I had distractions, but the chapter is here now! Plus, something to happen in three chapters' time.

3 August 2024

12:30 P.M EDT

Outside the Podcast Studio, New York City, United States

As promised yesterday, Drahoslav arrived at the designated location, black shades covering his eyes while he waited for one of two individuals to come. Gray tank top with a computer decal laced over it with jeans below and purple sneakers.

"You're here!" a boy said, his Japanese accent showing as his hair bobbed as he got closer to the street.

"Kyouji," he said as he turned his eye towards the boy. "We're early, let's get inside and meet Haizi in there."

He proceeds to give a nod to Drahoslav's word, proceeding to enter the studio without giving additional, distractive words. Her with purpose rather than interaction.

12:34 P.M EDT

Haizi's Rented Studio, New York City, United States

"Welcome, Drahoslav," Haizi said as the two boys enter the studio. Meet by his gleeful eye and two individuals, the same guys from the boba cafe.

Kyouji turns his head towards them, pointing his finger at them, "Why are these people here? This isn't a cafe."

Haizi's head fixes to Kyouji, "I should've explained. But Jeli is my main in-house donor, managing how the money for the podcast comes. Also, he acts as the forum admin."

He turns towards the guy with the shaven half with three painted lines.

"This guy, who likes to be called Fuki, is the technician and our timekeeper. How is it looking right now Fuki?!"

Fuki, being mute, sends a thumbs up to them, before sending a held two fingers side-by-side and six afterward.

"In twenty-six we're on the air. We're making it live so people can hear immediately as we air because I'm so hyped up about this!" Haizi declared as he went behind Drahoslav and Kyouji, pulling them to the couch and forcing them on their butts.

Holding both in the semi hug, he continued onward, "If you have any questions that we need to handle, I will answer them while JELI THE MAN tells our fans via our forum that we're going live in a few minutes and we have the slideshow of images already ready to go!"

Kyouji turned his head, "Can you get your arm off me?"

He obliges and does so, doing the same for Drahoslav.

The purple swished guy tilted his head upward, "If there's a question that no one in the studio can answer, can outside help be contacted?"

Haizi snaps his right finger, "Absolutely. And I almost forgot! We aren't going about to make ourselves the smartest on the block. We are here to communicate concepts and ideas already existent, get the people thinking, mobilize them to make a difference, open the eyes wide to scientific groundbreaking."

"I get it," Kyouji said, staring at his feet for the current moment.

"Be positive, we could give to a Japanese audience too, so Fuki's working on an audio transcription network, so speak clearly when you're speaking into the mic. Then you can use that Japanese fluency so we can develop one for the people of Japan to see! I see the potential for this!"

Drahoslav smiles at the comment Haizi made to Kyouji.

"Do you have any kind of language to expand our audience base to this?"

"Slovak, but it'd only help make it available in Slovakia," Drahoslav responds. "Too much effort would be used."

Haizi nods, "I understand, although it'd increase the potential to several million…"

The boy shakes his head again, "Confusion would emerge."

"Understood. Now, how do you want to structure it as?" he asked, rocking Kyouji's shoulder as he was nearly falling to his drowse.

"I don't know, I don't care."

"Take it like that, you better agree to what we decide to do for it when we finally decide to do so." Haizi warned.

"I will."

Drahoslav got to attention again as he spoke, "You're the showrunner?"

"I am, and you will suggest that I introduce the topic and open the podcast. I was planning on to and conclude it anyway."

"You caught me." he grins before toughening his face again, "You could also perform the role of keeping order when debates spark up. And provide clarity."

"Fair, fair and you seem to know a lot from what you show. Kyouji can also give the "Eye from the Land of the Rising Sun. Using his knowledge of what happened when it happened, it can provide good credibility and solidify what's said."

"Perfect," Drahoslav followed, while he'd speak to himself.

"This might also be the correct way to see what I will need to take next year if he is Kyouji Shinkawa.."

