"Take control of the input, and you shall become master of the output." -Sheng-ji Yang
---
"Alright, everything looks ready to go..."
You mutter to yourself as you inspect the VR interface, methodically checking each component, especially the life support system. If something went wrong, that was the only thing preventing you from withering away while your mind was trapped inside a virtual world.
The VR interface's somewhat simple appearance belied the advanced technology behind it. An eggshell-like pod, mounted on a thick and sturdy pedestal, containing a seat capable of reclining to a ninety degree angle. Immediately above where your head would be when lying down while the eggshell was closed was a pair of 'goggles'. They weren't actual goggles, being closer to a computer monitor of sorts designed to fit over one's eyes. This monitor would provide visual feedback to your more-or-less vacant body while you were in cyberspace, allowing you to properly move and interact with your surroundings.
Sighing, you step onto the surface of the half-eggshell, the other half having been moved to a perpendicular angle to the seat, allowing you to easily enter. Taking your seat, you pause for a moment, swallowing.
"Computer, initiate command: VR test alpha."
You'd managed to add in voice recognition software to the interface. It was a lot easier than having to key in the command, mainly because of how exactly you interfaced with the VR system. Soft restraints pin your arms to the...well, the arms of the chair; your legs to the lower section, which is currently at a 90 degree angle to the half-eggshell's surface; and your forehead to the back of the chair.
Small motors slowly cause the back of the chair to fall, and the lower section of the chair to rise. It was almost exactly like a dentist's chair. You wince in pain as tiny needles embed themselves in certain places in your body, mainly your wrists and the back of your calf muscles. These were the drips from the life support system, as well as the jacks that would turn your brain's instructions, such as walking, into actions within the cyberspace.
The other half of the eggshell slowly closes on top of the other, leaving you staring at the so-called goggles. Aided by a robotic arm, the goggles slowly descend, aligning themselves with your eyes.
You close your eyes, and...
---
... Reopen them. You are currently standing in an endless plane of white, although you could sense what was up and down, as well as the other directions. You slowly swivel your head from left to right, before engaging in a range of basic movements, making sure that the VR system can handle them. Surprisingly, it passes with flying colors on every motion you make, replicating the feel and feedback of it perfectly. You didn't think you were especially good at coding, but you'd apparently outdone yourself.
You put the VR system through a number of basic tests, from replicating an under detailed landscape to materializing several objects and dropping them, making sure that the physics engine was functioning correctly.
Almost disturbingly, every single test was a complete success. You'd expected to find several bugs and kinks needing to be worked out, but on every basic test you'd performed, there had been no issues whatsoever. It was getting both suspicious and a bit creepy, if you were honest with yourself. Computers just didn't work this well. It was...unnerving.
You are about to exit the VR system, when you realise you still have one more thing to test: NPCs.
You are about to summon a basic wireframe-and-AI alpha-stage NPC, when...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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