Davis trudged on home. He had finally finished his month of work and could now have his two months of paid vacation.

It felt good to have nothing to look forward to do, for that amount of time ― except to eat, sleep, do the toiletries, and not much else. Maybe reconnect with the younger sister, supposedly on vacation, but he knew she was slumming with some guy in the Bronx. Whatever; he didn't want to be responsible for Kaila's life; not as if he was even doing so well in his own.

Well ... not so bad for his own life, all things considered. He worked for a good company, going over financial records too. He'd had several high pressure clients assigned to him by the supervisor, so work was always ... interesting ... to say the least. That big DeemOnCard Creditor Services group was a real critical one, always sought to nickle-and-dime him though.

As he neared his own street, he smiled. Walking daily did him good though. Better to not have to drive, as long as work was already within walking range. Plus, even more than before, he now had an additional reason to smile and walk faster.

Davis had been so hesitant all his life to get involved with VR and now AR; but today he was having a VR pod installed. He'd had those technicians install the VR system in his home while he worked; it's the only way he could 'maximize' his playtime for the two months.

The pretty but young technician lady had even made sure he'd got a good deal; and even made sure she would be the one to install it for him-

---

His buddies at work ― the same ones who chided him for being so hesitant about the thing ― always told him the things to watch out for, if or when he'd finally go for it. Things like: do not get those things from a used vr gear shop, you do not know who did what to those things, and with what parts of their bodies.

The complete reason to be so cautious ― nobody could know what virus might be lurking around inside some of those older pieces of tech. It's because former owners had zero liability to declare what 'this or that' type of software they downloaded, or what 'this or that' hardware they connected. Or ― what 'this or that' organs have been touching the inner parts of those devices.

So instead of any plain old 'used vr tech' place ― and since he was well enough financially set ― he bought 'refurbished' from the manufacturing company. No proper 'warranty' since all the devices were already old enough, but a simple promise of reduced repair cost if it should break in the next two months was all he needed.

VR tech had been around for a half century, give or take a half decade too. Yet Davis had never had the kind of assets before he'd got this job to go ahead and splurge on this kind of system. But now the prices were getting so cheap ... with the release of a new AR system. VR and AR ... so many people still wondered what's the difference ... yet Davis had heard all the explanations so he knew already.

VR ... Virtual Reality ... basically a person puts themselves (mostly now their whole body, or sometimes just their head) into a connection with some nonphysical/unreal worlds or settings. The premiere company in this space is SukkYubaSys, Incorporated; with next to nothing as competitors ― mostly because their act is hard to follow. Besides, their (mostly male) customers always come forth to counter any criticism. First gen VR took up a whole room in a house with all the sensors and processors; thankfully by Gen III they got the size down to a ... well Grandpa Art would say it looked like one of those 'racing booth games' in an arcade, whatever those were. A modern iteration of the VR equipment uses headgear and/or bodysuits to allow interfacing the digital with the biological, and controlling the generated scenes according to the user movements. Fatalities from interaction (in properly configured software and hardware) remain at an all time low.

AR ... Augmented Reality ... is a different kind of technology yet, where some company will insert a wafer-chip inside the brain and make connections to various other body parts. Generally nothing extra is needed but the software system interface, a small disc 'player' kept in a pocket or something. Grandpa Art calls them things either a 'CD' or a 'DVD' for some reason. This tech is still so new, even with the high cost and required surgeries and 'training' ... so many people are wanting it. Even a marginal fatality rate ten times that of VR does not deter many ― AR is a hot topic, now.

Basically VR does not require 'body modification' or at least not unless the human is horribly misshapen in the first place. Sometimes with VR a paraplegic (and oh how rare those are, now that a fix is available) who wish to experience 'real human movement' might need additional physiological tailoring for some softwares ... so they can be like 'human normal'.

And again, on the flip side ― flip side of what, what gets flipped again ― AR does require body modifications such as surgery and 'neuromuscular tweaking'. Plus that's not all; nowadays Davis has seen how those people with AR systems even walk into the street while playing their games, trying to get that elusive game reward-

Seriously. Even that one everyone's been going on about ― go to this point, conquer the monster, take its loot ― and all those without the same AR system and software will see, is ... some maniac swinging his arms and saying 'fuck, get back here you birdie' or 'hey that hurt you worm'. Or stranger yet ... a certain AR system ... allowed for ... ahem ... 'romantic endeavors', for the socially inept. More often than not, some lonely boy will be naked and bumping and grinding against the air, out in public; people have no shame anymore. I think the lady secretary in my own company is addicted to that, instead of getting a boyfriend. Geez, even I would take her home if she's truly so horny/lonely-

But both AR and VR are like that, in a sense; people were saying it lets you be you, the inner you who you secretly want to be in real life. Say a shy guy is fronting himself as a strong aggressor in public, yet he doesn't want to be so in AR or VR ... he can stay a shy silent type in the simulated worlds. It still left a lot of people inattentive to most of the stuff in real life, and only concerned with the simulated stuff.

