The year is 2026, Solvang, California.
Sunlight radiated through the windows of the Elysium headquarters. In its cool stillness, rows of metallic pods lined the floor.
Elysium is a virtual reality laboratory. Founded by a business magnate named Ursula Von Der Leyen III, they cracked the code on full sensory immersion. Furthermore, they achieved total sensory integration with their "Elysian Enclave" that promised a full-body experience where the virtual felt real.
The previous model, the Enclave Mk. I, had garnered a cult following for its realism. Players could feel the wind whipping through their virtual hair, as well as the coolness of digital rain on their skin. But there was a critical absence: pain.
Without the sting of a virtual scrape or the ache of a virtual blow, the world felt incomplete. So, Elysium had taken the next, controversial step: integrating a reasonable pain response.
It wouldn't be crippling, just a slight discomfort that would heighten the experience. Enough to make a virtual punch feel like a playful nudge or a fall from a virtual cliff. Enough, they argued, to bridge the gap between the real and the unreal.
"And how do you expect the public to feel about this?" a news anchor asked Ursula inside a private room within Elysium's HQ.
"Well," she said, "we're still in the testing phase. Hence the reason why we've chosen seven lottery winners across the world to be the first participants."
The screen showed the names of the seven winners. They were the pioneers, the first who would enter a world of consequence. Nothing life-threatening, everyone believed, but challenging enough to highlight the capabilities of the Enclave Mk. II before its official release.
"I sure would love to be one of those seven," the news anchor laughed. "Tell us, did you get a chance to speak to any of these winners?"
"Not yet," she responded with a hint of amusement. "I reviewed their background, however, and found them to be more than exemplary."
"Anyone in particular we all should know about?"
"All of them are—"
A television screen abruptly shut off elsewhere.
In a neatly organized apartment, Arthur Bennett rose from the couch.
A golden lottery ticket lay across his coffee table. That's right: he was one of those seven winners. And today was the day, the day in which he would travel to Elysium and become one of the first to test out their latest invention.
But how did he win exactly?
Arthur Bennett was born with a bible tucked under his arm. Raised in an evangelical household, his childhood was filled with hymns and Sunday school lessons.
Morality was hammered into him by his stern father and loving mother. Their values seeped into his heart, shaping him into a man of unwavering principles without the free-wheeling, self-indulgent world he observed as he grew into adulthood.
He was by no means naïve to the dangers of this world.
A slick-talking scammer once fleeced his mother with false promises of new cookware sets, and a money-hungry tycoon had once run his father's store out of business.
Arthur's own first attempt at literary fame for a novel titled "Follow Christ" ended up gathering dust in a rejection pile. Perhaps the biggest betrayal was when his college sweetheart, the girl he imagined walking down the aisle with, left him for a wealthier classmate.
Each experience chipped away at his trust, leaving behind a calloused cynicism. But he, unlike many, didn't succumb to bitterness. He clung to his faith and drew strength from the teachings of Jesus Christ, his Lord and Saviour.
He prayed for wisdom and for the ability to navigate the complexities of the world without compromising his values.
Arthur's own personality is quite complex.
During university, he created his own persona—sometimes appearing cold and calculative, other times brimming with warmth and charm—depending on the situation. He saw these masks as tools necessary to reach an audience increasingly desensitized to traditional preaching.
His cynicism, however, did not translate into a lack of empathy; he understood the temptations this world had to offer. Hence why he himself harboured no desire for fame or riches.
His true desire was, and always would be, to spread the gospel while offering hope and redemption to a world that desperately needed both.
People could never quite decipher his actions. Yet they couldn't deny that his convictions and his dedication to his cause earned him their grudging respect, even from those who found his faith intolerable.
The time Elysium publicly made their announcement that they would be sending out golden tickets to seven fortunate people that wanted to test out their latest invention, Arthur jumped at the chance, sent in his application, and then prayed to Christ to win one of those tickets.
Because he prayed and believed that he would win, the day they declared the winners, his name miraculously popped up on the screen for everyone to see.
He didn't quite know who the other seven were. But details like that weren't important to him. He had won; he had actually won!