Jeli raised his voice as he said, "Five minutes, be ready to air!"

Kyouji shook his head to wake up, approaching a seat with a microphone and sliding into it.

"San, ni, ichi!"

Upon ichi, Haizi took a deep breath in as he began to speak within a calm, clear, and concise tone to the people he was speaking to, the audience.

"We're live today for a special episode of Tech Weekly. We had to take two weeks off the air just for this episode. Unscripted, loose schedule, and we might be talking for over an hour today. I am Haizi and with two special guests today, we are here to cover a great intrigue of mine that I'm very excited about… Gaming's FullDive Revolution; The Future for VRMMORPG's and the Case Study of Sword Art Online!"

Haizi took the moment to take a breath with a plastic bottle in hand and swigged fluid to his tonsils. Before continuing.

"Sorry for my overenthusiasm~ack!" he coughs, "But, to get set straight again, when looking at the technological perspective, video games are very interesting. As the potential for realism, speed, and quality graphic rendering evolved at the same time as CGI was starting to become cheap to produce for films. Not to mention the times it mingles with games at the same time, such as in the iconic FMV's of Final Fantasy games during the late nineties and early two-thousands."

Hearing Haizi, Drahoslav's body was at attention again. Smiling whilst the bowl cut haired adult continued his preaching of Tech Weekly. Detecting the wig off-centering as Haizi progressed.

"Video games are also very accustomed to our lives ever since they broke the scene, people enjoyed and it's now billions of dollars worth of money for people to get into at all levels. From design to programming to composition and marketing. Fanwise, they give a ton for us to do. And even by now, professors at university can be avid video gamers in their offtimes. At all levels of society, it permeates. And there are the gamers who keep the industry going by their fan contributions!"

"Well said," Drahoslav replies.

"Thank you. And by the way to the audience, that voice you heard is one of our guests, Drahoslav Cizik. The tech wiz and avid gamer of the two."

"Nice to meet whoever is watching live," Drahoslav said, before allowing Haizi to continue what he was going to speak.

"To get back on track for our audiences after those complimentary two words. Now, we are actually at the crossroads of a new revolution, greater than the advent of three-dimensional video games. And was in the works for years, starting particularly with the Oculus Rift approximately twelve years ago and arcade games in virtual reality with better enhancements to senses. But now, we have what comes to be full immersion virtual reality, manifested in something called FullDive, particularly the first marginalized console of its type in the NerveGear."

He gave a break to drink, allowing for the other two to say something regarding the progression to the next set of statements.

"The NerveGear? What's that? I haven't heard of it before! Common questions with simple answers," Drahoslav began. "The NerveGear is a FullDive console, using a mix of sensors to collect and distribute neural information to create an immersive experience. However, despite its great promise to the globe through previous VR tech, it's only exclusive to Japan. The dark side of this FullDive revolution."

"It is true for that for now, the FullDive Revolution is only really progressing inside Japan. However, it leads to benefits such as preventing a massive crisis such as when the gamemaster of Sword Art Online trapped ten thousand players inside the grand castle Aincrad. Later, we will cover SAO in greater detail." Haizi said.

"There was potential for the FullDive revolution to be exported to other countries. But I recognize there were benefits to testing it before reaching to a wider audience." Drahoslav pulled in.

"There are also concerns I think about what people could do if it's managed to be hacked. Which the creator of the device… What's his name again, I forgot."

"Kayaba Akihiko." Drahoslav immediately spurted.

"Mister Kayaba probably thought about it when the NerveGear had it's Japanese release two years ago in May. What could a person do, if they hacked the microwave transceivers inside the NerveGear?"

"A scary proposition and he probably knew the NerveGear could kill someone by increasing the frequency and strength of the microwaves to match the capacity of the transceivers used," Drahsoslav added on.

Haizi lays his head closer to the mic, "Agreed, agreed, but how moral is it to use microwaves to read and stimulate the brain?"

