Riley felt her cheeks warm as the redness spread, "I.. I guess so. I am pretty clumsy at times." She sighed lightly as they boarded the elevator. The embarrassment was still there as she was standing next to him, but that awkward feeling began to disappear as she realized that she would have normally felt like much worse if she hadn't known who it was she fell into. She felt comforted as she thought about how well her and Gino got along and how much they had in common. Maybe it would be okay the next weeks as they tested together, perhaps even more enjoyable that what she previously thought. Riley was looking very much forward to testing this game, but she recalled the uneasiness in the bottom of her stomach as she considered the types of people she could be stuck with. The thought of it then caused her stomach to feel unsettled, as if there was a massive tropical storm and the fluids were rolling and crashing around, beating against the walls.

At least, she had befriended her testing partner. She knew it would make everything so much easier. She nearly gasped at the sudden halt of the elevator, but an actually gasp escaped her mouth as the sidewalk the both stepped on began to move. It wasn't the first time she had used moving sidewalks, but with everything going on and her mind wandering, it came as a surprise.

"Wow, this is already amazing." Riley remarked after the voice finished with the introductions. "Honored? Ooh, what an unexpected title." She smiled and glanced over at Gino, "Are you ready?"

Moving through the relative dark, Gino couldn't help but squint to try to see deeper than what would allow. He and Riley seemed to glow in the pale blue that twined throughout the walls and outlined several doors ahead of them. When Riley spoke, he started out of his thoughts and glanced around. "Absolutely!" He responded giddily, raising his hands to twine them in front of his face, not quite able to still the shivering excitement at being so very close to what was possibly the main highlight of his life so far. "I've been waiting for this for so long. Something like this, anyway. A game that breaks all boundaries!" The prospect of endless NPCs, monsters that look different every time you turn around, weapons that verge on the millions and powers that can be obtained only by the best players, all confined in a nearly endless world? It was almost too much to handle. Gino nearly felt faint just thinking about it again.

The moving sidewalk suddenly stopped, and Gino instinctively put a hand behind Riley in case she lost balance. They were stopped in front of a massive display window that revealed the testing facility below. It was well lit for the time being, but the floor was black tile, and the walls looked like they were lined with carpet. Many flat monitors were screwed on the back wall, portraying character formats, area designs, and endless varieties of people to meet within the game with their very own, vastly different artificial intelligence units that enabled them to have actual conversations rather than repeating the same lines or blocks of information over and over. Several chairs sat in the very middle of the room, with a table beside them containing what looked to be electrodes and a small helmet. Gino almost vibrated out of his skin at the sight---they were so close...

The door to the right opened suddenly. It took a moment for him to look away, even as the one who opened the door spoke: "Riley! Gino! I'm glad to see you here bright and early." The middle-aged voice was bright and cheery, though it took a moment for Gino to focus as the brown-gray haired man stepped back away from the door and beckoned them inside.

Riley grinned as Gino spoke to her. She noticed that it was as if he had sparked to life all at once, the excitement just seemed to be bolting off his body and it caused her to giggle, "It is all very exciting. I cannot wait to see what unravels before us. How we will be transferred into the game, how we will be our own characters, how to use weapons, health, armor..ooh the endless possibilities. It is very much exciting. I have to agree." A shiver wiggled its way up her spin, causing her to randomly shudder and goose bumps spread across her arms. The air was a tad nippy during their sidewalk ride, but that wasn't was caused the shivers. She was thinking about the game and how close they were to participating in such a legendary event.

Suddenly, the ground beneath her stopped moving but her body decided it wasn't ready to stop. Nearly losing her footing, Riley lunged forward as her legs became unstable. Trying to correct herself before completely falling, her attempt to stop the fall forward, caused her to lose balance and stumble backwards, falling into Gino's extended arm. Riley felt herself flush, her face suddenly growing very warm as a bright pink spread across her cheeks. Why was his arm there? Could her partner already predict how clumsy she was? These thoughts only made her more embarrassed. Oh, fantastic. I am sure Gino loves having such a wreck of a partner. Quickly and not as gracefully as she'd like, Riley straightened herself up and peered through the large window in front of them, hoping that none of the people in that room had noticed her stumble.

