Raine VS The End of the World by Joseph Choi Page A

stroked him until she found his ticklish spots.
    “I guess you and I are going to have some adventures together,” she said.
    Chance purred. He climbed Raine’s shoulder – he seemed nearly weightless – and curled up around her neck, his body re-shaping into a scarf to provide her with warmth and comfort. She continued down the street towards a large public space paved with precious stones glimmering in the mist from what Raine now recognized as a crystal water fountain the size of two city blocks.
    “At this point, I’m pretty sure this is no ordinary bonus level,” Raine told Chance, and one of the flaps of her scarf nodded politely in response. “Yet, I still have no idea what the objective is, or why I’m here.”
    Most role-playing games take some time to get started , she reasoned. But this one seemed to be an advanced virtual reality designed for mass consumption. There could be many millions of players simultaneously sharing the same realm. What kind of storyline could this game have? Who’s the hero and who’s the villain? Either everyone gets to be a hero, or no one does. Still, how can anything here possibly be as “real” as everyone seems to treat it?
    Raine took another bite out of her garden salad, which she’d purchased from a street vendor, and inspected her distorted face in the oversized fountain.
    If this is a dream, then how come I still feel very much myself? And normally, once one realizes that one’s dreaming, one can lucidly dream, or transcend it. But if that were the case here, finding Super BlastBoy would have been undoubtedly easier.
    There’s one last thing I might try.
    She closed her eyes tightly and tried to will her best friend into existence. She imagined strong, stoic, dark-skinned Jordan sitting beside her, clad in armor. Going by dream logic, he’d know something of how this place worked. She opened her eyes; the powers that be failed to hold up their end of the bargain. Well, she wasn’t entirely alone. Chance was with her, at least.
    Feeling uncomfortably isolated in a very social world, Raine made an effort to snap out of her shell long enough to enjoy the scenery. A gathering of wizards and blacksmiths synchronized fireworks to the lively orchestral music. In a nearby maid café, a gay elvish couple shared a boxed lunch. Across a marble table, blue men in Batman suits argued over a complex holographic card game, where summoned mythical beasts did horrific battle.
    A steady stream of folk wandered in and out of the crystal fountain’s elaborate centerpiece. The off chance that Super BlastBoy might be waiting inside pushed Raine onto the stepping-stones.
    The waterfall parted, leading her via a vast crystalline tunnel to another realm entirely.
    This fountain was certainly bigger on the inside.
    Raine was now in the midst of a public park with cobblestone paths and only a few trees interspersed amongst rolling hills of perfectly trimmed grass. Uniquely decorated king-sized beds played host to tens of thousands. Goggles, sunglasses, and visors of every size and make draped over their residents’ languid eyes. Some models resembled the pair packed into her shoulder bag, but Raine was wary of trying the thing out before she saw the results firsthand.
    She dared to approach an older man with long hair and a flowing beard looking out from behind circular glasses. A black rectangle hovered above his lenses; their contents must have been visible only to the device’s user. He appeared friendly enough. Raine sat beside him.
    “Excuse me, sir,” she began. The man was silent, and his lazy eyes wandered about the hidden display for some time.
    “Hmm?” he asked at last. The (!) icon over his head turned into a smiley face.
    “I’m curious as to what you all are doing,” Raine said, a little embarrassed.
    “Can’t speak for no one else, but I’s chatting with friends,” he said bemusedly.
    Raine was puzzled. “How is that possible? There’s no one here.”
    He