"At all levels, people do not like their privacy being violated without cause. We can agree on that. But to maintain the realism of the world FullDive allows to create, it's a necessary evil that the brain is read and stimulated to create the same effects as in the real world." Drahoslav continued to speak on about.

"Is there a possibility out of all of the body can be used for, can a full body suit be enough?"

"To get a little technical, it could work, however, the costs would be too high for a consumer to wrap around in money. Even when short term savings are considered. It's why it uses trance and computer generation over traditional VR seen in the last ten or so years."

"But in general, FullDive's cool as hell from the games other than the highly anticipated Japanese title Sword Art Online. Speaking of which, our fellow game nerd might be able to explain more about what the VRMMO genre is about and how SAO's under fallings can be repaired in the other, more accessible VRMMO from becoming another Sword Art Online." Haizi said.

"Which, we are speaking about, is ALfiem Online, which will celebrate its first anniversary in three months. Be on the lookout people. But, in all retrospects, from a programming perspective, ALO and SAO's key code is perfect for comparison. Particularly when you put into account both's games are maintained by RCT Progress, a subsidiary of the Japanese company RECT." Drahoslav explained.

"Interesting to non-Japanese or the nonsavvy, what are VRMMO's in the first place?" Haizi asked.

"VRMMORPG's are short for Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games. The difference between conventional MMO's and VRMMO's is the use of this expensive FullDive technology to create a world where you can enter into. Up until the point, it is like a functioning fictional society within the real world. Sort of like another dimension of things." he said.

Drahoslav backs away and looks at Haizi without activating the mic, "Did that sound too much like Neptunia?"

"No, no, dimensions are interpretive. It does sound like that particular series. But you're fine. Continue!"

Nodding, Drahoslav took his lips to the mic again, "There's a lot of questions on how VRMMO's work. What allows for a true virtual world to prosper the same way real society does. We will get to those answers, how it's made, all of it will be explained as best as possible at face value and through our SAO case study."

"Can you please go on to explain, Drahoslav?"

"I will, Haizi. As a VRMMO is a FullDive generated world, everyone inside of it, excluding NPC's, is directly sucked right into it. The fourth wall is gone. The game's picture and graphics is your reality until you press log out from the moment two words are said to activate the NerveGear, and it's successor, AmuSphere."

"Let's do it together!" Haizi livened as he clenches his arms together.

Drahoslav nods.

"Link Start!" Drahoslav and Haizi raised their voices.

Kyouji stares up, before down again, shaking slightly from the words spoken.

"But once those words are said, reality to the gamer is changed in all sorts of ways until the game is logged out of. And that's the genius of VRMMO's, FullDive makes you believe you are in the world, and VRMMO's construct the world in itself."

"How is FullDive able to create this? It's insane!"

"Hell fucking yes it's insane. It's derived from both FullDive consoles. How a VRMMO or any FullDive video game works is a mix of game design, technology, and follows many laws concerning people's belief in fiction."

"Care to explain this for our confused viewers?" asked Haizi.

"I shall," Drahoslav replied, "To understand why it's genius. We have to go back to how the NerveGear and AmuSphere work exactly. How it receives the information. The microwave transceivers inside generate the stimulants. With brain wave reading sensors giving the console information, the transceivers access, stimulate, and do a load of different functions. To both create the environment the player it is, and protect the person's read body from significant distractions and prevent injury while in play. All very interesting and it's a part of why it works. Microwave science is interesting. Look it up yourself."

"Bravo! But is there a threat it can be used to manipulate others?"

"Some might. But device on device, it's impossible. Out of the cloud, although the Internet is an untamable beast."

"Welcome to real life. Where the government's spies have many methods to read your brain with your local NerveGear and AmuSphere." Haizi said poetically before turning conventional Haizi again, "True, if it's not an object connected and controlled by the internet."

"A lot of spy shit has been happening and those not okay with spying are starting to get into national office. By the way for people's information."

