by Box Set
“Do you still work for him?” Katie whispered to Aiko as they walked to the sofa.
Aiko shook her head. “Yeah. But it’s complicated,” she said. Standing tall in front of Jack, she put her hands on her hips like she was ready to do battle. “Is he here with you?” she demanded.
Jack tilted his head, cocked an eyebrow and smirked. “I assume you mean Malcolm?”
“Obvs.”
“No, I don’t know where he is at this precise moment. Why? Do you need him for something?”
“Ha!” Aiko plopped down on another sofa. “He wishes. Fucking psycho.”
“Do you know where Tessa is?” Jack asked.
“No idea,” said Aiko. “Last I saw her, you were pissing her off. So if she’s run off in her crystal carriage again I’m gonna go ahead and assume it’s probably your fault.”
“No doubt,” Jack said wryly.
“No doubt,” Aiko echoed.
“Hello again, Katie,” Jack said, ignoring Aiko’s dig, and rising to shake Katie’s hand. “So nice of you to help us out of our bind.”
“Us?”
“I have a vested interest in HyperLyfe,” said Jack smiling. “When Aaron’s video games do well, I do well.”
“Not a video game!” Aaron shouted as he crossed to them, dragging his hands through his hair until it stood up at crazy angles. “It’s a virtual reality three-dimensional simulated environment. Don’t make me tell you again!”
“Noted,” said Jack, raising his glass.
“What are you drinking, Jack?” asked Aaron. “It’s gotta be something good.”
Jack held his glass up to the light and admired it. “Macallen Lalique ,” he said. “Fifty year old–”
Aaron grabbed the glass, drained it, and handed it back to Jack.
“Sorry.”
“I’ve got more.” Jack shrugged.
“Today has been a fucking minefield of stress,” Aaron said. “Food poisoning. The presentation. That sneaky reporter.” Aaron removed his jacket, tossing it on the sofa as he began loosening his tie. He stopped, stood still for a moment, as though he was silently gathering his thoughts. Then he threw his tie on the sofa. “I can’t believe I fell right into her trap. God, what the hell was I thinking?”
Aaron began unbuttoning his shirt, and Katie hugged her arms across her chest, trying hard to not look as though she was helping him undo those buttons with her eyes. But she totally was. One. Two. Three-four-five. Ohhhh, all the way now. So much naked hunky man chest. She licked her lips and wondered if she could mentally help him out of the rest of his clothes. Maybe if she really concentrated?
“No, you know what?” said Aaron, his tone defiant. “I don’t want to think about that right now. Tomorrow, I can get with our marketing team, see how we can spin this into great press. Right now, I just want to relax and have fun with my friends.” He flashed a dimply smile at Katie. “Both old and new.” Aaron shrugged his shirt the rest of the way off and threw it down on the sofa next to his tie. “Whaddya say? Let’s get fucked up and screw around.”
Chapter Five
Jack was telling the truth. He had way more whiskey. A huge, limited edition crystal bottle of Macallen that Aiko whispered cost about sixty-thousand dollars. Tasted like it too.
After a celebratory toast, they finished their drinks, and Aaron directed them each to empty rig-bays. Turned out the doors Katie had seen around the perimeter were individual virtual reality rooms, each with state of the art gear, soundproofing, and climate control. Lux wanted their customers to have complete comfort and total privacy when they got their virtual groove on. In fact, most of the rooms were already occupied, which Katie found surprising. She hadn’t heard a peep. Pretty good soundproofing.
Katie’s rig-bay was next to Aiko’s, so she caught her friend by the arm before she went inside. “Hey when he said ‘screw around’ he didn’t mean...he doesn’t think we’re…he didn’t mean like screw around mess around?”
“Relax,” said Aiko. “No sex. Just virtual adventuring. That’s all.” She tilted her head and smirked. “I mean unless you’re saying you want to, I could let him know.”
“Shhh. No!” Katie smacked her friend on the arm and glared.
