I drop my keys into the glass bowl on the kitchen table. Classes are finally done for the week and I am ready for the weekend Grabbing a ham and cheese sandwich from the fridge, I take my snack back into my small bedroom. I flip on the light and survey the room. A large desk sits next to a bed-sized silver tube in one corner while a small twin-sized bed lies against the wall next to the door. A smaller laptop computer rest on the bed, dwarfed in comparison to the three-screened gaming system on the desk.
I toss my heavy backpack onto the bed and take a bite of the sandwich. Ham and cheese is not my favorite but it will do for now. As I finish eating, I turn the gaming system on and let it boot up before I use the one on the bed to check my messages. Nothing new requires my immediate attention so I shut down that computer. I check the progress of the boot up and see that everything is ready to go. A silver icon with a black VRTA acronym hovers in a corner. Upon selection, a window appears saying "begin sequence", so I press my hand against the top of the silver tube. It opens with a quiet hiss of the hydraulics and the top raises clear of the main tube area. There is a semblance of a bed inside the tube as a small cushion resembling a pillow rests on one end and the bottom is lightly padded. A silver circlet rests on the pillow, which I pick up to settle on my brow.
I check that all of the cords are connecting the tube to the computer. As I climb inside to settle myself I feel my phone vibrate and pull it out. I have a new message:
READY?
I send a READY back and place the phone on the desk. I tap a small button on the top half of the silver tube and the lid gently descends and clicks in place. I have just enough room inside to move my arm to touch the cold metal around my head. I depress a small raised area on the circlet and it shrinks to fit snugly around my skull. I settle my hands in small depressions on each side of my body and make sure my feet are also resting in their own marked areas.
"Launch program 2-1-5-L-O-T-R-O." I say aloud and close my eyes.
A burst of white light flashes past my eyelids. Icons hover before me, as if they were on an invisible computer screen, showing my information and previous data. I login to the network and a banner appears in front of me.
WELCOME PLAYER
TO
LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE