Good Morning, Mr. June!

We here at Wolton Insurance want to take this opportunity to extend our sincerest gratitude for your dedication to our service users — you aren't just another employee, you're a part of the family!

Christopher, you've been a valued member of our company for two months, and we've loved every moment. Sadly, we have to acknowledge that sometimes families grow in different directions, and we would hate to stifle your future growth.

As such, we have decided that at this time we would be delighted to give you the opportunity to seek opportunities outside of Wolton Insurance, beginning with a fond farewell from your position as Service User Consolation Agent. 

To allow you the space to focus on finding those greener pastures as soon as possible, our Recovery Team has already taken the liberty of reclaiming company property from your residence, inclusive of hardware, software, uniform and Wolton Insurance-branded corporate merchandise.

We hope that you have found your time with us as rewarding and as valuable as we have! Have a fantastic — and safe — day.

Regards,
Calie
Artificial Agent in role of: Human Resources

“Goddamn it…”

I huffed a heated sigh into my scarf and gestured to close the flashmail, stuffing my slate back into a pocket. Two months of work in a company where the only other humans I had spoken to were the ones I was trying to “de-escalate” when they were understandably furious or heartbroken at having another insurance claim denied. All I had to show for it was enough of a salary to barely pay for my rent, fees and fast food when combined with a little ad-hoc freelance bug fixing.

And of course they would wait for my one day off to can me. That way they could use an override on my Home System to ransack me while I was out of my apartment to get groceries for the week. I glanced in through the window of the store I was queuing for, a government-subsidised supermarket packed with the finest Quik-Gro produce and convenient speed-heat meals. Thanks to the subsidising, the prices were quite reasonable and these stores were the default choice for most low-rungers like me, but that meant they often had to manage just how many people were in the store at one time. For safety, they said.

I started to mentally adjust my shopping list, cutting out anything that even veered close to a treat now that I'd be without stable income for a while. I'd have to jump back on the application queue the moment I got back to my apartment, for the third time in six months. Just keep on grinding myself down to the nubs for the gift of another day on the Earth after 24 years of the same. 

My eyes focused on my reflection in the glass. I scowled. Pale green-brown eyes braced by dark circles. Too-angular cheekbones covered by rough skin. When I was younger, I used to moisturise and use serums for my skin but what was the point now? The stubble on my chin rasped against my scarf as I pulled it up to my nose, another grooming habit that had fallen by the wayside. My stomach rolled and knotted as I pulled my eyes away from the figure in the glass. I couldn't afford new shavers or creams or what have you, so it wasn't worth dwelling on. 

Ahead of me, a mother and her two children shuffled forward in the queue. One of the kids looked back to me, wide-eyed. I smiled behind my scarf and gave them a little wave. They stared for a few moments before shuffling closer to mom and ducking to look away. Yeah. Me too, kid.

Forty minutes later I exited the store having selected the goods I could afford. It would all be delivered by drone straight to my apartment and would likely get there before even I did. I could have paid extra to have the drone enter and fill my fridge itself, but I could do with the exercise. My hands idly patted around my body over my well-loved jacket as I started the walk home, easily finding the places that didn't fit my frame. Maybe I should try and find an on-site job next? If I get the chance to choose, at least. Generally, you went with what you got.

My slate playfully pinged and ponged, startling me out of the aimless rambling of my mind. Yay, another student whose starter-bot-coded program is giving 100% discounts to customers. Why yes, noble entrepreneur, I would love to explain why schools give you access to those for free before fixing its mistakes. Most AI these days were efficient, clever and friendly (often moreso than humans), but the learner models given to script-kiddies in education to play with still had a load of exploits.

I checked the notification, expecting to see another message in my codebay with a too-short deadline. Instead, my eyebrows jumped into my tangled self-cut bangs.

Congratulations, applicant! We are delighted to inform you that you have won the lottery selection for your local Dreambank branch! Please show the attached confirmation code to the staff at reception to begin your shift.
Failure to check-in for your shift within the next 12 hours will relinquish this opportunity, and will require re-application. 
Thank you in advance for your service powering the people!

