Questing for Reality

Questing for Reality

A Ready Player One inspired RP

A world in ruins.
A people who spurn the real and live in the virtual.
A Quest grounded in both worlds, imagined by a dying woman.

It is 2043 now and the world is falling into ruin.  Climate change has happened, it no longer matters whether it was man made as most believe or whether it was a 'natural' occurrence; the fact of the matter is that it has happened.  Many places are too hot to properly sustain human, or other, life.  Water levels have risen drastically and the weather itself has become more extreme with hurricanes, floods and droughts far more common than before.

The unpredictable nature of the weather, and the new extremity of it, have posed serious challenges to the world economy and it has stagnated for decades.  Inequality is through the roof with the masses consigned to abject poverty, although the Western world is slightly better off.  No longer having the wealth and authority to impose a complete rule of law the governing elites content themselves to reside in their capitals and prevent outright rebellions; by and large the whole world has settled into a depressed acceptance of the ruinous situation humanity has consigned itself to.

Perhaps this acceptance of their fate, of the disastrous state of the world, is accepted because of the rise in Virtual Reality.  As the world headed into its biggest and longest down turn, advances in technology for VR rushed ahead in leaps and bounds until one company released something that could truly be called a Virtual Reality with an operating system, hardware and accessories to enter it with.  By the early '20s (the new '20s, not the 1920s) VR machines were sold wholesale, televisions were a thing of the past.  Bulky desktop computers, laptops and gaming consoles died out and were replaced by simple devices the size of a paperback book, capable of operating VR which overran all previous operating systems.

Accessories for interacting with VR became numerous, from simple haptic gloves and visors (the basic tools, evolutions of the bulky goggles and awkward controllers used by pioneers of VR) to full body haptic suits and even rooms designed to completely immerse oneself within the virtual world.  Thanks to government schemes promoting VR for educational and health uses (it was cheaper to teach kids in a virtual world rather than maintain expensive school buildings and the same for hospitals unless necessary) most anyone could get access to VR.  Those with a bit more in their pocket could shell out for the higher end tools.

All in all, the virtual world became a better place to go to than the real and so the human race spent more and more time in it.  Whether they were working, sitting in virtual offices or controlling machines in a factory from the other side of the world, or spending their time in impossibly epic worlds for recreation; it was all preferable to stepping out of your front door.

Instead, you merely wake up and have something to eat and then log into the Homeworld; the central hub of virtual reality which spans the entire Earth as it was.  Or perhaps how it should have been.  The cities still stand tall but the sky is still blue, the weather is pleasant and the seas haven't risen so high that entire landmasses are under threat.  From this Homeworld you can find a much nicer home than your own, go to virtual clubs and casinos that are far grander than anything in the real world.  If you must, you go to work in a virtual office. Or you can be a little more adventurous and enter one of the thousands of other, fandom inspired, worlds which branch off of Homeworld.

It has been two decades since we, as a race, have fallen into the virtual world and not returned.  The creators of the Virtual Reality are a company who have, perhaps egotistically and not without opposition, rebranded themselves simply to Virtual Reality control the market completely.  No unlicensed third party accessories or machines work with their system and anyone who tries and is caught attempting to use such a device will be banned for life, something akin to a death sentence now.  They are perhaps the single largest company in the world and own most of the major Internet Service Providers in most countries, having bought them out to provide access to the only thing that matters: the Virtual Reality.

Its CEO, a woman named Helen Grey, founded the company and was heavily involved in designing VR as it exists now rather than just overseeing its production.  Now elderly with a board of directors keen to push her out and have someone younger, and more malleable, Helen has decided on a way to elect her successor.  Bound by a contract that only enables her to veto the directors' efforts rather than lead the company in a direction of her choosing, Helen has maintained the status quo.  Despite numerous efforts, VR is still free to use if one has access to the hardware and accessories needed to run it.

A gamer in her youth, and privately since, Helen came up with the idea for The Quest after reading Ernest Cline's Ready Player One. a book first published in 2011 with a film released in 2018.  Instructing her lawyers to find, or make, a loophole in the company's processes, Helen designed a contest, the winner of which takes her role as head of the most powerful, and wealthy, company in the world but without the constricting contract which has bound her.

February 12, 2045

Two years have passed since Helen Seymour first announced 'The Quest'.  

She sent out a short video message, recorded in the real world before being uploaded to the Virtual Reality and posted to every single users' personal inbox.  Sitting in a sparse office behind a hard oak desk, one more suited for a professor's office than that of the world's most influential boss, she spoke to a webcam.  On the top of the desk was a golden plaque engraved with her name and a photo frame although it was turned around to face her so whatever it depicted was a mystery.