In short. Davis, in no way, wanted to end up like that. Walking into trees or signposts or other people, or walking around without clothes ... for the sake of an app or game. Nothing in the world should interfere with a person's right to safety and privacy.

---

Stepping up inside to his own home's entrance ― a casual suburban duplex ― Davis sighed in relief at kicking off his business dress shoes and gliding across the wood floor. A glance at the mirror showed the walk in the breezy afternoon had ruffled his hair. His tallish stance ― one inch short of six feet tall ― was something to draw women's attention; but brown hair and hazel eyes maybe gave him a common look. Or at least the women he'd dated really didn't care about his hair or eyes as much as the size of his other parts.

He calmly nodded at the young woman tech staying behind ... as she'd promised she would, to show him the final details when he got off work. This employee of SukkYubaSys Incorporated still had the youthful look, as if she were perpetually a teenager. How she did it, many a woman still would want to know. But in all that, Davis could only hope she'd done the install, correctly.

This 'almost still a girl' young woman stood, contrary to him, as tall as his pecs. In short, she was short, standing next to him. Mixed reddish orange hair tones played with his mind, as he realized this girl probably liked the unique combination. Her eyes were more a stunning mild red or a darker pink shade with speckles in them which had a faint glint any time they caught the light. Davis knew there were artificial contacts and iris implants which could do this; only she seemed so young to go that route.

And ... if she were standing here done now, then of course she probably had time to snoop around his place-

... well. Even if she did peek at his stuff under the bed or in the closet, it'd be all shown on the ViSeCa monitor, later-

"Davis-san, all is well at your home here; I have respected your privacy as my customer. Nobody came to your door except the mailman, and I hope it was okay for me to bring the delivered mail inside for you. I hope your work day went well, so you can now properly relax," she spoke with a calming voice.

'She is rock hot; I would carry her back to my bed and spend time with her, any day-'

She merely smiled at something unsaid, and urged him to say something with her beautiful expressive eyes.

"... well, work is work, Sana. You know the drill I suppose, talk to this manager, fill in that report, talk to this manager again, see the dragon lady boss before closing an account-"

'-but that is all boring work details. I could just ask you to stay longer, to help me remove stress from a bad day of work, so you have a wonderful time in my arms too.'

"Eh, eh, well even so, Davis-san ... I won't admit to knowing what working for a dragon lady is like. But now, we have to finish this equipment install first so, um, my own work day is over-"

'Wait what? Moving on to business so soon? Did something not go right, from before?'

"-ahem. It installed all quite well; I promise, nothing went wrong, Davis-san. So. Let us go to your bedroom; follow me as I show you your system setup."

She pulled on the man's hand, before he could even think to resist her gentle persuasion.

She is pretty in a way Davis can only assume is entirely natural ... unlike so many boys and girls nowadays getting those 'skin morphs'. Not a blemish or flaw anywhere in sight, all perfect down to looking a 'peak of puberty' figure and toned flesh. Even appears to be eternally youthful, just always on the cusp of turning from fifteen to sixteen. Like a proper young goddess among men, almost.

But yet in her technical career, even if she's so youthful, she's dealing with the setup of things which ... might include the 'adult themed' hardware, if Davis listened to the guys at work go on about their virtual affairs.

She pulled Davis to his own bedroom with an obvious grin, him bearing hesitant thoughts over whether she'd consider spending time with him, yet knowing she had determination to complete the work day first.

"Here in this corner of your bedroom, Davis-san, here is your VR Pod Station. Are you ready to test it right now? Or do you wish some general instruction and a chance to ask further questions first?"

"... well I do appreciate a proper instruction, as long as it is not too formulaic or run off topic. Or rather I will say, a little conversation before just 'hopping into it' would be nice."

"Then you will like my instruction, it's the best, and I am good at general talk. Davis-san, what you have here is the last model of the virtual reality interface pod station SukkYubaSys Incorporated has ever released. There is a rumored version two of this, but let's not worry about that right now. It has all the features you will expect. The whole product range does look like this ― an extended egg shape, with a canopy which pops open so you can recline inside; and the internal seat a soft pliable seating which feels like a cross between hardened gel and softened rubber. Truly, most customers in the past have even agreed it feels better than when they were inside their mother's womb."

