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Virtual Travels — Description

When the same thing is seen from a different angle new information is learned.

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Words Below:

Midori lived in twenty-second century Japan. He had just purchased the game Virtual Travels. It followed the format of so many games before it. Quests had to be done at a specific location to gain experience and currency. Once a certain chain of quests was completed the player had the option of moving to a new location and the process would start all over again.
However, this game had many advances over its predecessors. It was three dimensional, it was set in virtual reality, instead of travelling the surroundings would change automatically, and it had an optional hypnosis feature that allowed the player to experience things from the point of view of the character. Midori selected a female character and decided to use the hypnosis feature. In a matter of minutes "she" was interacting with other players within the first virtual setting.
The players spoke many different languages but their speech was translated in real time. The delay was in mere milliseconds, too small for humans to perceive. The players could be very different from the characters they used or nearly the same. It was a matter of personal preference.
Midori spent quite a bit of time deciding what "she" wanted to wear for the adventure. Some of it depended on the environment. The computer would not let the players actually feel excess cold or excess heat but there would be considerable penalties for not dressing for the environment. The first location was a small town surrounded by grassland in late spring. Just about any outfit would work there.
As the story of the game went on, the environments became more specific. The next location was a big city where the quests were done mostly indoors. This was followed by a desert location and then an arctic one and then an underwater base at the bottom of the ocean. Midori joked to "herself" about how "she" spent almost as much time selecting her outfits as "she" did doing the quests.
The next location was a city built entirely in the trees. The trees appeared to be taller than anywhere on Earth. Wherever it was, it was hot all year round. Midori decided on something tribal because "she" wanted to fit in with everyone else. The quests at this location were harder than the ones that came before so "she" thought "she" would be staying there for quite some time.
Midori did not play the game nonstop but the hypnosis feature allowed "her" to continue the game where "she" left off. Quests were not the only thing the game had to offer. When "she" got stuck. "she" would go off to do other things like competing in drawing and fashion contests. Although not too good at drawing, "she" knew how to put an outfit together. This enabled "her" to buy items that would help "her" complete the quests.
Sometimes Midori was not involved in any competition at all. The "city in the trees" as "she" called it had many locations that provided a lovely scenic view. Using her climbing skill, "she" would go to those locations and watch the virtual world. Virtual falling was not actually dangerous. The main real danger was spending too much time there. People in virtual reality still needed to eat and sleep, just like everyone else.