tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20447884201756095122024-02-07T21:17:47.716-08:00Living Outside<b>Living Outside is now located here: <u><a href="http://livingoutside.net">livingoutside.net</a></u></b>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-87889252550136184142017-06-22T02:07:00.000-07:002013-05-29T00:15:30.369-07:00Episode 01: A Car Ride<hr style="font-family: Times New Roman; height: 3px;" />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />A quick note: Characters are audibly speaking to each other unless otherwise noted. Talking is in chat room style because I personally dislike the quotation mark dialogue system.<br /><br />Outside: The space beyond a boundary or limit.<br /><br />The year: 2100 (or sooner)</span><br />
<hr style="font-family: Times New Roman; height: 3px;" />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Mike gave the command and the hideous, many-fanged beast was smacked down with a single kick. He took its hide as loot and continued through the dense forest, heedless of its incredible danger. Well, it would have been incredible danger five levels ago. Mike's renewed obsession with Ultra-Epic Crash Forest, a classic, though decades old, Korean single-player rpg, had been using up huge chunks of his time, but he was trying not to let it hinder his social life. Even as he mentally occupied an alien fantasy world, his car made its way to his friend Sam's party. Luckily for Mike (and public safety), driving was something people didn't have to do a lot of anymore, allowing him to engross himself in the lush 3D forest environment his monk was slaughtering her way through.<br /><br />The game appeared in the space between him and the front windshield. He had set it so the action happened at just below chest level, although the forest environment appeared throughout this car to create ambiance. While some forest did extend up into his line of sight to the road outside, he had made anything extending that far up transparent so as not to impede his view of the road. Automated driving was far safer than even the best human driving, but accidents still happened. And while advanced safety features made fatalities even rarer than crashes, an extra pair of eyes on the road made Mike more comfortable.<br /><br />He attacked a group of demonically corrupted mushrooms. He leapt over one and punched into its center, killing it but causing it to release a plume of toxic spores. He had forgotten about those, but his character was able to shrug the spores' disorienting effect off. He cut the next one down by kicking its stem, avoiding the spore reaction. The game required an unusual amount of precision when controlling a character, whether for combat, alchemy, or solving puzzles. This precision is what drew hardcore players to Ultra-Epic Crash Forest again and again.<br /><br />The game's visuals surrounded him by means of his augmentive contact lenses, which added photo-realistic, real-time overlays onto his vision. Augmentive visual technology in the form of contacts, glasses, or implants had been nearly perfected. Mike's contacts could change his vision into anything a human eye could see, in whatever detail and scope was appropriate.<br /><br />For hearing, Mike wore ear inserts, which provided the 3D game music and sounds of Crash Forest. He was also listening softly to his high energy music playlist. Like his contacts, his ear inserts were designed to be worn constantly. Inserted into his ear, they provided several functions. They produced the highest quality omni-directional sound the human ear could hear, from whatever digital sources Mike chose. They also could serve as ear plugs and could selectively control the volume of environmental sounds. This helped prevent damage from loud noises, useful for Mike's love of loud concerts. It saved his eardrums and brought clarity to the music. They could also amplify some external sources over others, such as bringing out a specific human voice through the noise of a club.<br /><br />Mike was experienced in parallel processing, also known as the joy of self-distraction. In addition to his photo-realistic fantasy world, he had augmented his vision in the following ways: the equivalent of sunglass shading for areas of his vision which were too bright; a small window in the bottom vision of his right eye showing a 360 degree view of the traffic around his car, provided by its cameras; a map of his car's progress toward his destination, displayed semi-transparently on the driver's side window; an interactive graphic novel that would pop up into his hands for the rare moments he wasn't busy killing things; semi-transparent news updates on his windshield; and scrolling friend updates on his left thigh, which, like the news updates, only scrolled when his eye tracking process indicated that he was actively paying attention to them.<br /><br />Distracted as he was, Mike had no trouble noticing when a man wearing a very nice business suit jumped out fifty feet in front of his car. Mike did his best to ignore the man's wildly waving arms and pantomimed terror. The car hit the man and tossed him up in the air. He fell through the roof into the car's passenger seat. Mike did his best to feign outrage at Thomas' antics.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Every damn time! What the hell, man?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b> Can't help it. I'm funtastic like that!</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Thomas switched his clothes to sweatpants and a Mickey Mouse t-shirt. Thomas was sitting in the car via telepresence, specifically using a purely information based approach. No holograms or robots required. Mike could see Thomas with his digital contact lenses and hear him with his ear pieces. With his haptic clothing, Mike could touch Thomas as well, although his haptics were less convincing than his audiovisual augmentation. But short of touching Thomas, Mike would not have been able to tell the difference between the real Thomas and his proxy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b> Going to a party! Woo! Who's going to be there?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Why don't you go check? Actually, why don't you just go there now?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> This is like the preparty. Only the cool kids.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> My car is the preparty? I'm playing a game here.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> You game is for losers!</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Thomas splashed dozens of digital ants onto Mike's central gaming area. They couldn't interact with the game directly, but they crawled on top of, beneath, and through it, obscuring Mike's view. With a few quick flicks of his fingers, Mike filtered the layer of ants from his sight and turned off Thomas' access to the car's interior cameras and the cameras in Mike's clothing. Mike then flipped Thomas off.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> It's too bad you can't see this, because I'm doing it as hard as I can.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Thomas' physical body was hundreds of miles away in a different city. But thanks to his fully immersive neural implants, his presence in the car was as real to him as he wanted it to be. Mike could use his non-implant tech to project himself in a similar way, making his sight and hearing correspond to those of a simulated projection in another place. But non-implant simulations of touch and sense of movement were less compelling, and he had no gear to simulate taste or scent. Mike's tech could immerse him quickly and convincingly into a new location so that he could forget about his physical body and be mentally projected into a new one. The human brain is wonderfully flexible like that. But Thomas' extensive brain implants, a package affectionately known as "the Plant" could cut off his body's senses at will and replace them with his proxy's in a much more realistic and satisfying way.<br /><br />Thomas felt a small rush as the car accelerated to an increased speed limit. He felt the plush passenger seat he was pushed against. He heard (but couldn't see) Mike muttering as his character ran away from some monster he shouldn't have messed with, as well as the angry wails from the monster. He felt the vibrations and bumps of the road. He felt the breeze of the air conditioner on his face. He smelled the aroma of fast food, a smell he filtered from his perception. He could hear and see Mike's junk food wrappers crinkle as he crushed them under his feet before he filtered them from the virtual representation of Mike's car that he inhabited.<br /><br />Cut off from interior cameras, Thomas made a 30 second loop of the car's prior visual interior recording so he wouldn't be stuck with a static image. Mike's image played back, silently mouthing echoed words from their brief conversation. T, as some called him, set up a news feed over the glove box and sneaked a peak through a brief window into Sam's party to see who was there already. He had been invited, so he had access to the cameras in her apartment. His access had been logged, not that anyone cared. He took a look outside the car. He could still use the car's exterior cameras (supplemented by the public highway sensors) to see the traffic and environment around the car. For just a moment he removed the car from his simulation and felt the cold wind whipping around him as he went speeding along a few feet above the ground at 80 m.p.h. It was unnerving. He brought the car back.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Hey, I'm gonna go hang out on the roof.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Knock yourself out.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Thomas hopped up and sat on the roof. With the advent and maturation of truly immersive telepresence, anyone could be anywhere in the world instantly. That is, provided sufficient tech on both ends. For a proxy, cars were mostly useful for socializing with the physical people trapped inside, or for thrill rides. Thrill rides could be idle fun or abject terror, depending on the level of realism selected by the user. Trying to hold onto a speeding car's roof for dear life was always an adrenaline rush for T, no matter how many times he had harmlessly bounced off of the pavement into incoming traffic.<br /><br />Simulating vision and hearing for a proxy's user was fairly simple. Mike could get a convincing audiovisual experience with just his ear set and contacts. His clothing could also generate tension and some sensation of touch, including some basic textures. But it was a pale imitation of Thomas' experience. To convincingly replicate smell, taste, touch, balance, acceleration, and other subtle senses required brain implants. The Plant worked with the brain's sensory nerves, able to stimulate, record, or inhibit them at the user's will. Thomas could cut off his body's natural input (with appropriate safety protocols in place, of course) and replace his natural senses with the simulated input from his proxy. He could instantly project himself to a huge and increasing number of cities and nature sites all over Earth, and a multitude of virtual worlds with various levels of divorce from the human world.<br /><br />Realistic simulation was assured by massive amounts of aggregate sensory data collected from the individual's own experience, which was commonly recorded and played back with exacting replication, but also using volunteered data from millions of other user's sensory implants. T's proxy could precisely replicate the nerve signals generated by any given experience and send those signals down their corresponding pathways. Whether it was shag carpeting, human flesh, cranberry tart, stubbing a toe, a nasty dust storm, or the warmth of a sunset, the simulated experience provided by T's Plant was rarely distinguishable from the real thing. There were still deficits. Experiences of all kinds left little somethings to be wanted. Improvements in the verisimilitude of proxy experiences were constant, due to the incredible effort by users all over the planet. It was a supreme victory of open source programming.<br /><br />T sat on top of the roof of the car, feeling the cold, hard wind, which was estimated by the speed and direction of the car and the local wind. It was invigorating, but quickly grew unpleasant, so T slowed it down to a cool breeze. He didn't have to worry about falling off, but it was still a rush to be doing something that would have so flagrantly violated social convention before proxies.<br /><br />Thomas looked around for other ghost-riders. Most proxies riding in cars for long enough would eventually jump on top. It was a hard impulse to resist. T had little interest in most of the proxies he saw moving past until he spotted three women having a great time on a van coming the opposite way. He waved and they waved back. After a moment, one of the women jumped over to sit beside T. She had dreadlocks and wore a flowing dress made of ornate, miniature roofing tiles that shimmered with just about every possible color. She was Anime style. Specifically, early Miyazaki with a touch of Pixar. Her data tags indicated her name as Lain, but she could have just been making that up. Not that it mattered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u><b style="color: #38761d;">:</b></span> Heyo! You following CyFrenia?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I'm more into Ataraxia.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u><b style="color: #38761d;">:</b></span> That's good too. But CyFrenia is getting really intense right now. You might check it out. We need all the help we can get.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />She was trying to recruit him! Player poaching was good for competition, so T didn't mind, but he was too into Ataraxia to switch. CyFrenia and Ataraxia were both massively multiuser collaborative art projects/gaming worlds. CyFrenia had broken off of Ataraxia a few years back, but both had independently taken a recent turn into large-scale violent conflict.<br /><br />T pulled up a quick compatibility report for Lain. It showed nice concurrence for politics and fandom interests, which is probably why she jumped over. He noted that her sexual profile was unavailable, a sign of good taste when riding on a car in public view. She was automatically logged away as one of T's thousands of potential contacts.<br /><br />The compatibility reports were generated by T's social Interface System, or just "SIS". It was also affectionately called "little sister" by some, a reference to its snoopy behavior. SIS was actually an open source social enhancement standard comprising numerous such programs which worked together to (typically) good effect. SIS greatly expedited social networking. T's "little sister", at that moment, was silently noting his and Lain's shared interest in obscure virtual worlds, music, classic TV shows, and topics of history. T had set his SIS interface so that its suggested topics popped up as text bubbles around Lain's head. He noticed an interesting one.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> You've an actual fan of Twin Peaks?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u><b style="color: #38761d;">:</b></span> Yeah, totally. You too huh? It's so hard to get people to watch it!</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Have you been to the TP "Damn Good Coffee" remix world? [link] It's a continuing effort to set up a real time 3D representation of the Twin Peaks time line. You can wander around anywhere and it gives you cues when events from the show are happening. It's a nicely realized project so far. It sounds like it would be mostly boring, but the atmosphere is so authentic and player content is something else. The Black and White Lodges are worth it alone.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u></span><span style="color: #38761d;">:</span> [wide, sparkling Anime eyes] Woh, that sounds awesome.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> If you get through the whole thing it gives you a wicked TP theme complete with ambient music, color schemes, and lots of little subtle touches. Like, occasionally it makes people sound like they're doing that backwards speech thing. It's one of those achievement awards, or I'd give it to you. I'm trying to be good about that stuff.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u><b style="color: #38761d;">:</b></span> Oh, yeah. I mean, what's the point if you're not going to honor the integrity of an art community like that. I'll definitely check that out.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> You been to Indra's Net? Via Omni or whatever.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u><b style="color: #38761d;">:</b></span> Oh, the club? No, but I've heard a lot of good things.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I'll show you around sometime if you want.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Lain</b></u><b style="color: #38761d;">:</b> Ooh, that sounds like fun. [smile] If I remember to remember, that is.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />They talked for a few more minutes before Lain had to vanish. She seemed nice enough, though T might well never talk to her again. He made the roof transparent so he could see the loop he made of Mike.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> If you unblind me, I'll come back inside.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Hmm.... I'd make you promise to behave, but what's the point. Alright.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">T dropped back into his seat and noticed that Mike had restored his in-car camera access.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Have a nice time up there chatting with strange women? </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I am definitely stranger than her, so I was the strange one.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Isn't talking to random people all the time annoying?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> They're easy to filter if they get on my nerves. And most of them are nice people. You just have to give them a chance.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> I know too many people already.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Mike slapped T across (and through) his virtual chest. Mike's clothes gave him some sufficiently satisfying resistance on the blow's contact. Thomas on the other hand, felt most of the force of the blow and a quick, wincing pain. It's easy enough for a proxy to turn off uncomfortable sensations, but most just put a cap on unpleasantness. T had found that some amount of discomfort was useful for authenticity and variety. There was also a hard limit built into the Plant on sensations like pain and heat. Plant limits protected users from excessive pain in their physical bodies too, and gave them the ability to greatly mute it. Pain warnings are necessary if you're sick or injured, but once you know you have a broken bone or a kidney stone, what's the use of being tortured?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Once pain and other "unpleasant" sensations could be cut off at will, many users lost their resistance to their presence. Pain, sharp pressure, stenches of all kind, and every other malady of the human body became just tools to create more authentic, richer experiences in the natural and virtual world. Like spices, unpleasant things were generally used sparingly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> That hurt, you know.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Yeah, I know.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Hmm...</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Mike's fingers twitched and drew smalls shapes into his thighs directing his monk to slay giant mutant crawfish in an underwater temple in a soggy part of Crash Forest. Mike had never stopped playing his game since T's arrival, which T took as a challenge. A sheet of paper appeared in Thomas' right hand, and a box of crayons in his left. He dumped the crayons out and they floated in the air as he started drawing an adventurer, complete with whip and fedora. The figure peeled itself off of the page, puffed into 3D and began using his whip to swing his way around the car. Thomas drew a tiger and it began clawing up the sides of the car, trying to get at the adventurer.<br /><br />A 3 foot serpent, a moping giant robot, a frantic UFO, several small armies of opposing zombie penguins and a handful of Lovecraftian critters later, the car was on the verge of madness. An epic battle was taking place in the back seat where the orange penguin army had established a fort protecting a belt buckle and were desperately flinging their explosive eggs at a tentacled behemoth. Variously penguin swarms clashed against each other and sloshed up against all four doors and seats, trying to reach higher ground. The giant robot quickly took care of the Old Ones. They were no match for its rocket beam.<br /><br />Thomas picked up one of the penguins and squeezed it. It stung a little as it popped and splashed purple junk all over his hand. He licked it off. It had been filled with grape jam. The penguins, rapidly multiplying by their unspeakable means, began an assault on Mike's lap, which was being ferociously guarded by the tiger. The adventurer had been abducted by the UFO, which was exchanging fire with the Giant Robot, which was strategically standing on Mike's head. Mike had not reacted to any of this, meaning that he had probably filtered out Thomas' manic crayon layer. Usually he would take it as a challenge and attempt to purge his car from T's invasion in kind. Disappointed, Thomas began an invasion of Mike's rpg layer, which had been strangely left open to T. But it was the proverbial loose rope.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Little brother, I will eject you from the car.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />This was not an idle threat. Thomas sighed as he deleted his crayonegeddon. He was looking through his bag of tricks for other, lesser annoyances to test Mike's limits when wind chimes echoed distantly. Someone was calling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Oh, it's Sam.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Mike flicked a finger and Sam's head appeared centrally on the dashboard, facing him. Thomas quickly transformed his face.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u></span></b></span> and <b><u>Thomas</u>: </b>Hey Sam!</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Sam</u>:</b></span></span> Hey Mike... and uh... oh, T. Did you change your complexion or something?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span>: <span style="color: blue;">Actually</span>, <span style="color: blue;">I'm trying a new nose, higher cheek</span>bones, and some artful asymmetry. Oh, and the dragon eyes. And the fox ears.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #3333ff;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Sam</u>:</b></span></span> Right... has he driven you insane yet Mike?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Not yet, but he's trying.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Sam</u>:</b></span> Well, the party is happening as we speak. Everyone's watching CyFrenia highlights right now, but that should be over soon.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Who's winning?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Sam</u>:</b></span> Don't you already know that?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Probably.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Sam</u>:</b></span> So Mike, we need more beer. Could you get some on the way?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Why always me?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Sam</u>:</b></span></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> Cause you're always late. And also you're too sweet for your own good. Ja ne!</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Sam's head disappeared. The car was already being diverted off the highway toward a grocery store.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Always with the beer. It's so inefficient.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Anyway, Sam's looking pretty good. What's with you two?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Sam is cute, but lives too much in her head for me.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Unlike you?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: #3333ff; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Hey, I live Outside.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
<hr style="font-family: Times New Roman; height: 3px;" />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html">-See Technology Notes</a> for more details on how the technology in this story might be implemented.<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html">-See Related Tech Links</a> for tons of fun stuff.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br /><b>Next- <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/episode-02-trip-to-grocery-store.html">Episode 02: A Trip To The Grocery Store</a>- More interesting than it sounds!</b></span>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-33150093168470949992011-12-28T02:40:00.000-08:002011-12-28T04:16:19.627-08:00Episode 08: Dive<div style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><b id="internal-source-marker_0.08145296666771173"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><u><span>EPISODES OMNI 1, OMNI 2, AND DIVE CONTAIN MATURE CONTENT! IN PARTICULAR, FRANK DISCUSSIONS AND DEPICTIONS OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF CYBERNETICALLY ENHANCED SEXUALITY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</span></u></span></b></div><hr style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); height: 3px; "><span><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8705553524196148"><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">INTO THE DRINK</span></b><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br /></span></span><div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.8705553524196148"><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan laid her physical body down on her couch and minimized her brain’s connection to it so she could fully inhabit her proxy in the spiral. She closed her proxy’s eyes as she felt the stream of the spiral engulf her. She curled into a ball and slowly floated along, warm and suspended, like she was back in the womb. She could feel other proxies all around her, bumping into her and squeezing past her. It reminded her of a water park “lazy river” ride from her childhood. She relaxed and her proxy expanded into the stream until it started to tingle, a sign that she had stretched her body beyond the comfortable limits of her brain’s proprioception. She contracted a bit so that she was only a little uncomfortable, to gently stretch her brain’s interpretation of her physical senses. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She opened her eyes and saw threads of light of every color spinning off in all directions, serving as leads to nodes that she might find attractive. She couldn’t fully differentiate her body from the surrounding “fluid,” which was entirely composed of other people’s amorphous, globlike proxies. She could just barely make out the largely transparent outline of separate proxies, each of which served as a node in itself, functioning as the very medium through which flowed all of the sensory experience in the spiral.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The abstract nature of her surroundings was a homogenized mix of the many possible sensations vying for her attention. The sound and soothing hum of calming music pulsed through her in waves. She swayed to the music, resonating with it, and felt the music passing through her to the proxies surrounding her. It was like resonance in Crain Slain, except more intimate and more cooperative. Like most proxies in the stream, she had chosen to be active, but anonymous. This meant that no one could determine who inhabited her proxy, though its limits were clear, and the nodes and sensations she was experiencing were being actively broadcast to those around her. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan was mildly disoriented from the lack of absolute direction inside the stream. There was no up or down, or even “outside” to the spiral, with its many streams intertwining and feeding off of each other. She felt a gentle force floating her slowly toward node 2501, her given destination, which she could see in the far distance as a bright point of light. This gave her a sense of direction in the seemingly endless sea of shared experience that was Indra’s Net. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">As she swam along, Megan felt currents, representing paths to the nodes around her, tugging on her and enticing her with their sights and sounds to take their detours. She picked a random thread and moved toward it. The calming music she had first heard was slowly replaced by a lofty classical piece. She didn’t like it, so she gave it some resistance by swaying out of sync with it. This muted it for her as well as dampening its flow through her to the people around her, making it just slightly less prominent to her neighboring divers. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She picked up a thread broadcasting Japanese pop. She naturally swam through the stream and found it easy to follow the thread currents, which gradually brought nodes and their attendant sensations into focus, first as a preview and then as a port of entry into any given space.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr /><span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">DANCE!</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The first distinct node she found was a piece of the Omni play floor, which was dancing to the J-pop song she was following. She swam toward it and her abstract dive proxy seamlessly transitioned into her regular body as she stepped onto the floor and started dancing. She had fun with the space’s playful light show which wrapped beams of light around the dancers, accentuating their motion. A new song started, but it was kind of lame, so someone introduced a different music feed. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">At first Megan could barely hear it, but in a few moments everyone was dancing to it, resonating it into prominence and dampening the old song until it was almost gone from the floor. Megan tried to continue dancing to the old song, but found herself out of sync with the other dancers, so she gave up and adopted the new song. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The new music feed was from a popular Indra’s Net contributor named Carrier l0st. She was an “orchestrator,” which meant she was a highly respected node coordinator. Orchestrators were granted special rights to introduce prominent extracts, modify certain sets of nodes, and police the tagging system. Carrier l0st was known for her excellent musical taste, and her music broadcast was regularly adopted into a variety of nodes. Megan favorited the feed so that associated nodes would be displayed more prominently as she spiralled toward 2501.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There were screens all around the dance floor showing nodes that might be of interest to the dancers. They displayed other dance spaces, orgies, a music video for the song that was currently playing, and a variety of games adapted for divers. Megan’s attention was captured by a wild car chase on one of the screens, occurring in some game world called “Hot Pursuit.” She jumped through the frame and hovered over the cars as they wound their way through busy streets, hitting pedestrians and evading the police. She dropped down into the passenger seat of one of the cars to get a closer look at the action.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Driver</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey there!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oh, I didn’t know you would see me. I’ll go.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Driver</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> No, stay! I’m feeding for a reason.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Cool.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan rode along until the car fell off of a bridge and exploded, sending her flying down a street. Getting up and brushing herself off, she noticed that the music from the dance floor was still playing in the distance, leaving a trail for her if she wanted to return. There were people dancing all over the street and on top of buildings. The space was a virtualization of a physical street in Los Angeles, and was available as an overlay for the people there, as well as being a dance space on Omni’s play floor. Megan didn’t like the music playing there, so she muted it and walked down the street.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Everywhere she looked there were links to nodes of every kind, created by free association using her preferences and the preferences of dancers in the street. Doors along the street linked to art shows, bathhouses, interactive stories, restaurants, graffiti advertising psychedelic experiences, fashion shows, poetry readings, and philosophy clubs. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Picking something at random, Megan wandered up to a theater playing a kung-fu film. The entry fee, according to the theater’s info, was to kick the first person she encountered inside. She entered the rather large theater to find its audience in a free for all battle, and blazing fires consuming a good part of the theater. She kicked the first woman she came across, who returned the favor by putting Megan in a headlock until someone tackled both of them. Megan struggled out of the pile and found a relatively peaceful corner of the theater to sit down and watch the movie. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">On screen was an epic kung-fu battle being performed live on top of a beautiful mountain range. The screen was a portal to that space, so Megan jumped through the screen and hovered over the fighting, darting around to get the best view of the action. Some audience members, who had wandered into the film and grown bored with it, donned wingsuits and jumped off of nearby cliffs. But the mountain in the space wasn’t comprehensive, so they ended up looping around and buzzing over the fight scene repeatedly. The kung-fu fighters got irritated at this and “paused” the movie to shoot arrows at the wingsuiters, who started trying to drop rocks on the heads of the actors. Soon it was an all out brawl between the actors and the audience.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan was disappointed at the interruption of the story and teleported back to the dance floor she had first materialized in. But now it was filled waist deep with jello, and there were more people naked wrestling there than dancing. It wasn’t her scene anymore, so she dove back into the stream after having her fill of jello.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She followed </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Carrier l0st’s beat past a church </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">broadcasting a gospel song. She stopped outside of a club playing her music, but there was a six minute wait to get in. It was designed to weed out the fickle, and it worked on Megan, who floated along. She brought up a list of nodes linked to Carrier l0st’s feed. She popped into the most interesting one near to her, a copy of the Louvre Museum, in which people were dancing and “improving” works of art. She danced and manically leapt through the halls of the Louvre, enjoying the graffiti, some of which was quite clever. After a few songs, she returned to the stream. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Of the innumerable nodes branching off in every direction she looked, one caught her eye and she swam to check it out, despite it being listed as a “Bog” node. It was some sort of puppet show, being put on in a small shack. Megan was blasted by icy cold air as she entered. Her legs fell asleep as she walked to one of the many empty chairs. She found walking with numb legs to be surprisingly difficult, and clumsily bumped into one of the audience members, who was too busy staring raptly at the show to notice. She took a seat. Feeling, in the form of pricks and needles, returned to her legs. It was a sensation that her plant had never produced before, as she had not been inclined to actively explore the more unpleasant possibilities that the plant offered. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The dolls bounced along on their strings and at first it seemed like a simple children’s play. But then there was a subtle turning point. The antics of the dolls grew strange and the fragile strings grew taut with their tiny pullings, their tiny limbs straining against the puppet master. As it went on, something about the show made Megan feel ill. There was a stench in the air, but that was only part of it. She thought the sickness was a physical component to the show, like her numb legs had been, but she checked and the space wasn’t directly causing her feeling of sickness. There was just something deeply unnerving about the</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> violently convulsing puppets. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan closed her eyes, floated free back into the stream, and filtered away “Bog” related nodes, though she bookmarked the puppet node with the intention of returning to it one day. That would turn out to be a mistake. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan looked around for something to cleanse her sensory palate from the ickiness of her last experience. Her SIS had registered that she had watched some gay men dancing earlier, and presented a gay bathhouse, blaring techno, as one of the next immediate options. She floated into the men’s section, which automatically changed her proxy into a male version. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Despite her inexperience with having male genitalia, she was tempted to participate in the sexual aspect of the orgy, as there were so many cute, super friendly men having such a good time. But she just danced and admired the sights instead. The speed of the techno’s beat grinded in sync with the men’s pace to encourage them, not that they needed the help. After a few songs, she peeked into the lesbian half of the bathhouse, but it wasn’t as interesting to her, so she moved along.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Her next stop was a BDSM space on Omni’s play floor, brought up because she had previously paid attention to it on the table in Omni. It was a restricted club, but she didn’t want to be an active participant anyway. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Plant users could give incredible control over their bodies to those they trusted, with the ability to instantly snatch it back if they needed to. This led to some pretty extreme practices. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The plant could almost eliminate pain, which could be useful for emergencies and chronic medical conditions. It could also generate pain and discomfort to a degree, within its stringent safety limits. But this pain was not enough for some masochists. Instead, using mixed states, they would subject their physical bodies, under the control and authority of their dominants, to practices that would cause them pain. This included self-flagellation, sitting in uncomfortable positions, nipple clamps, and just about everything else imaginable. This required self-discipline, since they could use their plants at any time to reduce their suffering. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan sampled some of the pain on display. There was a female proxy being lashed by a whip that shot red lightning all over her body. Megan adopted her sensations, sending a strange, buzzing ache sweeping over Megan’s body, making her cringe. She stayed with it for a good half minute before turning it off. The plant’s safety limits stopped short of being able to generate something unbearable, although it could cause enough hurt to seriously suck. Still, the more discomfort Megan experienced from the plant, the less she was afraid of it. Negative sensations from the plant were certainly realistic, but unlike natural suffering, they didn't mean that something was wrong with her body. Suffering was now something she could choose to safely experience, opening an entire world of unpleasant, yet in some cases intriguing, sensations that she would have normally avoided.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan tried out the sensations from nipple clamps, some light biting, random static electric shocks (which she did not find sexy at all), and some expertly used ice before reaching the limit of her curiosity. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She stopped and watched a few fights (and subsequent sexual conquests) at a sex arena linked to the BDSM club. It was set up so that audience members could try strange and rare foods while they watched- mostly insects and endangered species. Megan enjoyed a few chocolate covered ants while she was there. Also available were approximations of the effects of the stings and bites of various animals and insects, though the plant’s pain limits mitigated the more extreme ones. Lactating, topless female proxies wandered through the crowd, offering their breasts to anyone who wanted to drink human milk in the natural way.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan floated on and briefly peeked at a space catering to more unusual tastes. It featured things like feeds from physical cameras and other sensors in bathrooms (and toilets) for those looking to explore “the call of nature” more intimately. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She also passed by a simulation of the aftermath of a civil war battle, complete with a “game” where divers played doctors, amputating limb after mauled limb. Passing relatively close to the space, she still caught some of the stench of gangrene and dead bodies that emanated from it. Worse was the screaming of wounded horses as soldiers put them out of their misery.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan remembered that the Crain Slain concert would still be ongoing, so she ported there to watch it for a bit as it was nearing its climax. Crain still had a good lead and looked likely to win. While she hadn’t paid the fee to be active in the game, Megan still resonated with Crain’s song, sending it out in small waves to her fellow spirallers as they passed by her. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan left and floated along toward 2501 again. Her proxy felt bulkier. Someone had glommed onto her, because of her feed from CS or from traces of her earlier adventures in the spiral, which her neighors could easily peruse. She felt suddenly self-aware, and accelerated downstream, dislodging and losing whoever had linked to her.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr /><span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">PORTENT</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br class="kix-line-break">The next node that caught her attention was some sort of game featuring one lone player fighting insane odds. Dressed as a biker, he traveled at breakneck speeds on a rocketcycle, deftly maneuvering around horror-themed obstacles as they popped up in the road- everything from zombies and floating eyes to large flying scorpions. His path was particularly littered with hideously mutated babies which were constantly jumping up at him. He expertly cut them down with a machete in his right hand while steering with his left. The occasional baby made it to his body and viciously bit him before he could smack it off. In the first minute that Megan watched he had slaughtered more than 50 babies. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">It was funny because they were babies. It was OK because they were evil.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Cars made of undead flesh began leaping at him from other lanes, attempting to devour him with their decaying, jagged-toothed mouths. Megan was impressed with how expertly he dodged them, though he was slowing as more and more babies were getting through and latching on to him. Then the road ahead shot straight into the sky. The biker stopped exactly at the edge of the wall and started climbing it, using small holes in its surface. The node indicated that this climb was designed to be slightly less difficult than the biker had previously achieved in a rock climbing game, although now he had evil babies crawling up the wall with him and digging their talons into him, trying to weigh him down, but not directly attacking his hands or feet. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Having watched for several minutes, Megan was granted the right to control one element in the game at a time. At first she took control of one of the babies and used it to pull other babies off the biker, but then she figured out she could temporarily deepen individual hand or footholds, so she started strategically helping the biker climb. She noticed that other observers were responsible for many of the babies tormenting the biker. Not quite sure what she was involved in, she floated away from the node.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr /><span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">ETHEREAL</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She followed a lower energy thread and found herself sitting in someone’s living room, listening to a discussion between a "techno-pantheist" and someone who held a “naturalist” opinion. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pantheist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> The mindscape of humanity is expanding freely now that we can create and inhabit worlds limited only by our imaginations.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Naturalist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But so much of it is base and distracts from people’s real lives and spirituality. People are abandoning reality to live in virtual fantasies.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pantheist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It may be virtual, but it’s as real as the physical world. Our actions Outside have real consequences. If you hug someone in full immersion, both of your brains experience it as if it was physical. The human connection is just as real, and our abilities to express ourselves and communicate are ever expanding Outside. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Naturalist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But people just end up worshipping their own warped creations. God’s will is evident in nature, not the artificial nonsense of ridiculous games.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pantheist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> The thing you experience and call God is there for everyone, spread throughout all of existence, including virtuality. Human beings are part of nature too, and the best parts of our wills are in harmony with the ultimate divine principles of love and unity. What is happening Outside is the newest evolution of God’s presence in the material world, merging our minds with the endless abundance of pure information. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Naturalist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But that merger distorts the natural human form, of both our bodies and our minds. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pantheist</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What matters isn’t our particular form, but the minds using it. New forms allow us to diversify our identities and the ways we communicate and interact with other people. Virtuality enables intercultural exchanges and cooperation, uniting us through new levels of empathy. But it also encourages individuality by allowing anyone to create entire worlds of their own. Virtual worlds have allowed the development of ways of life, through true participatory cultures, beyond the comprehension or prediction of pre-Outside cultures... </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan might have stayed to listen if she hadn’t become captivated by a particularly colorful poster in the room. She set a recorder to copy the feed from that living room so she could review it later, and hopped through the wall into a new node. It was a field covered by mounds of multi-colored clay paint, which people were shaping into forts, weapons, and strange animals to ride. The colors were more intense than the physical eye could relay to the brain, as the plant bypassed the eye’s rods and cones, which would have become overstimulated by the vivid landscape. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The space was also filled with delicious scents. Megan saw people eating the clay, so she consumed different colors and found they were desserts- cheesecake, fudge, birthday cake, honeycomb, strawberry taffy, and tapioca pudding. The taste was better than physical food, again because of the plant’s ability to directly stimulate the cranial nerves innervating the tongue, bypassing taste buds which could potentially tire. But the virtual food did nothing to sate her hunger or increase her blood sugar , so she took a break from the dive to get a physical snack.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan returned to her dive proxy and frolicked through the field. She got hit in the side of her head by a ball of paint as she passed through a “paintball” fight between two forts. She took refuge in one of the forts and joined their side in the battle, taking bites out of the balls of clay before throwing them. Every once in a while, a thrown ball would explode like a grenade, taking out part of a fort and sending proxies flying in every direction. It was great fun, but she had to be moving on if she was ever going to get to 2501. A few people in the fort had perused Megan’s path and decided that she was interesting enough to follow her wake through the stream. Feeling more relaxed and less self-conscious, Megan no longer minded the glomming. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She had been in the spiral long enough that she noticed nodes she had shown interest in before, but had bypassed, again appearing in the distance, off to the sides of her path. She looked at a visualization of her path through the streams of Indra’s Net and saw that it actually did resemble a spiral of sorts, but she figured that “spiral” also referred to the way she had been psychologically drawn into the free flowing experience.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She looked through a few of the more exotic nodes nearby before finding a “ghost dance,” which was prominent on Omni’s play floor. It was a somewhat experimental exploration of passive versus active engagement with dance and music. Megan became a pure observer, passively inhabiting her proxy as her ghost danced in sync with the beat of the music. Being a passenger in her own body wasn’t too unnatural until she felt vibrations rising up through her chest, then through her throat, and her proxy began singing with the music. It harmonized and improved her natural singing voice, but it still sounded like her. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She tried to struggle against the dance, but her proxy controls were cut off so that she was trapped as long as she inhabited her proxy in that space. Realizing that this was the entire point of the node, she relaxed into the increasingly surreal experience. She was dissociated from her body, yet she closely identified with its every motion. Keeping the tactile sensations from the dancing, she changed her view to be above her body. Megan had always felt weird watching recordings of herself, but this was far weirder. It was both liberating and creepy to watch her body respond to the music just as she would have.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">After dancing for a few minutes, the space allowed her some limited control over her proxy, and she started playing with her body like it was a doll. She sent it jumping from one spot to another, sped it up and slowed it down, introduced flourishes to her dance, and changed the timber of her voice. This gave her a fresh, more objective perspective on how she appeared to others. It was like “Megan” was a character, based on a lifetime of inhabiting her physical body, which had been her almost sole proxy to the world until recently. She was starting to see that the personality of “Megan,” while it fit her very well, was not the absolute truth of who she was at her core. However useful and well crafted it might have been, it was still a sort of mask.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">After a while, her body started to feel tired and her leg muscles burned a little, simulating the usual limits of her physical body. Megan enjoyed it, as it was reminiscent of pushing her limits in jogging, of reaching a point where her body would take over by itself while her mind wandered. At that point, if she paid attention to her body as it went along, she could see that subconscious processes were doing almost everything for her, from adjusting how her feet fell on the ground, to avoiding obstacles, to managing her pace. Her conscious mind only stepped in occasionally, to decide less subtle things like which route to take or to change songs if she was listening to music. In that way, her physical body was as much an autonomous robot as her dancing ghost was.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She turned off her body’s tiredness and burning muscles so she could focus on analyzing her style. She continued tweaking her dancing from a distance until she couldn’t fully recognize the motion as her own. She became tangentially aware that several people who had glommed onto her were now experiencing her proxy’s sensations just as she was. It was like she had been hollowed out and become a shell that anyone could inhabit, but her dissociative state made it so the presence of strangers in her body didn’t bother her, or feel like an invasion of her privacy. If anything, she felt just a sliver of responsibility to keep them entertained. The ghost now active in her proxy was based on the aggregate recording of her dancing style, so it was an intimate part of her. But it was only a small part, and something she was willing to offer up for the enjoyment of others.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan left a copy of her proxy dancing on the floor and entered the stream again. Her self-consciousness had faded away entirely, as if she had left “Megan” behind on the dance floor. She had been assuming that everyone perceived her as she perceived herself, but now realized that even her own self-perception was not so clearly defined. Instead of picking threads based on how she thought she should, she started flowing with the stream, moving toward the sensations that appealed to her and turning away from the ones that didn’t. It didn’t matter where she went, because everything was interesting, and she could leave the instant she had become saturated with a node. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There was no way to lose her path in Indra’s Net, so Megan was free to lose herself. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Several people were still glommed onto her, passively following her trail. She felt utterly exposed to the spiral, but also invincible. The mask which she normally wore for the rest of the world had been lost somewhere along the way, or perhaps she had just become comfortable wearing it as a mask, and not identifying with it as the ultimate truth about who she was. Her layers stripping away, Megan could become anything she wanted, if only for a time. But she was growing tired, as she had been diving for two and a half hours. So she decided to visit one more node and then accelerate to join the others at 2501. She picked the weirdest one immediately available to her, labelled with an intriguing pun: “Sex Is A Human Rite”</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr /><span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">THE FLESH THAT LOVES</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The node was a giant pool composed entirely of amorphous proxies. It was the ultimate snuggle party, with sexual aspects for those so inclined. Megan had heard of this type of space before and didn’t hesitate in diving into it. There was no sight or sound native to the space, only touch, though Megan continued grooving to Carrier l0st’s music. Her proxy felt expansive, but not stretched out in an uncomfortable way. She melted into the pool and was delighted by the snug warmth that embraced her. </span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br /></span></span></b></div><div><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She no longer had a distinct body, as the usual limits of her skin seemed to disintegrate. The experience was somehow more comfortable than her own skin. It was all the best parts of being in a jacuzzi, but more relaxing as there was nothing for her to do but slosh around and snuggle within what was essentially one huge proxy composited from the extended shared forms of hundreds of people. Any given area of her proxy was shared by multiple other people, as comfort dictated. In the flesh pool, comfort was supreme.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She “splashed” herself about and felt the numerous other people surrounding her on all sides splash back and snuggle up next to her. She moved around as quickly as she could and was reassured that she couldn’t hurt or annoy anyone. Everything was smooth and soft and every surface was lubricated in just the right way. She relaxed even more and felt her remaining sense of her own body breaking down and dissolving. There was beauty in the breakdown. Her body lazily spread through the pool, snuggling within the flesh of countless others. </span></span></b><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">It was almost as if most of her body was being gently massaged by dozens of hands. </span></span></b><b><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There was an almost sublime sensuality in it, combined with a feeling of peace and belonging. This was a space where all were accepted without question or even unique identities, as normal methods of discrete communication were entirely absent. No proxy in the pool could talk, had a face, or could even communicate nonverbally. You were simply part of the pool. All were equal there.</span></span></b></div><div><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan’s proxy didn’t have its sexual elements active, so she was missing out on the sex aspect of the pool. The deeply sensual experience was enough for her. She relaxed the restrictions on her space and felt someone slip “inside” her proxy. It was a strange sensation. It was like they were wriggling around inside her skin, or perhaps like they were mutually embracing each other, with maximum skin contact between them, both front to front and back to back. Megan playfully wrestled with the other diver. It was slippery and kind of fun, and not as creepy as she would have expected, despite knowing that the other person was probably getting sexual pleasure from it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She considered making her erogenous zones active, but decided to leave that for another time. She left the node and examined it using a visualization tool to help her get a feel for how people were having sex in the space. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan looked out over the sea of flesh. Individual proxies were not clearly defined, but </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">she could now make out the movement and rough outline of hundreds of interlocking tentacles, protusions, orifices, mouths, and such, and could see that many proxies were fitted inside each other. They flowed back and forth and around and through each other’s proxies, sharing proxy spaces and their related sensations freely with each other. There was a great deal of rhythmic thrusting and other motion that she could only imagine as sexual. Tentacles seemed very popular. They wrapped around and snaked through large areas, what had to be multiple people’s proxies at the same time. People were pouring themselves into each other, filling up and mixing with each other’s proxies. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">It was pure mass sex. It was truly anonymous, completely comfortable, and utterly easy. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">It looked as though any attempt at sexual activity instantly resulted in the relevant parts of your proxy being paired with compatible parts of other proxies. There was no way of telling who you were having sex with, much less the number of people they were actively engaged with. Functionally, you could be “kissing” one person, penetrating another, being penetrated by yet another, while others kissed or caressed other parts of you. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan jumped back in for a moment, made her mouth’s senses accessible, and started trying to “kiss” around her. It was strange, since there wasn’t exactly the same definite feedback she normally would have received from the presence of a mouth, but she soon felt herself making out with someone. She didn’t like how they kissed, so she turned away and was making out with someone new. Their mouths came together and their two tongues merged and split and intertwined in ways that made it impossible to tell one mouth from another, as the two proxies shared much of the same mouth space. The kiss tasted of strawberries, a flavor that Megan’s SIS preferences had introduced for her. The kissing stopped the moment she was no longer actively engaging with it, and her mouth returned to the fuzziness of the pool. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan checked the info for the node. Stimulation of anything sexual, including having orifices of any kind penetrated, required active engagement by all parties, so no one could force anything on a person in the pool who wasn’t enthusiastically responding to it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She came out of the pool and swam downstream in the spiral toward the meeting place. </span></span>She noted that the flesh pool experience was being actively shared by many proxies in the spiral stream, which experienced the snug belonging throughout the abstract flow, even if many of the proxies surrounding them weren’t aware they were being snuggled with.<div><span><br /></span></div><div><span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She realized that the flesh pool node had only appeared when she was about ready for it. That is, after she had participated in other, somewhat related nodes. There were programs that helped guide people through these sorts of experiences, but she had gravitated to more and more ethereal nodes as she went along, naturally losing her inhibitions along the way. She felt a little proud of her increasing boldness.</span> </span></div><div><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Her absorption in the flesh pool had drawn all sorts of fascinating new threads to her. Now unashamed of her presence in the spiral, she was amazed by the entire spectrum of human experience spreading out before her, beckoning her to become absorbed into every part of it. The myriad possibilities of Indra’s Net had become more and more compelling to her as she was drawn through the spiral and as she responded more and more openly and honestly to which possibilities were most attractive to her. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She had quickly developed a sense </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">of kinship with her fellow divers. Their very proxies, after all, served as the medium to the nodes she had enjoyed. Each person’s proxy reflected all of the nodes they were experiencing or had experienced, sharing their personal tastes with the general flow. Megan could only peripherally perceive most of the vast amounts of content they linked to. It was exciting to know that she could turn in any direction and find threads leading to spaces she would never have encountered on her own, and might never encounter again- scenes of beauty, madness, erotica, and horror. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She had no idea how many hundreds or thousands of people she had shared spaces with and influenced by </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">her simple presence and preferences. She was overcome by the sense of connection she had to all of the people whose names she would never know. And yet they didn’t feel like anonymous strangers, since they were sharing so much with each other. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">But it was time to meet with her friends. Megan noted a mod that turned the stream into a water slide. She activated it and had a blast as she experienced constant acceleration taking her faster and faster down the ultimate water slide, looping around and around, all the way to 2501.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">2501</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan splashed down deep into 2501’s crystal clear ocean. She jumped out of the water and hovered over the waves. It was the best virtual aquarium she had ever seen. It had filters to fill it with sea life from the modern era, as well as from any desired prehistoric period. Megan flew over the water, dragging her feet just under the waves. She felt gentle pressure guiding her to shore, and there she found Sam’s group sitting in lounge chairs on the beach, along with thousands of others. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan flew to one of the seats and started sunbathing. Virtual sunbathing, while healthier than physical sunbathing, was one of the things that virtuality couldn’t quite capture.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey Megs. How was your trip?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Fantastic. I’m exhausted.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> And probably a little sore too.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yeah. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Your brain’s not used to bodily distortions. There are exercises to help with that. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s getting easier. It was awesome. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> And you don’t even have a fully featured agent to pilot an optimum course for you. Or once you establish an identity compatible with Indra’s Net, you can use the “serendipity” option, which is pretty neat. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan was still listening to Carrier l0st. T tuned into her feeds and nodded in approval to the music. He traced her dive back through the spiral. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">You found some interesting stuff, especially for a first time diver. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I don’t know why, but this one node stuck with me more than the others. There was this biker slaughtering these demon babies and...</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That was Rainbow Run. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It looks like fun.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Uh, Megan, what do you know about Rainbow Run?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Just what I saw at that node. I might go try it sometime, broaden my horizons.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You’re not ready for Rainbow Run.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I mean, just to try it. Just for fun. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You should listen to T about this. Rainbow Run’s not really about fun.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Well, whatever it is, it looks intense. There was something about the way the game kept pushing the player.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That is an excellent observation. Rainbow Run is a devious game. It reads players and tries to throw them off course and get them to quit. RR will stretch your mind in inventive ways and get you to think about the role you play in games. It takes extracts from game worlds all over Outside and mixes them together to push your boundaries in some pretty magical ways. It’s always getting smarter too. If you want, I could train you for it.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Train? Like, in what way?</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Fighting, sensory control, zen, mental endurance, sexual combat, training combat ghosts, controlling multiple proxies, and such.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You’re not talking about the infamous “crash course,” are you?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Not necessarily?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Why am I getting an uneasy feeling? </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Because you’re smart and know something about how crazy T is.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> If you train with me you can quit at any time, no big deal. It wouldn’t hurt to try, right? </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam gave T a wary look.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I mean, it will hurt. But you’ll get over it.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Why not? I’ve waited too long to explore Outside properly. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Good! Then we start tomorrow.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [text >Megan] Just don’t go to Hero/Dragon with him and it should be OK. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">[>Sam] </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">I will remember that.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The group exchanged recordings of interesting experiences they had encountered in their dives. T linked the group to a high energy dance floor where everything was seemingly made of fire, as well as a recording of a Hyper Grind game he had just won. Keen linked to an excellent and remarkably fancy restaurant. Sam showed off her adventures as she attempted to understand the culture of a weird “space colony” that was in its 3rd year of experimental development. Mike shared an educational rpg node that taught basic chemistry and physics through its magic combat system. Pawn brought up a node designed to simulate sensory hallucinations to amplified drugged states and T took a sample of it before diving into the ocean</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> to catch a ride holding onto the fin of a 40 foot megalodon.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You know, I expected there to be more griefers.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Believe me, there are plenty, but you wouldn’t see many with your settings. Omni and Indra’s Net are free and open, but the automatic tagging system and the orchestrators do a good job keeping the experience troll free for those that don't want to deal with that crap. </span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’m impressed by the quality of everything I encountered. It’s amazing what people will create just for the sheer act of creation.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> For that and for the social standing, and to showcase their talents. And for sex, of course. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Man, if I wasn’t tired, I would go back in right now.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Don’t feel hurried. The spiral isn’t going anywhere, although it’s constantly changing. Indra’s Net is vast and infinite, for all intents and purposes. You could wander it forever and never experience the exact same space twice. Depending on how you set it up, it’s both an ADHD wonderland and a great place for meditation.</span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">And there was much fun had at the beach.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><br /></span><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="font-weight: bold; "><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Next- Episode 09: Community - Megan's training begins & a visit to the party that never ends.</span></span><br /></div></div>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-73205697782808047462011-12-28T02:23:00.000-08:002011-12-28T04:32:45.007-08:00Episode 07: Omni (2 of 2)<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.08145296666771173"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><u>EPISODES OMNI 1, OMNI 2, AND DIVE CONTAIN MATURE CONTENT! IN PARTICULAR, FRANK DISCUSSIONS AND DEPICTIONS OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF CYBERNETICALLY ENHANCED SEXUALITY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</u></span></b></div><hr style="height: 3px; "><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5309522438328713"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><span>THE PLAY FLOOR</span></span></b><div><span><div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.5309522438328713"><span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam, who had been surfing Indra’s Net instead of gawking at the fight, smiled as she dipped her finger into the matrix and enlarged one of the nodes, making it blink. