Chapter 67 - E3 2013

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Vince and his friends enjoyed the morning sun's glow in the yacht's rear deck jacuzzi the following day.

Leah and Dr. Sera were sunbathing while the crew was cooking breakfast for the group. Patel and his family decided to roam around the city before meeting up at the LA convention center. At the same time, Heidi and Alexis went straight to the convention center to help Future Tech employees set up the exhibits and booths.

"Hey Vince, Dr. Sera is pretty hot in her sunbathing suit. Am I right?" Kyle asked in jest.

"Don't let my mom hear you say that. I think they have a thing for each other." Vince replied seriously.

"It's so obvious. Both Leah and Sera have been spending all their time together since we arrived." Jessica commented.

"You're quite cute in that swimsuit yourself, Jessica," Rick stated.

"Eww. Think of a better pick-up line the next time you try talking to a girl." Sarah interjected.

"Wow, Rick. So smooth." Kyle said jokingly.

"Don't mind him, Jessica. He's just trying to get a reaction out of you. You make it too easy sometimes." Vince stated honestly.

While they were talking amongst themselves, Marco approached the jacuzzi.

"Vince, a CAV is flying towards our direction. The Dragonflies identified it as Elon Musk's AV. Were you expecting him?" Marco asked.

"No, I didn't but let him land. We'll be eating breakfast soon, anyway." Vince instructed.

A few minutes later, Elon and his security detail emerged from his CAV that had just landed on the yacht's helipad.

"I was supposed to attend the convention directly. But my secretary informed me you were staying at a mega-yacht off the coast of Malibu. I didn't receive any invitations in my emails." So Elon said the moment he saw Vince on the upper deck.

"Don't do me dirty like that. I didn't know you were interested in yachts. I would've invited you if I'd known. Are you ready for E3?" Vince replied in his defense.

"Definitely! My kids got me into playing more video games recently. They love playing War Online and other popular games, and I got hooked." Elon explained.

"Don't get too distracted, or else we won't be reaching Mars anytime soon," Vince said jokingly.

"You're one to talk. You've been living the high life on a mega-yacht the last time I checked. And don't tell me your South Korea trip wasn't for pleasure." Elon continued the friendly banter.

"The APL Finals don't count, and I won't be attending the upcoming one next week cause I'll be too busy," Vince replied.

"Alright, alright. Show me around this exquisite piece of engineering. The yacht looked terrific from the CAV." Elon said.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of video game fans were starting to enter the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 in 2013 entertained a total of 48,200 paying attendees.

Most people were excited to hear more about the new consoles to be announced by Sony and Microsoft. Many others were thrilled to play video game demos from various developers.

Fans from different age groups and backgrounds surrounded the convention center's facade. Ordinary people, YouTubers, streamers, filmmakers, artists, and corporate suits were lining up the entrance.

"E3 feels a bit different this year." a male YouTuber said to his companion.

"It's pretty obvious, dude. The building is surrounded by Future Tech Dragonflies and a thousand FS operators. I'm not blind." His female companion replied.

"We attended the APL finals here at the Staples Center last year. And Future Tech secured the arena the same way," she added.

They both waited for their turn to enter the building until two FS operators greeted them at the entrance.

"Please step forward one at a time and allow the Dragonfly to scan you and your belongings." an FS operator clad in military armor and holding an FA-416 rifle instructed.

The male YouTuber stepped in front of the hovering drone and watched as orange rays of light projected towards his body.

"You're cleared. Enjoy your stay at E3." the other FS operator stated.

[Well, I won't be scared of any potential mass shootings anytime soon.] he pondered while waiting for his companion.

They pulled out their video cameras and started recording a vlog while heading towards the presentation hall.

As they walked, his girlfriend noticed a massive section in the middle of the convention center blocked off by a temporary barrier.

"This area should be Future Studios' exhibit booth. I wonder why we can't go in yet," the girl said.

"There's a sign that says they'll open the exhibit after the Future Tech announcement this afternoon at 4 pm." her boyfriend explained.