'What the hell ... people are even saying that? Can they not see how perverse that sounds?'

Davis supposed his own face may have inadvertently shown his reaction; Sana spoke up to ease his discomfort.

"... eh ... well some people do think it might be a tad 'perverse' but in a sense it's true too. An infant inside their mother's womb will have the same sensation of the uterine wall stretched around them, which is ... so admittedly the intent of the hardware engineers when these were created. Perverse or not, it fit."

Davis nodded, if nothing else to then at least move the conversation along.

"So then ... depending upon what type of app ... or game ... Davis-san wishes to install ... this inner lining does its part too. It's embedded with miniaturized sensors as well as a way to let you feel pain or pleasure, by nerve induction, when and where you should be feeling it. And ... eh well even for those other types of games ... eh he he ... you understand right Davis-san ... you desire the best sensations you can possibly have. And as a longtime employee of SukkYubaSys myself, I can attest how they do not want to limit your searching for whatever you wish to access. I have tried the product myself, and have no complaints. All they will ask is to be allowed access to the anonymous metrics and usage data from your normal interactions ... so SukkYubaSys could always build a better system. So in turn, the customer can have greater happiness, with the product. Eh ... well so even if this is the last model of VR and the company is transitioning to AR systems ... those metrics and analytics are still sent to the company; it's all in the agreement you signed."

'I think she insinuates too much on the "those types of games" for me. It is not like I would want to try those except for the novelty, at least once; too many of my coworkers rely on it to relieve stress. Anyway. I do think I do well enough with the live females without having to rely upon a VR substitute.'

"... um yeah, okay then I know not everyone will want such a way to 'release stress' or experiment; but you might find by exploring your download options, a lot more variety than simple 'novelty' is available for free to you, Davis-san. Even beyond simple romance ... and intimacy. Even any kind of perversion you may want to seek ... it's all there somewhere."

Davis finally touched the egg shaped pod. Almost new, only a tiny ding in the paint chipped right near the one lid hinge, to indicate minor wear and tear. Otherwise, the system did not seem at all inferior to the pod system it would have been at original launch of this product.

"Davis-san. Please, for you to be ready for the test of how well you fit .... please do remove your clothes."

Gulp.

She looked down, toward his groin; and Davis subconsciously put a hand over his part. But then, if she would see even this, to fit him into the pod, he would have to relax, and assume this was all so much her job.

"... eh, he, he, there is nothing to be ashamed about with your body. I have helped many men to become more comfortable in and fitted to such a system. Please Davis-san, do not worry for this; but its design is very much meant to be experienced ... without the clothes. A full immersion system to control the sensations."

"... oh. Well ... if you promise you won't laugh or make fun of me-"

"I assure you, I as an employee have taken a vow, to never degrade our customers. I am here to help, regardless of whether a customer is male or female, young or old, this race or that one, and ... never mind the rest, it gets more technical in the other qualifiers. Whatever else you might want to ask Davis-san, I will answer to the best of my ability. I do promise ... and I do need to see ... how you fit. To make sure the proper attachment points are present ... for whatever app or game you may choose."

With an almost pained embarrassment, Davis slowly pulled down his pants, slipped off the work shirt, then tee shirt, and finally ... the boxer shorts.

She looked down again, to see-

'Yeah okay, this is only six and a half inches! S, sorry it is so short!'

"... mou, Davis-san. This is nothing to be embarrassed about, and some of us females do like the ... natural length ― d, don't think you have to go to that 'Peen-A-Long' treatment service! I hate that LamiTech company ― what do they think they're doing making males want it to be ten inches or longer!"

In spite of the rash statement she made, and due to his general nervousness, he laughed, only for a second.

---

The 'install' may have went well, without any incident ... even getting him bodily settled into this soft rubbery mass of a 'womb'. Except when it came time for her to custom fit in his male part ― he could not relax, for some reason; or rather, he'd gone limp.

Having a beautiful company technician here to watch him ... for her to insert his part into the thing ... and with his already tense nerves from the day of dealing with those DeemOnCard Creditor Services-

He'd gotten erect earlier from her simple talking ― if not her descriptions of the product and various services and apps and games ... but in the sudden exposure, his mind drove him to lose his edge. Laying back, he closed his eyes as the girl considered how to help him get it back. If she asked once more if she could call her supervisor for assistance, that would only drive him more toward frustration, and then anger.

