Free City of the Falling Sky by Joseph Evans Page B

WePlay, and has since become
the world’s most popular video game. Players from all across the
lands hold annual tournaments and championships in which teams of
Friction players compete to represent their cities’
partitions.”
    A montage of video footage was being
projected onto the sky. There were crowds cheering, flags being
waved, and people holding giant cups and jumping in the air in slow
motion.
    “ The aim of the game is
variable from match to match, but the most popular Friction format
is the item mode. Players compete to collect items located in an
area of land. A number of different items are usually available to
collect, and many are hidden in hard to find places. Each item is
worth a different amount of Friction points and the player with the
most points at the end of the session wins. Sessions like this can
be combative or non-combative.”
    The words ‘training level’ appeared
accompanied by a map.
    “ The best way to demonstrate
this is by loading you into the training level and letting you play
a test session.”
    There was a flash of white light, and Seckry
found that he was now surrounded by not only the grass, but a whole
environment of beautiful green scenery, the sound of running water,
and the lovely smell of fresh flowers.
    “ Welcome to Atoria,” the voice said. “Atoria is the official home of the Friction
universe and our training session is set in the valley of the
south. Let’s begin by looking at the items available in this
land.”
    Objects began appearing in front of Seckry,
floating and spinning slowly in the air.
    First a bunch of carrots, then a spoon, then
a coin, an apple, a rock, and finally a shiny, golden harp.
    “ These items are all located
in this area and your goal will be to collect them. Once you have
picked up an item, it will be added to your inventory. Are you
ready to begin, Seckry?”
    “ Yes,” he
replied.
    “ Great. If at any point you
would like to leave the game, just press the exit button on the
left of your body. Now, take your time, and good luck!”
    A short, pinging sound signalled the start of
the session.
    The first thing Seckry did was look down. His
body was no longer his own, it was that of a wooden training
dummy.
    He raised his right hand up to his face and
flexed his fingers. He was amazed at how the little wooden corks
opened and closed.
    So this was what it was like to be an
avatar.
    The next thing Seckry did was test his
movement. He moved forwards then backwards, strafed left then
right, then spun around on the spot. He couldn’t get over the air.
It felt as though he were actually in a valley. A butterfly flew
past him, and he felt a slight breeze flap his right earlobe. Some
serious programming had gone into this.
    The area was beautiful. There was a river
behind him that was running out of a pool to his left, and
splashing spectacularly into it was a small waterfall. To his right
there was a cottage, with smoke coming from its chimney, and
surrounding them were high cliffs and hills.
    He was immediately drawn to the pool with the
waterfall. As he got closer to it, the gentle rumble of the water
grew louder and he actually felt the spray of it tickling his
face.
    Seckry wondered what would happen if he went
into the pool. He leaned over the bank and saw the reflection of
his avatar. He nudged a little bit closer to see if he could see
anything below the surface and before he knew it, he had slipped
in. He felt the coolness of the water as he went under, but
fortunately he was still able to breathe. At least they’d left
something up to the imagination.
    Instead, a blue bar had appeared in the top
right corner of his vision indicating his oxygen levels, and it was
decreasing very quickly. Seckry swam to the surface and bobbed in
the water for a moment while his oxygen restored itself to its full
amount.
    He was sure one of the items would be hiding
at the bottom of the pool so he dived down a few times, scanning
the bed before running