Jolt

I awoke from a dream. My eyes move trying adjust to the day light until they finally remain open. My body lays still, facing my apartment ceiling. I’m still feeling a little sleepy, as has become common, I didn’t get the best sleep. “It’s okay if I drift to sleep again” I think to myself. No one expects me anywhere today, and no one is around either.

After a while, my sleepiness fades and my hunger strengthens. I get up to eat. While eating I start to think about the current computer game I’m playing, how I’m in the last levels of the game. Getting all excited to play the game again, I rush eating.

After eating I go to my computer. A place I’ve been spending a lot of time these days. I start the game I was so excited about, but today the excitement was better than the joy I got while playing it. It wasn't boring but not fun either. It’s like I was in the mood for something else, but i don't know what.

I exit the game. I get up from my chair disappointed. Time has now seemed to slow, there’s an uncomfortable silence. I look around to see how else to pass time.

The window catches my eye “I guess I’ll stare at the view outside, see the world change” I think to myself. I start to head there, having nothing better to do.

I’m about to get to the window when the pinky on my foot crashes into something cushy, lightly kicking it away. I look down to see what it is. It’s a worn, surprisingly holding together package, it has many small rips and smudges, no doubt its had a long journey. Axel, my name printed on a smudged sticker starting to peel and tear. I’d laid this package aside and forgotten about it.

Not long ago while I sought out happiness to fill the void inside, shopping was one place I explored. Many products promised happiness. This was one of them. I bought it from a late night foreign TV ad. The ad promised gaming adventure, inner knowledge and “over hyper realisim” I felt stupid and pathetic after buying it. I don’t expect much, maybe temporary happiness, a small distraction just like what I got with the rest of the products I bought.

I reach down and get the brick size package, “pretty light” is the first thing that comes to mind, then “light=cheap”. My expectations get lower and I think about shelving it for a latter time, yet I have nothing better to do. A side that is already half way open gets my attention. “Might as well open it” I think. I wedge my fingers in, peeling the outer layer of plastic revealing the product box.

The box is simple white box, it has some foreign words, and a picture of a white hexagon. It looks designed to open like a shoe box. The simplistic presentation of the box doesn't get me too excited, yet the mysterious hexagon picture peaks my interest. “Is there some sort of hexagon inside, what would I do with such a thing” I ponder, hoping to make opening it a little more exciting.

“I’m making too much out of this” I start to think. “Its probably some cheap solid plastic hexagon with some LEDs”. “Those TV ads promise so much yet never come close, what are the chances this will”. “Lower is the chance it delivers more than promised”. “It can’t fix my life”

I start to lift the top cover of the box, ready for another slight disappointment, yet with a glitter of hope in my heart.

A soft white cloth starts to reveal near the edges, then as I lift the top cover more, a black, dazzling crystal like material starting to take a familiar shape. “Its the bottom part of a hexagon” I presume. Sure enough, the more I lift the cover the more of a hexagon is revealed.

Finally with its cover off, I am able to gaze upon the hexagon fully. My mouth opens half way for I am in awe of its beauty. Its fully black, has hand palm size shape, and dazzling geometry like the top of a diamond. It shines like a very expensive jewel.

While gazing upon it, I wondered what it would feel like to touch it. Carefully, I grab it by the edges, lifting it from its base. Its weight is heavier than expected. I examine it more, noticing the thickness is like 2 phones put together and the bottom has a shinny black metal layer with a minuscule hexagon grid printed on.

I place the hexagon on the palm of my left hand, looking deeply into its crystal clear black water like material. I reach with my finger to touch the center. As my finger makes contact with the center, a sudden vibration is emitted, then another, continuing in a heart beat like rhythm. Then, Like the first time you turn on your phone screen, color is ignited in the device’s body.

The hexagon displays a colorful foreign logo, which fades slowly and is replaced by a horizontal bar. “Loading…” reads on the bottom of the bar.

It takes only a couple of seconds for the bar to fill. Then the vibrations stop, the “loading..” Part fades, and in an instant the hexagon’s body is illuminated to a pale, paper like white. “Ready for input” is newly displayed, along with a simple, minimal frames animation instruction to put the device on the temple of the head.

I’ve been taken by the moment, forgetting why I bought this device in the first place. “Didn’t the TV ad say something about this being a game of sorts?” I try to remember. “Maybe its not what it advertised, Perhaps its more of a headphone thing, placed near the ear” I continued to ponder.

Without much more thought, wondering if I would hear anything, I took hold of the device and placed it, metal part first into my head temple. Yet the only sound, and feeling was that of a small, constant vibration that had started, like the sound of a HDD hard drive when its reading and writing memory. Then, I felt pressure on my temple, the hexagon pushing into my skull. Scared, I quickly pulled the device away from my head. The feeling was like pulling a magnet away from metal.

“Error, unable to synchronize with player” the hexagon’s display read. “It wasn’t hurting, maybe I was too hasty to pull it away” I thought. “Its sorta cool that it can attach itself like that” I continued.

“Why not, I have nothing to lose” I thought. Once more, this time more slow and cautious, I grabbed the hexagon, leading it to my head temple. Once again it attached itself like a magnet. Small vibrations returned, almost like the device was thinking.

As the seconds went by the vibrations increased in intensity, until finally they made a sudden stop. The next time I blinked, I was in a different place. Before I could process anything a voice spoke “welcome player, to the world of rebirth”. “Re-birth?…” I answered almost by instinct.