He stared at the ceiling of his own bedroom, frustrated already with her small hand flopping his small part, back and forth a second, then she sighed.

"... ooh, you have had a bad day ... well then Sana-chan here will do this, as a service ... ittadekimas-"

He felt a sudden mouth on his part ― shockingly blunt yet not unwanted ― a sudden wash of saliva or drool, being spread around by a suddenly strange tongue shape.

'What? Is she ... playing with me now?'

"... uh, you um-"

"Tee hee, but it's okay, Davis-san. Just promise this is just between us, okay? And see, do you feel it, your body part is getting into the right shape again-"

He was in fact feeling how his male part grew, suddenly larger in her selfless act. But another thought kept pushing in the back of his mind.

'Am I right or did the tongue seem so alien, almost like a strange thing. This does not seem a valid thing, though ... since we humans are the only sentient creatures known in the galaxy. But a tongue ... like from some monster race-'

Her hand suddenly stopped massaging him, pulled away, and she seemed to act as if something was wrong.

"What, what happened; something is wrong?"

"... no ... it, it's nothing-" *sniff* "... well anyway let's finish the rest of this setup," she answered, and she might have added in a whisper, "-so I can go home."

Davis could not see her at all now, as she's moved behind the larger end of the egg, behind where his head is, inside the shell. The part behind his head also held an access panel, a section of the shell which popped up and provided an access monitor while the part hidden inside also held a classic keyboard panel. But he could now slightly hear sounds of her sighing or sniffling while she operated keys on the keyboard. Enough of this came through into the pod, there must be a microphone and speaker combination to allow external communications.

As he felt himself arrive at full erection, the womb like material wrapped around him in a comforting grip and held there, until he heard a soft couple of beeps from Sana's end of the device.

"-body form merged successful," she added calmly and without the former energetic girlish nature she'd had before this. "Davis ... san. You should soon see, the space around you will start to change. Soon you will see it look like a black blank space. A character modification system and then a tutorial system will be activated for you. You can take it from there, I will be leaving here soon, okay."

"Hai, hai."

Davis did not really hear her so much anymore, as he was somewhat thrilled on starting his first virtual experience, ever.

Unlike so many of the times he'd protested his workmates trying to press him into getting one of these-

---

Lights flashed in front of him, coalescing and turning to a raging flame which seemed to 'burn' everything before him, and his senses then also felt the womb material fade from his conscious sense of touch. Then all of those sparkly bits dissipated; and at last he was left in the dark space. A dark unseen floor he stood upon; absent walls allowing sight into a darkened distance; and dark all the way above or below him.

'Oh ... very well done on the womb like fit; I feel as if it is not even there!'

"-you will be safe, it should feel like your own body," he faintly heard the voice of a girl, nearby.

"Sana ... chan?"

"-hai."

'... why is she acting so cold, has something happened-'

*sniff*

This too he heard as a faint, almost distant sound. But he cannot let himself focus on that, as the darkness which next presented itself for him to stand in, was ready for his interaction.

"Welcome to the VR pod system series 'Zygote' made by SukkYubaSys Incorporated. We do hope you enjoy your virtual experience in our hands." So spoke a different feminine voice from some place unseen. The new voice was sultry, and for a second Davis had to catch his breath ― realizing SukkYubaSys went all out on this model!

Davis felt the elation grow; surely this system was gauging his reaction, and accounting for the spike in interest right?

"As this pod is now in an uninitialized state yet has validated user information, you will now be presented with a series of virtual tasks to move you along in using this system." A gamelike panel appeared ahead and to his right, with words showing this would be his 'to do list' interface. The voice resumed, adding tasks to this list as it did so. "Task one, create the one character representation which will represent you, to the rest of virtual reality users, applications, and games. Task two, participate in one or more system usage tutorials to become acquainted with the features attached to this pod system. Task three, configure various system and user preferences which will define default actions and visual modifiers for the virtual experience. Task four, create or manage your 'friends list', and synchronize with various public contacts and address databases for greater social experiences."

"Yeah I see, okay then ... create my virtual character?" he spoke into the darkness, watching this to-do list.

As if given as his verbal command, the first item flashed, caused the to-do list to slide further to the side, while a copy of his body ... decidedly naked body ... appeared before him. It might seem weird to be looking at yourself, and have the option to 'tweak' this or that part ― but Davis realized this is part of the normal process; he'd just have to be okay with it 'mapping' his body so intimately. Or rather, he'd have to hope that SukkYubaSys would not do anything malicious with this data.

