QWERTY1

I awoke suddenly, with a system message right before my eyes. It didn’t provide me much information. I was level 1, had a whopping 10 hitpoints. 0 mana. 10 stamina. I was a commoner, whatever that meant. Lastly, it called me human. The idea that I could have been something else was mildly amusing. I waved away this information, somehow instinctively knowing the gesture to make the information leave my vision. I sat up in my bed, realizing for the first time, that I was not alone. I was laying in a room that looked like some old orphanage. 20 beds were lining the walls, half of them occupied with men or women. Everyone appeared to be in their late teens, and all were asleep. I alone sat there, taking in my surroundings. I rolled myself out of bed and stood up. I wasn’t dressed in pajamas. Rather I was wearing a rudimentary tunic and loose-fitting pants. I also noted that I was sleeping with my shoes on. These shoes were more like thick socks, offering very little in the way of protection from anything I might step on. As I stood up, I noticed that I had to use the restroom. I worked my way to the single door in the room, which lead to a hallway. It didn’t take much exploring to find a nearby restroom. After relieving myself, I made to continue my exploration, only to be met in the hall by a y*ung girl, who quickly scampered off yelling, “Mom, one of the zombies wandered into the bathroom. I think I heard it flush.” Thinking how odd, and perhaps mildly insulting, it was to be called a zombie, and ‘it’ for that matter, I followed the retreating child down the hall toward a staircase leading to a lower floor. Almost there, motion caught my eye from an open door to my left. I stopped my pursuit to investigate. What I saw solved one mystery. Another ‘zombie’ was in this room walking into a wall over and over, doing some sort of low grunting as she repeatedly tried to move forward through the wall. I filed this information away and continued down the stairs, hoping to find this person called Mom. Walking into the lower floor, I entered what could best be described as the restaurant portion of a bed and breakfast. A rather large woman with her hair in a bun and an apron around her waist stood in the kitchen, appearing to be working several pans at once, while the y*ung girl tried to grab a slice of toast behind her back. The dining hall had at least 7 tables, a few of which were occupied by various people eating what appeared to be breakfast. “Stop that and wait until y*ur breakfast is done, Anna”, she started, noticing me as I started to navigate tables on a path to the kitchen, “And walk Ken back upstairs. Y*u know better.” “Am I supposed to be Ken?”, I grunted, having just tried my voice out for the first time. This caused everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and stare blankly at me. Anna grinned triumphantly and exclaimed, “See! I told y*u he went to the bathroom!” Not getting any other response, I continued, “I’d really love to know what's going on”, and as an afterthought, “And some bacon if it isn’t too much trouble.” A short while later, I found myself seated at one of the tables, enjoying what had to have been the most delicious bacon and eggs I could remember ever having eaten. The smell had been mouth-watering but the taste of the food was out of this world if this world was indeed still the world as I knew it. The system menu was definitely different, and I was pretty sure, bacon and eggs didn't have stats and ‘Created by Phillis” last time I checked. “So, what do y*u remember”, Phillis gently asked me as I slathered some strawberry preserves on some fresh toast. “I remember waking up and being level 1. I don’t recall anything before that”, I answered truthfully. Phillis has a soft expression on her face as she collected herself as if to give bad news, “So this world is called Tierra. The village outside is called Homestead. It’s a special village because players cannot access it. We are called cast members. We live here and raise families, but we work by playing characters in a story in various player towns and cities. We make a living by offering them quests and teaching them various professions. Y*u are not exactly a player or a cast member.” “Y*u are a zombie!”, Anna supplied helpfully. Phillis spoke exasperatedly, “Honey, don’t y*u have chores to do?” “But mom, that’s what y*u always call...”, Anna started before being cut off by a look given by her mother that kids around the world know and fear. As Anna trudged away, Phillis returned her attention to me, “As for what to call y*u, I am not very sure. Y*ur kind started showing up here a few years ago and up until now y*u’ve all acted like...”, she trailed off. “Zombies?”, I supplied helpfully. “Exactly”, she heaved a sigh, continuing, “Y*u appear as players do. Y*u show up dressed in their first outfits. Y*u identify as a player, but y*u only appear here, in a place where players can’t go. We have experimented, and y*u can leave this village as well as return to it. Y*u also respawn here if y*u die. Don’t ask me how we tested that one.” I cut her off, “What do y*u mean, ‘if I die”? She waved off my concern with an explanation, “Death in this world is not permanent. Both players and cast members come back if they die. This is called respawning. Players suffer a death penalty after level 10. They lose experience points and are weakened. Cast members don’t have any such penalties, and can only be killed in certain situations. If any of us die, we reappear back here. However, if the gods decide we are no longer useful, we are deleted, which is worse than death. “ I sat there for a few minutes, chewing on a piece of bacon and enjoying the flavor as I took all of this in. “Y*u called me Ken?” “Y*u didn’t exactly come with names, so we named y*u all. Y*u are Ken”, Phillis said matter of factly. I rubbed my chin, “So, what do I do now?” “For now, how about y*u get accustomed to Homestead. Go outside, enjoy the day. Come back here when y*u get hungry and I’ll make y*u lunch.” This marked the beginning of an adventure in a world that would come to redefine my whole life. My second chance I awoke suddenly, with a system message right before my eyes. It didn’t provide me much information. I was level 1, had a whopping 10 hitpoints. 