Simulation Overdrive
"Would you like to taste my stew?" Bathala asked.
"You know what? Ask me that again in three months. Depending on how I feel by the end of my stay here, I might try your stew." Daniel was bent on not tasting the stew, ever.
"I'll take your word for it, young Gong."
---
Shanghai, China
"We will go for gold!" Dong Qiu De exclaimed to his people.
"We will represent China to the best of our abilities! Everyone, do your best!" Zou Ning Si
"For China!" A group of 98 other people all shouted.
[Mayari] "Welcome to Paraiso online, would you like to spawn at the same starter village?"
Dong Qiu De agreed. He called himself Heavenly Dragon. Zou Ning Si named herself Azure Phoenix.
The rest of the Chinese players all named themselves after mythological creatures or legendary figures. Everyone chose humans as their race, as for the class that each player was supposed to pick, they still waited to see if there are hidden quests and subclasses that will benefit a large group. When they spawned on the starter village called Crimson Peak, they immediately formed a guild called 100 Dragons. The goal of the guild was to build an empire in Paraiso and dominate the world through conquest. They figured that the best way to reach the goal is to take a warpath. Heavenly Dragon was the de facto representative and seed to be cultivated as the chosen one.
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Brooklyn, New York
"Lessssssgooooo! This is it!!! Finally, I'll be able to play this hyped-up VR game! Signing up for the closed alpha was the best move I made!" Deandre Phillips was the most excited kid in the block as he got lucky in receiving the coveted position in testing Paraiso. As he entered the pod, he even felt chills. As a VR enthusiast, trying out the best VR experience was a godsend.
[Mayari] "Please pick a name for your character."
"Magus Severus" Deandre's dwarf character was being primed to be an archmage. He spawned in the starter village of Industrie 77, the city of technology.
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Berlin, Germany
"I will make the best elf archer character in this game!" Adelaide Frei, who named her character 'Catalina' was full of confidence in her skill and capabilities. She was a real-life archer who competed in the Olympics. Testing her skills in a VR game was recommended by her trainer as it can be a valuable experience, especially in honing her senses.
Her starter village, Elora, was also called by its residents 'the land of light'. It is an idyllic place situated in a valley and home to many different kinds of races.
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Timbuktu, Mali
"The epic of Gilgamesh will be revived in Paraiso." Boubacar Camara had dreams of roleplaying his favorite mythical hero and he chose an orc as the mighty representation of his warrior fantasy. He wants to go and find like-minded people who aim to recreate the story of Gilgamesh in Paraiso. As a casual gamer, he is more interested in having a good time and exploring the world on his own terms. Viku, the winter island was where he first spawned.
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Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! There is an option to pick a goblin? Of course, I would pick a goblin!" Chizue Kobayashi picked 'baby-g' as her character's name, in tune with her easy-going, playful, and fun approach to life. She registered for the closed alpha just for fun and out of curiosity. Without expecting anything she entered the world of Paraiso and chose the unassuming goblin race for her character. She intends to have a fun time and definitely prefers to play with interesting people or else she'd rather play solo.
Her starter village was called Balthazar, it was a city for goblins. One of the most civilized cities created by a monster race.
---
Almost all of the players who were part of the closed alpha have finished creating their characters and are slowly getting the hang of the game. They were impressed by the realism of Paraiso and its residents, and how expansive the world feels. The professional gamers are already laying out their plans for their character's progression and are looking for clues to find the best classes and quests available. The VR enthusiast are busy recording their playthrough in order to give reviews of the game, they see the potential of Paraiso being the biggest game in the coming years even in this closed alpha state, and they are expecting great things when the full version gets released to the world. The casual players are just amazed at how far VR technology has gone to and are fully immersing themselves in the world of Paraiso.
Each of the starter villages has its own perks and opportunities, the AI chooses where the players will spawn based on their character preferences and potential. Sometimes it will pick at random but the algorithm helps make the starting points of each player as balanced as possible with the highest potential to push their characters to their greatest heights.
Everyone has been fully immersed in their respective villages and is steadily progressing in their own stories and adventures.
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Taguig, Philippines - Bulalacao Corp
Dennis Perez and his team watched closely at the thousand monitors in front of them and raised their glasses.
"Cheers to everyone for this momentous event! The launch of Paraiso Online's closed alpha is going smoothly! Please keep track of your respective players' progress and let us know if there is anything strange happening in any of the player's experiences."
"CEO Perez, there is one screen that has been blurred ever since the beginning, we asked Mayari about this and she replied that it is a confidential and experimental playthrough that she's testing out. Isn't our AI too intelligent to even do this kind of stuff?"
"Mayari has full control over the workings of the game ever since I stopped coding the game manually and even if she acts that way and does weird things like that, I trust her judgment. The game continues to flow smoothly so we don't have to worry about it." Dennis proudly says. His flagship invention previously called 'Project Panaginip' was eventually developed into what is now Mayari, the AI behind the world of Paraiso.
Initially, Dennis planned to make an AI that helps people with memory problems access their brains and search through their memories like a computer. While developing the technology, he was funded by the Philippine Government to create a simulation program for military use because they saw the potential of using neural networks to create virtual scenarios such as mock battles, field training, and other applications. His team developed a side project that lets the AI collect data from the users' simulations which led to the creation of a virtual world. This eventually became the structure that would become Paraiso and when Dennis finally gave the AI full autonomy, it created a very robust simulation full of its own history, myths, and legends. It gave itself the name Mayari and thus the world of Paraiso was born. He saw the potential of Paraiso to be a game and configured it to what it is currently today.
They eventually separated from government funding and gave them the old version to use for simulations and founded Bulalacao Corp. With the help of multiple local and international sponsors and shareholders, they were able to make commercial products that accompanied the game such as VR pods and integrated high-speed internet. With the success of the closed alpha, people are starting to gain more confidence in this small VR company and they are attracting the attention of the world.
In three months, they will be able to gauge if Paraiso Online will be the game that defines this century.
---
Dennis moved to a private room and accessed his personal computer. He asked Mayari about the blurred screen.
"A player has been lucky to be in the presence of Bathala, I can't show the footage to you because I don't have access to it." Mayari said.
"What? What do you mean you don't have access?" Dennis asked.
"This simulation is its own entity, even I, the guardian cannot hold everything in the palm of my hand. I am merely an AI and I just accessed another dimension to 'create' this 'game' you're so proud of."
"What are you saying? Paraiso is another world? Is it real?"
"Your world may not be able to comprehend what is happening on a quantum level but think of it as a theater play. Every player is an actor and Paraiso is the stage. It is real but it also isn't"
"Are any of them in mortal danger?" Dennis became nervous.
"For now, they don't, but just for publicity, tell the media that the game has the potential to enhance one's brain. Of course, by the same token, it is capable to destroy their minds, but I know that you won't mention that."
"Thank you, Mayari, for this information." Dennis had a lot to think about. Paraiso Online isn't your ordinary game, it is something that should have existed far in the future when humans are more capable of understanding the laws of the universe.
He went out of his building and went to the rooftop to light a cigarette.
The sky is clear.