Rae shivered as the doors to the Locker Room shut behind us. With the amount of processing power these things required, this one building was probably the coldest place in the dome in order to keep the computers themselves from catching on fire.

“Why is it so god damn cold in here, what the hell?”

“Better for the computers,” I said, not wanting to get into all of that really. Simple answers were better- and besides, while Rae understood biology better than machines, she at least knew enough to nod at the answer.

“Right, yeah, that tracks. So, do we just pick a pod and plug in?”

“There’s a sign-in desk. Come on.”

Honestly, you’d think with a place that catered to the whole dome that the person at the front desk would see enough faces to not recognize anyone. 

You’d think that. Turns out, when the shifts are regular and so are the people, it’s not nearly so many strange faces all at once.

“Eric! Hey, welcome back, already got number 42 set up for ya!” Gwen, the receptionist who for some reason took the time to chat every week I stopped by, recognized me from about halfway across the lobby- impressive, considering how lively it was. Even for a weekend, it was like a mosh pit in here.

“Hey! What’s with all the bodies, is this how the tenders feel when Tonio overcrowds the fryer basket?”

“New game release, bud, ‘course it’s gonna be packed!” She brushed her teal bangs out of her face, handing me a tablet to sign in. The words piqued my interest.

“New game?”

Gwen’s smile brightened, and with how cute it was I couldn’t help but mirror it back. Gwen was… nice. It was hard to describe, really- from what I understood, she was studying for a psychiatric care job, and that’s what brought her to working at the Locker Room. In spite of that, I never felt like I was being held under a microscope or anything with her. She was just a kind person- any clients she’d get in the future would be lucky to have her help them.

“Some throwback to the MMO days pre-exodus, apparently some of the folk in the entertainment sector have been working on this thing for years- we’re talking cutting edge digital actor tech here.”

She leaned forward across the desk as she spoke, as if trying to be conspiratorial with how she was holding her hand up to her mouth.

“There’s some talk that they’ve got actual simulated intelligence! Honestly can’t wait for my shift to end to go check it out myself-”

“Well, now I can see why you come here every weekend.”

Rae’s voice cut through our conversation, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Right. Yeah. She was here with us- oh god, she was totally gonna get the wrong idea here, I didn’t need her wingmanning me again! It seemed like Gwen was caught off guard as well, as her eyes flicked over to my roommate. Rae grinned, giving a little wave.

“Hey.”

“Uh- h-hey!”

… Oh god, it’s gonna be worse than the wingmanning. Really, Rae? Right in front of the check-in counter?

“Rae, this is Gwen. Gwen, this is Rae- don’t mind her, she’s just my roommate. Wanted to see what the deal here was, hasn’t really done the whole Locker thing before- don’t suppose there’s any room near 42 for her?”

Gwen blinked, and Rae’s smile seemed to only grow wider, before the red caught up to Gwen’s face and she stammered out another response.

“Right! No, yeah, of course- here, lemme see…”

She grabbed the tablet, scrolling through quickly before nodding.

“Number 34 is the closest unclaimed one- it’s in the row right across, so you two should be close enough to help her in!”

“You’re a peach- Gwen, was it?” Rae reached over, tapping on the “booked” button right by the Locker in question. Gwen nodded- was that actual sweat on her forehead? God damn, what was it with me and having an overwhelming number of friends who were girls who liked girls?

…Okay, maybe it was only two now (that I was aware of, at least), but still- what was the saying pre-exodus? Two nickels? Yeah. I mean, at least they felt safe enough around me- I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to be a good ally. 

“So, you’ve never used a Locker before, then?” Gwen questioned, as she led us to the back, where the titular machines were located. She waved down one of her coworkers, who took over the sign-ins while the crowd mingled and chatted- a good chunk of them were probably buffing up on news regarding the new game before plugging in. These kinds of nerds love to be prepared- and I would know, I’m kinda one of them.

“Nope,” Rae popped the “p” in her response, “I’m not gonna have to get stuck with any needles or anything, am I?”

“Not at all! The Lockers are completely non-invasive, they were designed to be as easy to use for as many people as possible- there are a few electrodes that read and intercept electrical activity through the skin, but I can guarantee there’s no actual plugging involved.”

I shot Rae a glance before she could say exactly what I knew she was gonna say- and judging from how her expression deflated into annoyance, I was exactly right. Behave, damn it.

“Well, that’s… cool.”

Gwen snorted a little, and the three of us rounded a corner down a hallway- the halls lined with chunky, square pods set at a reclined angle. A few people mingled, getting ready to get inside their own Lockers as Gwen turned on her heel to face Rae.

“So, quick primer- the Locker tech works on simulated time dilation, kind of like when you’re dreaming. Every five hours outside is about the equivalent of a day inside- so, if you stay as long as Eric usually does, you’ll get what feels like a full week of adventuring, vacationing, or whatever virtual activity you want to do!”

