THE MOMENT
Cody woke up in his room, but also very much elsewhere. He recognized the large bed he was in, though he had no idea it would be as comfortable as it was. The rest of the space was designed exactly as he liked it, exactly as he decorated it. He was surrounded by the wooden walls of a log cabin, and there was a wyvern head mounted on the wall; it had been one of his first major kills. He was in his AlterNet House from the game and he sat quietly on the bed for a few minutes as he tried to decide if he was dreaming or not.
"If I'm in the game...," he made the same gesture his character made when calling up a menu. It had been a simple button press for him; but, the representation on screen always flicked their wrist upward. A large glass pane appeared in front of him showing his status, and he chuckled nervously. "Okay, okay... this is a lot...," His character sheet showed his information including the few skills he'd managed to find and equip. He was too stunned to be excited, and he wasn't in a hurry to try out any of his skills. At least, he didn't want to be launching fireballs in his own home. "Oh, wait.. what happens if ...,"
He muttered through the idea as he searched the menu in front of him, then he found what he was looking for and pressed the button. He didn't know what to expect; but, the black portal that opened in his room told him he'd done something. A lithe woman with her blue hair up in a tight bun and wearing a black and blue suit walked out of the portal and met his gaze as he turned his legs off the bed and stood to greet her.
"Thank you for bringing this command to our attention; as of now no one else will be able to summon a Mod. And, this will be our only interaction, what can I do for you?" she asked.
"Answer some questions!" Cody said. "Who are you? What happened? How am I in the game? What do you want from me?"
"My name is Agatha Waters," she said. "I'll need you to clarify what you're asking; what do you mean 'what happened'? As far as what?" she asked. "Many, many things happened leading us to this point and I don't have the time, nor inclination to explain all of them. The information is freely available in your Help section; but, I'll assume you haven't explored that yet. So, keep it focused, what do you want to know?"
"What happened overnight that I woke up here instead of my room?" he asked.
"You are in your room," Agatha smiled. "But, some key developments did happen overnight that I'll highlight for you. 'The AlterNet' has sold enough copies and engaged enough playtime to make it 'real' to you. It's a trivial detail, but you might be interested to know your reaching the '40 hour' mark is what unlocked the possibility."
"You're saying I'm here because I played 40 hours?"
"If you like, that's a fair assessment," she nodded.
"Why me?" Cody asked.
"Why you, what?" Agatha replied with her own question.
"Why was I chosen?" he clarified. Agatha tilted her head.
"Wow, you didn't even glance at the Help section, did you?" She smirked. "What is it you think you were chosen for?"
"To be in the game? Why did you pick me to fight the four Dark Lords? Just because I completed 40 hours?" Agatha giggled without trying to hide it.
"Someone has quite a high opinion of themselves," she said as she stared directly at him with a broad smile.
"What?" Cody asked. He shook his head. "No, I'm here, in the game. It's obvious I was chosen to be here."
"I feel if it were as 'obvious' as you claim, you'd also know why you were chosen. This is reality," she said. "You weren't chosen to be here, you're just here now."
"I can shoot fireballs now! I didn't have that power when I went to sleep. Someone made the decision to give me that power, right?" Cody was starting to get frustrated; but, he knew raising his voice wouldn't help.
"Sure, I guess. You did, when you made your character and equipped that skill."
"WHY WAS I CHOSEN TO BECOME MY CHARACTER!?" It wouldn't help the situation; but, he needed to get his feelings across.
"WHY ARE YOU SO FOCUSED ON BEING CHOSEN?" Agatha yelled back; but, she smiled the whole time to show she was having fun. At his expense.
"THEN WHY AM I HERE!?" her mocking only made him angrier.
"Why do you think you're the only one?" she asked with a quieter voice and bigger smile.
"huh?" He'd already been distracted; but, her question made him think of something she'd said earlier. 'No one else will be able to summon a Mod'. "You mean there are others?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded. "Other people exist, it's not always about you."
"How many? Why were we chosen to be brought here?"
"Alright, this isn't fun for me anymore. Chosen this, and chosen that...," she sighed. "I was willing to answer questions; but, you only asked stupid ones. Everything you want to know is in the Help section. The Help section available to EVERYONE on Earth." Agatha made a gesture at the air and another black portal opened.
"But, I will explain this much before I leave. You weren't chosen, your group wasn't chosen. You weren't sent to the game, your reality was overwritten by it. Everyone on Earth can now create their AlterNet character. You've already created yours, so we gave you that. If you're unsatisfied, the Help section will walk you through a one-time character reroll. Everyone who hasn't created a character yet woke up in their normal rooms today, and they'll have a chance to buy a license to create their new AlterNet self. This is your room still, with the AlterNet design you created. Maybe next time dig around a little, or at least look out the window before you start making assumptions. You're not that special," she giggled as she gave him a dismissive wave and stepped into the portal. But, she added one more line before she disappeared completely. "The AlterNet is popular enough that this still would've happened even if you didn't play at all."