New Years Day – Release of Fallout Online

2033, January 1st

Fireworks, fireworks that never end.

Loud bangs filling the city as riots tear it apart with firebombs and improvised explosives. Gunshots as dangerous citizens are put down with nonlethal armaments.

The Chief Executive Officer looks down upon the citizens of the world through a glass window. Smiling. He raises the crystal mug in his left hand to his lips and takes a short sip then turns from the window and sets the mug down on his desk. "Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen…" He murmured and took in a long, egotistical breath in through his nose. "Ants, writhing around in search of familiarity in an unfamiliar environment." He stated bluntly.

"Servers are at forty percent of maximum capacity, stress testing was done, but the servers are being probed by hackers familiar with the world seed in a futile attempt to drive us out of business to keep their own games aloft. It won't work." Reported the Chief Technical Director of Fallout Online, who stood at the other side of the desk. His beard was well-trimmed and his hair was gelled, well managed. Obviously a uniform guy with no time for jokes or nonsense.

"Thanks, Ed." The CEO stated bluntly, bored already.

"I'd prefer if you try to exercise some degree of formality in a situation as… serious as this."

"I know there's a lot going on, and I know that you've all done at least a hundred thousand playtests in attempts to find bugs and glitches in the system that don't exist – but you know, take a breath and try to relax a little – nothing will go wrong." The CEO tried out his art of persuasion in the real world, didn't work.

"Yes, yes, an independent nuclear reactor with emission management, minimized air pollution and a local power network housed in our very HQ that is under constant watch in an air-tight and impenetrable subterranean fortress to prevent outages. It is also where our database is housed. It is what our players connect to – we MUST, ensure their safety for the sake of continued profits and reassurance that we are not planning to do what…" He lowered his voice to a hissing whisper. "Kayaba Akihito… did." He let out a deep sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I get it." The CEO waved a hand dismissively.

"Sir… we are playing with DEATH every day in this game, it took us MILLIONS of tests with Artificial Intelligences to figure out how to make people respawn at base."

"God damn it Edward! NOTHING will go wrong!" The big man in the office shouted.

The lights flickered.

Edward took in a deep breath like he just took a hit in the chest. "Shit… power fluctuation! FLUCTUATION! FUCK!" He roared and stomped out of the room and the CEO watched him go running down the corridor.

The CEO let out a deep sigh, and then everything went to shit.