"But back to our national program!" Haizi shouts.

"Alright then. With that sensory information. Game design for a VRMMO is very much as normal as possible, when you discount regulation and other tedious things that have to be put into consideration. But that's where the crown jewel of VRMMO's come in. The engine that is used to run it. The Cardinal System..."

"What is that? I haven't heard what it did before. Even in development, I knew it was called something like that. But what is it…" Haizi asked, shocked himself.

"This is Mister Kayaba's baby whenever talking about VRMMO's. What this system does is in multiple time saving and resource-conserving ways. With the Cardinal System, the game is allowed to create quests on its own, perform minor maintenance tasks without shutting the game down, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance at the discretion of the devs from their computers, and execute the semi intricacies of the game."

"But, we warn. Especially since the hacking of the SAO servers yesterday, it doesn't remove human hands from game maintenance. As human involvement is still needed to perform nonfrequent maintenance, updating and cleaning up the Cardinal System of the game, giving updates to the game. And the handling of issues not covered by the System. Such as human complaints and valid suggestions." Haizi added.

"Outside of the unique FullDive tech and the Cardinal System, assembling a VRMMO is traditional game design. Although programming of what the senses detect in-game must be a pain in the arse to replicate with present tech. But possible."

"Although right now, only the biggest companies would have the resources to produce a VRMMMO. But, multiple advantages and disadvantages compared to normal MMOs."

Drahoslav took a breath before continuing, "Exactly, there are pros and cons to VRMMOS when compared to MMOs we are all used to. One benefit VRMMO's wield is they are immersive. As with all FullDive games, you feel and smell, see, hear, and taste the world. Also, the actions are much more real, making responses and battles more intense. Pain negation removes the fear of feeling extensive pain outside of stinging. Although certain pains and feelings remain, and I can safely assume the dirty is one of them."

Kyouji's face smiled as he lets out his snark.

"One benefit is certain VRMMO's can legitimately teach a skill that would be difficult or hard to get into IRL. Like ALO, it can teach proper swordplay and how to use a weapon or form of skill properly. And an added benefit of VRMMO's is in its societal aspect. There can be a true society ran by both players and NPC's if they know what they're doing."

"Cons?"

"The cons are, people can become delusional. Their mind mentally affected to a far greater degree than what video games of the past could do to a person because a VR world is real to them for the current future. And, people are still vulnerable to the same kind of things gamers have been plagued with for a while. Speaking about it, let's head over to our SAO case study! And we have a lot to get through today!"

"Let's get moving. And by the way, Drahoslav, can you wake our other special guest up and tell him we're going to."

Like Haizi asked, Drahoslav got up from his chair to walk to Kyouji's, beginning to vibrate the seat manually.

"Sword Art Online was the only VRMMO until ALfiem Online began service last year. The most highly anticipated game of all time, superseding conventional games, even Metal Gear Solid, the Pro Skaters, and even the new Final Fantasy games and Kingdom Hearts Three have nothing to their hype trains when compared to Sword Art Online. Even if it was superseded by a certain other game, Sword Art Online was probably the most hyped-up MMO to ever grace the Earth. It took five years to develop the game. Two for the software. Two to create the game. And one to debug before sending it out in November of Twenty-twenty-two." Haizi began.

Back in his seat, Drahoslav continued, "Beta testers who came out of the game, yet didn't participate in the full game, noted that it was ahead of it's time for a VR game, let alone a FullDive game of its own. But some did hold criticism about the hype being a potential snare. Citing certain things noted of Mister Kayaba during the development of SAO. The few times are seen in public and certain thoughts one insider brought in."

"Agreed, agreed. But that snare you talked about, it was something of the truth, the SAO Incident began at the game's full release. Ten to fifty thousand players were trapped inside the game. Players who dived into that game started falling. The count, likely in the thousands. Families were shattered as a direct result of his actions. Harm was inflicted, even RECT's aging CEO, Mister Yuuki, was seen to have been distressed at the thought that his daughter was caught in a death game. Before we continue any further onto the progressing to discover of this tragedy, a moment of silence, to commemorate the men, women, teens, and children who lost their lives just wanting to play a game."