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey T, check this one out.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">While they were looking at some sort of bizarre sex game, Chester, trying to move past the fight, swiveled her head toward Megan. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Meg, have you checked out the play floor before? </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’ve seen it before, but I wasn’t planted, so... kind of?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s a whole different experience with full immersion. Almost all the dancers and participants of the dance floor are streaming their senses for our vicarious pleasure, and you can do a pretty good job simulating the ones that aren’t. That includes most of the sexy ones too. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan filtered out the visualization of Indra’s Net to view the play floor sprawled across the table. The Indra’s Net matrix melted into the table, showing the match up of its nodes to spaces on the dance floor. Most of the play floor was included within Indra’s Net, but Indra’s Net had a large amount of content that wasn’t readily compatible with the floor, as the floor didn’t represent abstract states or spaces within game worlds.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Without zooming in, the floor appeared only as a rough texture over the table, with only a few landmarks large enough to make out. The millions of people active on the floor were microscopic from her initial perspective. Zooming in, much of the floor looked like a classical Christian depiction of the pits of hell, with masses of writhing bodies extending over hundreds of miles. Megan’s vision shot around the floor, automatically zooming into any salient details that caught her eye. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The “Play@Omni” floor was a conglomerate of spaces from all over Outside. There were proxies and costumes of every type, with quite a bit of nudity. As before, Megan’s visualization divided the floor into sections representing different activities- dancing, fighting/sports, interactive art, and sex. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Due to Omni’s format, most of the floor was devoted to music and dancing. There was something for everyone, and if you couldn’t find what you wanted, you could simply set up a new space on the floor and play your own music. Those with plants could leave their physical bodies relaxing and dance all night long without getting tired. People danced with every conceivable style- from ballet to swing to thrashing in one of the countless mosh pits. Many people were dancing in mixed states, or had no plant at all. Much of the dancing was virtualizations from physical clubs. Other people danced in their living rooms or backyards. Megan had seen people dancing in parks, and now imagined that some of them might be dancing on Omni’s floor in an ecstatic mesh of the virtual and the physical.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan noticed that the floor was encompassing the live Crain Slain concert she had visited. The play floor was so large that the concert covered only a tiny piece of the table, despite having hundreds of thousands of participants.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There was also fighting of all varieties. There were battlefields of horrific violence, though usually synced in some way to music, or at least to a rhythm. There were fields where people were playing sports. Nude volleyball seemed particularly popular. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There were interactive art displays, ranging everywhere from the gruesome to the sublime. Megan especially noted a group of people suspended from hooks. The display’s info noted that the core group were actually suspending their physicals (mostly without the aid of the plant’s pain control abilities), but everyone was invited to hang out with them. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Religious groups had set up various modes of worship, from every major, minor, and pseudo religion. Megan’s SIS directed her amused attention to one particular riotous dance party hosted by the Subgenii followers of Bob Dobb. She was happy they were still around. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">And then there was the sex. Every form of it, every position, and every kink in the physical world, as well as a huge variety of sexual activities that could only develop and occur Outside. Because of Megan’s content filters, proxies in sexy areas appeared to simply be dancing, or appeared as muppets. She removed almost all of her filters so she could get a clearer view of the floor’s erotic content, and added a mod that showed flowers blooming over the heads of proxies having orgasms all over the play floor, determined by the physiological responses of those who opted in. Thousands of them were popping up in Megan’s range of vision at any given moment. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Relaxing the strict sectioning of the play floor, Megan could see that there were couples and groups of people in sexual congress everywhere she looked at the floor. She was amused to find that many of the orgy participants were cartoons or even muppets, which was both a kink and a way to make anonymous sex less awkward for shy participants. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There were many specially designated orgy spaces where general participation was allowed, as long as the rules of the spaces were respected. The orgies flowed freely into each other, but their differing rules and environments kept them from merging completely. Many were taking place in nature- in forest groves, in meadows, at beaches, on the Moon. One beautiful locale, a lagoon at twilight, with sex on the beach and underwater particularly caught Megan’s eye. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Another space Megan focused on was a large mansion filled with every sort of erotic play. It was far larger than any physical mansion and surrounded by extravagant gardens. It splayed open in response to Megan’s gaze, displaying its enormous and diverse rooms. The rooms had different rules and restrictions, so that you could get any kind of action you wanted comfortably, without surprises if you didn’t want any. The info for the mansion, which didn’t even have an official name, showed that it was far larger and more diverse than any physical orgy in the history of the world, and had been going continuously for many years without a pause. And the sex spaces in Omni were small compared to those hosted at clubs devoted specifically to sex.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There was a popular expanse in the orgy section with cushioned floors, and beautiful canopies, devoted to snuggling and foreplay. Megan thought it quite sweet.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There were spaces that mixed sex and violence, mostly within the so-called “sex arenas,” where people fought in various forms of combat to win sexual dominance over their defeated foes. The resulting sex would often be displayed publicly. Players generally only fought opponents with sexually compatible SIS profiles, and put up their ghosts to take their place if they didn’t feel up to the sex. This definitely wasn’t a game for everyone, but everything was agreed upon beforehand and “losers” were not obligated to do anything they didn’t want to. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Another section had bathhouses and hundreds of oversized jacuzzis, filled with people relaxing and having fun with their lovers, or with partners selected according to their compatibility ratings. Megan projected the relevant sensations from her proxy into a jacuzzi and found both the water and the view most satisfying, although she was reluctant to become a more active participant. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">After soaking up the jacuzzi for a while, Megan found and adopted the sensations of a woman vigorously dancing at high speeds through the air. She took sharp turns as she jerked and gyrated, occasionally bouncing off of the floor. It was like a very intimate roller coaster. The vicarious experience was exhilarating, and prepped Megan to sample something more adventurous. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan searched for a couple having sex, found one that she found attractive, and gradually adopted the sensations from the woman’s proxy. The sensations from Megan’s primary proxy body faded away as the new proxy sensations faded in. It was a thrilling experience- a type of voyeurism more intimate than was possible without the plant. She switched to inhabiting the male’s proxy, which faded in as much as was comfortable for her given the difference in physiology.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr /><span><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">THE TALK</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oh, weird! I'm not used to having a penis.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s awkward at first, until your brain adapts, but you should definitely get yourself a cock. Penises and their variants are damn useful sex tools. They’re fun, easier for masturbating, and how else can you suck your own cock?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Tact, Chess!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Everyone does it. Where is this shame coming from? Who has time for politeness with so much to experience and explore? There's all manner of fantastic proxies, mods, sensation enhancements... like, there’s the sensation of endless urination and defecation, although you have to be careful with your physical there, because those are mixed states and you can make a mess.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Before you speak, you should taste your words to make sure they're palatable. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’m peeing right now in the physical. What you gonna do about it? </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn returned to his brooding.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How would this penis thing work for me exactly?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> The same way you can experience any proxy senses not matched directly to your physical body. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T brought up a display comparing the mapping of female to male genital nerve endings.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You can see the analogous anatomy. You just remap your proxy form to redistribute your senses, and then it's a matter of your brain adapting to a different mapping of your genital sensations. Luckily, brains are really good at that sort of thing, with practice. Not that terribly long ago you’d have to get expensive and painful surgery to switch sexes. Now, once you have one virtual body, it’s easy to adapt to all sorts of forms.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Saitou</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Going the other way, getting used to a vagina wasn’t too hard. It just takes practice. Personally, I think vaginas are more fun. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s great how relaxed this place is about everything. Sex is treated like internet porn used to be. You don't even hear much about protests anymore.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> People got over it. There was a good deal of moralizing in the beginning, and attempts at passing restrictive laws. But who the hell can beat boatloads of free, safe, virtual sex? Chester, do you remember how they closed down that one place when full immersion tech was just taking off?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oh yeah. And then like ten clones with extra kink popped up the next hour hosted all around the world. The only thing it did was give advertising to the free sex movement. Anarchy Outside! Free love rules, baby! </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> The whole world used to be so damned sex starved. Outside uncoupled sex completely from biology, leading to the ultimate sexual revolution. Who would want to go back to a world where sex’s relative scarcity practically made it a form of currency? Or a time when people chose life partners based so strongly on whether they could solely fulfill you sexually for the rest of your life? So much pressure. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’m glad it’s there and everything, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get into the orgy scene. Anonymous sex just seems so impersonal. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I feel the same way. I did have a slutty period, but I need to feel an emotional connection for it to work for me. I’m glad that polyamory has become fairly common, but I’m more of a serial monogamist. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’ll take whatever, it’s all good to me. The whole “sex as currency” thing shows up in old movies and shows, but I wonder how true it really was. The “war of the sexes” and that Madonna/whore thing and all that nonsense. I mean, sex was definitely treated way too seriously. Sexuality gets distorted by antiquated social mores, sometimes in violent directions. There was so much repression and fear about it, even about nudity. It wasn’t good for anyone, but it particularly oppressed women. There were people trying to stop women from nursing their babies in public, for Goddess’ sake. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T’s proxy turned animated and went into standby mode as he left the group to participate in an anime orgy. This was not worth anyone’s attention.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It used to be rare to treat sex as a form of art. And gender was so tightly defined. It was partly a result of everyone being stuck in a single physical body, but still. Sexual experimentation carried the risk of significant social stigmas. Now, you can switch genders or have any sort of crazy sex you want anonymously. Hell, do it publicly on the floor in front of everyone and who’s going to judge you?</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> There was quite a fight in certain parts of the world over transhuman principles regarding control over your own body and nervous system, and being able to adopt new bodies and sensory schemes at will. Virtuality features a liberation that scared a lot of people.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Basically everyone’s a transhumanist now, to one extent or another. Augmented reality at a minimum, and with the plant you can have as many different types of bodies as you want. You can look however you want, try out being male or female or androgynous, or appear as different ethnicities. You can have every type of human or nonhuman body and develop a truly flexible identity that encompasses all different types of people. It gives empathy for so many different perspectives, and increases acceptance of all types of people and ways of being. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Outside really is the great equalizer, as they say. Everything is plentiful in digital environments, so there’s much less judgment in terms of wealth, since everyone can have any sort of proxy or virtual living space they want. Instead, people judge you for your presence, your character, what you bring to a place, and how you interact with them. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Flaunting money Outside is just a joke. At the least it shows a sad lack of understanding for how Outside works. How well you interact with the virtual is what’s important here. Having a plant gives an advantage for that, but it’s cheap enough now that most people can afford one. And Mike has a successful Outside presence without implants.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How well does Omni work for you, Mike?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Well, it’s lacking certain elements. But my gear makes sight, sound, and most tactile elements pretty convincing, so I feel like I’m really here. I also have special equipment for more intimate sensations, but it doesn’t work for some of the weirder sex stuff. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yeah, I’ve wondered about that. How is teledildonics for males, Mike?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I have no complaints. The sensations that precision virtual actuators can simulate are amazing. It’s a bit messier of course, since men need a plant to have an orgasm without ejaculation. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> On another topic- hey Meg, you have any favorite sexbots yet?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’ve tried a few. They work pretty well, but they lack something.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Real humans brains are better, definitely. But bots are good for practice. And with sexbots, you can keep the basic patterns of old lovers and bring them back whenever you want.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That sounds kind of weird.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Bah! You should have sex with everyone you get the urge to. Celebrities, friends, random people you see in public, whoever. Just use their proxies however you want. It's limited without an actual copy of a person’s sex ghost, of course, but you can always just throw your favorite sexbot. If you’ve had sex at all with someone, you can get at least a partial sexbot from them, though it might be limited. You know, like creating a virtual copy of a house by walking through it.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What else do you guys do?</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester looked around the floor for a few moments and then changed the tabletop to display a couple having sex on a beach. They swapped genders every once in a while.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> This is a pretty typical example of virtual sex. If you check their sensory mapping, you’ll see that they’re sharing the sensations of the sensitized vagina of whoever happens to be female at the moment. Other erogenous zones and physical sensations are mapped dynamically to their bodies to keep things flowing. The relative size of the penis to the vagina is determined automatically by both of their responses, and the clitoris for the biological woman is being mapped over a larger area of the vagina so that it’s more directly stimulated.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Interesting. So how do people usually set things to taste? Do people usually have natural smells and such?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> A lot of people make their body odor and taste available if you want it, including saliva, sweat, vaginal fluids, semen, and such. You can smell them to see if you’d like their smell in the physical, or make them smell however you like. It’s completely up to you how you experience that. Or anything in virtual spaces really. Self determination of your sensory input is a fundamental principle of Outside and transhumanism in general. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What about games that make you experience unpleasant things? Like how Golden Martyr has that psychic guidance system that supposedly only works if you really smell foul odors or feel pains which can direct you through mazes and such.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Games will try to make you experience unpleasant things, but you can turn those things into analogous sensations. Pressure or tingling can often effectively take the place of pain, for instance. Some games will even try to determine if you’re experiencing pain or such by your brain's automatic reflexes. But obviously, you don’t have to play those games.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam replaced the beach scene with another couple rolling around on a giant bed, kissing and rubbing their hands together.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s also common to reassign the sensations from your sexual organs to other parts of your body. It’s convenient, less awkward than the thrusting hips of biological intercourse, and it can be quite subtle. Check out how their senses are mapped to their hands. Just by rubbing their hands together, they’re stimulating each other’s genitals, the guy’s prostate, and various erogenous zones. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sounds pretty intense. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It depends on how they’ve got it set up. It can seem more intimate than traditional sex. Check out the french kissing couple next to them. Kissing via proxy is awesome. You can adjust taste, friction, saliva, the presence of teeth, the shape and length of tongues and mouths, and lots of other stuff. It’s great to play around with. That couple’s mouths are stimulating the neural pathways for their genitals and anuses, giving “oral sex” a whole new meaning. As you can imagine, anal stimulation is a lot more popular Outside than in the physical. Everyone can tailor their own experiences however they want, and no one has to know about how you experience any given proxy or space. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hand jobs by proxy are also awesome, since you can adjust lubrication and texture at will, and can put the entrance to your vagina or your anus on your hand, which allows much better control over the angle and depth of penetration. Or you can replace your mouth with your vagina. That works well with blow jobs, which are easier to perform Outside. At the least you don’t have to worry about your neck hurting. It’s cool, because you can have as much sex as you want and you’ll never get sore. Speaking of stuff that would make you sore...</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester switched the table to display six people having violent sex and enlarged it so they were almost full sized. They were made semi-transparent so the group could see each other through them. The people were slipping, sliding, biting, clawing, grinding, and slamming into each other. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> If people had sex like that in real life they would have bruises and marks all over their bodies. You can set up sex by proxy so that you don’t have to worry about hurting your partner or yourself and really go to town. Biological genitalia are so cramped and unwieldy. By mapping your genitalia dynamically over your body, sex can be so much more... robust. But why stop with just human proxies?</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester switched the table to show a pit filled with a thoroughly tangled mix of writhing proxies. Some were humanoid, but many appeared more like octopi, demons, and quite a variety of monsters with various exotic genitalia and orifices. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Now, tentacles are wicked fun. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> They have such a naughty reputation.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You know how all that started? The earliest porn with tentacles, from Japan of course, depicted a woman having consensual sex with some octopi. Hentai artists later used penis-like tentacles to get around Japanese laws that censored penises. It was as much for satire as anything, as it showed how ridiculous the law was. I mean, they couldn’t show a penis involved in consensual sex, but they could have a dozen tentacles, that were clearly penises, raping and dismembering a woman with no problem. Japan’s sexually repressed culture warped their sexuality, as repression tends to do, and people developed a taste for sextacles. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> OK, but how do they work as proxy appendages? They seem a bit unwieldy. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s actually not that complicated. First, you’ll need a penis. Developing one of those will be the hard part for you. Once you get one, you make it prehensile, so you can move it around freely. “Love muscles,” and conversely, intricately controllable vaginas, are great just for sex in general. Also, you need to get control of a tentacle. Most people start by mapping a tentacle to arm or finger movements. Try it for a moment, it’s easy. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester sent Megan a tentacle extension and she accepted it, changing her right index finger into a tentacle about four times the length her finger had been. It mapped the sensations from her finger over the length of the tentacle. It felt a little odd, but it worked. It also assigned her sense of taste to the tentacle, concentrated mostly in its suckers. She wrapped the tentacle around her left wrist and moved it up and down her arm, using the natural movements of her finger. It was slick, but not slimy. As she moved it over her skin, its suckers felt like they were giving her little kisses.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Neat! </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yep. And once you master the use of one tentacle, it’s easy to work up to managing multiple tentacles. I find using about 6 at a time to be optimal. The next step is to create duplicates of your penis, so you’re getting stimulation from multiple cocks. That’s fun in itself, since you can get multiple blowjobs at the same time. You have to learn to adjust the sensitivity and such, or it’ll be too much. I recommend you get comfortable with new things by trying them out with sexbots first. There are lots of great sexbots designed as sex trainers for everything you can imagine. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [changing her finger back] I will definitely try that. Tentacles seem like they would be useful for all sorts of things.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Just remember that tentacles don’t have to be instruments of rape. They represent overwhelming sexual stimulation, which is great fun if you’re into it. With experienced command of a good set of sextacles, you can seriously work on someone and push all their buttons at once, while you simultaneously get yourself off. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Another issue: With complex interactions like sex, what about lag? There are people from all over the globe in those orgies.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Lag isn’t that big a problem. For random encounters, Omni tries to match people up geographically, but it really only comes up when someone has a wonky connection or is on the other side of the world. Sex proxies help by predicting what you’re likely to do next, so they can fill in some since most people are pretty consistent in their sexual activity. Lag is mostly an issue when there’s a lot of back and forth. So if one person takes the lead at a time, that can help. Incidentally, if you’re into pain and discomfort, the plant allows for some great BDSM. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What about something a little more subtle?</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam switched the table to display a dance space with 50 people dancing within a sex cloud to classical music.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sex clouds enable group sex, and are especially good for submissives who like getting slowly and steadily sexed up. Combine that with the plant’s ability to enhance the physical sensations of orgasm, and to reduce the refractory period for biological males, and it’s quite a nice ride for everyone. You might notice that the cloud is lighting up in beat with the music. The music for that space is being generated by the stimulation of the sex cloud, so it all works harmoniously together. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> There’s also this thing you can do with sex clouds where.... woh! Shit’s going down in CyFrenia! See you guys in hell! Discorporate! </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester exploded into a mass of insects, mostly maggots, which fell predominantly onto Pawn. She left behind a node so her adventures in CyFrenia would be broadcast over Indra’s Net.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Very mature. If she keeps this up, I’m just going to filter her away entirely. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Why don’t you just put up a shield against any layers she generates?</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Because that would mean that she had won.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan nodded with as much sympathy as she could muster and looked around the play floor for something puzzling she had noticed earlier. It appeared common for lesbians having sex to use strap-on dildos. Megan displayed a lesbian couple on the table as an example.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Why are there so many strap-ons? Why not just give themselves penises?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Those are mostly women physically having sex, using physical strap-ons that send sensory information from the dildo to one or both of the women’s plants. I’m not sure what percentage of people having sex on the play floor are having physical versus virtual sex. There isn’t exactly a strict line between the two, of course. With the plant, you can reassign sensations from one part of your physical body to another, just like those proxies having intercourse with their hands. There are some pretty neat ways to mix the physical and virtual. Take this couple, for instance.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam brought up a cute Asian couple massaging each other. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">These two are sharing their physical bodies with highly respected Omni patrons. They are passively letting strangers control their physicals via their plants. Every 3 minutes or so, one or the other person gets taken over by a different member of Omni, selected at random from a queue. It’s commonly referred to as “puppeting.” </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That sounds kind of dangerous.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Not really. Besides the reputation system, there are safeguards to stop sudden dangerous movements, and the couple can break the external control at an instant. And there’s always the plant kill switch. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How well does having someone else control your body work? It seems like the differences between bodies and erogenous zones and such would make it awkward for everyone involved.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas, who had kept his hearing at the table while he participated in the anime orgy, took enough control over his proxy at the table to enter the conversation.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> “Puppeting” is more of a kink about giving up control than regular sexual pleasure. Course, I haven’t tried it much as I don’t have much physical sex. You know, what with the mismatch between my usual preferred sexual partners and their natural bodies. And also having plenty of great sex Outside.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s a thing for puppets to allow everything up to light genital stimulation, to build up anticipation. Those sort of things are harder to mess up on than more intensive sexual activity. Then they take control of their own physicals when they can’t stand the tension any more, and fuck each other silly. It’s also common for physical lovers with plants to switch bodies during sex. I’m a fan of that actually, it’s very interesting to fuck yourself. You can also do things like sensitize or desensitize different parts of your body to speed up or slow things down. That includes inducing physical arousal in either gender and remedying premature ejaculation and such. And like with virtual proxies, you can enhance the physical sensations of orgasm to some extent.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Switching bodies like that works better in the virtual, since virtual proxy specifications are obviously more flexible and less awkward to translate to any given person’s control scheme. It takes a bit more time to get used to a particular physical body than a virtual one.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">A note indicated that the controller of one of the men had changed.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Check it out. That one guy is now being inhabited by one of Xev’s custom bots. Very nice. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Who is Xev?</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas and Sam mock gasped.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Xev is</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> premier sexbot designer. Or at least the most famous and expensive. Basically, sexbot designers have sex with a customer a bunch of times and use that and other data to create tailor made sexbots for them.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Ah, OK. I always thought that custom sexbots were just a way to feel less awkward about paying for a prostitute.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Virtual prostitiution’s stigma mostly disappeared when it was legalized. I guess you could still get teased for it, since there’s unlimited free sex all over the place, so why pay for it? But custom sexbots are said to really make a difference. I can’t say myself, since I don’t have one. Gift certificates for custom sexbots make great gifts. Hint, hint. Oh, there’s a weird one. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T returned fully from the orgy since it was nearly time to dive. He displayed an orgy space featuring 50 identical proxies. They were all naked except for one with a red top hat.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> This guy’s a performance artist or something. He’s inhabiting the proxy with the hat. The rest of the proxies are controlled by his various sex ghosts. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> One person orgies aren’t exactly rare. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But usually they don’t occur in public. Just something else that people do that Megs may not have been aware of. The possibilities are endless. Who doesn’t want to at least try having doing it with their own sex ghost? For the weirdness, if nothing else. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Saitou stopped playing with Mai long enough to put a simulation of Sam and T having sex on the table using their sexbots. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Saitou</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Here’s some weirdness for you. </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Seems about right.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It would be way kinkier than that.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Alright, alright. Time to dive.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr /><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">DIVE!</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> OK. Pawn, Megan, Thomas, Mike, Keen... that’s everyone diving. We’re meeting up at node 2501. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam brought up a visualization of Indra’s Net, showing popular currents in the countless spiraling streams flowing throughout its grid, and pinpointed the destination node. The preview showed a group of lounge chairs on a beach by a crystal clear ocean. The divers accepted the destination node.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> So how does this work? </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> First, pick some random spot in one of the currents in the spiral. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> OK, I’ve picked a spot. How do I get from there to 2501?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Just slip in, relax, and flow downstream. Your SIS interests will guide your path there. Do you want me to go with you? We can link up so we'll stay together in the stream.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Nah, I’ll be fine. Anything I should know?</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You never have to actively participate in anything during a dive, and you can leave or disconnect from any node at any time you want. That’s not just for your comfort, it also helps make the stream a better place for everyone that shares your tastes. And remember, voyeurism is participation.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Anything else? </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The trip will be smooth unless you specifically allow harsh transitions. But</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">, uh, I would filter away nodes marked as part of “the Bog” for now. They can get kind of... dark. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan chose (unwisely) not to take Sam’s advice. Pawn saw Megan looking over the options for the dive.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Ride the snake, Megan! </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Please don't call it that.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What does “ride the snake” mean? </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s awesome! Just do it!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s a retarded way of describing a fast paced, passive experience through the stream. Don’t do that yet. It can be a bit unnerving if you’re not used to diving.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yeah, well, I’m riding the snake. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn pulled out a steampunk bong with turning gears and hit it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Actually, that’s a good idea.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T’s proxy went on standby for a few seconds and then pulled out and started eating a marijuana laced brownie.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Does pot help the dive?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sure, it can enhance the experience, depending on how you react to it. I'd offer you some, but you know. That's where the tech line is currently drawn.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Actually, I wouldn’t recommend it for a first timer unless it helps you relax. But it is a help in getting washed.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What exactly does “washed” mean again?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s kind of hard to explain. You ever stand up too fast and you feel faint but it feels good and the world’s unfolding all around you and you’re sort of... free?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I think I know what you’re talking about.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Most runs have more of a theme. Spiral diving is a type of free association run. Stay on the pleasant side and just let everything soak in and forget yourself, and you’ll become part of the stream and get carried away from your everyday existence. That’s being washed. Just be free.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> When are you not washed, T? </span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey, it’s a great way to live.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam plugged a cable from the table to the back of her head and was gone into the Net, while the other divers simply teleported into the spiral. And they were off.</span></span><br /></b></div><div><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 17px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><br /><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-size: 17px; text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: bold; "><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 17px; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); "><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Next- <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/12/episode-08-dive.html">Episode 08: Dive</a></span></span></div></span></div>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-25770948857930056552011-12-28T00:42:00.000-08:002011-12-28T04:31:49.093-08:00Episode 07: Omni (1 of 2)<div><b id="internal-source-marker_0.08145296666771173"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><u>EPISODES OMNI 1, OMNI 2, AND DIVE CONTAIN MATURE CONTENT! IN PARTICULAR, FRANK DISCUSSIONS AND DEPICTIONS OF THE POSSIBILITIES OF CYBERNETICALLY ENHANCED SEXUALITY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</u></span></b></div><hr style="height: 3px;"><span><span><b>CRUISING TO THE CLUB</b><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><br />Saitou stepped through a portal directly into club Omni, while Kyu and Miguel stayed behind at Mike’s studio to continue working on the project. The rest of the crew - Mike, Sam, T, Pawn, and Megan - walked out of the front door of the studio to a small landing on a skyscraper located in Sunshine City’s Film District.<br /><br />Megan stood at the edge of the landing and looked out at the city. The street was lined on both sides with buildings up to a quarter of a mile high, plastered with countless ads for films being made or in distribution. Thick streams of people filled the sky, moving at breakneck speeds by flying cars, planes, jetpacks, hoverboards, helicopters, brooms, winged dinosaurs, or just by themselves. Proxies were also sucked through a tangled series of transparent tubes, taking it easy while enjoying the sights.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan glanced back at the outside of the high rise floor that belonged to Mike and Kyu’s Neo-Kyoto project. The allotted floor was smaller than his studio. The door on the side of the building was simply a portal linked to any virtual space Mike assigned it. The entire floor was a giant billboard showing a trailer for the film, complete with explosions coming out of the building. It announced that the film would have enhanced special effects, special guest stars, and was full immersion capable.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">After taking a few moments to appreciate the view, Sam tossed a capsule on the ground and it expanded into a silvery carpet, from which five bucket seats rose. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Let’s go in my car. We’ll take a scenic route.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The group sat down and a 1959 Cadillac Convertible popped up around them. Sam was in the driver’s seat and started the car. It floated off the ground, then smoothly but rapidly accelerated off the landing, merging into one of the many streams of traffic. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Could you go through the Garden District?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> The route past Sunshine Park, you mean? Got it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The wind whipped Megan’s hair around. She took a big breath of fresh air.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Ooh, new car smell.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Try the Gothic Sunshine City filter, Meg. It’s well developed.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She adopted the filter and was amazed by the beautiful and intricate detail of the classically designed buildings. The structural art even blended well with the multitude of trailers playing throughout the Film District.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan looked up at the sky, past the traffic. Under default settings, the Sun always shined on Sunshine City. She zoomed way into it to look at a close up view of its surface being broadcast from a satellite orbiting it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan looked back down at Sunshine City. It was truly one of the great virtual worlds. It was among the largest such worlds, and was both larger and more diverse than any physical city. Half a billion people from all around the world, and from almost every major virtual world, passed through its streets every day. As a nexus city, many sections of Sunshine City were functional extensions of those worlds, places where characters from different universes could intermingle, or through which they could even migrate to a new world. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Besides being a nexus, it also served as a convenient representation of everything online, encapsulating every aspect of Outside in one way or another. Tens of millions considered SC at least a part time home. And it was the primary home for increasing millions who considered their Sunshine City proxies as their primary identities, more core to their being than even their physical bodies. It was a place where people with multiple proxies in multiple virtual worlds could create a unified identity, and conveniently socialize and organize with like-minded people from every culture- both virtual and physical.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan was highly amused by the hectic traffic the sky was teaming with. There were flying vehicles everywhere, and not just in the official midair lanes. They merged into traffic from all directions, sometimes opposite to the main flow. Truly bad drivers and griefers would sometimes have their cars made immaterial and invisible so they couldn’t bother anyone, though most people were sincerely attempting to fly safely out of consideration for others. But the density of people in the sky ensured constant collisions no matter how careful people were. Traffic could have been automatically controlled and made safe, of course, but that would have killed the fun. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thus, chaos reigned in the skies of Sunshine City. A car, filled with animated skeletons, entered the traffic stream and bumped into Sam’s car. Sam bumped them back, sending them careening into another car, </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">both of which crashed into a building, temporarily destroying a billboard for a romantic comedy. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Aren’t they going to be mad?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> If they didn’t want to crash occasionally, they wouldn’t be flying in heavy traffic. It’s all in fun.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s amazing that anyone used to think that the masses would physically travel by flying cars. What a terrifying idea. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">They passed over an edge of Sunshine Park on their way to the Garden District. The park was beautiful, but the Garden District was simply magnificent. The ground level along the street was an exquisite garden valley, filled with happy blooming flowers and roaming animals of all types. The sides of the skyscrapers were covered by dense jungles, forests, deserts, marshes, and every other natural landscape. They were filled with plants and animals native to each environment. Gravity wrapped around the buildings so that animals could walk from one side down to the garden valley and up a building on the other side. In the space between the buildings were natural barriers- rivers flowing up, waterfalls flowing down, canyons, lagoons, and corral reefs. The street extended to the horizon, far beyond the limits of Sunshine City proper. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">An area wide alert popped up on the car’s front windshield, drawing attention to a fire burning on one of the jungle buildings a few miles ahead. Sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed from beneath the canopy sticking out of the building’s side. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> So that’s why you wanted to take this route.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Wow, I didn’t think it was going to be this bad. I’ll be right back.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T’s proxy went into standby mode.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Is there usually fighting here?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’ve never seen fighting in the primary layer of the Garden District. Heck, there’s rarely fighting in the primary layer of </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">gaming</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> districts. Usually it’s only possible in a secondary layer so passers-by don’t get annoyed.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What’s going on down there then?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I have no idea. This is very strange. Check out one of the Sunshine City news channels.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan brought up a screen for a local news channel. It showed footage of the fighting in the forest. The carnage was hard to sort out. At first, it appeared as though some giant, strange looking plants had gone berserk and were eating the animals. Then she saw human proxies rioting in the garden valley. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Bespeckled news announcer</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’m afraid we don’t have much information at the moment. We have confirmed that the plants are specially designed proxies being controlled by players, and not some sort of virus or practical joke. The human forces appear to be operating with a paramilitary configuration and coordinating attacks with some of the animals. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The news screen showed that the human proxies had established a base at the foot of the building, just inside the jungle canopy. They were using heavy gunfire against the plant people while also hacking their way into the burning jungle with large bladed weapons.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Where’s a friendly Saiyan when you need one?</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">From out of Sunshine Park, a woman in black spandex, riding a motorcycle, crashed into the crowd of humans and began slaughtering them with a machine gun in one hand and a giant sword in the other, occasionally throwing grenades with a third arm appearing out of her back. She moved with such speed that the humans couldn't get a bead on her. Her assault was just the push the plants needed to force the humans back into the open valley, where snipers from a neighboring desert building could more easily pick members of the crowd off. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The first human group had begun to disperse when more humans from a forest building near Sunshine Park began invading the park itself, and the woman in black rode back there to continue fighting. Megan zoomed in on the woman, who looked suspiciously familiar.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Is that Xea?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yep.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Is T a superhero?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Something like that. Xea migrated to Sunshine City after suffering permanent death in Ataraxia. T put a lot of work into getting Xea’s combat attributes to transfer over, and he likes to help out when the city needs it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> So the plant people are good?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Probably. T doesn’t always get all the facts before acting. Big surprise, I know.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan suspected that Xea’s appearance was not a coincidence, but she was too distracted by the shots whizzing by her head to follow through on the thought. The fighting had extended into the sky, and there were several people nearby shooting at each other, jumping from car to car, and generally being nuisances. One of them jumped on a broom, knocking off its elderly passenger. Sam slammed her car against the broom thief, causing him to careen into a car going the other direction. Megan turned Sam’s car transparent and enhanced her vision so she could watch the thief plummet and splat on the ground below. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I know that guy. He deserved that. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam pulled out a shotgun and blasted one of the other fighters off of a hoverboard. Then, she flipped the car upside down (turning Megan’s stomach), pulled out a sniper rifle, and assassinated a few of the rioters as the car passed above the scene. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How are you doing this?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Practice.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam turned the car upright and accelerated at top speed to Omni to avoid any more distractions. The force was a bit much for Megan, so she cut the g-force she was experiencing in half. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The clubbing district of Sunshine City was filled with glowing lights and flashy graphics to entice clubbers. The entrance to Omni was a large platform jutting out near the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers, marked by a giant glowing red O on the side of the building. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The car set down on Omni’s landing, its frame disappeared, and the group stepped off of its base. The seats and the carpet collapsed back into a capsule and hopped into Sam’s pocket. Other people simply left their vehicles on the landing, to be lifted up by a crane that appeared out of the building and moved the vehicles into “storage.” </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan stepped to the edge of the platform and looked down at the throngs of people walking around on the ground half a mile below. It made her dizzy, in a fun way. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam lead her group through Omni’s doors, with T auto-following behind.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><p></p><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><span style="font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">OMNI'S ONLY PRICE OF ADMISSION: CURIOSITY</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The bouncer just outside the door was a proper Kryptonian, not a proxy to mess with in Sunshine City, where kryptonite had only weak effects. She nodded to Sam’s group as they walked through. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Inside, the door disappeared behind them and the group found itself floating in the club. Megan had seen video of Omni before, but being there was an entirely different thing. Omni’s default representation was that of an immense coliseum, except in place of seats there were pods. The pods represented the personal spaces of various groups, which could be kept private and hidden, or opened up to public view and visitation as desired. The groups in most pods were sitting around tables, conversing and taking in the club’s sights. Between the pods was a vast empty space through which countless proxies flew about and congregated. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Far below in the center of Omni was the “Play@Omni” floor, featuring every possible form of human recreation. Megan’s visualization divided it by color into four main areas- dancing, fighting/sports, sex, and interactive art, with dark mists shielding Megan from areas incompatible with her content filters. In reality, floor activities weren’t so discrete, but arbitrary sections made it easier to get a handle on. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> The space wraps around so that you can see every other group’s public table from any given location. It’s a universal panopticon in that way, facilitating social mixing. By the way, it’s customary not to use style filters in Omni so as to fully appreciate its variety.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan, who had been turning proxies into lively watercolors, turned her filters off and tried to get a grip on the small city of people surrounding her in all directions. There were proxies of every sort. Omni was a place for free expression, and every element of human existence and culture was represented in some way. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The dress of every human culture in history was present, including Stone Age furs, ancient Roman peasant clothing, Medieval Age garb, traditional African and Asian clothing, as well as the latest contemporary fashions.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan’s visualization divided the club into neatly defined social sections. There were sections filled with proxies from fantasy, horror, and science fiction worlds. Characters from every major virtual world were present, many on vacation in the space of Omni, an extension of the Sunshine City nexus which preserved their character’s attributes so they be themselves as they were in their native worlds. Most visiting characters could party consequence free throughout Sunshine City, as it was generally a “safe nexus.” There were characters from worlds more integrated with Sunshine City who could potentially be killed or suffer other ill fates in the city. There were also, of course, many proxies there from non-gaming worlds or with proxies designed uniquely for social settings like Omni. In any case, all proxies were safe within Omni’s specially constructed space, which helped it to develop its own unique participatory culture free of coercive conflict.</span><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span></b><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There were proxies decked out in cyberpunk gear, rennies, groups from various militaries (both real and from game worlds), goths, mid-century retro hipsters, Victorian steampunkers, anime characters, a good number of pixelated video game characters, Wild West zombies, alien starship crews from every popular space based sci-fi show, unfortunate beasts from the bowels of the Golden Martyr realm, lithe angels, and vivacious demons. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Besides groups from virtual worlds there were also entire physical clubs represented. Megan saw a space with a blinking neon sign, which was a tag linking to a night club that was being virtualized live. She selected the space and it splayed open so she could see all of the people, talking at tables or on the outside patio. Only those who opted in were visible from Omni, the others were edited out of the feed. Other clubs automatically virtualized all their customers, although they were supposed to be warned before entering such clubs, and their identities were usually anonymized. Many of the pods represented other virtualized physical locations, including living rooms and house parties. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Still floating far above the ground, Megan looked a little too far into the distant reaches of the club, resulting in a touch of vertigo. Sam, who had been searching the club for people she knew, noticed Megan looking a bit shaky and created a floor, a hovering sandalwood table with chairs, three walls, and a ceiling to complete their pod.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sorry about that, Meg. Have a seat.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The group sat down in the ridiculously comfortable chairs at the waist height hovering table. Megan ran her hand over the table. She had always loved the feel and smell of sandalwood. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Growing more experienced with full immersion all the time, Megan had set her plant to mix her physical and virtual body as much as was physically safe. Her physical body stayed sitting on her couch, whether she was walking or standing, but her physical upper body mimicked her proxy upper body to help it keep active. Via her plant, almost all of her sensations were from Omni, including smell, sight, sound, temperature, the texture of her clothing, and her seat, which was more comfortable than her couch. She stretched her feet under the table. They stopped when they encountered the physical coffee table in her living room, which she pushed out of the way. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">With the creation of their space, the group had automatically donned their club gear. Sam was a cyborg with a complex robotic right arm, wore form fitting urban combat gear, and had open data plugs on the back of her neck. Mike, classy as usual, wore a tuxedo. Megan changed her proxy to being a leatherclad, post-apocalyptic road warrior with a mohawk. Pawn’s proxy was the most elaborate of the group. He was naked, but his body was completely covered by delicate, multicolored, shimmering feathers. His agent, Naboo the snowy owl, sat on his shoulder, complementing his style. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Ooh, that’s pretty. </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan copied his feathers, added some to her arm, and petted them. They were incredibly soft. She plucked one off her arm and it crumbled to sparkly dust, which sprinkled all over her. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Feeling more stable in her chair, Megan</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> looked out at the club again. She added a filter to emphasize the proxies and people she was familiar with, making them glow and stand out against the background, making them easy to zoom her sights in on. It also</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); white-space: pre-wrap; "> less familiar proxies transparent and flat, like steamrolled cartoon characters. </span></span><div><span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Is this place always so... huge?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> This is about average. Even on off days there are tens of thousands of people sitting around in Omni. But the play floor is much larger, encompassing the activities of millions of people. Your settings are only showing you small sections of it at a time, positioned in the center of Omni. So it seems like Omni encompasses the floor, but it’s more accurate to say that the club you see around you is a small part of the play floor. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Among the many proxies sticking out for Megan were a few clones of T and Sam, in various costumes and states of undress.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Uh... Sam, you know that there are people here with your and T’s proxies, right?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oh yeah, we’re celebrities or whatever. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How do you avoid stalkers?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Our agents do a good job managing requests and messages. Also, we only appear as ourselves to people with a good standing in the Omni reputation system. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Doesn’t that make things confusing?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It works out. Heck, even when people have access to our SIS, T and I appear as different genders and in different styles to any given individual depending on optimal SIS compatibility ratings. Anyway, your SIS ID is private here unless you make it public, so you don’t have to worry about people annoying you. Not strangers anyway.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The rest of the group was busy looking around the club for people they knew, so Megan raised the volume of the music which happened to be playing in their area. Since the music was going through her plant, she could listen to it as loud as she wanted without worrying about hearing loss. But the song changed and it wasn’t particularly to her taste, so she turned the music off. Control of music volume was one of the advantages of clubbing Outside, making it much easier to hold conversations. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T’s proxy sat up as he returned to it and adopted a rather snappy, vibrantly green zoot suit. He fell up to the ceiling, and started dancing on it in celebration of something. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey Sam, set us up a node on Indra’s Net.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sure. Let’s do Tides of War to start. But only as long as no one gets too crazy with it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam started a game of Tides of War for the table, which she broadcast to a part of the play floor for other club goers to interact with. T also started broadcasting his dancing through the node onto the dance floor.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan, curious about what T had been doing with Xea, decided to privately text him. But she wasn’t quite up to using her URC implant to do it, so she set her arms to appear to the group to remain by her side while she brought up and manipulated a keysphere to type out the text. While she was doing that, she took a quick view of her physical environment to reassure herself that she was still safe in her apartment. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [text >Thomas] What was going on back there?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan] Just local politics, don’t worry about it. Take a look at Indra’s Net, it’s super neat.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan brought Indra’s Net up on the table. At first, it appeared to be a solid white block. Upon enhancing her view of it, she discovered it was actually a three dimensional matrix of thousands upon thousands of myriad nodes. It was like an immense jungle gym with a jewel at each intersection, with each jewel representing the streaming input from a group or individual. The nodes were of many different colors, representing different sorts of sensory feeds. One of the nodes blinked red, representing the input from Sam’s group. Megan accessed it and found herself fading into the Tides of War game. It only took her a little way in to preview it. She could see that dozens of people from other groups were already participating in the game of Tides of War being played on Sam’s table- mostly because Sam’s excellent reputation at Omni gave her node high visibility. They were mostly joining Sam’s side, taking over control of parts of her army, and unbalancing the game in her favor. Luckily, the game was more relaxed than at the party, so no one seemed to care. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan followed associations that were being connected between Sam’s node and other nodes in the matrix related by likeness, or the preferences of members of Sam’s group. Mike’s agent, the adorable robot spider Tenchi, was skillfully drawing threads through the network of nodes to bring interesting attractions to the group’s attention. Other agents, including T’s Villain, and Pawn’s Naboo, went scouring for nodes or social connections their masters might enjoy.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan followed one of the threads Tenchi was drawing through Indra’s Net. Everything that could be streamed was present. There were nodes streaming interactive movies, parts of the dance floor, views of game worlds, fights, people having sex, subtle sensations, music, light shows, and other things Megan couldn’t immediately figure out. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Mike, what’s Tenchi doing exactly?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> He’s optimizing my dive path for later. We’re going to pick a destination, dive into Indra’s Net, and float through various streaming experiences along the way. The path is somewhat random, but Tenchi’s weighting the journey toward addresses I’ll find interesting.</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T sent Megan an address to check out. The node was the Crain Slain stream he had put on Indra’s Net during the last night’s concert, a mash-up of the two side’s songs playing against each other, along with the fighting along the central divide. It was being played in a continual loop, and people were sliding down the central divide like it was a water slide, being knocked this way and that by the endlessly repeating violence of the crowd.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan] I’m surprised that’s still up, it’s not </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">that</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> cool. I may have more clout here than I thought. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">From that node, Megan saw that another Crain Slain concert was being streamed live at that moment. She activated the address and created the concert in miniature on the table. She immersed herself more fully in the node, so that it was going on all around her just like the night before, but this time she was only a passive observer since she hadn’t paid the participation fee. She watched for part of a song. Crain looked to be dominating this time. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan faded back to the table and brought up info about Indra's Net. It was streaming 467 live concerts from all around the world (both physical and purely virtual) listed as of interest to Crain Slain fans. She checked a few of them out before Chester, having been notified that Sam’s node on Indra’s Net was getting popular, teleported into a chair that appeared at the table. The table enlarged to make room for her. Once again she was a stringless, life-sized marionette, but this time made of matte silver metal. Her face was an animated etching, but her smile was still warm. She waved at everyone before she realized that she was sitting next to Pawn. She moved to another seat across the table from him and flipped him off, a gesture that Pawn ignored in favor of watching the dance floor.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">A cup of coffee appeared in front of Sam. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Drinking time!</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T took out a flask and drank from it, spilling some on the table below him. Sam blew on her coffee.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Why did you make it so hot?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> This is actually a physical cup of coffee. With a touch of whiskey. Waiting for coffee to cool down is part of the experience anyway.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It smells so good. Can I have some?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sure. [a cup appearing in front of Megan] But you’ll have to make something physical if you want psychoactive effects. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Pretty sure she knew that. But she may not know about other stuff, now that I think about it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Like what?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [dropping into a seat next to her] Smell me!</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">He smelled a little musky, and his breath stank of cheap liquor. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That’s what I smell like. Plants can stimulate the olfactory nerve to simulate anything the olfactory system can detect. That includes the little bit of “pheremones” that affect humans, or whatever. Mostly involving complementary immune systems or something. That means that you can find out if you’ll like someone’s smell, or make everyone so they smell good to you. You can also find out what someone tastes like. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas took a bite of Sam’s unrobotic arm.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What does that taste like? </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Bite me!</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan took a bite of Sam’s forearm. It turned into cotton candy and melted in her mouth. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yum! It doesn’t hurt, right?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Only if you want it to.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Try me!</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester offered her hand and Megan bit off her little finger, which immediately grew back. It was meat of some kind. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting meat. What sort is this? </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What sort do you think? Long pig.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [swallowing it somewhat reluctantly] Where did they get the taste? </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Asian vat meat. It's a delicacy. No one got hurt, it’s cultured from a volunteer. Or something.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T took a bite of himself. He was made out of his favorite donut. