“Hey, Mae,” says Robby before he replies. “I’m here enjoying the convention just like everyone else. I’ve been saving my money from my job at the convenience store and I was able to buy a ticket a couple months ago. I saw that you were giving a presentation for Super Guy, but by the time I got here the auditorium was sold out.” He lets out a sharp breath as he grins, his cheeks going pink. “Mostly I came to support you.”
Unsurprisingly I see a copy of my comic book under Robby’s arm. My face gets even redder as I pull out the marker from my pocket.
“I really appreciate that,” I say. Robbie eagerly hands me the comic book and I sign it. “There are a lot of people here, but I don’t really know any of them. It’s nice to see somebody that I know, besides Mae, of course.”
I hand the comic back to Robbie and he tucks it under his arm again.
“Thanks,” he says. Then he glances around the massive room filled with booths. “Are you just starting to go around?”
Mae nods.
“I was waiting for Shaun to finish up his autographs. Now it’s our turn to go have some fun. Any suggestions?”
Robbie’s mouth opens and he looks around the room once more as if trying to find something that he saw earlier.
“There’s a lot to see, obviously…” His voice trails off. Then, “I did see something really cool earlier. If you’re into virtual reality, or video games in general, there was a booth off that way with a pretty sweet demo you can play. The line was kind of long, but it was worth it. They were even giving away those foldout headsets. You know, the ones where you put your phone into it?”
He reaches into his inner jacket pocket and pulls out a wrinkled plastic bag that was tucked into his pocket. From within he pulls out a box roughly the size of an oversized iPhone, which is a mini kit for the headset - and it does look like one of the ones you can get from Google, except these appear to be much sturdier and look less like plain cardboard and more like a branded product.
The box that the kit comes in is very flashy, and it displays a picture of what the finished product looks like. The headset is boxy, which is to be expected, but the cardboard is coated in a white finish with a blue stripe painted across it. A red logo on the corner of the box and the headset reads, “Virtual Solutions”.
“What you think?” I ask, glancing at Mae. “How about we go check it out?”
“You should give it a shot,” Robby continues with a sly smile. “You might run into someone you recognize.”
7
Virtual Solutions
After saying goodbye to Robbie, the two of us finally make it across the crowded room and stare at the end of the line for the virtual reality booth.
The line stretches far back, almost to the walkway. On top of that it isn’t just a straight line. The whole thing curves back and forth like a queue. I raise my eyebrows and glanced over at Mae.
“Are you serious?” I say. “This line is huge! Do you really want to wait that long for this?”
Mae shrugs.
“Was there some other booth that’s more important to you?” she asks. When I don’t respond she steps into the line and pulls me by the arm with her. “We’re not in a rush. Let’s just relax and have some fun.”
We stand there silently as the line moves slowly, one person at a time, observing all the craziness around us. The constant hum of conversation never fades and everywhere there is a mixture of the sent of glossy paper, freshly painted stands, and of course sweaty people. It makes me wish there was a booth that was giving away deodorant.
We stand for about five minutes when suddenly a very familiar girl with long bond hair wearing a blue volunteer shirt comes walking along the line and spots us.
Well, she spots me.
“Shaun?” says Kimberly Parker, a surprised smile on her pink lips. “What in the world are you doing here?”
We both laugh as she steps forward and wraps her arms around my shoulders in a hug that gets a glare from Mae.
Not this again, I think as we part.
Without missing a beat, Kimberly lunges at Mae and practically crushes her in a stronger hug than she gave me. I have to try not to chuckle too loudly as I witness it.
“And Mae! It is wonderful to see you!”
“Likewise,” says Mae in a monotone voice. “You must be the only person who missed Shaun’s name on the list of presentations.”
Kimberly brushes her hair out of her face and suddenly a look of realization appears in her eyes.
“Yes - of course. You’re here for Super Guy, right?”
I nod, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“The first issue just came out,” I reply.
“Are you doing a signing and all that?”
“I did do one,” I say, leaning closer to her and lowering my voice. “You missed it, but I can slip you a signed copy after the convention.”
Kimberly is beaming with excitement, probably brought on mostly by all the buzz that fills the enormous convention building, and steps back lightly.
“What about you?” I ask. “You’re volunteering for the convention?”
“For this particular company, actually. I’m trying to earn some college credits before next Fall. It’s an internship.”
Mae looks skeptical.
“I didn’t know you were interested in video games?” she says, to which Kimberly quickly explains.
“It’s not just video games,” she says. “I’m hopefully going to be helping out with some app and software development. It will be like getting my feet wet in the industry. It just happens that the side of Virtual Solutions that I’m representing today is their VR app and headset. It’s really cool! I’ll show you.”
Suddenly Mae and I are being pulled out of line and brought straight to the front. My neck and ears become hot as I feel all the judgmental eyes on me. It’s not my fault that I’m skipping the line. It’s not like I asked for this. I was ready to wait.
