"Huh..." I mutter to myself, my heart catching in my throat as I look at the roughly categorized representation of my life fill out on the screen. More filters in lower in the window, however, my gaze remains stuck on the first few options. "... Difficulty?" I coo softly, tapping at the keys as I navigate the blinking cursor up to the [Normal] option.
As I try to delete it the option itself merely begins to blink as if selected, the whole form shifting and editing itself as I tap up and down through the options. From [Very Easy] [-50] to [Insane] [+50] it quickly becomes obvious just how much of a change each would bring.
"Those are... they're the same as the whole total up top!" I croak, realizing that changing to even an [Easy] [-25] life would take some sacrifices down the line.
Still, my heart races at the thought and my lips curl into a wicked grin. This was simply too intriguing to pass up, my mind wheeling as I try to think of what I could safely edit and change.
"Let's just see... what we have..."
Tapping at the keys I watch as the blinking white square slides into place over each option in turn. With a simple tap of the enter key whatever was there vanishes, the arrow keys slowly revealing the options and more importantly the cost of various options.
"Hmmm..." I hum as I shift to a little sigh, the figures after each option either being middling at best or wildly high much like the [Difficulty] setting. "So I guess if I want an easier life... I'll need to make up the difference with bug bites..."
Taking a deep breath I tap the cursor up to the top of the form, a quick button press letting me wrangle control of the [Difficulty] option as I quickly alter it up to [Easy]. For a moment I leave it there, the new option blinking as it waits to be locked in.
"That's... I'm sure that easy would be fine..." I mutter unconvincingly, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip as I quickly begin to tap between [Easy] and [Very Easy]. "I... I mean I may as well see what the most easy life even looks like right?"
I chuckle a little as I make my choice, the points total at the top of the window quickly changing.
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[Character Creator]
[ Name: Jordan Hughes ] [ Points: -100/-50 ]
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"Shit..." I sigh, staring at the new total with gritted teeth. "Okay, so I'll just make up the points further down. How hard will that be?" I ask aloud, slowly navigating down as I drift the cursor down to the [Starting Community] option.
With a tap at the keyboard I slowly begin to shift through the option, my default selection of [Conurbation] already being worth [-10]. For a moment I can't help but grin, the thought of just how much I would be getting for giving up living in a major city only being a source of joy for a fleeting moment.
With each tap down the list I find the point total only moving slightly. Unlike difficulty, the size of the town or village I started in seemed to not matter as much. With a slight huff I select [Town] [+5].
"I mean... would hamlet or village be that bad or..." I muse, my mind drifting as I try to reckoning with just how far some of the smaller communities in my state were from important services like hospitals. Shaking my head I grumble, confirming my selection as I take the 15 point difference before moving on.
Despite living in a massive city, the option for [Grasslands] [-20] sits as a thankfully hefty positive default option on my sheet. Pausing over it I try to reckon with just why it was so valuable, my fingers tapping at the keyboard as I shuffle between some of the other options.
"Desert... bad option... Seaside... good-ish... Forest... good-ish..." I muse, lazily moving up and down over the options. Suddenly it hits me, my eyes going wide. "Food availability? Maybe how easy it is to build?" I ponder, attempting to piece together why [Tundra] and [Desert] were considered bad choices while [Forest] was superior to [Mountains].
Fluttering my selection between [Forest] [+15] and [Seaside] [+10] I finally settle one. "I doubt the extra five points for... I don't know, trees? Will be worth it" I huff, setting up my new [Starting Zone] as [Seaside].
With the more physical aspects of my new life locked in I'm given pause at the [Starting Wealth] option. Sure I had changed to very easy mode and was in desperate need for more head room in the points department, but wouldn't it be nice to not worry all that much about money either.
Shifting between the options I grow pale at the wild differences in the points. While [Working Class] and [Upper Class] are only twenty points apart with [Middle Class] resting in the middle, the shift up to [High-Net-Worth Individual] or down to [Lower Class] suddenly ramped up.
Inhaling weakly, my breath holding for a moment before hissing out in frustration, I slowly move up to [Upper Class] [-10] as I immediately destroy the gains I had made with the move to the shoreline.
"It'll be worth it..." I mumble, pursing my lips as I look around my rather small yet cozy apartment. "Yeah... yeah it'll be worth it. I just need to make it up with the next few options I guess."
