ENTER

C7 - Evolving

James ended up in front of his computer again by eleven, wanting to play a game but at the same time knows nothing compares to his new reality.

James just wants to go over to the buildings already and calculates that if he goes now, he can battle for ten hours come home and rest for ten and be back by tomorrow morning when Emce and Emily will be there.

James grabbed his card and took a jog over to the four buildings, not sure what they are called yet, ‘Uzar Embassy on Earth?’

James sees a young kid walking towards one of the buildings and stops him, "hey, hold up."

The kids looked around and then continue their walk, trying to ignore James.

"Wait, look, I am one of you," James takes out his card, showing it to the kid.

"You are still a stranger," the kids point out.

"How old are you?" James asks.

"Nine," the kids say.

"Nine? That is just nuts!  Nine-year-olds should not be fighting the battles of other planets," James exclaimed.

"Is that not for my parents to decide?"  the boy asks, walking on again.

"Your parents actually know?" James asks, even more, shocked.

"Who do you think pays the bills?" the kids say before disappearing into the wall.

James stands in front of the building and puts his face closer but the blue light that normally scans his eyes and face does not appear. James walks over to the building that he normally enters and this time the blue light scanner scans his eyes and face.

Arriving on Uzar, in the white room a young boy wearing the same grey bodysuit that Zadia wears with the same grey eyes and same color blond hair, only short, greets him.

“Where is Zadia?” James wants to know.

“Off duty, I am Zack,” the boy introduces himself.

“Hello Zack, I am James,” James says, taking the clothing bag.

“I know. Today when you enter the battlefield you will start in daylight but if you choose to battle for the full ten hours you will run into night-time,” Zack says.

“So, it just happens that my country is in the same day-night schedule?” James asks, thinking it strange.

“Something like that. Where you enter from your planet is position on ours to keep your day-night on track. So, if you were entering our planet from the other side of your world where it is dark right now then you will enter a zone on our dark side.” Zack says.

“Ok, I understand. Why can I not enter any of these four buildings?” James wants to know.

“I am not authorized to share that information,” Zack says.

“I have to fight your battles, but I don’t get to know all the details?” James says.

“You don’t have to fight but know we truly appreciate your efforts. The next time you are on your computer and the text comes up you can respond and ask any questions you have,” Zack says, leaving James to get dressed.

James did not hesitate to step into the darkness as he knows the sooner, he steps in the sooner he can get to the light.

James looks around and decides he will not be going to the halve broken down sky bridge as he wants to explore the planet wondering where the surveillance is.

“Connected to Avatar V20227,” the AI voice says. James does not press any buttons yet but looks around through his Avatar’s eyes as he wants to find a safe place to hide the Avatar with his VR glasses and his controller.

James is forced to press the shooting button on his controller as a fleet of drones flew straight for his Avatar. After shooting them down James manages to get closer to his Avatar with only about a hundred meters between them.

“James, you are putting yourself in danger, please move to safety,” the AI voice says.

James ignores it and ducks out of sight behind what looks like a broken-down car without wheels, with smooth curves, alien-looking. ‘I wonder if it is from the invaders or Uzar?’ James wonders as he peaks inside. Through his VR glasses, he sees a giant robot-looking machine that is about four times the size of his Avatar flying over, towards his Avatar. James runs his Avatar out of the way, but the Invader Flying Robot catches up with him. James turns his Avatar around to face the Invader and through the eyes of his Avatar, James notices the pulsing veins that he noticed on the drone-looking creature.

‘Are all of these machines alive?’ James wonders as he starts to shoot at the Machine looking creature.

James defeated the creature and watch it fall to the ground. James looks around and calculates that if he makes a run for it he can reach his Avatar and the creature before the next giant machine creature reaches his Avatar.

James runs as fast as he can but twenty meters away from his Avatar the Avatar moved away on automatic mode.

“You will not be able to get closer than twenty meters. The Avatar has an automatic setting to go into automatic mode when an earthling is too close, it is to keep you safe,” the AI voice says.

‘Fine, but I am checking out this alien,’ James thinks as he takes his VR glasses off and immediately regrets it as the light is too bright.

“Ah!” James puts the glasses back onto his face and it takes a couple of minutes for his eyes to adjust again.

“James, your VR glasses help you to view our world as you would see in your own. The light on our world is too bright, as the darkness is too dark,” the AI voice says.

James has his eyesight back, just in time to shoot down another giant invader.