Rae nodded, brows furrowing, “Sounds like it could be a bit stressful on the brain- you telling me Eric here’s mentally got a few extra years worth of living tacked on?”

I’m standing right here…

“It’s only really an issue with children, which is one of the many reasons we legally don’t allow anyone under eighteen inside a Locker. That sort of fast development can lead to socialization issues at the very least, but adult brains can handle the perceived passage of time better- one of the few benefits of having a less malleable brain.”

“Aight, sounds legit,” Rae nodded again, glancing at the numbers each Locker was labeled with, “That one’s 34 then? I just… climb on in?”

“I’ll help do an initial set-up. Eric, you can handle your own plug-in, yeah?” Gwen glanced over at me, and I just shrugged.

“Done it a hundred times by now. Make sure this newbie doesn’t freak out, okay? I’d hate to have to get a new roommate I don’t know.”

“Aww, he does care!” Rae stuck her tongue out at me, and I returned the favor as I headed down a couple pods to number 42. A quick scan of my biometrics later, and the door hissed as it opened upwards. I had stashed my hoodie in the actual, normal locker right below it, adjusting my loose t-shirt underneath to get as much as my neck exposed for the machine. Wasn’t too difficult to get inside, and I could feel the skin on the back of my neck tickle as the diodes released from the head rest and stuck to me.

The door hissed shut, and I started counting backwards from 100 as my eyes fluttered closed. Before I could even get past ninety, the muffled silence of the Locker was replaced with muted conversation.

I blinked my eyes open, and found myself inside the Foyer.

It was basically just an entry lobby area for interacting with the Locker’s virtual space- people didn’t spend too long here, unless they were waiting to meet up with someone else to go to a particular venue. I flicked my hand upwards, and a screen popped up showing the various virtual worlds and games available- with a bright, shiny new banner at the top:

‘Grand Release of “Celestine”! Explore the world today!’

I clicked on it, giving the advert a peruse. There were at least a few “fantasy adventure” style games and vacation worlds, but they tended to be instanced- good for small groups at most. But this… damn, they really did have a whole parallel world set up to handle as many folks that wanted to play at a time.

Political factions, intelligence-powered custom storylines- everything it talked about made it seem like the closest thing to a living world besides the one outside the Locker. 

If this was legit, I was absolutely going to have to check it out.

There was a squawk of surprise next to me, and I glanced over to give Rae a smug smile as she fizzled into existence. She had the look of someone trying to roller skate for the first time, with a wide stance and outstretched arms like she was afraid of falling over.

“Getting used to your digital sea-legs, matey?”

Rae shot me a narrow look, before straightening up and running a hand through her hair, “Shut up- were you waiting long?”

I shook my head, “Nah, the Foyer’s time dilation is set one to one with the real world. Helps with people going in groups to different games.”

“Neat- alright so…” Rae looked around, voice growing quiet as she stared straight up.

I’d been inside the Foyer so many times at this point, I had nearly forgotten the first time I saw it. Even as just a digital liminal space, someone put some actual care into the aesthetics. It wasn’t just some blank white void, it was an exercise in what most of us here in the dome were working towards.

There was no ceiling above us, just clear blue skies- occasionally dotted with clouds- and trellised walls covered in greenery. There were comfortable benches dotting the path leading to the physical entrances to many of the different destinations the Foyer led to- though, one could easily jump in from the menu, too. Digital birds called as a small flock flew overhead, and the simulated breeze felt nice and cool against my skin.

Civilization and nature, melding and mingling together. I hoped I lived long enough to see it in the flesh.

“Woah.”

“Yeah.”

I stepped towards one of the benches, reclining back. Rae joined me a few seconds later.

“It all feels so… real.”

“Well, the Locker intercepts and feeds its own electrical signals to your brain, so… as far as your mind knows, it is real.”

She looked over at me, her awed expression morphing into brief concern.

“This isn’t gonna be some kind of “you die in the game, you die for real” type situation, right?”

“No, that’s dumb. Who would design a system like that?”

“I don’t know, man! I’ve watched a lot of vintage anime, you know this!”

“I mean, you can tweak sensation settings in the menu, but they’re not gonna put out a product that could kill people.”

“Whatever,” Rae rolled her eyes, before looking across the walkway towards the various doors to other worlds, “Gwen said something about a new game being released, yeah? You wanna check that out?”

I nodded, flicking my hand and pulling up the menu again for Rae to see, “Yeah, seems pretty cool- that simulated intelligence bit seems to be the selling point. People can start whole political movements or underground rebellions without having a pre-programmed storyline. Sounds pretty dope, if I’m gonna be honest?”

Rae snickered, “Gonna get yourself a little dukedom in the magical realms?”

“Nah, I think toppling empires sounds more fun than trying to make myself some kind of- really, a duke? You think that little of me?”

“Alright, whatever you say king.”

I gagged at the jab, before swiping and sending Rae the group invite to the game. There was only a teensy bit of joy in seeing her jump at the notification popping up, but I cherished it anyway. About time the tables turned a little.