Entry One.
'Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man.'
-Friedrich Nietzsche.
Hanji.
In this world, virtual reality has reigned supreme for almost twenty years. All other areas of entertainment have tapered out and now they're barely heard of – the market slowly declined and then one day, crash! Nothing. Nada. But nobody cared. Nobody wants TV or books anymore, they want to live in a world with light and hope. They wanted a world where they can be who they really wanted to be, unrestrained, free, really, truly, alive. They want to live their dreams and really? I want to do the same.
My name's Hanji Zoe and I'm a virtual reality addict. This is day one of my 'rehabilitation' - day one without VR! I have to keep this journal because the big boss told me to. The big boss being a certain Erwin Smith, holier-than-thou preacher of all things healthy and rich in protein. You should see his body, it's almost a joke; nobody has a body like that anymore. Toned, muscular... it' almost fascinating. Almost.
Anyway, Smith is the leading authority on how to get yourself off virtual reality. It's part of a government initiative called 'Rekindle'. They want to get the brightest minds to work on improving the real world because, well, the sun went out here a while ago. It's always dark, it's always cold and there aren't even any seasons, it's just bleak. Always bleak. The world is boring and dull and honestly, I'm scared of the dark. You see, there isn't enough energy to power non-essential lights anymore – which basically means non-governmental buildings (and ones that aren't aiding the economy) are usually just candle-lit. I guess Rekindle picked me out because in school, I got good grades, particularly in the sciences. I guess you could say I was kind of a geek – that's what other girls would say anyway. I read all the time back then because virtual reality was only just emerging and I'd almost never heard of it. Now that's crazy.