by Amy English
Dylan woke up and removed the headphones and called Emily. He couldn’t wait to talk to her about her experience. “Oh my gosh Dylan. That was totally awesome! Oh my gosh. I can’t believe it! That was the best thing ever,” she said, as she giggled and bit her nails from the excitement.
“I know. Did you feel those animals? he asked.
“Yes. That was the best part,” she replied.
“They came right up to you. The animals stayed further away from me when I first went there. It took several trips there before They would just walk up to me. But the more I went there, the closer they got. You were able to get them to come close on your first trip,” he noted.
“I go to zoo’s and I’ve had every pet you can think of. So that’s probably because of my love of animals,” she suggested.
“Yeah. Maybe. I mean... We’ve never even had a dog. You know I don’t really like animal,” he said.
“Maybe that’s why. When you first went, your natural instinct was to stay away so the system may have picked up on that,” she replied.
Dylan thought about what his father told him about the system. How it reacted and changed to suit your fears and strengths. Emily agreed. The system sensed his own hesitation with getting close to the animals and so the animals didn’t approach. “Can we go back in now. I want to go to the amusement park,” she asked, excited at the thought of her next adventure. “Yeah. But that’s not my favorite place. The people there are nice. It’s pleasant. But they just walk by you and wave. They don’t approach you like the animals. You can approach them. But when you do, it’s like you’re interacting with a robot. Even though the animals have the same eyes that don’t look at you, it’s just better. I don’t know. You’ll see what I mean,” he advised. “Let’s go. I want to see,” she said. “Ok. Set the timer for ten minutes and set it to begin at 1:00 a.m. exactly,” he replied.
Emily and Dylan set their consoles and got off the phone. They had a few minutes before the game would begin. Dylan quietly went down to his kitchen to grab his Faygo orange pop and some cookies and Emily went to use the bathroom. They took their time, watching the clock constantly to make sure they didn’t miss their start time. At 12:58, Emily sat down, placed her headphones on and laid back. Dylan placed his on and sat down on his favorite bean bag chair and laid back.
As darkness faded to light, Emily looked around in awe at the amusement park. She was ready to go straight to the roller coaster. She saw Dylan and walked up to him and pointed at the roller coaster. He nodded yes and the two walked as they passed virtual people who seemed to be headed in different directions. Just like Dylan had warned, Emily immediately noticed that the people were nice and although they looked at her as to acknowledge her presence, there was the element of humanness missing.
Emily shrugged her shoulder as they proceeded on towards the roller coaster. The got on and sat side by side. The virtual simulated people got on as well. Even though Emily was put off at the lack of realism with the human simulations, she liked how versatile it seemed. She saw different sets of individuals, which made it more authentic. She saw men and woman. She saw men with children. And single individuals walking alone. And she saw larger families, children with parents.
As the ride began, Dylan and Emily looked at each other with excitement. The roller coaster rolled along the outlined electric rails and moved upward in a steep steady motion. Emily felt the same excitement she felt on a real roller coaster. She could feel her pulse rise as she anticipated the breathtaking drop and speed she would feel.
As the roller coaster came to the top and rolled over the arch, it dropped and rode with the same force and power as one would expect. Emily’s eyes were big as saucers and she held her hands up. The ride was everything she expected and more. They rode for what seemed like an eternity until it came to rest where it began. The bars came up and everyone got off. Emily smiled at Dylan and the two walked around, getting on every ride they could before the game ended.
Emily called Dylan when she emerged. “Oh Dylan. That was unbelievable. I am so loving this. The world will want one. Everybody! This will sell like a billion games. Everyone will want this. Your family will be rich. Unbelievable!” she said. “Yeah. This is it. He waited his whole career to make something that will change the world. I think he finally did it,” he said. Emily was in amazement. She replayed the game in her head.
