be secretive about this stuff.” My
brow crinkled in confusion.
“ On
some things the game's super tight-lipped, but even Trillium can’t
stop word of mouth and someone watching it directly. I mean they
could…” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I
guess they don’t care that much?”
“ Well
lucky me, I can see it and debate if I’m ever going to actually
play.” I tried not to commit too much.
“ You
better play, Uncle Grant!”
“ Alright,
alright. I don’t even know if what I won from work is actually
this game. Let’s see it.” I said.
Beth
smiled and laid down in the ARC. She had wristbands on either arm and
one around each ankle. The key one was a band that went along the top
part of her spine. It was kept close to the spinal column and could
read nearly every signal that went down.
“ You’re
using those?” I pointed to her ankles.
“ The
wrist and feet?” She raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“ Yeah.”
I hadn’t played a game that required them. “I’ve
seen them for those exercise programs.”
“ Part
of the program. Gives you some feedback. If you do something that
exerts a lot in the game, you’ll feel it in real life.”
Beth smiled happily.
“ Why
on earth would you want that?” Bodily exercise while playing a
game sounded painful.
“ Uncle
Grant, I’m not this fit because I go to a gym all day.”
She responded.
I
thought about it while Beth laid back and dialed in her machine. VRH
Two, also known as a Second Player helm, plugged right into the
middle panel on the ARC device. Slumping against Beth’s ARC
would be slightly more comfortable than the floor. I slipped the
Second Player helm over my head and tried not to think about the
pudge that had built around my stomach. Maybe if I invested in a
better dance program this waistline would have lost a few inches.
That
actually sounded kind of attractive. Play a game, dance a little,
work out in the process. I would need to dial my real life activities
back. Working a job like mine for so many hours would be rough if I
was sore the entire day. Only Hal Pal’s constant heavy lifting
would make this diabolical plot work.
The
Second Player helm wasn’t as good as a full immersion. Most of
it was visual with a ghost of tactile sensation. Smells and taste
were equally hard to replicate with only the headset technology.
There was a reason the Alternate Reality Capsule required five
hundred pounds of hardware. Comfort was only about twenty percent.
“ Log
me in.” Beth preferred the vocal command to the physical
interface I used.
My
visor went black and moments later Beth’s Atrium came into
view. Everything she saw, I saw. It wasn’t like being myself in
a game. This was me piggybacking on another person’s feed while
still having my own mind.
“ Load
Continue Character, delayed intro, five,” She said.
“ Commands
loaded.” The ARC program responded. I was thrown off by the
voice used for her ARC. Deep tones, reminded me of someone from my
childhood who used to do movies. The name was hard to place.
It
wasn’t too surprising when Beth's eyes flicked over to a wall
of posters with men on them or when she paused and looked in the
mirror. Her character didn’t look too different. Ears were
slightly pointy belying an elf or something similarly fantastic.
“ Huh,”
I said.
“ Everything
coming through okay, Uncle Grant?” She asked.
“ Yeah.
Are you an elf?”
“ No,
demon, half demon, I think, technically. I was transformed from human
to this after a long chain quest and reputation grinding.” She
gave me an answer longer than expected.
“ Weird,”
I said. A half demon race of some sort might explain the very faint
sunburn that lined her characters skin. Beth, as a child, was an
outdoorsy type. Though when I saw her at the door a few minutes ago
it was pretty clear her tan had lapsed a lot.
“ What
do you think?” She waved her arms around and did a few basic
stretches.
I
was stuck staring
brow crinkled in confusion.
“ On
some things the game's super tight-lipped, but even Trillium can’t
stop word of mouth and someone watching it directly. I mean they
could…” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “I
guess they don’t care that much?”
“ Well
lucky me, I can see it and debate if I’m ever going to actually
play.” I tried not to commit too much.
“ You
better play, Uncle Grant!”
“ Alright,
alright. I don’t even know if what I won from work is actually
this game. Let’s see it.” I said.
Beth
smiled and laid down in the ARC. She had wristbands on either arm and
one around each ankle. The key one was a band that went along the top
part of her spine. It was kept close to the spinal column and could
read nearly every signal that went down.
“ You’re
using those?” I pointed to her ankles.
“ The
wrist and feet?” She raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“ Yeah.”
I hadn’t played a game that required them. “I’ve
seen them for those exercise programs.”
“ Part
of the program. Gives you some feedback. If you do something that
exerts a lot in the game, you’ll feel it in real life.”
Beth smiled happily.
“ Why
on earth would you want that?” Bodily exercise while playing a
game sounded painful.
“ Uncle
Grant, I’m not this fit because I go to a gym all day.”
She responded.
I
thought about it while Beth laid back and dialed in her machine. VRH
Two, also known as a Second Player helm, plugged right into the
middle panel on the ARC device. Slumping against Beth’s ARC
would be slightly more comfortable than the floor. I slipped the
Second Player helm over my head and tried not to think about the
pudge that had built around my stomach. Maybe if I invested in a
better dance program this waistline would have lost a few inches.
That
actually sounded kind of attractive. Play a game, dance a little,
work out in the process. I would need to dial my real life activities
back. Working a job like mine for so many hours would be rough if I
was sore the entire day. Only Hal Pal’s constant heavy lifting
would make this diabolical plot work.
The
Second Player helm wasn’t as good as a full immersion. Most of
it was visual with a ghost of tactile sensation. Smells and taste
were equally hard to replicate with only the headset technology.
There was a reason the Alternate Reality Capsule required five
hundred pounds of hardware. Comfort was only about twenty percent.
“ Log
me in.” Beth preferred the vocal command to the physical
interface I used.
My
visor went black and moments later Beth’s Atrium came into
view. Everything she saw, I saw. It wasn’t like being myself in
a game. This was me piggybacking on another person’s feed while
still having my own mind.
“ Load
Continue Character, delayed intro, five,” She said.
“ Commands
loaded.” The ARC program responded. I was thrown off by the
voice used for her ARC. Deep tones, reminded me of someone from my
childhood who used to do movies. The name was hard to place.
It
wasn’t too surprising when Beth's eyes flicked over to a wall
of posters with men on them or when she paused and looked in the
mirror. Her character didn’t look too different. Ears were
slightly pointy belying an elf or something similarly fantastic.
“ Huh,”
I said.
“ Everything
coming through okay, Uncle Grant?” She asked.
“ Yeah.
Are you an elf?”
“ No,
demon, half demon, I think, technically. I was transformed from human
to this after a long chain quest and reputation grinding.” She
gave me an answer longer than expected.
“ Weird,”
I said. A half demon race of some sort might explain the very faint
sunburn that lined her characters skin. Beth, as a child, was an
outdoorsy type. Though when I saw her at the door a few minutes ago
it was pretty clear her tan had lapsed a lot.
“ What
do you think?” She waved her arms around and did a few basic
stretches.
I
was stuck staring
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