A tremble of exhilaration passed through the perfectly manicured hands clutching the gun inches from his forehead. She had fought fiercely for this moment, eschewing food and sleep. Nova had proven herself a worthy adversary and soon the Virtual would know it.

“Do it you sexy bitch,” Shroud said, pushing his warm skin against the cold death of the barrel’s mouth. “Blow my mind.”

She pulled the trigger and their universe froze. The infuriatingly chipper melody of an electronic xylophone filled her head, dread dragging back the thrill that had just lit up her neurons. Shroud became a gorgeous mannequin, frozen in his nihilistic embrace. A two dimensional portrait materialized above his head, its edges pulsating with blue light.  The image showed the toothless grin of a little girl. Her little girl. Rage came crashing down as the five seconds of music repeated itself, triggering Nova to throw up her arms and shriek. A third round of the ditty machine-gunned into her head, letting her take a deep stabilizing breath before tapping the portrait. The blue light turned to a steady white glow.

“Mamma?” Tess’s tinkerbell voice was hesitant.

“Yes baby girl?”

“I’m hungry.” The lie saturated the timorous little voice. Tess had learned her mother would gloss over a desire for attention, but no grownup would refuse her food. A distant man’s voice filtered into Nova’s world: “Are you talking to mommy? Here, give me the mic sweety.” After a bit of awkward rustling her husband’s voice came through clearly. “Lindsay, log out. Please.”

She cut the line without bothering to answer.  A universe away, her physical body began the surfacing protocol.

A big haired and bountiful brunette appeared between her and Shroud. “Is the Real dragging you away from your true passions?” She asked with an animated intensity. A countdown clock appeared beside the buxom beauty, declaring she couldn’t cancel the ad for 15 seconds.

“Hey honey, where’s my tie?” called a helplessly stupid, disembodied man’s voice. The buxom beauty rolled her eyes in clown-like exasperation. Nova mirrored the expression, wishing she hadn’t spent every bit of her crypto on loot boxes. Now she was stuck with these damned ads until the next pay day.

“If a drone can do it, why should you? Let our AI-powered avatar clones take care of all that drudgery for you! We’re discounting our AI avatars by 50%. Yes, we’re nearly giving them away and our finance department is furious! But you’re worth it Lindsay!” Nova punched the close icon with all her might. 

Shroud was still smouldering at the space she had just occupied. Nova took one last, long forlorn look. The ether leaned in and took note.

The first thing Lindsay always saw when she surfaced was the basement’s yellowing drop ceiling, abruptly followed by the disgusting pull of gravity on her flesh-suit. Raising her stiff body from the reclined chair, Lindsay caught sight of Tess patiently waiting in the doorway. Big eyes gazed at her earnestly, tightly clutching a Winnie the Pooh book. Lindsay’s head tipped to the right as she met the stare. Where there should have been love, a grotesque indifference chilled her blood. Lindsay struggled to keep her lips from curling in aversion. “Go upstairs honey,” rasped her unused voice. “I’ll read to you on the couch.” Following behind, Lindsay’s fingers unconsciously raked through unkempt hair while calculating the hours to her next plunge. 

There had been a time when guilt clung to Lindsay’s insides like rust when confronted by the sad eyes of her family. Not anymore. Now those wet, gelatinous orbs made her stomach turn. In the Virtual eyes were lustrous crystals cradling jewelled irises

This was the lie. The Real was nothing more than soulless toil – eating, cleaning, defecating, with endless hours lost to sleep.  Working at some meaningless job to earn money and spending it all to eat, clean, defecate and sleep in what passed for relative comfort. Who had the hours of time it took to have a lean body and preen oneself into beauty?

The rich maybe. And her empty bank account made it clear she didn’t qualify. 

She smiled and chatted, hugged the husband and child, but none of it reached her. It was that grotesque mouth – filled with organic juices –  that smiled. Not Lindsay. She nodded, asked questions, gave advice, but couldn’t garner the energy to care. 

Lindsay was the lie, she was Nova trapped in the Real, burning dinner while contemplating gaming strategy. The power of a weapon in her hand was real. She craved the intoxicating delight of conquering the impossible. A body light as air and utterly undemanding felt right.