“Everything so far seems so real. I see what you mean about the people though,” she said. “Yeah. I told you,” he replied. “But the animals are that way to. But you expect less interaction with strange animal. I guess it’s not that bad. But the people could have better eyes. If they had more than just hollow holes, it wouldn’t be so bad. Well, we better get some sleep. We still have to go to school tomorrow,” she said, then sighed before saying bye.
The next day, they went to their classes then left for their homes immediately after class. Peter and the rest of their friends noticed how quickly they had left, not sticking around to hang out like they usually did. Emily plopped down on her bed and called Dylan. “Hey Dylan. You ready,” she asked, enthusiastically. “Yep. I want to go in Safari. I think that’s probably my favorite mode. It’s the most exciting mode. Set it for six. Go in at five o’clock,” he said. “Ok,” Emily replied before placing her headphones on. Five o’clock was just a few minutes away. She laid back and waited. Her parents weren’t home yet. It was the perfect time for a quick run through the deserts of the Sahara.
Dylan looked around and spotted Emily rubbing the back of a buffalo. She looked over at Dylan as he approached. Emily smiled at him and looked back at the buffalo then walked away toward their favorite tree. The wind was gushing and she wanted to enjoy the land and the environment. A male and female lion passed her. She watched as they walked by. Dylan followed behind her and eventually caught up to her. He looked at her and smiled then looked over her shoulder. Something else caught his attention. It was a rhinoceros and it was brighter than the rest of the animals. He pointed and Emily turned around. They looked at each other with a puzzled look in their eyes then turned their attention back to the rhinoceros.
After a few seconds, the rhino charged at them. Dylan grabbed Emily’s hand and took off running. They continually glanced back as the Rhinoceros gained on them. Dylan stopped and kneeled down so Emily could get on his back. He stood up and began to run, changing into a horse as Emily held on tight. She looked back. Dylan gained momentum and had put quite a distance between them and the Rhinoceros.
Emily got off of his back but Dylan stayed in the horse form in case the Rhinoceros returned. They looked around and when the coast was clear, Dylan turned back into human form. He could see a single tear fall from Emily’s eye. He was shocked. He didn’t know tears could form in the virtual world. He wiped her tear and the two walked with the animals, continually looking around for the Rhinoceros until their ten minutes was up.
Dylan pulled his headphones off and wiped the sweat from his head. He tried to gather his composure quickly. He stood up and rubbed his finger again as he grabbed his phone to call Emily. “Em. What was that?” he said, panicked and confused. “I don’t know Dylan. Oh my God. What in the world was that? Do you have any idea?” she said, also with panic in her voice. “I thought the animals were friendly? Why was the Rhinoceros mean? And did you notice how bright it was? It was as bright as we were,” she noted.
Dylan paced his floor scratching his head. He hadn’t a clue what had just happened. He had been in Espanys plenty of times, before he even gave Emily the system. This had never happened before. “What are we going to do?” she asked. “Maybe it was a fluke. Some type of glitch. But I can’t tell my dad. We can’t tell anyone. He’ll take the units. I know he will. He’ll take them and never let us play them again. And if he finds out I gave you one, I’ll be grounded,” he cautioned. “Don’t worry Dylan. I won’t say a word. We have to investigate. Maybe it was coming at us not to be mean but just running toward us. We won’t ever know becaus
e we ran. I mean. I don’t know,” she said, disappointed and hoping the systems didn’t get taken. She liked the virtual world. She wanted to go back.
“Wait. How did you do that? How did you turn into an animal?” she asked. Dylan plopped down on his bed. “It’s easy once you get the hang of it. It’s like you tell yourself, then you think it real hard in your mind and concentrate. Then after a minute, you turn into what you focus on. It doesn’t happen like right away. It takes a few seconds, then it happens,” he replied. Dylan and Emily talked for several minutes then got off the phone when they believed their parents would be home. Dylan’s father usually worked late but his mother would be home soon. And Emily’s parents arrived around the same time every evening.