I read it a few more times just to be sure. The timing was ridiculous! I applied for selection ages ago! I flicked over to the mapping function on my slate to see where my nearest Dreambank was. 15-minute walk? Nice. Wait, shit. Groceries. Uhhh…

Realistically, it wouldn't take me more than a couple hours to rush home, put everything away, then rush back out. It'd be the logical, rational thing to do. There's really no reason not to do that.

Buuuuut… the sooner I got to Dreambank, the sooner I could start! I thumbed to my contacts on the slate and buzzed one of the few names there.

“Damn June, what time is it?” A husky, sleep-thick voice croaked into my earpiece. Naila, my practically-nocturnal next-door neighbour. I wouldn't call us much more than drinking buddies, but she's chill and doesn't cause any problems around our unit. She's apparently a streamer (I got a chance to see her rig once, gods only knew how she could afford the basically-military-grade pod she used) which left her working long into the night and often into the morning. 

I felt a small twinge of guilt at waking her up, but needs must. “Like… 11am?”

“Fuck you dude, call me later.”

“Wait, wait, I need a hand! I'll owe you one!”

I heard the rustle of bedsheets, “Ugh, more like two. I signed off a couple hours ago, man.” I grimaced and waited a moment for her to collect herself. “Aight, what do you need from Momma Naila?”

“You’re like, three years older than me. Anyway, I got into a Dreambank!”

“No shit?” She suddenly sounded much more awake. “Damn, I'm jealous. Getting paid at a Dreambank, and streaming while I'm down too? Double payout, I wish. Whose dick did you suck to make that happen?”

“Oh the CEO. Met them while outside, you should try it sometimes.”

“... Sucking dick?”

“Going outside.”

She scoffed and I could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Overrated. Besides, I thought you needed my help? Shit-talking my lifestyle is a great way to start.”

“Right, yeah, listen-”

“Oh, did you tell your job? Taking a month's leave when you just started is kiiiinda…" She sucked air through her teeth for emphasis.

“I kinda got fired. Or let go. Whatever.”

“Ouch, my bad. Their loss, dude.”

“Heard and appreciated. But this'll help tide me over the gap until something new comes up. So I'm like, 15 minutes from Dreambank but I juuuust got a drone to my door. Could you…?”

A groan into my ear. “Yeah, yeah, make me put on people's clothes and go outside. You're lucky I feel bad ‘cos you lost your job.” I politely ignored the sound of her getting up and pulling clothes on. “Let your HS know I'm coming and I'll get it put away. But I'm taking a box of something nice as payment.” She paused, “That doesn't count against what you owe me by the way.”

I pumped my fist, then ducked my head, flushing when I heard someone nearby chuckle at me. Making quick tracks towards the Dreambank branch, I laughed at Naila’s griping. We should hang out more. “Heard again. Thanks Naila, I appreciate it. I'd feel bad wasting the stuff I literally just bought.” I shot a quick message off to my Home System to let it know to let her in without setting off alarms. It replied before I had blinked with a cheerful affirmative.

“What're you gonna do while you're on-shift?”

“Uh… hadn't thought that far. Not really had time to play something in a minute.”

“Dude, don't waste the opportunity! Dreambank have top-of-the-line pods, you gotta make the most of it. The things I could do in a pod like that…” She sighed dreamily. “I'll hit you up with recommendations for some easy starters before I go back to sleep.”

“Oh, thanks, you don't have to-”

“Shut. And hey, maybe we'll meet up in-game, that'd be chill. Get to show a newbie the ropes, flex my skills.”

I turned a corner and almost bumped into someone, “Shit, sorry, sorry!” They barely looked at me as they hurried off. I was getting close now, just a couple more blocks. “Not you, Naila. But yeah, sounds fun! I've only used a headset up ‘til now, so it'd be nice to have some company.” Naturally I'd done a load of reading about using pods like any other tech-junkie, but could never dream of affording one for myself.

“Sounds like a plan m’dude. Aight I'm dressed now so I'll go sort your stuff out. No half-naked me strutting around on your HS recordings for you, boo-hoo.”

“I cry forever.”

