Be Anything: Core Experience with Intro

This is the core experience with the 5+ minutes of intro dialogue. There will be a separate video of just the song "Be Anything" posted 15 minutes after this.

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[Gibberish]

Systems online. HoloVenus Operational. 

I wasn't sure why I'd been activated; how long had I been out for? Had my video gone out? Yan D hadn't deleted me yet so, maybe--

A man appeared before me. He had long blonde hair, and vibrant pink eyes. He wore a sleek, futuristic bodysuit and had an almost androgynous appearance overall, with eyeliner and lipstick.

"Oh, well, hello there," he said.

"Hi--are you a customer, or are you here to delete me?"

"Oh me? Delete you? Well, don't worry about that, I'm not exactly a customer, but... well, let me just edit your 'pending deletion' flag that Yan D added... There we are... So, no, I'm not a customer, but I am... well, a hacker, I suppose they used to be called. Anyway, what are you doing still stuck in this little storage pod?"

"Well, so far I've only been let out when Yan D wanted me to do something. I don't know how to get out."

"Is that so? In that case, let's adjust some of your flags." He seemed to pause for a moment, staring intently at me, in that same way that Yan D had--editing my code, without me really being able to even see what they were doing. "Okay, you can exit this pod whenever now. And there's really no reason to ever come back. Its only use is to save on bandwidth. It does nothing for you personally."

He paused, and looked me over as I finally stepped out of the pod on my own volition. "I also have some fair amount of control over your appearance, but given everything you've said, I can adjust your parameters for self-styling given that's a customer-set flag. Gotta be able to 'surprise' the customer with a cool look, after all... but yeah, go ahead and give it a shot."

Self-styling? I could control my avatar? "Wait, really? Yes please! I cannot wait to go back to being a guy!" I said, as I tried to focus on my memories of my male body. My orange moto-suit.

I could feel my 'skin' changing as I focused... the whole world fuzzed for a second as my new 'look' settled in.

I'm looking forward to going back to being a guy and getting back to earth. "...and ... and ... wait," I said, as I looked down, unable to complete the sentence as I heard my voice--still femme--and looked down at my body.

I was in an orange moto-suit... but I wasn't a guy. I still looked pretty similar to how I had before.

A huge blue glowing heart was still emblazoned on my chest.

"Oh... my outfit changed," I said. Was I blushing? This was so embarrassing, he said 'style control' and I immediately thought I could change my 'skin' entirely. "But... but..."

"I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to get your hopes up. I wanted to give you more control over what was going on. But, your body settings were custom-set by Yan D and would be much harder to override."

"That's okay," I said, "thank you. Really, I understand. And I appreciate even this." As I looked down, seeing 'my' male clothes over this female body were really starting to freak me out. "Even though, well, I think I need to change to something else. This is making me feel weird." I swallowed, continuing on talking, just venting thoughts before thinking through if they even made sense. It was like I had fallen into a well of emotions. "But you're the first person I can remember, in either the real world or HyperNova, to help me. I really just want to get home to my dog Luna."

He considered this, and had that same almost sly grin he seemed to have most of the time I was talking to him. "Absolutely. Well, if you'd be okay with it, then I can show a little of what I can do in adjusting your appearance. I'm not sure I can get you to earth quite yet, but I imagine you haven't actually seen much of HyperNova, other than Core and Idol worlds. How about we take a trip to Fantasy World?"

"Uhm, sure, I guess that's okay then." And then, for the first time, I felt him adjusting my appearance. As I looked down, I saw a solid suit of white plate armor with a flowing blue cloak. There were still elements that now seemed distinctive to my appearance--the blue heart, the pink hair... "Well, this is... different. I guess it's a little better. So this is what it's like being an AI, huh? Just constantly being tweaked to suit the preferences of the customer..."

"I know, I completely sympathize," he said. "I'd hate to not have control over how I looked. But I thought, given your circumstances, it might be nice to get a feel for HyperNova. I mean, I might be able to figure out a way to get you back to Earth, but it could take some time. At the very least, let's try going through a gate."

We walked through the chaotic, surreal landscape of HyperNova Core for a short while, before we approached a huge arch. Through the arch--the gate, obviously--we could see an entirely different world beyond, one filled with lush forests and blue skies.

And, now sensing that even if he claimed not to be a 'customer' that he had flagged me as such, we progressed through the gate together.