The voice of the older man caught her attention which by some miracle momentarily caused her to forget that embarrassing moment. She smiled at the man as he spoke their names and glanced over at Gino. They were here. At the place where they would become known at the first testers of a masterpiece.

The older man, who introduced himself as Andrew Isla, the creator of the video game and many others before it, ushered them into the office. “I’m glad that you came around on the first bus.” He said as he led the way to a doorway, opened it, and started down a stairwell. “Now then, straight to business!” Making it down, he opened another, which revealed the room Riley and Gino had seen from above. Andrew turned and clasped his hands. “First things are first, of course! Listen closely as I tell you what will be happening before you’re transported into the avatar creator section of the game, okay?”

Stepping across the room to the two chairs, he shooed the others to a control panel. “You’ll be given specific suits before being hooked to the machines. These are made of a special polymer that will adhere like a comfortable second skin, and will be transported with you into the game so you’re not standing there in... well, what you were born in, shall we say.” Andrew chuckled. “Anyway, you will then be attached by the ankles, knees, hands, elbows, shoulders, neck, waist, and head by various straps that will give your new body all its necessary movement. Then you’ll be sat in your respective places and transported, independently, into the game. From there you’ll go through levels of character creation. You can manipulate the mannequin before you manually, or use specific buttons on the walls to edit their appearance and make them as you want them. Then it goes to race, and you can choose a pure-blooded race or mix two of any choice. Then it’s off to their genetic makeup, which adds eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears, hair, and whatever extra you feel he or she needs.”

Andrew turned to them. “Then we can go on to the clothing department! You can choose things already lined along the walls, change their colors to anything you like, sew them on your own to change them to whatever you like. And once you’re in the game, you can get even more in various towns, cities, and countries you visit, each imbued with an endless array of amazing abilities that make you stronger, faster, more agile, and simply better, so you can face bigger, badder foes with confidence! You’ll be gifted with a small, simple weapon when you’re placed in the game, but as with clothes, you can buy and exchange them for better ones as you go.”

Going forward, he patted the chairs that faced the control panel. “And don’t worry about your physical bodies---we take care of them as needed, but that’s only for the testers. Once the game is released, it’ll be up to the person to stop the game as they feel necessary.” He took a deep breath. “Okay! Any questions before we get started?”

Riley paid close attention to every detail as Andrew spoke to them. Excitement seemed to pulsate from her entire body as she thought about the character customization. She would be the character and control them as she would her own self, but being able to create her "new" self and customize it to her delight and satisfaction sent shivers up her spine. She made sure to listen closely at the instructions and the function of the various objects described by Andrew.

She stuck close to Andrew, but never too close. Even though he seemed to be in charge of her and Gino, she still felt awkward around strangers and though she was more than anxious to try out the game, she patiently waited without revealing the impatience brewing inside of her out of fear of accidentally appearing rude.

A small smile played at the corners of her mouth as she began thinking of the possibilities mentioned by Andrew. Cities, quests, monsters, clothing, weapons. Her head was buzzing with questions, but she remained quiet because she always seemed to be better off figuring things out herself. The thought of having someone care for her actual body without her attention and focus being there did make Riley feel a bit uncomfortable, but she had figured something like this would happen. She forced herself to shrug off the thought for the sake of her sanity. All that mattered now was paying close attention and preparing to become a tester for this game.

Gino’s head was swimming. It was so amazing, all of this. “So, it’s out of beta testing?” He asked. “It’s free of general glitches and layering issues?”

Andrew nodded. “Yes, we sent bots in to test the places. The NPCs are all original and independent, as if they’re also real people. They act as anyone would, eat, sleep, age over time, and know you eventually, depending on how many times you approach them.”

Gino was shivering. He wanted to get in there, at once, right now...! But he shook his head. “Er, are there... ways to collect energy, health?”

“Your injuries will be real, just not to your physical body. You’ll feel everything, mind, so be careful if you don’t have a high pain tolerance. You can create health and energy mixtures, potions if you’d like to call them that, when you learn, and you’ll carry a miniature notebook, which is able to extend to enter any information you want, should you wish to write it down.” He turned as they reached two doors. “You’ll go in there to change.” He said, pointing behind him. “Now, before you do, would you like to know anything? Riley?” He looked to her. Gino had been rendered silent---he didn’t need much more revealed.