The rest was easy to understand: Elysium mailed him his ticket in a special envelope, as well as gave him the instructions to follow up with things. Truth be told, he had received his ticket so late that today was the day he was supposed to leave.
Thankfully, his home was only a couple hours away.
Exiting the driveway in his vehicle, he drove on the streets to where Elysium was.
The California sun glinted off the building's mirrored exterior, making it look like a monolithic mirage in the heat haze. This wasn't a place he was used to frequenting; these gleaming towers of innovation compared to the church he regularly attended. Yet here he was, a born again Christian about to delve into the heart of a technological revolution.
Stepping out of his car, he walked towards the front entrance. A young security guard approached him with a polite smile. "How can I help you, sir?"
Arthur simply pulled out his golden ticket, prompting the guard to let out an awkward chuckle.
"Ah! One of the winners. We've been expecting you. Your name?"
"Arthur Bennett."
"Welcome to Elysium, Mr. Bennett. Please follow me."
After verifying the ticket was real inside, the guard escorted him through a sterile lobby. Every surface gleamed as they passed a large holographic display showcasing the previous Elysian Enclave model.
Arthur had read about its newer version, how it would supposedly take the world by storm. But he also felt strange due to there being a lack of public awareness.
Finally, they reached the security checkpoint. The guard scanned his identification, and a fax machine printed his papers.
"Alright, Mr. Bennett, you're all set. Dr. Kapoor, our VP, is expecting you in testing room one on floor eighty."
Arthur offered a simple nod as he stepped into an elevator and ascended to the top floor. It wasn't long until he walked down a long hallway before eventually stepping in front of a door labeled "Testing Room 1".
After one knock, the door opened, and he walked into a brightly lit room staffed by technicians in lab coats.
A woman, tall and impeccably dressed with a nametag reading "Dr. Kapoor" pinned to her lab coat, turned toward him with a bright smile. "Mr. Bennett? So glad you could make it! But why are you so late?"
Arthur apologized, stating that he had received his ticket only a few hours ago in the mail.
Hearing that made Dr. Kapoor's smile falter for a moment. She blinked in disbelief, saying, "You… you got late mail?"
"I did," he replied, rubbing his head. "I guess there was a delay in the post office."
Dr. Kapoor cleared her throat as she said, "Well, you're here now, thankfully. Hundreds of millions entered the lottery, and..." she paused, searching his face, "you don't seem too excited."
"I'm actually very grateful for the opportunity, doc."
"Right..." she said, giving him a strange look. "Let's get you into the waiting room with the other winners."
Arthur followed Dr. Kapoor as his gaze swept across the technology around him.
Wires snaked across the chrome surfaces as expensive equipment buzzed. In the center of the chamber were seven sleek pods that looked like something straight out of a science fiction movie. These, he presumed, were the Enclave Mk. IIs.
The two soon reached the doorway for Dr. Kapoor to usher him inside.
Six people were already present in this fancy room filled with vintage furniture. Some sat on the leather couches arranged in a circle; some fidgeted with nervous energy, while others exchanged whispers.
"Everyone, this is Mr. Arthur Bennett, our final participant."
When they heard Dr. Kapoor's announcement, all heads turned to Arthur. Each had mixed expressions of either annoyance, curiosity, or just plain uninterest. He returned their gazes with a practiced smile.
A woman with red hair scoffed, "Finally! We've been waiting here for ages."
"Calm yourself, Ms. Campbell," Dr. Kapoor said.
Before Arthur could identify who this girl was, a man in a designer suit and an expensive Rolex watch rolled his eyes, saying, "Seriously? You couldn't even get here on time? I mean, it's not like this isn't some scientific breakthrough."
Sarcasm, Arthur knew. He remained unfazed, knowing that winning this lottery was a coup, a chance to be on the bleeding edge of technology despite apparently holding things up by being late.
Still, that didn't stop his calm demeanour from standing out with an apologetic smile.
Dr. Kapoor soon cleared her throat to say, "Alright, everyone. Now that Mr. Bennett is here, we can proceed. Please take a moment to review the terms and conditions. Once you all sign some legal documents, we can move on to the next step."