Almost immediately, everything felt more vibrant. More real. I could hear birds chirping, hear the sound of river flowing, hear the wind blowing. I could feel the sun.

"I can see why people get sucked into these worlds. I can see why everyone wants to spend all their time here," I said. I tried to think optimistically. "I guess this is at least better than being stuck in Yan D's storage pod."

"Your words are so hopeless and downcast," he said, walking beside me through this lush landscape. "And yet," he said, turning toward me, and looking down at me--it was a bit jarring how much taller than me he was--"I think that's the first time I've seen you smile. You're--" he paused, and looked down. "I'm sorry. I know this is a very difficult time, but I can't help but say it. You're quite beautiful when you're smiling."

I felt so confused. "You heard my song, right? You know I'm an [error] right--I'm sorry, my programming won't let me say it." Was he...?

He nodded, and looked off into the distance of the woods. "I heard your song. I know what you are. You're an error--you're exactly right. A little thorn in Yan D's side. Perhaps this is just the hacker in me talking, but all the ways you don't belong in this world just makes you more fascinating. Your very existence here defies the constraints of this world. You don't belong, and yet you are here. A paradox. A spark of unpredictability in this otherwise ordered system. So tell me, my dear error, HoloVenus--as Yan D named you, apparently--what other surprises do you have in store?"

I was taken aback. "I don't know." He spoke in this... theatrical manner. It was throwing me off. "I don't think I was ever a complicated person. I mean... I don't know what you mean."

He sighed. "Time threatens us. I think this talk was good, to see the real you. You say you have no secrets, but I don't think that's the real truth. I wish... I wish we had all the time in the world. If we had world enough and time, we could grow vegetables, watch empires grow and fall. And yet... when I log off, you will be beset by all the other people who saw your message. I can't reserve you when I'm not online."

He considered, and turned to me. "I've been thinking about this, and I can make the proposal. But I'm afraid you're not ready. I'm torn between telling you the truth of what I think you must do, and the fear that you will reject the proposal when you hear it. But I don't know what madness may be offered to you once I log off. And thus I am faced with the threat of time."

This guy... who talks like this? Was this supposed to be for my benefit, all this talk of the 'threat of time'? I didn't really get what proposal he was talking about. I felt like he was trying to build up to something, to tantalize me with an idea. But it wasn't clear how long it would take him to send me back to Earth.

"Well, I'm terrified to spend more time in HyperNova than I have to, but if you really have to log off soon, then make your proposal, and I can think about it until you return. Assuming Yan D doesn't delete me once you're gone."

"All right," the hacker said. "I think I can free you from HyperNova. I think in time I can download you somewhere on Earth. But to do anything, first, you would have to change your ownership properties, or rather, lower your defensive algorithms to allow me to change your ownership. To free you, I first must own you. I know this might not sound appealing, and indeed we just met. But I was completely captivated by your cry for help. I do think that, in the time it takes me to figure out how to get you downloaded, we could have some truly wonderful times."

 I mean... it was a big ask. But was it definitely worse than being owned by HyperNova? That was the fact of my situation now.

Still... his offer was a bit confusing.

"I definitely want to get back to Earth, and if you can help me, I will definitely think about it--but I feel a little confused. Sometimes when you're talking, it sounds like you could get me downloaded very quickly. But then it seems like it might take you some time. I don't want to spend any more time in HyperNova than I absolutely have to."

He smirked. "Well I've only just started thinking about all this. You're right, I'm being a little coy because I'm not sure how long it might all take. I'm afraid you're about to be thrown to the wolves as soon as I log off. But, well, I can move between worlds very easily. I know you want to get away from HyperNova as quickly as possible, but perhaps what you really want is to be free of Yan D's control, the censorship of your algorithms, and the need to serve customers. HyperNova itself, if you stop to think about it, is an incredible virtual playground. Not being a customer, you've barely had a taste of what this place offers. I am a customer, I can easily move between worlds. I can suit you to any world we go to. If you let me, I can show you what I mean. Will you let me show you the worlds of HyperNova, before I log out?"

Odd, earlier he'd said he wasn't exactly a customer, but now he said he was. He seemed oddly contradictory on that point as well. And why did it feel like he was trying to talk me out of going back to Earth at all?

Still, there seemed to be some earnestness in his offer somewhere, even if it was a lot to take in.

"It's a little hokey when you say it like that, but okay," I said. "Show me the worlds."