"Entering task one, your character editing session," soothed the feminine voice, somehow reminding him of a teacher he once had a crush on, in high school. "Before you, you should be seeing a mapped copy of your own body image, which you can alter as you see fit. All pod system users are granted only one virtual character representing themselves to the virtual realm. The result of this editing session will be what others will see of you within the joint VR space. This form will age along with you to show your real age and appearance, within slight limits. Notice, users under the age of adulthood by law must appear their legal age; anyone over this age can appear within ten percent variance to the biological age. Also note, many VR games or apps might permit customization of a separate avatar, which is stored of those separate servers. SukkYubaSys takes no responsibility in their creation or management."

It was ... as the feminine voice said. A naked version of himself, with all the natural traits he'd always had. A series of smaller hovering screens beside his body showed what points of his appearance he could modify, and by how much varied from normal. Even down there, too, for the penis and testicles ― something many of his workmates told him he should try.

"... eh, well ― despite what the idiot squad tell me, I am fairly comfortable with how I look. Except maybe make the chin extend a small bit from this rounded jaw shape ... but I am good. Okay, accept, and ... done."

"Completing task one ... finished. Now entering task two, selection and participation in a VR pod system tutorial. The list of tutorials span through tiers of complexity, starting with Basic and going through Advanced and even Master tiers. Topics range from general movement, to object interaction, to usage of system features while in various virtual contexts, to selecting third party applications and games. Please browse through the list appearing before you, and either select a topic to perform, or cancel the tutorial for now. To automate playing of the recommended tutorials in a linear presentation, press the button beneath the list marked 'Auto'. To cancel the activation of a tutorial, press the button beneath the list marked 'Skip'. Both completed and skipped tutorials can be selected to complete at any time without concern; most are to be done offline so as to minimize online data usage charges for our users."

Again a new window of text appeared in front of him. This time, it seemed more like a simplified listing with multiple columns. Like a spreadsheet, but made 'pretty' with visual virtual components.

The list seemed to be very orderly; each row was its own topic; and each column in a row had a purpose. The first column was the ranked complexity of completion, followed by the second column of a topical title. This led next to the third, fourth, and fifth columns, each one a button to press for selecting that tier of difficulty. He reached out and pressed against the 'Auto' button, as recommended.

"The user has selected to go through the recommended tutorials; estimated time for most users is gauged to be in the range of fifty to seventy minutes, with an hour being the general average. Do you still wish to continue with this tutorial process?"

"Yes," he said, hoping the system also took verbal input. Some of his coworkers complained they didn't have the latest and greatest, so they did not have a speech analysis subsystem to parse their words.

It seemed his had this. "On to the tutorial, dear mortal human!" the woman's voice shouted with an eager tone ― reminding him of some classic 'warrior woman' ― as perhaps the designers intended it to be. His surrounding virtual 'world' seemed to burn away again, now only appearing as empty blackness once more; but objects slowly began to appear.

"O, okay D, Davis-san," Sana's voice called out while the virtual scene built itself around him. "You are in the tutorial, so I have helped you get your system configured, and now you are on your own. I, um ... earlier I put in my own contact information into your system. Feel free to delete it if you don't want it, or delete it if you want to clear up your contact list, or even delete it for any reason; I won't mind-"

'Whoa, that is a lot of ways to say "delete me" to a customer-'

"I will see myself out, Davis-san, and lock the door as you previously instructed. G, goodbye."

He hardly even noticed the young girl leave, except for one last sniff which came from her direction.

---

The tutorial progressed so smoothly; with its estimated one hour of completion time, he'd finished in roughly forty-five minutes. He sped through it, recalling all his working buddies had told him over the last three or four years; now it made sense. That, and this system did seem intuitive; he gave kudos to the biomechanical techs and developers at SukkYubaSys for their development of such a fine and thorough pod system-

In the end, continuing on through the 'friends list' and 'contact building' features, he left it empty of all but Sana; this is a chance to start building a friend list the old fashioned way. Sana's contact details were left as they were. Who knows; maybe someday he might need 'technical support' and want to reach out to her. Oh, if only she hadn't turned so emotionless or cold, for some reason.

Shaking his virtual head within this virtual techno urban cityscape used for the tutorial setting, he passed through the tutorial and got calmly dumped from it to the global user lobby.

The 'global lobby' is what the tutorial described as the place his avatar character would appear once he 'logged into the system'. More of the same cityscape as with the tutorial, but this time peopled by other avatars. He himself recognized himself as being shown nude; but then so were nearly all the others. The tutorial had stated this, rather directly; but also informed him of the online store, through which varied virtual clothing options could be purchased, both cheap and costly varieties without frills.

