Saharan Successor

Vol. 1 - Chapter 1 – Beta Access Rights

.

Have you ever thought about an era where technology could lead people to live a second life?

It was indeed possible after many years had passed while the advancement in supercomputers and V.R. technology developed to reach the state of such a second reality, which would let people experience life for a second time.

One case was of a young adult who was living alone in a small apartment in the capital city of Romania, Bucharest, who was reading some forums on the internet about a particular big announcement.

This young man had a decent appearance, where one would even call him handsome on his good days. He was somewhat tall for a latin person, having 1,80 meters, while his hair was long with a dark brown colour that fitted well with his green eyes.

This young man's name was Mathias Dumitrescu, and he was currently living alone in the capital city, in simplicity day by day.  He worked as a hotel cleaner, but he still found himself struggling to afford expensive things or other forms of entertainment with his monthly wages.

Yet this didn't mean that he didn't have enough to save for the future.

He saved pocket money, scholarships, and other part-time jobs from his adolescence years, for five years until he moved out from his hometown that was a great distance from the capital city, two years ago. Everything was with the intent of finally buying himself an apartment of his own in the capital city and living a good life.

With his saved money prepared for such a life-changing endeavour, it came that the internet was assaulted by the announcement from a group of renowned scientists claiming to have built a second world in the form of a game. This new V.R. technology appeared on the market like a storm, a VRMMO game entitled Satisfy.

Mathias was skeptical about this game at first. Still, as he was reading the data from the alpha phase, he found that the game setting was somewhat relatable to the book he was writing, an interesting game set on his world's middle-age time frame. The system was also intriguing, giving the player freedom while relaxing in the gear used to enter this virtual reality. His thoughts would get translated into actions inside the game. Even the days would feel like normal days to the player playing the game.

All those news sounded well for Mathias or even the rest of the guys interested in the aspect of living a second life. Yet for Mathias, who was working in the service industry being the cleaner, it was hard for him or, better say, his heart. To pay the sum for the equipment. His pay was fine to let him live a decent life, but if he wanted to afford something expensive, he would only be able to pat his shoulder and think of something else, maybe because he liked to gather money and not spend much.

.

.

.

"Should I really bet my savings on this game? Would this turn out like the other big games from the past? Sigh, if mom finds out I spent half my savings on a game, she would sure strangle me and remove me from their small inheritance."

There was a great conflict about buying or not buying the equipment for the game in his head. He thought he would use all the savings for a new apartment in a better zone of the capital city, and the idea of buying this V.R. technology sounded so stupid and unreal for him.

The company that developed this technology assured its future users that they were legit and even would refund unsatisfied clients on their beta access and future official release of the game.

Yet Mathias was so skeptical of this information that even those reviews of the so-called "experts" or the company developers' insurance were in his eyes just a form of scam coming from some smart people. Or the fact that this company was offering a honey trap to dry the people's money.

Yet as he read along the alpha data given to the public, the reviews from particular game industry news articles, even listening to the interviews given by the CEO of the company, he tapped the small table that he was sitting around his old laptop thinking.

"This doesn't sound bad. I can see this V.R. technology as a way of becoming creative with my project and increasing the rate I write my story while relaxing in a new world, and if this game is successful, maybe try it seriously even earn some money along the way?

But my savings will go down the hole, which means I will have to endure staying in this apartment block for more years to come.

Ahhh, those reviews and excitement of the Western Countries and even the Asian ones makes me believe this will be a success. I have waited for such a V.R. thing to appear for a long time, at least in my lifetime, to experience another world. Hmm, that way speech, I almost sounded like grandfather and his rants. I wonder what that old man is up to right now? Probably reading some historical books."

As Mathias was contemplating his choices as he watched some interviews and articles about Satisfy with a serious face, he accessed the S.A. Group's official site that had a well-done website design with a trailer for the game appearing first in his sight.

Looking around the website, he entered the entry register. He began writing his information for joining the beta access, and as he was typing on the cracked keyboards of his old laptop, he heard, aside from the constant gypsy music, a loud scream from a man's voice.

"FUCK YOU, HOW COULD YOU BE SO DUMB TO DO THAT?"

"THAT WAS THE DEAL. I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG EXCEPT DOING THE USUAL BUSINESS!"