But now there is no waiting. We step in front of a booth that is concealed from the outside by canvas walls. These walls are white, and it just like the VR box that Robbie showed us, they are emblazoned with a blue line that splits the canvas walls in two and showcases the red logo, Virtual Solutions. A boy about our age is exiting the tent as we arrive at the front entrance. In his hand he’s carrying a box like the one Robby had earlier.
“What’s behind this wall?” I ask.
Kimberly gives me a smile.
“You’ll see for yourself,” she replies as she reaches around the flap that covers the doorway and pulls it back for us. “Step right in.”
8
The Digital World
Mae doesn’t waste any time and drags me by my arm into the tent. I have a feeling it’s more to get away from Kimberly than enthusiasm for the VR. The tent flap is closed and we find ourselves in a darkened space with rings of blue lights along the floor where the edges of the tent touch the ground.
Ahead, hanging off a metal stand, is a huge flat-screen television with the Virtual Solutions logo playing silently. Between us and the television is a stand with a simple white headset on top.
“Welcome,” says a boy about our age. He stands beside the pedestal holding the demo headset. He’s wearing the same blue volunteer shirt that Kimberly was wearing, and he smiles enthusiastically as he waves us to step forward. “Come on in. Don’t be shy.”
We approach the pedestal, and I’m still looking around at the inside of the tent.
Off to the my right is a table stacked with VR boxes. I assume that those are not as high-tech as the one we are about to demo, but still. That seems like a lot of money being thrown into promotion for this thing.
“So, what exactly is this thing?” asks Mae. “Give us the spiel.”
The volunteer, whose name tag reads Barrett, claps his hands together.
“It’s simple,” he says. “What we have here is a demo version of our premier dungeon simulation game. You play as a Druid to start, but eventually ther
e will be other character options. The full game should be on all the app stores soon.”
Mae turns to me with a smile on her face.
“So, do you want to try it first?” she asks. “Or should I?”
This makes me grin. Am I being challenged? It’s not like I haven’t worn a headset before. This seems like it will be just like every other virtual reality knock off – just a cardboard box with a phone only an inch from my face.
But, Mae seems enthusiastic now for whatever reason so I feel obliged to step up to the plate.
“Alright,” I say. “Let’s see what this is all about. I’m sure it’s not going to be as good as Skyrim.”
“Nothing is as good as Skyrim,” adds Mae.
“Agreed,” says Barrett out of the corner of his mouth.
“I just don’t know if I can get behind virtual reality when it seems so simple,” I continue as I pick up the headset. “It’s just gonna be a bunch of cardboard with a phone inside.”
Mae shrugs.
Even with my observations the headset on the pedestal is much sturdier than I anticipated. The cardboard is incredibly light, and there’s an elastic strap that goes around the back of my head. It seems like a phone is already inside.
I stretch the band and fit the headset onto my head. It’s a little snug at first, but I quickly get used to the pressure around my eyes.
“How do you control this thing?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.
But, Barrett steps up next to me and explains.
“You control the camera by physically moving your head or body. Notice how the gyroscope in the phone aligns the image to your position?”
I turn around in place, being guided by Barrett’s hand so that I don’t trip or anything, and sure enough the loading screen moves according to my direction. It’s simply a gray, blank backdrop right now with glowing blue text giving me a short introduction to what I’m about to experience. With the two eye pieces only a inch or so from my eyes, there is a noticeable depth between the floating text and the backdrop. I’m reminded of a Nintendo 3DS.
“Okay…” I mutter as the text on screen continues to blink slowly. “This is alright so far.”
“The simulation should start up in a second,” Barrett assures me.
The screen suddenly goes black before fading into a brightly-lit scene. My eyes squint at the sudden brightness, but this goes away after a few blinks.
Before me is a rustic tavern, the kind that I expect would be found in any stock fantasy video game, except this one seems more real than anything I’ve played on a flat screen. Ambient light streams in the quaint multi-paned windows to my left and I see dust motes floating gently in front of my eyes. I let out a chuckle as I physically reach up to swipe them away, but of course, they are not real, so my hand just waves uselessly in front of my body.
“Can I do anything in this thing besides just walk around?” I ask.
Mae’s curiosity is piqued.
“What were you just doing?” she asks.
“I was trying to wave the dust away from my face,” I mutter, looking around more freely now. “This is incredibly realistic. I understand now why so many people took those headsets home with them.”
“Your mileage will vary depending on how secure your headset is,” Barrett explains. “But, your phones will still act the same regardless. Nobody really knows how far this VR technology can go, but one thing is for sure: Our phones and handheld devices keep getting more and more sophisticated.”
“I can tell from the graphics,” I reply. There are mugs of ale on the desk and I crouch down to look at them. The liquid seems good enough to drink. Carbonation bubbles to the frothy surface. “There’s so much attention to detail.”
Barrett reaches gently up to my shoulder and stops me in place.