As I select [Period] I'm soon met with a list of decades, the options shifting up an down in increments of ten. However, despite this I can't seem to make any headway with the cost. I'm forced to scroll back up to the fifties and sixties before the cost changes from its [+/- 0], the cost of racing back half a century not being worth it.
Sighing to myself I simply leave the [Period] as [1990's] [+/- 0], my gaze turning to the limited remaining options.
"This is going to hurt..." I muse, moving the cursor down to [Family] [3] [-10] as I begin to fiddle with the numbers. As I shift the number down towards [1] [+10] and back again it seems as though [5] [+/- 0] is the middle ground. With a pained huff I keep inching the number up, my stomach sinking as I soon land on [7] [+15] as the highest number I am willing to just to.
"Guess I'm getting a few new brothers and sisters" I chuckle weakly, my nostrils flaring as I struggle with the idea of no longer being an only child. "So I started at three, so mom and dad I guess. That probably means I'll have four more..." I state, a shudder running up my spine as I do the math. "Glad we're going to be more than a bit wealthier" I muse, a slight smile forming n my lips as I wonder just how far that extra money would go or if that will account for the increased family size.
Lastly I find myself lingering over [Education], the broad topic leaving me more than a little concerned with changing it. However, with my current option [Graduate] [-10] leaving me with the last of a ten point deficit.
Grumbling under my breath I begin to decrease the down through the options, passing quickly by [Trade School] [-5] and stopping with pained wheeze at [High School] [+/- 0]. My heart skips a beat as I stare at the option, my eyes darting between the poor education and the finally zero'd out difference in points.
"Is this like... my current education?" I ask no one in particular, my mind grinding to a halt as I try to reckon with what this change would actually mean for me. "I mean, obviously this isn't starting education or anything like that but..." I huff, my gaze shifting over the other options for anything I could cut further.
With a sharp inhale I lock in [High school] [+/- 0] as I feel my stomach sink. As the last option locks in I watch as the form shifts and returns to a similar state it had been in once it had loaded, my eyes darting back and forth as I read over the blocky text.
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[Character Creator]
[ Name: Jordan Hughes ] [ Points: -50 ]
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[Difficulty] [Very Easy] [-50]
[Starting Community] [Town] [+5]
[Starting Zone] [Seaside] [-10]
[Starting Wealth] [Upper Class] [-10]
[Period] [1990's] [+/- 0]
[Family] [7] [+15]
[Education] [High School] [+/- 0]
...
[Finalize]
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Looking over the form, finding next to no fat I am comfortable cutting at least without knowing just what I would be cutting in practical terms, let out a weak nervous croak. My palms sweat, or really my whole body begins to as my anxiety builds more and more by the second.
I had looked for this internet mystery for weeks, having only stumbled across it by chance, and yet the thought of actually using it let my blood running cold and my stomach twisting itself into knots.
Regardless, I had come to far to back down now. Worse comes to worse it didn't do anything, or was simply a virus, though the fact it knew so much about me was a terrifying implication that was too strange to ignore.
With a shaking hand I shift the cursor down to the new option, my finger quivering over the key as I tap [Finalize].
As if on key my stomach lurches up, my heart following suit as it leaps into my throat. I try to stand, the keyboard tumbling off my lap as the pained whirring of the laptops fans become all I can hear over the pounding of my pulse in my ears.
The moment I get to my feet I feel my knees give out beneath me, the bones and cartilage cracking painfully as I tumble back down into my couch. As I land into the cushions I simply continue to fall, the plush pillows almost parting as my body hurtles deeper into the suddenly cavernous maw of the supple green sofa.
A dim black void surrounds me as the hole in the couch I had fallen through is all that provides a source of light in this dark space, the warm light from my living room soon turning to a small flickering pinprick in the distance like the last star in an inky night sky.
Cool air surrounds me, my body soon growing numb to the touch as the feeling of my breaking bones turns to a dull and and distant grinding. My mind races as my heart beats a mile a minute, my head and senses growing hazier and hazier as I struggle to keep my attention on the ever more distant light.
Seconds away from losing consciousness I feel my whole body lurch, the sensation gripping me being almost concerning similar to when one 'falls' while laying in bed. I'm forced to close my eyes as the light rushes back to meet me, the suddenly burst of speed making it impossible to adjust to the blinding rays.
With a dull thud I feel myself suddenly come to rest, the lurching and fall backwards and forwards suddenly vanishing almost as soon as it had appeared. With my eyes still closed I slowly let them flutter open only to find myself...
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