So Davis took a while to examine others, not certain exactly where he could go to find the games he might like to try. Here is where he saw others, walking about in a calm way, as their own virtual avatars. But they were appearing as from any of the multitude of avatar races which the character edition time had allowed them to select. The default was human for all, but additional races could be obtained from the virtual store, for cash. Elf, dwarf, beastly and monstrous fantasy species ― and so many oddities beyond the bizarre. It seemed, at least to Davis, that some people just wanted to try some unusual appearances.

The precise spot where Davis had appeared was as a small central park, with very tall structures appearing around this place. Looking around while standing in such an open setting, he saw the virtual skyscrapers all around him, all as the tutorial had said he would see. This space is a 'global lobby' which everyone saw as they logged in; but also each app or game or software could and often did have their own 'professional lobby' as a separate destination for their users. As for games, their lobbies could effectively be the VR equivalent of the 'title screen' which his grandpa always mentioned and showed him on his archaic desktop computer, or a login/logout space and meeting point.

Only the 'best' ― translation, 'highest paying' ― apps and games got exposure to the main lobby and their own spaces within one of these superstructures, though. The lobby had accessible virtual screens for selecting through categories of what app or game was desired. A user could also walk around and find the one they wished to find manually, which meant a lot of exploration and 'oops I do not want to see that' moments could happen. Most VR systems held enough storage media to hold links to the spaces its user wanted to favorite; from then on, a user could transfer directly to the app or game space by selecting it in their list.

From what one particular work colleague said ... the virtual space might in some sectors also have a problem with 'virtual crime'. At least two coworkers could attest to this, from a personal experience.

The VR community may already boast a good solid ten thousand 'best' such applications; but the number of games exceeded apps by a magnitude of forty, or even fifty maybe. Anyone who had a game idea and a valid budget to permit its virtual development, could do so. Some of them might even be good ideas ― but some not ― even on the virtual scene a 'red light district' could be had for browsing through intimate services.

• Contact Event: User 'sana_bobana' has logged on and appears within the global lobby space.
• Lobby Event: User 'mistressOfPainEternal' sends you a contact request. 'Accept / Deny / Ignore / Block'
• Lobby Event: User 'HardCoreSlimeCoreFkr' sends you a contact request. 'Accept / Deny / Ignore / Block'
• Lobby Event: User 'i_jack_U_l8r' sends you a contact request. 'Accept / Deny / Ignore / Block'
• Contact Event: User 'sana_bobana' has transferred to the 'Serene Lake Country' server lobby.
• Chat Event:
• - {mistressOfPainEternal} Hey u wana b my bf irl? Give a/s/l +home plz, i m 38/26/37 all4u
• - {mistressOfPainEternal} Promise I wont break u... much.
• Contact Event: User 'sana_bobana' has hidden her online status.
• Contact Event: User 'BabiRaeperAllday' sends you a contact request. 'Accept / Deny / Ignore / Block'
• Contact Event: User 'CunningLingerer' sends you a contact request. 'Accept / Deny / Ignore / Block'
• Contact Event: User 'VirtualKappa1111' sends you a contact request. 'Accept / Deny / Ignore / Block'
• Chat Event:
• - {CunningLingerer} hey there, maybe skip that mistress invite, 'she' is a 'he' irl ... lolololol
• - {CunningLingerer} you can find out for yourself if you want; in vr 'her' body is fine though
• - {CunningLingerer} i m the tall orc guy @ your left side, just looking out 4 da workmates
• - {CunningLingerer} + welcum 2 the lobby server, about time 2 get u here isn't it Davis boio
• Chat Event:
• - {i_jack_U_l8r} HEY its you! thot u b enjoyn a non digital vaca from work not online bub.
• - {i_jack_U_l8r} also i thot u make urslf BIGGER dude. u wanna impress Ana in HR or not?
• Chat Event:
• - {mistressOfPainEternal} u dick y u no reply 2 meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
• - {mistressOfPainEternal} piss off then - goodbye cruel world, bye senpai
• Chat Event: {mistressOfPainEternal} has been timed out for sending excessive emotes.

This seemed like a lot of unnecessary and extraneous chat content, especially for someone who just arrive in the global lobby for the first time. But so his coworkers had said, a time or two; he only didn't know it could be so crazy.

"... what-"

• Chat Event:
• - {i_jack_U_l8r} Hey i m rite behind u dude i m the handsome red haired snake man
• - {i_jack_U_l8r} i c u pissed off some gurl, what is she going 2 suicide r something?