The next day Dylan went to school looking around. He wanted to talk to Emily. He wanted to make sure that she had no plans of going in the virtual world alone. As he walked to class, he spotted her and she walked his way soon as she saw him. “Hey,” he said. “Hey,” Emily replied. “Did you try to go back in after we got off the phone last night?” he asked. “No way. I’m not going in alone. Not until we find out what that was,” she assured. Dylan shook his head no as he nervously looked around. He was still on edge.
“Hey what’s up Em, Dyl,” Peter said, as he approached. He nodded his head at the two of them. Peter was the school prankster but was good friends with the both of them. His claim to fame was the fact that he was a champion skate boarder and his father was a retired Hockey Player. “Hey Pete,” Dylan said. “Where you been Dyl man. You didn’t come to my tournament last week. You missed it. I crushed the competition,” he bragged, smiling and putting his fists up in the air like Sylvester Stallone in the movie Rocky.
“I’m sorry man. Family stuff. You know how it is,” Dylan replied. “Yeah. I do,” Peter stated. It wasn’t long before Peter turned his attention to Emily. “So, let’s hang out later Em. We can all go to Happy’s Coney Island. Get some shakes,” he suggested. Peter had a crush on Emily but thought she liked Dylan so he flirted with her but subtly. “I don’t know. Maybe,” Emily replied. Peter started bouncing as though music was playing in his head.
After a few minutes of talking, Peter and Dylan started to walked off together as Emily stood there. They had the same classes and so they had to get going. “Hey Em, catch you later,” Dylan said. “Yep,” she replied, as she turned and walked to her next class. After school, Emily waited outside for Dylan. He exited the school and saw her then walked her way. “Hey Dylan?” Josh called out. “What’s up Josh,” Dylan replied, as he continued walking by, not really paying attention and eager to get with the group. Josh called out his name again and Dylan stopped and turned around. He didn’t want to be rude, but he didn’t feel like he knew Josh very well. He always felt bad whenever Josh tried to hang with him and his friends. No one wanted to feel responsible for him. He had nurses and caregivers who were always around. And it seemed overwhelming. So it was tough to include him because of his disability.
Dylan walked back to Josh with Emily following close behind. “Hey. What’s up?” he asked. I overheard Peter say you guys are going to get something from the Coney Island. Can I go? I want to grab a chocolate shake,” he asked. “We never decided on that Josh. I don’t think they’re going. But I may go. I can get you something if you like,” he replied. Josh shook his head no and turned away from them. Dylan looked at Emily. He felt bad. Josh seemed desperate for a friend. And Dylan felt guilty for not being that friend. But the truth was he thought Josh was mean. Josh said harsh things when he didn’t get his way which had a lot of the kids avoiding him. Dylan included.
“Josh…I can get it for you. No issues man. How about I drop it to you. Your ride will be here soon. I can get it and drop it off to you,” he urged, trying to make Josh feel better. It hadn’t escaped him that Josh must have felt lonely. He had a few friends he talked to in class. But overall, no one he was close with. No, one person, he was known to hang out with. Josh looked out in the distance. Angry with his circumstances. Dylan sighed then turned and walked away as Emily stood there smiling. “If we go, I’ll get you a shake and bring it to you,” she stated before returning to her friends. Josh turned his wheelchair back around. He watched as they walked to their friends. Josh believed they were shunning him due to his disability. He felt frustrated. He turned his chair back to the street and waited for his mother to pick him up. Never looking behind him. Never looking back at Emily and Dylan.
“Hey mom,” Dylan said, as he entered the kitchen. He kissed Claire on the cheek then sat next to his father at the kitchen table. “You’re home late,” Frank noted. “Yeah. Sorry. I hung around school talking to some of my classmates,” he replied. “I have time before I have to go in, to work on a project. Want to discuss Espanys? How things are going so far? You haven’t given me any feedback. Have you had time to log on? Have you noticed anything that needs my attention?” Frank asked.
“So far, it’s cool. I’ve just been checking out the different modes. Its fun. It will be revolutionary. I can tell you that every kid and young adult will want. Even adults. You should add locations like Puerto Rico. Japan. Bali. Different parts around the world. Make the surrounding true to form. Even adults will want one. They can travel to all these places.”