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><span style="font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">OMNI’S ONLY RULE</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan took another look around Omni and found that something was going on in a large, Star Trek themed bar where numerous sci-fi and fantasy world characters were intermingling. A brawl had broken out between a crew of Bajorans and some Cardassians. Romulans quickly came in on the side of the Cardassians and some drunken Klingons joined the Bajorans. Before long, the Rebel Alliance, a handful of Cylons, some Browncoats, and some random residents of Discworld were involved. Then a table of Borg started assimilating combatants, and it turned into a battle between the Borg and everyone else. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 0); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan lost interest and searched for more "adult" content. There was a group of sexy Draculas biting into naked men and women chained to their table. There was a group of Japanese men in their underwear being peed on by a human sized Godzilla standing on their table. There was a table of hot gay men doing hot gay men things. There was </span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">an underwater space filled with squids and mermen sexing each other up. There were other tables doing things Megan found disturbing, if not </span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">almost</span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> morally objectionable. This raised a question.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Does anyone ever get banned?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Rarely. Each space can have its own rules, but there’s only one universal rule in Omni: Everything must be properly tagged. It’s not hard to follow, since automatic tagging is very effective. The tag system makes it so you never have to see, or participate in, anything you don’t want to. Every group’s space is solely theirs to do with as they please, so there’s every sort of craziness occurring all around us. You might try loosening your filters all the way, but I’ll warn you- besides faulty tagging, it’s damn hard to be fucked up enough to get thrown out of here. Look at that table’s tags just as an example, but don’t unfilter them.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam directed Megan’s attention to a table which was being danced on by several nondescript people who were spraying variously colored fluids all over their space. The space’s tags included coprophilia, racism, Naziism, and several other tags in the “highly likely to offend” category.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That group just wants attention. There are others who are more sincere. Omni’s got everything, just like its name implies.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam pulled out a harpoon.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> This is my ban harpoon. People with high enough Omni reps get weapons to draw the bouncer’s attention to questionable tagging. If people shoot you with a ban gun or hit you with a ban hammer, and you evaded tags, it can get you thrown out or banned for good. It will at least hurt your Omni reputation, which is something highly valued. A good reputation gives you visibility at the club, means you can be trusted, and gives your nodes higher priority in Indra’s Net. I said that you could see every table from here, but under our group’s default filter you only see groups with a minimal reputation score, so there are lots of people here who are either relatively new or who don’t use the reputation system and so don’t show up to us. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But there are lots of people here anonymously, right?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You are anonymous right now, actually. And just because you have an Omni reputation doesn’t mean anyone knows who you are outside of the club. There are plenty of people here who don’t have handles or reps, and you can’t tell them apart. They’re mostly in the mosh pits or in one of the general orgy areas. Conversely, a lot of people here are playing their characters from various worlds with the matching SIS identities to prove it. Our group is somewhat masked. Only some people can see our real SIS ID’s, since T and I are famous. If T publicly used his proxy from the Golden Martyr world, whose name I will not speak here, it would cause quite a commotion. But drumming up people like that is considered bad form. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Bad ass form. But I promised I wouldn’t do that again.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Speaking of reputations, is that Indra? [indicating a pod on the other side of Omni]</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Must be. That’s her authentic SIS, cloaked so only reputable Omni members can see her.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> There’s a real Indra? Isn’t that a reference to Hindu mythology?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s probably not her real name, but yes, there is a real Indra who owns and manages Indra’s Net. You’ll have to meet her sometime. She’s fabulous. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">You know the Hindu mythology behind the name, right? Indra’s net is described as a web of jewels, each jewel representing some aspect of existence while also reflecting all of the other jewels. It’s about the interconnectedness of every aspect of creation. In a similar way, the nodes of the Indra’s Net in Omni each represent a different streaming experience that can potentially be combined with the experience from any other node or combination of nodes. </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Author’s note: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indra%27s_net" style="font-weight: bold; ">Indra’s net article on Wikipedia. Yes, I know the god Indra is male.</a></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> And anyone can set up a node? </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yep, much of it is anonymous, or done with little fanfare. It’s a massive cooperative effort. No one really makes any money off of it, although good content producers and coordinators can occasionally earn some nice social standing. T and I have pretty good followings on Indra’s Net. Lots of people are automatically notified when we create nodes, and gravitate toward our shared content when they go spiral diving.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Speaking of diving, how tricky is it?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Don’t worry, diving’s very intuitive. It’s just a streaming experience through a series of mixed nodes. Your SIS and filters control the content, so you won’t encounter anything too far outside your comfort zone. You should look for some interesting nodes to visit in the spiral. You’ll automatically gravitate toward nodes you’ve show interest in.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan returned her attention to Indra’s Net, using her URC to select and sample different nodes which her SIS recommended as being likely interests for her. In preview mode, selecting nodes representing music were faintly audible. Various nodes were linked together because divers on Indra’s Net had liked their combination. She mixed two such linked nodes- a song she liked and a pleasant buzzing sensation, and they worked well together. Like with all transitions from one space to another, Megan controlled the extent of her immersion within the nodes by means of a key turning motion by her right hand.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She then looked through some movies playing, which appeared as semi-transparent screen hovering above the table. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">There were also nodes broadcasting the physical sensations of couples having sex, which felt a bit too voyeuristic for her. Someone was streaming their live experience of being on a roller coaster on one node, giving Megan more gs than she was expecting. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">She changed the preview to a more peaceful space- a meadow at sunset, with an overview that hovered over the table like a hologram, including a projection of Megan sitting on the grass. It gave her the tactile sensations of being in the meadow, including a gentle breeze, but she continued to watch the scene from the side of the table. It was strangely peaceful to watch herself watching a sunset. She merged a song node she had liked earlier with the experience. One of the other people in the meadow overheard the song playing faintly from Megan’s location and started playing it too. Soon, the song had spread over the meadow and was nicely complementing the atmosphere. She would have just stayed there for a while, but </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas interrupted her meditation.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey Megs, check this guy out.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas linked a location to Megan and her eyes were directed toward a man stomping around on the dance floor. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Look at our compatibility ratings.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">It reported 95% sexual compatibility between the man and T.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That seems like a nice match. But their SIS says they have a female brain. Don’t you prefer male brains?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I do tend to like male brains better, in terms of romance. But I’m not prejudiced. And it’s a particularly high rating, at least for my peculiarities. I'm making a note of her, might look her up later. Sexual compatibility is about way more than just gender, you know? There’s dominance versus submission, kinks, and all sorts of subtle things. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How good is SIS at determining compatibility?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s not perfect, but it is a pretty good guideline. I mean, 95% basically guarantees a great time, and very low percentages guarantee that you’ll annoy the hell out of each other. Mid level percentages require compromise, which can be fine. And you're more likely to grow and experience new things if you don't go for super high ratings all the time. But you totally need to try it out. Just create a separate, anonymized version of your SIS and put it out there to see who matches. </span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span></b><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But what if you want to meet someone in the physical world? </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Relationships in the physical world form first Outside all the time. If you want that as a requirement, you can just use your natural proxy and look for people located nearby. You can even have it smell like you so suitors can see if they like your natural scent. I wouldn’t write off relationships that only exist Outside though. You can be whoever you want to be without the restrictions of your biology. It’s been more than a decade since I’ve had a lover that lived close enough to conveniently visit me physically, and it hasn’t hurt my love life any.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You know, I’ve always been comfortable with my physical body, I don’t really have any complaints about it. And I’m pretty new to really living Outside, but I can definitely see the advantages of a custom made body. And getting comfortable with having different bodies is a fascinating idea. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You should try out everything. A person’s sexuality Outside tends to be more flexible than in the natural world, even in terms of preferences for genders, aesthetics, genitalia, and such.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Isn’t genitalia covered under gender?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oh no. Lots of women give their female bodies penises, and lots of male proxies have vaginas. That’s besides the various non-natural genitals like tentacles. Sex Outside is way more liberated and fun than it could be in the physical world. There are no diseases or accidental pregnancies to worry about. You can’t be coerced into sex like you can physically, and people can’t intimidate you the same way since you can always just leave a virtual space, if nothing else. So it’s safe to explore and experience whatever you want. The upshot of all these improvements is that, at this point, there is way more sex going on Outside than in the physical world. You can have any sort of random sex you want, any time you want, completely anonymously if you want.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Just how much random sex are you having?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> As much as I want. Duh.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Thomas has a pretty nice “queue.”</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What do you mean by queue?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> People waiting on a list to have sex with me. They’re organized according to SIS compatibility and my various preferences. Anytime I’m feeling amorous, I can look through the queue to see if anyone looks interesting, or activate it to alert the next available person on the list that I’m looking for a rendezvous. It’s not just sex. I usually have first meetings in my library, but sometimes SIS indicates it would be better if we didn’t talk at all for one reason or another, so those times it’s just straight sex. I’m on other people’s queues too, so I get pinged all the time, but Villain shuts most of those down depending on my mood and current activities.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Course, it’s not hard to get a long queue going, depending on how choosy you are. If you make one, I would recommend restricting it to people with good reputations from social groups you feel comfortable with. It’s best not to tempt potentially awkward hook ups. There are some real weirdos out there [motioning toward T].</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan had used her social interaction system to converse with people in the physical world and had found it a very effective social lubricant. Almost everyone belonged to a social network compatible with the open source SIS standard, which made conversations easy by offering up shared interests and mutual social ties, as well as topics to avoid. With an active SIS, you could steer right to the people at a party you share rare fandoms with, or even find the person with the most compatible personality. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan created a new SIS identity just for Omni, sanitized of any information specific enough to identify her, and made it public there. She was immediately matched up with compatible people in the area. Dozens of open invitations to join various tables, or activities on the play floor, were instantly generated based on her SIS. It was good to feel wanted, but she shut off that particular SIS so she could focus on her own group.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam pointed out a proxy flying around the center of the club, covered in swastikas and penises spewing various bodily fluids. She handed Megan her ban harpoon.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Go ahead and shoot that guy. He’s evading tags</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan and a few dozen others nailed the troll and he evaporated into oblivion, banned from the club for a week. </span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> He had unusually high visibility for such a weak prank. He spent a good part of his hard earned Omni rep just to spread some minor grief. People with restrictive filters didn’t even saw him. Lame.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><span style="font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">THE MORE THE MERRIER </span><br /><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span></b><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Saitou and his group waited until Sam’s group was settled at their table to send an invite for the groups to merge. Everyone accepted the invite, their table elongated, and Saitou’s group faded into view sitting opposite Sam’s group. Saitou was in a tanuki suit. Beside him was a catgirl named Mai who looked like a female version of Saitou. Next to her was a serenely smiling male proxy named Gale. The next space on the table was taken up by a white cartoon cloud representing Keen, who preferred, as usual, to be genderless.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The groups exchanged greetings. Mai waved energetically at Sam’s group. Her eyes were sparkly, but a little creepy because they never blinked. Her agent, a small, cute David Bowie, was playing a tiny piano on her shoulder.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Why a raccoon suit, Sai?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Saitou</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> It’s actually a tanuki suit, like in Mario. Common mistake. Tanuki look like raccoons but they’re actually more closely related to dogs.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Ah, I see. Mai, are you Saitou’s sister?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mai smiled wickedly while massaging Saitou’s chest and playing footsie with him under the table.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mai</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> No, no. We’re lovers. We enjoy twincest. Sometimes we both look like versions of me.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">They changed for a moment into different matching proxies, this time Hispanic, and started grooming each other like wild animals.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What’s the point of joining our group if you’re just going to be doing that?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mai</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You could join us if you want. [audibly purring] We’re feeding to a spot on the floor.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Thanks, but I’m going diving later.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mai</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> We’ll be there all night if you change your mind.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Gale, the other person Megan didn’t know, looked around the group with a blank smile.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey Gale. How do you know Saitou? Or Keen?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Gale made eye contact with her and from that she could tell that he was a ghost. A melodious voice came from Keen’s cloud.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(166, 77, 121); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Keen</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(166, 77, 121); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Gale was my friend for a long time. He died three years ago. It’s his birthday, so we’re taking the last version of his ghost out on the town. We’re publicly distributing his sex ghost into one of the orgy spaces. He would have liked that.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Is it any good?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(166, 77, 121); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Keen</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(166, 77, 121); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Not sure. I have an abnormal sexuality.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Right. Well, what the heck. It’s his birthday.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T officially sanctioned Gale’s sexbot ghost under Omni’s reputation system, which greatly boosted its visibility in the club, and resulted in hundreds of T’s SIS followers automatically downloading it into their collections.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The two table’s nodes finished merging into one. Now it included the ongoing Tides of War game as well as Keen’s cloud.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan recognized Keen’s cloud configuration and got curious, so she stepped into it and started dancing to the music inside. The cloud was larger on the inside and transparent enough to see through. Parts of it lit up and warmed as she interacted with it. She breathed in. It was musky, but not unpleasant.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Is that what you smell like in the physical?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(166, 77, 121); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Keen</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(166, 77, 121); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Yes.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The mist squeezed around her, like a full body hug. It was a strangely comforting sensation. Megan swept her hand through the cloud. Part of it offered resistance, then yielded. Her hand slipped around another squishy part and followed it along a curve, producing a tingling up her spine. Megan naturally found a rhythm in her dance that maximized Keen’s warmth and light, and the cloud started smelling of vanilla and flowers.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Saitou</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You know that’s Keen’s sex cloud, right?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’m not completely ignorant. I can recognize a sex cloud.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Keen’s just lazy.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Well, I think Keen's sweet. And sex clouds are fun.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The cloud’s density, colors, textures, lights, and wetness were all abstract analogs representing different aspects of Keen’s body and sexual responses. Sex cloud proxies were designed to give positive feedback for properly stimulating their inhabitant’s erogenous zones. It was quite intuitive, to the point where Megan could somehow recognize that her right hand was caressing something which correlated to the small of Keen’s back.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Keen’s cloud became more active on the dance floor, grew much larger, and dozens of dancers started interacting with it. They began dancing to create positive feedback from Keen in coordination with their fellow dancers. Many of the dancers merged their own sex clouds with Keen’s, and the play floor system created a compromised group cloud that worked for everyone, correlating the various parties’ analogous erogenous zones. It wasn’t the most efficient way to get off, but sex clouds were subtle enough that even those dancers who were shy about open orgies could participate with minimal embarrassment in a form of group sex.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Seeing that Keen was well taken care of, Megan returned to her seat. Shortly thereafter, a weirdly attractive woman with reptilian skin floated over to Pawn.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Kerrigan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey Pawn. Our sex rating is amazing. I’m fucking your ghost right now, and it is </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">hot</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">. Check it out. [sharing the feed]</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">is</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> hot. So you want to try it brain to brain?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Kerrigan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That’s the idea.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’ll be back guys.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn left his proxy at the table in standby mode and joined the situation with Kerrigan already in progress.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I can’t believe that Pawn doesn’t insist on using protection. That’s asking for trouble.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> He’s just adventurous.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> What do you mean by protection?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Secured shared spaces, of course.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Right. They’re that important though?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oh boy. Watch this video.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">An educational cartoon popped up in front of Megan.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Video</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Alice and Bob are on their first date.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The two characters were shown in a private instance of Happy Land- riding various attractions, eating funnel cakes, and setting things on fire.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Video</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> But then they decided to go somewhere more romantic.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Alice and Bob appeared in a bedroom, mid-grope.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Video</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Everything was going great, but someone had made an unwarranted assumption.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Alice suddenly exploded into dozens of tentacles, which wrapped around Bob, who vanished from the room.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Video</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Oops. Alice immediately apologized, but the awkwardness remained. Not everyone enjoys the loving caress of sextacles. If Alice and Bob had established their potential love nest as a secured shared space instead, they could have avoided the unpleasantness of mismatching desires and found amorous middle ground.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Alice and Bob appeared in the bedroom again, but this time a window popped up with the various settings and rules of the space. Bob’s personal settings prevented proxies from being introduced into the space, or changing form, without the consent of all parties involved. Alice’s settings prevented her proxy from being forcibly restrained, among other things. A set of mutually agreeable settings appeared and they spent a few moments tweaking them.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Alice whispered something into Bob’s ear. They smiled at each other and Bob changed his settings to allow for sextacles. They both accepted the rules of the space and began tearing each other’s clothes off.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Video</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Sometimes, all you have to do is ask! Negotiating the rules can be fun, and can even give you ideas to spice up an occasion.SSS settings cover everything from physics and location to proxy interaction. Always insist on Secured Shared Spaces to keep things consensual and comfortable.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The video disappeared.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Secured spaces can restrict which parties can enter them, although there’s no way to stop valid participants from sharing their sensory information with outsiders. And they do a pretty good job detecting a proxy swap based on changes in behavior, though not perfectly.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> So it will alert you if the person you’re having sex with is switching off with someone else? That’s a creepy concept.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Sam</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> If you care about that kind of thing, it’s definitely better to get to know someone before you get intimate. Or get someone with a good reputation. There are no lack of renowned lovers around here who wouldn’t pull that crap. You can always create a new SIS or Omni rep, but a good reputation that’s been established over months or years is something people generally won’t risk for something stupid like that.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan researched the SSS system while the rest of the group was checking out the play floor or previewing nodes for the dive. After a few minutes, Pawn’s proxy reanimated.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> That was quick. How was it?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> You didn’t watch? It was great! We’re hooking up for a more private rendezvous later tonight after the dive. It was a pretty big audience, kind of threw me off my game.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Like you’re some great lover.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn and Chester stared each other down, though it didn’t quite work because Chester’s etched face couldn’t quite express anger in a non-humorous way.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><span style="font-weight: bold; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">SHOWDOWN!</span><br /><b><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span></b><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T’s chinchilla agent Villain, who had been patrolling the club for some excitement, appeared on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. He nodded. A moment later a blue orb appeared over the table and a stately voice emanated from it.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Announcer</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Thomas, a.k.a. Xea Fluon, a.k.a. Kea of the Darkpath, you and your group are being challenged to a showdown by the eminent warrior SlushieBucket and her cadre. Do you accept?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T offered the challenge to the table. Everyone but Megan accepted it. They teleported from the table to a space on the play floor opposite ShushieBucket, her partner Amonke, and several of their friends. Hundreds of spectators hovered all around them, while numerous others viewed the showdown, which was being broadcast as a highly visible node of interest on Indra’s Net.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">SlushieBucket</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">So, here we are again.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> I’m sorry, who are you?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">SluchieBucket performed a perfect anime pratfall.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Just kidding. How is this going down then?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">SlushieBucket</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Ha, ha. Funny as usual, Hanged Man. Pick a weapon and choose your fate.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas looked thoughtful for a moment. Then Villain jumped up into his right hand and turned into an electric guitar with Villain’s colorings.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">SlushieBucket</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 153, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">So be it. Let’s rock!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Everyone selected instruments and dance routines and began to warm up.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [text >Megan] Hey Megan, come and play tambourine or something. It’ll be fun!</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Mike] I don’t want to get in the way.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Mike</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(116, 27, 71); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan] You really couldn’t make this more ridiculous than it’s bound to be.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Mike] I’ll just watch this time.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T went jazz (befitting his zoot suit), while SlushieBucket chose speed metal. The format for the showdown was that the bands would take turns playing, starting with intervals of 30 seconds, in competition to create the most resonance in the surrounding crowd. T’s group went first and got a nice early lead. But on their second turn Chester blasted her saxophone in Pawn’s face. The turn after that, Pawn turned his trombone into a water gun, shooting spit all over Chester’s face, and they began bludgeoning each other with their instruments. T threw them out of the band, but there were no ready replacements and the damage had already been done. SlushieBucket won resonance supremacy on her next turn and used it to incinerate T’s group. SlushieBucket’s band, flush with victory, played a short concert on that node. It would be replayed, along with the musical showdown, throughout the night.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">T and his group reappeared at their table just as their ashes were disintegrating into the play floor.</span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Chester flicked a speck across the table onto Pawn’s right cheek. In a few moments it festered into a tiny alien civilization, complete with skyscrapers and roadways. Pawn tried to wipe it off his face, but the civilization retaliated by shooting missiles, which arced out over the table and back at his eyes, exploding into bright white light. Having enough of this, Pawn filtered the civilization away and used a finger laser to etch crude drawings onto Chester’s torso. Everyone else tried to ignore them.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas set up a node featuring sexbots generated from SlushieBucket’s band’s ghosts doing various lewd things to each other. He linked the node to the showdown, demonstrating poor sportsmanship, even for him.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [private >Thomas] Did you guys practice for that a lot?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan] Practice! Ha! Most of the dancing is just adding flare to a set pattern, or total free style. No skill required, since you can just ride along with a musical ghost and let it play music or dance for you.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Thomas] So you can’t play guitar by yourself?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan] I couldn't at first, but I can now. I didn’t start out wanting to learn, I started by just passively experiencing a guitar ghost playing through my proxy. But over time I naturally learned how to play just by following along with it. I started setting it up as a mixed state so my physical hands went through the motions, to train my physical muscles as well as my brain. It’s easy and fun to learn how to play music like that. You should try it the next time a musical opportunity like a showdown pops up. They don’t really matter and they’re tons of fun.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Thomas] Yeah, I know they’re just for fun, but I’m feeling like a newbie here.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan] Don’t worry about that. Everyone’s a newbie to something. Even if you look like you’re new to any given place, no one would assume you’re new to Outside in general. You could be a Pan from Ataraxia who’s just trying a space out. My friend, Darth Windom is something of a hero in Sunshine City. He’ll take on any injustice, but he’s too shy to go clubbing. Anyway, Omni’s for everyone. Millions of people frequent this place. Reputations do matter, but you build those with time, out of your actions and character, not just how well you know your way around.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); white-space: pre-wrap; ">[>Thomas] </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); white-space: pre-wrap; ">For now, I’m just kind of a bumpkin.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); white-space: pre-wrap; ">[>Megan] </span><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); white-space: pre-wrap; ">But no one else even knows you feel that way. Your club ID is anonymous by default, so you could be anyone. But you’re sitting next to me, so people are going to assume that you’re awesome. People would be bugging the hell out of you trying to get your attention if Villain wasn’t automatically filtering requests away. Don’t worry, people understand. I get like 2 dozen social requests a minute for everything from simple chats to hardcore orgy invites, just from reputable club members.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">While they were talking, Pawn and Chester were increasingly agitated with each other. They were moving as if shouting at each other, although their voices were private between them. Chester extended her leg under the table and kicked Pawn’s shin.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Megan]: This is about to get really juvenile.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Before Megan had time to respond, Pawn had jumped across the table and was pummeling Chester. Chester swung a cartoon mallet from under the table, knocking Pawn way out into the club’s empty space. Pawn shot an energy ball back at Chester, but Chester had already jetted out of his seat after Pawn. The ball hit the table and exploded it, sending shrapnel everywhere. A piece of it embedded into Megan’s neck. Sam quickly restored the group’s space.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [hollering over at the group while trading blows with Chester] Sorry guys! Sorry Megan!</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">The two combatants fought viciously in midair. Pawn kicked Chester into another group’s table, sending their proxies flying. Chester elbow slammed Pawn straight down into the dance floor, so hard that he left a crater and scattered dozens of dancers. They shot numerous energy blasts at each other, mostly missing and causing collateral damage to group spaces all over Omni, including destroying an entire virtualized club.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">They left a trail of mangled, twitching corpses in their wake. Luckily for Omni, this was only happening on Chester and Pawn’s private layer, which only affected the few dozen people who had opted into it. The main layer of Omni didn’t even see them leave the table, although those following Sam’s node got to witness the display.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Hey, I thought Pawn was a pacifist.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> He makes an exception for Chester.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Megan</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Why?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Bad blood from a while back.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester pulled out a baseball bat and started whacking Pawn with it. Pawn pulled out a chainsaw and began slowly cutting off Chester’s metallic left leg while being hit about his head and shoulders with the bat. Finally, Pawn dropped the chainsaw and twisted Chester’s head off, just as Chester punched through Pawn’s stomach. Pawn’s disemboweled guts fell and turned into various forms of candy before hitting the play floor far below, the one element of the fight that affected the main layer of Omni. Mutually defeated according to the rules they were fighting under, they returned to their seats at the table. Chester put her head, now with a frowny face, on the table. Sam opened a hole in the floor for Pawn’s blood to drain.</span><br /><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [patting Chester’s head] Nice moves, Goku.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Chester</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(56, 118, 29); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> Shove it.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> How about you Pawn? Feel better?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [private >Thomas] How do you stand her after all she’s done?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Pawn] One game’s got nothing to do with another.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Thomas] Until it does.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Thomas</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Pawn] What are you talking about?</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Pawn</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 255); text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "> [>Thomas] Probably nothing.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /></span><hr style="font-weight: bold; "><span><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; "></span><br /><span style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Next- <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/12/episode-07-omni-2-of-2.html">Episode 07: Omni (2 of 2)</a></span></span></div>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-38199252570618000372011-09-03T23:21:00.001-07:002011-12-28T04:26:17.676-08:00Episode 06: Neo-Kyoto Explodes!<hr /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">N</span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">EO-KYOTO UNDER SIEGE</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Megan moved around the common area of Mike’s virtual film studio, watching the actors playing their parts inside various virtual sets through the tentative framing that Mike and Kyu used as they simultaneously gave direction and edited the film. She also watched the scenes unfolding in miniature on the center table, with most of the environment of each set transparent so as to showcase the relevant actors and action sequences. She took a look at Mike’s background notes.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">[Mike's notes for the day]: It was Ataraxia’s 19th iteration. The city of Neo-Kyoto, based on a detailed contemporary virtualization of Kyoto (with futuristic enhancements), had been transplanted from Japan into the post-apocalyptic battlefield of Ataraxia. It was populated by thousands of players who had adopted it as a thriving social hub and cultural center.<br /><br />That ended in the 8th month, when Sure Fire took control of the city. Sure Fire, a.k.a. “SuFi”, a powerful faction bent on the domination of Ataraxia, had planned to use the city as a strategic wedge into Kirin territory. One month later, Kirin forces, having devoted themselves to stopping Sure Fire at almost any cost, laid siege to Neo-Kyoto, turning the city into a warzone.<br /><br />While the Kirin maintained a hold in the East and were making some progress in the South, they had little luck cracking Sure Fire’s fortification of Western Neo-Kyoto. The fighting raged day and night. Most of the city's people had either fled or joined one of the factions, leaving its operations and upkeep to maintenance bots, which had somehow managed to maintain basic utilities, but were losing the fight against the numerous fires slowly consuming the city.<br /></p><br />In the 10th month of the iteration, Zero Daisaku, one of the 9 Pandemonium, the most powerful player proxies in Ataraxia, was captured by Sure Fire forces. [/Mike’s notes]<br /><br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note08">*See "Tech Note 08: About the Virtual World Ataraxia" for more information on that world. </a><br /><br /><hr /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PRISONER ZERO</span><br /><br />Elite Sure Fire agent Riful [played, as before, by Thomas] zoomed quickly to one of the many entrances to the underground transport tube system, controlled (for the most part) by Sure Fire. He exited his mech, which shrunk until it was small enough to phase invisibly into his human proxy. Riful was sped through the tubes, designed to suppress energy signatures to allow discreet travel, and entered the generically named “office 23” building.<br /><br />He quickly made his way up ten flights of stairs and down a well guarded corridor to talk face to face with Sure Fire strategist Crenshaw [played by Mike]. Crenshaw, the main architect of SuFi’s Neo-Kyoto strategy, wore the inconspicuous uniform of a guard bot. With his well masked energy signature, few players, even on his side, would be able to pick him out as a human player, much less a significant one.<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Riful, as usual, got to the point.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: First question</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Does Zero Daisaku favor a faction? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </p> <span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">As you know, he fought for the Kirin in a battle before ascending to Panhood, but has avoided conflict since.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: In other words, he’s yet another Pan with mysterious motives, probably playing a higher level game of some sort. And we may have just pissed him off by kidnapping him. Dare I ask if he’s contained?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">His cell’s containment is theoretically optimal. Its walls should rebound any energy or force coming from the inside. He shouldn’t be able to pinpoint his location either. If he wasn’t a Pan, I could tell you that he doesn’t even know for sure if he’s still in Neo-Kyoto. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: But he really is a Pan? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Oh yeah. Specifically, the Pandemonium of </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Mecha</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">, which is frightening given the heavy mech based norm Ataraxia’s combat currently operates under. Before his disappearance, he was seen piloting the giant robot Blaze Snap, which is the unmistakable manifestation of that Pan’s power. Besides, we found him because he was doing an area broadcast of his “</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">M</span></span></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent">” </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">insignia. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: He obviously wanted to be noticed. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Right. He had no mech support when we encountered him and he put up no fight on being captured. Our scanners show him as a human boy with a minimal power level, but that’s almost certainly an advanced cloak of some kind. We’d have to actually harm him to get any more information on his proxy or his true power levels. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: And we can’t do that because we don’t know what side he’s on? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">And why he is in the city, yes. He’s lying still in his cell currently. We haven’t decided how to approach him. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: So he might be contained, he might be role playing, or he might be taking a vacation. Whatever. I’ll go in and talk to him myself. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That’s not a good idea. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: You have a better one?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Use an expendable proxy at the very least. One of the guards.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: I’m strong enough that you can get some useful data if he tears me apart. At the portion of my energy I’m using, it would take me at least 5 </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">days to resurrect, recover, and get back here and rejoin the fight, but it would be worth it to learn about a Pan. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Crenshaw reluctantly nodded in agreement and Riful made his way to Zero’s cell. The hallway outside the cell was guarded by 5 bots and 2 fairly powerful, though somewhat bored, players. There were 3 other similarly guarded rooms in that building alone, 2 of them simply decoys.<br /><br />Riful walked past the guards and through the 3 black membranes of the cell, each of which enveloped him and then released him into the next, until he was standing inside. Getting in was much easier then getting out, which required an authority on the outside to grant specific permission for an individual proxy to pass through each layer.<br /><br />It was foolproof containment, at least for the vast majority of proxies. The inside of the cell gave the illusion of being the top of a grassy hill, with warm sunlight passing through happy clouds overhead. It simulated a beautiful summer day. But walk too far down the hill in any direction and you would find yourself back on top of the hill.<br /><br />Zero Daisaku [played by Mike’s friend Miguel] was lying in the shade of a tree, staring at a game of Tetris, which he was projecting onto a cloud in the sky. Riful cleared his throat. This would require tact.<span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: I apologize for your current condition. Is there something Sure Fire can do for you? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Zero kept playing his game. <span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: I suspect that we share common goals. Why are you in Neo-Kyoto?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">It’s nothing of concern to you. You should let me on my way.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: Surely you understand why we can’t do that.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Catch a tiger by the toe...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Riful moved to stand next to Zero’s head and stared down at him, but failed to establish meaningful eye contact, as Zero stared back through him at the falling blocks.<span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Are you thirsty? Or hungry?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Not particularly. I don’t like this place.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">We picked you up for your own safety. You were walking</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"> into a warzone.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">You talk nonsense. I want to see the city. This place is boring. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[sternly] To be honest, you might be a potential threat to Sure Fire’s goals, and so we cannot allow you to run around the city without understanding your intentions.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I have nothing to talk to you about. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Riful took a few steps back, bowed respectfully, and sent a signal to Crenshaw, who guided Riful back out through each of the cell’s membranes. Riful returned to speak with Crenshaw.<span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">We should kill him. Reinforce the containment and flood it with plasma.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I don't know. This whole thing doesn't feel right.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">We need to end this while we are in control of the situation. How often do we get an opportunity like this? I highly doubt he’s going to join our side, and he might fight for the Kirin. Killing him is safest. No Pan has ever returned from death, and killing one would definitely do good things for morale.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Morale </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">is</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">a huge problem. This constant exchange of artillery fire is wearing away at us. The cease fires never hold for more than a few hours... but just kill a Pan? Like it would be that easy. He entered the game as</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"> "Zero Daisaku</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent">" </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">on day one of this iteration. Granted, lots of players adopt hopeful monikers like that, but he ascended to the most appropriate class of Pandemonium in record time. Then, after disappearing completely for 4 months he shows up in a warzone wandering around like a tourist.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">What do you think we should do with him then?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">We should give him some candy, drop him somewhere in the wilderness, and hope he stays far away. Let Pans deal with Pans.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">But he is in our custody! And as far as I can tell, he's an idiot. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That's exactly what I mean! We’re treating him like a child! The Gears selected him for good reasons. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Fine, alright. Let's see what SuFi Tower says about getting him out of here.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I'll take care of that. In the meantime, there's another matter that's more pressing.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[with piqued interest] Oh?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Neo-Kyoto has been chosen as the launch place of the Blue Dusk project.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />At this news, Riful smiled with glee.<br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /></p> <hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">NOTHING EVER GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>While actors were setting up for the next scene, Mike showed Megan a montage Kyu had put together of fighting from the next several days as the situation in Neo-Kyoto escalated. It featured such ridiculous carnage that Kyu had toned it down to make it comprehensible.<br /><br />An animated map showed the clashing of thousands of mech in hundreds of incidents around the city over 3 days of intense fighting. Wide shots revealed large sections of the city filled with debris and smoke, the result of the numerous skirmishes at any given time. Maintenance bots had multiplied and were doing everything they could to contain the resulting fires raging across the city, but were losing steadily.<br /><br />One area in particular, a long, half-mile wide strip had been bombed into smoldering rubble. This wasteland divided the city, with Sure Fire fortifications along its Western side and Kirin along its Eastern. The constant bombardment from both sides was deflected into colorful arcs by the heavy force field shielding along each side’s perimeter. It was a beautiful display, but few present at the time felt much aesthetic appreciation for it.<br /><br />There were also a few quick shots of people attempting to question Zero. Sure Fire command could not decide what to do with him, and so he languished in his cell. He had taken to rocking himself and avoiding eye contact, with only one verbal response to any question. <span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Bored now. Want out.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Behind Kirin lines, propaganda from Sure Fire was continuously displayed on the billboards on the sides of many buildings. The ads enticed players to join the SuFi in exchange for power level boosts and new equipment. Far from combat, Kirin strategist Pawn [played by himself] was staring at one such ad and considering his next move. As leader of the Kirin “Operation: Crab Battle!” in East Neo-Kyoto, it was his mission to create a hole in Sure Fire defenses and keep them occupied while Kirin forces to the South moved in for a pincer attack. But there were delays as the Southern forces were occupied with unexpected resistance, and Pawn was having a hard time dealing with Sure Fire in the meantime.<br /><br />Unlike most players, Pawn had chosen to fully merge his biological components into his mech, making him a grotesque mixture of flesh and metal. This configuration enabled him to regenerate most components easily, but death was hard for him to return from. His gruesome appearance kept most of his allied players at an emotional distance that helped him deal with situations dispassionately. This was useful near the wasteland, one of the bloodiest battlegrounds of that iteration.<br /><br />Xea Fluon [played by her original user, Thomas] was one of the best squad leaders in the area, and an old acquaintance of Pawn’s. Pawn, receiving distressing news from West of the city, risked a possible insecure connection to confer with Xea. He considered secretly contacting her outside of the game, but wasn’t paranoid enough to risk it. <span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea Fluon] Hey Xea. What’s your take on this hellhole? This city should not be this important to Sure Fire. The original plans had us taking control of it a week ago. As things are going, if one side doesn’t secure victory soon, there isn’t going to be anything worth occupying.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Should this city be this important to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">us</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">? Maybe everyone’s just confused.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] It’s a god damned mess, that’s for sure. With the heavy casualties and all the secret plans and factions involved, I doubt that anyone has a good idea about what’s going on. Did you hear that some battles in the wasteland actually generated noticeable lag? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Lag? I guess the Gears didn’t anticipate all those explosions kicking around all that rubble.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] Supposedly they fixed it, but this is too much. I’m having trouble keeping track of the units under my command. Discipline’s breaking down, we don’t have a proper strategy, our scanner classes are overworked, and the front</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">is a hellscape. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Tell me about it. We’re getting hit by our own artillery. Collateral damage is insane. How did the meeting with the representative from the Faint faction go?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] “The Faint shall not intervene in this city, at this time.”</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Typical. Bunch of freaks. If they’re not going to get involved now, then when? They might as well leave Ataraxia if they don’t care what happens to it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] And have you seen this shit yet?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Pawn sent Xea a 2 hour old report indicating unusual and very strong energy signatures emanating miles West of the city.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] Do you know if we have a scout out West that could check out whatever SuFi’s got going on? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Hold on, I’ll see if we have someone we can sacrifice.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">The scout Xea contacted did a scan of the area and received a missile to the forehead in quick reply. She managed to relay the information back to Xea before being obliterated.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[feeding the scan to >Pawn] Uh... </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] They’re putting together a damn giant robot! Like, a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">giant</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">robot! Like, hundreds of feet tall! How did they get it this close without us noticing?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] I have no idea. This is not good. They must really need this city for something.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] What are we going to do? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] There’s always </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">that</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">option. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] Are we really that desperate?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] We can’t deal with a force of this magnitude. Sure Fire’s going to take the city anyway. I say, let them have what’s underneath it too.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] Set </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">it</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">off, see what happens, and then possibly escape in the confusion? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Sounds like a plan.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Pawn got p</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">ermission from the Kirin regional council and gave the go ahead to the appropriate project head. It was less than a day before Sure Fire was detecting vibrations from deep underground, moving toward their giant robot construction site. Given the limited state of Kirin technology, it meant only one thing: they had awakened a De</span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">ep One, a humongous monster from a previous iteration of Ataraxia. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Deep Ones, corporate entities controlled by numerous players working in tandem, lied dormant deep underground or at the bottoms of oceans. Once located, awakening them was relatively easy, but controlling one took a good deal more skill and planning. The only certain way to resuscitate and wield a Deep One required the cooperation of the players who had created or controlled them in previous iterations of Ataraxia, and they were not always easy to find, or eager to lend their skills to support any given faction. Luckily for the Kirin, Sure Fire had concerned enough veteran players to get a workable team together.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Fear of the Deep One sped activation of the SuFi giant robot, “Blue Dusk,” and its primary systems came online twelve hours later. Though it wasn’t fully prepared, the Kirin then had no choice but to send their Deep One to the surface to fight the robot. Thus began a classic struggle between a foul, gargantuan, amorphous demonic entity and a 200 foot giant robot. Neither was prepared for the battle, but Blue Dusk had the advantage of SuFi artillery support. It was almost immediately apparent that the Deep One was only going to delay Sure Fire’s victory in the city.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">It was go time. In South Neo-Kyoto, the Kirin unleashed an offensive featuring a multi-segment giant robot spider named Yoink, a conglomerate of specially designed and incredibly resilient ribbons. Sure Fire found it resistant to their artillery, so they sent in heavy melee units to deal with it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Pawn prepared his forces for a last ditch effort to cross the wasteland and break through SuFi defenses if the right circumstances arose, or to flee the city if things took a turn for the worse. Getting across the wasteland would take minutes, but breaking through SuFi shielding would leave a large part of his force exposed to artillery fire and close range blasting. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></p><br /><br /><hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">ZERO ESCAPES</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Gakk [played by Sam] walked down the halls of the office 23 building toward one of the secured cells. For 6 months, Gakk had fought mercilessly for Sure Fire, rising in its ranks to become a member of Sudo Refresh. She was almost as trusted as Riful. Originally fighting for the Kirin, Gakk had burned all her bridges with them, leaving not a trace of doubt that she had defected to the winning side for personal gain. Now she was one of 5 people who knew that Zero was in that exact building. She also knew that Sure Fire was about to win a major victory in Neo-Kyoto, with or without the Deep One’s interference.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Gakk’s expertly masked power level gave no warning to the guards in the hall before she simultaneously shot them all down. She used an explosive to break a crack into the cell. Breaking in was difficult, but much less difficult than breaking out. The cell was empty. The other 3 cells began moving to random locations within the building, but Gakk had put tracers on them, and soon found a second cell. This time she got lucky and peered into the cell at Zero. Zero turned his head toward the crack and stared at her. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Gakk</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Come with me if you want out.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Zero stood quickly and ran through the crack. He grabbed one of the fallen guard’s guns and followed Gakk. Gakk, upon confirming that he was truly Zero, initiated a virus she had installed a day earlier into the building’s security systems and guard bots, causing an information blackout and bot revolt. In seconds, the building fell to disarray as bots shot at everything that moved, including Zero and Gakk. Putting exceptions for herself or Zero into the virus would have made things easier for them, but would have been considerably more difficult to program and also would have immediately implicated her if it had been discovered. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Riful was dealing with the insurgency in the South when the alarms started going off. He returned as quickly as possible to assess the situation.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Crenshaw] I told you we should have melted the bastard!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw moved to a player heavy area of the building while they tried to figure out what had happened. The little bit of information Crenshaw had indicated that Gakk was responsible, but that didn’t do him much good with the scrambling of communications throughout the building. There was even a looped feed appearing to come from his official channel commanding the defense of the first level from a Kirin attack. This ruse had diverted many of the human players to the first floor, allowing the bots to entrench themselves on most other floors of the building. Crenshaw was impressed, but too pissed to outwardly show much appreciation for Gakk’s attention to detail.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Zero and Gakk made their way up through the building, fighting floor by floor, evading trouble wherever possible. After a few floors, a watch formed out of Zero’s wrist upon detecting some random feeds from outside of the building. He fiddled with it as he ran, attempting to activate its tracking mechanism, but it was blocked by the building’s shielding. Every few minutes he attempted to activate it again.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[into watch] Blaze Snap, come in! I need help!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Gakk did the majority of the fighting, but Zero proved capable enough of defending himself. Gakk attempted to soak up as much of the damage as she could, but Zero ended up getting hit a few times, and healed almost instantly after each.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Gakk</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Those are impressive healing powers. To be expected from a Pan, I suppose. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Not really. Just a side effect. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Gakk didn’t have a chance to inquire further before noticing a group of powerful players fighting bots down the hall ahead. She tossed the last of her explosives down the hall and narrowly diverted herself and Zero into a room before the hall exploded and collapsed. Then they climbed up through a hole in the ceiling and hid in a mostly collapsed room. Sensing too many powerful proxies nearby, Gakk and Zero waited. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[whispering] Why are you helping me?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Gakk</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">You’re a good guy. That’s all. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Soon they were moving again, and Zero seemed to be having the time of his life, grinning broadly as they shot their way to freedom. But it wasn’t long until Gakk had taken fatal damage. In the seconds they had left, she transferred what was left of her energy shield to him and ran as a decoy, drawing off several bots and clearing his path.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Gakk] I’ll see you outside of the battle. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Gakk</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#9900ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">:</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[a few seconds later, from outside of the game >Zero] I don’t have any backups and I’ve used too much energy. That was it for me, but it was fun. Have a good game.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Zero’s face dropped on hearing this. He started blasting through walls using a power he had not displayed before, going in as straight a line as he could until he saw a wall on his right with sunshine coming through bullet holes. Figuring that a wall leading outside would be reinforced, Zero grabbed the remains of a bot and pumped his energy into its main capacitor, turning it into an explosive. He sensed a powerful player coming up behind him at that moment and put his back against the wall, using the robot as a shield.<br /><br />Riful had finally caught up with Zero, after burning through a host of bots following numerous false leads. Riful blasted Zero’s bot shield, causing it to explode. The explosion launched Zero through the wall and slammed him hard against the building across the street. His shield protected him from most of the force, but it still messed him up badly enough to kill a normal proxy. Zero ragdolled in free fall as Riful took a running jump out of the building after him. It took Zero 8 seconds to plummet 30 stories to the ground. In that time, Zero’s communicator wristband finally connected to his mech. Before he could use it, Riful hit him with a powerful blast, though much of it rebounded from Zero’s shield back on Riful. 2 seconds later, with well trained speed and accuracy, Riful managed to get off two high intensity shots that penetrated Zero’s shields, gashing open his chest and severing his left arm, with the communicator, from his body.<br /><br />Just before he hit the ground, Riful extracted his mech from his proxy with the intent that it would catch him as they both hit the ground, but his timing was off and he hit the ground next to it. Though it was rapidly regenerating, Zero’s body was badly broken. Zero grabbed his left arm, which had fallen near him, and activated his communicator as the arm knitted itself back onto his body.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[yelling with panic through agony into his wristband] Blaze!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Riful stood, borrowed some quick power from his mech, and shot Zero over and over again into a scorched, bloody pulp. He entered into his mech and used his plasma torch on what was left of Zero. But Zero’s body kept regenerating, and Riful couldn’t scratch his communicator, which was sending off a wide ranging distress call.<br /><br />A distress call from a Pandemonium ensured that, no matter how fortified, the area was about to go straight to hell, and so Riful scooped up Zero’s body and brought it back inside the building. He placed it inside a new containment cell and had it ferried away to a safer position.<br /><br />Pawn was conflicted about whether the presence of Zero was enough to warrant a full attack.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>local Kirin forces] Zero Daisaku has been confirmed at the included coordinates. Move to assist if convenient.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>A few Kirin units hiding in the area hurried to the street and fighting broke out there. Riful took this opportunity to organize a reception party for them and personally killed a few of the first arrivals before slipping away through the underground tunnels to a safer location.<br /><br />Mike paused the action to show the crew one of the most intricate and impressive shots in the film, which Kyu had just finished putting music to. They were still trying to decide how to integrate it into the movie. It started with a close up of Zero screaming, “Blaze!”, rose above that street as fighting started there, then headed South through contested territory, showing innumerable battles occurring in slow motion in streets, on building tops, and throughout the wreckage of the city. As it reached the edge of the city, the view widened, revealing fires raging unchecked in the North, explosions throughout the wasteland, Yoink wreaking havoc on Sure Fire forces swarming over it in the South, and finally Blue Dusk wrestling with the Deep One in the West.<br /><br />As the camera continued moving away from the city, it turned away to face the heavy mountainous South region. It swept over the mountain tops until it tunneled into one of them to reveal a giant robot sealed deep inside. The shot ended with the giant robot roaring to life as its systems came online.<br /><br />It was beautifully done, complete with appropriately epic music, and it gave an impressive and informative visual overview of the situation. It reminded Megan how much work went into Ataraxia, and how there were millions of players struggling so hard at any given time to realize their vision for that world. She wondered if it was worth it.