“Hello, Mr. Prometheus. Can the virtuality of the World of Fate truly reach the 99% claimed in your promotions?” a reporter in standard business attire asked politely.
“Of course, my beautiful young lady. I’m confident that wondrous world will make you reluctant to ever leave.” Prometheus smiled, all serenity. Advanced in years though he was, his voice still carried plenty of vigor, and the two eyes that occasionally flashed with a sharp light held not the slightest trace of cloudiness.
“Full-immersion virtual gaming has a history of over a hundred and twenty years now, and in all that time, even the most popular of them — Second World — declined after a mere seven years. Mr. Prometheus, how far do you think this epoch-defining World of Fate can go?”
Prometheus’s aged eyes narrowed slightly. “If you must have an ideal time frame, then I hope it will be… forever.” His voice was as easygoing as ever, but across his wrinkled old face flickered an uncanny faint smile, gone in an instant, that no one could have caught.
“Since the World of Fate incorporates alien technology, will this game’s worldview differ greatly from games of the past?”
“Worldview?” Prometheus considered for a moment, then shook his head, his expression turning slowly grave. “There won’t be any fundamental change to the worldview. But what I’d like to say — what I must say — is that although this is a simulation game, I hope people won’t treat it as a mere game, but as another chapter of their own lives. In truth, is life itself not also a game full of rises and falls? The difference is that life cannot be saved, and offers no chance to start over. Life can be a game, but… whatever you do, never try to game your life. Remember the name of this ‘game’ — Fate!”
The press conference floor abruptly fell into an uncanny silence. Prometheus’s suddenly grave expression, the solemnity in his voice, and the faint note of warning within it had them turning over each of his words in silent contemplation. But… not a single one of them could truly grasp what he meant — at least, not yet.
“Hello, Mr. Prometheus. This whole while, players the world over have been discussing and speculating about the central mainframe of Fate. I wonder if you might reveal something about it?”
Prometheus shook his head and said apologetically, “My apologies — that is a secret that cannot be made public. However,” he gave a mysterious smile, “what I can reveal is that Fate‘s mainframe is not located on Earth. Might such an answer satisfy everyone?”
Not on Earth… could it be on another planet? Prometheus’s words instantly touched off heated discussion around the globe.
“Mr. Prometheus, a game’s fairness has always been one of the issues players care about most. May I ask whether the World of Fate has achieved fairness to a perfect degree?” a male reporter rose to ask.
At every pre-launch press conference for any game, fairness was always a mandatory question — and across the hundred-year history of virtual gaming, the asking and answering of it had run through the motions with uncanny uniformity, every single company vowing up and down to guarantee the game’s fairness without exception. Yet faced with this reporter’s question, Prometheus fell silent for a long while, then slowly spoke a line that left everyone slack-jawed: “In this world, there has never once been true fairness.”
“This…” The male reporter, handed such an unexpected answer, was taken aback.
“‘Heaven treats everyone equally’ — in my view, that saying is nothing but the most absurd, laughable fallacy. Perhaps many will sneer at what I’ve just said, so let me remind you of a few of the most basic facts… A child born in the countryside strives a whole lifetime just to attain the life of the city; yet some children are born in the city from the start, and their starting point is the very goal the former exhausts a lifetime pursuing. Is that fair? Some are born with congenital defects; others come into the world with a flawless body and face. And of two people who start from the same point, one toils away the better part of his life to finally secure a stable roof over his head, while another, a lazy man, wins the lottery and lives free of worry over food and clothing for the rest of his days without any effort at all. Is that fair? In this world there has never been true fairness — the real world has none, and the World of Fate will have none either. What I can guarantee is that every player will have a fair starting point: the same number of free attributes, the same number of fixed attributes, a class freely chosen according to your own wishes… As for afterward — what kind of fate each player will meet — heaven only knows.”
Silence. A long silence. And after the silence, thunderous applause. Prometheus had advanced by retreating; the fair starting point he’d laid out was more persuasive, more convincing, than all the fervent guarantees of the past — and at the same time, it gave voice to what countless people felt in their hearts… Yes, in this world there has never been true fairness.
“Mr. Prometheus, the operation of the World of Fate has already secured the full backing of every national government and of the world’s ten largest banks. So the exchange between game currency and real-world currency shouldn’t fall into the out-of-control situations seen in the past, should it?” another reporter asked. Those two words — “full backing” — carried enormous weight. Though it differed from “strong support” by only a shade, it signified two entirely different concepts.
“Heh heh — that’s precisely something I want to declare specially. Alpha and I put the currency-exchange question through a long stretch of precise calculation. The acquisition and expenditure of the World of Fate‘s game currency are also strictly tailored to the results of that calculation, and I’m confident the exchange with real-world currency will not disappoint anyone. On this point, I can offer my guarantee right here. Furthermore, once currency exchange opens, a game’s fairness takes a heavy hit — players from wealthy families will enjoy far greater advantages than ordinary players. So, in order to prolong this period of relative fairness, currency exchange will not open right away. As for how long it will be delayed, that hasn’t been decided for now.”
“With Mr. Prometheus’s personal guarantee, I’m sure all players can set their minds at ease…”
……
……
Ye Tianxie watched the entire press conference through like a wooden carving, and by the time it ended, the clock had already reached twelve noon. He switched off the TV, lay back on the sofa, and pressed a finger to his game wristband… At once the world before him turned into a blank expanse, then shifted back into that seven-hued, resplendent game world he’d been in before.
“Ding… Welcome to the World of Fate. Your game character has been created. There are 43 seconds remaining until the game begins, please wait…”
This voice was not the same as the one Ye Tianxie had heard before. Evidently, with such an enormous player base, the number of reception NPCs the system assigned would be an enormous figure too, and the odds of running into the same one were vanishingly small.
“…30 seconds remaining, please wait…”
“…20 seconds remaining, please wait…”
“…10, 9, 8… 3, 2, 1… Welcome to the World of Fate. You have been assigned to Novice Village No. 60001. We wish you a pleasant game.”
(End of Chapter 6)