Virtuality - (Prologue)

                                                                                       The Year is 3024…
Ravaged by wars and natural disasters, the human race stands at just under two billion.  Cities, countries, even continents lay battered and deserted.
United by a common goal, the Earth’s governments come together in the ruins of New York City and develop ‘Virtuality.’
Designed to keep the masses from rioting, people spend hours or even years within a computer-generated world-their every whim and fantasy catered for.
But, when a prominent politician is killed inside the ‘game’, panic sweeps through the streets. Something has gone wrong in the system and an immediate solution is required.
Enter Troy.  With his band of highly specialised comrades, they are tasked with finding and fixing the bug that threatens to cause chaos across the globe.
However, as they are thrown into the realms of science, technology and corruption, they find that the problem extends well beyond the virtual world…

                                                                                Prologue

“Why live your life in reality, when you can live it in ‘Virtuality’?!
Every citizen is entitled to two hours inside Virtuality every day!
But why stop there??
With life-long spots available at only $3, 000, 000, you could make every day a Virtuality day!
Don’t forget to join the Virtuality Lottery!
With one life-long spot given away every month, you can’t afford to miss out!
Just $5000 a ticket!” 


         Mayor Randolph Macnarlye reclined in the wooden beach chair, absorbing the serene environment surrounding him.  The gentlest of winds whispered through the air while an emerald sea lapped lazily along the white, sandy shore.  Perfectly formed coconuts lay scattered carelessly around his feet, where they had fallen from the ten-foot high trees that bowed gracefully over each other, shading him from the heat of the mid-day sun.  Closing his eyes as he basked in the scattered rays that fell through the sparkling green leaves, he began the slow descent into a peaceful sleep.
         Crack!
         The sound of a branch snapping in two directly behind him dragged him back into consciousness.  Startled, and not just a little surprised, he twisted around to investigate the intrusion.
         “Oh, it’s you…what are you doing here?” He returned to his reclining position.  “Is there a problem at the office?”
         The pain began in his abdomen. A sharp pain that seemed to start deep inside his stomach before sweeping through his entire torso, growing in intensity with every second.  He gasped for oxygen as he felt blood rush from his lungs.  He wanted to move, but had no control over his body.  As his eyes move downwards, he could make out the end of the blade protruding from his stomach, dripping with his blood and staining the white sand beneath…
         
         Deafening alarms roared along the steel corridor.  At their sound, dozens of bodies began a sprint towards a heavily guarded door, where a red siren flashed angrily.
         “It’s Mayor Macnarlye’s room.”  A young man in white overalls swiped a card along a reader encased in the door. It immediately swung open admitting the frenzied group.  The sight before them amplified the panic already emanating from them.  A middle-aged man lay convulsing in a padded leather chair, various leads and wires connected to him and a pair of oversized metal glasses covering his eyes.
         “His heart has stopped!”  Another overall clad individual examined the readings on the machines that lined up along one wall.  A flurry of activity soon surrounded the chair.  More bodies clamoured into the cramped room.  Minutes later, the monitors all showed the same reading…
                   “He’s dead.”  Shaking his head, an elderly doctor made his way to the door. “He must have had a heart attack. It’s a shame, he was still young.”
         A silent group of people drifted towards the door.  It was sad, but it happened sometimes, people passing away while in the game….
                   “Urm, doctor…” The shaky voice of a young nurse caused them to pause at the door. She had begun to remove the Mayor from the system, and in doing so had pulled back the blanket that covered him from his chin to his feet. 
         Gathering around the chair, a deafening silence befell them as they stared at the pool of blood forming on the dead Mayor’s chest….