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></p><br /><br /><hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">BLAZE SNAPS </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Riful, lacking secure access to information about Zero, had received a message from an outside-of-game source indicating Zero’s new location. Communication about in-game events from outside channels was frowned upon as cheating, but was, of course, rampant. There were serious social consequences for being caught, but it was sometimes worth the risk. In this case the information did little to help him, but would later hurt his reputation.<br /><br />Elsewhere, Crenshaw looked at a map of the projected conflicts around Neo-Kyoto. The Deep One, though as tough as expected, was faltering. It was too early to judge the Southern Kirin offensive, but SuFi reserves could be called if needed. He had a few minutes of feeling good about the situation before scanners showed a massive and peculiar energy signature flying half a mile above the ground at improbable speeds from South of the city.<br /><br />It had to be the Pan mech Blaze Snap, as no other entity could match such raw power. Its recorded energy signature was very different from what it had been 4 months previously, when the mech and Zero had disappeared. Since then, rumors had spread that Zero had died or left the game. No such luck.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>all Sure Fire forces] Pandemonium alert! Do not fire on the approaching giant robot! Approaching mech is Pan instrument. Repeat, Pandemonium alert!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Fighting paused around the city as players climbed buildings to get a better look at what was coming. Pawn, anticipating an opportunity, gave the order to prepare for a run across the wasteland.<br /><br />A reaction shot showed Riful’s shock and utter disbelief as Blaze’s path took it directly to the building where Zero was being held. As it approached the building, it blasted a large hole into it, all the way through to pierce Zero’s containment cell. Even at its incredible speed, it managed to shoot a chain with ten small hooks at its end into Zero’s crispy, disturbingly still living body, and retract it into a compartment in its chest as it flew past.<br /><br />A few short moments after Zero had been taken into his mech, Blaze took a sharp turn to the West. It dropped out of the sky and collided with Blue Dusk, which put up a shield to deflect Blaze just in time. Blaze came around and slammed hard into Blue Dusk. Blaze was 150 feet tall, making it 50 feet shorter than Blue Dusk, but as they began exchanging blows it was obvious that Blaze Snap was a far superior mech in every other way.<br /><br />Still, Blaze was not operating at its full capacity, appearing to be fighting by ghost. His fears of antagonizing Zero now shown to be futile, Crenshaw made the fateful decision to fully engage the Pan.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>all Sure Fire forces] Fire at the Pan! Everyone in range! Collateral damage to Blue Dusk is acceptable.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Sure Fire barraged Blaze with every form of attack available to them- from lasers, phasers, and missiles, to catapulted rubble. Blaze’s shields held, but were weakening. Blue Dusk was also taking heavy damage from the barrage and from Blaze’s fists.<br /><br />Pawn watched Blaze struggling and made his own fateful decision.<br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>relevant team leaders] Initiate Operation: Crab Battle! Expect no help from South Kirin. Zero Daisaku needs our help!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] You know that we’ll be exposed in the middle of the wasteland, right? It’s a kill zone.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] Pretty much.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Suicide mission, for the win! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Kirin units flooded the wasteland, pushing forward through shelling and dancing around entrenched SuFi groups. Xea left her unit under another leader’s control and ramped up her power level as she ran full tilt, tripping into a few rolls as she went. Using that large a percentage of her power was a gamble, as it could make it practically impossible to return from death in any sort of effective form. A moment of bad luck could undo the power and equipment she had spent months of work on, not to mention removing her valuable active leadership from the Kirin. But it was a reasonable risk considering the gravity of the situation and Xea didn’t mind risking her life for a good. It was exciting and gave her a mental edge.<br /><br />Pawn, whose integrated mech was not designed for this sort of combat, did what he could to orchestrate the attack from behind Kirin defenses. He monitored Xea as she passed enemy lines. He sent her a message over a channel known to have been hacked by Sure Fire.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Xea] Xea, where the fuck are you going? That device is not properly tested!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Xea Fluon</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Pawn] Now’s as good a time as any. Going dark until I blow it.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>SuFi scanners revealed Xea’s energy signature going off the scale, indicating that she carried some sort of high explosive element in her mech. SuFi artillery was alerted and began to shell where Xea’s energy signature was projected to be next, but Xea was always one step ahead, weaving in and out of SuFi fortifications, smashing through buildings and around encampments, leading to significant damage and confusion from friendly fire.<br /><br />Finally, she turned off the high energy illusion cloak and masked her signature into stealth mode. It was smooth enough to convince those tracking her that she had been destroyed. Using her skill at signature manipulation and infiltration, she used a cloak to match the SuFi colors and energy signature and then broke into the underground tunnel system to begin a campaign of guerrilla warfare and subterranean harassment.<br /><br />Most Kirin forces engaged with the enemy line, attempting to break holes in it for their artillery to take advantage of. The boldness and seeming stupidity of the assault caught Crenshaw by surprise, but he delayed little in redirecting a third of SuFi’s artillery at the exposed Kirin. After a few more minutes of heavy fighting, the Kirin force had largely been repulsed from Sure Fire’s Western fortifications and were fleeing across the wasteland. The Deep One had retreated back into the Earth, probably to return to hibernation. Blaze and Blue Dusk had begun to throw each other into buildings as they wrestled, and while Blaze’s capabilities were unknown, it appeared to be wearing down. Unsure of their ability to damage Blaze Snap in that short interval, Crenshaw redirected most of SuFi’s artillery fire at the fleeing Kirin. This decision would come to be seen as one of the biggest mistakes in Ataraxian history.<br /><br />In that moment of relative silence, Zero, who had been raging blindly, figured out that the Kirin force must have crossed the wasteland to buy him time, and were now suffering for it. Blaze Snap grabbed Blue Dusk by its left arm and rocket hopped over Sure Fire’s territory into the wasteland, easily carrying the much larger mech with it. Crenshaw refocused fire on Blaze, but now Zero had his composure. He used Blue Dusk as a shield, and produced a warping field that covered much of the wasteland, pulling all forms of fire toward his mech, providing cover for the fleeing Kirin while battering Blue Dusk.<br /><br />The warp field was technology advanced enough at that point in the game that it might as well have been magic. Crenshaw quickly ordered SuFi artillery to cease fire, though much of his force continued firing in sheer panic. The six players managing Blue Dusk panicked as well and attempted to rocket back behind Sure Fire lines, causing it to lose most of its left arm in Blaze's grip. Blaze shot its shoulder cannon at Blue Dusk’s rocket pack as it attempted escape, causing it to malfunction, and Blue Dusk to fall into Sure Fire front line fortifications. Some of Blue Dusk’s missiles exploded at the impact, creating a hole in their defenses.<br /><br />Continued fire from SuFi forces now was redirected into Blaze’s force field, which appeared to be efficiently absorbing it. Zero attached a pack of munitions from its back to Blue Dusk’s left arm and surrounded it in a force field, then threw it above the SuFi line and detonated it, instantly liquefying the arm and sending molten death raining down into the streets. A thin layer of plasma spread out, short-circuiting force fields, setting buildings ablaze, and killing units over several blocks.<br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Riful] Is this really happening?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: [>Crenshaw] Almost definitely.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Riful] </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">J</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">ust... inconceivable! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Zero sent out an area wide broadcast. His regenerating, but still burnt, face was streaming with tears and snot, contorted with a channeled focus which was keeping his mind from going to chaos as a result of his anguished rage. It took a moment for him to compose himself enough to speak. <span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Zero</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Sure Fire! Today, you face </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><u><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">m</span></span></u></i></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">e</span></span></i></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>In his virtual studio, Mike pulled up a slowed down recording showing Zero’s amazing display of skill handling. He smoothly operated numerous complicated systems as he tracked and intercepted enemy fire with his warp field, and manhandled a powerful giant robot, despite the significant damage it had already taken. That one player handled it all so perfectly seemed almost impossible, but the recording was authentic. It showed that the Gears were right to pick him. Zero’s player had rare talent indeed.<br /><br />With the Kirin forces largely safe behind their own shielding, Blaze Snap dropped its warp field. Weapons compartments all over the mech popped open as its offensive power ramped up. In a few seconds it was bristling with missiles, laser cannons, and high powered guns, and SuFi scanners revealed Blaze locking its guidance systems onto dozens of targets, from strongly shielded buildings to individual units.<br /><br />SuFi artillery fire stopped and its power was redirected to reinforcing force fields along their Eastern front. For the first time in days, the wasteland had a single moment of peace.<span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Riful] I’ve never seen so much power held in the hands of an entire battalion, much less a single crazed boy. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: [>Crenshaw] It’s so beautiful. That we get to experience such a thing...</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Crenshaw</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">[>Riful] I have a dreadful thought. What if Zero was out looking for a righteous cause? What if he didn’t know who the bad guys were?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Riful</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">: [>Crenshaw] I suspect he’s got an opinion on that now.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /></span></span>Blaze’s shield focused to a single point in front of the mech and then exploded toward and over SuFi’s territory, raining down nearly pure disruptive energy which interfered with shields all over their front line. The next second, the wasteland lit up as Zero fully unleashed his massive arsenal. </p><br /><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in"></p><hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">MAKING MOVIES OUTSIDE</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><br />Mike’s proxy sat on a cushion which hovered about his virtual studio, while in physical reality he sat on his couch. He didn’t have a plant, but was able to maintain an effective presence in purely virtual spaces by means of his augmented reality gear. Use of a keysphere and haptic clothing enabled interaction with the sets and precision control over the movie. He also wore a stylish cap which monitored his brain activity and helped him move around the sets intuitively.<br /><br />His role as Crenshaw consisted mainly of spoken lines and upper body movement. It would have been easier and more immediate with a plant, but he made do and it turned out well enough since Crenshaw was not active on the front lines.<br /><br />Mike had been watching the scenes unfold in two ways- through a tentative framing of the scenes being recorded, and to the side, as if he was on a physical movie set. Between the two methods, it was easy for him to do things like freeze the action, give direction, and manipulate various aspects of the scenes.<br /><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That was great, guys! Take a break.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><br />The actors returned to their primary proxies in the common area of Mike’s set. The common area was designed to enable the crew to discuss and plan the filming. There were multiple screens of different sizes littered about, displaying footage from various angles as scenes were recorded, along with miniaturized versions of the sets floating here and there, providing easy ways to watch the action unfolding from any angle desired.<br /></p><br />Since most scenes were complete 3D recordings in virtual space, actors were typically fully immersed in their roles. Sometimes there was a visual mark to indicate a possible framing perspective where the “camera view” might be placed later, and occasionally Mike’s hovering proxy would appear in a scene to give direction, but often actors just performed the scene naturally, with no no impediments to their movement.<br /><br />Filming inside a virtual space, known as “machinimation,” was basically free and far easier than filming with real cameras and physical locations. Even real physical locations were easier to work with once virtualized. Realistic environments, bodies, clothing, makeup, lighting, visual continuity, and most special effects were easily created and simulated. Scenes could be shot and reshot any number of ways, and individual elements in a scene, such as an actor, an object, or an explosion, could be isolated and manipulated separately. A perfect performance by one actor could never be ruined by bad lighting or the actions of other actors.<br /><br />Megan watched the filming, fascinated with Kyu and Mike’s real time editing of the various shots of the film into engaging preliminary sequences. She approached Mike as he was artfully adding some gore into Zero’s falling sequence. <span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Thanks for letting me watch. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">No problem. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">You guys make it look so easy. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">The technical aspects aren’t hard at all, especially since we’re working with Ataraxia’s engine and the actual game recording as a base. Everything is already so awesome, from the environments to individual proxies, because of all the work players put into the game. Modding the original recording authentically couldn’t be easier since it includes all the models and sensory information, right down to Riful’s peculiar smell. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I’ve tried making videos before and couldn’t quite get the hang of it. The impressive part is how you pull it all together into a story with a fixed perspective. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Kyu’s the talent there. Picking camera focus, framing, sound editing, and all that. The film's looking pretty sleek so far, but whether it’ll be a movie worth watching is another matter. All the cool effects and battles in the world don’t matter without a good story. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Well, what I've seen is pretty engaging. How many people are working on this? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Kyu and I are doing most of the technical stuff. And we have 7 actors doing most of the dramatizing. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">And no one’s getting paid, right?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Ha! We’re unlikely to see much money for this, and what we get will be going into our next project anyway.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Do you think you can get a wide release?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">It’s hard to say. Thomas is in it, so there are his fans. And Kyu’s got some name recognition as a director. But without an advertising budget, it pretty much depends on word of mouth and such.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I’m not clear on the virtual theater box office thing. How does that work with you guys getting paid?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">We’re making it available for free download and asking for donations. Anyone can set up a virtual theater and show it with whatever ticket price they want. That’s usually not a lot, even for some of the more popular venues, since there will be so many theaters showing it for free and people can always just download it for themselves. They ones that charge are supposed to split sales with us, but that's up to them. In any case, every showing of the film is supposed to have a link to our site where people can donate money for our next project. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">What about fan edits of films? It seems like most popular movies have so many fan mods these days it's hard to tell which ones to watch.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That’d be a great problem to have! We’re making the production models and raw recordings available on our site, so fans could edit the film however they want. With all the free tools out there and the original materials, people can add or delete scenes, change lines or perspective, enhance special effects, add details in the background, change a character’s style, or whatever. Mods can be tricky when it comes to who gets a fair cut, cause some of them will only use a portion of a movie production, or even mix different movies together. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">And sometimes filmmakers go back and forth modding a project, right?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Frequently. That’s actually how I met Kyu. You know his movie “Spitfire?” I added a scene to it that he liked, which he then edited, and then I took his edit and extended it, and then we figured that we should just work on a new project together. The low cost and ease of making films with today’s technology, combined with a whole world of fans ready to put work into a project, produces feedback loops for making movies and shows that let projects continue to evolve over years or even decades.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That must make it complicated about who gets paid if there is a lot of money involved. Your entire project is actually a fan mod of real events, now that I think about it. So if you make a lot of money off of it, shouldn’t you give some of that to the original players like Crenshaw?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Oh yeah, if we make any amount of money, which is unlikely, we will definitely give at least some portion of it to the original players. That’s traditional for stuff like this. But there isn’t as much money to be made in non-interactive movies as there used to be, back when Hollywood was dominant.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Thomas walked up to Mike and showed him various vids of Riful reacting to Blaze Snap as it powered up its weapons. Mike nodded in approval to one and Thomas started tweaking it. Megan watched Sam and Miguel as they reshot various sections of Gakk and Zero’s escape. They repeatedly fought through the same floors, with some randomization to keep the fighting fresh. Kyu and Mike would later choose the best takes and edit them together so the action appeared natural and raw.<span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">What sort of computing is required for this?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">This whole studio is just running off of my computer</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Kyu’s put together some of the footage for the larger scale battles on his computer, which takes more resources, but so far we haven’t had to use the cloud or anything. Kyu is almost solely responsible for the major enhanced effects and such. He’s very talented. You remember the third section of Spitfire?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Yeah, it’s spectacular.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Overhearing this, Kyu smiled and waved politely while considering camera angles for Blaze Snap’s initial barrage.<span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Did you know that he made it entirely by himself, including the characters, just using Space Forge?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">How could you </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">do both sides of a </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">conversation like that? And even fight yourself?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">You do one role and then play another role against the recording. For it to feel right you have to give your prerecorded role some flexibility in how it responds to you so you can get correct eye contact and mannerisms that match the characters’ positions and such. Space Forge has some nice auto-adjusting functions, but it’s still difficult to get the interaction between people to look natural unless you have a brain behind each one. Kyu just has great talent when it comes to </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">engaging with </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">himself. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Wasn’t there a sex scene in that segment? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Like I said, great talent.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Sam and Miguel re-inhabited their proxies in the common area and looked through the footage they had just recorded for any particularly exciting or funny bits of action. Thomas, satisfied with what he was working on, came over and helped Mike, who was still working on Zero's escape.<span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">OK, I understand taking a game recording and giving it a perspective by editing together scenes and framing the action, but why reenact it? Wasn't it dramatic enough? People are damn serious about these battles.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Oh, people are serious enough, but they typically lack cinematic drama while they're in the moment. Kyu and Mike give it better, more consistent graphics, add music, and it has better acting, my part excluded. They also organize the battles and cut out some of the boring stuff. They're basically making it more like a scripted movie. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Most of the players back then didn't even bother with “in-game” role playing. It’s a whole different dynamic than film or Ataraxia as people live there today. Even now people are too concerned about the situation to play it smooth or throw out cool lines. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">You know what Riful originally said when the office 23 alarms went off? "I fucking hate this game!" And then when he got to the building, he ran through it repeatedly yelling “fuck” until he jumped after Zero. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Ah, I see. And anyone can just watch the original footage if they want to see what originally happened.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Yeah, the original recording is included along with the film for comparison. Also, this is kind of a training project. We're working up to an original project, one with more interaction. Interactive media is where the really interesting stuff is getting done, and requires a great deal more technical skill. Even little kids can put together awesome, special effects heavy action sequences, but drawing viewers in, and making them an integral part of the story is where art is evolving. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Thomas changed his proxy to the film’s Riful/Thomas mixed proxy.<span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">The project is much needed practice for us actors too.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Hey, why does Miguel look like Zero while your look is mixed with Riful?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">We thought it would be fun if it looked like I was an actor in makeup playing Riful, like in some old movie. We mixed it with my current standard proxy, which is way more famous than Xea Fluon, my character at that time. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Zero’s kind of iconic, so we didn’t want to mess with that. We have Miguel playing him mostly to make his interaction with Riful more natural, and to get Miguel working with our team.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">What is the deal with Zero, anyway? Did anyone ever figure out who his player was?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">He’s still anonymous. I’m sure you’ve heard some of the speculation surrounding him. He was quite the distinctive player. Always in character.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">There’s a theory that Zero was a group effort, but we know from the proxy scheme he released after the game that Blaze’s controls all went through a single humanoid player proxy, which is unprecedented. For efficiency, you want as few people as possible controlling a mech, but for a mech of that size and complexity you’d need at least 3 or 4 players. Hell, Blue Dusk, which was somewhat less complicated, required a minimum of 6 people to operate. Blaze Snap’s control scheme is a marvel of automation, but still requires insane skill to juggle all of those systems like Zero did. Go try piloting that thing by yourself some time, see how well you can do basic maneuvers in it, much less respond to a massive bombardment. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Thomas brought up a detailed hologram of Blaze Snap’s schematics.<span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">And in terms of engineering the mech itself, no one has a good idea as to how he developed it with so little recorded activity over his missing months. I suspect a group was involved with acquiring power sources for it and integrating its various routines and devices. But no one has come forward to lay claim to that, so who knows? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">There’s also the question of what motivated Gakk to rescue him, and whether she was secretly working with him from before.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Didn’t it turn out that Gakk’s player had run into a previous incarnation of Sure Fire in a previous iteration of Ataraxia or something?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That was pretty circumstantial, I think. And then there was Zero’s strange, tragic death several months later. It’s all very intriguing. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> [walking over to the discussion after finishing with his part of the project] </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I’m fond of the theory that he was an untreated autistic. It would fit his personality and his amazing dedication to developing Blaze. And it would explain some of his neurotic behaviors, like the Tetris thing.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">He didn’t play it very well. It looks like he’s not as concerned about the score as much as forming patterns.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Yep. He liked to make stairs, always ascending to the left. People went nuts trying to figure out if there was some secret code in his Tetris game, but he was probably just being enigmatic.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Classic Pandemonium obfuscation. Mystique is one of the attributes the Gears look for when selecting players to become Pans.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Along with character, skill, vision, and a hatred for griefers and stagnation. Although Pans don’t usually become emotionally involved like he did, and they almost never lose their shit like that. Zero was dangerously unstable, perhaps unable to properly differentiate the game narrative from out-of-game reality.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Unstable is one way to put it. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Thomas brought up a miniature Neo-Kyoto model and replayed the devastation that Blaze unleashed upon Sure Fire’s defenses.<span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">He burned through his power reserves in a matter of minutes, but he left quite an impression. Blue Dusk, a major project, never recovered. Pooling their resources, SuFi forced Zero to retreat, but the gaps he opened in their defenses led to their loss of the city after several more weeks of fighting. The two weeks I spent in the SuFi sewers during that madness were some of the most intense of my life. But it was worth it, because in the end there was even enough of the city left to make it worth our holding onto, and the whole debacle shifted power in the region. Sure Fire’s mistake was in engaging Zero at all. This is a classic example of what happens when regular players try to control Pans or bring them down into their conflicts. Your best shot is to avoid them and hope they go away. If he hadn’t been mishandled, Zero might have even joined Sure Fire, or at least stayed out of the conflict. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">I seem to remember you saying that they made a mistake not killing Zero immediately. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: #ffffff"><br />Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Well sure, once they had him in containment. In retrospect, it wouldn’t have worked. It was discovered much later that it was a secondary proxy in that cell, built for role play. His primary proxy had already integrated fully into Blaze. But killing him cleanly would have shown more respect and maybe wouldn’t have even set him off. As it happened, his intervention not only cost Sure Fire the city, but possibly the rest of the war. If things hadn’t gone down like that, Neo-Kyoto would have become a SuFi fortress, and they might have steamrolled the Kirin and doomed Ataraxia. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Come on, doomed?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">The norm for each new cycle of Ataraxia is determined by the norm from the preceding cycle. Sure Fire’s methods wouldn’t have left a workable norm at the end of the conflict if they had won. The next game would have started in the equivalent of a burned out crater and players would have had to rebuild the game environment from scratch.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">That’s not true! And at least Sure Fire was a reputable faction. The Kirin were basically operating as yakuza before they started messing with Sure Fire. They regularly used extortion, bribery, and outright piracy.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Some of us did, yes. Mostly for fun. But we didn’t become a major faction before Sure Fire’s momentum became dangerous to the very fabric of Ataraxia and we were forced to step up to block their evil plans.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Sure Fire’s goal was to provide a universal basis that would allow the various factions and norms to work together. They were trying to hold Ataraxia together, and it would have gone smoothly except for the Kirin’s entrenched sense of entitlement.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Another victim of S.F.’s propaganda machine.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Miguel used this comment as an excuse to join Kyu in editing the film.<span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Ironically, Sure Fire did unite all of the various factions against them, and that comraderie has shaped Ataraxia since then.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">The Nazis accomplished the same thing.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />As per Mike’s studio rules enforcing Godwin’s Law, Thomas’ mouth became a zipper and was instantly zipped shut. His enforced silence would last for 2 minutes.<span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">And that’s the end of that discussion.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Thomas glared at Mike for a moment, but had no one but himself to blame. Seeing that most people seemed to be done with their work, Mike brought up Kyu’s diagrams, which visualized the various forces and strategic decisions of both sides during the battle.<span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">The logistics of the Neo-Kyoto situation were nightmarish at the time, but they're pretty fascinating now. Supply line issues don’t matter in Ataraxia like they do in physical reality, since units are largely self powered, but forces can still be cut off or flanked. Considering that no one had planned for Neo-Kyoto to become a quagmire like that, the skill shown at every level of play in the conflict is just amazing. Leaders, strategists, spies, infantry, and even people just trying to survive kept finding ways to be surprising. Incidentally, we have time to work on the side project if people are interested.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">What’s the side project?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">It’s an exploration of alternate military history. There’s a long standing belief that if the Kirin had been more aggressive early on, Neo-Kyoto would have become a significant Kirin stronghold which could have shortened the war. We’re running a simulation of it that we’ll include with the film, and spicing it up with some alternate history battles.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Running a simulation of it? Like the whole city?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Basically. Using battle statistics and such. We use contemporary player ghosts where we can for authenticity, but it’s the large average forces that we’re mostly working with. Kyu has run the simulation dozens of times, and so far it looks like Neo-Kyoto gets trashed no matter what happens, although there have been a few surprising outcomes. One strategy that the Kirin almost used has shown them taking total control of the city just before the wasteland got carved out. So we’re having fun with that simulation. We’ve been putting human players into the scenario to make it look more lively and give our actors experience in producing cinematic fight scenes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Can I help?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">You could be one of Pawn’s units. Can you pilot a Strider class mech? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Sure, no problem. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><hr /> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><b>MEGAN’S BIT PART</b><br /><br />Mike linked Megan to a mech and she inhabited the proxy inside it. While recording was paused, she settled into her seat, calibrated the mech for her usual settings, and practiced with its weapons on nearby buildings.<br /><br />Proxies in Ataraxia didn’t come with their own preset actions, requiring their users to control their every motion, or to automate them with ghosts. Reloading a weapon, aiming, firing, or even taking a step required more than just pushing a button. Each part of each action had to be done by a player or a ghost. This meant that players could do anything they could in the physical world, with just as much, or more, precision. But it required a good deal more experience than less fully articulated games.<br /><br />Operating a mech in Ataraxia could be done indirectly using its physical control scheme, or it could be made an extension of a player’s proxy senses. As an extension of the player’s body, it could be controlled like any proxy body. A combination of control methods was common. Megan had mech experience, and so quickly adopted its sensations and limited the sensations from the mech pilot proxy, to engender the experience of being the mech.<br /><br />The sensations of a mech were similar to those of a body. Megan could smell the exhaust from her engine, hear distant fighting, and feel the wind, the gravel under her feet, and the pull of gravity as she balanced the mech on its bulky legs. She also had a complete wraparound view of her environment, unencumbered except by a crisp, mostly transparent heads up display feeding her vital information. She could also feel the heat from the mech’s engines, which helped prevent overheating. If damaged, she would experience small unpleasant sensations in a corresponding part of her body, just enough to get her attention and assess damage.<br /><br />Inside the mech was the male proxy she was inhabiting, but she only shared sensations with his face and vocal cords, for the purpose of communicating with other players. To Megan, the mech wasn’t just a machine she was controlling, or even an extension of her body. For all intents and purposes, to her brain at least, the mech was most of her body. This immediacy provided intuitive control, but more was needed for mastery of the complex combat required by games like Ataraxia. For that, your mech needed to have some life of its own.<br /><br />Megan loaded her personal ghost into the Strider class mech and it came online gradually. It contained the personalized reflexes and automation she had trained into similar mechs over countless hours of practice and combat. Trained ghost reflexes were much like reflexes of a physical body, which are often faster than conscious decision making. Some reflexes of the biological body are relayed from the spinal cord, external to the human brain. In both biological and ghost reflexes, the brain becomes aware of the reflexive action only after it has occurred, but through immediacy and familiarity is often under the illusion that it consciously performed the reflexes itself.<br /><br />Megan’s ghost managed predictable mech systems and anticipated Megan’s desires based on her motions and commands. It first took over managing the mech’s balance as it walked. It did this so smoothly, and so closely mimicking her own manner, that Megan still felt as if she was controlling every aspect of the movement, even as she paid less and less direct attention to it. The first few times she reloaded her hi-explosive launcher, she manually reached for new ammo from the dispenser on her back, and loaded it into the launcher. But then the ghost started taking over so that she only had to start reaching for the ammo and the ghost did the rest. This freed her mind to focus on less mundane details. Only rarely did her ghost misread her intent, and then it was easy to override by simply resisting the action or performing a new one.<br /><br />The reflexes and automation Megan had built into her mech also helped her participate in high speed combat she could never have consciously kept up with, and helped bridge the gap regarding lag issues for when she was participating in a virtual space hosted on a server geographically far enough away from her to matter.<br /><br />It turned out that the player Megan was inhabiting had heroically sacrificed himself in order to distract a group of Sure Fire units. Megan let the recorded ghost of her proxy’s previous resident replicate its movements through the streets of the city, but she stopped it before it sacrificed itself. She looked for a better way to deal with the situation, or at least a more exciting way to die. While exploring, she found some grafitti of Sure Fire's informal symbol, a blue universal no sign-<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"> ⃠</span>.<br /></p><br />Nearby, she rounded a corner and sighted several cloaked SuFi units. Before she could have consciously reacted, her mech’s ghost had taken over in response to the unexpected threat and had jumped back behind the building for cover. But it did it so much like she would have that her brain was convinced it had responded itself, even if Megan knew she wasn’t quite that fast.<br /><br />As it was in an aggressive mode, it also autonomously sent a few scattered laser shots at the enemy units to draw their attention. Again, Megan’s ghost acted so perfectly in line with her intent that she couldn’t necessarily say whether it had been her ghost or an itchy trigger finger. As quickly as it responded, however, the enemy units sprayed plasma bolts through the building and critically damaged her mech, rattling Megan's teeth and giving her an unpleasant tingling along her right side corresponding to the damage.<br /><br />Mike reset her scene to just before she rounded the corner.<span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Megan, that’s a good scenario you’ve discovered. Let’s try some playthroughs of it and then pick the best outcome.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Megan always wore a smile the entire time she piloted a mech into combat. Fighting and fleeing in an urban jungle with a high speed mech was like a combination of racing cars, gun fighting, parkour, and occasionally sky diving.There was nothing quite like mech combat, even staged as this was, to get her adrenaline pumping.<br /><br />Megan’s mech came around the corner, again and again, feigning surprise each time as it jumped back to cover. Most of the time enemy fire hit her mech, but a few times she managed to jump back and climb the building to get high ground and then shoot back through the building. Occasionally she even took one of the SuFi mechs out before being nailed herself. She also discovered, by looking at a local map of events, that she sometimes managed to bring attention to those enemy units, disrupting what turned out to be their covert plans.<br /><br />She decided to stretch her ghost a bit. She launched her only thermal grenade at the enemy, rocket jumped high in the air while shooting at them, then shot a grappling hook into the top of a building, and reeled her mech in at maximum speed to abruptly change course midair. She landed on the building and shot one of the mechs down as it rocket hopped above her in pursuit, before being blasted by another.<span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Thanks Meg, that was very impressive and should suit nicely. Thomas, Pawn, let's retake your section from second 22. Jazz it up a bit.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />Megan returned to her proxy in the common area and watched the other section being filmed while chomping down one of T’s donuts as her physical had a granola bar. T and Pawn worked well together, orchestrating their teams to expertly annoy Sure Fire.<br /><br />That is, until T shot Pawn's head off.<span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Hey! That hurt!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">That’s what traitors get!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: transparent"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">Stop that or I’m locking down your mech privileges!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br />They played through their scenario several more times until they had achieved a sufficiently exciting outcome and returned to the common area. Pawn looked annoyed.<span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br /><br />Megan</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Pawn, I was wondering, do you always use that name for your characters?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">No, I used others before I was Pawn in that particular game. I immigrated from Ataraxia to Sunshine City not long after those events and have been Pawn ever since.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">You turned traitor! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Pawn</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#ff00ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">I lost the taste for fighting. That hardly makes me a traitor.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">We still needed you in Ataraxia. You know how close Sure Fire came to wrecking everything!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> [unable to contain himself] </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Sure Fire was a valid faction with rational goals.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">Here we go. I suppose you’re going to tell me that the near destruction of Ataraxia that would have resulted from Sure Fire winning was an unforeseeable consequence of their momentum?</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Miguel</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#a64d79;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: #ffffff">It was heated on all sides. It wasn’t like they set out to destroy Ataraxia.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"><br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent">Thomas</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: #ffffff"></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><span style="font-weight: normal"><span style="background: transparent">There is evidence that Sure Fire intended to destroy Ataraxia.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><u><b><span style="background: transparent"><br />Mike</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#741b47;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal"><b><span style="background: transparent">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="background: #ffffff"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">Sure Fire was way too organized and large scale to be simple griefers like that. Surely they would have changed course if things were going to turn out apocalyptic. Anyway, enough of that. Who’s going to Omni?<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><p style="margin-bottom: 0in"></p><hr /><b><br />Next- <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/12/episode-07-omni-1-of-2.html">Episode 07: Club Omni (1 of 2)</a>- Where Anything Can, And Does, Happen</b><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-76763052878530616432011-02-24T04:19:00.000-08:002013-08-28T02:25:13.566-07:00Episode 04: Crain Slain (2 of 2)<hr />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">7.</span> </b></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 100%;"><b>SERIAL EXPERIMENTS CRAIN</b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>VERSUS</b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br />POOL OF THE PRECIOUS</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span>Crain broke the tension.<br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u>:</b></span> Who here thinks that death gives meaning and beauty to life? </span><br /><br />The crowd cheered.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u>:</b></span> Fuck you guys! I'm living forever!</span><br /><br />The crowd cheered again.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;"><u>Slain</u>:</b> The way of the ghoul is to live to die. Prepare for slaughter, my minions!</span><br /><br />Crain and Slain began playing different songs. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Crain sang of classic surreal anime while a mixed extract of anime worlds infused her side. Slain rapped about Lord of the Rings and the Golden Martyr books while a mixed extract of popular game worlds based on them infused his side.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">After a few seconds, Crain's followers automatically filtered away Slain's song out and vice versa, so they could focus on their own side.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> I like this song. I've heard it before. There's not enough death metal about anime.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Yep. When you get down off the mech, don't go near the divide or into Slain's side with your concert proxy unless you're looking for a brawl. And watch for pockets of Slain followers on our side. Guerrilla warfare happens.</span><br /><br />Fighting along the divide had begun and quickly intensified to new levels of savagery. The entire dividing line from the stage to the far South end of the field became a writhing, tangled mass of mangled bodies and dismembered parts, each piece struggling to break through the opposing line. From a distance, the line appeared to glow purple.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> That is messed up. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Does all that even accomplish anything?<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>: </span></span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;">Fighting's mostly just for fun until the final showdown. Ignore that. Right now is when you can really rack up some achievements. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;">I'm going to wander around and see what I can find. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;">You should find a dance that looks fun and get yourself some equipment for the end game. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Thomas kicked Megan off of the mech's knee, and she screamed as she fell into the mass of players below. She broke a few limbs and messed up a few players who broke her fall. One day, she swore to herself, she would kick Thomas off of something. She watched him dancing into the distance until her proxy had regenerated enough to dance.<br /><br />Megan perused the various available dances which activated or leveled up mech Gears, and picked one that helped level up the Slayer Gear. It would also give her a shiny, defensive chest plate if she scored well. She set it to beginner mode, which achieved lower resonance and fewer points, but carried less chance of embarrassment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">She jumped into the dance, which was halfway through its cycle. It involved precision thrashing with a touch of Bollywood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Default trainer settings provided a semi-transparent copy of Megan's proxy which occupied her space and moved a half second ahead of the dance to give her the pattern to trail. If she did well enough, it would sometimes offer several motions to explore, some of which would branch into different dance paths. Some paths gave momentum to song variations and helped pick the next song. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">She tried to trail her copy, but it was hard to follow. So, she moved her dance trainer a few feet in front of her. This worked better until the song picked up. Then, the dance started incorporating hand gestures and funky foot movements, and she lost the flow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">She looked around at the other people doing the same dance. One was doing it perfectly and adding his own flourishes. Most dances allowed room for freestyle improvisation, which if done well added points and resonance. People were head banging and spazzing their way to remarkable achievements while Megan fumbled about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan grew discouraged as others showed effortless mastery of more advanced forms of her dance. The hardest included dancing while singing and actually playing the song with a guitar. She did a quick search on Crain Slain's rhythm game for help, and took some comfort from finding out that the rhythm game aspect of Crain Slain had been adapted into a popular home version which CS fans undoubtedly practiced obsessively with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Luckily, she looked dejected enough for some guy, in a retro-robot guise, to offer help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u>That One Guy</u>:</b> Don't give up! You were doing good. You should go join that group over there working the same scheme. It'll help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan, slightly embarrassed, thanked him and ran self-consciously to the indicated group. It contained about a hundred people, of various skill levels. Megan started doing the Slayer Gear dance near the group and was automatically added as a member. Now her dancing actually kind of mattered, since it impacted the group's overall achievement. She focused and found to her pleasant surprise that belonging to the group created a subtle force on her proxy, guiding her through each motion. The group's collective, averaged ghost was pulling her along, which greatly helped her keep up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">As she moved within the group flow, she discovered room for her regular dance style. At first stifling, the structure of the dance opened Megan's dancing to new possibilities. As she got the hang of it and began racking up points, she could feel Crain's warm resonance pumping through the ground into her proxy. Her hair spiked up and effervesced red. She wasn't glowing as brightly as most of Crain's other followers, but she was just starting out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">She was developing a feel for how CS worked.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> The audience became two competing corporate entities, which physically manifested Crain Slain's music and guided its direction. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Each participant was a living visualizer and speaker for Crain Slain's music. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Those who had danced and gained resonance produced more intense music, and had more of a chance to influence other players with their taste. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br />At the height of the dance, Megan felt herself become a conduit of Crain's spirit. </span></span>At that moment, she was just one out of more than six hundred thousand active concert proxies, many of whom were more influential than her. And yet, her presence had an impact on everyone around her, potentially thousands of people over the course of the concert. She changed the flow and outcome of the concert by boosting Crain's power, by acting out her music, and by resonating and broadcasting variations she liked. She was one cell in the deliriously gigantic organism that was Crain Slain, but she could still be significant. Even the tiny ripples she made in her tiny part of the field would mix with the whole and change it in innumerable small ways. This, Megan realized, was why most people paid to participate, when they could have just watched for free.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><br /><br />The dance went well. Megan's group was partially destroyed by a rampaging reptilian monster, but managed to reform and continue. The dance's period ended and the group dissolved, having failed to bring the upgrade to fruition. But it wasn't a failure, because </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">the energy that each proxy in the group had developed could be used to bolster future efforts to enhance the Slayer Gear, and </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">the individuals in the group had developed resonance and gained new equipment. Overall, Crain's sound would be louder and her glow brighter.<br /><br />Megan managed to achieve the chest armor she wanted, 'Ripley's Plate'. It flowed up through the ground and over her chest like mercury and set into matte black, form-fitting armor, complete with meaningless blinking lights. An info window popped up showing Megan the plate's stats. It would provide her with a strength-enhancing exoskeleton for the final battle, which was better than nothing. Combined with other enhancements, it could become a more powerful mech. In the meantime, it glowed red with Crain's energy, signifying Megan's achievement.<br /><br />Megan did some freestyle dancing to celebrate her first achievement.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Meanwhile, Thomas had done a search for Sam and discovered that she was no longer visible at Chimera Field, but had left a tag. He left his concert proxy dancing to the music and followed Sam's tag with his regular proxy. He found himself sitting next to Sam in the middle of an abstract representation of the concert. There were no people, fields, or musicians there, only the music and flowing colors which pulsed and pounded all around them with the beat of the concert. The two groups of players were represented by sound distortions and vibrations through the colors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam was listening to Slain's song. </span>Crain's music was present only through the distortions caused by the actions of her people. Sam also had a 5 foot long, real-time replica of the concert hovering next to her right side. Desktop views of the concert were popular with those who didn't want to be fully immersed in the concert.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Sorry to barge in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> I left a tag. What's up?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> This place is psychedelic as hell. You experimenting again?</span></div>
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Sam stretched her neck, producing an unnatural series of cracks.<br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>:</b> </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Not today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> You never share anyway.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Then Thomas noticed Pawn floating along the abstract waves in the distance. Pawn's body was stretched out across the waves like a rubber band, vibrating and whipping in various directions in response to concert happenings. Pawn had distorted his proxy beyond recognition in an attempt to become the concert.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Pawn</u></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: magenta;">Fighting specialty:</b> Pacifist (mostly).<br /><b style="color: magenta;">Pertinent facts:</b> Voyeur.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: magenta;">Agent:</b> <span style="color: blue;">Naboo the Owl.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: magenta;">Current appearance:</b> <span style="color: blue;">Slender and made of semi-transparent glass. Beautiful frosted face.</span><br /><b style="color: magenta;">Environment filter:</b> <span style="color: blue;">None. Would not obscure his viewpoint with his own bias.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Screw you Pawn!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Pawn</u>:</span></b> </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">What? I didn't do anything. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> You know what you did!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas turned back to Sam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: blue;">T</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">ake a look at Megan.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam zoomed in to Megan's tag on the 5 foot concert to her right and watched Megan dancing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> She's a good dancer, considering she just started.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> What do you think about her, in general?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> You mean as a player? She's got potential, but right now she's working through some identity issues about being Outside. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> She freaked out because of some dinosaur earlier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> She's proxy shy. It's natural. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">It takes a while for the brain to get used to having a body that registers as completely real but isn't limited by physical reality.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> I'd be worried if she wasn't hesitant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">:</span></span></b></span></span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">[leaning back to enjoy the music and the pretty colors]</span></span></span></span></span> Pretty much what I thought. Although I never had those issues. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">[smirking]</span></span> Exactly. Why are you bringing this up?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span></span><b>:</b> I might train her. For gaming. If she's interested. </span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> It's been a while since you really trained anyone. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Yeah. The job burned me out. For more than a year, I basically just trained new plants up to where Megs is. It was frustrating. I need to get back to training gamers.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> Your gamer training is a little harsh though.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> I think she can take it. Or she can quit. Quitting is always an option, I often say.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> Just don't scare her off.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> I don't think I could do that if I tried. I have a feeling about her. She's hiding something.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> Gods, not another fucking conspiracy.</span><br />
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They were both distracted by the installation of the 'Gear of Shinji's Mom' into Crain's mech, which was represented in Sam's view by a streak of red splashed across the sky, pumping like a heart. It flowed over their bodies, infusing and enveloping them with the breath of the music, before falling away and collapsing into a single point. It sent Pawn pinging around the color streams like he was a pinball.<br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> Just remember that not everyone has to be a star. Lots of people enjoy games just fine without training or dealing with serious discomfort. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> I know, but there's so much out there, and people filter important things away just because they're unpleasant. There's this whole part of the human experience that gets left out.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> You're preaching to the choir. Remember who you're talking to. Just don't freak her out.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> If there's one thing I know, it's people's limits.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas sat mesmerized by the colors for a minute.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Cool visualization. But why are you listening to Slain? I thought you were a Crain fan.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span></span> I like them both. I'll go back and experience Crain's side after the concert.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas left a proxy in Sam's abstract space, in case he wanted to return, and popped back into his concert proxy in time for the ending of the songs. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Crain's song was normally shorter than Slain's, but she had extended it so they ended within a few seconds of each other. Crain's people were still celebrating the 'Gear of Shinji's Mom'. Slain's people had mauled themselves with enough grace and style (and break dancing) to acquire the 'Glyph of The Spiral', aka Uzumaki.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>8. <span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 100%;">BUCKYBALLS TO THE WALL</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><br />VERSUS</b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;"><br />HELL BE DAMNED</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />New songs rolled in without a pause. The atmosphere was increasingly intense and the music hit stronger, bolstered by the crowd's growing resonance.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">:</span></span></b></span></span></span> <u><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">[audio</span></span></span></span></span></u><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">]</span></span></span></span></span> Woh, Slain's doing 'Hell Be Damned'. They usually get a nice extract of Hell Fray going for that one, and it's got a wicked music video. You seen it?</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Nope. What's it about? </span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> The first invasion of Hell in Hell Fray. To this day it's the largest significant game event. It involved more than two million active players. I regret not being there, but I had obligations in Ataraxia.</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> You regret something?</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> As if<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"> regret was even a real thing. </span></span>It's just a saying. </span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Right...</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> But quick! Fly over and switch to Slain and soak this one in. I'll stay with Crain to help the cause.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">Megan left her concert proxy doing a basic dance routine to maintain its Crain resonance and flew off. Thomas became aware of a "code" someone had posted which supposedly boosted points when leveling 'Shinji's Mom'.<br /><br /><span style="color: #274e13;"><u style="color: #38761d;"><b>Code-Breaker</b></u><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>:</b></span> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">[audio only] </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">Up with your left arm, up with your right arm, down with your right, down with your left, sweep both left, sweep right, sweep left, sweep right, do a hop! </span><br /><br />Thomas followed along and heard a chime indicating success.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"> He danced his fat body off for 50% more points toward the level.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan flew to Slain's side in a non-concert proxy and switched to his song. Flying over the divide, she was amazed by the escalating violence. Some people had achieved weapons that could be used before the final conflict, but most were tearing each other apart with their bare hands. The battle would be quite different once Crain's people activated their cybernetic enhancements and Slain's people their demonic infusions. But until the big battle, the dividing line would continue to be a mass of bloody, entangled human pieces.<br /><br />Megan could see that the fighting in CS was a simplified variation of the standard combat system, based on Ataraxia's standard. It enabled people the freedom to do anything that was possible with their proxies and enhancements, within the constraints of CS's physics. Using their powers effectively, of course, would require strategy and cooperation with other players.<br /><br />CS combat controls allowed for fully immersive, first person combat with whatever sensations the player wanted. Alternately, players could adopt a third person perspective, or even set their characters to fight automatically under indirect guidance, with a "point and click" type interface. In any case, the CS combat strategy had enough depth not to bore experienced gamers, but was intuitive enough that first timers could make an impact in battle. CS wasn't really about fighting, for most players at least, but the prospective of battle motivated involvement in the concert and punctuated the climax.<br /><br />Megan finally wrenched her attention away from the carnal spectacle of the divide to watch </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">the 'Hell Be Damned' music video, projecting from a giant screen above the stage. It was indeed awesome. Like Mike's Neo-Kyoto project, it used actual recordings of the game's events to weave a dramatic tale. It made her want to play, but Hell Fray required a little too much involvement for her. It was also quite unpleasant.<br /><br />She noticed a large group near the burial mound doing a particularly gruesome dance. It could only be described as a cannibalistic mosh pit. Among other things, they would form pairs, then one member of the pair would smash in the other's head with a rock and eat their brains. Then they would switch roles. She pulled up the dance's information and found that it was difficult to pull off, but if accomplished it would choose a variation in lyrics for 'Hell Be Damned' and would even set Slain's next song to be another Hell Fray song about the story of some guy named 'Lutz'.<br /><br />They were doing well until another Slain group, who had been responsible for selecting a variation in the last song which had led to 'Hell Be Damned', attacked and successfully disrupted the Lutz group. They apparently liked the song the way it was.<br /><br />T sent her a location indicator drawing her attention to a particular dancer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">:</span></span></b></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">[audio]</span></span></span></span></span> Look at that guy on Slain's mound. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan zoomed into the indicator. A small crowd had formed around a muscular, bare-chested man performing a complex dance sequence.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> That's Chester.</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Are you sure? He looks like he escaped from the cover of a romance novel.</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Oh yeah. That is definitely Chester.<br /><br /><span style="color: black;">Chester finished her solitary dance and was consumed by demons. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> And check out this abstract version of the fruitless, but beautiful, conflict at the divide. [sharing the mod] The textured colors represent the conflict, and I've mixed them with a mash-up of the two songs. They work strangely well together.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> That's really neat. Are the songs supposed to be mixed?<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> More likely than not. The songs overlap and seep into each other near the divide depending on the back and forth of battle. I've been streaming all that to my favorite spiral, 'Indra's Net' and it seems to be pretty popular there. People are literally swimming in it.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> 'Indra's Net' is the same one we'll be diving into tomorrow, right? Can anyone share anything there?<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Oh yeah. People share concerts, game worlds, movies, art pieces, their erogenous zones, all sorts of stuff. Doesn't mean anyone will pick it up or carry it, though, just like Crain Slain variations. It helps if you're famous and have a good sharing reputation, like I do.<br /><br /><span style="color: black;">Thomas' difficult dance was not quite enough to occupy him so he looked around for people he knew. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> While we're looking at stuff, look at those losers down there, barely experiencing the concert.<br /><br /><span style="color: black;">Thomas indicated Mike and Dexter, who were still lying on a blanket, holding hands, kissing, and enjoying the concert from the perspective of floating above Slain's burial mound. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> It looks like they're preoccupied with other things.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Other things that could wait until after the world shaping events crashing down around them!</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> They don't even have concert proxies! </span></span></span><br />