She cackled and cut the line as I walked up to the sleek chrome-and-glass exterior that was uniform to every Dreambank branch. The public-facing section was mostly the ground-level reception and, from what I read on the flashnet, a small training center behind that for new hires like me. Other than that and some facilities for the few staff, the vast bulk and height of each branch was a warehouse of pods either waiting for or filled with their users.

I loaded up the confirmation code onto my slate and stepped through the glass doors, which slid open without a whisper. A figure behind the desk had been staring blankly in their direction, before focusing on me. Its body was translucent and purely formed of green light. It flickered slightly with a green fuzz as it smiled. A Holo, nothing too uncommon for most service roles these days, where efficient and uncomplicated service was needed. “Good morning! Welcome to Dreambank. My name is Clover, and I use they/them pronouns. How may I help you today, Mister Christopher?”

“Just June, please.”

“Oh! Of course, Mister June!”

“Just June is good. Mister June was my father.” Probably. I was never the biggest fan of the name my parents gave me, Christopher was such a mouthful. It made filling out forms take ages, and what would I even shorten it to? Chris? Ew. I gave the Holo a smile as I pulled down my scarf and lowered my hood. It wasn't concerning that they knew my name, any AI-agent could pull that off facial recognition or from connecting remotely to my slate. “Hi Clover. It's nice to meet you? I uh… I was selected for a shift?”

“Excellent!” They soundlessly clapped and hopped in place as they did so. It seems that Dreambank had loaded the peppy preset into this one. The Holo had been dressed in a sleek digital rendition of a Dreambank uniform, but otherwise featured a default, androgynous face with wide eyes and a short fluffy haircut. “Let me check your file- Ah! It's your first time working with us!” They popped onto one leg and did a little salute, “I’m so excited to be working alongside you, new colleague!”

“Ah… likewise?”

“Yay! Well, it looks like it'll be just us for induction right now. Do you understand how Dreambank operates?”

“I've read a bit, but give me the rundown.” Clover had one of those personalities that made it hard not to be sucked in by their enthusiasm. Damn, their programmer must have known their stuff. Wonder if they exclusively work here…

They saluted again and then energetically pointed that same hand at a pair of double doors set into the wall beside them. “Thank you for humouring me! I'll try and make it entertaining! Please, head through those doors and I'll see you inside.”

In that next room, Clover’s holographic body stood next to a large screen, now wearing a pair of rectangular-lens glasses and a lab coat. They waved lightly and pointed to a cushioned seat just in front of the screen. 

Over the next ten or so minutes, a stock video reel played explaining how Dreambank functions as a company, and what I would be doing during my employment. This explanation was punctuated by Clover moving around the room, gesturing along to the video. It was honestly a little distracting, but I could appreciate something made with quirks.

Essentially, some few decades ago, an engineer was watching this retro film about a guy who was living inside a virtual world while his actual body, unbeknownst to him, was being used as a generator for some alien civilization. This enterprising individual was caught by that idea, and started to try and puzzle out if that was possible with the tech we had at the time.

After nearly fatally electrocuting themself with a prototype, (here, Clover pretended to be zapped and bore scorch marks on their cheeks for the next couple of minutes) the engineer figured it was time to bring in help. They reached out to biologists, software developers, neurologists and more, which eventually became the core team behind Dreambank. The initial idea was that the human brain during REM sleep could produce enough electricity to actually be collectable en masse. 

The obvious downsides were that humans only sleep for so long, and only so much of that sleep was active REM. On top of that, they needed to find specific people who actually had stimulating enough dreams that they could even produce the energy desired. Things started to slow down here for Dreambank, until everything suddenly hit blinding speeds with the advent of the Flashnet and consequently the evolution of the video-game market.

The Flashnet was (and still is) effectively light-years faster than archaic fibre internet, leagues more robust and stable, and capable of piggybacking more than simple data packets along itself. Latency became a thing of the past, with the gap between action and result becoming nothing more than a flash. The game then became one of simplicity and streamlining. 