She appeared as a pale woman with dark, straight hair.  Although it was hard to tell from the video as she remained behind the desk throughout, she was a tall woman standing at nearly six foot tall with a lithe frame.  She was wearing a black pantsuit and wore light makeup, as if she were about to go to a meeting.  Very businesslike.

"Hello, everyone in the world.  I am Helen Grey, founder and CEO of Virtual Reality.  Today I am announcing that I have contracted a terminal illness and am not long for this world.  It is not in my nature to turn to theatrics or to make a big thing out of a personal issue, however this will have ramifications for all of you."

She gestured to her right and some, clearly edited in, boxes with titles like "Proposal for Monthly Subscription" appeared, all the way down  below the bottom of the video window.

"These are just a few of the plans this company's board has attempted to slip in which I have vetoed.  When I created the Virtual Reality I wanted it to be something that anyone could access but now most of the board no longer share my views and wish to monetise it, making it unavailable for many of you.  In turn, I was slapped with a contract which has prevented me using Virtual Reality's vast resources to launch any initiatives which would improve our current situation.  For the last two decades we have existed in this stalemate but now a time has come where this must change."

She flicked her hand and the list of boxes disappeared, swiping away to the side and off the screen.  Then she reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out a well read copy of Ready Player One for the viewer to see.

"Normally, the board would elect their own choice for CEO and their choice would undoubtedly be someone who shares their vision.  I am unable, even with my controlling share of the company, to elect my own successor by normal means, however this book gave me inspiration for a solution to this problem.  In this, a man in a similar situation to myself leaves his inheritance to the winner of a game he sets up within the virtual world he created." She looks up at the camera and smiles, the first real one in the entire video; it has a childish glee to it and there is an excited shine in her eye and she speaks more quickly in her excitement.

"I have hidden clues, both within the various worlds within the Virtual Reality as well as the real one.  Each one will lead you to the next until you finally reach the prize which is well hidden and will require you to have found all the previous clues.  Even should I die before someone completes this Quest, no new CEO can be chosen.  There will be some who will try to subvert this contest, using their money and influence to ensure the winner will lead this company in the wrong direction.  I have faith, however, that it will be one of you, an ordinary user of the Virtual Reality who cares deeply for it and understands its importance to everyone across the world, who will complete my Quest."

She puts the book down on the desk and then pulls out a small gun, one used for the starts of races and it is clear what she intends to use it for.

"My personal website has been converted in a scoreboard, showing who is closest to winning the prize.  Using your avatar's name, of course.  The first clue is as follows:"

Bruised and battered I sailed there,
To draw a line upon a Bell,
A stately house now lying bare,
To free us from this Cage of Hell.

The lines of text appear on the screen in flames, most likely in homage to the depiction used in the aforementioned book, and she looks up with an abashed grin.

"I never was a poet or a riddlesmith so forgive how clunky it is.  Now, game... start!"  She pulls the trigger on the gun, a brief bang and the video ends.

I think it goes without saying that the characters in this RP will be those seeking to find the prize. One of the requirements to receive the first prize is to be aged over eighteen so all characters will be over that age (probably in early 20s).

Other rules are fairly standardised to RPG: GM's word is law etc etc.

I'm looking for about four other players besides myself and, as you can see, there is a relatively clear plot planned for this RP although it may well veer wildly about depending whether people can guess the answer before I begin to steer the story along!

Updates as I think of them:
14th March: So I realised that the type of virtual reality in this was pretty vague in my earlier explanation.  Homeworld is a (mostly) non PvP world that is a meticulous recreation of Earth, perhaps a little airbrushed in places, but nonetheless accurate.  From this world one can enter numerous other worlds, largely based on fandoms (Middle Earth, Whedonverse, Star Wars, Star Trek etc etc).  Within those worlds different rules would apply (So no magic in Star Trek but no advanced technology in Middle Earth).  The portals to these worlds are either from major cities (chargeable) on Homeworld, from guild/clan HQs (free but cost said group a lot to maintain) or a personal one situated in the personal, in-game residence (again, expensive to maintain but free to use).

We may enter some of these worlds, I haven't decided yet.  Instead, we may enter generic medieval worlds (for example) so that those not familiar with a particular franchise aren't confused or feel left out.  This will largely depend upon who ends up joining the RP.
Jinxer The British One

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jynmi88 The adventurer

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