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Thomas' dance group finished the most difficult section of their dance and was crushed by the biggest claw. They donated their large bonus to Crain, and it was enough to put her over the edge for the trick she was trying to pull.<br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Slain's side achieved the 'Glyph of Shell's Bloody Scissors'. Crain's side pulled off the 'Gear of Steam Power', but her people also achieved new levels for 2 of the already incorporated Gears. Crain had also achieved a special bonus which shut out Slain from the next song. That meant she had a final solo before the meltdown. This caused quite a commotion across the field.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas super-jumped over to Megan's body, which she had rejoined after the end of the Hell Fray video.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> I really liked that song. Hell Fray is just full of crazy.</span><br /><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Yeah, yeah, Fray's nuts. Listen, we did it! Slain's shut out! Get ready to dance.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">9. </span>SCIENCE WILL MELT YOUR FUCKING FACE OFF </b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Slain oozed reluctantly off stage, leaving Crain.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u>:</b></span> This is it! One last chance to power up! Don't let evil win!</span><br /><br />Crain's 8-bit metal styling literally electrified the crowd. Devoted Crain fans danced furiously, giving everything they had in her final minutes of need. Slain's side went berserk. They swamped the divide, trying to disrupt Crain's resonance, but it flowed through her people too powerfully to be overcome. The red side found itself ineffective during Crain's bonus song and fell back from the divide line, despite having achieved a symbolic dividing line height advantage of 6 inches.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas stood watching.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Aren't you going to help out with the final Gear?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Nah, they got it. There's something else coming up in a moment I'll need your help with, though.</span><br /><br />The blue rush against Crain's side died down. The blue side mostly stood around, waiting.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Why'd they stop attacking?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> They're taking this opportunity to plan. OK, you can hear it well enough now.</span><br /><br />Thomas linked Megan to a soft echo of a cello solo.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Hear that fan mod? </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">It's meant to be placed into the song in about a minute. We call for it every damn concert but it never gets picked up. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">According to rumor, Crain will do something neat if it does. Resonate with it and run over near the mech's foot. The map of variations shows its resonance to be weak there. I'm going toward the divide with it.</span><br /><br />They took off to broadcast their endorsement of the cello variation. Thomas had enough clout to push it into the hearing of several thousand people, many of whom adopted it.<br /><br />While running around, Thomas noticed a group attempting to level up the 'Shinji's Mom' Gear. He skipped over to it and helped them out while still broadcasting the fan mod. The achievement was a long shot, because the dance was only partly compatible with the current song. They could only attempt it because it was a bonus song, and they failed at the end, but it was worth a shot.<br /><br />The fan mod's time came and went, depriving the crowd of one bad-ass cello solo once again.<br /><br />Megan was swept up by the growing anticipation of the crowd and attempted a mid-level dance to enhance her power and acquire a bejeweled gauntlet. She managed to achieve it by drafting along with a group. She jumped up and down in victory and noted that her gauntlet could extend into a three foot blade.<br /><br />She opened a window to view Thomas and marveled at his dancing skills.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[audio]</span> Would you have been dancing like that this whole time if I wasn't slowing you down?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Yeah, but it's refreshing to see the concert from a non-engaged perspective, and I couldn't really help against Slain's momentum. Plus, I told Mike I wouldn't get too crazy. And don't ever worry about slowing me down. If I really want to go do something, I have no problem leaving friends behind. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> How much of your dancing is automated from a ghost? I mean, do you use other people's ghosts at all? </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> I let my ghost do simple patterns when I want to concentrate on trickier moves. But these dances are always changing with variations in the songs, so you have to stay on your toes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> It just seems that if you can make a ghost that works for sex, you could make one for CS dances.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> People have put a whole lot of work into sexbots. They're great, but still not as fun or engaging as having a real human brain on the other end. Do a search for 'CS ghosts' and you'll find some good ones that will help you learn or cheat with. </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">If you want to be really lame, you can also set your proxy to copy the dance trainer. </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">But you won't end up with a high score by cheating. And it's not that hard to figure out when a player is using someone else's ghost. You can also copy someone else's dance, but that's lame and misses the whole point of CS. People will seriously make fun of you for stuff like that.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span> </span><br />The song ended, marking the end of development for the two sides. Crain had attained the 'Gear of Synthetic Perception', which provided important protection against the perceptual warps of Abyssal entities.<br /><br />As thousands of proxies moved to the divide, it stretched the center of the field to accommodate them and increase the area where the sides would first clash.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>10. <span style="color: #9900ff;">4 MINUTE COUNTDOWN</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Slain materialized back on stage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: #cc0000;">:</span></b> Only the lucid machine can face an Abyssal one with an intact mind. We will unravel its divine mysteries and add its uniqueness to our own!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;"><u>Slain</u>:</b> Minds made of gears cannot grind the unending Abyss! We will transcend this plane!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Epic instrumental music fit for the buildup to a boss fight pounded the field from all directions. Crain rocketed to the head of her mech and disappeared deep inside to its cockpit. The activated Gears inside Crain's mech shined through and began to turn as they integrated themselves within the rest of its complex interior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Crain's Final Gears:</span></b> The Slayer, Kirin, Gear of Gears, Shinji's Mom, <span style="font-size: 100%;">Steam Power, and </span>Synthetic Perception.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Slain burst into spiders which hopped to the burial mound and burrowed within. The stone Glyphs sunk deep into the mound, which pulsated and shook the ground around it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Final Slain Glyphs:</span></b> Alucard's Recurring Nightmare, Berserk, Elder Sign, Uzumaki (Spiral), Shell's Bloody Scissors.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span></span><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">[audio]</span></span> I'm going to the mech's chest to see if I can help manage its weapons. You're better equipped for hand-to-hand combat, so activate whatever enhancements you have and get over by the divide. Try to find a spot where defense is weak. This will get rough.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Roger!</span><br /><br />Megan activated her equipment as she ran along the line looking for a spot. Her chest plate became a spiky exoskeleton that covered her upper body, while her gauntlet became a silver, finely serrated blade. She found an area near the divide which glowed only a faint red. She took position in a tertiary line of warriors about 50 feet from the divide.<br /><br />There was very little fighting during the song, as both sides organized and planned strategies. The sides had moved several meters away from each other to create a no proxy's land, which mostly remained barren.<br /><br />Megan was accepted into a war party. This gave her access to their general plan, in the form of an annotated 3D map. Being part of the group also provided her with suggested tactics, imparted in the same way that groups helped with dancing. The group's tactics and strategy were largely automatically generated from the prior battles fought by the group's more experienced members, and were managed by its strategic leaders, a class usually called 'scanners' in games like Ataraxia. Megan could act independently, of course, and was expected to use her own judgment. Megan watched the sides ramp up as she got a feel for her sword, slinging it about with care not to brain any allies.<br /><br />The sound of a massive engine roaring to life shook Megan's teeth. The West side cheered as Crain's mech sat up. The rocket pack on its back fired in test, incinerating proxies below it and setting the mech's enormous covering tarp on fire. The giant robot stood, shedding its scaffolding and its rapidly burning tarp. The proxies on the mech scrambled to climb the falling debris and secure holds onto the mech itself. Hundreds fell with the molten tarp, which bathed the ground in front of the mech in liquid fire. A wildfire swept from the tarp across the red side of the field and into parts of the blue. The fire burned proxies and left decorative red marks on players of both sides.<br /><br />The robot was large enough that Megan found it difficult to estimate its height, but the average proxy came up only partway up its foot.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: #cc0000;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[through the mech's chest speaker]</span> I dub this mech "Star Palladium"!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Star Palladium</b></u><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Appearance:</span> </b><span style="color: black;">Pretty standard anthropic giant robot. Matte silver with red trim. Masculine, with a boxed, Egyptian style head. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #cc0000;">Height:</b> <span style="color: black;">Dizzying.</span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #cc0000;">Weapons:</b> <span style="color: black;">128 lasers, 64 gun turrets, 32 missile launchers, 16 </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">flame throwers,</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;"> 8 retractable buzz saws, 4 rail guns, 2 rocket fists, and 1 laser sword. Head also has sharp points for ramming.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fans Would Say:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Star Palladium was a technical marvel and a monument to science. It represented better living through automation, being the pinnacle of technological progress and mechanization.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;">Red rallied at Palladium's unveiling. Palladium was the best designation possible under those conditions, made possible only by Crain's bonus song. It meant a good fight, if nothing else. Thousands climbed up Palladium to fight over spots inside its various weapon cockpits and control stations.<br /><br />After a moment, Slain's burial mound on the other side of the field burst open and a river of blue blood geysered into the sky and gelled in place. The small lake of floating blood congealed and pulsed as it took shape. Excess blood rained over the East side and some parts of the West side. The blood drenched and stained Slain's people in the juice of their own sacrificial offerings. The smell was something else.<br /><br />The form of Slain's summoned abomination was swiftly unveiled, although it was hard to take it all in at once. It had an unearthly beauty and an ethereal blue glow. It had the face of a goddess, bordered by </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">intricate, long dreadlocks that swept the ground around its feet.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> It had three sets of multiply segmented arms, attached by fine golden webs to copper wings which swept the sky. Tendrils of pure white light emanated from its chest and pelvis, and surrounded its upper and lower halves as slowly turning spheres. Instead of legs, its lower half was the trunk of a particularly attractive blue striped tree, rooted into the ground.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><u style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Slain</b></u><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>:</b> </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[speaking through Her mouth]</span> We are now "Glorificus Bath of the Abyss"!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Bath Of The Abyss</b></u><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Appearance:</span></b> An immaculate goddess worth worshiping. Feminine as Hell.<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;">Height:</b> <span style="color: black;">At least a quarter taller than Star Palladium. Also, wider by half.</span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;">Weapons:</b> <span style="color: black;">Being too pretty to hit? </span> </span></span><br /><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Fans Would Say:</b> </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">She was born from the transfigured muck of the world. Her transcendent existence promised the mundane world penetration into a divine realm of uncorrupted mind. Or something.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;">Slain's side was ecstatic. Thousands swarmed to climb up Bath and be absorbed into various parts of Her flesh to control whatever weapons She had.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span></span><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">[audio to Megan]</span></span> An Abyssal Glory is not good for us. Prepare yourself. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">With the two incarnations of Crain Slain unveiled, it was the customary time for their supporters to activate their equipment and enhancements. More than 150,000 proxies were ready to engage at the divide, so the transformation was quite a spectacle.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Crain's front line was covered in red glowing armor and cybernetics, symbols of their rhythm game achievements. The transformation of Crain's side involved mechanization and futuristic weaponry. Their equipment morphed into mechanical wings, armor, exoskeletons, powered suits, small mechs, and pet robots. Equipment offered protection, strength, and special powers like partial invisibility.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Some achievements transformed proxies entirely into androids or mech components. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Weapons activated included blades of various kinds, light sabers, laser guns, freeze rays, machine guns, explosives, and super strong robotic limbs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Some players could combined their mechs and weapons into larger mechs, similar to Voltron. One large group near Megan turned more than a hundred pieces of equipment into a giant robot spider, bristling with weapons. Two dozen players climbed inside to man it, and it was soon aiming its weapons and acid spitting jaws across the divide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Slain's side was decked out with strange tattoos, swollen pulsing limbs, scaly skin, and gaping holes, signs of successfully completed sacrificial rituals which demonstrated their desires to transcend the human form and become monsters of all shapes and sizes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">As was customary for the dominant power, Slain's side waited until their opponents had transformed before unveiling themselves. The transformation of Slain's side was organically demonic. They became orcs, goblins, vampires, gargoyles, werewolves, ents, zombies, large mutant insects, and classical mythological demons from around the world. Each form had its own attributes. Becoming a zombie made you stronger, smellier, and more resilient. Vampires were largely unaffected by metal bullets and regenerated quickly. Insects spat poisons and acids that could melt or paralyze enemies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">For weapons, there were blades, chainsaws, bows, catapults, and tentacles. There was also magic- </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">telekinesis, fire balls, magic missiles, and other projectile spells.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">There was more subtle magic for altering the perceptions and proxy interfaces of enemies to confuse them, but Crain's acquisition of the </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Gear of Synthetic Perception had seriously weakened their potency, upsetting many players who had sacrificed their bodies and souls with great style to achieve such powers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Some of Slain's more powerful forms could shapeshift freely within a certain volume. They tended toward the brutish side, such as giants with spiked clubs, though some chose more elegant forms, such as centaurs with multipronged spears.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Combining achieved forms was very popular among the Slain. Numerous proxies forming a giant mass of tentacles was one common combined form. Megan could sort of see how its functions could be divided up among its players, but she couldn't make sense of how other forms could be controlled by multiple people. Giants, some 30 feet high and composed of a dozen proxies seemed unwieldy. Some groups combined into tentacled serpents like the one Thomas had ridden on. The most confusing Megan observed was a collection of large, decaying lions with connected tails, which just seemed like it would hamper movement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Many proxies across the field had little or no equipment, having come to the concert more to experience it than to participate. Even so, large numbers of unenhanced proxies could still do serious damage if they cared to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Some people had accomplishments on both side, and became mixtures of mechanical and demonic. One troll had a cybernetic head and a jet pack. There were also mech with blue glowing tentacles. This wasn't a good strategy for gaining power, as mixed warriors would pretty much always have been better off concentrating on collecting compatible parts. But it often looked pretty damn cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">When Slain's side had unveiled themselves, there was a shuffling of troops on both sides, in attempts to counter their opposition's strategies. Warriors shifted their positions and studied their opponents across the line. It reminded Megan of duels in samurai movies, where warriors adjusted their stances in seemingly insignificant ways in anticipation of enemy tactics. She couldn't tell which proxies were effectively altering their positions and which were just posturing to look cool.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Crain's side was better organized and its team oriented approach was an advantage for them. Those on Slain's side often made plans, but they were often discarded when the chaos of battle took sway. The disciplined Crain teams faced off once against the berserker mobs of the Slain. That was the breakdown of the situation given by the battle projections provided by her party. It was overly simplified, but it carried some truth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Most of the players with the best achievements, and hence strongest glows, were at the divide. The sides glowed so strongly with their respective colors that for the first time during the concert Megan had to turn the glow setting down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">High frequency waves of energy flowed out rapidly through the ground from Palladium and Bath into their allied players, making proxies stronger, slowly repairing damage, arming their mechs, and charging their spells. Megan felt the energy flowing through her proxy at her achieved rate of resonance, making her stronger and faster and adding a red plasma edge along one side of her blade. That effectively made it part lightsaber, which gave her some much needed confidence.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan's battle orders were simply to hold her position and to fall back if she got dangerously injured so she could heal. Some player achievements allowed them to repair other proxies. On Crain's side players with the equipment for that class were called 'mechanics' and red crosses hovered as beacons over their heads.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan party suggested that she send her energy flow to the front line proxies while they held strong. Megan set her proxy to forward the waves of energy she was receiving from Palladium as long as she tapped her toe regularly. It was something she would naturally stop doing once she engaged the enemy and needed the energy for herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan received a message saying that players could now die. Proxies would regenerate according to the energy flow they had attained, but it was slower than before. She guessed that this meant a rotating front line. She grew wary about how close she was to the divide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Meanwhile, Thomas had found a position in a gun turret on Palladium's upper left chest. Aiming a massive machine gun wasn't quite as sexy as more intimate forms of battle,</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> but his robotic legs served as an interface for only simple mech integration, </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">and he was a skilled sniper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">:</span></span></b></span></span></span> <span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">[audio]</span></span></span></span></span> Once more into the breach!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> It is a good day to die!</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Just before the battle started, there were slightly more than 600,000 players prepared to take some part in the battle. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The song reached its end and each side's battle anthem started up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>11. <span style="color: #674ea7;">CATACLYSMIC SHOWDOWN!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">FULL M</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">E</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">A</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">L</span><span style="color: #cc0000;"> M</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">O</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">N</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">S</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">R</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">O</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">S</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">I</span><span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span>Y</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: black;"><br />V</span><span style="color: black;">ERSUS</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><br />A</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">L</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">L</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> H</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">E</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">L</span><span style="color: #3d85c6;">L</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan heard Crain's epic battle song - a mix of themes from her earlier songs - all around her. It was coming from Palladium's speakers and the strong red resonance around her. She also heard Slain's battle song from across the divide. Slain's was clearly stronger. She heard the songs clashing as the lines fell into each other. She heard Slain's apocalyptic theme overpowering Crain's music as Slain's forces spilled over Crain's front line.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Even as Slain broke through, some Crain warriors made their way into Slain territory. A rather large mech, in the shape of a metallic turtle shell, spun through the air and crashed a a quarter mile into the blue, crushing and displacing numerous Slain warriors. It spun as it moved toward Bath's trunk, jutting dozens of spears and blades in and out of its sides, cutting down blue players like a lawnmower, and gunning down high profile targets with a laser cannon mounted at its top. It was controlled by 36 "expert" Crain warriors whose equipment had formed it as a composite, and who were now having the time of their lives aggravating and frustrating the Slain and laughing at their futile attempts to stop their instance of the infamous "da Vinci tank".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">High above the fray, Palladium's arsenal tore into Bath and the ground directly in front of Her, lighting up the night sky but barely marring Bath's angelic beauty. Bath retaliated by whipping Palladium with Her tendrils of light, causing explosions everywhere they touched.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan had expected more time before having to fight, but she was ready.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> She anxiously held her ground as a skeleton wielding a metal femur rushed her. She was swinging her blade at it and hoping her armor would hold when an explosion deafened and blinded her, sending her flying backwards into something hard.<br /><br />In a panic, she reflexively activated her plant's killswitch and found herself in her physical, lying on her bed. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan cursed herself and went quickly back into the game. Her character was lying in the middle of the battle, ignored because of her low status. Her area had been hit by one of Bath's tendrils, which were smashing their way along. They did more damage to red warriors, but stunned everyone. She realized that she shouldn't be in full immersion, first person mode, at least not for her first CS battle. She switched to an overhead control scheme, which allowed most of the same articulation with a degree of psychological dissociation from her character.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Still lying on the ground, Megan took the opportunity to soak in the madness washing over the field. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The music around her was a hectic mix of the two side's themes. It was appropriately unnerving. Still, the battle wasn't exactly orderly, but it also wasn't like the giant pile of entangled parts that used to comprise the dividing line. The energy system encouraged players to space out by penalizing their energy flow when they clustered together. Players had to coordinate and think strategically to use the flow efficiently. In Ataraxia, this required strategic minded players to continually adjust battle tactics, but here most players with common sense could feel their flow being cut off when around too many strong proxies. Additionally, bunched up proxies were also more vulnerable to area effects. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan stood and jumped over some dismembered allies to hack at a zombie which was trying to climb a small mech. She killed it with little struggle, surprising herself. She remembered that she was part of a group and checked its plan. The group was dispersed and the plan was shot. But the group's scanner was still operating somehow and suggested a group of zombies about her level nearby she could effectively engage. She turned to attack them when several of them tackled her. She managed to cut one of their heads off, but three of them began<span style="font-size: 100%;"> ravenously consuming her unguarded legs.</span> She was only saved when a nearby mech used its flamethrower to burn them off. Luckily, Crain Slain was casual enough that friendly fire was turned off.<br /><br />Megan hobbled away on her crippled legs toward the safety of Crain territory. On the way she managed to dodge a grove of rampaging ents, a vampire exchanging blows with an android, an audacity of gargoyles, and a rage of orcs. But there no longer was a Crain territory, except perhaps around Palladium's feet. She took a quick aerial overview of the field. Chimera Field spanned miles and miles relative to the size of the average proxy, and even so the<span style="font-size: 100%;"> battle was now raging everywhere.</span> Even Slain's side had gone to hell, so to speak, as small dedicated groups of hyper powered Crain mech had penetrated deep into Slain territory, slaughtering thousands on their way to Bath's trunk. <span style="font-size: 100%;">It was true pandemonium and Megan loved it.</span><br /><br />Skyward, Bath and Palladium were streaming furious death at each other. Bath had lost some of Her shine and had begun to bleed ooze from Her eyes. Not able to rely entirely on Her tendrils, She had begun to shoot blue fireballs and was also whipped Her lovely hair up from Her feet to spear Palladium's weapons and numerous armor plates, occasionally dislodging them and sending them falling to explode below.<br /><br />Palladium had attempted to move toward Bath, but had been held back by Her constant attacks. It's left arm, which it had been using a shield, was mostly destroyed, though it had managed to severely damage Bath's trunk and midsection, including the control center for Her lower tendrils, impairing their attack abilities and killing dozens of high powered proxies integrated into her body.<br /><br />Their volleys often fell short or went wide, by accident or design, ultimately causing the deaths of thousands of hapless proxies on both sides. Explosions from all causes went off randomly and widely.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span><b><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[audio only]</span> <span style="color: blue;">It is always like this?</span><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> <span style="color: blue;">Oh no, this is particularly nasty. Normally there's some decorum and showmanship. This is out of control. Fun, huh? </span><br /><br />Thomas smiled to himself as he picked off a few more blue proxies with his turret's sniping mode. Sniping with the turret was difficult, but Thomas made excellent use of it. He aimed his gun at Bath's left wing, which he suspected of being a weak point. If he could get just a little damage showing there, someone else might target it as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Shell shocked and inexperienced, Megan did her best to avoid combat. It wasn't that she was afraid of dying, at least not from her current perspective. She just wanted to have maximum impact for her alignment. Sam, watching from her abstraction, saw Megan's dilemma.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b></span><span style="color: blue;"> [audio] If you're looking for something to do, check out those demons Northeast of you. Looks about your level.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span><b><span style="color: red;">:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">Thanks!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan followed the trail Sam had sent her to find the demons, who were tearing a team of tarantula mechs apart. Megan managed to stab one clean through before another tore her head off. Deceased, Megan flew above the battle and watched red's last desperate moments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Red fighters near Palladium had turned back every wave of enemies but were being torn apart by a fifteen foot sapphire praying mantis. On the other side, the "da Vinci" crew was disintegrating Slain forces and almost to Bath's roots, closer than any other Crain forces. Whether they could do anything once they got there was another matter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan watched the hundreds of proxies controlling the various functions of each of the two incarnations. Without them, neither Bath nor Palladium could move or fight at all. She'd have to try being part of a giant demon sometime, it looked fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Star Palladium lost the rest of its left arm, and its laser sword with it. Its chest was full of holes, its head had been sliced in half, and its right leg was barely supporting its half of the weight. It appeared aged and rusted through, and was leaking red oil from dozens of spots. Only a few of its weapons were still firing. Thomas' station had been destroyed by a fireball, and he too was dead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Palladium rocket-punched Bath in the face with its right fist. The fist, damaged from previous attacks, fell to the ground below Bath and exploded, damaging Her roots and sending proxies flying for half a mile.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Bath was more structurally intact, but Palladium's assault had taken a ghastly toll. Bath was drenched in blue blood, which had obscured Her glow. Her face was no longer the radiant visage of a goddess, but was now a hideously twisted and disgusting mask of rage, revealing her true nature. The maw that once was Her mouth foamed around Her jagged, broken teeth. Blood spewed from a massive gaping wound at the side of Her head, melting Her followers below. The few tendrils and tentacles She had left dripped the same acid death, as did Her wings, which had become as gnarled and demonic as Her face. <span style="font-size: 100%;">Her remaining three arms now sported demonic talons. </span>The beautiful tree bark of Her lower section had been torn or burned away in many parts to reveal what could only be described as the rot of a diseased maggot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The few proxies still orchestrating Palladium concentrated its remaining power on Bath's stomach, rupturing it and causing Her intestines to spill out onto the ground. Her guts shot out over Palladium and fell like a net around it, crushing its armor and pulling the mech closer to Her.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Bath uprooted Herself revealing three thick, wormlike tentacles which She used to shamble toward Palladium. The field itself warped with her attack, and the whole of Slain's side of the field tilted to follow Her, causing the remaining Slain warriors to spill onto Crain's side, swamping the relatively few remaining Crain proxies. Slain's energy was overwhelming, energizing his warriors while suppressing Crain's.<br /><br />Palladium and Bath grappled as Crain's forces were extinguished. Bath clawed into the robot's chest and head and crushed Palladium with Her hair and intestines, while Palladium used the last of the ammo it had been saving for a final close range assault, blowing off large chunks of Bath's trunk and breasts, causing Her to emit a nightmarish shriek. Palladium fell backward to the ground and Bath fell on top of it, absorbing it into Her broken and smoldering body. Bath integrated Palladium's systems inside Herself, using its parts to repair the damage it had done to Her and using its remaining energy to once more hide Her true form with a resplendent glow.<br /><br />A wave of energy pulsed out as Mecha-Bath, the Abyssal Glory, rose. It turned the entire field blue, including the few thousand remaining Crain followers. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The battle was unusually long and bitter for CS, lasting more than 12 minutes. At the end, Chimera Field was covered with blood and more than 500,000 disintegrating bodies.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas' spirit caught up with Megan's just before the final moments of the battle. They exchanged a glance of appreciation for the carnage.<br /><br />Mecha-Bath moved to the stage and swallowed it within Her renewed tree roots. She sent out another energy wave that restored all of the dead proxies back to life. Everyone was shed of their equipment and enhancements and glowed blue.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;"><u>Mecha-Bath</u>:</b> </span>You have summoned Us. Now worship the true Goddess! Bow before Us and We will grant you perfect existence. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>12. FINAL FORM! GODDESS ASCENDANT!</b></span><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">V</span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 100%;">ERSUS</span></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">AQUA REGIA</span> </b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />The field of proxies stood unified in opposition to Mecha-Bath following the revelation of Her true nature. Many proxies previously integrated into Bath fled Her body. Mecha-Bath, now fully integrated and restored, gave an enraged wail at the betrayal of Slain's side.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;"><u>Mecha-Bath</u>:</b> You have chosen your fate! The sun has been traded for the moon and stars. The sphere of consciousness shall suffocate in the Abyss!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />A new Slain song began, with lyrics extolling Her many ancient atrocities. Few players chose to resonate with it, so it sounded hollow as it was coming mostly from Mecha-Bath Herself. Bath's tendrils and tentacles shot randomly into all parts of the field. Cybernetic demons spawned at the contact points and attacked players, who were at first powerless before them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Then Crain opened a screen to all players. She was still in her cockpit, but demonic growths covered everything, including her face. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: #cc0000;">:</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> There are only seven minutes left until...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Crain's mouth was smothered by the growths before she could finish. She still managed to send the last of Palladium's energy through some of Mecha-Bath's tentacles. They turned red as they pumped out enough of her energy to give each proxy a red glowing dagger in their dominant hand. The dagger counted down the time while playing a Crain song, though it was muffled. She sang of the romance of hopeless revolt. Players resonated with it and the song carried over the field, though it was washed out by Bath's music.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Some players joined with the demons against the other players, but most made a run to assault Mecha-Bath. Thomas, like many players, beat back Mecha-Bath's minions and ran along one of Her tentacles up to Her body, which continually spawned demons and sent them to Her defense.</span> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Running up the tentacles was difficult due to their instability and the stream of enemies. The tendrils had fewer enemies, but they were narrower so players couldn't run as quickly. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Other players, like Megan, ran on the ground up to Bath and used their knives to climb up her trunk.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span><span style="color: red;">:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> <span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">[audio]</span> It's amazing how everyone's getting along now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> We just needed a common enemy to unite us. Look at that thing! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Does CS always end like this?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> <span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">[pushing a zombie raptor off the tentacle]</span></span></span></span> Oh no, there are tons of different endings. Sometimes it's just a celebration, and sometimes a bigger bad guy shows up, and sometimes it's all unicorns and golden fields. It depends on the branching tree of songs which the players ultimately select as the concert goes along. There are all sorts of exciting unachieved endings that have been hinted at that people have been trying to get to for years. But right now, this ends one of two ways. We take Bath down or we get annihilated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Then let's get her!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Right on!</span></div>
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Everyone could feel Mecha-Bath's power ramping up for a major assault.<br />
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Thomas made it up the tentacle, and when he was near Her head, he leapt off and fell onto Her stomach, using his dagger to catch a hold. Up close, Bath's body was covered in fur, a manifestation of Her energy which could be used for climbing. Sticking out at various points was Palladium's metal structure, which could be used as platforms. Thomas jumped over to a broken missile turret jutting out of Her side and from there jumped up and swung over to a particularly bright spot which indicated vulnerability to damage. Holding onto the fur with one hand, he stabbed the spot over and over again until it turned black, then started maneuvering up the body to reach another bright spot.<br />
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Hundreds of other proxies did the same thing all over Mecha-Bath. She had reserved some of Her light tendrils to serve as defense, and these continuously swept Her body, throwing proxies some distance away. Other players avoided the tendrils by cutting holes inside Her and fighting through Her hollowed innards to attack vulnerable spots within. That was the more disgusting option, and unpleasant in every imaginable way.<br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Megan, not feeling much like climbing, ran to Mecha-Bath's trunk and followed others inside. She was able to get midway up Her trunk before becoming bogged down in enemies. Fighting them helped defeat Her as well, so Megan concentrated on that for the time remaining.<br /><br />With a minute left, Mecha-Bath begins to shake violently, having taken critical damage. A warning to escape popped up from the daggers.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: #cc0000;">:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">Bath is defeated! Run before she explodes!</span><br /><br />Everyone capable of getting away did. Explosions from every part of Her body rocked the field, but Her basic form remained intact. The ground underneath Her gave way and Her body began to sink into an inferno which opened up underneath Her, setting Her on fire. She pitched forward in a struggle to escape, but giant metal hooked chains shot up from the inferno and embedded themselves all over Her body and pulled Her slowly into the pit.<br /><br />The left side of Mecha-Bath's head faced the field. It collapsed inward, revealing the center stage, now integrated into Bath's pulsing black brain. The drummer and keyboardist were there, along with a single entity comprised of an amalgamation of Slain and Crain. It began to sing a farewell song.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">14. </span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">A</span><span style="color: #674ea7; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">NARCHY OUTSIDE</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />The final song was Anarchy Outside, a popular unofficial anthem celebrating the liberated expanse of Outside. The mass of proxies resonated it and sang along, causing the field to turn into its original purple color. About a third of the proxies were ghosts, after dying in the assault on Mecha-Bath, but now had been made visible to the other players so they could participate in the camaraderie of the final song. Many of the remaining living proxies were partly dismembered.<br /><br />Megan and Thomas were quite dead from the explosion. Thomas portalled over to Megan's position, some distance from Bath's corpse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> That was great! I feel like I just helped kill a demi-god. Everything was so realistic and compelling! Bath and Palladium and the various proxy forms and special effects. It must have taken so much work.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> <span style="color: blue;"> It's taken a while to get to this point. Go back and experience a recording of one of the early concerts to see how far. The giant incarnations and warrior proxies are largely the result of fan mods. And the extracts from other game worlds help a lot. Denizens of Hell Fray even built a special extract just for CS.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> </span>And so many people! Like a crushing sea of people!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> CS isn't all that big or crazy compared to Ego Slider or Gold Wire, but it sure has the pulse of Outside gaming culture. It's a great game, very energetic, with a strong subculture too. A whole bunch of the active proxies at any given CS concert are regulars. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">I've set it to alert me a few days in advance when there's going to be a relatively local concert.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>: </span></span></b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">CS is set up to reduce lag for everything really important, allowing effective participation from all over the Earth. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">I've done a concert set up in China and didn't notice any lag until a bit during the showdown, so if you feel like doing CS, don't let location stop you. </span></span></span></span></span></span>Man, I get alerts ten minutes before all kinds of whatever craziness and just jump in where it is. Woosh!<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Well, I need a little time to prepare.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Oh, yeah, that reminds me. You should come by my apartment tomorrow before the film shoot. You've never seen it.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> OK. What's at your apartment?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> I can show you my collection. </span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Collection of what?<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Everything!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Hmm... what time?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I'm sure I won't regret it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />The song ended just as Bath's head sunk below the ground. Proxies jumped into the pit after it, even as the field closed up. And with that the concert was over. The concert layer remained active for an hour for after-concert socializing, but the physicals were already streaming out of the field. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Everyone with an active proxy received a message from Crain Slain thanking them for participating in the concert. It contained a link to a complete recording of the entire concert, along with a special highlight reel automatically created for their proxy. Each player proxy's points and achievements were reset at the end of the concert, but proxies played under the same account could be set to carry records of past exploits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">That concert, like all previous CS concerts, had streamed for free on the net and been available for replay in full detail, down to being able to inhabit any proxy on the field and passively live out its concert related experiences. The entire thing was quite a production, but Crain Slain still made a fortune from the active participant fee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas and Megan said goodbye and T portalled home. Megan wandered around admiring the debris of Chimera Field for a few minutes before Sam appeared next to her.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b> How was the concert?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Oh, it was a blast! Though I'm used to less violent concerts like Slushmare or Vermillion Pleasure Slice.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b> I saw Slushmare at Lunar Stage last year. Pretty awesome. Classical/meta-slush is my favorite genre.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> I always wanted to go to Lunar Stage, but it's way up in Canada.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b> Well, now you can.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">[lightly thumping herself in the forehead]</span></span> Holy crap, you're right! I can't believe I didn't realize that.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b> Ha. Keep exploring and you'll never stop realizing neat things here. </span><span style="color: blue;">So, how is adapting to discomfort going?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Not bad. I freaked out a few times, but I managed to keep it set around medium.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b> Medium? Seriously? That's a lot of pain for a concert. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> I thought people usually kept it on high?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b> No... most people have it turned almost completely off for something like CS. Did T tell you to do that?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Nope, it just seemed like they would do that for realism.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>:</b> </span></span><span style="color: blue;">No wonder you get along with T. But next time, we should do the concert together. T doesn't play CS exactly like most people.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> What do you mean?<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>:</b> </span></span><span style="color: blue;">He kind of skates over the surface of the game, helping out his side at weak points. He's extremely useful, but he misses out on the social element and the excitement that comes with being submerged in the crowd. The resonance of a good group can be intoxicating. Having a shared perspective and forming a social and emotional connection with a side is an incredible experience. It can make the concert feel like a roller coaster ride controlled by the collective imagination of hundreds of thousands of people, so its vibrant and unpredictable. </span></span></span>It's like being on a sports team, except that your goal is way cooler than just scoring more points than the other team. <span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">You get to create some really fun scenarios and compete them against radically different visions. You don't always win, but you always leave a mark.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Evolving, player-created game worlds are definitely of interest to me. I wasn't really thinking of Crain Slain that way, but it's like a simple, quickly evolving world. <span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">You get to share in and help shape a collective vision for the short future of an entire world, and fight for your vision against conflicting perspectives. What's more incredible than helping create a world that so many people will experience together? But it's done for today, and I'm going to T's place before the shoot tomorrow so I should go. I'll see you tomorrow. [hugging Sam]</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>:</b> </span></span></span>Tomorrow, yep. The shoot and then Omni. It'll be awesome!</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/02/episode-05-apartment-living.html">Next- Episode 05: Apartment Living</a></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-58925779105576984662011-02-24T03:30:00.000-08:002013-07-31T19:01:17.546-07:00Episode 04: Crain Slain (1 of 2)<hr />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>SOMEWHERE OUTSIDE</b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Megan ran, freezing, through the crops, pausing regularly to listen for moaning. It was night, but daylight wouldn't have helped her see anything through the wheat. Was it wheat? She didn't have time to look it up.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">She fell into a shallow ditch and then collided with irrigation equipment. She paused there to sniff out the direction of the rotting flesh that was subtly assaulting her sense of smell. It seemed to be coming from the direction she was heading, so she took off to her right. She finally found the edge of the field, burst out into the clear, and without looking back ran full tilt toward the only shelter in sight, a large plantation house.<br /><br />The front door was locked, so she used a rock to let herself in through one of the porch windows. The first thing she did inside was barricade the front door with a couch. They usually tried to get in the front way first, at least on beginner mode.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The inside of the house smelled of death. She hastily searched the first floor and found it clear. Then she ran upstairs and in her haste tripped over what was left of a little girl, slowly dragging itself toward the stairs. She was decayed enough that she could no longer moan, which made her stealthy. Luckily, her legs were shredded, and Megan scampered away from her with a gag and a shudder.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan found the unlocked upstairs rooms to be clear. She went back to the child, which was crawling toward her. She gagged again. The smell was authentic, as close to that of a dead rotting girl as anyone could ever want. But it was the child's mutilated, decaying face that truly disturbed her.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: red;">:</b> </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">Crap, crap, crap. Why must you be so lifelike? So to speak.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">She ran downstairs to the kitchen and found a heavy skillet, lugged it upstairs, and beat the child's brains out. Destroying the brains didn't stop them completely, but it rendered them severely lethargic. Making them completely inert, and thus suitable for consumption, was a more involved process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Then an alarm reminded her of the Crain Slain concert. She was going to be late if she didn't hurry. Why did she allow herself to get stuck at that gas station for so long? Now there was no way she could secure the house to protect her character. Something was definitely going to find her, and the thought of her poor proxy being defiled by undeath creeped her out. Plus, she would be used against the other players. But how to kill herself?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">She heard scratching at the front door as she ran back to the kitchen. She grabbed a knife, checked it for sharpness, turned her discomfort setting all the way down, and stabbed herself in the neck as hard as she could. She fell on the ground and pulled the knife out. She grew weaker as her blood slowly covered the kitchen floor. Those puss buckets wouldn't be using her body as one of their necrotic puppets this time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>CHIMERA FIELD</b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><br /></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam and Thomas stood in front of Chimera Field's gate, invisible to the throng of proxies and physicals streaming through them to the concert.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I'm gonna beat my record this time. I've been practicing.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> That's fine, but you should go incognito. Remember last time?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It was fun!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Not for everyone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Spoilsport.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Do you remember when they had to pause the concert because of lag?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> OK, yeah, it got a little out of hand.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas switched his local public SIS from his "Thomas" to his "Guy Incognito" identity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> No one will recognize me now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> Should probably change your face too. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas became a portly, elderly scientist in a lab coat with a white Santa Clause beard and bushy hair. The crowd would recognize him as Dr. Light, creator of Mega Man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 100%;">[sulking]</span> Now I won't cause any trouble.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></b></span><b><span style="color: #9900ff;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[patting him on the back]</span> I'm sure you can still contribute to a riot or two. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Mike's car pulled up to the curb near the gate. Mike and Dexter got out of it and the car drove away to park, guided by Chimera Field's parking system. Mike kept an eye on the process through the car's cameras until it was safely parked. They walked up to Thomas and Sam.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Hey guys! Welcome to Chimera Field! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Chimera Field</b></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Format: </span></b><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Large, fenced in outdoor field with a bar and a stage. </span></span><b style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #cc0000;">Physical capacity:</b> More than 7000 physical bodies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Proxy capacity:</span></b> Has server capacity capable of hosting more than a million active proxies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Mike and Dexter, being on T's "close friends" list on his SIS, recognized him through his cunning disguise. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><u>Dexter</u>:</b></span></span> I like the new look, Mr. Incognito.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u><br />Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Yep. A disguise was a good idea. Probably Sam's.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Sam suggested it, yes. But I will have you know that I was going to do this anyway. I'm not daft. </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u><br />Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Just teasing. But do try not to overdo it. Big shoot tomorrow. </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Yeah, yeah. But if I'm called to duty, I have to go. </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u><br />Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Like Crain needs another "Expert of Justice".</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Oh, Mike, about tomorrow...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam followed Mike and Dexter through the gate, leaving T outside, practicing dance moves. A few minutes later, an ornate door frame popped up from the ground next to him. Megan walked through it and the frame disappeared back into the ground.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Hey Megs! [hugs her]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> This is exciting! I've heard crazy things.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> And crazy things shall be delivered. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">T handed her a donut as he ate one himself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Why are you Dr. Light?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I'm in disguise. There was an incident last time when everyone in the stadium recognized me. Well, enough people did. Someone put up a bulletin. It really wasn't my fault!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[eating the donut]</span> I believe you. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">They walked through the gate into Chimera Field. Since they had both paid the participation fee, they were given official concert proxies which automatically copied their current appearance. Physicals had to pay to get in, but proxies who hadn't paid the fee could still attend the concert. They just couldn't participate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The physical Chimera Field had only two points of interest- a bar by the entrance and a stage at the Northern fence. The rest was</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> covered in grass, with occasional bald spots. At that moment, the field was occupied by a few thousand physicals.<br /><br />Most physicals there were projecting into proxies <span style="font-size: 100%;">or at least had appropriate proxy overlays. </span>There were also hundreds of thousands of invisible proxies roaming around, waiting for the concert to start, inhabited by people all over the world.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You look too normal. Go ahead and customize your Crain Slain proxy any way you want. Only thing that's required is hair or a hat that signifies your status.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Status?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Yeah, whose side you're on. Red for Crain, blue for Slain. You'll decide during the concert.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> What exactly have I gotten myself into?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Oh, relax. Crain Slain is a general audience thing. Kids love it. It's kid friendly.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Kids love Hell Fray too.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Right. Well, it's.... parent friendly. Mostly.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan opened a window and zoomed the view around the crowd looking for accessories to steal. She decided to copy some petite flaming devil wings and a fetching translucent, mechanized face. The skin of her face became clear, revealing dozens of gears which moved with her face, giving the illusion that they were creating her expressions.<br /><br />Megan and T followed Sam's path and found her sitting in a plush chair a hundred feet from the stage. As they walked up, the lights went on, illuminating the central stage.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It's starting! You gonna do the concert Sam?<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> I think I'm gonna chill this time. I always feel like I'm missing something in the middle of the action.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> What about you Megs?<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> What do you mean by "do the concert"?<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Catch the wave when it comes and find out. The Crain Slain proxy you're inhabiting is all you need.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Yeah, what's the deal with this thing? [flailing arms] It's kind of stiff.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You have to build it up. Don't you ever research anything?<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I like surprises.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> That is a truly dangerous statement. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;">The concert layer appeared 20 feet above them. Megan felt herself being drawn up into it, leaving the physical below. T grabbed her hand on the way up when they started to diverge. </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Sam stayed behind.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Stay near me so I can show you the ropes. </span><br /><br />Once inside the layer, the physical world disappeared, leaving an enhanced virtual replica of Chimera Field. Vibrant purple grass completely covered the ground now. The clouds in the sky were gone, as well as nearby city lights, revealing an ocean of stars as clear and bright as humans had ever seen them. Megan gazed up at them and found them as comforting and awe inspiring as always.<br /><br />Official concert proxies became visible, revealing more than two hundred thousand people projecting into the virtual layer of the concert. The average proxy size was made slightly smaller relative to the field to fit the increasing number of players.<br /><br />Lying side-by-side on a blanket on the physical ground, Mike and Dexter looked up at the virtual concert layer. They had chosen to share a perspective on the concert that either one could change at will. At that moment, they saw the concert perpendicular to them, so that the virtual stage, much larger than the physical stage, was straight up in the sky from them. They could watch the entire concert, from any perspective they wanted, including high above it, without having to even raise their heads.<br /><br />On the virtual layer, Megan was stretching her proxy, with little success, when the ground shook so hard she had to brace herself. The grass of the West half of the field shifted from glowing purple to glowing red. A gigantic mass rose from the ground in the middle of the West half, covered by a tarp and rusty scaffolding. She opened a window to view it from above. The shape under the tarp could only be that of a giant robot. People immediately started climbing on it. A giant crane appeared, hovering hundreds of feet above the robot.<br /><br />The grass of the East half of the field changed to glowing blue. A large mound of dirt emerged from the ground there, displacing hundreds of proxies. It was obscured in mist, through which Megan could make out only a large gravestone on its South side. Dark shapes flitted about underneath and around it, shining blue through the dirt.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />A contagious, elated enthusiasm gripped Chimera Field, which now had the population of a small city projecting into it. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Proxies wore every imaginable costume and style of outfit. They were dressed as demons, angels, androids, aliens, anime characters, Ataraxia Pans, and every other character from popular media or Outside games that had caught their imaginations.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Supporting this event, and all the people participating by telepresence, was Chimera Field's immense server capacity. Crain Slain concerts were designed to reduce the effects of lag as much as possible. Lag wasn't a problem for those simply observing the concert, but it occasionally was for those participating in it.<br /><br />The geographical area which could actively participate in this particular Crain Slain event was effectively all of North and South America, along with some parts of Europe and Asia. Outside of those areas, lag could potentially hurt performance, especially when fighting other players. This didn't stop people outside the recommended area from participating and having fun. With such a wide area of participation, CS easily toured the globe several times each year, hopping from continent to continent.<br /><br />Lag would not be a problem for Megan or Thomas, both having physicals less than a few hundred miles from the concert.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">1.</span> DESTROY ALL VAMPIRES!</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />An air raid siren pierced the air. Spotlights tracked a zeppelin approaching from the West. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The lettering on its side said "Kobayashi Maru". </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan tried to zoom in to the compartment under the zeppelin, but it was too fuzzy to make out. The flight compartment collapsed in on itself, forming into a large, metallic sphere. The sphere released from the zeppelin over the center stage. It crashed in front of the stage and rolled to a stop, killing dozens of thrilled players who quickly regenerated. The ball sprouted spidery legs which carried it on stage. It unraveled itself across the stage, forming a complicated drum set and a large set of keyboards and other musical devices.<br /><br />A masculine robot stood up from behind the drums and dusted himself off. He took a seat and sprouted two extra pairs of arms. A feminine green alien appeared behind the keyboards with even more arms and several hard to identify appendages.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;">A red-headed woman rose from the middle of the stage, to wild applause. She was wearing a leather flight suit, a bolted corset, goggles on her forehead, and whirling gears on her boots. In short, she was steampunk. She strummed a bulky chrome guitar. There was no microphone because she didn't need one. The crowd chanted "Crain".</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u></b></span><br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Fighting specialty:</span> </b>Mech. Really big mech.<br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Musical style:</span> </b>Heavy metal laced with 8-bit mania.<br /><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Appearance:</span></b> Stark red hair. Mousy.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u></b></span></span></span><span style="color: red;">:</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"> </b></span><span style="color: blue;">Have we got any mech-heads in the audience? </span><br /><br />The audience responded with hoots, laser noises, and loud imitations of the sound of an Excelsior class mech engine whirring to life. </span><br /><br />Crain held one hand palm up and a rotating holographic display of a giant robot appeared above it. Inside the robot were numerous interlocking gears. One of them pulsed red.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: red;">:</span></b></span> I'm gonna be a little ambitious tonight. I'll need your help developing my giant robot under the tarp over there. You guys have the schematics. Use them to activate the circuits for these Gears. Together, we're gonna build that mech and give it a name. All I know so far is that it's a Star class.</span><br /><br />The crowd cheered with approved.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Star class means she's seriously going to war. This will get nuts.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I have no idea what you're talking about. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: red;">:</span></b></span> All you have to do is dance and sing along while I tell some stories. The first one is about a little girl who saw monsters consume everything she loved. So she built a 5 foot mech and paid their God Emperor a little visit. It's called 'Destroy </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">All Vampires</span><span style="color: blue;">'! </span><br /><br />Crain started hard. The onslaught of thrashing metal energy rolled out like a shockwave across the field, knocking over Megan and thousands of other unprepared proxies. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The ground rippled with the music and the energy of the crowd, which danced and convulsed with the beat. The red glow of the West field spread a bit into the East's blue.<br /><br />There was no physical band present at Chimera Field. The stage only contained speakers broadcasting the sounds of the virtual concert. At some venues, the virtual concert would be shown on large screen, but that was unnecessary because of the ubiquity of augmented reality gear. Unaugmented concert goers at Chimera Field would miss most of the Crain Slain experience.<br /><br />Megan lowered the music volume a tad. She heard the music via her plant, so the volume didn't hurt her ears, but she wanted to be able to hear other people clearly.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Is this song about Drain? The little girl who basically wrecked an instance of Hell Fray by herself?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Yep. Most of Crain Slain's songs are true stories based on actual game events. This is an incendiary beginning. Slain's not going to like this.</span><br /><br />Some proxies stood and watched, but most danced along with the music. Megan noticed that the areas with the best dancers glowed the brightest red, even if they were dancing on the blue grass. She also noticed that proxy designs had been altered slightly to appear more like the character designs of Hell Fray.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Are things supposed to look like Hell Fray?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Right again, Megs. Crain is mixing an extract of Hell Fray with Chimera Field to match the song. Smells a bit like sulfur, too.</span></span><br /><br />A multi-hooked chrome claw dropped suddenly from the crane high above into a group not that far from Megan, causing her to jump. Their screams of delight were oddly juxtaposed with their dismembered bodies. Something resembling red mercury seeped out of their bodies and was drawn into the center of the claw. The claw glowed red as it rose, moved over, and dropped the liquid metal onto the head of the giant mech.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Sweet. That was a tricky upgrade for this early on.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> OK, what?