A black coffer appeared out of thin air.
It was not large, about the size of a standard computer tower.
But when he flipped the switch and powered it on, the coffer expanded like a transforming car, unfolding at speed.
Within seconds, a container-sized black cube hovered in midair.
"What a wondrous ability."
Professor X praised softly, and with all his breadth of knowledge he still had to ask, "How is this done?"
"A simple seamless expansion spell."
Ren did not linger on that point. "This is my invention. I call it Oasis. It is only the first prototype."
"Simply put, it is a server that can virtualize a world that does not exist."
"Through the interfaces…"
He conjured a wristband, a helmet, and a sleep pod. "With these, people can enter that virtual world and live another life firsthand."
"Like a game?"
Professor X narrowed his eyes.
"Not just a game. I prefer to call it a second world."
Ren flicked his finger, and the wristband drifted to Professor X.
After a brief hesitation, Professor X slid it on.
DING!
A pleasant startup tone chimed, his vision flickered, and the scene around him shifted at once.
Golden sunlight soaked into his skin with cozy warmth, while a fierce wind struck, whipping his clothes.
A WHOOSH roared above. A Boeing passenger jet sliced across the sky.
Farther off, a flock of birds crossed, each chirp crystal clear.
Professor X's face changed.
He was high in the sky.
Beneath him sprawled vast New York City.
Most striking of all, he was not in a wheelchair. He stood as if on level ground on a tuft of cloud.
"This is a virtual world? It feels this real?"
A wild surge of disorientation boiled up inside him.
Reality?
Or illusion?
Even with his formidable telepathy, he could not tell at first glance. He froze, so distracted he did not even notice Ren appear at his side.
SNAP!
The sound of fingers snapping, and rain began to fall in a fine, silvery sheet.
Cool droplets touched his skin, pulling him back to himself.
He raised his wrist and stared at the band clamped there.
"This device can read brainwaves?"
He whispered in disbelief, then turned to Ren, composure gone. "Ren, you have mastered holographic simulation at this level of realism?"
"This is magic, Professor."
Ren shook his head. "More precisely, a fusion of magic and technology."
He lifted his own wristband and, like removing a SIM card, slid out a tiny chip. "The band, the helmet, the pod, they are only shells. This is the true core."
The thumbnail-sized chip was etched with dense arcane lines.
It was the fruit of ten years of preparation.
He had devoured the world's knowledge: AR, artificial intelligence, computing, holography, and finally built a consummate virtual space.
Then, combining floo-like routing, memory spells, mind reading, projection sorcery, and mirror space, he created a second world that was nearly real.
"Incredible."
Professor X tried a step, then another, and nearly wept for joy.
Only he knew how long it had been since he last walked on his own two legs.
"Let us go down and take a stroll."
Seeing this, Ren snapped his fingers.
In the next instant, the world rushed up. When Professor X gathered his wits, the two of them stood on Fifth Avenue.
Traffic surged. People flowed like a river.
Everything was indistinguishable from reality.
"Ren, you are a genius."
Professor X marveled again, his estimation of Ren soaring. "I have no doubt that once Oasis launches, it will sweep the globe in no time, and you will become one of the richest people on Earth."
"Money is only one side of it. Influence is the key."
Ren's confidence did not waver. "More important, we can use it to change how the public sees mutants."
Another snap, another wash of light.
A magnificent blue planet filled their view.
Earth.
They now stood on the moon.
Both wore spacesuits.
Professor X felt the shift in gravity and environment and clicked his tongue in wonder. "How do you change it?"
"Simple. Let everyone become a wielder of powers."
A wry smile touched Ren's lips. "Once players enter the second world, they automatically receive a Gift. They clear various instances to level that Gift, which converts into all manner of abilities."
As he spoke, curtains of light scrolled before Professor X.
Each was an instance.
Action: Devil May Cry, Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed.
Shooter: Battle Royale, Overwatch.
Sci fi: Starcraft, Pandora, Halo.
Monsters: Alien, Godzilla, Monster Hunter.
Fantasy: The Lord of the Rings, World of Warcraft, Pirates of the Caribbean.
Fighting: Street Fighter, The King of Fighters.
He had not neglected horror classics like The Shining or Grudge.
There were kung fu epics for Eastern players like Wong Fei-hung, and xianxia romances like A Chinese Ghost Story.
Hundreds of instances packed the display, making Professor X's scalp prickle.
Many were marked Development Incomplete, clearly only frameworked, yet it showed how thorough Ren's groundwork was.
He had even prepared leisure instances for casual players: NBA, FIFA, beaches, undersea realms, a long list.
No wonder he called Oasis a second world.
A world utterly real, where one could still experience the extraordinary.
"The world has countless games. Before, players could only watch their avatars soar and slaughter. In the second world, they can feel it for themselves."
Ren looked pleased by Professor X's expression. "In reality they remain ordinary. But whenever they wish, they can experience the extraordinary here and become extraordinary."
"When that time comes, will their attitude toward mutants not change?"
Professor X was too shocked to answer.
Ren flicked open an instance.
[World of Warcraft Instance: Enter]
Light folded. In the next heartbeat they stood in a boundless land.
From the mountain forests below, a massed orcish host burst from the gorge, roaring For the Horde, while across from them human legions stood in ranks, skills and spells flaring without cease.
"Humans detest mutants who look monstrous. So let them become orcs in the second world. Given time, Professor, which will they care about more: power, or a frightening face?"
Ren's voice seemed to vibrate straight through the soul.
Professor X's mind reeled.
He was one of the world's foremost psychologists, yet in this moment he realized his grasp of human nature lagged behind that of the young man beside him.
A game alone could not make ordinary people accept mutants.
This one was too real.
As real as lived experience.
Who could resist?
Once players become extraordinary here and feel the strength of powers, even if they return to the mundane in reality, their attitude toward mutants will inevitably shift.
He could already foresee countless players losing themselves in the second world, unwilling to leave.
Which meant Ren's strategy was plausible.
Establish a mutant consortium, infiltrate human society, seize the narrative, reshape the mutant condition.
Highly possible.
The thought shook him out of his composure.
He whirled, gripped Ren's shoulder, and the calm in his eyes quivered uncontrollably.
"Tell me, Ren. How much money do you need?"