“Alright, alright. But let me know if you change your mind. Or just go ahead and jump him, whatever works.”
“Noted.” Jerking a thumb at the door to her rig-bay she asked: “Are there instructions or something in there? Because I’m feeling that whiskey right now. I don’t want to get in there and find out it needs some kind of IKEA assembly.”
“It’ll be fine. The system guides you. Just go in. You’ll see.” Aiko grinned, opened the door to her rig-bay, and disappeared.
Katie opened the door to her own room, walked in, and when the door shut behind her, she was plunged into darkness. But almost immediately a teal light began to glow around the lower perimeter of the wall. Slowly her eyes adjusted, and she took a few hesitant steps into the room.
“Please state your name.” It was a woman’s voice, computer-generated but not robotic, she had inflection and a warm tone.
“Katie Martinez.”
“Ms. Martinez,” said the voice. “Welcome to Lux Virtual Reality experience, please step into the circle.”
On the floor in the center of the room, there now shone a circle of light. Katie stepped forward into it, and in front of her, an enormous flat screen illuminated. The light allowed the details of the room to be seen more easily now, and she glanced around, noting that the room was mostly covered in a firm black padding.
“Please remain still,” said the voice. “I’ll now scan you for your S-suit.”
The bright circle on the floor pulsed for a moment and there was a low hum. Then the voice spoke again.
“S-suit scanning complete.”
To the right, a piece of the wall retracted and a spotlight shone on what looked like a closet, rows of black suits hanging inside. The light tracked over the suits and then stopped, singling out one in particular. “Katie Martinez, this suit should fit you nicely. Please strip completely and put on the suit. Notify me when you are dressed by saying “Command: Play”.
“Get completely naked?”
“Yes. S-suits require direct contact with bare skin in order to operate properly. Please watch the instructional video for further assistance.”
An image appeared on the flat screen, an animation of a room like the one Katie was in now. The animated person on the screen was pulling on an S-suit. The animation played on a loop, with the same actions repeating over and over like the flight safety instructions on an airplane.
Katie watched for a moment, then figured she probably had seen enough to figure out to dress herself. She stripped, hung her dress on an empty hanger in the closet, stowed her shoes and undergarments on a shelf she saw beneath it, and pulled out the suit.
“Here goes nothing,” she said, giving it a once over.
The S-suit was stretchy and covered in a tiny honeycomb pattern, black on the outside and a kind of shimmery gray on the inside. She pulled the suit on, noting that it hugged her curves very closely. It fit over her feet, and the soles were covered in a non-skid, textured surface. Her hands were completely covered too, each sleeve ending in gloves. It zipped up the front, all the way to her chin, and seemed to have a bit of extra fabric there. She peered up at the screen. Yup, the animated guy was pulling that little extra bit up his neck, and letting it rest right under his jaw. She did the same, then said the magic words.
“Command: Play.”
“Ms. Martinez, please return to the circle and remain there.”
Katie walked to the circle. So did the little animated man.
“Your HL2 VR rig is now descending. Please remain in the circle.”
Two thick, springy ropes descended from the ceiling. Suspended between them was a circle of stiff fabric that looked like a belt.
“Please step forward and secure the belt around your waist,” said the voice.
> The animated man on the screen stepped up to the harness and fastened himself into the belt. This time Katie was ahead of both of them, and already doing just that.
“Done,” said Katie.
“Thank you,” said the voice.
There was a high whirring sound above her, and she looked up just in time to see a panel on the ceiling open and something black and strappy descend.
“This is your HL2 VR visor. Please secure the visor to your head. Follow the visuals on the screen for assistance.”
The animated guy put on the visor, so Katie did too. As soon as she did, he was gone, and for a moment, it was pitch black. But then animated guy was back, showing her how to properly adjust the device. She followed his movements, tightening where necessary and was pleased to discover that the visor was quite comfortable.
“Katie Martinez, please remain still and breathe normally while we initialize your S-suit and your HL2 VR visor.”
