THE MOMENT
"Ahh, there you are," Mitch heard a pleasant female voice as his eyes fluttered open. It only took a moment for him to assess his situation. He was laying on what seemed like a hospital bed looking up into soft fluorescent lights. The woman that spoke wore a white lab coat and her shoulder-length wavy blond hair was down to her shoulders. He tried to remember what happened, but only vaguely recalled the sound of shattering glass and twisting metal. If nothing else, the fact that he was in a hospital seemed reasonable.
"I'm in a hospital?" Mitch asked. The woman nodded with a friendly smile.
"Five years and one month today, Mr. Gutierrez; you've missed quite a number of world-changing advancements," she replied.
"I'll bet," he nodded, then sat up and adjusted the pillows behind him. He briefly wondered how exactly he was speaking and moving so easily after five years of atrophy; but, he chalked it up to the advancements she was talking about. She didn't make any move to stop him from moving around so much.
"Do my parents know I'm awake..." he asked and glanced at her nametag and tilted his head with a grin. "...Nurse ..Galadriel." Despite his lighthearted tone, Galadriel's smile dimmed a bit. The sparkle in her green eyes faded.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I won't lie to you, not even for a few minutes. Unfortunately, a year into your coma, your parents passed away. Your father first, then a few months later, your mother. We've been unable to locate any other relatives," she added.
"There aren't any," Mitch replied with a flat tone. He didn't know how to process his loss yet. "Only child of only children." His gaze dropped and he stared at the pale blue/green hospital blanket silently for a few moments before Nurse Galadriel spoked up again.
"I understand if you need some time...," she said. Mitch got the impression she was going to walk away. He didn't know what to do with his feelings, but he knew he didn't want to be alone.
"Wait. What else did I miss?" he asked. "My parents were loaded, but I doubt they were responsible for any world-changing events." Galadriel's smile brightened again.
"You're right about that," she said. "And, not that it matters, but since you brought up their wealth now's a good time to mention it. Your parents did leave their fortune to you.
Mitch hadn't given any thought to his financial situation yet, but he always assumed they would leave their only child something. Galadriel saying "it doesn't matter" sounded odd, but Mitch guessed she made the same assumption he did. It would be a more important note if he had siblings.
"Alternate universes are real, and we travel between them easily," Galadriel said. Mitch stared at her for some hint that she was joking, but she seemed sincere.
"We found an alternate universe?" Mitch asked with interest. Galadriel shrugged.
"More like they found us," she replied. "Two years ago a woman named Dana Sharp appeared and proved how easy multi-versal travel is. Then, she bought the Earth."
"What?" Mitch wasn't sure he heard her correctly. She nodded, indicating he did.
"She owns the Earth now, and everything is great. Humanity has never been more,..." She paused as if searching for the right word. "...utopian. Her technology is unbelievably advanced."
"Whoa...," As much as Mitch wanted to believe she was joking, he just couldn't. Something in him believed her completely. "Well," he chuckled. "I guess waking up in a Utopia is better than a Dystopia."
"Oh, right..," Galadriel said. "...that was the other thing I needed to tell you; after your parent's passing." She used her hand to brush her bangs and hair back behind her right ear. Mitch was stunned again, on top of the other surprises he'd woken to so far. Her fair-skinned ear was long and tapered to a point at the end.
"Technically, you're not awake," she said. Mitch narrowed his eyes at her, then he lifted his hands and wildly wriggled his fingers.
"I feel awake. I'm talking to you. Are you a dream; is that why you have elf ears?" he asked.
"Some of the technology that Dana Sharp gifted us is known as 'The AlterNet'. It's an advanced VR experience that feels like real life. My AlterNet character is an elf, that's why I have elf ears in...," Galadriel made a sweeping motion with her hand. The hospital room around them disintegrated into white powder all at once. In an instant, Mitch's hospital bed was in the center of an endless wheat field under a violet sky. "...here."
"Your body isn't awake, but we managed to connect you to the AlterNet to give you a new life."
"What's going to happen to my body?" Mitch asked. He turned around and hung his feet off the bed to feel the wheat tickle his soles. Then, he hopped off the bed and stood.
"You won't need it anymore," she said. Standing in front of her, feeling better than he ever did, Mitch couldn't argue with that. He glanced down at his potbelly, then he looked at Galadriel's ears.
"Do I have to keep the same one? Can I be an elf too?" Galadriel nodded.
"Your current body is a temporary shell until you finalize your character. You have 25 races and 25 classes to choose from."
"Whoa... really?" Mitch asked. "Can I choose any of them, or are some of them behind a paywall or something? I mean, I'm rich, so it doesn't matter. But just so I know what's going on." Galadriel smiled.
"There's no paywall, but that's a good thing because you're not rich either," She held her hand out and golden particles from the air coalesced into her palm. They formed a tiny golden cube. "This is the AlterNet currency."
"Well, is there an exchange or something?" Mitch asked. Galadriel shook her head.
"I didn't mean you're poor in-game. I meant you're not rich anymore. Your parents left you their fortune, but once Dana took over, everything became hers. Don't worry though, you won't miss it. So, let's make your character."