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Dance with the music for a moment.</span><br /><br />Megan danced and found that her proxy was loosening up and feeling warm. Her hair turned light red.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Now watch this.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas danced as usual, but threw in some strangely specific flourishes. His pure white hair, including his beard, slowly turned a light shade of red.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> CS has a robust rhythm game component. Dancing or singing in sync with the music gives you resonance with the singer's energy. This makes both the singer and the dancer stronger. You might notice that Crain's music is coming not just from the stage, but from all around you. Every player who resonates with her music broadcasts it and whatever other sounds they like. All music sources sync up for each player so you don't hear any echoing. One of the advantages of a virtual concert.<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> What if you can't dance though?<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span></span> Everyone can dance! Any attempt to dance with the music, however awkward, increases your resonance. You do need to put in some amount of effort to complete a dance routine like that group that got crushed. Those are to accelerate your resonance, help build the robot, and acquire weapons and enhancements for the final battle.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span><br />The victorious, dismembered group was already mostly regenerated and still celebrating. They had spent some time practicing their dance before the concert.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Don't people just use dance ghosts?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You can, but what's the fun in that? Plus, CS is constantly changing stuff up and throwing curves. You definitely won't get high achievements just using a ghost. </span><br /><br />Smaller hooks shot out from the crane destroying smaller groups of people and individuals and dropping their liquid power into the Star class giant robot.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Doesn't getting crushed hurt?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Depends on your settings. Duh.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Also, what is wrong with the music? It sounds like it's missing something.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Check out the keyboard player and the drummer. </span><br /><br />Megan zoomed in and saw that they weren't using all of their arms.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Let me guess, someone has to unlock their full abilities.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Yep. Actually, before they lock down teleporting, wait here a moment...</span><br /><br />Thomas teleported near to the stage to dance with a group of more than three hundred proxies doing variations on a series of weird movements. Megan would have taken it for spastic moshing except that the beat of their convulsing seemed to complement the music in a hypnotic way. Thomas' fat elderly body didn't seem to hold him back. The entire group was soon glowing bright red and were soon destroyed by a large claw.<br /><br />The claw dropped the group's flashing red power onto the stage. It merged with the drummer and transformed him, giving him an awesome jester's cap and extra attachments to his arms. <span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The drummer unleashed his full skill, </span>causing the ground to rumble and a violent wind to sweep across the field, throwing proxies around like leaves.<br /><br />T's mangled corpse, guts hanging out, teleported back over to Megan. It spurted blood as politely as possible while it knitted itself back together again.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Sorry about the mess. </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> That was kind of cool. </span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">Oh my gods.</span><span style="color: blue;"> Look at his hat! </span><br /><br />Thomas formed one side of a portal next to his intact hand and one portal next to the side of the drummer's head. T reached through and grabbed the cap. This theft wasn't on the primary concert layer, of course, because people weren't allowed on the stage. So only he and Megan saw it happen and the drummer kept his hat. But now T had a copy, which he promptly put on his head. It turned as red as T's hair.<br /><br />The giant claw hit another group on the other side of the field, and deposited their achievement in the robot. The entire giant robot flashed red. A Gear had been unlocked.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> <span style="color: blue;">They achieved the 'Gear Of The Slayer', and just in time. Some of the momentum to achieve a Gear is lost if it's not acquired by the end of a song and a new song starts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 100%;">With a final musical thrust, Crain stepped through a portal and was gone.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">2.</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">RETURN OF THE REVENANT</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The massive burial mound in the center of the East sent waves of blue pulsing through the grass, shaking the ground and beating back the West's invading red glow. A still anticipation came over the crowd. Then millions of spiders, of every size and species, exploded from the mound's North side and streamed toward the stage, consuming every proxy in their wake down to their skeletons. The skeletons clapped as they regrew their innards and skin with exacting anatomical detail. The spiders engulfed the stage. Some burrowed underneath it while a human sized mass coalesced on stage into a man dressed in a ratty t-shirt and blood stained jeans. The crowd chanted "Slain".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><u style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Slain</b></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #3d85c6;">Fighting specialty:</b> Sword and/or sorcery.<br /><b style="color: #3d85c6;">Musical style:</b> Nerd-punk.<br /><b style="color: #3d85c6;">Appearance:</b> Funky blue hair. Dead and beginning to rot. Still hot as Hell.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The steampunk look of the stage remained.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Slain</b></u></span><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: 100%;">:</span></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Crain sets a nice stage. Now let's mess that bitch up with a real horror show!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Slain tore a gaping hole into his wrist with his teeth. Blood pumped out of it and formed into a reptilian bassist.<br /><br /><u style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Slain</b></u></span><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> Crain's been naughty. So let's be wicked. There's a certain Old One with a taste for machinery and an undying itch for carnage. First help me invoke the </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">'Glyph of Alucard's Recurring Nightmare' with our song </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">'Return of the Revenant'. We shall summon Bath of the Abyss! </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />The crowd liked this announcement.<br /><br />The energy of Slain's infectious punk tune, accented by his tasty nerdcore flow, swept blue energy across the field. Megan involuntarily hopped in surprise as tendrils of Slain's energy whipped at her shoes. As Slain heated up, meter wide holes formed in the ground around the fields. Colorful demons popped out of them, grabbed people and pulled them under. Megan picked up a feed from one of the victims who was dragged at breakneck speeds through a series of tunnels underground before being ejected from another hole on the other side of the field. It looked fun.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Bath's a nasty one. This is going to be a good concert. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b> So if the crowd activates enough Glyphs, it summons an Old One. What if the audience fails?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> They may not get Bath, but they'll get something. Oh, check that out.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />A group, smashing into and rhythmically stabbing each other, effervesced blue. Horned demons, classic and horrid, popped out of the ground underneath them and quickly ate them until only gnawed skeletons remained. The demons, now glowing bright blue, took off for the mound, rudely clawing and climbing over everyone in their way. Once atop the mound they vomiting blue ooze onto it and then burrowed back into the Earth. The blue ooze sank into the ground and on that spot appeared a holographic semicircle twice as high as a proxy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> That's the first part of the Glyph. Two more and it's sealed to the mound. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Sweet. So what's with this muffled backbeat I can just barely hear?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> It's one of the many potential variations of this song. All CS songs have them. The audience can choose to broadcast whatever variation they like, bringing it into the concert layer for those around them to hear. The player's level of resonance determines how loud they broadcast their variations relative to the main song. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Turn on variations, listen for one you like, or make your own, and put it in your resonance list. You get a custom concert whether or not anyone else picks it up. And if most people resonate with a variation, </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">CS typically uses it and then everyone hears it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>: </span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">So some of them are fan mods? What's to stop some jokers from ruining the concert with an obnoxious variation?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> </span>You can broadcast anything you like, although unless you have some resonance no one will be able to hear it. Some griefers go around blaring car horns and baby cries, but few would res<span style="font-size: 100%;">onate with their sound so it's drowned out by more popular mods. Also, variations get less and less intense the more they are actively filtered away by people. The system works pretty well, but occasionally you do have to deal with idiots. That's the price of freedom. But freedom is required for significant fan input! That </span>backbeat you mentioned, for instance, is a fan mod. If you loosen up your audio filters, you'll hear faint fan mods all around you. Most CS songs have evolved using such mods in one way or another, whether it's a bass line, alternate lyrics, or non-music stuff like the popular hell slide you see people being sucked into. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> So we can change songs. What else?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Variations determine musical themes for the entire concert and partly determine the next song. The setlist determines the branching of the story, so the audience essentially determines everything. That's part of the reason for paying the participation fee for the concert. We can make awesome things happen, and explore CS' rather large branching event tree. The big deal is getting different endings, </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">many of which are still unexplored. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">Here, add that mod and dance with it to make it stronger.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">They both added the backbeat and it came in as clear to them as if it was part of the song. As they danced with the fan beat, others in their immediate area heard it coming in louder and a few picked it up and danced with it. Thomas' jester cap jingles as his large body cut loose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> We're turning blue. Should we be helping Slain?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Until there's conflict, most people help both sides as much as possible. Makes it more interesting. Besides, we're on the East side, so best to play nice with the natives. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Their dancing didn't accomplish much, as the crowd stopped carrying the fan mod. It was then that Megan realized that the music from the concert really was coming from all around her. She could hear it clearest from the center stage, but it was beginning to come more and more intensely from the surrounding sea of players who were starting to develop resonance. The main song was coming evenly from all directions, but she could hear other faint variations coming from all around, most intensely from those whose hair glowed brightest.<br /><br />During an instrumental section of his song, Slain performed a quick ritual summoning a small meteorite which crashed into the midsection of Crain's mech, sending people there flying in all directions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Slain</b></u><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">:</span></b> Death to metal monsters and their insipid inventors!</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Wow, they really seem to hate each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Most of the time. Wait, you know that Crain and Slain are the same person, right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Really? But they're so different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Crain and Slain are both played by Heather Crain. The drummer, keyboardist, and others are probably separate people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> How mysterious. No one knows who they are?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Not for sure. Even Heather's involvement isn't ironclad. She's only been spotted geographically near CS concerts a few times, but she could orchestrate the concert from a good distance away. Since she's setting the pace and doesn't have to make split second decisions, lag wouldn't necessarily be a problem for her. She's one of the few people I know that could pull off both roles by herself. Also, I haven't seen her around much since Crain Slain took off.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Do you know her?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It's a long story. </span><br /><br />A group of blue dancers completed a particularly gruesome and difficult rhythm "ritual" involving self-disembowelment and were consumed by demons, which vomited the last part of the needed sacrificial energy onto the mound. It formed a pentagram in the middle of the Glyph, completing it. It turned to stone, sealing it to the mound.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Alucard's Recurring Nightmare is a nice edge. Crain is definitely not going to like this.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> But they're the same person?<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You have so much to learn. </span><br /><br />By the end of the song the blue side of the field had extended a good deal into the West side, part of it almost touching the foot of Crain's mech. Thomas led Megan into the red. He knew what was coming next.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>3. <span style="color: #674ea7;">L</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">I</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">F</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">E</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">AS</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">W</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">E</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">KNOW</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">I</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">T</span></b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />A portal opened above Slain's head and Crain fell through it. She hit him in the head with her guitar as she landed, knocking him to the East side of the stage. He rose and they faced each other. Slain flipped Crain off and she stuck her tongue out at him. Then they began singing a duet about a current conflict in Ataraxia. Crain took the side of the mech-based Kirin and Slain sang in favor of the monstrous Faint. The entire field mixed with an extract from Ataraxia, changing proxy styles and altering movements and the color scheme.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> The battle's starting up early. OK, we fight for Crain this song. </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> How do we do that? </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Dance with Crain's resonance. Maybe do a simple rhythm game. And watch out for attacks.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Attacks like what?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Oh, you'll see.</span><br /><br />A stream of red and blue proxies quickly moved respectively to the West and East of the field. A jagged dividing line formed between them. Large groups of opposing colors remained behind "enemy" lines, resulting in localized tussles.<br /><br />Thomas left Megan, ran to the dividing line, and threw hundreds of donuts into the blue side.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Join the Crain revolution! We have donuts!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">A few people ate them, but most were wary of weird food thrown from random Crain-tainted video game characters.<br /><br />As the song picked up, skirmishes broke out along the line. Megan tried to dance as the ground quaked from the tension between the two singers. For a while it was like treading waves and she felt like she was on the verge of being swept away with the slightest misstep. But the more she danced, the more agile her character became.<br /><br />She was just getting the hang of increasing her resonance by dancing with Crain's song when things took a turn.<br /><br />Crain struck first. Dozens of car-sized robotic locusts descended from the sky onto Slain's side, harassing blue colored proxies and then exploding in a dazzling array of colors. In retaliation, Slain sent mutant, zombie dinosaurs rampaging through Crain's side. They stomped proxies and gnashed them in their teeth as they ran into the distance.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">A puss-oozing, half decayed stegosaurus slammed its tail into Megan, impaling her on one of its spikes and flinging her through the air. Her ruptured proxy split in two as it fell to the ground. It seriously smarted and was all a bit much for her. She left her concert proxy before it hit the ground and hovered nearby in her regular proxy.<br /><br />Inhabiting a non-concert proxy in the concert layer meant that she couldn't participate with the concert and wouldn't automatically appear to concert goers on that layer. But she could still fly around and experience the various sensations of the concert.<br /><br />She set her broken concert proxy to mimic her prior dancing and flew off to watch the crowd. Despite the carnage below, and Slain's multiplying attack monsters, taken straight from Ataraxia, the predominant smell above the Crain's side was that of musty old books. Crain's followers<span style="font-size: 100%;"> were making inroads into Slain's territory as they</span> moshed and thrashed. A small red group was fighting blue players near Slain's burial mound. Some of them were doing the robot to mock Slain's side.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Body parts flew in all directions on Crain's side as </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">small and large claws fell into the red crowd from the crane above, extracting the energy achieved by dancers successfully following Crain's schematics to activate various parts and Gears of the giant robot.<br /><br />Megan flew over Slain's side. It smelled like the ocean. And blood. Crain had sent a variety of mechanical creatures of indeterminate shapes, again taken from Ataraxia, to Slain's side, and they were laying down over-the-top brutality on Slain's people.<br /><br />Not that they needed help dismembering themselves. Slain's side featured the most horrifying synchronized dancing she had ever seen. There was biting, gashing, clawing, and furious self-mutilation. Some people repeatedly cut their own heads off and reattached them as part of some dance ritual. All in good fun, of course.<br /><br />Demons, large and small, consumed Slain's dancers as they completed sacrificial rituals to turn their energy into proper sacrifices to invoke the Glyphs that would harmonize with each other to summon some unspeakable ancient deity.<br /><br />Megan traced Thomas and spotted him dancing atop a giant freaky serpent, evading its whipping tentacles while pulling off yet more oddly specific dance maneuvers. She flew over to him and waved. He threw her a donut.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> What are you doing outside of your concert proxy? Get it and get up here!<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Up on the snake?<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">:</span></span></b></span></span> <span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">[weaving and dodging]</span></span></span></span></span> C'mon megs, ride the snake!</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Yeah... I'm not going to do that.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Well, go dance somewhere. This is a dueling song, you know. </span><br /><br />There was a commotion to the East. Crain had sent a ginormous cybernetic squid to wreck psionic havoc among Slain's followers. It crushed Slain's people with its giant tentacles, temporarily mixed up their proxy control schemes to impair their coordination, and blasted their senses with scenes of barren alien landscapes and obnoxious dancing mechanical crabs with high pitched voices. The crabs were the worst part.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Megan flew over to her concert body. She was feeling a little insecure being away from her physical body, so she checked one of her apartment's camera feeds and saw it lying peacefully on her bed. There were tons of sensors and alarms in place for the sake of safety, but it still felt good to check every once in a while. For a moment, she switched off her virtual tactile input so she could feel her physical. She kept her vision and hearing at the concert as she stretched out her physical body. Her left arm had fallen asleep, which wasn't actually dangerous, but she readjusted it anyway so she wouldn't have to deal with it later.<br /><br />She returned her tactile senses to the game and jumped into her autonomously dancing concert proxy. She put new effort into it, turning her hair a brighter shade of red as her proxy resonated with Crain's energy. She was soon mauled to death by a group of satanic marmots, but kept her wits about her and kept dancing as her body knitted back together, pushed on by the crazy energy of the concert. The mood was getting almost apocalyptic with the insane destruction being unleashed in all directions.<br /><br />Thomas, still riding the snake, spoke to her over a private audio feed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 100%;">[audio]</span> This is starting off a little rough. I just almost got killed. So to speak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> A little rough? It's like a warzone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 100%;">[chuckling]</span> It's only the third song. It's not even serious yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Right. So how could Heather Crain be both Crain and Slain during a duet?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br /></u></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It's easy enough to train a ghost to sing a song and dance on the stage. Actually, both proxies could be running ghosts, especially with Crain Slain's accumulated on-stage experiences as data. It takes more focus to manage all the mods than to actually play a song. Holy crud, hold on....</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas was partly flattened by a tentacle, but still managed to complete his dance. A crane fell from the heavens, smashing him to pieces and extracting his energy. More importantly, the crane pierced through the giant serpent too, leaving it with a gaping hole which slowed it enough for other players to tear into and kill it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas, having helped to vanquish the mega-serpent, found Megan again. Teleportation of game proxies had been locked down once the C/S conflict had begun, but luckily he had attained some cybernetic leg enhancements from scoring high enough on the dance. As soon as his legs had reformed, he used the powered leg bracers to jump over to her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It looks like you did a good job dancing. You know, the next time you could just turn off discomfort if things get crazy.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I'd still get thrown around. This is kind of unsettling.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> But Crain needs you! You can't just leave your body. Where's your game ethic?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I'm trying. It's scary here. Being cut in two hurt, but it's also just disturbing to be run over by a hell-tainted dinosaur.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> True. Don't worry, you're doing great. The people that don't have trouble adjusting to the full range of Outside experiences are the ones I worry about.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Did you have trouble like this?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Can't remember.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">By the end of the song, Crain's mech possessed the 'Gear of the Kirin', while Slain's mound sported the 'Glyph of the Berserk'. With a toothy, demented smile, Slain disappeared into a black puddle of ooze and flowed off the stage and into the ground. His monsters left Crain's field, for the moment.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">4.</span> SYZER'S FOLLY</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> This one's about a doomed soldier who cheated death and rode a wave of bloody chaos over the foul demons of the Faint realm. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">There was a short pause in the fighting at the dividing line between the two sides, but it didn't last past the beginning of the song. Crain's side slowly pushed the dividing line East.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Another one about Ataraxia. This song is good evidence that Heather Crain at least writes the songs for Crain Slain. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> How so?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> The perspective of this song fits with Heather Crain's during the incident. And it has an inside joke we shared. Someone else looking at the recording of the events could probably figure it out, but I can't imagine why they'd work it into a song.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Are you saying you were around for the incident?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Yeah, this one time in Aataraxia I kind of tricked Heather Crain into helping me out during a fight. She was the Pandemonium Syzer then.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> [moderately impressed] So, you do know her?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Yeah. We had this thing and uh... anyway, her role as Syzer proves she's fully capable of pulling off Crain Slain. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b> And that is the end of your story?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Listen a second.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #38761d;"><u style="color: #cc0000;">Crain</u><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> ...plans of waste. Pan vain and pulled her strings, Hanged Man drown their depraved campaign. In the Synk</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">, brain their kinks... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Hanged Man? Like you?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Yeah. This is the song where the riot started last time so now I have to be fat. [grabbing his belly for emphasis]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Seriously, this song is about something you did?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I'm mentioned in another song too. Anyway, she calls herself vain. That's the inane inside joke, that's not even interesting enough to explain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> So, Heather Crain was a Pandemonium in Ataraxia?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> More than that. She was the first true god of string manipulation. Does no one study history?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Crain's people unlocked the 'Gear Of The Gears' before the end of the song.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Isn't 'Gear of The Gears' redundant? </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> You're really gonna have to play Ataraxia sometime. The Gears are kind of like dungeon masters for Ataraxia. It's a good achievement. We might just have a chance of winning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="color: black;">5.</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">ANCIENT INEFFABLE ECHOES OF FORSAKEN AEONS FROM BEYOND THE WALL OF SLEEP, PART 4</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u>Slain</u>:</span></b> This one's for Lovecraft. Rot for eternity, you filthy liar!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">A full orchestra of revenants appeared on the roof of the stage, which grew walls to house them. The walls, like the members of the orchestra, were bleeding and crawling with insects. Slain started up the song and his energy filled Chimera Field. It sent spikes of molten blue death up through the ground of Slain's half, disintegrating thousands of proxies. Slain invoked the horror world of Painted Doors, and the environment and proxy designs of the field shifted to match. The field became cold and it began to rain heavily.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">It was a catchy song. Crain's side danced along with it as much as Slain's. Megan danced for Slain while Thomas ran over and climbed up the left knee of Crain's mech. It took some effort due to the relatively small size of concert proxies compared to the giant robot.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span><b>:</b> <span style="font-size: 100%;">[audio]</span> Come on up! This is a great spot for dancing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Yeah, I don't kno<span style="font-size: 100%;">w about </span>that. That's kind of high.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> O<span style="font-size: 100%;">h, whatever. It's not like a fall would kill y</span>ou.</span><br /><br />Megan haltingly climbed up the metallic mesh draped over the mech and after several near slips stood beside Thomas and looked out at the sea of people. It somehow felt like a more impressive view than when she had flown over the field, maybe because of the thrill of knowing that she could fall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Are you afraid of heights?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> A little.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> But they can't hurt you. Well, sometimes they can, but you know. Plus, you obviously fly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Yeah, but when you're flying like that, you control the gravity. I know it's silly, but being gravity bound and high up is freaky.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas nodded. They looked out over the throng below. <span style="font-size: 100%;">Mechanical bears and crocodiles left over from the last song tore through Slain's followers while large jawed clowns attempted to chew on, and feel up, Crain's people. The clowns were new, and maybe just a little too creepy for the audience.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Are we supposed to be up here? <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Wouldn't it be awesome if we weren't? Anyway, remove your filters so you can see everything.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u></span></b></span><b><span style="color: red;">:</span></b> <span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">[seeing everything]</span> Well, now I can see an orgy near the stage.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Oh, that's not important. That's just the designated orgy section. I don't really understand it.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Orgies?</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Just having one during Crain Slain. Kind of disrespectful. They might as well be napping.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> They <i>are</i> moving rhythmically to the music. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Forget about the orgy. I just didn't want you to miss the upcoming uh... ambiance. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />After five minutes of rapping about indescribable horrors</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">, a stone 'Elder Sign' appeared on Slain's burial mound. Thomas noted the already potent combination of stone Glyphs with concern. With Elder Sign, Berserk, and Alucard's Recurring Nightmare, Slain could already summon a relatively powerful demigod, at least compared to the potential Star class mech that red was preparing. Things were looking dire for Crain and her followers.<br /><br />Slain's Orchestra slowly melted away as the song ended. They screamed the whole time as they turned into puddles and melted off the stage roof and into the ground.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>6. <span style="color: #674ea7;">CANDY</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">T</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">R</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">A</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">I</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">L</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">TO</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">T</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">H</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">E</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">LITTLE</span> <span style="color: #674ea7;">D</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">E</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">A</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">T</span><span style="color: #674ea7;">H</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Crain phased on stage next to Slain. The two singers moved to the center of the stage as if they were about to fight, but then started singing in harmony. The sun rose and brightly illuminated Chimera Field. Double and triple rainbows arced across the sky, sprinkling flower petals and delicious gum drops over the crowd. The various demons and mechanical monsters harassing the crowds transformed into unicorns, adorable elves, and friendly hydra. The grass on both sides of the field turned purple, and all fighting stopped for the duration of the song.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> What's with this song? It's slow. Wait, is this a love song? </span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Yep, it's CS's only love song. Did you miss the special Candy Trail option?</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I thought it was just a... are those really...</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Crain and Slain's sexbots and trained ghosts. Grab 'em, they're both yummy.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> OK, so what's this "adult" opt-in... oh...</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Oral sex for everyone! You randomly get Crain or Slain. You only get the sensation, with no change in your concert proxy, so you don't know which one unless you check its tag. But they each have their own style, so concert regulars can immediately tell which one they get.</span><br /><br />Megan looked around at the suddenly relaxed crowd from atop the mech's knee. There didn't appear to be a single fight anywhere.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> The oral sex seems sort of extraneous.</span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> This is just before the big divide, so it's kind of a breather. What better way to calm everyone down than with rainbows and good head?</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Hey, I thought you said Crain Slain was parent friendly?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Everything is properly tagged. If there's a kid running around Outside without proper filters, Crain Slain is a pretty minor concern compared with Omni or thousands of other places.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> And I thought you said orgies were disrespectful?</span> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> When they distract, yeah. This is integrated into the concert. Plus, only having the sensation without the visuals keeps it from becoming a spectacle.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Those who opted-in to be orally pleasured by one of CS's sexbots determined the parts of their proxy bodies which would be stimulated, although most limited it to their genitalia because of the time constraints. A few people left their concert proxies to have sex with CS's ghosts in separate private spaces. Others would continue the oral experience long after the song ended. Proxy sex doesn't involve chafing or soreness, unless they're desired.<br /><br />After a few minutes, colorful flowers bloomed all over Chimera field. They shimmered magically in the sunlight and smelled of all kinds of delicious, dreamy goodness.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> This whole uh... thing is not bad. It is kind of weird though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You probably got Crain. She has a peculiar but effective cunnilingus technique.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I'll say.</span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> <span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">I got Slain this time. </span><span style="color: blue;">He's more straightforward for either genitalia. We can swap if you want.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I think I can manage.</span> <span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">This mass orgy of sorts is not as strange or awkward as I would have imagined.</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> That's because the experience is discrete. Except for the blooming flowers, which are a tasteful and anonymous visual tally of orgasms.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> You mean each of those flowers represents an orgasm? Holy crud. There are a lot of flowers.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Yep. You see what I was talking about before at Sam's party? You can have the sensations from all kinds of sex anywhere you want. It's fun, no one has to know, and few would even care if they found out. Shame is for the lame.</span> <span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Shame is for the lame? Did you just make that up?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u>:</b> I hope so.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The song wound down and the ending notes creaked and soured. The special Candy Trail oral sex opt-in ended by default, although many chose to keep it going. The sun set and the stars blanketed the sky once more with their cool glow. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The landscape transformed back into a battlefield of red and blue. The air felt different though, like it was charged.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> That was a beautiful song. And remarkably relaxing.<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> I hope you're rested up, because now the fun really starts.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Crain and Slain went back to their sides of the stage and stood silently with their heads downcast in intense concentration. The crowd was deathly quiet as it separated cleanly into red vs. blue. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Then a minor earthquake knocked Megan off her feet</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> and split the ground between the two sides, raising Slain's side a few inches higher than Crain's. Thousands of blue resonating proxies jumped over to Crain's side and moved into the crowd.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Holy frak. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b> What's going on? What's with the migration?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> The world is divided. It's unusual, but Slain has too much of an advantage so some of his people are coming over to balance it out a bit. To keep things interesting. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></b> Are we really in that much trouble?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Well, worst case is being devoured by an unspeakable evil that will digest our souls for ten thousand years. So not really. But we can still win! </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/02/episode-04-crain-slain-1-of-2_24.html">Next- Episode 04: Crain Slain (2 of 2)</a></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></b></div>
Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-58467606566957156992011-02-05T01:00:00.000-08:002011-08-21T16:37:47.198-07:00SELECTED VIRTUAL WORLDS AND SPACES<hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">
<br />The below worlds are mostly based on current fandoms. By the time full immersion virtual reality worlds exist, this list will be seriously out of date. Some of these worlds, such as Star Wars, will almost certainly be realized Outside. Others will have been forgotten by then. As well as beginning to establish the wide scope of Outside, I hope that this list will demonstrate the variety and extent of current fandoms. It’s amazing how much work fans have put into expanding and realizing their favorite fictional worlds. I believe that while professionals may create the initial structures of these worlds, it will be fans who ultimately do the most to fill them in and bring them to life. Middle-earth forever!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">
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<br />If anyone has other ideas for potential virtual worlds, let me know.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">
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<br />Titles in red</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">are involved in the story of Living Outside.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">
<br />Titles in blue</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">are for fun and to give some context for what’s going on Outside.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<br /><hr style="height: 3px;"><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">
<br /></span></b></u></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Realized Fantasy Worlds- Many with game elements:</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Adult Swim Continuum</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Adventure Time</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">With Finn & Jake</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Conan the Barbarian</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Discworld</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Comic Book Dimensions</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">DC/Marvel/Image/Dark Horse/Etc </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Doctor Who</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Eberron</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">D&D world.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Firefly</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Futarama</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Golden Martyr</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Based on the books. Epic horror-scape.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Harry Potter</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hitchiker's Guide to the Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mad Rush For The Scissors</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Magic Kingdom</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Matrix</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mega City, Machine City, Zion, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Middle-earth</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Miskatonic U</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Narnia</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Neverland</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Oz</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Planescape</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Epic D&D campaign setting.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Riverworld</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Springfield</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Stargate</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Star Trek</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Star Wars</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Toontown</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Crosslinked with the Magic Kingdom.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Tron</span></b></u></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Whedonverse</span></b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Angel/Buffy universe.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Wonderland</span></b></u></span></span></span></span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Worlds Designed To Evoke The Works Of Creators</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Al-buquerque</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">All things Weird Al. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Tim Burton’s “Nightmare”</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Neil Gaiman’s Dreaming</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">William Gibson’s Sprawl</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Junji Ito’s Spiral</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Awesome Japanese horror manga artist. Ironically, a “spiral”. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">David Lynch’s Subconscious</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Featuring the Twin Peaks- full immersion experience.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Anne McCaffrey’s Pern</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Takashi Miike</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Monty Python’s Outside Circus</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Michael Moorcock</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sam Raimi’s Bloody Mess</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Masamune Shirow </span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Neal Stephenson’s Metaverse</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Shinya Tsukamoto
<br />Tad Williams' Otherland</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Jhonen Vasquez</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Major Game Worlds with Social Components</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Ataraxia</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Premier gaming world of Outside.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Bullet Ballet</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Slow motion gun battles to the death! </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Bushido Blade</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Honor. Revenge. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">CyFrenia</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mech based offshoot from Ataraxia.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Eclipse Phase
<br />Dragon Warrior Outside
<br />Final Fantasy</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Grand Theft Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hellfray</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hero/Dragon</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Kill the dragon and his minions! Win his castle with all its goodies! Or become the dragon and fight off other players. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Kung Fu Continent</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Nintendo/Sega Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Pokemon, Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Puzzle Grind</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">One of the many, many puzzle worlds.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Resident Evil</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">One of the many game series that evolved into full immersion virtual worlds. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Silent Hill</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">A fun place to visit.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Space Wars</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Space opera central. In Space Wars, explosions are silent. Unless you’re the one exploding. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Super Happy Fun Land</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Has not been happy or fun since an unfortunate coup which [data redacted]. NOT to be confused with Happy Land.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Starcraft/Warcraft/Diablo Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Blizzard’s war on productivity continues.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Steam Nation</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Steampunk heaven with a robust gaming framework.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Yoma</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Inspired by Japenese horror manga Claymore, Berserk, Gantz and the works of Junji Ito.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Games And Entertainment- often includes social areas</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Destructo World</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The physical world, continuously deconstructed. With explosions and Katamari.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Dread Pirates</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Swashbuckling adventures on the high seas.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Happy Land</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The one place where bad things never happen. Except for the riots.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hot Pursuit</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Get away from the bad guys by car, by jetpack, or by parkour through the concrete jungle gym of Chase City.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hyper Grind</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Incredibly popular strategy game. One of T’s favorites.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mech Smash</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Notable for the exacting detail that goes into the mechs and mech combat, all of which is physically realistic and could actually occur in the natural world, given ridiculous resources.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Onion Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Quarter Arcade</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The most rocking arcade of all time. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Theme Parks Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Digitized Disney World, Universal Studios, Six Flags, Wet'n Wild, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Ultra-Epic Crash Forest</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mike’s favorite single player rpg. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Wild Blue Yonder</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Realistic aerial combat from every generation. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Anime Worlds</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">CLAMP!</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Dragon Ball</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Bravado and furious fighting, in that order.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Ghibli/Miyazaki</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Realized Worlds Collective.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Giant Robo</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Gundam</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Magical Girl World</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Naruto</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">One Piece</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Romance of the Three Kingdoms</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sakura Breeze</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Rumiko Takashi Collective</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Ranma ½, Urusei Yatsursa, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">World of Tezuka</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">And about a million more</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Music</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Crain Slain</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Featured in episode 4. Also has a decent rhythm game extract.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Ego Slider</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Gold Wire</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Slushmare</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Grid</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Expanding dance floor on an infinite plane. Music and vibe changes as you move in any direction.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Social Spaces, Many With Game Components</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Afterlife Collective</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Dozens of realized visions of the afterlife. Some heavenly, some hellish, frequently weird.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Communes</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Where millions live Outside. Artistic, religious, polyamorous, world building, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mars Colony</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Earthlings and Martians, coexisting peacefully on Mars. Many users play Martians, who have their own culture, social mores, and a developing language. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Lunar, Jupiter, and Europa Colonies</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Virtualized Cities</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Just about every city has been virtualized to some extent, but some have been “brought Outside” more than others, including New York City, London, Paris, Beijing, the mysterious land of Toronto, Canada, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Fan Conventions</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Anime, science fiction, horror, comics, gaming, etc. Some periodic, some perennial.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Film Festivals (perennial and periodic)</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Fantastic Fest, Cannes, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Graveyard</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Goth central. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Historic era simulations</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">These aim for realism. The 1980’s, Victorian England, the Aztec Empire, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Mixer</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Popular social space where participants are given random proxies each time they visit. Short, tall, thin, fat, male, female, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Mythic Golden Ages Of Countries</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Samurai Japan, 1001 Nights Baghdad, Three Kingdoms era of China, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mythologies Incarnated Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hindu, Arabic, Buddhist, Greco-Roman, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Ocean Outside</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Live at the bottom of the ocean! Stare at the weird animals. Watch out for Kraken. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Omni</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Social hub. Music, sex, spirals. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Philosophy And Debate Clubs</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Discussions of philosophy, religion, ad infinitum.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Pure Land</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Experiments and lessons in compassion. Meditation, empathy exercises, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sunshine City</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">One of the most popular and well realized meta-worlds of Outside. With a community of millions and a robust combat component. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Educational Spaces</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Virtual Universities</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Many are excellent and super cheap or free.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Virtual museums- </span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">Smith</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">sonian/Louvre/etc</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Touch the art! Set it on fire! Take it all home for free! </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Safari!</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Every damn animal ever. Yes, dinosaurs too. Watch them, shoot them, ride them, etc.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Maths</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Fuck yeah, maths.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Science Town</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Interactive science learning for all ages and levels of knowledge.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Horror Worlds</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Hell Fray</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Premier survival horror world. Epic.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Painted Doors</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Pink Cellar Door is legendary and has become a meme. Hint: do not touch pink cellar doors. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Reflecting Shadows (Color of Night)</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Surreal. Beautiful. Gruesome. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Still Space</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Dubious distinction of having contributed to at least two fatal heart attacks. Still includes no warning.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Swirling Abyss</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Spiral devoted to nightmare fetishists. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Undead Earth</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">There are many zombie game worlds. This is </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">the</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">premier zombie survival world. With a few nasty twists. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Combined SCP Foundation/Holders Universe</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Not for those who lack conviction. See these links:</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><a href="http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/</span></span></u></span></span></span></a>
<br /><a href="http://theholders.org/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">http://theholders.org/</span></span></u></span></span></span></a>
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Runs, Spirals, and Experimental</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">--7 colors represent the different types of game runs.</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Red</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Chase/racing</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Orange</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Strategy/puzzle games</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(241, 194, 50);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Yellow</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(241, 194, 50);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Action/fun</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(106, 168, 79);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Green</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(106, 168, 79);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Mech combat and flight</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Blue</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Horror</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(103, 78, 167);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Indigo</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(103, 78, 167);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sexual</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Violet</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Experiential/endurance/experimental forms</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">--There are 2 types of non-game runs:</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">White</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">not game focused, social, like wandering the lands or couch surfing.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Black</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Non-social. For fun or contemplation. Joy rides, retreats, etc. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">--Some specific runs:</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Rainbow Run</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Includes all. Legendary. Brutal. Insane. Fun to watch- from a distance.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Endless Run</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">With minimal effort, the flow will continue indefinitely. Great way to meander Outside. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Dark Side Run</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">One nasty piece of work. For rotten bastards.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">--Spirals: </span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Indra’s Net</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Spiral featured in Omni episode. With feeds from all over the physical world and Outside.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">--Experimental spaces:</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Vermillion Pleasure Slice</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">The Washer</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sexual Spaces</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">BDSM Communities</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Safe, sane and consensual. Safe and consensual anyway. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Downstairs Mixer</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Orgy goers provided with random proxies. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Friends and Lovers</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: </span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Focus on socialization and making connections. </span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Masks</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sex Spirals</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Spirals focused on sexuality. Best way to have sex with 100 people at once.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Oodles & Oodles</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Sex Arena</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">:</span></b></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Features various forms of combat. The winner has their way with the loser. Great way to meet people.</span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><u><b><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">Yiffville</span></b></u></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;">: Furry fun. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
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<br /><hr /><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --</style><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent;"></span></span></span></span></span></span>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-58884975212112943292011-02-04T23:49:00.000-08:002011-09-04T03:25:20.345-07:00Episode 05: Apartment Living<hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>T'S APARTMENT</b>
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<br /><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thomas woke in his physical body at 9 a.m. when his agent Villain jumped on his face, as scheduled. T threw the chinchilla across the room and sat up on his bed in the main room of his apartment.
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Complete list of every object in T's apartment:</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1 bed with 2 sets of sheets and 2 cyber-enhanced pillows</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1 folding chair </span><span style="font-size:100%;">and 1 folding coffee table</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">4 cyber-enhanced outfits, 2 pairs of tennis shoes, 5 pairs of socks and underwear
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1 set of enhanced augmented reality gear with sensors</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1 CyberFit exercise machine</span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1 computer with accessories
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">5 surveillance bugs, 2 cleaner bots
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">toiletries, minimum kitchen ware, consumables
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">a small box of nostalgic items which he had digitally duplicated and often thought about throwing away
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">His apartment complex catered to those who mostly lived Outside. His apartment was 250 square feet, composed of a main living area, a small kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. It was more than he needed. More important than space, the complex provided an excellent internet connection. T's computer served as a high speed wireless hub for connecting his plant to the internet from anywhere within the apartment. For the rare occasions when T physically ventured from his apartment, he had access to a decent wireless service to maintain his internet connection, but it wasn't as snappy.
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<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">His bed was high quality, which was good because he spent a good deal of time lying on it. His pillows, wired to his computer, provided a close range wireless connection with his plant for when he was lying down. Both his computer and his pillow featured easily accessed physical kill switches for disconnecting from Outside.
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">His walls were white, free of clutter, and smart. They had cameras and microphones and were capable of displaying video and sound, but T had never used them for that. T also owned no physical media of any kind, and so had no bookcases or media centers.
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<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">T ate donuts for breakfast. At least, that's what he tasted. He fed his physical body only nutritious foods, in this case oatmeal. With the ability to change the taste of his food, he had no excuse to eat junk.
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<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After breakfast, T ran using his CyberFit exercise machine, which had been provided with the apartment. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Based off of designs originally developed to allow for natural movement and full body haptic feedback in virtual reality, CyberFit machines accommodated a wide variety of movements and provided resistance for the strengthening of all muscle groups</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. CyberFit machines were designed for plant users, who could strap themselves in and program their plants to take their physicals through a series of exercises while they were focused elsewhere. Removing the inconvenience and much of the unpleasantness of exercise made it much more appealing. Like eating right, exercising helped sustain and strengthen the infrastructure for what really mattered- the brain. </span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">That morning, Thomas used one of the machine's games which involved running away from Draculas, which he found effective motivation.
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<br />After exercising, T was about to take a shower when he was alerted that groceries had been left at his front door. His apartment automatically ordered new supplies when he was running low on something. It timed groceries to be delivered when he was expected to be at the apartment, which was pretty much always. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">T didn't own a car, but cheap automated rentals were available </span><span style="font-size:100%;">on 15 minutes notice. He just didn't like to physically leave the apartment.
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<br />He put his groceries up and took a shower.
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<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><hr style="height: 3px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>MEGAN'S BIG DAY BEGINS</b>
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan woke up, got ready, and performed the synchronization and calibration exercises for her plant. This involved going through the plant's daily diagnostics, which only lasted a few minutes. She spent a few more minutes fine tuning plant and proxy settings before she was ready. She laid her physical body out on her bed, setting it to change position every once in a while to prevent bed sores. She created a proxy superimposed on and synchronized with her physical to ease the transition, and then switched over to inhabiting her proxy.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Switching to a proxy involved the user's plant routing the sensory signals from the virtual proxy body to the brain, and the motor signals from the brain to control the proxy body. The plant monitored the physical signals which were cut off for safety. Just about every part of a plant user's body which interacted with or experienced the outside world could be safely shut out entirely. A plant user's limbs, muscles, skin, genitalia, ears, eyes, mouth, back of the throat, vocal chords, and sinuses could be entirely diverted to a proxy body, cutting off their physical sensations to the brain. </span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The plant was designed such that signals to and from most internal organs- such as the heart, lungs, and stomach- couldn't be altered, except to lessen pain and discomfort. Proxy users' bowel and bladder sensation and control also remained intact. Unless something went wrong, the average proxy user was not usually aware of the faint trace of their internal organs anyway due to habituation to their steady signals, which were monitored for health.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The proxy Megan transitioned to mimicked her physical body in every way it could, so that Megan felt very little change as she switched over. For a moment she was receiving fading sensory information from her physical and her proxy at the same time as the plant faded in signals from the proxy. Mixed states like this, combinations of sensory and motor signals between proxies and physical bodies, were common and useful.
