RUKA

Ruka chose to describe himself as an anthropomorph rather than a Thunderian...this was he would be able to have greater control over his skills and atritributes. "He's a genetically enhanced tiger, actually," said the player, "designed for combat, but with a mostly human brain. He's 228cm and 192 kilos...pretty athletic and imposing. His human brain is dominant when it comes to intellegence and reasoning, leaving the animal side to control the instincts such as agility, reflexes, sight, hearing,etc. An enhanced metabolism allows for extraordinary moments of combat and strength, but at the cost of a harsh adrenaline crash afterwards."

It took a while for the computer to process the information. "Very well,"said the voice of Bast, "Would you like to change the clothing of your character?" Ruka did, and opted for something with a medieval feel to it,although cleaner in cut and which more modern fabrics for convenience and resistance to wear.

"Character designated 'Ruka' is saved," said the voice of Bast. "Basic equipment includes food, water, and basic bedroll. You may choose one weapon and one additional item of equipment. Others may be gathered in time."

"Well, I had designed my character to be trained with in both swordsmanshipand semi-automatic assault weapons, so I guess I'll take a two-handed longsword and what ever firepower you have," replied Ruka.

The computer processed this and granted the player his sword a rapid-fireenergy-based weapon. There were few places on Third Earth where ammunition could be purchased, after all. Then it requested that Ruka adjust his statistics.

The player did so and chose aviation as his primary skill, followed by wilderness knowledge and a basic skill with technology.

"Attributes designated to character 'Ruka' are saved," replied Bast. "Thankyou for joining the VR2L test group. I hope you enjoy your stay on ThirdEarth."

"Don't suppose you can arrange to get me into the feliner or theThunderstrike?" joked the player.

"What you accomplish in VR2L Third Earth will be up to you and your chosen skills," the voice of Bast replied mildly. Ruka hadn't expected any other answer and half-grinned as he ducked uner the rising wall and into thel ight beyond.

*********************

GATOTRUENO

"Gatotrueno...but just Gato will do," grinned the player.

"Please choose your race," said the voice of Bast.

"Female Thunderian...sabertooth," said Gato. "Deep auburn hair, brown eyes...pretty young too: about sixteen. Um...what else? Five feet, five inches with a tunic top and pants. Is that enough?"

"That will do nicely, thank you," said the voice of Bast without inflection. "Character designated 'Gatotrueno' is saved. Basic equipment includes food, water, and basic bedroll. You may choose one weapon and one additional item of equipment. Others may be gathered in time."

"Oooo...a weapon! Well, I guess I'll go with a sword since they seem to bevery popular in Thundercats," mused Gato. "As for my other piece ofequipment, I want come cards and dice or something. I want a character who likes to have fun!"

"You may only choose one item unless listed items are in a kit. Would agambler's kit suffice?"

"Gamblers have a kit?!" gaped the player. "Hell, yeah! Sign me up!"

"One short sword and one gambler's kit," confirmed the computer. "Please adjust your attributes and select your skills."

Gato did so and chose thieving, combat, and storytelling as her skills. She was out to have fun, not serve some silly purpose!

"Attributes designated to character 'Gatotrueno' are saved," replied Bast."Thank you for joining the VR2L test group. I hope you enjoy your stay onThird Earth."

"Great!" Gato exclaimed, jumping a little as the wall began to rise behind her. She tried to make out what was beyond the bright light, but when she could not, she simply shrugged and plunged into the world of VR2L.

*********************

JET

"Jet. I'm just a white kitten. Not too fluffy or anything, just a plain white housecat."

"That is highly unusual, but very well," said Bast. "Character designated'Jet' is saved. Basic equipment includes food, water, and basic bedroll.You may choose one weapon and one additional item of equipment. Others maybe gathered in time."

"I don't need a weapon. Just my claws. And I don't need any equipment either."

"Weapon and equipment declined. Please adjust your attributes and choose your skills."

Jet balanced the attributes until they best suited what she thought a cat should be. She thought about declining her skills as well, but chose to enhance her acrobatics, speed, and intelligence instead.

"Attributes designated to character 'Jet' are saved," replied Bast. "Thankyou for joining the VR2L test group. I hope you enjoy your stay on ThirdEarth."

"Well, me-ow," said Jet as she watched the wall rise. Then she darted out of the antechamber and into Third Earth.

*********************