Each pod had a capsule-like shape with sleeping space for one adult inside. A person who wants to get into Oasis would just get comfortable on the cradle-like plush bed. Then a transparent glass would be drawn over the only opening, securing the person’s body safely inside.

When Vik got inside the pod and the glass was drawn over him, he started wearing the mandatory face mask that’d regulate the oxygen intake. And wirelessly connected the MCP chip planted inside his nape with the pod’s control.

***

MCP chip. Also called the Eureka chip.

The Eureka chip was a revolutionary invention. Every person would be planted with a Eureka chip as soon as they were born. And one had to pass through this procedure, no matter what. Otherwise, they need to be prepared to say bye-bye to civilization.

The invention had opened the gateway to heaven and hell for all the human beings in the world. It was a multi-purpose AI chip meant to be connected to humans’ neural systems.

The chip served as a universal ID card, wireless controller for a lot of devices these days, and entry pass for the Oasis among other things.

The chip would also allow a spectral screen to be seen in front of its user. It would keep track of and display user information to the user. To make the display visible to others, users could change the privacy setting from private to public.

In addition to displaying spectral-like images, the spectral screen also acted as an interface to send and receive prompts from a variety of real-world interactions.

Plus, the screen allowed for an effortless and immersive way of communication. People could communicate with each other using their Eureka chip as long as they had the digital signature of the person they were texting.

They could also call someone using the Eureka chip, which was referred to as a holo-call. A holo-call would, like its name suggests, create a real-life replica of the person who is calling you along with their nearby surroundings and project the same in front of your eyes in the form of 3D spectral rendering.

You were shown a semi-transparent 3D rendering of what was happening to the person or their surroundings as they were calling you. Therefore, all the other old-fashioned forms of communication have been kicked out of people’s lives ever since the Eureka chip was introduced.

***

Coming back to the present. A prompt appeared in front of Vik’s eyes on the spectral screen that only he could see. It read:

<Would you like to enter Oasis Online meant for non-Metahumans?

Confirm: Yes / No >

Vik took a deep breath inside his breathing mask and selected yes. His consciousness started fading immediately afterward before seemingly awakening from a deep slumber due to a blinding white light.

When the illumination returned to normal, Vik found himself standing in the middle of an endless void. There were various sources of light located far away from him.

These stars represented different worlds in Oasis Online. But Vik could not venture into any world. He wasn’t qualified to enter those worlds after all.

Those worlds were reserved for the Metahumans after all. It was their battlefield. An ordinary human being and a non-Meta, he could only dream of exploring something as exciting as foreign worlds in Oasis.

Vik quickly pulled himself out of those distracting thoughts and focused on the prompt seen in front of him.

<Would you like to proceed with your current permanent avatar Vik_Lord_Of_69s?

Confirm: Yes / No>

<Would you like to proceed with a 24-hour temporary avatar?

Confirm: Yes / No>

***

Every time Vik saw the name of his Permavatar (permanent avatar), he’d feel an unprecedented cringe. The teenager-him was indeed an edge lord. He had come up with that name when he first created his Permavatar because he thought it was cool at the time.

Vik rarely regretted his life choices. And yet, out of all his mistakes, the handle was something he wanted to get rid of the most.

Vik obviously couldn’t select his go-to avatar for entering Oasis. If someone could keep tabs on their real-world activities, he was sure there’d be people doing the same on their avatars in Oasis as well.

Vik decided to proceed with the second option. A temporary avatar.

The temporary avatars would only stay active for 24 hours. They would not be accessible after that period has passed.

The temporary avatars were mostly used by people who wanted to stay in the dark while carrying out their deals in Oasis. The virtual world was known to provide a haven for establishments and criminal organizations alike. It was much more secure to conduct transactions they’d do in real life under the controlled environment of their choosing in Oasis.

<You have selected to proceed further with the temporary avatar. Please note that a randomly configured avatar would be assigned to you. Your default world would be Earth.

Please select the place at which you want to spawn:

North America

Asia

South America

Africa

…

Vik was presented with the usual choices in front of him. The places represented real-life continents in Oasis. Each of those options would reflect its respective continent’s real-life culture, socioeconomic status, geography, and more in an exaggerated way.

Vik selected the first choice, North America.

The server of North America in Oasis was difficult to keep tabs on because of the sheer traffic it attracted every day. That’s why it was also a go-to choice for people like Vik who wanted to not draw attention by being part of the crowd.

After selecting the server, Vik was again prompted to register his choice for the state and location he wanted to spawn in. He configured his choice:

< The Republic of California. City-state of Crescent Moon Corp.

Location: Any available Spawn zone near Battery Point Bar.

Confirm: Yes / No>

Yes!

Vik confirmed the option mentally before being blinded again by a sudden white light. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing over an open platform on which people kept appearing out of thin air.

Vik was still a man.

But he looked different from his usual self. The random avatar generator did him a solid this time. He appeared normal, or as normal as one could be in the virtual world.

That’s right! Vik had entered the Meta Oasis.

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