“Yeah okay, Command,” she said, calling the voice by the word she was already thinking of it as its name. “You do what you gotta…oh–”
Her toes were tickling. Buzzing, like when your foot falls asleep and you have to wake it up, except the sensation wasn’t at all unpleasant like it normally is. Instead it felt warm, relaxing and ooohhhh. She wiggled her toes.
“Katie Martinez, please remain still.”
“Sorry.”
The tingling spread, up her legs, over her torso, her fingertips, arms, across her chest and….whoo. Her nipples were really liking this suit already.
She heard sounds. Birds. Wind. She turned her head and the sounds altered, some louder, some softer, affected by the direction of her head. Apparently, there were hidden speakers in this little room. Surround sound.
She heard a bee buzz and flit by her ear.
Really good surround sound. That was too close, there had to be speakers in the visor too.
“Katie Martinez,” said Command. “Your suit has been initialized, and your visor is working. Please enjoy your Lux Virtual Reality experience. There is an incoming scenario request from Aiko. Accept or decline?”
“Accept!” Katie said, grinning ear to ear. This was so exciting.
“If you accept, your avatar will appear in the caller’s scenario, complete with appearance and costuming that has been pre-selected for you, be aware that–”
“It’s fine,” Katie said impatiently. “I accept. I accept.”
“Katie?” It was Aiko’s voice.
“Aik?” Katie said. “Is that you?”
Before Aiko could answer Katie’s visor exploded into technicolor, like Dorothy’s world when she found herself in Oz.
Rolling hills, feathered in emerald green grass, stretched as far as the eye could see, the great expanse of color broken here and there with white dots of grazing sheep. She could hear them bleating. Could feel the breeze as it blew over the hills and caressed her skin. She looked down and she was wearing some kind of corset and skirt, dressed in a costume reminiscent of the 18th century Scottish Highlands.
Katie trailed her fingers over her collarbone and even though she knew she was wearing the S-suit, it felt like she was touching her bare skin. She ran her hands down the front of the corset and she could feel the coarse fabric under her palms. She inhaled deeply and the corset was snug and restricted her movement slightly.
“Aiko,” she said, struggling to talk over the giggles that were bubbling up out of her chest. “You did this. You chose this place didn’t you?”
“Well we’ve been getting sloshed on Scottish Whiskey all night. It seemed fitting.”
“Yeah and my obsession with men in kilts didn’t influence your decision at all?”
Katie felt an arm drape heavily over her shoulder, felt the heat of skin on skin and turned her head to see a very realistic likeness of her friend standing right next to her, a virtual flask in her hand and a smug smile on her pretty face.
“Well,” said Aiko. “Maybe a little. But only because I love a guy in a kilt too.”
Laughter erupted from beyond a nearby hill, and two men in kilts walked up over the top, trading jabs and chugging from flasks.
“Over here!” Aiko waved and pulled Katie along with her toward the men.
“Whoa, I’m walking…it feels like I’m walking! How?”
“Omni-directional treadmill,” Aiko said, glancing back over her shoulder, “On the floor of each rig-bay. It moves in any direction you do.”
Jack and Aaron approached and met them with smiles. Both looked the same as they did in real life. Same faces and overall appearance, but they were dressed in billowing, long-sleeved shirts, kilts and tall boots. It was quite a sight.
“Why are you all drinking from flasks?” Katie asked. “What’s the point? You can’t actually taste it.”
“Oh but we can!” Aaron grinned. “They’re a prototype we’re working on, VR accessories that work with the rig.”
“Fill ‘em with whatever you like,” said Aiko. “And the rig reads it as a prop in world, so you can drink while your avatar does.”
“Damn right,” said Jack with a hiccup. “It’s been a long, hard day.” He stalked toward them, a gleam in his digital eye, then he darted at the last minute and caught Aiko around the waist, sending her skirts flying as he twirled her around. “We all deserve a drink, and a wee bit of fun with a bonnie lass. It’s just what the Laird ordered!”