"YOU CALL THAT BUSINESS YOU FUCKING IDIOT? WHAT IF THE COPS ARE ON US NOW!"

"THERE'S NO WAY THEY WILL BE ON US. RELAX."

Mathias stopped a bit from typing to look a bit up from his chair as the men argued. His shoulder-length hair flowed down.

"Are those bastards yet again arguing at 12 midnight? Don't they have to sleep too? Fuck them, it's already been 1 year since moving to the capital city and into this cursed apartment, so probably nothing will change anyway."

"I'll even thank god if some police actually come to bust them, but I doubt. Those petty officials are hand in hand with those criminals. They will not even look in the criminal's direction."

Turning away from the roof, he went back to read the English entry form in a patient manner. Even reading a bit about the terms of the agreement before finishing the registry for beta access. "

"All I have to do is wait for a reply and the contract for their V.R. equipment, which I think will take a bit to happen."

Saving the username and password for the site, he opened a document containing many files named with different names, chapters, ideas, characters, and references. Clicking the chapter file, he created a new chapter on the file he opened, named "Basileus against the Nika Revolt".

.

While listening to music in his headset, he began writing on his chapters until the clock passed to 1:15 AM. Getting on his feet, he walked toward the small kitchen to drink some tap water. He looked down the window from the 5th floor with a glass in his hand to see a big surprise. A lot of black vans being pulled in front of the apartment complex.

"Ohh, the police is here? There's not even a bit of police alarm in the zone. So what's going on? Is there someone they target around this neighbourhood?

Damn, they entered my apartment block. Don't tell me, are the cops finally going for those damned loud bastards? Hehe, let's check the show."

Saying that he walked to his door hall, and picked his ear on the door, and sometimes even looked down the eyehole seeing men covered in special forces uniform and with assault rifles in their arms.

"Wow, I've only seen the SIAS on the television and on the internet. Phew, it seems they have no problem with me. They are going straight to the upper floor. Haha, you damned bastards, finally karma hits you."

Pushing his hair to the side, he listened carefully to the door, as the policeman was loudly speaking while knocking hard on the door.

"Open the door. It's the police. I repeat again, open the door."

The bastards above Mathias's roof began panicking as they said something he could pick from the walls.

"Hide all dangerous stuff and leave only the ones with lesser effect."

But not long they said that that the policeman began smashing the door with their ram. The ram continued for a bit more before the metal door gave in and got opened.

"ON THE FLOOR.. ON THE FLOOR, I SAID. ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW!" yelled a policeman while pointing his rifle at three gypsies-looking guys who held their arms in the air.

"What happened, boss? We didn't do anything bad." said one of the guys as the policeman pointed his rifle at him and pushed him with force on the ground.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU PARASITE. EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAY WILL BE AGAINST YOU IN COURT!" yelled in a high voice a policeman as he put down the other guy's cuffs.

The rest of the policemen began searching the apartment for weapons or any incriminatory stuff.

As the search was going upstairs, Mathias said to himself.

"Goddamn, that was brutal. I even heard one of those guys hitting the floor hard.  I take my words back. There's still some future in this country."

Then he heard the policeman ask in a high tone one of the bastards who didn't let him sleep at all with his loud music and arguments.

"Where's the rest of the drugs?"

"Boss, that's how you do your job? Hitting citizens?"

"Hmph, if I was me doing the orders, I would just round you parasites and shoot you dead since you are just scum of this country."

Time passed, and the time on Mathias's clock already reached 1:35 AM. The voices of the policeman were heard by Mathias, saying to a man that was the investigator.

"We found the drugs with the dog, Sir, even their preparation equipment and scale."

"Good. Now get those bastards in the main room, and let's question them a bit."

Minutes passed, and the clock already turned out to be 1:50 AM when he heard people climbing downstairs. While looking at the eyehole, he saw the three bastards being handcuffed and led by the policeman.

"Hah, it's finally silence. No music, no arguing. Let's close the laptop and go to sleep. Sigh, my sleep schedule got a bit shifted. I hope I don't mess up something in the hotel."

Walking with slight tiredness in his eyes toward his laptop, he closed it without thinking much about the V.R. game he just signed on before walking to his bed and shortly after beginning to sleep profoundly.