0 mana. 10 stamina. I was a commoner, whatever that meant. Lastly, it called me human. The idea that I could have been something else was mildly amusing. I waved away this information, somehow instinctively knowing the gesture to make the information leave my vision. I sat up in my bed, realizing for the first time, that I was not alone. I was laying in a room that looked like some old orphanage. 20 beds were lining the walls, half of them occupied with men or women. Everyone appeared to be in their late teens, and all were asleep. I alone sat there, taking in my surroundings. I rolled myself out of bed and stood up. I wasn’t dressed in pajamas. Rather I was wearing a rudimentary tunic and loose-fitting pants. I also noted that I was sleeping with my shoes on. These shoes were more like thick socks, offering very little in the way of protection from anything I might step on. As I stood up, I noticed that I had to use the restroom. I worked my way to the single door in the room, which lead to a hallway. It didn’t take much exploring to find a nearby restroom. After relieving myself, I made to continue my exploration, only to be met in the hall by a y*ung girl, who quickly scampered off yelling, “Mom, one of the zombies wandered into the bathroom. I think I heard it flush.” Thinking how odd, and perhaps mildly insulting, it was to be called a zombie, and ‘it’ for that matter, I followed the retreating child down the hall toward a staircase leading to a lower floor. Almost there, motion caught my eye from an open door to my left. I stopped my pursuit to investigate. What I saw solved one mystery. Another ‘zombie’ was in this room walking into a wall over and over, doing some sort of low grunting as she repeatedly tried to move forward through the wall. I filed this information away and continued down the stairs, hoping to find this person called Mom. Walking into the lower floor, I entered what could best be described as the restaurant portion of a bed and breakfast. A rather large woman with her hair in a bun and an apron around her waist stood in the kitchen, appearing to be working several pans at once, while the y*ung girl tried to grab a slice of toast behind her back. The dining hall had at least 7 tables, a few of which were occupied by various people eating what appeared to be breakfast. “Stop that and wait until y*ur breakfast is done, Anna”, she started, noticing me as I started to navigate tables on a path to the kitchen, “And walk Ken back upstairs. Y*u know better.” “Am I supposed to be Ken?”, I grunted, having just tried my voice out for the first time. This caused everyone in the room to stop what they were doing and stare blankly at me. Anna grinned triumphantly and exclaimed, “See! I told y*u he went to the bathroom!” Not getting any other response, I continued, “I’d really love to know what's going on”, and as an afterthought, “And some bacon if it isn’t too much trouble.” A short while later, I found myself seated at one of the tables, enjoying what had to have been the most delicious bacon and eggs I could remember ever having eaten. The smell had been mouth-watering but the taste of the food was out of this world if this world was indeed still the world as I knew it. The system menu was definitely different, and I was pretty sure, bacon and eggs didn't have stats and ‘Created by Phillis” last time I checked. “So, what do y*u remember”, Phillis gently asked me as I slathered some strawberry preserves on some fresh toast. “I remember waking up and being level 1. I don’t recall anything before that”, I answered truthfully. Phillis has a soft expression on her face as she collected herself as if to give bad news, “So this world is called Tierra. The village outside is called Homestead. It’s a special village because players cannot access it. We are called cast members. We live here and raise families, but we work by playing characters in a story in various player towns and cities. We make a living by offering them quests and teaching them various professions. Y*u are not exactly a player or a cast member.” “Y*u are a zombie!”, Anna supplied helpfully. Phillis spoke exasperatedly, “Honey, don’t y*u have chores to do?” “But mom, that’s what y*u always call...”, Anna started before being cut off by a look given by her mother that kids around the world know and fear. As Anna trudged away, Phillis returned her attention to me, “As for what to call y*u, I am not very sure. Y*ur kind started showing up here a few years ago and up until now y*u’ve all acted like...”, she trailed off. “Zombies?”, I supplied helpfully. “Exactly”, she heaved a sigh, continuing, “Y*u appear as players do. Y*u show up dressed in their first outfits. Y*u identify as a player, but y*u only appear here, in a place where players can’t go. We have experimented, and y*u can leave this village as well as return to it. Y*u also respawn here if y*u die. Don’t ask me how we tested that one.” I cut her off, “What do y*u mean, ‘if I die”? She waved off my concern with an explanation, “Death in this world is not permanent. Both players and cast members come back if they die. This is called respawning. Players suffer a death penalty after level 10. They lose experience points and are weakened. Cast members don’t have any such penalties, and can only be killed in certain situations. If any of us die, we reappear back here. However, if the gods decide we are no longer useful, we are deleted, which is worse than death. “ I sat there for a few minutes, chewing on a piece of bacon and enjoying the flavor as I took all of this in. “Y*u called me Ken?” “Y*u didn’t exactly come with names, so we named y*u all. Y*u are Ken”, Phillis said matter of factly. I rubbed my chin, “So, what do I do now?” “For now, how about y*u get accustomed to Homestead. Go outside, enjoy the day. Come back here when y*u get hungry and I’ll make y*u lunch.” This marked the beginning of an adventure in a world that would come to redefine my whole life. My second chance