After he said about a moment of silence, the entire room turned mute. Drahoslav too, as he stares up at the sky, his swish bending downward from his angle. While he reflected on what was just said from Haizi's mouth.

"Mister Yuuki… Yuuki Shouzou, Asuna's dad. He was in mourning due to the chance she could die… But she will survive the attempt, Heathcliff will lose. Kirito… You can do this, Kirito… You got so far, even with those hackings Haizi said. You're strong."

The moment of silence comes to an end as Haizi then continued onward with his oration of the topic.

"The causes, for this atrocity on avid gamers, is currently a vast unknown, due to the strange circumstances behind its development. Maybe it was the only viable way in Argus' mind to pay for the high development costs of the game. Which we all know didn't end well. Someone had to pay the price. In blood. And cash. Blood money."

"To show how impactive it is," Drahoslav said, "We have someone who was in Japan when the game was released. His name is Kyouji."

After a few seconds, he began his words, having a Japanese accent, "H-Hello…"

Haizi brought his voice again, "Hello, Kyouji. So our audience can get an idea of how messed up this incident with SAO is, please tell us your age."

"I am fifteen," Kyouji replied.

"You aren't experiencing what's happening inside the game. However, from what's been shown, there are people in your generation in that game who are still in school. Experiencing something similar to military or worse."

"Like what…"

"War. Is hell. War, is what SAO is like. Do you know anyone who played the game?"

"My brother… He was sixteen when he got trapped in…"

"I see." Drahoslav said, "Parenting experts disagree, but there are things that someone should never be allowed to experience until they're old enough. Having to kill someone with your hands is one of them. Video games distort that, but when fiction and reality meet, like in SAO, the weight is heavier. Teens and kids become child soldiers. Forced to kill, have to kill, lives at stake. Some find love in the game, where will it really reflect true feelings?"

"I don't get it…"

Haizi stepped in again, slowly getting a serious tone into it, and graying, "Souls are interesting when their conditions are altered in a certain way. Isn't it?"

"Souls are interesting. They are." Drahoslav said.

"Maybe if one time, one can see it. Experience it. A virtual experience is a new thing for the expansive soul a human holds. How all those microwaves interact with that soul from the tech of that NerveGear."

"Your weird," Kyouji said.

Drahoslav, on the meanwhile, tilted his head downward uncharacteristically, mumbling, "Haizi's either spouting nonsense that the podcast shouldn't hear, or he's transmitting a subliminal message…"

The coldness huff from Haizi vanished, "Sorry for that! But with all those unique systems in place, it's no wonder people are dying inside that game as it continues to play."

"I predict this game of death and destruction will end in three months. The game cleared prematurely because of a key inside the system, a resolved and skilled player using that advantage, been in the game before the game truly became one of death. One of the few who played longer than most players alive inside the castle Aincrad." Drahoslav said in a serious tone. "The ending is near for Aincrad, the incident will see the tunnel at the end of the light."

"That's about all folks! Keep teching! We will see you next week, folks!" Haizi said with enthusiasm before it all broke and the feed cut.

"Good job guys! We have ourselves a special podcast for the week!" Haizi claps his hands together.

"Now what?" Kyouji asked.

"Do you have anything to do today?" Haizi said again.

Kyouji shakes his head.

"You're free to go!" he props up a fake smile, something Drahoslav discerns.

"Kyouji, I'll walk you to where you stay." Drahoslav offered.

"Just this once…"

"Okay."

Drahoslav and Kyouji walk out of the studio. Leaving the three alone.

"Don't reveal what I said about souls to them. The boy with purple hair said something suspicious," he said. "If anything else happens from the other four related to what happened. Tell me immediately."