Just a bus ride away was the facility. Gino Moretti was a combination of emotions, mostly, excitement. Only a few people had been selected to test the new game by up-and-coming developers Cloud Isla Games. While there were many games that put you in the middle of the action, Cloud Isla’s new creation “Staff of Galaxies” literally placed you into the game.

Gino had entered the contest out of hope. Millions of others had also entered, he was pretty sure he wouldn’t be drawn out of three. Of course, when he heard his name he didn’t believe it; a dream, he was positive. Now, standing outside the bus station waiting for his ride, he was still dizzy with anticipation. The contest had promised that the winners’ expenses, including hotel stays, would be paid for, and that promise had been kept. He’d been so ready to go he hadn’t stopped to brush his hair; as a taxi pulled up to drop someone off, he studied his reflection. He resembled an overworked office worker that had fallen asleep at his desk, complete with slightly unfocused eyes and mussed light brown hair that wouldn’t stay out of his face.

Before the taxi pulled away, he straightened his clothes as well as he could; Tucking in his shirt and shaking the confused look away. But that was how he usually looked: Confused. Maybe it was the late nights awake, regardless of where he was, editing for various magazines and newspapers. It was a nice feeling to get away from that for a week or two.

A few other people had joined him, waiting for the same bus as him. Gino tended to be early. For everything. Insomnia allowed him to be awake at ridiculously early hours, and he’d learned early on that if he woke at four in the morning, he wouldn’t get back to sleep. He’d been waiting since six, four hours early for his bus. He’d probably looked like a recently-unemployed man desperate for work, sitting outside the station. Video games were his downfall. He’d wait for a day and a half just to make the bus to a once-in-a-lifetime thing like this. From ancient games like Pong, Pac-Man, and Mario to later classics like Portal, Call of Duty, or World of Warcraft, which he’d almost gotten addicted to. To be projected into virtual reality was one of many dreams come true.

He shuddered in anticipation. When would that damn bus get here...?