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My bag was packed. I was ready to go. It was astonishing, the number of things I could wedge into the magic backpack. Its capacity was limited only by the size of the items I could fit in the opening. Unfortunately, that ruled out things like the plasma screen television in the living room. I did manage to fit the computer monitor though, so I wasn’t completely without a means to game.

The original plan was to only take the clothes on my back and pack all of my electronics. It seemed practical. The system had other ideas though.

Bag capacity is at 1%. Would you like to continue packing? Y/N?

So I stuffed clothing, blankets, and other household items in the backpack. It was impossible how much stuff I could fit. A bad habit I had gotten into was speaking to the system. “Computer, how do I fit larger items in the bag?”

Get a bigger bag.

The problem with that plan was that Josef had already gone. He left me with instructions to call for a ride when I was ready. I walked through my house one final time and sighed. It was going to be the last time I saw my home. The bank would surely foreclose in my absence.

It was fine though. I had to look to the future. My adventure was about to begin.

I let out a heavy sigh, disappointed at the sight of the car that pulled up on the street. SIMP Co. lived up to its name once again. They sent an UBER, and not just any UBER. It was a compact car. The driver greeted me before opening the passenger door. The car was a two-seater. “Are you ready to go, sir?”

Taking a final look at my old life, I waved. “Goodbye, Mom and Dad. We had a good run.”

The driver followed my gaze as I climbed into the tiny car. “First time away from home, eh? Don’t worry. It gets better. I can only tolerate my parents in small doses. Just think about it, you’ll have a good chance to miss them before coming back for the holidays.”

I laughed. It wasn’t that I felt like laughing. Christmas was going to suck. The driver looked at me like I was insane, so I told him. “Both my parents are dead.”

He stiffened in his seat and the system chose that moment to supply me with his basic information.

Jerry Yaeger

Level

1

Class

Part-Time UBER driver

Affection Level

Embarrassed

It didn’t tell me anything about his attitude other than that he felt bad about what he said. When we had been driving for a while, I decided to make conversation. “It is far where we’re going?”

Jerry looked down at his app. “It’s, um, wow, that is far. It looks like we’re driving all the way to Washington DC. This is my first time taking a job for SIMP Co.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked when his GPS app told him our destination was six hours away.

He cracked his knuckles and gave me a determined look. “I heard they tip extremely well, so I’m doing this. Do you have any issues with me after what I said? I am sorry about that by the way. I had no idea.”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. You didn’t know. Just get me out of here.”

SCREECH

He sped up and we were on a road trip. I got to know Jerry as we drove. It turned out we were both gamers. While he went to school and had a life outside of gaming, he was pretty good at Call of Duty. First-person shooters weren’t my first choice in games but I was reasonably good at them. SIMP made me play everything.

We made several pitstops for snacks along the way. I offered to drive when Jerry yawned but he informed me that it was against regulations. We decided to do things like singing and making jokes to keep him focused.

Finally, we played a drinking game. No, it wasn’t the kind of game that involved alcohol. That would be illegal and also somewhat irresponsible. Instead, the loser had to drink a full can of soda every time they lost.

As a result, we may have watered quite a few of the plants along the side of the interstate. When we got to DC, we ended up stuck in traffic for hours. SIMP Co kept a warehouse just outside of town, nestled up against a dense forest.

Jerry looked up at the company logo as it loomed over us on a billboard.

SIMP Gaming Co. - Bringing your wildest fantasies to life

“Why would they choose such a lame name?” Jerry pondered out loud.

I laughed. “I asked the same question.”

The name SIMP was chosen to represent the company’s objective to recruit simpletons for research purposes. It is a proven fact that the idly unawakened sometimes possess unique characteristics.

“Did you just call me a simpleton?” I asked out loud.

Jerry flinched. “No! Why would you think that? I’m just talking about the company. You had nothing to do with the name, right?”

I glared at the menu, brushing it away. “Sorry, the name kind of gets to me sometimes. That’s all.”

He shrugged as we pulled into a driveway with a security booth. “I get it, man. You wouldn’t believe the crap I get as an UBER driver.”

When we got to the booth, a fat man leaned out of a window and said, “Name please.”

Jerry looked at me and I replied, “Alexander Krup. They should be expecting me.”

The man nodded. “They are. You’re late. Follow the green line. The next departure is scheduled in thirty minutes. If you hurry you can make it. Otherwise, there won’t be another crossing for two weeks.”

SCREECH

Jerry took it as a challenge. We thunked our way over several speed bumps as we exceeded several posted speed limits. I was mildly surprised the parking lot of such a large facility was as empty as it was during business hours. We only saw two or three cars as we followed the green line around a big central building that spanned the equivalent of two city blocks.

