Chapter 1 - Initial Link, Welcome to Deep Space! - Ryuuto

Right, so, since I introduced you to the story, I figured I'd let one of the others start us off, but, apparently they feel like I should at least do the first little nugget, since it'd be a while before you heard from me again.

So, yeah, where were we? Right, it's the day I got my DDM; sunny, warm, Monday, middle of May, knee deep in the first term of my first year in middle school. So, I come home, right? No idea what's going on, just see that the house is kinda quiet. So, just wanting to get a bath and sleep for the night, I take off my shoes at the genkan, or, well, the area where you're meant to leave your shoes when you come inside.

Yeah, so, anyway, I headed upstairs, and just as I stepped inside and turned the light on, all three members of my family jumped out at me, scaring me half to death. Of course, even as they did, my eyes nearly instantly locked onto the shiny, chrome pod in the corner of my room. I had never seen one before, but as soon as it entered my vision, I knew exactly what it was.

"You'll be staying home tomorrow, and attending school in the pod. Go ahead and take it for a spin, get an idea of what it feels like. Oh, and do me a favor and make a stop at Mr. Kunieda's shop at the end of 3rd street. I want to see if you can place our usual order for rice from him while you're using the Machine."

My mom turned on her heel and attempted to usher my father and sister out of the room. My father made a strangled noise of protest, but acquiesced at the look on my mother's face. I stood, stunned as I stared at the thing. There had been no hint that I'd be getting one of these babies any time soon, and the rave reviews had been coming in for weeks, so, naturally, I was fucking pumped.

I had already read enough about the thing to know what to do, so I popped the top and pulled the small, thin neurodes out from a lining on the side. All I had to do is put them on my forehead, lay back, and tell the thing I was ready.

I could feel my pulse thudding in my ears as I pulled the lid of the pod down around me. I felt like I was in a high tech coffin, which was ironic, since it promised the sort of shit that you could only imagine to be like heaven. I mean, a place where you can do damn near anything you want? For most people, this thing might very well be the only thing they spend any time doing.

I sucked in a breath and pulled the handful of neurodes from the inside of the pod, pressing them onto my head, where they stuck, quickly linking with my pulse and getting a base reading of my heart rate and blood pressure. The pod began to glow softly with a verdant green light, bringing a heaviness to my sight that made it hard to keep my eyes open. Just as I felt the pull of sleep drag me into unconsciousness, the green light burst inadvertently brilliant flash, and I found myself in an entirely new place.

An endless expanse of brilliant, sky blue space was wrapped around me, a great sphere of cloudless sky. I floated forward, pushed by some unseen force. As I moved, another figure in the distance began to move as well, slowly floating towards me. We moved in unison straight at one another, and as it closed in on me, I realized it WAS me. A carbon copy of my 12 year old self was floating just a foot from me.

"Welcome to Deep Space! Please take a moment to customize your personal avatar. This avatar will represent you in the many worlds available to you in Deep Space, though please keep in mind that some private worlds and Deep Space's rendition of Earth require that you use the Actualized Avatar, which will show you exactly as you are, with minor changes for accessibility."

A soft, cool, female voice sang out a prerecorded message regarding my avatar. I looked around for the source, but, other than the mirror me, there wasn't a single thing in this space.

I looked at the me in front of me, wondering what I should do to change my avatar, to make it more enjoyable for me to look at. I thought briefly of myself as a girl, and, to my shock, the mirror me's black hair lengthened, the face became softer, and my body shifted to become decidedly more feminine. I stared at it for a moment, a mixture of wonder and discomfort running through me.

I imagined the avatar returning to its original form, and it did, becoming a carbon copy of me once again. I imagined myself older, and the avatar aged by almost 10 years, morphing into a full grown me, longer hair, a much more adult face, and significantly taller. I stared in wonder at him, the DDM had done an incredible job predicting what I'd look like at 22.

I thought that the aged avatar looked great, so I decided that I'd stick with it. It shot forward and pressed against me, merging with me as it pressed closer. After a few seconds, it vanished as it fully merged, leaving me alone in the sky.

"Please wait as we use your location data to determine the best possible starting location for your avatar. Scanning... location noted. Your location is recognized as: Osaka, Japan. Address is recognized as: [Redacted for privacy concerns.] Is this correct?"

"Y-yes." I stuttered, not expecting to be asked a question.

With a flash, I felt myself dropping to the ground. I looked down, seeing the brilliant Osaka cityscape beneath my feet. I could see the tiny forms of people moving along the sidewalk, coming and going just as they did in the real world. I closed my eyes, worried that I might hit a building, or the sidewalk, or, worse, a person, before remembering that no one actually got hurt or killed in Deep Space. My body began to fall more slowly, eventually coming to a float, and resting gently on the sidewalk in a familiar street.

Despite my abrupt arrival into their paths, most of the pedestrians seemed content to steer themselves around me as I stared at the buildings in wonder. It was all so real, absurdly so. As I looked around, a family of 4 landed across the street, on the adjacent sidewalk. This must have been a common occurrence, as most people barely spared them a glance before moving on.

As I gawked, a voice rang out in my head, the same feminine voice that was present in the avatar customization space. It spoke a simple sentence, but that sentence was one that I knew would change my life forever:

"Welcome to the Deep Space rendition of our beautiful and beloved home planet of Earth! Silverheart would like to thank you for your purchase of a Deep Dive Machine, and wholeheartedly welcome you to Deep Space, please enjoy your time here!"