Josiah Li lives in a flooded world, where global warming has taken its toll and technology is intertwined in every aspect of daily life. To pass the time in between virtual classes, he finally takes the leap to sign up for a popular game, Starlia. H...
I hold onto my desk as the tenth earthquake this week rocks my room. My lamp tips over. My bed slides several inches from its spot against the wall, and the pieces of junk in my closet crash against each other. The light above my head flickers, and I'm afraid that my house will be stuck in yet another blackout—that wouldn't be the first one that happened this month. Our generator is already broken. I think about the possibility of being stuck in darkness as the earthquake's tremors fade away.
Thankfully, the electricity stays on.
My mother calls for me from outside. "Josiah, you okay?"
"I'm okay, mom!" I respond. Okay despite the fact of constant flooding, earthquakes, and threat of war between the U.S. and basically every other nation.
Because high school stops for no one, I quickly rearrange the mess of my room and plug my computer into the VRS, the Virtual Reality System. In an instant, the usual scene of my bedroom shifts into the hologram of a classroom—clean, sleek, and basic. My classmates are settled into the seats next to me, and if anyone studied closely, there would be no difference to the human eye whether or not I'm actually in a room with them.
The VRS is a seamless, genius invention that must be used to function in modern-day society. Without it, it's hard to connect with anyone in this generation. School, work, and play are all possible within the comfort of one's own home. These days, most people use it to escape the chaos of the outside world. With flooding and other natural disasters on the rise, it's easier just to get away to a virtual landscape.
Our homeroom teacher for senior year, Mr. Hummus, assesses the room. He unfortunately shares the name of a dip for veggies and chips. The senior class looks a bit frazzled, probably because the entirety of Seattle felt the ground tremor under them. Mr. Hummus' glasses are crooked, and his tie hangs loose off his dress shirt. He raises and suppresses his hands in a "calm down" motion, doing effectively nothing.
"Class, I know we all felt that." Mr. Hummus' voice sounds as monotone as can be, but anyone can sense his fluster. "Let's all get situated for class with some breathing and meditation exercises."
Surprisingly, everyone in class today is receptive. We close our eyes together and follow Mr. Hummus' directions on when to breathe in and out. We clear our minds and try not to think about the rising sea levels, which are destroying more houses around the city with every passing day.
When I open my eyes to the bright lighting and spotless classroom, with windows set to overlook a mountainous scene with a totally normal sea residing next to it, I can almost forget the disaster of real-life. Almost.
"Are you going to play today?" asks my best friend, Aileen Chow.
I'm so flustered after homeroom that I have no idea what she's talking about. "Huh?" I walk through the virtual halls, my mind tricked by the VRS into believing I'm traveling throughout a normal school building.
"Starlia," she says, whispering its name almost reverently. "Only the most exciting game on the planet right now."
I roll my eyes, simply because Aileen can't seem to shut up about it. "What's the big deal about this game? I've tried similar ones—they're all pretty boring."
"Starlia's different," Aileen says, pounding a fist against a virtual locker. "It's so real. And you feel so powerful just traveling around and killing monsters."
"I'm not into gaming," I say, wanting to leave it at that.
But my friend sidles up to me relentlessly. "Tonight. You have to try it with me later. I promise that you'll absolutely love it."
I roll my eyes and enter our classroom for chemistry. For the rest of the day, I try to forget about Aileen's offer. But it becomes more tempting with each passing second. When the world feels like it's ending, what's a better way to spend the time than to transport myself to an entirely new world? Sure, I might not be a big fan of gaming, but Starlia's online reviews are raving. People are saying things like it's the Pokémon of this generation. Or that they played for twenty hours straight and lost track of time.
After school, I unplug my computer from the VRS. My room flashes back into view, and I'm reminded of the tremors that took place right before I logged in. I pace across my carpet. Going outside isn't much of an option, as the sunlight is deadly and people don't normally head outside until after sunset. And Seattle's nightlife isn't much to admire. Most people prefer to stay inside and hop throughout Internet cafes. And games.
The last time I played a VRS game, I'd just met Aileen in ninth grade. She convinced me to play some cheesy RPG where we casted abilities by waving our hands in the air. I gave it up after a day of playing. Mostly, my vision was hazy from the game's graphics—too-bright colors and dizzying movement. The game wasn't polished at all, and it left a bad taste in my mouth.
I download Starlia without thinking. If Aileen loves this game so much, it must hold something above the heads of other online games. I wait as the loading bar moves slowly across the wall on the far side of me.
Soon, I'm making my character's avatar, surrounded by blue metal that makes me feel like I'm in a capsule. The ethereal lighting casts away the shadows, showing a reflection of me in a circular floor-to-ceiling mirror.
As I hover my hands over the options, holograms suspended before me, I find that the game doesn't allow me to make too many adjustments. A notice in bright blue letters lights up in front of my face.
To keep integrity and make the game as realistic as possible, we only allow minor cosmetic adjustments.
Okay then. I pick out platinum blond highlights for my hair. I keep my eyes brown, but I add some gold flecks in my irises. I also get rid of some of the acne scarring around my chin. I've got to look my best during the apocalypse.
Soon, I'm ready to enter the game world. The mirror fades away, making way for a swirling iridescent portal. My brain tricked by the illusion of the VCR, I walk into the portal and into a new world.
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Hi everyone! Are you excited to see more of Starlia?
I wanted to ask, do you consider yourself a gamer? If so, what's your favorite game? You can chime in even if you only played a handful of video games before.
For me, I'd have to say my favorite game of all time is MapleStory. It hits me with nostalgia every time, and I miss those days of logging in and spending hours in a fantasy world. Some days I wish I could rewind time to play it again for the first time.
