It all started with a message appearing on my tablet from an institute I had never heard of wanting to talk to me about a totally undefined job. Based on the subject line of 'Professional Services Opportunity', my first thought was that it was just another get-rich-quick spam. Had I followed my initial instinct to hit delete without opening it, things would have worked out very differently for me--very differently indeed. But I did read it, and I was intrigued.
It's usually impossible to pinpoint the precise moment when the course of your entire life is irrevocably changed, but in this case, it was the exact moment I selected open. That single, simple action was one of the most important things that I have ever done. With it began my journey to adventure, romance, immortality, and infamy. I would gain a new world and lose everything I held dear in this one. Thanks to whatever gods there be, I did.