“Currently you can only walk around, but we are experimenting with eye movement and verbal commands. Nothing too fancy, but there are limited controls right now where you can open doors with head movements. Go ahead and try it out.”
I walk forward a couple steps and navigate around some tables, arriving at a heavy wooden door. A prompt appears in front of me, floating in the air much like the text on the loading screen did, asking me if I want to open the door. Giving a downward nod with my head makes the text disappear with a flicker and the door opens, revealing a large countryside beyond.
A smile breaks out on my face.
“I can’t possibly walk all over this place, can I?” I ask. “I mean, in reality I’m just standing in a convention booth. Won’t I crash into the wall or something if I keep going?”
“Correct,” Barrett says. “There is an option in the menu that allows you to control your movement via the little directional tab on the top right of the headset. Give it a try.”
I reach up and feel the four-way directional button, which is actually just a raised cardboard piece, and press forward. My field of vision moves forward along with the depressed button.
“So, I can play this sitting down in my living room,” I say. “Very cool.”
My mind is now active with different ideas. If this sort of technology is available to app developers, I wonder if I could use it to further my Super Guy storytelling. Already I’m imagining a VR game where people can become Aberrants like Super Guy. Considering that the talk of a movie adaptation is in a holding pattern with my publisher, the game options are still available to me.
I want to explore a bit further, but Mae taps me on the shoulder.
“Alright, your time’s up,” she says. “Let me try it now!”
I take off the headset and hand it to her. She adjusts it eagerly on her head eagerly while I walk over to the stack of headsets on the table.
“What about sound?” I ask.
“We recommend that you use headphones for total immersion,” Barrett says as he helps Mae to get situated. “You can use any earbuds that you prefer. Virtual Solutions has worked with some of the top names in the industry to do sound mixing and mastering, so expect the experience to be even greater with headphones.”
I nod. Mae sounds like she’s enjoying the experience just as much as I did.
“This could be a great relaxation tool,” she says as she crouches to look at something only she can see in her headset. “Imagine traveling around the world without ever leaving your bedroom.”
“That’s the idea,” says Barrett with a grin. “The dream.”
I pick up one of the products from the table and examine it. Everything you need is included, except for a phone, which I have and I’m sure mine will be able to handle the app.
“How much are the headsets?” I ask.
“Twenty each,” says Barrett as Mae finishes up her session. “They come with building instructions and everything you need, including a download code for the main app. Normally the app alone is ten dollars, not including future DLCs, so it’s a pretty good bundle.”
Mae walks over to me, a smile on her face that is very welcome after all the stress we’ve been through with our secret Aberrant war these past few months.
“What do you think?” she asks.
I reach into my pocket and take out my wallet.
“I’ll take two,” I say, handing one to Mae. She looks thrilled.
“I hope you enjoy your time in our world,” says Barrett, taking the cash that I hand him. “Keep an eye out for updates to the app. There will be a lot of new things coming in the next few days. This is our big kickoff.”
We both thank him and then return to the opening of the tent where Kimberly lets us out.
“So, you liked it enough to get one?” she says with a glint in her eyes.
“Well, I had to buy myself at least one souvenir,” I say. I’m about to say something in parting, but as my mouth opens, I notice a small crowd of people has gathered off to the side of the booth queue. They all have copies of my comic book in their hands and pens outstretched towards me.
“Would you be willing to sign our comics?”
asks one girl in the front.
Mae catches my eye, giving me a sympathetic smile as she shakes her head.
My face and neck go red.
So much for sneaking unnoticed around the convention. I’m starting to think I should have worn my Fallout costume.
9
Sharp Objects
Being up in the air after the convention feels like I’m surfacing from a deep sea dive. At last I can breathe easily again. Despite the definite chill in the November air, the wind is refreshing against my face and neck, which feel like they’ve been under a furnace. However, the rest of my body is bundled up, however, in my thick jeans and button-up wool coat.
Mae shoots ahead of me, eclipsing the dying yellow sun for a moment before becoming a silhouette against the canvas of orange, yellow, and purple.
“In a rush?” I call out to her.
She glances over her shoulder with a mischievous grin.
“Maybe,” she replies, slowing just a little. “It’s been a while since I’ve flown. I feel like I need to stretch out and do some tricks or something.”
“Tricks?” I lick my lips. “How about I show you what this rusty guy can do?”
Before Mae can respond, I do a barrel roll, transitioning into a wide arc around her. She comes to a stop to avoid hitting me, righting herself just before a patch of clouds, and lets out a laugh.
“Fancy moves!” she says. “But, can you do this?”
Flipping head over heels, she tumbles in the air, ending in a fighting position with one leg raised and ready to kick me in the gut.
I raise my hands up a bit.
“Impressive,” I reply. “Have you secretly been taking fighting lessons?”
She doesn’t give me a straight answer but instead responds with a glint in her eye, “A girl has to have some way to defend herself if she doesn’t have pulse blasts like you.”
The Aberrant Series (Book 3): Super Villain Page 4