"I don't know!" Davis shouted suddenly, drawing some excess attention from nearby avatars.

"Hey dude," called a guy behind him, sounding a lot like Jack from the company's Janitorial department.

Turning around-

Jack stood there. Well no it wasn't Jack, yet it was. Clearly not human in form ― yet the face and general height matched. Fiery red hair running onto his shoulders, green eyes but with more sparkles than in real life, but otherwise looking like a male form of the fantasy race 'lamia' ― a purchasable extra. This form of Jack wore a loincloth hiding the groin; no dick or balls stuck out, so for this race Davis suspected its parts must be retractable. Not like he really wanted to focus on this detail.

"Like fer reelz she was pissed. What da frik did you do, dude?"

"... I don't know! I show up here after setting up, she and a few others send me invites, and then while I'm standing here thinking about it she just ... goes mad!"

"... eh chill dude, let's head to the Highlander bar ... it's in the skyscraper there, with the simulated wood exterior all the way up. Fiftieth floor, room seventy nine; at a doorway with fake swords to each side. It's got a modesty regulation, but here's a spare pair of pants and a tee shirt I don't need, so you should be good to go; they're yours to keep bro. I'll wait for ya there, then we can talk."

Jack vanished before Davis could say he only wanted to look for some game to play-

---

In this same time as the walk to find Jack, Davis had equipped those clothing items and also received a fair two hundred more friend requests and well over five hundred lines of chat. Way too much to deal with, for either real or virtual life. All he could do, was leave those things set aside, and hoped Jack could explain some of that.

Once in the bar, Davis sipped his virtual beer, while Jack rattled on about this or that ... oh, about the 'etiquette' for handling virtual matters between people. All sounded a complex mess, more so than even real life, to Davis.

"... so why does it have to be all that between people? Is this what SukkYubaSys intended?" Davis queried.

"Nah dude but they can't help it. In the fifty years or so of them doing this, the world's gone screwy and they just had to keep up with the times. A third world war didn't help. Remember we're all fragile creatures, you know."

"..."

"Yeah like dude it's been this way for a half century. A frikkin half century dude! I think it's worthy of just that to take notice!"

"Yeah okay whatever. I really only wanted to come on and try some game, you know. Something to spend the vacation-"

"Aah sorry dude. I gotcha; didn't mean to waste your time. Just thought I'd chat with ya though. Good seein' ya Davis!"

And, again Jack disappeared, right from in front of him.

Shaking his head, Davis calmly left the bar, and arrived back to the global lobby.

---

"Where to next?"

Scrolling through his own chat logs for references to other servers, he found one game invite repeating again and again from strangers. Hotlinked in the invite, so ... he clicked on it and found himself in a new lobby ― the main lobby for the game 'Last Dungeon'.

Off to one side of the room, a chat log was attached to the wall, and it showed the public chat texts within the game system. He watched for a while, as other players entered and exited around him.

• - {tehDoctorz} ^ like she said. But it's larger on the inside. lol #ProveMeWrongBitch
• - {BLgurl} I said PULL THE DAMN GREENIES! ... Kai, bastard, u let them thru, u ruined my plan-
• - {BLgurl} oops sorry meant 4 party chat only, sorry-
• - {nubAlert} anyone got a map for the Batau Forest run? ploz need haalp, will pay w/ love
• - {HenTieKoibito} @BewbMagNut wtf you say my nick is bad? not by ToS here. wbu?
• - {Piotr_v2} @BLgurl did you accidentally kick me and @EndlessFarts from the guild or is it intentional?
• - {BLgurl} @Piotr_v2 let's talk later dear
• - {Kai_withTheNose} The raid is done anyway, I am going to chill in the guild hall for a while
• - {BLgurl} ... guild 'YaoiPlusYuri4eva' is now recruiting ... just lost half my team
• - {Piotr_v2} ^ yeah, because YOU JUST DROPPED US! ^
• - {nubAlert} hey i rly NEED HALP NAO gimme a map!
• - {BewbMagNut} lol u take me srsly? @HenTeeKobibitio
• - {HenTieKoibito} scru u, u cant spel rite @BubMaggot
• - {BLgurl} nxt 4 ppl join get Diamond shield free, no min lvl req
• - {BLgurl} we r a helpful guild 4 u, established 2y ago + still going.

"Hello," a patient sounding female stepped up next to him. "I see you watching the stream, are you interested in joining the game?"

"Hmm ... maybe. I see this game recommended a lot; and since I'm new I thought I would check it out a little bit. What's the details on it?"