"Yeah… I'm gonna need my lawyer for this one," the man wearing the designer suit said.
"You know the rules at Elysium, Mr. Reza," Dr. Kapoor smiled with widened eyes.
The man named Mr. Reza snickered before turning his head. Reza? Arthur vaguely recalled that name. It sounded important, but he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it from.
With that, Dr. Kapoor brought everyone their own stacks of paper before excusing herself out of the room.
Arthur sat down by himself at an empty corner. He began scanning the legalese until a voice broke the silence: "Hi there." He looked up to see a young man with cropped black hair and a radiant smile extending a hand. "I'm Alex, Alexander Costa, from Portugal."
Arthur shook his hand, choosing not to return Alex's warm smile. "Arthur Bennett. Nice to meet you."
A blonde woman across the room hopped from the couch and joined them, saying, "I'm Jada Schmidt, from Germany." Her voice was a tad bubbly and very soft. "Don't take offense to that grumpy guy over there," she added, gesturing toward Mr. Reza.
"None taken…"
"He's Jasper Reza," Alex smirked, rolling his eyes. "Heir to the Reza Group in Persia. Thinks the world revolves around his family's oil money."
Just then, Jasper slammed his pen down, saying with a sharp voice, "My family may have oil money, but they also have manners. Speak about me in private, not in front of the latecomer."
Arthur chose to ignore the outburst. Turning back to Alex and Jada, he stated where he was born and raised: "Oakland, Cali, but my family's originally from Mexico."
"Can you speak Spanish?" Alex asked with glee.
"A little, but Portuguese and Spanish are kind of different, so I've been told."
Alex couldn't help but laugh.
"So, what made you want to enter the contest?" Jada softly asked.
"To be fair," Arthur revealed, "I prayed after I applied just to see if this was the path I should be one."
Alex's eyes widened with perplexity as he said, "Wait! Just to see?!"
The look in Jada's eyes hinted at curiosity, but before she could ask anything, another voice cut in, saying, "You're the religious type." Arthur looked up to see a young woman with long brown hair and very tan skin. "Alice Dubois, from France."
"It's not religion," he replied.
"Right, right," Alice chuckled. "I forgot that Christianity and being a Christian are two different things."
Arthur was now confused. How did she know he was a Christian?
"There she goes again," a voice said from across the room. It was that redhead Dr. Kapoor called "Ms. Campbell." She looked to be the only teenager here. "Alice stalked all of the winners after finding out who we were by name."
"It's not stalking; it's doing a quick background check on my competition," Alice tried to defend.
"But it's an experiment," said the remaining man. William Rodriguez from Argentina. He was older than the rest, sporting a neatly trimmed beard and glasses that perched precariously on his nose. "It's not like we're competing against each other or anything; we're just testers."
"Oh come on," Alice said. "You really think a multi-billion dollar company couldn't just use their own employees as testers?"
"She has a point," Alex smiled.
All that told Arthur was that he should try and treat this like a fair game. At least, if he wanted to become famous for it.
Alex and Jada eventually returned to signing their documents in private. Some moments later, a sense of finality settled over Arthur as he scribbled his signature on the last page. Much of what he signed were liability waivers, data collection agreements, and disclaimers about unforeseen consequences within the virtual world they were all going to enter.
Most of it was standard, but a few sections raised his eyebrows. They were strangely specific, asking for Arthur's dietary preferences, sleep habits, and even his favourite kind of music.
"Is all this really necessary?" Jasper asked, thinking out loud.
"Well, duh," Alice answered. "The more they know about you, the more immersive the experience will be."
"No one asked you," Jasper shot back with an amorous look. "But since you're so cute, I'll let it slide this once."
This earned him a knowing look from Alice.
Arthur considered Alice's statement. It did make sense, in a way. A truly personal virtual experience could be groundbreaking. Still, the level of detail felt intrusive. He shrugged it off and went back to a peculiar question he had refused to answer.
'Are you familiar with the fictional narrative titled 'Naruto'?'
Below it was a simple checkbox.
Arthur frowned. Why would an innovative VR experiment care about a two-decade-old Japanese anime show?
Regardless, Arthur turned to the first page, leaving the checkbox blank.