Pain, injuries, death. The words repeated in Riley's mind over and over. She had never been fond of pain, but she knew she could handle it. She hadn't been one of those that would seek out opportunities that risked being hurt the way dare devils would. But for this opportunity, she would put herself in a position where harm may possibly fall onto her.

"So, you said the NPCs are all like real people. Can they die? And if they do, will they be replaced? I only ask this in case we were to come across a NPC that we rely heavily on for items like ingredients for potions. I'd hate to think of losing a reliable resource like that, but I suppose that would be realistic." Riley had answered her own question in a sense. This game was to seem as realistic as possible, so of course she knew the answer ahead of time.

She brushed her blonde hair out of her face and glanced around the room, "What would happen if we die in the game? Would that be painful? Would we automatically wake up and have to start over, or would we have the option to simply reload?" She was wondering if this game would be like any of the others. Your character dies, and you have the option to reload or start over. But this was very much different. For you were the character and if you felt everything, would you feel death? Her mind seemed to linger on that question, though she was very much excited to hurry and enter the game.

Shaking his head, Andrew patted one of the chairs. “The NPCs will never be in any danger, so the possibility of them dying is definitely nonexistent. Of course, death from old age is entirely possible, but there are younger ones that are standing by which are as informed as the older ones. They'll be able to tell you just what the dead NPC would have told you, just in whatever personality they were born with.”

Gino settled for nodding. Nodding and only slightly listening, taking what he needed from Andrew. It was too much, and he felt as if his insides were shorting out during a massive power surge. Probably how these guys felt sometimes while trying not to overload the systems with the nearly endless array of changeable days, nights, textures, realism, and humanity instilled within every NPC, and within the many realms real players would be spread out upon. He just couldn't even consider how much memory, how many miles of wires, just how big the motherboard for this game was. Having millions of endlessly customizable players from all over the world linking up together in a world almost as real as their own? Andrew's voice snapped Gino back to reality:

“Don't worry, Riley, you'll not feel your true death. It'll be similar to a sharp punch in the chest, not doing much more than knocking the wind out of you. And when you're killed, you'll be shot back into your real, human body. And wherever your avatar fell, it'll be transported to a safe zone close by.” He raised a finger, however, as if in warning. “Just be careful, won't you? It's easy to get turned around after you're back.” He nodded. “Okay, I can't tell you any more than that, dears! Do go change into your commissioned suits, like I said, they'll follow you into your avatar creation rooms when you're in the program!” Clapping, he pointed to the two doors and went forward, to the control panels. “Oh, and don't either of you worry! We'll be able to communicate with you once you're in there!” He called over his shoulder.

Riley sucked in a deep breath and gave a quick glance at Gino. Though there was nervousness seeping into her veins now, she was ready for this experience more than ever. Her eyes then fell to a pair of suits that were folded neatly on the gaming chairs in which they will be strapped into. The material was a sleek black with one blue racer line going down each side. The suit was full body and she could immediately tell that what Andrew had said about them was true. The suits would be very tight, forming to every curve of the body. Riley was suddenly shy, she usually wore baggy clothes that didn't show off her curves or anything particularly girly about her.

After being directed by a secondary staff member, Riley found herself in a private changing room. She quickly stripped out of her own clothes, her fingers shaking with adrenaline. Pulling the tight suit on felt alien to her and made her feel uncomfortable, but once the suit was on and completely zipped up (she was forced to get a staff member to finish zipping up the back of the suit) she realized that the material was extremely comfortable. She sighed and exited the room, immediately being directed to one of the chairs. A light blush spread across her cheeks and she kept twining her fingers together, shyness lurking throughout.

Riley took a deep breath and sat down in the chair, feeling the comfort of the soft cushioned seat. She recognized that the material of the chair was made out of the new liquified glass and gel mixture that like the suits, would form perfectly with the body. Never wearing, thinning, or becoming uncomfortable. One of the staff members proceeded to connect her to the necessary gear. Riley almost felt claustrophobia sneaking up as she was strapped into the chair. She had never enjoyed being confined or tight places, but she managed to swallow the fear and tossed a glance at Gino, a nervous smile playing on her lips.