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<br />The sensations and control of the mouth and tongue, for example, could be entirely diverted to a proxy. However, to prevent choking, the sensation of most of the physical throat cannot be cut off. Instead, the usually minimal physical sensation of the throat could be mixed with the simulated sensations of a proxy throat. This allows proxy users to have a realistic simulated eating and drinking experience, though their stomach obviously wouldn't register virtual yummies. Users could also change the flavor and texture of physical food with a mixed state, although it was common sense to not augment the size and consistency of the food to avoid choking.
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<br />Likewise, the anus and rectum couldn't be entirely diverted to a proxy, but their signals could be made faint and mixed with proxy signals for the obvious desired simulated experiences. Stimulation of the prostate and the cervix and uterus was likewise possible with mixed states.
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After Megan had eased herself into a proxy and jumped around a bit, she sent a message to T.
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<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span> </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[text to Thomas] Can I port in?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> Go ahead. </span>
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan appeared in T's apartment, next to his bed.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">:</span> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[hugging her] </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Welcome to my place. This layer's not very interesting. </span>
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan looked around at T's few possessions and blank walls. T's bed and exercise machine filled most of the room. Thomas' unaugmented physical stood up next to his proxy, dressed only in underwear.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">It's been a while since I've seen your physical body. It's two inches shorter than your proxy. And your head is shaven. Looks good.</span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> What? This old thing? </span>
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">His proxy punched his natural body onto the bed. It sat there smiling idiotically.
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<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">You've gotten so muscular. </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> When I'm running around Outside, I frequently have it doing isometric exercises or working out on the machine. Adrenaline and endorphins enhance the games, and its important to maintain your infrastructure. </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">A lot of people have those machines. Is it better than free weights and jogging?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Oh yeah, you should get one. It's a lot safer for plants when they're Outside. You can't really jog anywhere physically without paying attention, it's too easy to fall down. Hard to hurt yourself with the machine.
<br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> But isn't it dangerous, leaving your body going while you're away? Couldn't you mess something up?
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> The plant picks up on pain or soreness and gives warning, but I usually do a mixed state of my proxy senses and a faint sense from my physical so I know immediately if there's discomfort or pain. At a minimum. I leave it walking and doing basic exercises for a few hours a day, and that keeps it pretty fit and tone. I have to be careful or it tires me out by the end of the day. Even if you're in a proxy, the brain tires from physical exertion, you know.</span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Well, I wish I had a body like yours.</span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />T's proxy took out a handgun and shot his physical in the head. Megan jumped, mostly from the loud bang. T's head spurted blood and slumped over onto the bed.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">:</span> </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[putting on shades] </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">You can have it.</span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[getting a hold of herself] That was really scary for a moment.</span>
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">T's physical body popped back up, smiling. It was still leaking blood from the hole in its head. Megan, not wanting to encourage him, went over to the kitchen and looked at his consumables list. It was a little too healthy for her taste, except for his supply of cheap vodka and special brownies. </span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> So much health food.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> You should totally only eat health food. You can manage its taste, so that doesn't matter. And maintaining your body is vital. It's the only support system for our brains we have just yet.</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Yeah, yeah. These pot brownies, are they from the grocery store, or homemade? </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> From the store. But they're pretty good. And potent.</span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >How does being high mix with being Outside?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> It depends on what you're doing. For music and mindless fun it's great, but not so much for anything requiring precision. Pretty much what you'd expect, really.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">T's proxy sat on his physical's lap.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />
<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">This place is depressing</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u></u></b></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>.
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Oh, right. Here's my private layer<span><span>.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Megan added T's layer. The walls and ceiling were suddenly covered with animated movie and concert posters. The carpets were pristine, and the space smelled of strawberries. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />
<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> Actually, this space is really boring too, and not what you came here for. To the secret layer!</span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>THE SADDEST KEY IN THE WORLD </b>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thomas reached down his throat and pulled out a black marble. He dropped it and it exploded into a full sized door. It had a stone frame around a flowing mercury center. Thomas poked the center and drew a line of mercury through the air until it dropped back between the frame.
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Jump on in! </span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Thomas hopped into the mercury and disappeared. Megan hesitated a moment before following him. An instant later she was accelerating down a winding water slide. She fell through a hole at the bottom of the slide into a dirt room and managed to land on her feet. The hole above closed.
<br />
<br />The dirt room contained Thomas, a few small roots hanging out of the walls, and a panda. The panda was sitting in a corner, facing the center of the room, chewing on a piece of bamboo.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">OK, what's with the panda?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Part of the key. If you don't perform the secret actions exactly right, the room fills with stinging millipedes. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Let's get it right then. What do I do?</span>
<br />
<br />Thomas pulled a .45 colt out of one of the roots in the wall and handed it to Megan.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> You must murder the panda.</span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Lovely.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> See that one discoloration on the left side of its neck? Shoot that spot, point blank, and then cradle the panda as it dies. Only then shall the way open.</span>
<br />
<br />Megan shot the panda and held it for the short while it took to die while its hot blood poured into her lap.
<br />
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I'm sorry, panda.</span></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u><b>Panda</b></u>: </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[with its last breath] </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">It's a living.</span>
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan lowered the panda's body to the ground and handed the gun to Thomas, who tossed it back into the wall. The panda returned to its sitting position and nodded to Megan. A door opened in the wall next to it.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Do you have to do this every time you go in there? </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Oh, not me. I just go wherever. It's to keep strange people out.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Wouldn't they have to pull the entrance out of your throat?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> I already said they were strange. Besides, you're missing the spirit of fun.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">The fun in murdering pandas?</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Moving on...</span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>T'S LAIR</b>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan walked with T</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> through the door into a brightly lit dirt hall. The door closed behind them. There were numerous open doorways with frames of various hues lining the sides of the hall until it forked off in the distance. There was a hole in the ground halfway down the visible hall and further down there was another one on the ceiling.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan stepped in a shallow yellow puddle and noticed that her shoes had vanished at some point.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Is that, uh... </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Assign your sense of taste to your feet. Trust me.</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan fumbled through her sensory allocation settings and her foot in the puddle tasted butterscotch. She noted puddles of assorted colors along every surface of the hall. She gave the sense of taste to her hand and slapped a puddle on the wall. It was pistachio.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> Every day is a different randomly selected goodie for the hall. Today is flavor puddles.
<br /></span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Yummy. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">So far it looks very snug. Like a Hobbit hole or the Batcave. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> It's a simple lair. You know what, I should go run some lines. But nothing from this point on will maul you too badly, so have a look around. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Here, have a Villain. I trained him as a guide. </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thomas imploded away as he tossed Villain onto Megan's shoulder. Megan petted his soft fur.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> I suggest you start with the media center. It's the first door on the right. </span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">:</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[splashing] Hold on, I found a </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >raspberry danish puddle</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">... </span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>MEDIA CENTER</b>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan stepped into the media center. The first room was semicircular and had three doors- a door with a red curtain drawn over it to her left, a door with a colorful beaded curtain straight ahead, and a stained glass door depicting a battle between angels and clowns to her right. She went to the right.
<br />
<br /><u>Best Library Ever</u></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Stepping through the incorporeal glass, she found herself in a narrow hall. It extended to the horizon. The ground and the wall to her left were made of soft granite. The wall to her right was a staggeringly huge bookshelf, stretching from the entrance of the library into the far distance, and from the floor to the sky. There was no roof, just granite and books and more books.
<br />
<br />Megan ran a finger along one of the shelves and appreciated its detail. She wiped a thin layer of dust off her finger onto her pants. The shelf at her eye level contained the complete works of Thomas Ligotti and some related existential horror fiction. She picked a book up and a recliner appeared behind her. She held the book and thumbed through it, feeling its weight and smelling its musty, yellowed pages. She had grown up with only a few paper books, but they still carried a mystique for her, as did the perfect simulation she was admiring. It was a convincing experience as only a plant could offer, to the extent that <span style="font-size:100%;">Megan would not have been able to differentiate the book she was holding from a physical book.</span> Haptics could create a similar effect, but lacked a little something.
<br />
<br />She put the book back and the recliner behind her disappeared.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Villain, how does this bookshelf work?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> The standard way. Just ask it for something or apply force to the shelf to scroll it. </span>
<br />
<br />Megan shoved a shelf diagonally down and to the right. The bookshelf flew by in a blur, shelves disappearing seamlessly into the ground and the wall by the entrance. She put out a finger to stop it and was faced with science magazines. She made a less forceful downward motion with two fingers and the bookshelf slowed until she put her palm up, stopping it on collections of webcomics.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">V, how were the items in this library selected?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> The current filter shows everything Thomas has ever read some part of.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> It includes websites, comics, books, textbooks, and magazines. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Seriously? There's so much stuff here.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> You can also filter to display T's favorites or to show everything in the standard comprehensive collection.
<br />
<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The standard comprehensive library collection lived up to its name, containing most titles below a certain data size. It mostly excluded more immersive works. An average computer hard drive could easily contain the collection, and so most people had much or all of the collection.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[to bookshelf] Show everything.</span>
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The library shifted, with countless new books expanding every section.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> She was still looking at webcomics starting with R, but there were a whole lot more of them. She flicked the shelves and when it stopped she was still looking at webcomics beginning with R. She flicked it harder and ended up looking at webcomics beginning with S. She picked up a book titled "The Complete Subnormality", and sat down in the recliner as it appeared behind her. It was remarkably comfy. She was perusing the book when she noticed an attractive middle-aged Japanese maid dusting the shelves nearby.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Why is there a maid?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> Ambiance. And such.</span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Oh.... </span>
<br />
<br />She remembered the granite wall. She turned and <span style="font-size:100%;">pointed at it purposely with her index finger and flicked it to the side. A beach appeared in place of the granite, sending a cool breeze over her. The floor was now sand. Clouds covered the sun, giving just the right amount of light and warmth for reading.
<br /></span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan turned back to the shelves and scrolled through them by flicking her fingers before realizing that she would never get anywhere that way.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</b> Batman comics. </span>
<br />
<br />A book titled, "Batman Comics" appeared floating next to her. She tossed the webcomic collection into the shelves where it vanished, and opened up the Batman book. The table of contents was quite extensive, featuring thousands and thousands of comics and even old animated series which she could watch right on the page. She touched an issue in the index and the book became a pristine copy of that comic, complete to its dimensions and the feel of its paper. The comic was interesting enough, so she brought out a pencil and drew a mustache on Batman, her way of bookmarking it. The book, with any alterations she made to it, would be kept available via her SIS as a title of interest.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Change this book to a random skit based web series. Highly ranked.</span>
<br />
<br />The comic morphed into a book. She flipped to the middle and touched one of the paneled skits. It expanded to the whole page while it played. It was crude, but amusing.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Who would watch them so small like this?
<br />
<br /></span>She stretched the page out to make it larger, held it up a few feet away from her and let it go. It hung in the air while the video played and then returned to its regular size and fell into her lap when the video was done.
<br />
<br />Turning back to the beach, she flicked a finger at it and it became the bridge of a starship, with a majestic starscape and an alien planet visible through its large viewport. The ground was aluminum. Another flick and she was in a dense jungle, complete with a dirt ground and jungle noise. Another flick and she was on a castle rampart, overlooking a large ongoing medieval battle. One final flick changed it to a skyscraper view of a city crawling with monsters, which were barely visible through a deep fog.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />On impulse she threw the book she was holding through the skyscraper's window, with a satisfying crash. Having gotten a feel for the library space, Megan walked back to the semicircular entrance and then through the beads of the center door. On the other side, she walked down stairs into a basement.
<br />
<br /><u>Classic gaming rec room</u>
<br />
<br />The classic gaming room featured a pool table, a bar, and a couch facing a small screen on a cabinet. Megan turned the couch into the library's recliner and jumped onto it. A window popped up with a selection of game emulators that included a comprehensive listing of every video game console that ever existed.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> It had all the Segas, Playstations, Xboxes, Nintendos, etc. It also had an extensive list of PC gaming platforms. It was essentially able to emulate any game, contemporary or antique, built to be played primarily through a screen. It was a standard classic gaming set, but Megan hadn't interacted with one since her plant, so she was excited.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />She selected Super Nintendo and that console appeared in the cabinet. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The screen above it became a small, boxy television appropriate for the game's time, but Megan switched it to a larger screen. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">The system's controller appeared hovering in front of her, plugged into the console. She grabbed it and a window with more controller options popped up, alongside a complete list of SNES titles. T's favorites were highlighted.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Ooh, Super Mario World.</span>
<br />
<br />A Super Mario World cartridge appeared in her hand. She didn't feel like getting up so she threw it at the TV, and as expected, it flew into the system's cartridge slot and the game started. She found to her delight that she was receiving tactile feedback as if she were Mario. Her normal proxy senses were slightly faded out and she could feel herself running, jumping, falling, smashing blocks, and being hit by enemies.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Fun feedback. Does it work for all the games?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> You can estimate proxy senses for most game characters, but its only been fine tuned for the more popular games.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><b>Megan</b></u><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span> [to the screen] Sonic the Hedgehog for the Genesis. </span>
<br />
<br />Megan was now holding a Sega Genesis controller and the game started up. Megan played the first level filled with the joy of Sonic speed.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Just wow. I'll bet that works perfectly for first person shooters. Do online games work?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> Sporadically, mostly popular nostalgic titles like Mario Kart and Halo. There are also classical gaming clubs, where proxies get together in spaces like this and play old games while consuming snack foods contemporary to the era. </span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">That is so nerdy. T have any other exciting enhancements?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> There's T's challenge gaming mode, but I wouldn't recommend it. </span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[to the screen] T's challenge gaming mode! Original F-Zero. </span>
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">She was happily zooming along halfway through the first lap of the futuristic racing game when a loud vacuuming noise started nearby. Then an increasing number of cats jumped on and off her lap, meowing obnoxiously. Blood dripped from the ceiling onto her head, although neither it nor the cats ever obscured her vision or interfered with her hands. Soon the room was filling rapidly with cold water. Before the end of the second lap, the water was above Megan's head. The cats began drowning, while the blood attracted sharks which swarmed around her.
<br />
<br />Obnoxiously loud and large explosions, unmuted by the water, occurred in Megan's peripheral vision. They seemed to get closer and closer but never actually reached her. The now dead cats turned into zombies and began lightly chewing on her legs and scalp. The force of gravity affected Megan's upper body reversed, so it felt like she was about to fall into the sky. The water became crystal clear honey and rapidly drained from the room, leaving flopping sharks everywhere. The honey didn't affect her eyes or hands, but it did attract an army of ants that formed a thick layer covering her. They didn't bite her but they tickled and itched horribly.
<br />
<br />Megan somehow got past the first stage of F-Zero and was starting the second when the zombie cats became more active. They were rapidly being consumed by the ants, but that barely slowed their chewing. The smell was truly horrible, and Megan considered turning it off, but didn't want to cheat.
<br />
<br />The floor disappeared and the contents of the space fell with acceleration toward a violently active super volcano. The screen fell relative to Megan, so as not to interrupt her playing. The space got hotter and hotter. The ants screamed in terror. Mostly-eaten cats chewed on her legs and opened a hole in her cheek which gushed grape soda everywhere. Her seat started shocking her each time she passed a car, but Megan's final straw was when the dozen dying sharks falling all around her pulled out oversized vuvuzelas and bagpipes.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Quit! I quit! Gods! What the hell. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The space went back to normal and Megan finished the second stage before getting up to leave. She noticed a sliding glass door beside the exit. Above it said "Quarter Arcade".</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">What's that place?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">That is a popular gaming space designed to appear and function as a classic arcade. It features exacting replicas of thousands of old arcade machines. They even take tokens. There are social areas, pizza and other snacks, tournaments, and special events. At the moment there are more than 3000 people inside playing games. The atmosphere is competitive, but friendly. And the joysticks are only greasy if you want them to be.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"></span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan saved Quarter Arcade's tag and returned to the entrance area, where she walked through the left door with the red curtain.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><u>Universal Movie Theater</u>
<br />
<br />Megan found herself standing in the grand lobby of an old movie theater. There was a snack bar and advertisements for old and new movies in the forms of posters, cardboard cut-outs, holograms, and interactive projections.
<br />
<br />There was only one theater so Megan entered it. She grabbed a seat in the middle of the small, empty theater. A window popped up showing a complete index of every film ever made up until the present. <span style="font-size:100%;">Almost all were available. <span style="font-size:100%;">There was also a filter available to display T's favorite films.</span></span>
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Anything interesting playing?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u></b></span>: </span><span style="font-size:100%;">[grooming his fur] </span><span style="font-size:100%;">We have all movies and their fan mods and edits. They are as high definition as possible, though degradable for authenticity. There's an option to make any of them 3D, but further immersion such as smell or tactile is spotty for most old titles unless its been specially modded. I'm sure you know that it is customary to donate a small amount of money to a film's creator if you like it. Some films currently making the rounds have suggested donations.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />The entire collection was easily streamed from the internet, but T kept more than two million movies on his hard drive, mostly because he just liked having them there. Once a week his computer downloaded all of the new movie titles so he could have an up to date collection.
<br />
<br />Megan brought up the movie options in a window and scrolled through them. They included trailers, which could be contemporary for the film selected, modern, or some mix.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Pee-wee's Big Adventure. 2D. Start where he dances in the biker bar. </span>
<br />
<br />The theater morphed into a standard theater from 1985, the year it was first in theaters. The picture and sound were far from optimal, but seeing a movie in its original setting had some appeal. She selected some snacks, and a bag of popcorn and a soda appeared in the seat next to her. She munched popcorn and looked around at the empty theater.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Add an audience. Half full, but boisterous. No babies.</span>
<br />
<br />Random proxies wearing clothing typical of 1985 appeared, filling the theater, having great fun. Megan approved.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Now let's do Scott Pilgrim in 3D Imax. No glasses, they're annoying. Start right before the first fight.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" > Simulate opening night, theater filled with fans. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A pop up informed her that there was a public showing of Scott Pilgrim set to begin in 6 minutes. Anyone with a virtual theater could host any movie they wanted simply by announcing the movie and its start time. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">This would result in most cases with a full theater of enthusiastic fans. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">This let anyone watch their favorite movies with a live audience whenever they wanted, recreating the full theater experience.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Participants could change their own subjective view of the theater to their liking, except for the number of seats, which the host set or let expand. Obnoxious individuals or groups were easy enough to filter, so you never had to deal too much with trolls unless you wanted to. Hosts could try nasty tricks, but the standard theater interface limited the annoyance they could cause, and they would get a bad reputation for things like splicing in porn to children's films.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Popular movies were constantly having public showings. Movie lovers rarely had to host their own screenings of any movie they were likely to want to see in a group, when they could just wait a minute for the someone else's screening. Even non-implant augmented reality, such as Mike's, could satisfactorily simulate the theatrical experience. Thus, physical movie theaters had become a rarity.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Crowds were fun, but Megan didn't have the time to watch an entire movie at that moment. She ignored the pop up and it disappeared. The space and screen expanded into an Imax theater circa 2010. The 3D effect was pretty good considering it wasn't native, but it was just a visual illusion as Megan discovered when she tried to open a portal to grab some coins from the screen. She noted that one of the movie's options was a more immersive fan mod, but didn't have time to find out what that meant. She left the theater and the media center and went back into the main hall of T's lair.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">It had a few nice touches, but overall that was a pretty average media center. Am I missing anything?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">You are missing the social component. T is a famous Outside personality, and his SIS has a few million followers, many of whom track his media consumption. When he favorites a book, game, or movie, many people check it out. </span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >He's definitely a cultural disseminator, even if he is just a minor celebrity. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >Right. When he hosts a movie in his theater, it frequently attracts thousands of people. He is known for supplying special treats related to the film, as well as having excellent after parties and discussions. His fan mods are popular too. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Hey, what about his favorite music and TV shows? </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> Available via SIS. Consumption of TV and music is less about context for Thomas, so he doesn't need a special setting for them. </span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>THE SAFE ROOM AND THE SEXY ROOM</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Megan danced in a blueberry puddle for a few seconds before moving on. A force field across the next door prevented Megan from entering the room. Inside was a proxy of Thomas lying on a bed.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br />
<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Is this for sex, or what<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">?
<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> The sex space is through the next door on the left. This is what's called a safe room. You should get one if you don't already have one. It's for sudden escape from unpleasant situations if you don't want to kill switch back to your physical. It can also simulate body parts if you lose them in a game so you don't get phantom limb symptoms.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">And it's on a bed because he has bots have sex with this proxy so he can covertly get off whenever, right?</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> You'd have to ask T about that. </span>
<br /></span></div>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan petted a tabby cat that was walking by on the ceiling.<span style="font-size:100%;"> She looked into the next room. It was light blue and contained two huge four poster beds, a jacuzzi, a sex swing, a bed shaped like a heart, and various implements hanging from the walls. The room was lit by candles, and the floor, walls and ceiling were softly cushioned and covered in satin sheets. The options presented for the room included mirrors, jello wrestling, low gravity, lighting schemes, and several romantic environments such as a flowery forest grove and the nighttime deck of a cruise ship.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Anything interesting here beyond the obvious?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> Just that this room is a secured <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">shared </span></span> space. That makes it neutral territory for all parties who enter it. In other words, no one can spring nasty surprises. When T has visitors in this room, it is the only room in his lair he does not have complete control over.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Interesting. I guess that makes sense. So where are all the subservient nubile sexbots?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> They are often brought here, of course, but the sexy room is primarily for human guests. T's sexbot gallery is through the next door.</span></span>
<br />
<br />
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>THE HAREM</b>
<br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan moved on and pulled aside the veil to the harem. The space inside was sunny, frilly, pink and covered the area of a warehouse. Its ground and walls were cushioned satin like the sexy room, but the ceiling was an ornate glass dome. It </span><span style="font-size:100%;">contained numerous beds and couches, upon which lounged T's immense collection of sexbots.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Some posed, waved, or writhed. Some danced, alone or with other bots. But most were engaged in just about every imaginable erotic and sexual act.
<br />
<br />The sexbots had a large set of costumes and p<span style="font-size:100%;">rops- </span><span style="font-family:'times new roman';font-size:100%;">chains,<span style="font-family:times new roman;"> collars, leather, whips, lingerie, business suits, spandex, bunny ears, etc</span>. Many were naked.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> They </span>were male, female, and androgynous. There was every color and style of hair, including baldness. They had a wide variety of body shapes, piercings and body modifications. Every natural and unnatural skin tone and ethnicity was present.
<br />
<br />Most were humanoid. For skin, most had soft, warm, human flesh. Others were made of ceramic, cloth, stone and metal. There were androids, cyborgs, robots, angels, demons, and catgirls. They were natural and animated. Tusks, visible brains, numerous kinds of tentacles, udders, and innumerable other oddities were present.
<br />
<br />Megan hovered a few feet above the crowd and darted around the room, looking them over. Many made seductive eye contact and suggestively gestured to her. The attention was exhilarating, but creepy.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />T's harem included musicians like Crain and Slain, actors and their characters, T's past lovers, other people he personally knew, and specially designed and trained sexbots from all over Outside. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan spotted a sexy female hitler dancing with Death. There was a familiar anthropomorphic cross-dressing bunny going down on a spider girl. She recognized at least two Ataraxic pandemonium. She was having difficulty getting her mind around the scope of what she was witnessing.
<br />
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Animal features were common: </span><span style="font-size:100%;">ears, tails, fur, scales, feathers, wings, and claws. There were also many straight up "furry" proxies representing a wide variety of anthropomorphized life forms: mammal, reptilian, avian, plant, and insectoid.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There was an amazing assortment of eroticized fantasy creatures: dragonborn, dwarves, elves, gargoyles, gnomes, harpies, lamia, mermen, nymphs, orcs, slime girls, succubi, vampires, water elementals, werewolves, yeti, a large set of yokai, and many more.
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There were a few proxies much larger than the rest. There was a dragon with female sexbots climbing and lounging all over it. There was a giant woman being pleasured by numerous male sexbots. There was a giant wall of slime molesting anything it could get its tentacles on. There was a medium sized Sphinx which Megan recognized from the webcomic she was just reading. There was also a strangely alluring, 15 foot high silver metallic praying mantis with a rose for a head.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />There were smaller proxies too: faeries, miniature women, and living dolls. There was a familiar cartoon mouse wearing goggles, fixing a robot with her tiny wrench.
<br />
<br />There were a set of 6 small to medium sized clouds which Megan recognized as abstract sex interfaces. She'd always wondered how they worked.
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There were a wide variety of proxies in animated and comic book forms, especially in anime styles. <span style="font-size:100%;">There were classic animated princesses, cartoon icons, video game characters, comic book heroes/villains, anime heroes/villains, and famous characters from Outside worlds. </span>These animated characters were mixed in with the more realistic proxies. This mix unnerved Megan, mostly because of contrast with the animated characters' unnatural proportions, so she pushed the animated proxies into their own section, to which they were instantly segregated. Megan flew over it and her proxy turned animated to match the prevailing style. They didn't look as weird in their usual context. </span>
<br />
<br />In short, T's collection was a veritable who's who of attractive celebrities, characters, and monsters.
<br />
<br /></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> This is T's complete collection, right?</span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> No, this filter just shows the bots T has had sex with. It contains 832 proxies. The complete collection contains 4,067 sexbots. T's favorites filter contains 87 bots.
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> That is insane. It must have taken him forever to get this many.
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> This is not at all a large collection. Lovebots are easy to accumulate. In fact, there are sites with millions of different bots and ghosts, of varying quantities, produced by the sizable and robust community of sexbot enthusiasts. To get some idea of what's out there, you might check out Saitou's collection. [link] It is almost legendary among your circle of friends, though it is likely the result of neurotic compulsion. There was a time when some collected hundreds of thousands of pornographic pictures and videos. Sexbots and their ghosts are now as easy to collect as images, though much more effective in their purpose. T's collection is of course available for download freely over his SIS.
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Would they all fit on a regular hard drive?</span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> Sure. T has them all on his, though he has backups elsewhere. Their proxies and ghosts do take up a large amount of room, but many trained sexbots are barely modified from the set of standard sexbots, so there's a good deal of redundancy.
<br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan changed the room's filter to display T's entire collection of bots and turned up their sexual behavior, just for fun. The room greatly expanded and the bots went at it. Megan found herself completely overwhelmed at being surrounded by the largest orgy she had ever personally witnessed.
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> How can T's computer handle all of this?</span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> Most of these sexbots are operating in demo mode since they're not interacting with a more complex person. T's computer certainly couldn't host a human orgy of this size. </span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan pulled up a window showing the complete set of sexbot proxies and their ghosts and sifted through it. </span>There were two components to a sexbot. First was the proxy body, with its material dimensions and attributes. Second was the ghost, or the trained simulation of a person's sexual behavior. The ghosts and bodies were largely interchangeable, but not all worked terribly well together depending on how generic they were. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Most sexbot bodies had sliding scales to change their gender, ethnicity, skin hue, temperature, etc. Almost everything was changeable: clothing, hair, voices and vocalizations, strength, etc. It was easy to mix and match parts from different proxies, or multiply or subtract limbs. Some ghosts had variants to work without legs or to skillfully multiple arms or mouths. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />There was, of course, a wide range of genitalia- male, female, and other. They were realistic, cartoony, or abstract. Most were designed to work naturally, but could be made controllable beyond their physical counterparts- such as prehensile penises and manipulable vaginas. Genitalia, like any body part, could be added to any part of a proxy, or to multiple parts.
<br />
<br />Secondary sexual characteristics were easily changeable- such as body hair, breasts, and proportions. Sweating was optional. Proxy bodies could be flavored and scented naturally, or however the user wanted. Megan noted that their smell, taste and saliva could be made to be appealing to a user, by simulating that user's preferred "pheromones". She wondered how well that worked.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> Friction was not a problem for virtual sex, but there were natural and artificial lubricant feels available.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">There was even a "necrophilia" mode which simulated various stages of death. Megan wondered if cold, stiff bodies were an essential part of the necrophiliac experience. Wouldn't necros have a better time with warm, pliant corpses? She did not know.</span>
<br />
<br />Many sexbot ghosts had been trained to possess multiple orientations and behaviors. For example, the sexbot ghosts trained from recordings of Thomas' sexual behavior were unusually diverse. <span style="font-size:100%;">They came in a dozen versions with various genders, bodies, and orientations. They could play slaves, dominatrices, and everything in between. Some liked pain while others avoided it. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Some were nice, some were mean. Many of their components were mixable and could be finely adjusted. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Several of them were characters he played in games, including three separate characters from Ataraxia.</span>
<br />
<br />Sexbots weren't exactly sentient, and couldn't hold unscripted conversati<span style="font-size:100%;">ons of any complexity. They could follow and give most relevant commands, within their own narrow sexual context. A good sexbot could respond convincingly to the sexual whims of a user, with a nuance and tactile sensitivity almost equal to human lovers. They kissed well, snuggled well, flowed well with the give and take of intercourse, begged and pleaded well, and even dominated submissive users well. In fact, good sexbots were better rated than the average human lover, at least in physical terms. </span>This required sophisticated pattern recognition and a sort of intelligence. Within the right context, a good sexbot could seem to have a mind inhabiting it. Many distraught users had been consoled by the warm, seemingly caring embrace of a completely accepting lovebot.
<br />
<br />Bots weren't conscious, but sometimes that didn't matter.
<br />
<br />There were numerous sexy locations and scenarios associated with various bots. Characters often brought environments from their original worlds with them, as well as role playing situations that could be played through. For example, there was a popular game scenario where you rescued a princess from a castle and were then rewarded by her. The rescuing (and subsequent deflowering) of princesses from monster or evil stepmothers was a common theme.
<br />
<br />There were many generic games and scenarios that could be played with a wide range of bots, such as the innumerable dating sim games. And then there was the single player "sex arena" where players could fight bots or force bots to fight each other in a variety of forms of combat. Many bots had masterful combat skills trained the same way their sexual skills were, so fights could be quite exciting. The winner of sex arena matches could do whatever they wanted to with the loser. This mostly involved S&M and sex. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Megan did find a few entries that seemed out of place. She began downloading T's entire collection from his SIS, if for not other reason than to investigate some of the anomalies on her own. But there was one she was compelled to ask about.
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Patton Oswalt? I mean, he was awesome and all. Just doesn't seem T's type.
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span></span> You'd have to ask T about that</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Megan filtered for T's favorites. The room rapidly shrank and all but 87 disappeared. A few of them were glowing green. Megan didn't find every bot in the eclectic array attractive, but it was an interesting and dynamic mix.
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">The room was more of a showcase than a place for sex. Megan imagined correctly that the sex itself occurred all over T's lair and anywhere else he might go, since bots could be brought most places that proxies could go, even places sexbots weren't "supposed" to be. At the very least they could service his safe proxy while he went about Outside. Nothing could stop that from happening.
<br />
<br />As Megan looked around the room, bots continued their attempts to entice her. She waved at the room and a number of bots waved back. She knew that they were not conscious, or even intelligent, but they responded to her eye contact realistically enough for her to feel self-conscious.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">The Crainbot worked pretty good for oral, but I wonder if sexbots work overall as well as they say.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> There's a way to find out!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Maybe later. Why are some of the bots highlighted green? </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> You'd have to ask T about that. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b> In any case, tell T that I'm impressed with his collection. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> Oh, anyone can put this sort of thing together. T's real collection is across the hall.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan lingered a few more moments before moving on.
<br />
<br />
<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><hr style="height: 3px;"><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>THE KEYS TO A THOUSAND WORLDS
<br /></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan entered the room across the hall. It was white, empty, and shaped like the inside of a hollowed out donut. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">On a hunch she walked up the wall and onto the ceiling. The gravity of the room changed automatically to allow her to walk on any surface. Megan could change gravity at will throughout most of T's lair, but this room was set up so that all orientations were equally valid.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>: </span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">This room houses T's real collection, something few people have seen like you're about to...</span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Which is?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>: </span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Sorry, dramatic pause. You are granted full mini-world and limited shortcut rights. </span><b>
<br />
<br /></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Domes completely covered every surface of the room, with diameters ranging from a few inches up to a foot. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Each of the domes represented a different destination Outside. Many were game worlds like Hell Fray, Ataraxia, and Yoma. Others were social communities like Mars Colony, Friends and Lovers, and a set of perennial film festivals. Some were pure recreation worlds like Hot Pursuit, Mech Smash, and certain Spirals<b>. </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">T's priority worlds appeared to be clustered in the room's central column.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />As Megan moved about the room, the domes on the ground below her rose and hovered about her waist, while the domes on the ceiling descended to just above her head, giving her ready access to them. As she looked at a world, it tilted to give her a better view. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan found it easy, using standard controls, to change the camera views of each world and to zoom in and examine its happenings in detail. She picked one up and tilted it, observing the progress of some players building a moat in some strategy game.
<br />
<br />Simply paying a little attention to a dome popped up a</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> window of information including world details, relevant stats, and additional video feeds from the virtual space. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">Many had multiple compartments, showing the activity of different places within each globe. <b>
<br /></b></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Most of the worlds <span id="ljhw" style="font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">allowed full immersion, but didn’t necessarily require it for user participation.</span></span></span></span> They had websites offering information, allowing users to check out the worlds, and providing feeds from around the world. Most characters could be played remotely through a screen with the player's preferred level of tactile feedback, including partial or none.
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">The extent of the worlds varied. Some could be explored in a few hours. Others could be explored endlessly because of the rapid rate of content being added. Some were for quick fun. Others required heavy involvement. Some worlds only had single user instances. Others were filled with millions of people, many of them almost full time inhabitants.
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">How many worlds are here?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The exact number is classified, but more than 1000.</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Why classified?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Surely you know that Thomas has enemies? <b>
<br /></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">I've never really thought about it. Why is the number a secret?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Certain dangerous people could deduce certain things based on such a number. </span><b>
<br /></b></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan saw something familiar on the other side of the room. She made a circular motion with her hand as if to rotate the room, and the entire set of world domes flowed around her like a stream. It was exhilarating. She felt like a god, swirling a huge multiverse with her slightest whim. She also felt a bit dizzy. She stopped the</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> flow when the dome she wanted was a few feet away.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>: </span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Happy Land. </span><b>
<br /></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The colorful dome floated up in front of her. Happy Land was a mixed simulation of numerous theme parks, including water parks, Universal Studios, Disney World, and Superhero Land. Their rides, shows, and structures were reconstructed from numerous uploaded experiences of parkgoers which were composited together to form the ultimate theme park. While the parks could, and sometimes did, ban external recording devices that could be used to record a person's environments, there was little they could do about planted individuals, who could record video straight from their optic nerves, auditory nerves, as well as the motions and feels of rides from their various tactile senses.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After the pirated theme park Happy Land became wildly successful and had withstood numerous attempts to shut it down, Disney World and others built virtual theme parks to attract customers, parts of which had also been incorporated into Happy Land. Happy Land now had many different instances for people of various demographics and interests. You could even start your own instance and be the sole visitor to the immense virtual theme park.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The instance of Happy Land Megan was looking at was one of the first. It was sometimes dubbed Anarchy Land, and anarchy was what Megan witnessed as she peered into the dome. The park reset itself every few days, but in the meantime park goers did their best to tear the rides apart and create giant heaps of broken bodies to immolate. It was great fun.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan filtered for similar worlds and found Destructo World, one of her favorites. It was a replica of the entire physical world (with some imaginative additions) that players could destroy. Players could lift cars, or almost anything else, and throw things into buildings or other players. They could tear through buildings with their bare hands, or earn super powers like the dreaded laser finger. The more you destroyed, the stronger you got. That is, until a stronger player tore your head off and used it as a projectile.</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan created a character in the game and remotely controlled it via her Universal Remote Control. She chose not to inhabit the character due to the relative simplicity of the game and the psychological distance it afforded from the carnage. She had her character pull a road sign out of the ground and bludgeoned to pieces a few of the many child bots that ran around the world. She catapulted herself over to her old high school and was gleefully wrecking it when a giant ball of destroyed wreckage rolled over the building, crushing her to death. Her proxy joined the debris as some maniac rolled it into the distance.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan brushed the world aside and filtered for T's shortcuts across his entire set. Thousands of spots in the domes around the world lit up, displaying T's access points to Outside.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">How many shortcuts does T have?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I definitely cannot tell you that. Most access points are publicly available, or are on record as having been attained by T. But many are top secret and are not displayed here. But T said you could have low level shortcut access, so try some worlds out. Here's a fun one. </span><b>
<br />
<br /></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">A dome fell from the ceiling across the room and spun toward Megan, stopping right side up in front of her. At first it was hard to make out what she was looking at. The world was called Worldcraft. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">It was a "sandbox" construction game through which players, often in cooperative groups, could create any world they could imagine. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Megan had played around with a Worldcraft server before she had been planted, and she'd seen some pretty cool structures which had come out of Worldcraft and been integrated into Destructo World. But she couldn't get her head around the vast landscape of T's server. There were innumerable, often gargantuan edifices constructed of any number of materials, including metal, sand, wood, bone, and marble. The structures ranged from ugly and random to beautiful and elegant. Some seemed functional as living spaces, some appeared to be puzzles or arenas, and others appeared to be momentous landfills.
<br />
<br />Megan spotted an interesting tower with a intricate etched design around its base. She created a cursor inside the 3D game environment in the dome. She moved the cursor beside the tower at ground level. This particular game didn't allow proxies to port inside matter, so clipping wasn't a concern.
<br />
<br />When she had selected a spot to port to, she clenched her hand like she was holding a key and turned it clockwise. This was the motion she had chosen to port smoothly from one proxy to another. Instant teleportation was obviously fastest, but </span><span style="font-size:100%;">smooth transitions were more comfortable. Even if she turned her hand as fast as she could, there was still a half second transition as the temperature, lighting, and feel of the old environment shifted to the next. If something was wrong with the new environment, she could always reverse her hand motion to bring herself back to the original environment, or she could come back by relaxing her hand before the full key turning motion was complete.
<br />
<br />Before she had accepted her proxy's position inside Worldcraft, her new perspective from the ground there allowed her to see a more interesting building off in the distance. She was pretty sure she could fly or teleport over there, but out of convenience she moved the cursor in the dome next to the more interesting building. As she moved it, she swiftly flew across the landscape to the new location, although she didn't feel the motion because she was still only previewing the world. Once there, she relaxed her hand, which signaled her acceptance into the game, making her newly formed Worldcraft proxy subject to its rules.
<br />
<br />She had held her pinky out while she motioned turning the key, which was her signal to leave a shell proxy where she had just teleported from, if possible.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> In this case, the proxy left behind in T's lair was set to mimic her bodily position inside the game. This was so she could easily switch back to it at any time with minimal disruption. Experienced plants grew used to abrupt transitions between proxies, but Megan still found it jarring. For example, it could be a little rattling to change instantly from running to lying down. A smooth change of body positions and form (including the addition or subtraction of appendages or bodily distortions) was more pleasant and contiguous.
<br />
<br />Megan looked over the building. It was too complicated to easily describe, but was decidedly steampunk. She flew up high and zipped over the land. It was a vast wilderness of desert and forest, with faint trails crisscrossing throughout. It was populated with diverse constructions, beautiful vistas, maidens waving in distress from the towers of immense fortresses, mountains formed around sleeping giants, and monuments covered with strange symbols. The largest structure was an insanely large pyramid made of sandalwood.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Some parts of the land seemed patterned after Hell Fray, but most of it had its own peculiar style. Megan flew over it for several minutes, but could find no end to it.
<br />
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> What is all this for?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span></b></span> This is a semi-secret project which T is working on with a few other people. It's his first attempt at a full game world, or at least the skeleton of one.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Besides being beautiful and having all this cool stuff, is there a point to this place?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span></b></span> Oh yes. Although part of the fun is discovering what that point is. Test players have spent days there without any inkling that the entire world is a puzzle. <span style="font-size:100%;">It contains many things that T likes which he feels haven't been well represented in gaming worlds. </span>T is very proud of it. </span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Worldcraft enabled users with limited coding skills to easily build social or game worlds. With enough work, anyone with a vision could use it to create a compelling game world that could be further modified and added to by other players. Players could use it to integrate parts of other worlds with each other and with their own constructions. Worldcraft worked with spaces created by tools like Space Forge.
<br />
<br />WC could be used to create not only buildings and proxies, but rules and restrictions for any given virtual space in order to craft an entire gaming or social environment. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">There were standard proxy interaction systems that could be used to create gaming rules. These had the physical model as a starting point, which gave a common point of reference to different gaming worlds, allowing some crossover among worlds. Swinging a sword with a certain force will do similar damage in most gaming worlds aside from augmentations within the game.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> It was also possible to take the gaming rules and physics from other game spaces and use them with your own created space, with various levels of success depending on how closely they mesh.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan flew straight up and bumped against the sky, which was a sold dome. From there she could see that all of the land she had flown over was a giant island floating in space. She teleported to the opposite side of the island and was astounded by complexity of the entire bottom half, which had been carved from rock into a sprawling structure of palaces, towers, fortifications, and tunnels. </span>
<br />
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Holy fuck. That is scary.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" > How much of this is procedurally generated?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span></b> For the underside, a good deal. But the pruning of the randomly generated structure has taken up more than a continuous month of T's time, and it's not nearly finished. It is a labyrinth that links together the structures on the other side. There's more to it, of course.</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Experiencing vertigo, Megan exited her character from the game and jumped back into her proxy in T's Lair by selecting that proxy and turning her "key" again.
<br />
<br />Megan looked around the room, found the largest dome and summoned it over to her. It was "Sunshine City". It was a giant metropolis, filled with skyscrapers and sparkling streets. Thomas had more access points all over its map than Megan could count. <b>
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I've heard of this one. Why does T need so many access points?</span><b>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Sunshine City is one of the many representations of Outside. Much of Outside's gaming and social space is mapped in the form of this incredibly large city. It provides a visual representation of the access to most major game and social worlds. It's actually similar to this room, except with buildings instead of domes. Also, it is one of the largest social spaces in existence. Millions have living spaces there and depend on Sunshine City for socializing and discovering new worlds and innovations. Many live there primarily. Not even counting gaming time, humans spend more conscious hours in Sunshine City every day than in a typical large physical city. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>
<br />
<br /></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan noted that Villain had not exactly answered her question.
<br />
<br />The part of Sunshine City Megan was looking at- street level in the mech gaming district- required the use of a particular portal protocol. She selected a spot on the street and a glowing circle appeared on the ground next to her. As she stepped into it, her environment shifted into the street of Sunshine City. Nearby proxies on the street saw a slab of liquid metal rise up out of the ground and form into Megan's shape as she stepped into the circle. This let Megan to preview her spot, and let users nearby see who was coming through. In some cases, this also allowed users in certain spaces to permit or deny entry to other players. Happy with her spot, Megan relaxed her fully turned hand to signal acceptance into Sunshine City, and began wandering the streets.
<br />
<br />It had the sights, sounds and feel of a regular city, although from the overhead view it was far larger than even the biggest physical cities. The sky was filled with people flying in cars, with jetpacks, on carpets and hoverboards, or just by themselves. There was also an extensive series of transparent tubes inside which Megan saw numerous people gliding along on scenic tours through the city.
<br />
<br />More than the strangely inefficient travel, Megan was dazzled by the advertisements lining the buildings all down the street. This section was filled mostly with ads and live video from numerous mech and flight sim games. There were other types of worlds, and a few physical products represented as well, but mostly it was massive amounts of mechanical carnage and maps showing strategic maneuvers.
<br />
<br />As she walked to one of the tube transports, an ad on the building across the street screamed at her.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255);"><u>Automated cutesy ad mech</u></span></b><b><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255);">:</span></b> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[pointing at her] Megan! We need your help!</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u></span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[taken aback] What, me?</span><b><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Ad mech</u></span></b><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 255);">:</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> [scren displaying awesome mech action] Team blue is in trouble! Only you can save it! Your record shows you have the skills. Just port to this [tag]. There isn't much time!</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br />Cute as the ad was, Megan tweaked her Sunshine ad preferences to stop similar intrusions in the future. She moved on and checked out the destinations around Sunshine City that the tube system provided. Each Sunshine district had a mix of social and gaming spaces, but had a predominant theme. <span style="font-size:100%;"><b>
<br /></b></span></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>A FEW DISTRICTS OF SUNSHINE CITY:</b>
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u><span style="font-size:100%;">The 9 Gaming Districts</span>
<br /></u></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>The Arena</u>
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Arts and Entertainment</u></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>The Baths</u></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Clubs and Cafes</u></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Sunshine Park</u>
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>The Religious District</u>: For traditional (and untraditional) worship and discussion.
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Residential areas</u>: Too many all around the city to enumerate.
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Sunshine's Shade</u></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>The Tunnels</u>
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u><span style="font-size:100%;">Sitcom Central</span></u>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />The only district Megan specifically recognized was Sitcom Central, whose residents attempted to live as situation comedy or skit characters. Everything was recorded, and the right mix of people and environment occasionally created some pretty funny TV shows and movies. She was a fan of several skit comedy shows that had been edited together from events recorded there.
<br />
<br />She was about to head to SC when a news report popped up warning that Sitcom Central was currently in the middle of an area wide guerrilla skit event featuring "Upturned Casket Bleeding". Unsure what that meant, Megan entered the tube and picked a four minute ride to the horror gaming district instead, which was fairly distant from her position. She could get a feel for the city on the way. She zoomed comfortably through a series of tubes, weaving through the streets and diving through the tunnels below, gawking at the amazing and enticing sights and sounds of Sunshine City.
<br />
<br />There were the flashy ads and ridiculously beautiful architecture, which she mostly passed by too quickly to appreciate. There were also games being played everywhere throughout the city. Aerial battles with dozens of fighter jets and spaceships raged high above. Mechs and maniac swordsmen clashed in the street below. Most pedestrians automatically filtered them away when they got too close, and games usually occurred in a superimposed layer on the city, so anyone bothered by them could just turn them off. Or they could join the game's layer and participate.
<br /></span>
<br />Megan arrived in the horror district and stepped out of the tube. The street appeared the same as the others except for a vaguely creepy fog effect. Sunshine City required a certain continuity, so the streets and buildings couldn't be made too macabre. The ads on the buildings were something else entirely.