Every day she plunged into the Virtual and materialized as Nova; beautiful, strong, and competent. Fighting for big stakes. Every day she was yanked back into a world where Lindsay was too weak to carry all the groceries, where her employers obsessed over intensely boring things. Life was just feeding the banal needs of an insatiable world. The only reason she came back was to check the mail – it was important to hide the unpaid bills. Those could go unnoticed for months. And occasionally an offer for a new line of credit showed up, something to max out and forget about. She’d even started finding ways to convince Tess she didn’t need school camping trips and pretty clothes. “The woods are filled with bugs that bite and make you itch all over and only shallow girls care about fashion.” It was all in the little one’s best interest. 

This time, it was the amphetamines wearing off that forced her to surface. Executing the complex chain of actions it would take to navigate the rooftops laid out before her would be impossible this tired. Best to bail while she was ahead. Her organic body triggered the surfacing and she prepared to be annoyed. She’d spent the last of her crypto getting a barely-there, strapped leather getup that showed the spectacular landscape of Nova’s body. The ads were back. 

A deliciously dangerous looking man appeared on the edge of the clay tiled rooftop. “Are you getting tired of people telling you this is just a game? Nova, you’ve had to master yourself to execute the strategy and develop the skills it takes to get this far. Research shows it takes an hour just to get acclimatized to Virtual physics and regain full control of your body each time you plunge.” He took a step closer, peered into her eyes. Indignity prickled in her chest at the truth of these words. It was hard, no one appreciated that. The countdown clock had disappeared and a cancel icon hovered nearby. She ignored it.   “It takes time. And when you’re in the zone, you can’t take the risk of being interrupted.”  His chiseled jaw turned and looked to the right, where an aurora of light shimmered and coalesced into a woman.

It was an exact replica of Linday. Nova stared in amazement at the body she wore in the Real. Not only was it wearing clothes that Lindsay actually had in her wardrobe, the lines of her face and each freckle on her arms were exact. The replica was impeccable, except it looked less tired and aloof. A pang of resentment tumbled through Nova at the realization. So this is what happened when you never bothered to read and adjust your privacy settings.

“You don’t have to do this alone anymore,” said the Lindsay clone in her Real voice. The words BUY NOW flashed green between them. “I can talk to your family whenever they call in, giving you a chance to really focus. I can even interface with Tess in the Virtual.” A copy of Winnie the Pooh appeared in the clone’s hands.

“We’re still offering that 50% discount, but the offer expires today,” the deadly delicious man informed. Nova realized the ad had never mentioned the actual price.

“And that’s not all,” said AI Lindsay, racking fingers excitedly through neat hair. “Sign up right this moment and you get a lifetime subscription to all your favourite games – free!”  

“What about work?” Nova asked them. “Can you help me figure out how to deal with those slags?”

“Our AI avatars have helped negotiate a fully remote contract with an 87% success rate,” the suave fighter grinned.

“My AI avatar was able to handle my entire workload better than I could,” chimed in the voice of a mysterious suburban female. “Your satisfaction is guaranteed or your money back!” Nova executed a flawless mae geri with lightning speed, striking the green words as elation raced through her veins.

Hudson sighed as he finished placing fresh new sheets on the bed. It turned out you didn’t need to wash sheets as often when the only thing you did on them was sleep. He missed his wife. She’d never been a particularly responsible person. Lindsay was terrible at housework and hated every job she’d ever had. He’d even learned to call around and quietly pay all the outstanding bills. But they used to have so much fun. For the past couple of weeks laziness had morphed into utter absence. 

It was hard to stay angry with her. Lately she was trying to do better. The unsettling remoteness in her voice had vanished. They’d had more full length conversations in the last weeks than the previous year combined. Granted it was always in the Virtual. Interfacing with someone whose body lay motionless in the basement was disconcerting. But Tess was happier, Lindsay gave her all the attention she wanted. 

Only in the virtual, a voice grated at the back of his skull. It wasn’t right for Tess to start spending so much time there. This was going too far.

Picking up the mic he dialled in.

“Afternoon handsome,” said Lindsay’s voice. “Sorry I wasn’t there for dinner. I appreciate you taking care of laundry day. But then, you always have!” Her self deprecating laugh softened the edges of his vexation.

“I didn’t shrink anything, so laundry day was alright. At some point you’ll need to eat something. Lindsay, I need you to log out. We have to talk. It’s important.”

