When everything exploded, my death was instantaneous. I had no time to feel anything; I didn't even know what was happening. My screen was showing the game loading... and then, everything went dark. A black darkness.
I feel as if I'm submerging in muddy water, as if an incredibly dense medium stood between me and my final destination, which I didn't know. Suddenly, the sensation changed, as if I were penetrating something softer. And seconds later, I opened my eyes. Just like that, without more or less. I simply opened my eyes.
I looked around: I was in the equivalent of a mass grave. The stench was unbearable, at least it seemed so, but I couldn't smell anything. I looked at myself, and it turns out my chest has a 15 cm diameter hole. There's coagulated blood everywhere. A whitish smoke rises from the wound, and little by little the tissue regenerates before my very eyes.
What the hell?, I think. I don't understand what's happening. A few seconds later, a large volume of information accumulates in my brain. The first memories are from when I was "born" from "my parents." Little by little, more and more information—like "my name," my situation in this place, etc.—is written into my consciousness.
It turns out that "I," or the previous soul that inhabited this body to be more precise, was a slave. Born in his master's house. His parents were serfs (a social rank one level higher), but they had no right to give him that status. Anyway, the law protected him until age 15, because according to the Church of Blue Light, all beings in the world must be free until the age of majority.
Until the moment of "my death"—that of the previous "host"—I was 21 years old. From age 15 he was taken to work in an iron ore mine in his master's fief. His father had died in combat when called to the lord's levy. His mother had died shortly after from illness.
The work in the mine was brutal: 18 hours or more of work, with minimal food, and if he didn't finish the quota imposed on him, he couldn't eat until completing it. Little by little, that situation took its toll on his health. When he could no longer work, he was executed with a wooden stake piercing his chest. This is the only form of execution permitted by law, applicable to everyone, from nobles to slaves.
...
A few minutes later, the hole in my chest is "filled" with new tissues and organs. My senses return little by little. The stench gradually becomes noticeable until it becomes unbearable. Retching overwhelms me until I vomit.
While trying to stand up and get out of here, I hear a voice in my consciousness: "Body repair completed. Leveling hormonal system. Restoring syntactic configuration." (What the hell? What is that voice?) I speak aloud in surprise, but I imagine it's part of the force or entity that incarnated me in this body.
I exit the pit. It's located in a cave, a drainage outlet for the mine's water. A corridor presents itself in front of me. I go through it and reach the mining site, that is, the main tunnel. Two soldiers have their backs turned, clad in fairly tight leather armor. The one on the right is the one who wielded the mace that pushed the wooden stake into my chest.
If I go out that way, they'll surely torture me and execute me again. It's not a good idea, but it's the only way out. While I'm thinking, the voice "speaks" again: "StarCraft 2 system installing." (What?) I spoke aloud once more, but fortunately not so loud. The guards didn't hear me, they were about three hundred meters away. (PS: It should have been about Stellaris, but my co-author said StarCraft was better. I was too lazy to change the prologue, sorry).
"The system has been installed. Do you wish to enter the pocket dimension now?" (Yes, I wish to enter). "Confirmed."
Suddenly, everything brightens and I appear in a white room with a laptop in front of me. On it, StarCraft 2 was loading: a test map without resources or enemies, but the game didn't end immediately. I had a Terran Command Center without SCVs or anything else. So I thought it wouldn't be useful, but the system voice explained to me: "As you can see, there are no resources on this map or enemies. To obtain resources, add minerals from the real world to this place: just touch the ore of any mineral and think about transferring it. It will happen depending on the quality of the mineral and the type of element. For vespene gas, it will be explained to you in the future."
I felt a bit more relaxed. It meant my cheat system wouldn't be useless. (Wait a moment... cheat system?) I always played all my strategy games with cheats. I was never a good player, hahaha, but I always loved them, especially the possibility of using cheats to be unstoppable. (System, can I use cheats?) "..." The voice gave no answer, so I decide to try for myself. If it goes wrong and I lose the system, well, I'll just live as a slave or die again. It's not like I care.
I approach the laptop. I press Enter and a dialog box appears. I type: /moredostmoredost/ It shows: "Cheat activated." (Ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!) I scream with all my might. That cheat allows me to build anything without resources. I can also use troop powers without energy. Unfortunately I don't remember all the cheats, only two more: the one that eliminates population requirements and the fast construction one. But it doesn't matter; just with /moredostmoredost/ it's more than enough.
I also type: /bunker55aliveinside/ /catfoodforpawn/ Now I have fast construction and unlimited units.
I set 5 SCVs to build. As soon as I finish adding the 5, the first one is ready. "SCV ready to serve," I hear the unit's voice. I wait for all 5 to finish building. I set each one to build a Barracks. Then I create:
A Terran Engineering Bay A Mercenary Haven An Academy Five Factories An Armory A Laboratory Five Starports Two Nuclear Silos (Wow! It's really happening.)
(Well, will I be able to take these units to the real world?) "Yes, you can. You just have to wish to exit the pocket dimension and select the units you want to take, assigning them to a control group. Press the Ctrl key + a number." (Damn, how simple!)
Well, I'm not going to take out a Battlecruiser. That would be crazy. I select the 5 Barracks and set them to create Marines: eight from each one. In a few seconds I have 40 Marines ready, already upgraded to 3-3 (weapons and armor). One should be enough for now... but just in case I'll take six.
I select six Marines from the 40 I made. Before leaving, I manufacture:
40 Thors 40 Battlecruisers 120 Vikings 120 Goliaths 120 Banshees 120 Wraiths 240 Siege Tanks 300 Hellion Bikes 400 additional Marines 400 Firebats 300 Reapers 300 Stalkers 50 Medics 100 Ghosts (And that's it, I didn't make anything else... apart from 20 Hercules Transport Ships).
I select the group Ctrl + 1, formed by six Marines. And I say aloud: (Exit!)
Light invades me once more and I appear again in "real life." Next to me are six Marines (2.30 meters tall because of the armor). Their Gauss rifles are imposing. I speak to one: (Marine). "Yes, sir." (See those two soldiers up ahead). "Order received, sir." (They are hostile. All those equipped like that are hostile. Understand: all are valid targets if they're armed like that. If they're not armed or dress differently, ask before shooting. Understood?) "Sir, yes, sir!" (Good. You are the tactical leader of this group. Advance and clear the tunnel ahead. If there's a fork, send a Marine to inform me). "Roger."