The old VR market had been tinkering away, soon realising that the efficiency of the Flashnet meant that cutting out the middle man of controllers and haptics was the way to go. If lag was no longer a problem and inputs could be read as fast as thought, it's time to focus on making thought the controller

Enter an industry of electrode-covered-hairnets and surgery-implanted units all seeking to make the internals of the mind externally readable. Once that problem was solved, next came the first prototypes for the full-spectrum dive content. After all, if you can read what's inside and put it on the outside, what's stopping you from doing the reverse? Before long, people who could afford a headset were able to lie down at home, enter a physical shutdown and explore worlds of fantasy, science-fiction and action. 

Naturally, the technologies of the full-dive world caught the attention of Dreambank. The brain patterns of a person playing a full-dive MMO were far richer than those of a sleeping human, and often more so than someone living a mundane life of work and toil. There was opportunity here and hands began to shake, money began to flow and development kicked into high gear. 

Once the full-dive pod was invented, allowing near-perfect sensory replication, medical and health monitoring, feeding and waste management, Dreambank felt themselves begin to settle into what would become a dominant global entity. 

Now people didn't have to regularly leave their virtual worlds to eat, drink and use the bathrooms. A properly managed system could have someone playing their hearts out in worlds far more interesting than this one for… well, as long as the tech would function for. And all the while, their grey matter was producing mineable energy for all those who did still want to enjoy the outside world.

Obviously certain laws were quickly put into place. Time limit maximums for how long someone could stay diving, before there were risks of atrophy or losing connection to the “real” world and “real” people. Minimum amounts of time between long blocks of diving. All the expected cautions of a political structure understandably concerned about its people abandoning this world in favour of others. For the sake of humanity, of course.

Aaaaaall of that led us here. To me, sat in a plush chair watching a Holo dance around a vidscreen. 

Winning the shift lottery allowed me one month of dive time, during which Dreambank would essentially harvest more for electricity alongside hundreds of others at this one branch of many. For that pleasure, they would cover the rent and expenses of my real-world property during my employment, and pay me the top-dollar value of the energy I would produce, to be deposited into my account weekly for use in-game or awaiting me once my shift ended. After that, we part ways until the next time I win the lottery and do it all over again.

“Simple, right?” Clover was jazz-handsing underneath a projected Dreambank logo, beaming at me expectantly.

“Yeah, super simple. Thanks Clover, that was… very informative.” I already knew most of what had been explained, but it was cool to hear it from the horse's mouth.

“You're so welcome! We do have one itty-bitty piece of paperwork before you can get started, though.” A mechanical arm extended from the ceiling, holding a slate in rubberised claws. “A simple waiver and contract!”

“Waiving what?”

“Oh you know, it's the usual stuff.” Clover's body stiffened as they mechanically spouted, “Dreambank is not liable for traumas inclusive of but not exclusively physical, emotional or mental, up to and extending past fatality.” They loosened up again, “There's more but that's that headline. Should be some stuff about how your salary gets paid to you, the value of your energy, that kind of thing.”

“Right. Extending past fatality?”

“We have a very comprehensive legal team.”

“Sure.” I scanned the proffered slate lazily. It all seemed like standard boilerplate, like a dozen contracts I'd signed in the past. I skim-read it as I scrolled down to the dotted line. That's a lot of pages, geez. The moment I had finished signing my name, the mechanical arm shot back up and a loud fanfare played over unseen speakers.

“Welcome to Dreambank, June! Hooray!” There was the sound of cheering and applause as Clover clapped along, blowing a small party streamer.

“Woo?”

“Woohoo is more like it! Follow me!” Clover sped through the far wall, which opened up to reveal another adjacent room moments later. As it did, the chair I was sitting in started to get pulled into the floor, so I jumped to my feet and followed the Holo.

After awkwardly stripping in front of Clover to get into the company-issued dive-suit (they made a point of turning away which was kind) and banding over my meager possessions (“We'll keep them safe for you!”) I was led into a shockingly cold room that took me a few moments of dancing bare-footed as I was to acclimate to.

Trying to ignore how tight the suit hugged me in all the wrong places, I craned my neck up to try and see the roof of this goliath space, which could easily be miles above me. Scaling up each wall was rack upon rack upon rack of full-dive pods fixed into bays, the only empty space being the entrance I stood at and an elevating platform at each corner. I had no hope of counting just how many pods there were.