"It's a freemium model; free to play but also supported by occasional ad popups while in the world but not in combat, or here in the lobby; it also has a virtual store accessible from the lobby. All purchases made will offset the ads by one day per thousand credits of purchase."

"... but ... crazy stuff like this ... that always going on?"

"Ha ha yeah, they play themselves out like that ... but often end up friends in the end. We don't really micromanage their actions unless it gets tense or harmful-"

• - {nubAlert} lissssssennnn toooo meeeee pppeeeeeeppppppppallll #Need_Map_Nowww
• - {BLgurl} ... nub calm the frik doooown
• - {nubAlert} hay u freak you say your so helpful all the time then HELP DAMMIT or else
• - {BLgurl} @nubAlert last part sounds threatening #Unfriended #Reported #Blocked #Banned
• - {nubAlert} @BLgurl ya well if i m banned y i still here? hmm? gotcha!
• - {BewbMagNut} lol what the beep is wrong now @nubAlert cant find ur ass
• - {nubAlert} 2BewbMagNut u stay outta dis u dik
• - {HenTieKoibito} @nubAlert jeez the map is available 4 only 25 coins u idit
• - {HenTieKoibito} idit --> idiot
• - {Kai_withTheNose} ... I suddenly find myself looking for a new game. #TooManyDramaQueensHere
• - {HenTieKoibito} @Kai_withTheNose nonononono if u go so do i my literary bff
• - {BewbMagNut} ^ we can live wit dat
• - {BLgurl} @HenTieKoibito u mean u wont b my gf? aw I wanted to ask u 2 marry me
• - {HenTieKoibito} @BLgurl sry i straight + married irl
• - {Kai_withTheNose} ... ahemmm. Yes. Thank you dear. But you forgot to say to me.
• - {BLgurl} @Keywithnose ^ i thot u r gay cuz u once tried joining my guild 'YaoiPlusYuri4eva'?
• - {HenTieKoibito} oh so r teh rumors TRUE?!?! husband got some 'splainin 2 do
• Player Event: User 'Kai_withTheNose' has logged out and disconnected with message 'I wanna divorce #RAGEQUIT'
• - {nubAlert} @HenTieKoibito sux 2 b u lololol still wanting a free map tho

"-um. Ahem," she cleared her throat unnecessarily, holding back a wicked grin. "It isn't normally like that ... but you know ... we're all a little ... unique. Get to know them on their own ... and you're fine. But it's still true, we won't micromanage any of this, except for the most severe of reactions."

Davis nodded. "Well that's true enough. I just recently got a VR pod so I'm new to this. Like, really, have not picked a first game yet-"

"That's fine, we do offer a thousand coins in the in-game currency for first time users; and if you're new to everything, we can even provide you with a companion, a friend to help you for your first two levels or until you get out of the tutorial village-"

"Well okay not new in the 'I do not understand' way; my grandpa did have sets of the old 'RPG system books' from as many as seven systems from back in the day. He always seemed to call himself the 'role master' so he taught me a lot of role playing mechanics. If that helps. Hi, I'm Davis, by the way."

"Davis, hello. I am Malory, the chief admin of the front desk there."

"Malory, nice name. What else is there, in the game?"

"A lot from some of the role-play systems and computer games you may have seen before. You name it ― player owned businesses and guilds; kingdom, nation, and world building; world and kingdom economies; player marriages and homes; player hunger and sanitary needs; then also a criminal aspect ― for those who want to let out their 'inner bad guy'. Er, 'bad gal' too."

"... so, everything including the kitchen sink?"

"Ha, ha, yeah sometimes. Aside from the literal 'last dungeon' you will be introduced to in the game, no 'world boss' exists right now. That's not to say game play is dull; as you see ― players keep each other active. Anything but nonconsenting stuff outside of battle is allowed; and a radius of land of five kilometers around tutorial village is locked from major edits by players. Game type stuff, you know. Or, you would know, as you play ― it's a good thing. Oh ... and obvious game hacks are bannable, for real. A lot of the relevant details are handled in the tutorial scenarios, and later world quests you'd go through."

"... but, the assistance of a companion you mentioned ... that would not be taking another player away from their own adventures, would it?"

"Not as much a worry as you could think. Some of the more experienced players do want to help out the newbies ... as it makes a good name for this game too. Hmm let's see, the next one available to help is, eh ... a girl named Sana, I think you'll like her, she's a sweetheart."

'Sana ... huh?'

At a sound behind him and the receptionist, the lady turned, and walked to another guest in the room.

"-why hello Sana, I was just mentioning you, to this new guest-"