Birth Of Cosmos Online

*gulp* 'Can't say I wasn't expecting this, but how is the double name issue more confidential than the fact that these helmets are literal death traps? I just wanted to inquire about things that might have been simple bugs or glitches... Not getting my life on the line for a game that just released.* Soren thought to himself with a feeling of helplessness, as he read the contract's contents, which in summary, was about the prohibition of any mention of AionTech's technologies, projects, employees or any other related information to their company, should he breach his contract. Knowing that the double name issue could cause unforeseen problems in the future though, he couldn't exactly just ignore it and deal with it whenever it became an actual problem, especially since he intended to use the game to earn money through the game to both keep his coffee shop in business, as well as for himself.

'Ah... Screw it... What's the worst that could happen, death? They're not even close to Barnello's Products, in terms of shadiness and public distrust.' Soren commented mentally, as he signed his name on the contract, before the employee took the contract and scanned with a device that emitted a thin red light. "Good... Since you've signed our contract, I believe it goes without saying that whatever happens in this room, stays in this room, understood mister Pascianno?" The employee asked with a small smirk, as Soren quickly nodded his head, before continuing. "Very good... That double name issue you experienced during the start of the game, is no bug or glitch or any sort of error during your registration. It is a fully intended feature of Aion."

"Feature? Why would it be a feature? Shouldn't our player names be all we need for playing the game?"

"Under normal circumstances, that would be the case. Unfortunately or fortunately, this isn't your normal case and it's all because of this." The employee then picked up the helmet, before putting it down and continuing. "AT-0s are a bit of a mix of both the commercial helmets and our testing helmets, essentially making them a hybrid of sorts and although-"

"Wait, wait, wait a minute there. A hybrid? You never mentioned that before. I thought you said that these helmets were no different than your own testing helmets, so how come they're hybrids all of a sudden?"

*sigh* "First of all, haven't your parents taught you that interrupting someone, is considered bad manners? Second, it is true that these helmets are technically the same as our testing helmets, but there is a bit more to that. The reason I'm calling them a hybrid is mainly because of the fact that this little helmet has the ability to enter BCO in different states."

"Different states? What do you mean?" Soren asked confusedly, as he couldn't understand its exact meaning.

"Hmm... Think of entering the game like this. You enter BCO by using a commercial helmet, so Aion will set your state into a "Player" state. Now you enter through BCO through one of our testing helmet, so now Aion will set you into a "Tester" state. There's not too much difference between the two, aside from some status and debug functions added into the "Tester" state, as well as a few other changes for testing purposes only, but that's not the point I'm going for. The point is that this helmet is capable of entering BCO through both of those states and that's the main reason behind your double name."

"So you mean that by entering the game through an AT-0 helmet, it essentially logs me in some bizarre double state, where I'm both a player and a tester, but with the functions of only a player. Is that correct?" Soren inquired for confirmation, as it was rather hard for him to comprehend clearly.

"Well... Almost... There's still one more thing I have to explain about the double state itself."

"And what's that?"

"Because you're playing in the double state through the AT-0, it also leads to some... Interesting changes."

"Interesting changes...? Such as what?" Soren asked worriedly, as he could almost feel a chill near the top of his spine.

"Hmm... Tell me mister Pascianno, how was your first interaction with the citizens of BCO?" The employee asked with an uncannily natural smile, as he pushed himself a bit forward.

"Well... It didn't feel any different than talking with other people, but wait, how's that considered an interesting change?"

"See... Players aren't meant to be able to perform fully fledged conversations with the world's inhabitants and for the most part, they are mostly on an inactive state, unless they have some sort of active quest related to them. So the fact that you were able to play in such a state, shouldn't have been possible in the first place. How do you reckon this is possible?"

"It should be a Tester only feature and since I'm playing on the double state... I get access to some of the Tester's changes, such as the NPC behavior changes."

"Exactly, which is also the primary reason behind the second name prompt. Aion requires proper unregistered names for your avatar, so it can properly perform the NPC behavior change check, for all Testers, regardless if they're using our testing helmets or the AT-0s."

"I understand now... Thank you for your explanation sir." Soren thanked the employee with a relieved expression, as he had no more worries about last night's events and could start properly playing the game with his friends.

"You're welcome mister Pascianno, but our conversation isn't over yet." The employee stated coldly, as Soren's relief turned into worry once more.

"Uhh... What do you mean sir?"

"We still have to talk about your AT-0 helmet. Under company regulations, we can not allow any unsupervised usage of AT-0 helmets and is suggested for immediate confiscation."

"Wait, why?"

"We just had a conversation about the issues these helmets have. Do you seriously need a repeat of all that?"

"Oh... Right. Still, isn't there a way around that? Please, this is the only helmet I have and I don't have the money to afford another."

"Unfortunately, we can not allow any unsupervised usage of any and all AT-0s. I'm sorry sir, but these are not only because of company regulations, but also for your own safety as well. You may not know it, but these things are worth far too many credits in the black market and if someone were to find out about this... I think having your helmet stolen would be your best case scenario, to say the least." The employee explained stoically, as he kept adamantly his stance on the matter.

"I understand, but please sir, isn't there any way around this? Hell, I'm fine with playing under supervision, if it means I can still play!" Soren suggested desperately, as he was on the verge of launching himself in front of the AionTech employee.

*sigh* "Give me a moment sir." At that moment, the employee rose from his seat and left the meeting room, leaving Soren all alone with a nervous expression.