Jin Mantrell had received a letter in the mail quite unexpectedly. He was a frequent gamer and sometimes contributed reviews of games and gaming peripherals to magazines or websites to supplement the income from his real job. A company was asking him to be the tester of one of their newest devices but were insistent that this testing had to be done at their own facility. They were offering to pay him quite a large fee to do so.
When he arrived he was told that the company had been experimenting in virtual reality. While the technological details were far more complex than he could really understand, the gist of it was, that they had found a way to trick the brain into believing it was in a completely different, virtual world, indistinguishable from the real one. The gamer could spend weeks in the virtual world while only passing a few hours in the real world. And they needed willing people to test this new technology.
The prospect greatly excited him and he immediately agreed. After signing some forms, he was taken into a room with a large pod in the center. He laid down in it and the technicians began to start the machine. They told him that a complex AI would be in charge of the experience and would be putting him through several different scenarios and that the pod's life support systems would keep him safe.
Jin began to suddenly feel very sleepy and as the world faded, the pod closed around him.
He suddenly woke up to find himself in blank white room. Seeing nothing around, he tried to call for the AI and said "Hello? Anybody there? AI?"
When he arrived he was told that the company had been experimenting in virtual reality. While the technological details were far more complex than he could really understand, the gist of it was, that they had found a way to trick the brain into believing it was in a completely different, virtual world, indistinguishable from the real one. The gamer could spend weeks in the virtual world while only passing a few hours in the real world. And they needed willing people to test this new technology.
The prospect greatly excited him and he immediately agreed. After signing some forms, he was taken into a room with a large pod in the center. He laid down in it and the technicians began to start the machine. They told him that a complex AI would be in charge of the experience and would be putting him through several different scenarios and that the pod's life support systems would keep him safe.
Jin began to suddenly feel very sleepy and as the world faded, the pod closed around him.
He suddenly woke up to find himself in blank white room. Seeing nothing around, he tried to call for the AI and said "Hello? Anybody there? AI?"