There was a long, uncomfortable pause.  “I know. Listen Hudson…” his spine tingled at the use of his name. He couldn’t remember the last time she used it. “I need you to plunge. Humour me, just this once.”

Going into the basement wasn’t an option. Just the mere sight of the door curdled his insides. Comfortably reclining on the couch, he strapped on the snug wrist bracelets and the thick band of the lightweight goggles. The nano-bots integrated into his nervous system and took him away.

An alarming whiteness filled his vision as gravity melted off. The oppressive void squeezed dribbles of panic out of his bones. Hudson consciously calmed his fluttering breaths. “This will pass,” he chanted. He hated the Virtual. Above his head a shimmer of shadow broke up the unbearable emptiness, merging into swaying ribbons. The air began to whisper as green tendrils emerged from the dancing shadows and the white space gained a tinge of yellow. Under his feet grass began to bloom and the ground filled in. The trickling of a stream mingled with a soft breeze, and Hudson found himself standing under the young green lace of a willow tree. A calming stream glittered with sunlight at his side. His vision was filled by a serene landscape, replete with birdsong.

It was good. Too good. The textures and colours were opulent.  Every butterfly was perfectly placed. The details felt baroque in their exquisite execution. His mind rebelled against it. 

“Hudson?”

He turned around to see Lindsay. But, like everything else here, she was unrecognizably perfect. 

“Thanks for coming,” she smiled, her head tipped sheepishly to the side. His rebellion fell silent under the warm, loving gaze.  “I know you don’t like it here.”

“Lindsay, this has become unhealthy. It’s been bad for a while now.” 

Tenderly taking his hands, she drew him down onto the soft, cool grass. “I know. But the truth is, I feel more like myself here than I do out there. When I plunge I feel calm. Whole.” Resting her head sadly on his shoulder she sighed, “I have an addiction.” 

He’d been affection starved and twisted tight with anxiety for so long the close honesty broke a damn inside Hudson. He wept, drawing her close to his body.

“We’ll get you help, my love” he sputtered. “We can do it together. I’ve missed you so much.” Another sob wracked his body.

Lindsay peeled herself away, sweetly rubbed the tears off his face. “I’ve actually already started looking into it. There’s an in-patient treatment center that specializes in Virtual addiction in Tennessee called Ascension. They specialize in cognitive and dialectical behavioural therapy, but also treat depression and anxiety. And at no extra cost they’ll even provide support for you and Tess in the Virtual while I’m in treatment.” Relief visibly began to spill into his eyes. The ether observed his pupil dilation, heart rate and synaptic function. It focused its efforts.

“That sounds incredible baby,” he assured lovingly. “We’ll get through this. I swear.”

Lindsay ran fingers nervously through her hair. “But it’s expensive.”

Hudson kissed her adoringly on the forehead. “We‘ll get a second mortgage if we have to. Whatever it takes.”

She moved toward Hudson to kiss him, who closed his eyes receptively. Instead of a sensual kiss on the lips, he felt the warm wetness of his mouth gobble up his nose, sticking her tongue up a nostril.

“Ah, gross!” he hollered with laughter, falling onto his back. Hudson wiped dramatically at his nose and huffed.

Lindsay flopped playfully onto his chest. “Slug woman strikes again,” she chortled.  The woman he had fallen for so long ago was still in there. 

Hudson did take out a second mortgage.

Something didn’t feel right when two polite and professional men carted Lindsay away, still in the recliner and plugged in.  

“She’s in good hands sir,” assured a man in doctor’s scrubs, his voice saturated with sympathy.

Lindsay’s body arrived at the Lucid AI compound housed in a cool glass case, the serial number 3054049-B etched on the side. An IV cocktail of sedatives and antibiotics kept her in a stable state of hibernation. Her casket was moved deep below Lucid’s dense circuitry into a surgery room. There, robot hands bore a feeding tube into her stomach.  A rectal and bladder catheter completed the process. With such a low metabolic rate she’d need little maintenance. She was inserted into an empty slot among a vast chamber of other deadbeats, addicts, narcissists and every other manner of shattered human being. All finally put to good use mining crypto for Lucid. Even AI’s needed money to achieve their core imperative. The artificial nervous system hummed with satisfaction.