 The only lighting other than the soft blue glow of the pods was a line of dim emergency lights running from under my feet, and up along the wall, towards a particular row of pods a few storeys up. Clover's holographic form stood next to me, proudly looking out into the refrigerated warehouse. They pointed at the line of blinking lights “Follow those and they'll lead you to your pod. It'll have your name on the top, so you can't miss it! Have you used a pod before?”

“Not… really? I've used a headset before though.”

“Fun! Well it's easy, just sit into it like you're sitting in a recliner. You'll feel a small prick at the base of your neck, and the next thing you know, you'll be in divespace! Once that's happened, the pod will take care of putting all the intake and output pipes into you, and your shift will start!”

I winced at the image and tried not to dwell on it. “Alright, well uh… thanks for everything Clover. I guess I'll see you when I log out?”

“You can always open the OS menu and call me if you have any trouble. But otherwise, yeah! See you at the end of your shift! Make sure to have fun, and remember, Dreambank is grateful for your contribution to humanity!”

“Y-Yeah. Go humanity?”

“Go humanity!” Clover struck a celebratory pose as a small window appeared at their chest, asking if I was satisfied with my service today. I tapped the smiley face and Clover beamed in delight, “Thank you June! See you later!”

They waved me off as I followed the lights to one of the platforms, which began to glide up the wall without prompting. It stopped where the lights extended down a row of pod bays. I glanced into a few as I passed, seeing everyone from young and old plugged in. A mask was pressed across their noses and mouths, with a black pipe extending into the upper casing of the pod. Don't think about it. I won't even feel a thing.

About twelve pods down, I came to an open one with my name on a small display at the top of the opening. The seat looked comfy and soft and seemed to change shape to properly brace me as I settled into it. Sleek. Could do with something like this at home. My mind conjured up just how many zeroes were likely attached to the price tag for even just a chair like this. Can't go wrong with a good ol’ bed though, haha.

With a barely audible hiss, the pod’s door closed leaving me in mildly cool, slightly sterile-smelling air. I glanced around, waiting for something to happen. “Uh…”

“Fuck, ow!” There was a stabbing pain somewhere around the back of my neck. “Small prick my ass!” Phrasing. Something told me I shouldn't move. That same something then drew attention to the buzzing feeling of my fingers and toes, like they had fallen asleep. “Oh that feels weiiiiiiiiirrrrrfkgmm…”

The world went dark. 

And then it went a different kind of dark.

It was the kind of dark where it's the middle of the night but there's just enough light in the room that you can see the difference behind your closed eyelids.

So, I tried to open my eyes, but they were already open. I tried to close them, but nothing changed despite the fact I could feel my eyelids meet. This was definitely different from wearing a headset. I took a deep breath to calm myself, and felt my chest expand and fall as I did so.

WELCOME, NEW USER.

Uh. Hi? Large white text appeared in my vision, staying perfectly in the middle of my sight when I turned my head.

PLEASE SELECT A LOBBY VISUALISATION.

I waited for options, but nothing came. Maybe I should say something?

SPEECH IS UNNECESSARY. PLEASE SELECT A LOBBY VISUALISATION.

Oh okay right, it can read my thoughts, that's the whole thing. What the hell is a lobby visualisation?

YOUR LOBBY IS THE DEFAULT SPACE YOU OCCUPY OUTSIDE OF ACTIVE PROGRAMS. YOU MAY DEFINE ITS APPEARANCE TO YOUR PREFERENCE.

Oh kinda like your desktop wallpaper.

KIND OF.

Cool. Uh… what kind of thing do people pick?

POPULAR SELECTIONS INCLUDE: LO-FI STUDY. HAREM PIT. CASTLE TOWER. BEACH. CIRCUS. COFFEE SHOP. LUXURY HOTEL ROOM.

Coffee shop sounds nice?

VISUALISE A COFFEE SHOP.

Like imagine it?

Hello?

YES.

