Chapter 1: Beginnings
It was March 18, 2071; just a day after my birthday. I was there in the Federation of International Rumbling Associations or F.I.R.A. for short, waiting room in the Hide Park server down at London. All I could really think of was whether or not I would be able to get the lamination of my scoot vehicle license. I looked around the virtual room, seeing several of the other examinees that were able to pass and officially begin the Rumbling career.
Rumbling was for those who decided to take their life one step higher, performing in matches where a player from a set distance takes control of a Scoot Vehicle that they have prepared and use it to take on other Rumblers in a live, mechanical combat situation. The Scoot Vehicle itself was expensive, ranging between one-hundred and eighty thousand crypto credits to more than two-hundred and fifty thousand crypto credits. Having your S.V. destroyed in a match meant extreme hell for your pocket, as the S.V.s are not easy to fix and not cheap to repair. Even performing maintenance on them was costly.
"Samuel?"
My name was the first to be called. It must have been because of my outstanding performance in the training field. Or maybe it was something else.
"Yes sir, I'm coming," I replied, standing up and walking to the examiner.
The examiner was a simple puppet idol, blank at his face but very well acquainted with the S.V. combat sport. I know this because he taught my father the same things about twenty years ago.
"Congratulations, Samuel," he said, giving me my virtual license. "You are now an official Rumbler."
I was speechless when I gripped my license. I didn't know what to say. All I could think of at that moment was that I could now be just like my father; an S.V. combat professional. I simply was only able to thank him, but little did I know that the very same examiner would help me once I reached the Miyako server in Tokyo.
After everything was said and done, I signed out of my computer and began to make my way downstairs. My mom was always either in the kitchen or the living room, either cooking up the next meal or seeing the results of the recent S.V. competition. I simply grabbed a piece of white bread from the basket in front of her and began to make my way out of the house.
"So, how did the exams go?" She asked, washing the dishes that were in her hands.
"It went well, being the best in the class and passing with at least an A."
"So you're going to be just like your father, right?"
"If being like dad included fighting against other Rumblers in an arena, then yes."
We both laughed after that and I began to make my way outside. London was a lot different from the past. Normally, when people thought of the future back then, they would think of hover cars, space suits and robots walk across the street like a normal human. That wasn't the case. There was rubble on the streets from the continuous combat commercials that took place, vehicles covered in bullet holes and even Big Ben collapsed. I got out my hoverboard and began to ride it towards the F.I.R.A. office building just down the street. The building was the only new-looking building, other than the beam port, that looked nice and was fully renovated. Advertisements of all kinds, including their own, were posted on every side of the building.
As I got off my hoverboard, one of the officials, a man dressed in a brand new looking suit, came to me and greeted me. He wasn't like anyone else here, as he had small eyes and was short compared to most of the British wire-heads or citizens. It was obvious that this guy has either come from the Dragon server in Hong Kong, the Miyako server in Tokyo or even the Fallen Angels server in Los Angeles.
"Are you Samuel?" He asked, slowly walking to me.
"Yes, that is me." I replied.
"Oh good… I am one of your followers, from the wire-head community. I came in search of new Rumblers to come with me to Japan."
I looked around and began to feel as though he was going to do something to me.
"To Japan?"
"Yes. It is quite a beautiful country… other than Tokyo, that is the main field for S.V. combat."
I looked at him then tilted my head. He knew that I was a bit dumbstruck as for one, I have never been to Japan and two, have never had someone from another country find me and send bring me over.
"If you insist old man. But before I go, what is your name if you don't mind me asking?"
"My name is Keiichi. I am, or was, a Rumbler from about fifteen years ago." He bowed and smiled at me. I was amazed to hear that he was a Rumbler, but even then I wasn't surprised. Not only did the Japanese found the Rumbling combat sport, but the majority of the wire-heads that are there and even in to this day are Japanese.
Before he walked away, he told me to meet him at the beam port in twenty-four hours. I felt kind of excited, but mostly bad because I'm leaving my mom and dad on short notice. I mean, I just recently received my license and may have also gotten myself a sponsor, but leaving immediately was just weird.1
I began to make my way home and grabbed my suitcase. As I began to pack up my clothes, my mom came into my room and asked me what I was doing.
"Preparing to head out," I replied.
"But why? You don't need to head out with a suitcase," she chuckled, not realizing what was really going on.
Before anything else happened, I sighed and closed my suitcase, zipping it up. I began to explain to my mom the situation at hand, which changed her expression from a joyful and optimistic expression directly to a gloomy and saddened expression. I tried to reassure her that I will be fine, but even as she said okay, she still had that worried look.
"Mom, I'll be fine. I promise that I will send you messages while I'm in Tokyo, okay?"
She looked at me and smiled, patting my head and caressing my hair.
"As long as you make me and your dad proud," she concluded, smiling.
After everything was said and done, I went down and began making my way to the beam port. After an hour of walking, there I saw Keiichi, sitting down on a bench that was just outside of the beam port. He knew that I was ready to leave. To tell the truth, I'm not ready to leave. Not yet. But once I entered that beam port and sat down in the passenger seat of the plane, I knew that I couldn't turn back. At the time, however, I wasn't aware of the adventure that would soon ensue. My adventure in Rumbling has finally begun, and my career started off with a plane trip to Tokyo.