In the back, there was a tall glass structure that reminded me of a tower. It was obscured from the road by the building as though its purpose all along was to conceal it from view.

Jerry slowed as we approached and a trio of people clad in white lab coats emerged from the tower to greet us. He jumped out of the car and raced around to open the door for me. “This is so cool. Are you guys hiring?”

The woman at the lead of the pack stopped and looked Jerry up and down. “I’m sorry, our job openings are filled by invitation only. Absolutely no applications will be accepted. You may leave the way you came in. Thank you.”

I thanked him for the ride and followed the trio toward the tower, not once looking back because I could tell Jerry wasn’t happy about it. The inside of the tower was odd, to say the least. It wasn’t a normal building by any sense of the word.

The crystalline tower was invented in 1102 A.D. as an ideal way to commute between dimensions. Without such a structure, a minimum of one hundred void mages would be required to accumulate the necessary mana for inter-dimensional travel.

“Is that so,” I spoke out loud, ignoring the three SIMP employees who were looking at me. “So this Gaia really is in another dimension? I thought Josef was exaggerating.”

“Excuse me, sir.” The woman spoke, jarring me out of my thoughts. “Who are you talking to?”

I looked back and forth from the menu to the lady. Did she know about my phenomenon? Would telling her get me fired? The system decided to help out.

Tell her you were just thinking out loud. She is not worthy to know of my existence.

I gave the woman a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry. I think I got so excited that I was talking to myself. Are you really going to send me to another dimension?”

“Indeed.” The man behind her replied. “Please find a seat anywhere. We are launching you all in ten minutes.”

Looking beyond them, I noticed another group of people seated in plastic chairs that reminded me of the cheap seating they provided in schools. Oh, how I hated school.

I took a seat as far away from the others as I could. There were seven of us in all, all adults. I supposed that had something to do with signing interstellar contracts.

One of the men in the group turned to greet me. “Hi there. My name is Mike. Are you going to Gaia too?”

A dark-haired girl at the far end of the group rolled her eyes. “That’s where we’re all going, stupid. Didn’t you pay attention when they were explaining everything?”

“Nope,” Mike admitted, giving me a lopsided grin. “As I was about to say to the new guy, this is going to be so much fun.”

I was a little curious about the others myself. “Do any of you have any special skills or abilities?”

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, appraising me with renewed interest.

It would not be wise to tell anyone about me. Some might say I give you an unfair advantage. Are you interested in knowing more about your competition? Y/N?

I gave a slight nod, not wanting to make the mistake of talking to myself again.

Michael Katach

Level

1

Class

Redneck

Affection Level

Friendly

Kendra Welsh

Level

1

Class

Hick

Affection Level

Sarcastic

Darrin Angler

Level

1

Class

Noob

Affection Level

Cocky

Alan Friedzeig

Level

1

Class

Bumpkin

Affection Level

Happy go lucky

Carlito Ververos

Level

1

Class

Hooligan

Affection Level

Confident

Primith Landia

Level

1

Class

Nomad

Affection Level

Humorous

Kiavi Naples

Level

1

Class

Cat Girl

Affection Level

Mischievous

“Did you hear him?” Kendra asked. “What kind of special abilities do you think we have?”

“I don’t know.” I lied. “Why else would they pick us for this program?”

That got the attention of the other candidates. Primith rounded on me and said, “Same as the rest of you. Because we have no lives and are very good at video games. What else did you think?”

“Simp!” Darrin sneered from the front row.

The woman that greeted me returned. “That’s enough banter. We have finished the final preparations to transmit you to Gaia. You have been given an enchantment that will allow you to speak the native tongue where you are going. You may feel some slight discomfort during your journey. It is perfectly normal to feel sick. Please follow all instructions from your guide on your arrival in Dabia. We will begin transmission now.”

Hold your breath.

Traveling through the cosmos was not a pleasant experience. I don’t recommend it. The tower around us lit up like a Christmas tree just before I became a mote of pure light.

I did take the advice from the menu and managed to suck in a deep breath just as the process began. The seven of us were sucked out of the top of the tower and sent hurdling through space. Into darkness. Into the void.

By the time I realized I’d closed my eyes, we were there. When I opened them, I found myself standing in front of a majestic castle gate. Beyond the castle was a massive city, bustling with life. I said the first thing that came to mind. “Is this a video game?”

No, This is Dabia.

The others weren’t listening to my private conversation. They were too busy puking. Trails of sick flowed from the cobblestones into a well-placed gutter on the side of the road.

When he finally came up for air, Mike looked up at me and asked, “Why aren’t you sick?”

I chuckled. “I held my breath.”

“Greetings travelers,” a voice behind us announced. “Welcome to Gaia.