Login Accepted - Incipere Online Book One

Conception (FD)

The books didn't do justice to the feelings of having oneself downloaded into Incipere. Everything Athos read in the manual explained that it was close to falling, but experiencing it was like nothing he had ever felt. For him, logging in could best be conveyed as two parts falling, one part vomiting through your ears, and eleven parts jumbling chaos incarnate.

Almost as soon as it began, his fall stopped and reality quickly stabilized around him. Athos, the newest member of the world of Incipere, stood in a large, undecorated, blue glass room overlooking a void of blinding darkness and twinkling azure stars. All that separated him from it looked to be around a foot of blue glass on each side of the room. Not that it comforted him as he saw his nude form reflected from all angles.

Everything was gone now. Despite his nudity, a feeling of complete loss at his old life bubbled up inside of him as he took a few steps away from his landing zone and pressed a hand against one of the glass walls. The icy chill of it took him by surprise, and his hand shot back.

Rubbing the chill out with his other hand, it didn't take him long to regain some of his lost heat. The world was much more interactive than he had imagined. The cold felt cold, and emotions still fired off without mercy.

Mom, Sarah... two people that used to mean the world to him, but now they only brought tears to his eyes. No chance to say goodbye, no chance to finish the things he had started; there was so much that he had left to do but was powerless to finish now. Cold, alone, and quiet... was this what it felt like to be a ghost?

Hello, Athos Aramis.

The voice came from everywhere, but nowhere at the same time. As he looked around, his first reaction was to drop his hand down to cover himself the best he could. Then his mind started working a little faster. There was nothing around him. Another glance around the room confirmed that there was nowhere the voice could be coming from either.

Don't be embarrassed. Do you know how much pornography exists on the Internet? Modesty is not something you should worry about here. In fact, if you worry about it that much, I suggest staying away from the eastern lands of Bru'Dea. The climate there has drawn many of both our people there as a vacation destination. I'm Gama, Profession Administrator of Incipere, English Language Division.

Would he really have to get used to the voices in his head being real? Well, it had to be better than the alternative. Didn't it? It took a moment for Athos to adjust, but at least he wasn't going crazy. He tried to conjure up a smile to make a better first impression, but it just wasn't in him. "Hello, Gama."

I understand you aren't in the best of spirits. Some people have killed to get this far, well, before the test. Ferris filled me in during your download as to what was going on, and she assures me that you will be given an exception to make contact with your family as soon as you are settled in. It's critical at this junction for you to let your mind adapt to your new environment.

For him to settle? An exception? Emotions were boiling over, and he wanted to scream. He wanted a better reason, but all he could manage was, "It didn't say that in the manuals."

The voice was silent for a moment before answering, Well, most people aren't brought in during their own death either. Did Ferris lie to him? Could individuals from the Singularity, from Incipere, even lie? Anyway, I'm here to give you the options of your profession based on your individual intelligence and aptitudes. As you know, from near the beginning of our world, there have been dangers, and we have been given hundreds of options to defend ourselves. That ability was passed to your kind once the test was conceived.