.

.

.

The clock began alarming for him to wake up, which made him reach for his phone with a tired and half numb hand movement. Looking at the clock, it was 5:50 AM.

"Phew, I thought I overslept for a moment." said Mathias while closing the alarm on his phone clock.

Looking at his cracked old phone, he walked to the bathroom, showering and preparing himself for a new working day. Drying and combing his long hair, he changed his clothes and looked again at the clock on his phone, which showed the clock being 6:15.

Nodding his head, he placed some cheap salami slices on some white bread, packing it up with some white napkins before taking off to his job.

When walking out of the apartment, he saw nothing going on, such as the media or anything of that sort. After some minutes of walking out of the neighbourhood and arriving at the metro station, he began his commute with the rest of the rushed working people.

Looking at the clock as he exited from the metro station, he saw that he still had 20 minutes before his shift started.

Lucky for him, his job as a hotel cleaner was close to the central part of the city, around the old town. Moving quickly around the people, he arrived in time at the hotel he worked, even meeting some of his coworkers, primarily girls.

Greeting them, he walked toward the worker's dressing room and took the hotel's uniform. After changing himself in his working clothes, he walked toward the male receptionist, who also seemed to have just arrived.

"Do you know where I can find the manager?"

"Lady Leonor? ... Right, she's in the staff room."

"Thank you, if you need any help, call me, and I'll help." ended Mathias saying while moving toward the staff room.

Entering inside the room, he saw a mature lady who looked to be around 30 or more years old drinking some coffee. She turned her head and asked Mathias.

"What's the problem, Mathias? Do you need the keys for the rooms you have to clean?"

"Yes, madam, you know the procedures. I can't just simply go to each room at random."

"Correct.  Go to Alex and ask him for the rooms on this list. When you're done cleaning, you can help at the bar with the serving."

"I understand. Thank you, madam."

Mathias nodded his head while moving to the equipment room after taking a set of keys from the receptionist Alex while taking his cleaning cart full of clean towels and cleaning equipment.

"Such a hard-working kid. It's already been 1 year, and he didn't even complain about his wage or working load." said the manager after Mathias left the staff room.

Mathias began his working day, bringing the cleaning cart in all the rooms he had to clean. Time passed, and the clock already showed that it was 11:50 AM.

After taking his break and eating what he prepared himself at home. In those moments of break time, in what seemed a dull moment in anyone's working life, his telephone suddenly started ringing with a number unknown to him, as if the person calling was from overseas.

Responding to the phone, while finishing his sandwich bite, he heard the voice of a woman with a weird English accent saying to him.

"Hello mister Mathias Dumitrescu. This is Yeon Baek from the S.A. Group calling you concerning your appliance for Beta Access. Can you confirm that I am talking with the right person?"

Coughing a bit while listening to this Korean lady talk in English with him, he said to her in an English that had a slight bit of an Eastern European accent, or how most people call it the "Russian accent".

"This is Mathias Dumitrescu speaking with you."

"Understood. Sir to not lengthy the call, I hope you've read the procedure on the website. We confirm your beta access application, but before that, to fully complete this step, you'll have to sign the contract we sent you in your email and also deposit the money for the V.R. equipment that we will send to your address in the following weeks."

"That's all correct?"

"Yes, that's all the users have to do."

"Okay, but I seem to have a problem. I don't have access to my laptop right now since I'm at work on my break. However, I will call you again after I'm out of my work time. Does this work, miss? If I may, I got another question related to the first one.

"Sure, sir. Go ahead."

"Do you guys receive internet calls since it's a slight problem for me to call overseas?"

The lady behind the other line giggled a bit before saying to Mathias. "There's absolutely no problem, sir Dumitrescu. You are worrying over nothing, yet know that our program has been messy since this beta announcement, so probably there will be another colleague of mine taking over the customer service for Europe Region."

"You guys seem short-staffed. . Well, not part of my cake, so take care miss."

"Thank you for your time, sir." replied the woman with marks of tiredness in her voice.

.

Ending the phone and looking at his clock that showed 12:05, he said to himself.

"Wait what? I only have 5 minutes of break. That's bad, I didn't even manage to eat my sandwich."