Aiko squealed and hammered her fists on his arms, laughing as he continued to twirl. “Put me down you brute,” she hollered. “Or I’ll tell Leo you’re mocking his accent!”
“Oh that would be a villainous move sassenach,” said Jack. “That’s a Scot with a temper, and ready access to sharp knives.”
Aaron snorted and raised his flask in approval of their game. Walking towards Katie he said. “Leo Wallace, a friend of ours, he’s Scottish, and a chef, and…well, I just didn’t want you to be left out of the joke.”
“Thanks.” Katie grinned and then tilted her head, stepping back to get a better look at him. Even as a digital doll, he was gorgeous. “This is really something,” she said, trying to pretend that her ogling was because of the tech, and not because he was smoking hot. “It’s so realistic, but not at all creepy. I don’t know how you’ve done it.”
“Magic.” Aaron wiggled his fingers in the air. “And a hell of a lot of code hours. Ugh.” He raised the flask to his lips again and took a sip.
Silence. Well this was a bit awkward. Jack and Aiko were running around sheep, pulling up clumps of grass and flinging them at each other. Katie was stranded here making small talk with a guy she just met, who she kind of liked, who might kind of like her too, and to top it all off they were hanging out in a virtual world inside a sex club.
She racked her brain for something to say. Something to break the ice.
“How do I see myself?” She asked. “I can see you guys obviously, but I have no idea what I look like. How do I–”
“Well, you look like you,” said Aaron. “Just digital.”
“Yeah but how? I mean, how did the computer get my likeness?”
“When it scanned you for the S-suit,” said Aaron. “It took a high resolution scan of your face, and placed it on a body texture that we had on file.”
“Okay so my face looks like me, but this body–”
“Yeah if you were to get naked, it wouldn’t look like you.”
“I see.”
“Honestly we do have those options for customers, if they want to create an avatar that looks exactly like them down to every little detail.” His eyes dropped to her cleavage and Katie thought she saw his avatar’s cheeks pink. “But we didn’t make all those features available for this event. It seemed like a recipe for trouble. So we turned that feature off.”
“Makes sense. I just wish I could get a look at myself,” Katie said. “You got a hand mirror in your kilt somewhere?”
Hang on. I’ve got a something even better,” said Aaron, tucking his flask away in h
is sporran. “Command: Scene Change. Castle Eldridge.”
The highlands whipped away, and suddenly Katie was standing in what looked like a long hallway in drafty stone castle. Jack and Aiko were gone, and she was alone.
“M’lady?” Aaron said, suddenly appearing in front of her.
He held out his hand and she took it, threading her arm through his, feeling the hard pressure of his body against hers, and a slight warmth.
“Up here,” he said, gesturing to a slim spiral staircase pierced by narrow windows. “Just at the top of the tower is the finest room in the castle. The mistress’s bodouir.” He smiled and stepped to the side, gesturing for her to precede him. “After you.”
Instinctively she reached down and gathered her skirts, noting with delight that her avatar was wearing dainty leather shoes with shiny buckles. She climbed up the first few steps, then tripped, gasping when she felt Aaron’s firm hands circle her waist, steadying her as they continued up.
“Whoopsie,” said Aaron. “Easy there.”
She blushed and wondered if the VR environment would show her avatar blushing too. Could it sense that? Her skin heating, and her pulse quickening, it was all so strange and…wait…
“Did I literally just trip over nothing?” she asked Aaron, glancing over her shoulder.
“Kind of,” he said, grinning. “Right now, in the rig-bay your suit is mimicking the virtual environment so that you can authentically interact with it. The fabric of the suit works in tandem with the harness, so when you go up stairs you’re lifted a little by the harness and the suit hardens under your feet to create the illusion of solid form. But it’s not a perfect recreation. Most of the magic happens in your own head. Human brains are highly susceptible to illusion, so most of what you’re feeling is because we’re tricking your senses, and your brain has decided to go along with it.”
“Wow.”