Virtual Reality

-1-

Lester Gilroy's palms were sweating as he pulled his little Toyota into a parking space at the mall at exactly five thirty. He had survived another week at the accounting office. His boss had spoken harshly to him thirteen times this day alone, and glared at him at least twice that often, but his paycheck was secure. He stopped at the ATM cash machine to get some ones, and changed them all for quarters as soon as he got to the video arcade.

A new poster above the counter had the words "Escape to Neverworld" over a gaudy portrayal of a muscular man and a curvaceous woman battling some intensely evil looking beast. Lester's pulse quickened as he contemplated it for a moment, then he looked around to see if the new machine had indeed been installed. There it was in the far corner, its lights glowing garishly. "Neverworld, the ultimate virtual reality adventure," the glowing letters above it declared. Lester hurried toward it, his pockets heavy with quarters.

As usual the arcade was nearly empty at this hour. Most people were off having dinner. Only a few apparently homeless boys were scattered in front of the various game displays. The fanatic hordes would descend later. Time enough then for Lester to grab a quick bite at the Burger Boy in the mall. For now Lester had the Neverworld booth all to himself. He settled in front of the console, fed five quarters into the slot, then lowered the video helmet over his head and slipped his hands into the control gauntlets.

The three-dimensional display lit up to show him a vivid blue sky and a hill of bright green grass, and a stentorian voice said "Welcome to Neverworld". Lester turned his head, scanning his virtual surroundings in the display. To the left the grass gave into a forest of brown trees with leafy branches, to his right there was a yellow path. He had a rush of excitement as he recognized the fractal patterns used to create the effects, but he saw no figure for the voice to have come from. There was a small stone hut up the path to his right, however, and he moved toward it by pressing his feet on the foot pads. It took only the slightest pressure on the pads to create the sensation of walking in the display.

When he went into the hut, the deep disembodied voice spoke again.

"Congratulations. You have entered the Appellation Chamber. If you are a new player, please register now. If you have played before, identify yourself to assume your aspect."

Lester saw what seemed to be a book on a table in the center of the room. He approached it and looked at its title. "Book of Appellations," it read in ornate Gothic lettering. He opened the book near the beginning. What it contained was a list of exotic names: Dreed, Kragon, Lorfal, Mantros, Torgas; the list went on. When he ran his virtual finger down the page the voice spoke again.

"Select a name from the list by running your finger across it, or use the stylus to enter a name of your own choosing. Turn the pages to see more names."

Lester's excitement was mounting. The adventure was already beginning for him. The realism of the display was incredibly vivid. He tried turning a few more pages, and found the feel of the action was flawless. The name "Rondo" had a nice ring to it; he ran his finger across it on the page.

"You are Rondo," boomed the voice. "Run your finger over the name again to confirm your choice." Lester did so, and the voice went on. "Welcome to Neverworld, Rondo. Repeat your name aloud to voicecode it for future play."

"R-Rondo," said Lester hesitantly, a bit self-conscious. Then, suddenly very worried that it would be recorded wrong, he cleared his throat and said it again a little louder. "Rondo. I am Rondo." Nothing bad happened. Suddenly he felt very brave.

"Your voicecode has been recorded for the name Rondo," said the voice. "This name will be removed from the new player listings. Simply speak it aloud when you enter Neverworld to resume your player aspect. Should you fail to remember it, you will find it listed in the back of the book. This name will be reserved for you alone for a period of six weeks if you do not play. Your True Name will not be revealed in Neverworld."

Lester (Rondo) was puzzled by the comment about his "true name", but he let it pass. He opened the book to the back to see what other names were already listed there. Wentril, Evrad, Giltor; the list went on for several pages. Apparently quite a few players had already registered in Neverworld.

Lester looked around again, not certain what to do next. He saw a doorway to the left that he didn't recall, and went through it. A featureless figure seemed to be approaching him as he walked forward, but it stopped when he stopped.

"You have entered the Attire Chamber. You may select a wardrobe," said the voice. The walls of the chamber were lined with racks of clothing. Lester reached out toward the nearest rack, and when he did so he realized for the first time that his own virtual arm was unclothed. He touched the sleeve of a green tunic, and instantly the garment rose magically off of the rack and draped itself over his body. He saw other movement to one side, and turning that way he now realized that the featureless figure he had seen upon entering was himself, reflected in a virtual mirror, for the figure he now faced wore the same green tunic he had chosen.

"A splendid first choice," said the voice. "You may choose and change garments as often as you wish while you are in the Attire Chamber. When you leave your choices will be recorded, and your attire will come upon you as soon as you speak your name the next time you enter Neverworld."

Lester had to feed more quarters into the slot before he was satisfied with his appearance. He finally settled on knee high black boots with baggy brown pants tucked into their tops, belted by a broad sash at the waist into which he tucked a pair of black gloves with long cuffs. He wore a simple white shirt under a red tunic, which he had chosen over the green one; it had shorter sleeves and a single toggle button at the waist. He admired his reflection in the mirror, thinking to himself that he had a decidedly rakish look. He was a bit dismayed at the featurelessness of his virtual-reality face, but he resolved to wait and see how that would be taken care of. As an afterthought he put on a black hat with a curled brim and a jaunty red fractal plume, and tossed a brown cloak over his shoulder. Then he left the room the way he had entered.

The room he found himself in next was not the one he had entered the Attire Chamber from, however. The door now opened onto a vast armory, filled with swords and crossbows and weapons of every description.

"Welcome to the Attribute Chamber," said the voice. "You will be given the strength and skill to wield whatever weapons you choose." True to the words, every weapon Lester picked up seemed light in his hands. A huge two-handed broadsword wove itself effortlessly through intricate fencing patterns with a mere suggestion of movement from his hands. He got an unexpected thrill when he glimpsed his reflection in a polished breastplate; it seemed his shoulders had broadened to equal the task of wielding this sword. He returned the big sword to its ornate leather-like scabbard, then slung it over his shoulder and went looking for a suitable knife to tuck into his belt.

Having selected a long straight dirk that seemed to have a proper gleam to the blade, he was drawn back to an odd corner of the room that he had noticed earlier as he was scouting around. There was a large crystal ball on a small table. Beside it was a small old-looking book, lying on a piece of cloth embroidered with a classic pentagram. Lester picked up the book and read the ornate title, "Useful Spells and Incantations." He wrapped the book in the cloth and stuck it in the pocket of his tunic.

He was just turning around to look for a way out of the room when his time ran out. He started to reach in his pocket for more quarters when he felt a rough nudge on his shoulder. "Hey, bud, give someone else a turn," came a muffled voice from outside. He raised the helmet off of his head and looked sheepishly at the boy who had nudged him. He was really pretty hungry now anyway, he decided. He walked dreamily to Burger Boy, and his mind was replaying those broad shoulders and the feel of the big sword in his hands as he swallowed the tasteless meal.