Frank looked at his son. His mind raced. It was genius. It was revolutionary indeed. An adult version that could take the user to a specific location. He envisioned making it real by visiting the locations and film the surrounding areas. Then make the simulation exact in detail. It would be the greatest invention since the light bulb.
“Son!” he exclaimed, kissing Dylan on the forehead and grabbing his keys. Claire smiled as she cut her pots off and fixed a plate for Dylan. She wouldn’t need to fix one for her husband. He was on his way to his laboratory to start work on an adult version of Espany’s. And she could get ready to travel the world.
“Thanks son. Your father needed that. I think you just solved his issue. The executives will be interested now. They won’t shut the doors of opportunity now! And if they approve the adult version, they would be forced to approve the child version as well. Dylan smiled.
“Yeah. I’m a genius. Like pop,” he chuckled. Claire nodded. He was. She was proud.
Four
A Problem Within
D
ylan walked toward his school the next day feeling tired and exhausted from his all-night virtual adventures with Emily. He had even logged in after they got off the phone and visited the Rural and Ocean modes on his own. He saw Peter playing around as he approached. “Man look at you. Look what the cat drug to school,” he joked. Dylan chuckled and stood around checking his phone and not saying much.
“What’s up bro. For real. What’s going on Dyl,” Peter asked. Dylan was a lot quieter than he usually was. “Man, I got like 3 hours of sleep. I’m exhausted. I won’t be playing ball today,” he replied. As the two talked Emily approached, also looking exhausted. Peter looked at Emily then back at Dylan and then back to Emily and laughed. “Oh, I see what’s going on here,” he said before breaking into song. Dylan and Emily sitting a tree... Emily shook her head. “You play too much,” she said, as she continually shook her head at him. Dylan looked at him. “Yo! Don’t do that. I told you I couldn’t sleep,” he said, giving Peter a look. Peter backed off and laughed as he changed the subject.
“I’m going to class,” Emily said, as she walked off. They still had ten minutes before the bell would ring. “I guess she’s mad at me now,” Peter said, looking back at Emily as she walked in the building. “She just gets tired of your jokes man. But anyway, what’s up after class? We should hit the skating rink. Or are you skateboarding today,” Dylan asked. “Yeah. I’m meeting up with Po Boy and Nate. They said they got some new moves to show me. You should come. My next tournament is Saturday,” he replied. Dylan agreed to go with Peter and then walked away before the bell rang.
“Man, his moves are whack,” Peter said, as he jumped on his Halo board
and rode back and forth across the large concaved skatepark. “This fool said he had some new heel flips and kickflips to show me. He not even on my level. He can’t even do a 360 pop shuvit,” he bragged. Peter was hands down, the best skateboarder around. As he skateboarded back and forth each time he came back to where Dylan was sitting, he noticed how distant he was. “Am I boring you man. What’s up,” he asked. “I gotta go Pete. Got to get home,” he replied. “Since when. You in a rush to get to your parents. No way! Man, you have been acting strange all day. Tell me what’s up. We supposed to be boys,” he said, puzzled by Dylan’s behavior.
Dylan looked around and paused. He wondered if he should tell Peter. “Ok. Look. I’m going to tell you something but I swear, if you tell a soul…” he warned. “I won’t Dyl,” he said, anxious to hear what the big mystery was. “Ok… See... My father developed this game. Me and Emily been using it. Man, it’s the greatest thing ever. The greatest thing you’ll ever experience. Ever! It looks just like the Wii or PlayStation but this game takes you to a virtual world. I mean literally, takes your mind into this world and it’s you inside the game, not you playing the game,” he said. Peter looked at him with confusion. “What do you mean takes you to this world? As in like, transports you there?” he said, not understanding what Dylan meant. “No not transport. Look… Man. I can’t explain it. You have to see,” he said. “Ok. Show me now,” he replied.