.

“Yes, I can answer some things.  For one, I'm to tell you that you will start out with a standard mechanical suit that'll boost your physical attributes to starting levels.  You may modify or change the suit as you wish in-game using the required aptitudes and aspects, and materials.  The better the materials and the higher the quality, the more you can get out of the suit.”

I listen to her and nod, thinking on it a bit more. She'd answered one of the major questions I'd had, but then another one pops up in my mind.

“Okay, why did they decide to make a race to take after me?  I'm not vain enough be overly excited about the prospect.”  My words are almost brutally honest, and for a moment I see Gabby smile a little before it disappears and she clears her throat to speak again.

“As for why...  Lets just say it was for variety.  All users have the ability to choose negative traits in return for extra character generation points.  The starting races are balanced so that none of them has an advantage.  The alien species that'll become unlocked later won't be balanced in such a manner.  They'll depend entirely upon the simulated race, its history, and its interaction with the other users.”

“We're basically asking you to be a guinea pig in this, and if you surpass the trial, the Drune Rex race will become unlocked for all the players who are interested.  But you won't be started on the Drune homeworld or colony.”  She says, breaking out into a bit of a smirk.

It is obvious that she's enjoying teasing me.  Still, I think for a little longer before clicking the 'Yes' button again.

No reason not to try it.  The bonuses more than make up for the disadvantages.  And who doesn't wish to wander around wearing powered armor, knocking over people without even feeling it?  Haha.  It just seems like a nifty idea to me.

As soon as Gabby gets the confirmation, she takes a deep breath as if to calm herself and then smirks again.  Although it is obviously to hide her sudden nervousness.

“Okay, on to the last bit of business then.  Your starting task in-game is to revive an abandoned and derelict space station.  And to survive.  You'll be alone until you manage to contact nearby colonies or other stations and get NPC's interested in checking out what you've done.”

“You will be provided with a starting care package, but it will only hold enough food, water, air and supplies for a week.  Everything else you'll have to do yourself.  I'm not allowed to tell you any other details, sorry.”

Her words were not encouraging.  A derelict space station?  For real?  It is like the start of a bad horror story. Keeping me away from other users would dramatically cut down on the risk of being PvP'd, which could be counted as a good thing. The rest though, I’m not really too sure about.

Still, I think it over.  It was already too late for me to go back anyway.  I suddenly look up at Gabby and narrow my eyes.

“One thing.  Solar Dynamics is not allowed to expose any information or video of what I'm doing until I've either failed or succeeded in this 'trial'.  I do not care if it is supposed to be a publicity stunt or if its done for some other reason.  I don't want my name known until I have something to boast about.”

My words are colder than before, and I can tell that my tone has shocked the woman. She does nod quickly though.

“Of course.  As far as I know we've not intended to make any of this public.  Also, all user information is considered classified and confidential material anyway; so it'd take a court order to get anything from us....  But you may wish to change your mind later.  Just a bit of a hint.”  She says, finally flashing a grin before standing up, having looked at the timer.

All in all, we've spent about an hour here discussing all of this.  It has all been rather sudden, but what the hell.  At least it is interesting, right?

I stand up as well and flash her a grin.

“Very well.  Count me in.  I'll take what I can get.”

“I'm expecting good results from you, Allec.  Now I'll send you to the character creation zone and you can run through the revamped tutorial before hitting the game when the launch happens.  Outside of this area the time difference is going to be six hours to one, just like in the game.  So you'll have plenty of time to get used to everything.  Ta ta!” Gabby suddenly grins and presses her hand down on the console, and the floor under my feet disappears.

Even I cannot help but yell as I fall into the darkness!

Damn that woman!

-|- -|- -|-

”Welcome to the Character Creation Process.”

I'm standing in another white space, this time without any sort of features or furniture around.  It is entirely blank and I feel like I could see into the infinite here.

But I'm not alone, and the same soft feminine voice echoes against my ears.

”Advanced User Detected. Loading Account Information.”

The standard process was interrupted by the new message, and I shrug my shoulders.  It definitely wasn't the usual gaming experience, so it has been kinda jerky all the way around.  Just what is SD's management thinking?

”Loading Complete. Please state your desired character name.”

Hm.  That's a hard one.  I've had all sorts over the years, but nothing I've really stuck with.  So I decide to not even bother.  You could blame my dysfunctional humor circuit about not having the ability to think up cool names.

“Allec.”

”Thank you, Allec. Your account is locked to the race Drune Rex.”

Even as the voice speaks about the character race I already knew about, a holographic image of myself appears in front of me, dressed in the newbie gear.  It consists of a tight fitted space suit and clear visored helmet.  The suit is also covered in black metal composite rods and straps with a power unit strapped to the back.

The mechanical suit is bare and ugly, looking more like a full body brace than anything cool and sleek.  I'm definitely going to have to work on that as soon as I can.  Still, the character is basically a mirror image of me, and given that I'm thin and lanky and only 5'9”, the guy before me is too.

”Do you wish to make any changes?  As an Advanced User with an undiscovered race, you are permitted to change more of the character features and have them saved as racial features.”

I blink.  That was something I hadn't expected.  Actually being given the ability to change some of the features of a race?  Wow.  I waste no time on doing just that.

I have the program remove the suit and the brace and start going over the details, pulling up a list of available features.  Most of it is cosmetic, but some of the things are more in-depth.  Like having a tail!  But I decide against that.  With the weak bone structure of this race, a tail would HURT as soon as something went bad.

Instead, I change some of the skin tones, jotting down notes about a combination of European, Asian, and Indian descent that matches with the racial history I'd been provided with earlier.  I change some of my character features, and add pointed ears that are tilted back at an angle.  Kinda like a space elf.

That fits too, given the races high intellect base.

If anyone has played the Psilon race from the Master of Orion games, you know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?  Hahaha.  Or maybe Spock from Star Trek.  Heh.

I also add a cosmetic glow to the eyes, which is just to make it look cool.  Not that anyone would normally see it behind the helmet.