"So unfair. I wanted to test out the Everlife demo as soon as I could." the girlfriend replied in frustration.

"Don't worry about it. The event is scheduled for three entire days, so you'll have plenty of time to test the game out." the boyfriend replied reassuringly.

The crowd around them dispersed once they realized Future Tech wouldn't open their exhibit until later that afternoon.

"Alice, why don't you start live streaming? I'm sure you're followers will want to see E3 from the inside." Alice's boyfriend suggested.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about my NetServ subscription's high upload speed. My old data plan from Verizon was useless compared to NetServ. Give me a second." Alice replied.

She opened her bag and pulled out the Future Tech mobile phone she bought a year ago.

NetServ's telecommunication package is the only internet service capable of live streaming 4K video on a completely wireless and mobile connection, though only available in the US for now.

Alice logged in to her NetServ account and chose the nearest Data Access Node as her primary network server.

"What's up, guys? It's me, Wonder Alice, live from the LA convention center! Herewith me, as always, is my YouTuber boyfriend, 3D Jaden." Alice said while pointing the camera towards her companion.

The same situation was happening around the convention center, where plenty of the attendees were online content creators of some sort.

They both made their way to the presentation hall for the Microsoft announcement. 

Microsoft's press conference took place at 9:30 am. The company announced a November 2013 release date for its forthcoming Xbox One console, priced at $499. The software lineup was also revealed, including Dead Rising 3, Quantum Break, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Halo's next installment.

In Vince's previous life, Sony scheduled their presentation at 6 pm but now had to reschedule to noon due to Future Tech's E3 entry.

The PlayStation 4 was publicly shown for the first time, retailing at $399, with a November release. The software lineup included Infamous: Second Son, The Order: 1886, Final Fantasy XV, and Killzone: Shadow Fall. In addition, Sony introduced new games for the PlayStation 3, such as Gran Turismo 6, Beyond: Two Souls, and The Last of Us.

EA announced Battlefield 4, Titanfall, Need for Speed: Rivals, and yearly sports games like FIFA and Madden.

Ubisoft's press conference took place at 3 pm. Upcoming action-adventure games included Watch Dogs and the sequels Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist. In addition, two new franchises – The Crew and The Division – were also announced.

"Alice, it's crazy we're getting two new consoles this year! So which games will you be streaming on twitch, do you think?" Jaden asked his companion while lining up outside Future Tech's presentation hall.

"I'll play Watch Dogs next year if Everlife isn't released yet. GTA 5 will take most of my streaming time at the start of 2014, though." Alice replied.

They arrived at the conference hall's entrance and were stopped by an FS operator.

"Do both of you have your invitations?" The operator asked seriously.

The hall was limited to 500 seats, and Future Studios sent out invitations months before the event to influential content creators and video game industry elites.

"Yes, we do. I have the tickets right here on my phone." Wonder Alice replied while showing scannable QR codes on her phone's screen.

The FS operator allowed them inside without further trouble and went on scanning other people's tickets.

"Wow! The stage is huge!" 3D Jaden exclaimed while looking for their seats.

"What would Future Studios need such a large stage for?" Wonder Alice asked curiously.

"Let's prepare our equipment. The sign at the entrance says recording is permitted during the presentation, but no flashes, though." 3D Jaden explained.

[This show will be great content for my YouTube channel. I can already feel it.] 3D Jaden pondered.

Stats last time checked:

Future Tech current valuation - $300 billion

15 million BTC (currently trades at $1,000)

$10 Billion cash in Future Tech

105,000+ employees (FT AI, Future Studios, Hive Mind Manufacturing, FT Micro Devices, BitCash, FT VR, Future Tech F1, FT Investments, Future Arms, Future Med, Future Tech Robotics, Future Education, SpaceX)

20,000+ operators under Future Security

Personal Vehicles: Klassen Phantom, Agera R, Agera SFV, Boeing Luxury 787 Dreamliner

Five company collaborators (Epic, Koenegisegg, SpaceX, Tesla, Hyundai C&E)

Dozens of investments under Future Tech Holdings (i..e., Instagram)

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