We're all in this virtual space together.
Dubhe

Four identical walls surround you. Nothing entirely harmful ispresent in this virtual space, but it remains to be seen if it is going to staythat way. The walls are bland andsuggest a calmness, but you are on edge none the less. You can try to breakthrough the walls only to end in failure. You are armed with nothing but yourwit.

What do you do?

Heavy footfalls thuddedthrough the steel floors, the only sound the lean man could hear was his heartpounding in his chest and own labored breathing from running for the past halfhour, desperately chasing the small red dot visible on the translucent greenscreen that covered the left half of his face. That silly couple was going tocost him some time, the dot had moved out of his trajectory range when he hadto slow down to avoid hitting them. His red bangs bounced wildly on hisforehead, the rest of his obnoxiously vibrant hair secured tight to his skullby the lime latex that covered the back part of his head and stretched tight tohis neck, the matching gem around his collar pulsing in time with his heartrate. He twisted and turned through corridors and pathways, winding down thepopulated indoor streets, ever in pursuit of that elusive dot. The world wasjust a blur around him, and he cared not where he was going as long as it was inthe direction of his target. He ran until he thought his lungs would burst andthen he ran some more, focus never faltering.

“Goddamn, I must begetting closer,” he panted, emerald eyes glowing feverishly as they flickedback and forth across the screen, absorbed in whatever the device was tellinghim.

Suddenly, the dotblipped out of existence, and a short message in an outdated, pixilated styleflashed across his screen.

Game over, Myos.

He cursed infrustration, throwing his custom headphones to the ground in anger, the staremblem marked piece of technology skidding across the hard floor. He cursedagain, hoping the things weren’t broken again – he’d already had to repair thethings and he loved them too much to trash them and get another pair. Myos soonsunk to the floor next to them, tight, spandex like, orange shirt clinging tohis body from sweat after all the running he had been doing playing the latestalternate reality game that he had downloaded to his advanced head set. Thoughthe plot was very simple - replace and rescue the princess - he was playingagainst all the others on the ship who owned the game. Not only was it a realtime race against the clock, he had to be the first to rescue the princess orelse he would never be able to gain enough points to become a knight rank. Ithad even gotten large enough to where those with extremely high ranks wererumored to be invited into the cities interior – where only those high in thegovernment’s thorny branches had access. The game caught fire quickly, eversince the latest update in virtual reality simulators that made them sleek andcompletely integratable with the computer glasses everyone already owned.Though it was once a technology that had required bulky software and only themost costly of equipment, advances in the entertainment industry made technologieslike AR available to every game company, and even indie game companies couldget their start in alternate reality. Gaming was his life, and he ate up anygame where he could escape his dull surroundings and become the hero of afantastical story. Anything that could wrap him up in a tale of adventureexcited him – especially alternate reality games. He owned all of the newesttechnology, spending his days playing any game he could get his hands on -meaning he didn’t have a job, but working wasn’t really required aboard theAstraia.

Myos leaned against thewall, careful not to jar the sharp shoulder armor that rested on his right arm.Many of his fellow gaming members raised an eyebrow at the strange piece thatdidn’t quite fit with the rest of his appearance, but it was a one of a kindpromotional item he got for beta testing his latest game so damn if he wasn’tgoing to wear it proudly. Placing the headphones back on his head, he finallytook a look around, realizing for the first time he had no idea where he was.The walls were not like those of the residence areas, nor were they the flashyneon of the city sector. Around him was dull chrome walls, thin hallways linedwith doors that all were code protected and made of thick steel. It seemed tobe an area he had never been in before.He stood up, dusting off hisdual colored red and yellow pants and swiping a thumb over the star patch onthe inside of his left knee, making sure that particular area was free of dirt.Habitually twisting the silver ring on his thumb, Myos started to wander downthe hallway he had found himself in.

“It’s by order of herlady, the Empress.”

Myos paused outside ofthe heavily bolted door and pressed close to it, hearing the hushed voices onthe other side and cocking his head to the side, feathery bangs falling intohis face. The Empress? The regal title falls onto his confused ears once againas the group of what he could only assume was high ranking officials continuedto discuss what was probably not meant for his ears. The whole situationreminded him of a covert spy operation and he tried to keep from grinning. No,he had to be professional he told himself and shifted into a more covertposition. Myos tensed, trying to keep as quiet as possible. He had no idea whatwould happen if he was caught in this situation - everything around him seemedideal and perfect and there was really no crime to worry about. No one in hisneighborhood had ever been caught on anything more major than a noisecomplaint, and he had never even seen a prison or jailhouse in all his treksthrough the city space. Crime wasn’t reported in the papers and thereforeneither were criminals - or what happened to them. The young man gulped, athousand horrible executions playing in his head, but something within him toldhim to stay and listen. The hero always had to listen in to covertconversations to get the most vital information right?

“She’s decided. Freewill is no longer necessary for her subjects.”

The eavesdropping boyjerked back. Had he heard right? Myos took a step back, the various belts onhis person rustling against his body as he did so. There was no way this waspossible - life on Astraia had always been peaceful and justly ruled. Sure,there were poorer and richer areas of the ship, but everyone always had theright to do what they wanted, when they wanted, and that was a basic element ofhuman nature that couldn’t be taken away. That was the very foundation of theship’s culture – they were a leisurely society that had no strict rules toadhere to and anyone could do anything they set their mind to. They were thelast remnants of Earth for God’s sake; they were the people of the future. Hisheart began to pound in his chest, blood boiling in anger for this unknownforce that was supposedly their ruler. How dare she decide what was right forhumankind? A scowl formed of Myos’s narrow face, usual bright and energeticfeatures transforming into something more serious. The boy found himselfleaning forward when the voices grew quieter, and cursing when they faded outcompletely. He hoped whoever lay inside hadn’t noticed his presence. Looking atthe layout around him through the map on his thin computer glasses, he hastilyrerouted his headset to connect to that of some sort of monitoring deviceinside the room. He had basic knowledge in hacking – another of his drabbles –but he was only neat enough not to leave a trace, and didn’t particularprioritize cleanliness. It wouldn’t last long before he would be blocked out,but it had to be long enough to get a clear picture of the conversation.Pressing his star marked headphones to his ear, Myos listened intently.

“Our lady says she wantsthe technological lobotamations to begin in a few weeks, starting with herlower generals.”

Technologicallobotamations? Myos pursed his lips. The term was not unfamiliar to him, but itwas from days when humanity was still on Earth. He only knew of what wasglossed over in the history books, and rumors from those who could remembertheir days on Earth. Hundreds of thousands of men and women had the processperformed on them secretly to create vast armies of super soldiers thatlistened to the every command of their general. Many colonies did it before theGreat Plague, and even afterwards in hopes that human test subjects mightsomehow help in creating an antidote for the disease. It was thought that suchatrocities were wiped out, but apparently not. The copper haired boy scowledand continued to listen, though the transmission was getting fuzzy.

“Soon the whole ofhumanity will be under her command. Once her guards have the procedure, therest will be a cakewalk.”

Somebody had to stopthis. No self respecting person would let this continue on. This was the timethe hero would rise up against all odds. The underdog, the everyday boy who hadgreatness thrust into their life. His eye began to sparkle at the idea, and itwas all he could do to keep from jumping in excitement. The call for adventure wasat hand, and Myos was itching to transfer the joy of saving of the world on asmall screen to his everyday monotonous life. Somebody needed to stop this. A hero needed to stop this. And as far ashe knew, he was the only one who knew about the Empress’s plot who was willingto do anything about it.

Well, that settled that.