Overall, the class seemed hesitant in response to the announcement made by the mysterious researcher, yet gradually, hands began to raise as interested souls braved the unknown and made their step forward. Open arms welcomed their approach as Dr. Magus directed the volunteers towards the interior of the silicone cube before turning his attention back to the students who remained on the outside. On his face, a small scowl was present; however, his cheeky tone of voice gave evidence that his current disposition was entirely comical and benign in nature.
"You need balls ladies and gentlemen.
Life isn't so kind that you can expect to cruise without a strong expression of self. I was hoping for a larger selection of testers, but I guess this will do. Everyone's gonna experience what's coming anyways.
Sooo, without further ado, take it away crew."
At Dr. Magus' cue, preparation began to occur across the entirety of the room. Assistants rushed to confirm the validity of the system's stability; others began the start-up procedure for the demonstration; and Dr. Magus made his way into the cube where he and the volunteers were subsequently locked within. After several minutes of preparation passed, Dr. Valinheym walked to the front of the class where she began a quick debriefing for the event to come.
"As previously stated, all technology must have been relinquished back in the lobby. If you failed to heed this warning, Trinity Institute is no longer responsible for the inevitable destruction of your property. If you choose to step outside at this moment, you will not be allowed re-admittance, and your professor will then provide a make-up assignment of his or her choosing.
We ask that each and every one of you remain calm and civil for the duration of the event. Furthermore, we ask that you please remember everything you experience today is entirely virtual. In no way, can any element harm your physical body as they fail to truly exist within our realm.
None of you are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement; however, we ask that public conversation be minimal until our official release in the upcoming week.
With all this being said, the demonstration will begin momentarily, and I hope everyone enjoys our show."
Immediately at conclusion, Dr. Valinheym turned to walk towards a particular side of the room where a large monitor was displaying a slew of foreign symbols and numbers. There, she returned to her original job of monitoring the system's stability and ensuring a successful run for the first public test of a lifetime's worth of research. For the students, time continued to pass with little change to the environment apart from the sound of numerous whirring fans as the system began to boot. Within the cube, Dr. Magus, who was giddily grinning, displayed an obvious, shared anticipation for the momentous event at hand.
All in all, it was very sudden; an unexpected descent into absolute darkness followed by a sudden flash of light which revealed the new environment within the room. From a perspective within the cube, everything was anew. As far as the eyes could reach, lush grass and crystal clear lakes now encompassed the expansive terrain which seemed to be enclosed by a range of mountains at its max distance. In the sky, large floating islands existed all while slowly trudging along varying paths of trajectory. In terms of immersion, every aspect of the world felt real to the senses; the gentle, cool breeze; the softness of the grass; even the sounds of rushing water from waterfalls which fell in the distance. That being said, interaction with the world was somewhat limited as the range of movement was restrained to the area of the silicon cube. In terms of virtual reality, this included several feet of grass in every direction apart from the north-facing side which bordered a lake.
"Welcome to my world, ladies and gentlemen.
For everyone outside, it sucks you ain't experiencing what these guys are cause lemme tell ya.
It's nothing less than straight bad-ass up in here."
The words of Dr. Magus were spoken for all to hear; however, anything said by those outside was unable to be heard by those inside. As a whole, the students who were not within the cube were experiencing an entirely different setting; one that was without a doubt lackluster, yet still somewhat engaging. A virtual 3D rendition of the interior's setting was projected across the entirety of the room, and while the setting was not as realistic as it could be, the senses were still lightly stimulated by the experience. Students or assistants who stood in an area of rendered water still felt the light chill of its temperature, and those who stood upon the ground, felt a light softness under their feet. Overall, the climate of the room seemed to have changed, and a light breeze occasionally passed for all to feel.
"This is the pinnacle of virtual technology that will change the world!
Right now, my stuff is very limited by the sheer power required to render this environment, and as a whole, there isn't much to do, but damn, is it awesome.
Of course, many of you are probably thinking, 'Sure this is cool, but how does it apply to our future to come?'
Well...the answer to that is unlimited.
Check this out."
Reaching into his robe, Dr. Magus retrieved several cards which he tossed in the direction of the volunteers all while leaving one in his hand. On the front face of the card was a simple illustration of a particular object; while, on the rear face, a circuit-like pattern stretched the length of the card. Immediately, Dr. Magus traced this circuit pattern with his finger causing the card to seemingly dissolve into pixels and instead become replaced with an object of the illustration. In the case of Dr. Magus' card, he was now holding a wooden staff embedded with the same circuit pattern in his hands.
"Selfish design out of my own interests; however, these cards can be used to generate anything within my world space. The applications are limitless...military simulation...educational simulation...the list goes on. If it exists in our world, it can be represented as data in mine.
Of course, that's all these cards are. They're made from thinly pressed circuit board which stores the data of the objects you wish to render. Running your finger along the pattern, triggers a signal for the cube to render the appropriate object. Furthermore, the same technology that has rendered this space, continues to trick your brain and makes the card, quote-on-quote, invisible. If you trigger the object's despawn by tracing the object's circuit, the reverse of this event occurs.
Now just how awesome is that, ladies and gentlemen? The future is coming and you guys are grasping it first.
But for now let's let our volunteers play around for a bit, then afterword, we might be able to run one more simulation for some more lucky volunteers."
The group of students were directed past the usual student elevators and down an unfamiliar hall which led to a grouping of service elevators. Larger in size and capacity, these elevators were capable of transporting the entirety of the class, in addition to their capability of reaching the upper, out-of-bound floors. With a swipe of Dr. Valinheym's card key and a press of twenty-five, the class was soon on its way to an upper lobby which resembled an airport security check more than an academic lounge. In line with the escort's previous announcement, the group of students were directed into a single file line from which each individual was required to relinquish any claim of technology. Soon after, academic identification was confirmed from each individual as they were one-by-one ushered into the room thereafter.