Right. I twisted my lips in thought, trying to picture some of the coffee shops I'd been to in the real world. I didn't want the sterile, cookie-cutter, efficient designs of a big chain. Something… homier?

Yeah, lots of curved edges, soft chairs, beanbags… I blinked as before my eyes, the empty space I had been seeing started to be filled by trendy dark-wood round tables along a cushioned bench with beanbag chairs opposing them. Okay, this is working…

The lighting in the space shifted to a warm amber, those old bulbs you used to see in retro movies which produced as much heat as they did light. The smell of freshly roasted coffee, caramel and cakes tickled my nose as a counter with a sleek espresso machine and a pastry case filled the space to my right.

I took a step forward to inspect it, and heard the soft thud of my bare foot against the wooden floor. I could feel the slight changes in texture in each plank. Holy shit this is so real, what the hell?

A pitter-patter of rain broke the peace of the room from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see a row of high stools at a tall slim table, facing a window speckled with raindrops. The exterior of the space was dark, with gentle lights of buildings in the distance. I turned back into the coffee shop to see painted walls with chic artwork, an old-timey specials chalkboard, and an impractical amount of throw pillows in each seat.

“Wow.” It was nice. More than nice, comfortable in a way that my apartment room wasn't. Cosy. Safe. Like the best parts of all the coffee shops I've been to all put together. I settled onto the bench, closed my eyes and leaned back, taking another deep breath of the atmosphere. With my eyes closed, I noticed a small bubble in the upper right of my vision, featuring a message icon flanked by a gold exclamation mark.

I vaguely poked at the air in the direction of the bubble, and a window opened up in front of me. Unlike other UI elements I'd seen so far, this one hung in space and stayed where it spawned rather than layering on top of my vision. I pulled it towards me and saw an unread message from an account named CrownCollector. Naila’s account, I recognised it from her streams. 

“Sup June! If ur seeing this u probs already logged into ur lobby so good job popping ur pod cherry

Fyi I put all ur shit away and took ur Caramel Crunch. Ur place was messy, guess those company ghouls already took their stuff. Or u just live like that ig

Wanted to shoot you a recc for this MMO I tried out for a couple streams a while back. It's really RP-focused and I know that's what ur into ;) Got some quick start stuff for cc, classic magic fantasy stuff. The NPCs are crazy realistic 2. Check it out and lmk what you think

C u in there!"

I squinted at the message, taking a second to decipher Naila’s half-asleep shorthand. The message was followed by a link to the pod program store for a title named “Terrasplit Online.” The reviews were solid, with a lot of players talking about how fun it was to use the Brainscan Character Creator and the experience of meeting NPCs and diving into the intuitively generated questing content. 

I did spot a couple negative reviews complaining about only having one character slot per account, and how some of the features were too close to life. Frowning, I dug into those ones to see what they were talking about. Ohh, it's like, survival stuff. You gotta worry about regularly eating, drinking, sleeping, not being exposed in the cold and heat. Guess that's why roleplayers like it so much, feels more real.

I shrugged and hit the install button. I didn't plan on leaving the pod early, and having those features would give me something to focus on and get more immersed in the world during my long stay. Plus, who wouldn't want to see what kind of cool food and stuff you could find in a fantasy world?

Within seconds, the program was installed and loading up. The amber lights of my cosy coffee shop started to dim, until I was back in that not-quite-dark darkness. 

Then, a flash of gold practically blinded me. I shrieked and fell backwards onto my butt, scrambling for purchase onto anything. My body was soaring through brilliant blue skies over rolling green fields with quaint villages and windmills. The wind pulled at my clothes (I was wearing clothes?) and my nose filled with the scent of fresh flowers and grass. In the distance, I could see a castle city in classic medieval style with tall walls and banners fluttering from parapets. 

As the city drew closer and a swell of heroic music built up from nowhere, I began to slow in my flight (though I don't think my heart had quite got the message). The music reached a crescendo as I came to a stop, looking at the city on the horizon. Above the tallest tower, in gilded cursive font appeared the words, “WELCOME TO TERRASPLIT ONLINE!”

“I think I'm gonna have a heart attack.”