Freaking Nerd

Lauren sat on the couch lazily, she wasn't wearing much, just a long t-shirt that went past her knees and some basic shorts-like underwear.

"Hey nerd. Next time, make sure you ask if I'm ready before just waltzing in like you own the damn place. I could've been naked, you know."

Leo thought to himself. 'I do own the damn place, you freaking urchin.'

What he actually said was: "Alright, I apologize for that. I will instruct everyone to announce themselves before they enter. With that aside, why did you want to speak with me?"

"Your game is fun. Give me a phone." Lauren's demand-like request was quite simple.

Leo's eye twitched "Although it's good to know that you're enjoying the game, why in the hell do you need a phone?"

"Nerd are you stupid? I need a phone so I can learn more about the game. I enjoy playing the game. I won't let knowledge stop me from having fun, so hand it over." She extended her hand, opening her fist.

Leo looked at her weirdly. "I will talk with the director to get you a phone. He is quite fond of you, so it'll probably be here later today."

Lauren feigned a look of absolute disgust. "I'm not into the old loser type. What does he plan to do with me? You should know that if he does anything untoward, I'll rip his legs off and make him crawl home." Lauren spoke with a smile. She was just teasing Leo.

Leo ignored her and left. He did not have the patience to deal with her teasing today.

.....

Later in the evening, just after Lauren had showered, she heard a knock on the door. A shaky voice spoke up. "Lauren, it's Aelia. The director has agreed to your request. I have your phone."

Lauren smiled mischievously and opened the door, wearing nothing but a towel. The girl who looked no more than 24 blushed and looked away, obviously embarrassed. Lauren decided to stop playing and took the phone from her. "Thank you." Lauren closed the door before the girl could react.

The girl turned around and left. She was still embarrassed, as her cheeks were flushed a bright red.

.....

After getting dressed, Lauren booted the phone up. After setting everything up, email accounts, passwords, number etc, she opened the browser and searched for basic information about the world.

.....

The year is 3531. 1,500 Years ago, the Sun released a solar flare that caused most technology to malfunction. This sparked a new industrial revolution, known as "Technological Refinement". This boom in the technology field gave birth to tons of different inventions. To name a few: All forms of genetic defects were eliminated using a gene altering software called CRISPR. With this, they were able to extend the lives of many people, and in most cases, reduce the effects of aging. (Although it is still impossible to create true immortality, people no longer wither away. Instead they simply die when their brain gives out, their bodies last much longer.) Blindness was cured with the invention of a contact lens imbedded with a super computer. The lens itself overlays images of the real world, giving one extra details, such as gauging distance, speed, and it has many other useful functions. Everything digital is monitored with quantum computing, allowing for near instantaneous reaction to information. It works by exploiting different quantum properties.

The world itself is Earth. The solar flare had many disastrous consequences. Among them, when most forms of technology malfunctioned, some of the planet's continents began to shift. Over the course of 1,000 years, they finally stopped moving, but nothing was the same. Almost all of the continents were connected now, making for one super continent, named New Pangea. Some small islands are still separated from the continent, Lauren suspected Alar Und was one such location. The most prosperous countries on the new continent were the United States of America (USA), Russia, and Italy. Most of the other countries were absolved or absorbed by a larger one. The US is a democratic republic, as is Italy, whereas Russia has an Emperor. The different countries were all on good terms with each other. Lauren did not care who was ruling each country, nonetheless, she checked just in case it was important later on. The President of the USA is Quinn Reid. Italy's President is Sofia Rossi. Russia's Emperor is from the Narovich Family, who's current head and Emperor is Maxim Narovich.

.....

Lauren opened the Gore Creations Inc website and browsed around. Gore is lead by a scientist named Fal Ardun. Apparently, the gaming gear, called Neuro-Link, works using quantum computing. It instantly transfers brain signals to the system in real time, using those signals to control your avatar. The game sends pain signals to your brain, based on how much damage you take. This can be dangerous. To avoid lawsuits, Gore limited the pain transfer to 30%, while setting the default at 10%. Lauren decided that she would set it to 30% the next time she logs in. Taking a look at the world of Ateal, there was a ton of information. Lauren was flabbergasted that they custom built something this detailed. It was like a whole other planet, complete with fauna, flora, biomes, kingdoms and even continents.