<br />
<br />Megan stared up at the Still Space structure. It was less a building than a pitch black monolith, pulsing like a heart. Under her Sunshine preferences, she showed sufficient interest in the ad playing to allow Still Space to create a mixed state in her proxy. Still Space used this opportunity to give her goose bumps and hit her with expertly crafted infrasound as a forlorn woman covered in bile stared at Megan from the side of the buidling. A man walked up beside her and glanced up at the ad. He looked pretty sharp, even in a ridiculous yellow zoot suit. His tag said Olly.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><u>Olly</u>:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> Still Space is intensely effective. You ever been? </span></span>
<br /><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">One time, but not for very long. </span></span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><u>
<br />Olly</u>:</span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> It's not for everyone. [bowing] I'm Olly. I'm one of T's friends. I see that you must be too, since you're his guest here.</span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Uh, yeah. [bowing back] I was just looking around. I'm Megan.</span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><u>
<br />Olly</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I wonder if you could help me. I have this surprise gift for T I was going to leave on his doorstep. It's for his new place in Sunshine Park, but T has yet to get back to me with the location. I'm sure you know how busy he is, what with the film and all. He's probably practicing at this very moment, right? So could you get me the address? I don't need a link inside or anything, just need to know where it is.</span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >I'd really have to ask T about that. I could text him now, if you want. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"><u>
<br />Olly</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >Oh, right. Well never mind then. [bowing once more]</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>
<br /></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>
<br /></u><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Olly turned into a statue which crumbled and vanished into the ground after a few seconds. Unsure of what had just happened, Megan left Sunshine and went back to her original proxy. </span><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />
<br />Megan</u>:</span> </b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >That was odd. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>
<br />
<br /></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Shrugging the experience off, Megan opened up a window displaying T's collection of shortcuts. Only then did she notice that T had created walkthroughs for many of the worlds, some of which appeared quite extensive. T also provided publicly accessible notes for many other worlds. She realized she was missing something about T's collection.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">She walked around the room, up and down the "walls" trying to get a feel for the place, and how T might use it. She could see how useful the room would be to keep track of everything that was going on in so many worlds, especially if you were familiar with the setup and had a grasp on how things were clustered.
<br />
<br />She looked through the filters and found one that displayed T's shells. Shells were proxies, either dummies or controlled by ghosts, left in a virtual space to hold your place or perform some task. She filtered for his shells. Most of the world domes vanished, but a huge number remained, now with blinking spots indicating T's shell proxies. She wandered amongst the domes observing T's shells, completely awe struck.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> This is... incredible.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Villain</u>:</span></span></b> What is?
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> He's got shells everywhere! In every major fantasy world! Hell Fray, Planescape, Kung Fu Continent, Tron, Yoma, Star Wars, Star Trek, Golden Martyr, Middle-earth, not to mention Ataraxia. It goes on and on.</span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Villain</u>:</span></span></b> He claims he has some kind of record. </span>
<br />
<br /></span>Some of T's shells were just sitting around, waiting to be inhabited again. Many more were active. They were killing monsters, surveying the land, gold farming, weaving strings, building, defending positions, and training their capabilities. Megan knew that it was T's habit to train each ghost himself, and it showed. They moved just like Thomas. Good ghosts were like that, at least in physical respects. Megan wouldn't have been able to tell if many of them were ghosts or were being inhabited by T.
<br />
<br />T had two dozen shells in Sunshine City alone. They had all sorts of different appearances. Most of them were just walking around, although some were doing machining, maintaining weapons, and doing other things that Megan couldn't wrap her head around. One was digging a hole with a shovel. Another was hitting himself with a hammer. Another appeared to be smoking some sort of drug.
<br /><b>
<br /></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Are T's shells in these games important?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>Villain</u>:</span></span></b> That depends on what you mean by important. Many of them are important to Thomas.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> What if they get in trouble?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</span></span></b> Thomas would be alerted. He frequently intervenes.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Are these shells important to the games?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</span></span></b> Many are important to other players, who may not know Thomas is not present. So don't go telling anyone what you've seen here. <b><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I wouldn't. I don't know what I'm looking at anyway. He's got an army of replicants. He's got his fingers in everything. He's like an octopus or something. Or like a god.<b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</span></span></b> Thomas discourages worship. It's embarrassing. </span>
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan pulled herself together and left the shortcut room to continue the tour and found herself upside down in the hall. She reversed gravity and dropped gracefully to the floor.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;">**************</span></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >
<br /></span><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/02/selected-virtual-worlds-and-spaces.html"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ></span></a><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/02/selected-virtual-worlds-and-spaces.html">*See "Reference C: List of Outside Worlds" for a partial listing of worlds and spaces found in T's collection.</a>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >
<br />**************</span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>VARIOUS DISTRACTIONS</b>
<br /></span></div></div><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Megan noticed a picture on the wall as she went down the hall. It was of T with some woman standing in a giant hall. Then it changed to show T and three others people looking triumphant with smoke rising in the background. It was an immersive picture, so Megan took control of T's head in the photo and looked around the landscape. They were surrounded by the aftermath of a massive battle, with dead bodies and scorched mech parts everywhere.
<br />
<br />The next door was closed, chrome, and was giving off a lens flare effect. Megan opened it and was exposed to an epic space battle being waged on the other side. A ship barreled toward the door and she slammed it shut.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Those looked like Babylon 5 ships. Is this door a joke?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> You'd have to ask T about that.</span>
<br />
<br />As she stepped into the next section of the hall, music blared all around her and surrounded her with the music visualizer she had seen in Sam's place. T apparently liked strewing things randomly about. She stepped through it and next up was a hole in the floor, which Megan looked into warily.
<br />
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">What's down there?</span></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> Training grounds. Shooting range, dojo, dancing arena, race course, mech practice. </span>
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Megan stepped over it. The next door on the left was a Japanese grill restaurant. The one after that opened to a tropical island waterfall with a crystal clear pool, perfect for swimming or lounging. There were dark clouds and rumbling in the distance.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Why the storm coming in? </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> To create a sense of anticipation. You can change the weather if you like. </span>
<br />
<br />Megan moved on to the hole in the ceiling.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">What's up there?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> Zen room. </span>
<br />
<br />The next door looked incredibly familiar to Megan.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Is that ...?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b> Probably.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Holy crap!</span>
<br />
<br />The door automatically slid open as Megan approached it. As she hoped, it was a Star Trek: Next Generation holodeck. She ran inside and gawked.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Does this thing work?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b> Kind of. Here are some popular modules created by fans.</span>
<br />
<br />Megan looked over the long list of scenarios. They included murder mysteries, exploration of alien worlds, full immersion Star Trek episodes, period piece adventures, and Klingon combat training.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Computer, put Captain Picard there. And put Captain Kirk right next to him.</span>
<br />
<br />The two appeared, as real as they could be.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Computer, have them fight!</span>
<br />
<br />They began trading blows dramatically, in the fighting style of Star Trek.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> That is totally badass! Computer, make the winner kiss me!</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><u>
<br />Holodeck Computer</u>:</b> I'm sorry Megan, but all fights between Picard and Kirk automatically end in draws, as per holodeck regulation 4. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I see. Well have them make out then.</span>
<br />
<br />And so they did.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I'm guessing they wouldn't be much to talk to, huh? </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b> Holodeck characters are just bots. They copy looks, mannerisms, and even speech patterns of the characters they are patterned after. Unfortunately, bots are not currently able to provide convincing conversations. Artificial intelligence just isn't up to it yet. But there are several good Sherlock Holmes scenarios with guided speech options that usually flow pretty well if you're going for the holodeck experience. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> As awesome as that sounds, I really shouldn't right now. I'm definitely trying this later though.</span>
<br />
<br />Megan grabbed the tag for the holodeck and reluctantly went back into the hall, leaving Picard and Kirk feeling each other up on the floor of the holodeck.
<br />
<br />
<br /></span></div><hr style="height: 3px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>WILDERNESS PORTAL</b>
<br /></span></div></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />Megan saw a closed door with vines for its frame and skipped forward to it over a puddle of melted cheese.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">What's in there?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> A virtual world. I don't know anything about it except that T didn't build it.</span>
<br />
<br />Megan opened the door to reveal a beautiful, dense, and brambled wilderness with a crude beaten path which branched off into the distance. Intrigued, Megan walked down the path for several minutes before realizing that she was lost.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I think the wilderness changed. V, how do I get back?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> I have no idea. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Give me a portal back to T's lair. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Villain</u>:</b></span> I'm sorry Megan, but you don't have porting privileges to the lair. You can ask T for help.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Dang, I should have left a proxy behind. I don't want to bother T while he's preparing.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Villain</u>:</b></span> He won't mind, I'm sure. </span>
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">[text to T] I'm stuck in this wilderness place and can't get back. Could I get a port to your lair?</span>
<br />
<br /></span>A second later, Thomas was leaning on a nearby tree.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I didn't mean to interrupt your practice.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> It's alright, Megs. I was tired of it anyway. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">I hope Villain behaved himself.</span>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">He's been a perfect gentleman. </span>
<br />
<br />Villain nibbled her ear before imploding away.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">What is this place?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> It's a gateway to the lair of someone I know. Or knew. Except it doesn't work anymore.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">How so?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >The paths are random, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >but there used to be clues based on movies at each branch. If you knew them well enough, you could follow their movie preference to their lair. Still took 15 minutes of walking, so you had to care enough about seeing them to walk a little.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">But why doesn't it work now?</span>
<br />
<br />Thomas looked down one of the branching paths.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> They disappeared.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">And you really can't find them?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> They were always secretive. Probably couldn't find them if I tried, even if I didn't respect their right to disappear. But really, I think... they're probably dead. </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Oh. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> But this is depressing.</span>
<br />
<br />Thomas snapped his fingers and they were back in the dirt hall, outside of the vined door.
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">So you just keep this door to remember?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> And in case they come back. Anyway, have fun?</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">Oh yeah, I liked your harem. Very impressive selection. Why were some of them highlighted?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Those are the ones I can have sex with this week.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> Explain.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Well, I play this game called 'Hero/Dragon'. It involves killing monsters and slaying dragons and such. When you kill a dragon, you then own its castle, along with its gold, food, and sexy princess slavegirls and boys. And then you either go and find a bigger castle to conquer or you play the part of the dragon and set up traps and fight off other player heroes. Hero and dragon are both fun parts. To motivate myself to attain bigger castles, I'm only using sexbots I currently possess in the game. I have nine right now.</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">This is beside the human inhabited proxies you might be sleeping with.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Right. It encourages exploration with sexbots you normally wouldn't have tried. And it's better when you've earned it. <span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Incidentally, based on your favorite bots, I would say that you don't seem to have a sexual orientation.
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> As far as sexbots go, I'm completely flexible. But I'm more selective with human partners. I actually have an orientation that would have been untenable before Outside.<span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Which is?<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> I prefer heterosexual female bodies inhabited by male brains. Can't say entirely why, but it's always been that way. <span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Oh yeah, I basically already knew that.
<br /></span>
<br />Megan hopped into a puddle of liquefied chocolate chip cookies.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Well, it's a nice collection of bots.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> They're all freely available on my SIS along with everything else here, except for a few of those worlds and shortcuts that I don't broadcast for strategic reasons. You can start up your own instance of this place anytime and take what you want. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Wait a minute! </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >If your lair is available on your SIS, why bother with the secret panda thing?</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> That's just to get to my private instance, run on my computer. I don't care what people do to their own copies of my place, but I don't want to show up here with random wackos running around. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br /></u></span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Right. So this is really all run off your computer?</span><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br /></u></b></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b> Yep. My SIS has a copy, but this instance you're in is run local to me. Your computer runs its own buffered copy of this current environment to reduce lag, but the lair data you're getting is streamed from my computer. If the internet somehow went down I could still come here and play with everything except the domes and the shortcuts to other worlds. You should get your own lair, it's easy to set up. You can just copy my media stuff.</p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u></span></b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">:</span> [already downloading a copy from T's SIS] Sure, I'll take a copy. I really should build my own and this seems like a pretty good start. It's not crazy like some I've seen video of. Did it take any coding? <b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br /></u></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b> Nah, I never learned how to code beyond the basics. I just use the regular tools. It was all super easy. Most ten year olds could probably beat me at it, honestly. I mean, you're a programmer, so you could do some of that crazy stuff I've seen put into places. <b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br /></u></span></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> This isn't really the sort of thing I program. What did you use to build it? <b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br /></u></b></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b> A program called 'Space Forge' that pretty much does everything for you. It comes with all sorts of sample spaces you can build on, or you can just do a search for existing spaces on the net and copy them. You can also replicate any place you've been in, at least so far as you've recorded it. I have a nice copy of Sam's house I made just by visiting there. Space Forge can automatically copy any space you're in as far as you have access to it, and can even make approximate models of real spaces based on whatever data it can compile.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" > It's a great time to be lazy.</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">There weren't many doors left in the hall. Megan looked at the hall options and found other representations of the lair, including palace, horror, Flintstones, and starship themes. They weren't just superficial changes, but also reorganized the placement of the rooms.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> I noticed there were different representations of your lair, besides this underground one. This space ship one looks neat. Which do you use?</span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> I actually just pop around to whatever space I need, so I don't use any halls or slides or anything. That's just a practical way to organize tours. </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Ah. So where do you bring people to just talk?</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> The restaurant or the island pool. Sometimes the reading room. You can pretty much just pop up recliners anywhere really. </span>
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Hmm... well, where does your hall fork to down there? </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> The right way goes to my other places.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Like what?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >This place is built for function</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">. My other places are for fun, or to maintain a sense of residence in other worlds. There are a few extravagant castles from Hero/Dragon, </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">my candy villa in Happy Land, my place on Mars, my orbiting science station/death ray, my place in Cyrus, </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);">my Sunshine City penthouse--<span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Oh yeah! I went to Sunshine City and this guy named Olly asked for your address, and I didn't know what to think of it. I didn't give it to him, of course.<span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Olly, huh? That one is... very tricky. Don't worry about it.<span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> And what about the left fork down there?<span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Go try it.
<br />
<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Megan ran down the left path of the fork and found herself standing beside T.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Ha! I have to have some secrets.
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Speaking of secrets, your shortcut room was quite the revelation.
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Most of that is available online too. This lair is kind of my public face to the world, especially the shortcuts and the harem. You may have noticed my walkthroughs and notes. I've worked hard on those, they're actually pretty valuable and popular.
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Well that stuff, yeah. But I was referring to your shells. You're so active in the entire expanded multiverse of Outside even when you're asleep. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> You know, I feel present in many of those worlds even right now. Of all the omnis, I think I prefer omnipresence. </span>
<br />
<br />Thomas paused as if he had just noticed something.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Want to see something cool? </span>
<br />
<br />He superimposed the primary public instance of his lair with his private instance. Numerous people were wandering the main hall and into and out of the different rooms.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> They can't see us. I really don't know why people turn my public SIS lair into a hangout. It's not nearly cool enough, and I can mess with them. Like this.</span>
<br />
<br />Thomas shared a window with Megan showing some guy in the shortcuts room. Suddenly, the Ataraxia dome blinked red, indicating an emergency. It indicated that the guy now had access rights to a powerful agent in Ataraxia. He got excited at the opportunity and ported into what he thought was a character.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Where did he go?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> Destructo Hell. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Ouch. That's mean.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Oh yeah? Watch this.</span>
<br />
<br />Thomas shared another window, this one of several women wandering around the harem. Suddenly, all of the sexbots went crazy, attacked the women, and tore them into pieces.
<br />
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> You are a strange, strange man. Just how many people visit your SIS layer on a daily basis?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span> I'm a celebrity, so even with a crappy lair I still draw up to a few hundred a day. It's run off my SIS page, of course, so it doesn't bog my computer down. Though people keep trying to get into my comp's private lair.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Why? And how? Isn't that only accessible through the door in your throat?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Someone gave the address to the panda room out, so they can go there directly. As to why, it's mostly people who want to get in to get access to my shortcuts room. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Why not change the address or lock people out entirely?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> What fun would that be? Several hundred proxies a day drown in millipedes trying to break the code. Most of those are the same few people trying various actions. You saw the panda shooting part, but there's more to it. Trust me, it's impossible to happen upon accidentally.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Why do they bother? What could your personal instance have that the SIS wouldn't?<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span></span> They might think that they can access the left fork from here, or find some other secrets. I guess this place just looks too simple for my colorful public persona.<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> The funny thing is that even if they got in, they'd only have the same rights available on my SIS layer.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">
<br /></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> You don't even use that lock to get in, you can just pop in whenever. So the panda room is just to torture people?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>
<br />Thomas</u>:</b></span> Not just that. It builds a sense of mystery. You know how many urban legends there are about this place? People think I am <i>so</i> weird, you wouldn't even believe it.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Yeah, nothing weird about any of this. </span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br />
<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>LAOS</b>
<br /></span></div><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b> You want to see one of my favorite physical places?
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Sure. </span>
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">They stepped through a portal and were standing on a wooden roof overlooking a poverty stricken neighborhood in Laos. It was night, but there were still people walking around. Megan sat and watched them. It seemed like a strange place for the augmented reality sensors necessary for such immersive telepresence.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b> Smell that? Smells like... I'm not sure what that is, actually. But it helps me sleep.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> You sleep here? This roof isn't much of a bed.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u>:</b> Oh, I keep the tactile sense from my physical. This is just for sight and sound until I fall asleep, at which point my plant switches off automatically.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Wouldn't it be more relaxing in the ocean, or on a cloud?</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Thomas sat down next to her and looked up at the stars.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b></span>: This is one of the few virtualized places in this little city. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >I come here to remind myself that there's still so much to do, so many places that haven't benefited from cyberization. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >I trained a bunch of new plants here in Laos. Probably will again. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >It's important work, even if it's tedious. Augmented reality is so important for creating strong connections between places like this and the rest of the world. A strong online infrastructure helps broadcast poor conditions or crisis situations like gang warfare or genocide. Pictures are one thing, but telepresence, real time or recorded, makes the situation real.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Geographic distance doesn't mean the same thing it used to.
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b></span>:</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" > Now you can meet people from all over the world, from countries you'd never physically visit. I started working in Laos after I met this guy Makani at a horror film festival. We became friends before I knew where he was located physically. We didn't speak each other's languages, but that's not so important with instant voice translation, even if it's still buggy. He was using crude, non-implant telepresence while I was an experienced plant user, but we could both see the movies and converse with each other just fine. None of the stuff that would at one time have separated us mattered. All that mattered was our love of horror cinema. And before I knew it, I had a friend who lived in Laos. After that, I paid attention to news about Laos. When there were problems there I wondered how it was affecting Makani. When I heard about a flood, I donated money and telepresenced in to see what was happening. And it impacted me. It wasn't just a strange place anymore, populated with faceless masses. It had a face.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >I work with people from all over the world. I rarely even think about it. But I guess those places are more real to me because of it.
<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b>:</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" >When you you get to know someone from a foreign country, you realize that country is full of people just like you. It's humans everywhere, you know. Then the next time you hear about trouble in Nigeria or Mozambique or North Korea, you think about the people you know there. And maybe you go check out what's going on. You can go anywhere, no matter how dangerous. You can observe or even participate in protests, for example. The more people that are connected, the harder it is to ignore them. Human connections. That's what it's about.</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A kid with augmented glasses waved at them and they waved back.
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b>:</span> I know someone who lives in almost every country on the planet. I didn't go looking for them either. Run around Ataraxia for a month and you'll have interacted with people in a majority of the world's countries. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0pt;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b> Speaking of Ataraxia, isn't it about time for the shoot?</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b></span>:</span></span> Oh yeah. Mike's already setting up. Ready?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><u>
<br />Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Sure. Thanks for showing me all this.
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"><u>Thomas</u></b></span>:</span></span> Any time.
<br /></span>
<br />T opened a portal and they both disappeared through it.
<br />
<br /></span><p style="margin: 0pt;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span></p><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/09/episode-06-neo-kyoto-explodes.html"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><b>Next- Episode 06: Neo-Kyoto Is About To EXPLODE!</b></span></a>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-79502798606786756552010-10-07T04:14:00.000-07:002013-06-12T19:36:13.314-07:00Episode 03: Party! (2 of 2)<hr style="font-family: Times New Roman; height: 3px;" />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b>A PORTAL THROUGH SPACE AND TIME FORMS IN THE LIVING ROOM</b></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br />
<br /><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">How much more to film for the movie?</span>
<br /><b style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">We haven't decided where to stop Battle of Neo-Kyoto's story. It's pretty open ended. The main battle itself will take a few more months at our leisurely pace. Then we should have 2 hours of good footage, hopefully exciting enough for theaters. Kyu and I talked about making it a mini-series, but I don't know if the crew can keep going. Luckily, making movies doesn't really cost anything. I mean, it's crazy how expensive it used to be to make any kind of film, much less one with epic giant robot battles.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> You still need a high profile project to get talented people though.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Tell me about it. T really tries, he does. I think his memory of the battle has been spilling over into his portrayal of Riful. I don't know if it works or not.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b> But just having T in it is going to draw quite an audience, whether he can act or not.
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Seriously, don't say things like that where he might hear you. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #9900ff;">: </span>[wincing] Right! I don't know what I was thinking. Do you have anything ready to show?
</span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u> </u></span></b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> The last skirmish we filmed was pretty cool, we could watch that. </span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><b>:</b></span> [party-wide broadcast] We've got movie sign, people!</span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> To the living room! </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Everyone streamed into the living room, including Dex's random friends from outdoors. The physicals took seats on the couch and the chairs around the table, which they repositioned toward the sand wall. Keen was courteous enough to move its Gothtastic proxy to a virtual chair. It propped itself up, at least feigning interest. The proxies created their own virtual seats. T's plush recliner came with a tube that dispensed various liquid refreshments. He sucked down a fruit smoothie while his physical took another shot, in anticipation of seeing himself on the big screen again.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />The couch and seats in the living room were oriented toward the main video wall. The main wall, behind the sound visualizer, was specially designed to deliver the highest definition video. It was 3D capable to the naked eye, but even with that the wall's visual effects were lame compared to Mike's augmented vision from his contacts, or the better-than-normal-human vision produced by the Plant. The prevalence of augmented reality gear meant that almost everyone carried around the highest quality theater experience with them at all times.
</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Still, most of the walls
in Sam's house came with basic video and sound. Most non-Plants used
bionic contacts and ear inserts, but adding video and high quality
surround sound speakers to the walls had become cheap enough to be a
standard feature. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">There was a bass speaker next to the couch, the only standalone speaker in the house. It was mainly for unaugmented guests. The walls could generate bass too, but sometimes an extra oomph was needed. Plants could provide more "bass" than anyone could ever need, and haptic clothing such as Mike's could also generate bass for their wearer, although it could feel a little localized. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Sam activated the living room's movie mode, which turned off the lights and any of the room's potentially intrusive virtual elements.
<br />
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">It's only 10 minutes long and its pretty raw. We don't know how much of it we're even going to use.</span>
<br /><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Hey, whatever. Go ahead.</span>
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">Alrighty. Well, as always, we haven't changed any of the strategy, tactics, or the outcomes of any of the battles. We only made changes to bring out the emotion and drama of the players, because that can get lost when you're just dealing with raw feeds. Enjoy. </span>
<br />
<br />Mike pulled out a baseball with a tag for the movie and threw it at the wall. The living room disappeared, leaving only the people and chairs. Dexter was sitting in T's way so he turned him invisible. The virtual screen appeared in the distance, with dimensions a little bigger than one of the old IMAX screen and maximum resolution above the limits of normal human vision. Perceived resolution varied based on the individual's tech and settings, of course.
<br />
<br />
</span><br />
<hr style="font-family: Times New Roman; height: 3px;" />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b>RIFUL'S FIRST UNFORTUNATE ENCOUNTER OF THE DAY</b>
<br />
<br />The video started with an overhead shot establishing the beautiful, futuristic battlefield that Neo-Kyoto had become. Fires blazed throughout the city. A series of explosions in the North sent up giant clouds of smoke and debris. As the camera moved to street level, mecha, or mechanized suits of various sizes, exchanged fire as they ran or rolled through the streets. Most of the mech were humanoid to various extents.
<br />
<br />The sun was just coming up as the view lowered to street level. A light smell of smoke and exhaust filled Sam's living room, at least for the Planted members of the audience. Garish skyscrapers </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">lined both sides of the street, many </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">featuring obscenely sized 3D screens displaying ads for mech parts and news footage from around the city.
<br />
<br />A bulky 15-foot tall mech marched down the street, shooting the screens as it passed, leaving them fractured and shooting sparks but still playing. Fans of this iteration of Ataraxia knew from the mech's distinctive paint job that it was piloted by a certain bastard named Riful. He was the captain of the 9 slightly smaller units, all colored light blue, which pulled up to flank him. Collectively they comprised "Blame5" squad. The color blue stood for Sure Fire, or SuFi, at that point the most powerful force in Ataraxia. Being light blue meant that they were part of the elite division Sudo Refresh.
<br />
<br />Charred mecha of various shades of blue fled down the street past Riful and his crew. One of the fleeing mech exploded near Riful's squad, damaging two of his units. Riful, signaled the other mecha to stop and move to the side of the street to let the rest pass by.
<br />
<br />Thomas, playing the role of Riful, appeared in a subwindow which tore across the lower-right of the movie screen. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The faces of the characters appeared in transparent subwindows on the screen while they talked, creating a manga feel while not slowing down or obscuring the action.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> The windows showed mostly faces, as bodies were usually securely fastened by the cockpit's netting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Riful</b></u>: [>squad channel] What the hell was that? </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br />
<br />Thomas' head and face had been amalgamated with Riful's, so that both faces could be recognized by perceptive fans. Thomas' black skin and Riful's Chinese complexion mixed well, but Riful's iconic red wavy hair had been toned down a bit. They had kept the scar across his chin and the menacing robotic left eye. They had to respect Riful's beloved cliches.
<br />
<br /><span style="color: #a64d79;"><u><b>Unit 8</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">[>squad] Looked like a proximity bomb attached to that poor sucker. Clever.</span></span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Riful</u></b></span></span>: [>squad] Let's go show them how clever they are.
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Riful</u></b></span></span>: [>Gozu] Gozu, what's the situation? </span>
<br /><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Gozu</b></u></span></span>: <span style="color: blue;">[>Riful] Tsukamoto Street is being overrun! They keep advancing. We can't get through their shields. Where are our reinforcements?</span></span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Riful</u></b>: [>Gozu] Krauser Brigade should have been there by now. They were wrapping around down South. Something's going on. Go ahead and risk a reading on the shield.</span>
<br /><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Gozu</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">[>Riful] Oh gods! Scan returned null. It has to be a mobile base. It covers at least 39 units. A heavy unit is likely present. They noticed me scanning them. We are no... my eternal allegiance to Sure Fi [feed ends abruptly]</span></span>
<br />
<br />In the city, there was a restriction on broadcasting video due to cracked codes, so Riful was blind at his position. He took off toward Tsukamoto Street, closely trailed by his squad.
<br />
<br />Chester placed a proxy on Riful's shoulder to get a better look at the ruined city. She put her hand on one of Riful's shoulder guns and was burned by its intense heat. It had really only felt like holding her hand over a flame for a few moments, but it reminded her to turn off damage for her proxy in the movie.
<br />
<br />Other audience members placed similar proxies to get a better view (or smell) of one of the smoldering buildings, or to jump up on a skyscraper and get a view of distant fighting, which there was plenty of. Under Mike's screen settings, viewer proxies in the movie were unable to influence the movie or appear to the audience through the screen, so no one would be tempted to make a spectacle of themselves.
<br />
<br />In-movie proxies were possible because the screen was less a projection than it was a portal into a gorgeously rendered, photo-realistic 3D world. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The life sized buildings, streets, and robots were actually there, just beyond the "screen".</span> <span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Every element in Battle of Neo-Kyoto was as substantial as any given proxy. In fact, proxies could just step through the screens of most movies for full immersion.
<br />
<br />The original recording of the battle, which Mike's crew had been reworking, encompassed a complete 3D recording of every detail of the game. With a fully rendered recording like this it was easy to put yourself in the middle of the action, or to just create one or more subwindows to explore the surrounding events and environment while still paying attention to the main screen.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br />
<br />Viewers changing events within some movies was encouraged, but Mike had locked that down. Static 3D recordings like Mike's could be set so viewers could blow up mecha or raise the entire town, but everything unaffected by the carnage would go on like nothing had happened. Mech would clip through rubble and corpses, and fire missiles at thin air. After the fun had died down, viewers would typically hit restore and go back to watching the unaltered video. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br />
<br />It was considered best before diving into a video to watch it once or twice from the filmmaker's default perspective to appreciate its dramatic framing and to follow along with all of the significant events. Framing helped define complex events and made viewers think about them in different ways. A "camera" perspective brought to light things that a viewer might miss if they were simply roaming around looking for the story by themselves. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br />
<br />Mike's hope for Battle of Neo-Kyoto was that it would offer a solid and interesting perspective on chaotic events, a dramatic framework which could help guide further exploration to overlooked characters and developments.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> He hoped that it could illuminate how chance encounters, such as Riful's fateful meeting with a certain mech, had shaped the narrative of Ataraxia. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br />
<br />An overhead view showed Riful's squad encountering a group of 15 enemy units a few blocks away from Tsukamoto Street. They began exchanging fire. The enemy were red, indicating that they were Kirin, Sure Fire's main adversaries. These particular Kirin units didn't seem particularly strong, but were protected by a suspiciously unified shield. It was probably another mobile base. This was bad news for Riful, as it meant that someone had carefully planned whatever was going down. But Riful was bad news for them too.
<br />
<br />Riful's squad clustered around him and established their own collective shield, though they did not have the equipment to form a true base. They concentrated fire at the Kirin's weakest point, but it was compensated for. Even Riful's plasma cannon glanced off of it. With Blame5's own shield weakening, Riful directed their fire to a medium sized building adjacent to the Kirin. A mobile base was strong, but it was slow. As the enemy group retreated, Riful trained his plasma cannon on a larger building behind them and brought it crashing down on them. The Kirin broke the shield to pull away in time.
<br />
<br />The street filled with smoke, dust, and chunks of the fallen buildings. The building Riful brought down physically pinned 4 of the Kirin and split the rest into two groups. Blame5 jumped over the debris from the first downed building and shot down the six Kirin units trapped in between the two fallen buildings, using their nonvisual sensors.
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<br />Riful was spraying plasma into the wreck of the second building with the 4 pinned units when a small scarlet mech, barely 8 feet tall, jumped over from the other side. As it landed it broke through Blame5's group shield and uppercutted Riful over the first building's rubble and some distance back down the street. The rest of Blame5 immediately went into retreat. Some got away, but the scarlet Kirin kicked one apart, which sent its pieces at high velocity destroying a second one. Then the Kirin ripped the third mech's head off and punched its exposed pilot to death.
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<br />Riful and his six remaining tro</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">ops on the other side of the building g</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">athered and established a new shield. The Kirin jumped over the building, and easily evading Blame5's fire. A thin, twenty foot "hyper-chainsaw" unfolded from its back and extended from its chest. It looks absurd, but it didn't slow the Kirin down as it rushed Blame5 and cut through two more units with its chainsaw in the most casual way possible. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">
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<br /><u><b>Riful</b></u></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">: [>squad]</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> I am way too hung over for this crap. Can't somebody kill that thing?</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />Blame5 responded according to code, but they couldn't seem to touch the Kirin, who darted evasively around the street like a ninja. It went after Riful, who managed to dodge its chainsaw, and fired a spread at where he projected the scarlet menace would be in a moment. He missed. A subwindow showed Riful's face dropping. Blame 5 fell back, trying to create space. This gave Riful room to spray a wide path of plasma, but it missed the Kirrin as it moved past him on its way to dismantling the other SuFi units.
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<br />As he continued firing, Riful noted that his sensors were still picking up the other Kirin units on the other side of the downed building. They were just waiting there.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">
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<br /><u><b>Riful</b></u>: [>general distress] Strange unit at this location. Hand-to-hand, very small. Eating us alive.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />The scarlet unit put its hand through the chest of Riful's last soldier. It's fist was covered with her blood as it turned and barreled at Riful. Riful missed shooting it again, and this time its chainsaw connected with the helm of his mech, but it bounced off. He sighed with relief that his armor was strong enough. Its chainsaw retracted instantly into its back and the red unit started beating the hell out of Riful's mech with its fists. Riful was completely unsuccessful at shooting the Kirin, who always seemed to evade or push Riful's guns out of the way at the last moment. It looked like Riful was fighting water.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">
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<br /><u><b>Riful</b></u>: [to red unit] I am Riful. Declare yourself. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Slack</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">[audio] Slack.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Riful</u></b>: [>general distress] Player Slack. Murdering me with goddamn Gun Kata.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />Riful snapped out of his half-drunk stupor and fought smart. He sprayed plasma on the ground around him, pushing Slack back for a moment. This gave Riful time to pull his shoulder cannon into his right arm. When Slack was back a moment later, Riful smashed his arm into Slack's side. Slack couldn't compensate for the unexpected weight of the cannon and danced backwards to recover. Riful shot everything he had at Slack, and even hit him a few times. This gave him time to switch into hand-to-hand mode.
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<br />Riful and Slack exchanged vicious blows. They grasped each other and spiraled down the street, rebounding off of the sides of buildings. Slack brought his chainsaw out, hyper extended it, and whittled away at a nearby hotel with it, attempting to bury both of them. Riful grabbed the chainsaw, but only managed to mess his hands up, costing him several fingers.
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<br />Just as the fingers fell, a large black mech appeared from the other side of the street and hit Slack all the way through the building he was trying to collapse. Slack took off running toward Tsuakamoto Street.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">
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<br /><b><u>Riful</u>:</b> What the hell? I almost had him you dumbass! </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />Then Riful noticed who had intervened. The large, ominous mech was piloted by Ko-Enshaku, one of the Core Guardians of Sure Fire. It passed him a secure message and jumped into the distance with rocket speed. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Riful</b></u>: [to himself] What could be so damn important.... </span>
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<br />The message unfolded on the screen: "Krauser Brigade has taken Zero Daisaku prisoner. Proceed to office 23 to aid in guarding him." </span><br />
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</b></u><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Riful</b></u>: [to himself] </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh... huh. </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">That just does not seem at all likely. </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />Riful, the only surviving member of his squad, took off toward office 23. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>AFTER MOVIE CHAT</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The screen disappeared and the movie space reverted back into a living room. A few people applauded. Saitou set the wall next to the couch to display a sped-up overhead view of the the conflict of Neo-Kyoto on loop. It was complete with color-coded highlights indicating areas controlled by the various factions and points of conflict. The flow of colors had a strangely soothing rhythm. It stuck out of the wall to exact scale, which meant that occasionally a rocket would fly a few feet from hitting the back of Chester's head. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">The dialogue is horrible. </span>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">It's improved from the original. Go check and compare. Especially Riful, who cursed to the point where it was just annoying. It's like a nervous tick.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b> I noticed you moved some stuff around too. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> For visibility. Some of the shots were perfect except for a few units waltzing around like idiots.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> You know, I was just a few miles away during the Tsukamoto thing at a skirmish off of </span><span style="color: blue;">Satoshi-Kon Boulevard. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas highlighted his character's presence on the wall map. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">No way! [zooming into the map to follow the action] It looks like you're running away a lot.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>: Sure Fire's nothing to mess with, I'll give them that. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">OK, I've heard about the basic story of that iteration of Ataraxia. So was Sure Fire really evil, or was that just for dramatic purposes?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Most of the time, the various factions in Ataraxia just have conflicting views on how the game should evolve. It's not uncommon to have 3 or 4 factions, each claiming that all the other factions are evil. But there have been iterations where one side takes a turn for real "evil". Sure Fire was definitely evil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Within the context of the game anyway, SuFi was evil. At least after Sure Fire's leadership was taken over by the ideological group Sudo Refresh. Among their goals was the complete extermination of the Kirin. Their goals would have added nothing to the richness of the world. They sought to senselessly roll back some fruitful development from past iterations. And it was apparently guided by a nihilistic sentiment bent on destroying Ataraxia by making it unplayable. </span>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">But if they did ruin it, couldn't players just create a new instance and ignore what had happened?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> That's what happened with CyFrenia, actually. It's a fork from an iteration of Ataraxia just before the game started moving away from primarily mecha based combat to more of a balance with hand-to-hand and ki stuff. CyFrenia turned out fine, but it sucks to deal with that crap. Setting it up is a serious pain, as is getting enough players together for it be worthwhile. Ataraxia has tens of millions of active players. You'd lose that rich involvement, and it would take a long time to get it back up and running. CyFrenia is thriving now, but it was weak for years. Sure Fire would have destroyed a whole lot of momentum if they had won. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester turned toward Mike. She had activated her social mirroring function, so her proxy's wooden surface turned black to mimic his skin tone. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b> So why make the Neo-Kyoto stuff into a film? Why not the Siege of </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">SuFi's</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Doomsday Ziggurat, the seaborne invasion of Kobe, or the meeting of the five Pandemonia?
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> How many damn movies have been done about the clash of the Pans? Neo-Kyoto was a critical victory for the Kirin. If it had gone the other way, SuFi might have won.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> Besides, that period in Neo-Kyoto is where you start to see the training and preparation of the players coming through. They make mecha fights looks easy, but Ataraxia's combat system is quite sophisticated. To excel there you have to be an athlete, physically and mentally.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Advanced mecha interfaces actually hook your brain up with the mecha like it was a kind of body. You have to train that body like athletes train their bodies. You have to develop the mech, but you also have to get skilled at manipulating it. You build actions and reflexes into it, just like any proxy, and then you have to ride those reflexes into the chaos of combat.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> You're getting pretty enthusiastic about mecha the<span style="font-size: 100%;">re, Megan. Do you pilot an</span>ywhere? </span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Oh, not really. I dabble, maybe. Oh look, it's the Kirin's final push.</span>
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<br /><span style="color: black;">Everyone stopped to watch the wall for a few moments as thousands of units engaged in dozens of furious and desperate skirmishes all over the city. It was quite sparkly. </span></span><br />
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</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b> Well, I would have gone with another part of the war, but I thought it was very well done. I can't wait to see you do the next part.
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> It's going to be awesome! This Saturday we're filming the Zero incident.
<br /><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b> That guy was completely weird. How are you going to be able to capture that?
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> The actor we got for him is pretty good and we're actually leaving more of Zero in there since he does have such an unusual character.
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> I have a theory that Zero's an untreated autistic. It would make sense of the rocking.
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span> Let's not start up with the Zero theories. I have another question. I've never understood why people limit themselves to in-game communication. I mean, I know it's against the spirit of the conflict and all, but that message to Riful could easily have been sent through an out-of-game text message.
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> People do use external messaging, of course. But there are three reasons why they don't tend to do that in a high stakes situation. First, it's cheating. You don't want to be a cheater. Second, you'll get caught. Everything in Ataraxia is recorded, and released eventually. People playing important parts usually want to look good, and cheating looks lame. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Imagine if Riful received the message out-of-game and went to the hotel without prompting. It would have been obvious that someone had circumvented the communication system, disrupting the internal reality of the game.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> Being evil is fun. It's even acceptable to disrupt the game like Sure Fire was trying to do. But </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">being lame just sucks. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
<br /><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> Some games flag suspected cheaters automatically. Ataraxia leaves that to the players, but there are some damn perceptive people in that game. It's hard to get the 'cheater' label, but if a consensus hits you with one, you are screwed. A lot of players just stop cooperating.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b> Sorry to interrupt, Sam, but you have porn on your shirt.</span>
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<br />There was a video of lesbian sex on Sam's shirt. Sam didn't bother to change it. It went through several more porn clips before moving on to clumsy red panda babies.
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> Huh. How did that get in there?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b> Porn is like glitter. Gets everywhere.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> Anyway, some cheating is almost unavoidable. Big events get out on the message boards and game alerts pretty quickly. When everyone "cheats" like that, there's nothing to do. Like when Blaze Snap went off, it was mass carnage all over the place. I remember it hitting some regular news feeds, which didn't used to carry Ataraxia as much. Not that you needed to cheat to find out about that, what with the earthquakes and half-mile high explosions and all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-size: 100%;">Thomas shot some missiles at Blaze Snap as it flew along the wall map, blowing it up. It's flaming wreckage took down several buildings and doused the area in molten destruction. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Ha! Man, we were all like, "what do we need you for, you giant bastard?" He just got in the way.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> T, you're starting to sound drunk.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> If you have your slurring compensator on and you still sound drunk, you may be too drunk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span>: [mock indignant] I do not have to put up with this abuse! Yes, I am drunk. Yes, I am too drunk. I mean, why have alco-detox pills if you don't use them?
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Incidentally, it's an interesting fact that T is a cheater. It's been proven in a number of contexts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas: I am not a cheater. I always say, "cheaters are the scum of the Earth."</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Tenchi, is there any record of T ever speaking out against cheating?</span>
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<br />For years, Mike had set his agent Tenchi to record everything that T did around him, for occasions such as this.
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Tenchi</u>:</span></b></span> One moment... According to your recordings, Thomas has never spoken out against cheating. His only comments about cheating were, in effect, to encourage it. A search of other accessible records of Thomas' communications pulls up nothing of consequence. Playback relevant recordings?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span> Nah, it doesn't matter. </span>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Gods, I hate that spider. Spinning his little webs. He's going to get it one day. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Tenchi</u>:</span></b></span> There is, however, no evidence that Thomas has ever cheated at anything significant, with the exception of his role in Golden Martyr.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> Oh, it's too late to get on my good side.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span> It's just a dumb agent, Thomas.
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span> A dumb, character ass...assinating agent. Two asses in that word, I think. [checks] Yep. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Dexter's friends had gone back outside or left or something. No one really cares. Let's say they were dragged off and eaten by feral crabs.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> For reference, left sitting in the living room were: Chess, Dex, Keen, Meg, Mike, Saitou, Sam, and T. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">So, a week ago in CyFrenia...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas, recognizing that Chester was about to start telling one of her stories, set up a private layer labeled, "Chester is a dummy" and made it available to everyone but Chester. Accepting it sprouted a 3 foot wide neon sign out of the top of Chester's head, displaying commentary from T. Sometimes these commentaries were funny, but T was too drunk for anyone to get their hopes up. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">I was test piloting one of the new Serpine-3 mecha. </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;">[*DRY HUMPING MORE LIKE IT*]</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> Completely ungainly things. </span><span style="color: blue;">[*LIKE YOUR MOTHER*</span><span style="color: blue;">]</span><span style="color: blue;"> I can't release the recording because of contractual stuff with my clan. </span><span style="color: blue;">[*STRAIGHT TO VHS*</span><span style="color: blue;">]</span><span style="color: blue;"> The cockpit fits two for some reason, although only one can pilot it. Anyway, I'm fighting these two Skalar-4 units, which came out of freaking nowhere, while I'm getting a blow job from my captain. He's a slut</span><span style="color: blue;">. [*...*]</span><span style="color: blue;"> Anyway, he just wouldn't shut up, you know? It's like, yeah, it's so clever that you can talk while giving a blow job, good for you. </span><span style="color: blue;">[*I GIVE UP WHAT'S THE POINT*]</span><span style="color: blue;"> He just didn't care if we both died.</span>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Wait, there's sex in CyFrenia?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b><u>Chester</u></b>: </span>[turning snowy to mimic Meg's winterland body] Well, not natively. There's no gender or sex functions. But you're always in control of how game proxies correlate with your senses, and you can change your superficial proxy form with little effort, so you can fashion sex organs and assign your genitalia input to them.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> When I see sex being added into games like Ataraxia or CyFrenia, it usually indicates lack of focus. You keep fucking around in Ataraxia, and you'll be clawing your way up from limbo over and over again. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b></span> It's a pretty small minority of Cy players that are sexually active though. In terms of blowjobs, why not just set up an out-of-game sexbot to give you the blowjob while you play? Why go to all that trouble? It's just watering the game down.
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<br /><span style="color: black;">The Neo-Kyoto display reached its end and reset, restoring the vast city to the pristine glory it emanated before being trashed by various sized robots. </span></span><br />
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</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #38761d; font-weight: bold;">:</span> [turning starry to mimic Saitou] Why is everyone so serious about this stuff? I fuck people in CyFrenia not just because it's "not allowed," but because in-game sex makes for an interesting group dynamic. And lots of drama. And lucky for me, CyFrenic vaginae are harder to pull off than penises. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Sensory input from mouths are much easier to reassign as vaginae than to craft special pockets with the right texture and such in the body. It's just a little more difficult, but it's enough. So</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> most of the sexually active CyFrenics have cocks, whatever gender their character might appear. Being a natural female with a gay male sexual orientation, </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">I can just filter them all to look male, and tada! It's like a bathhouse sometimes.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You can have sex anywhere! Anytime! Why add it into a game? It's like strip chess, it ruins both parts. I'm having sex right now, but you don't see me dirtying up the party by bringing in sexbots or molesting Chester. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: red;">:</span> [leaning in] Are you really having sex right now?
<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> You should try it, it's easy. Just lay a proxy out on a bed somewhere, assign the proxy your erogenous zones and sexual organ inputs and whatever else you like, and let some sexbots go to town while you inhabit another proxy elsewhere, like here. I mean, you could get more complicated with it if you want, but the idea is to make it minimally distracting.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>TIDES OF WAR</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">As they talked, Chester pulled a gold coin out of her left ear and tossed it onto the coffee table. This activated the game Tides of War, a popular idle distraction. The coffee table was set as the boundary for the game. Its surface transformed into a grassy field of gently sloping hills and strangely gnarled trees, automatically incorporating bottles and paper plates into the landscape. Seven stone towers about the size of beer bottles rose out of the field near the edges of the table. They were different colors representing each of the seven players sitting around the table (Keen was out to lunch again). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">No one paid much attention as the colored waves streaming from the towers. They swept slowly across the field toward other towers, encountering and mixing and obliterating other towers' waves along the way. Each wave contained numerous tiny warriors, so many and so small that at normal resolution the armies appeared to be almost solid colors. The battles of the waves were beautiful glowing cascades of frothing colors. Their colors merged and formed whirlpools, representing conflict. Eventually, one army or the other would prevail and continue on its way, though its color would be tainted and weakened by each battle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan zoomed in to the frontline of one battle. She marveled at the intricate details of each of the warriors as they hacked and slashed at each other. She had never looked that closely before and was pleased to find that the warriors were comically rendered, though oddly realistic, dwarves of various sizes. They all had weapons- spears, swords, knives, nunchucks, and slingshots. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The winning tower would ultimately be determined by random luck, and no matter of interference by the players would have significant impact on the game's outcome. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Tides of War was a glorified screensaver. With enhanced settings it was capable of deeper play, but few bothered with that when there were superior strategy games like Hyper Grind.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> The controls were simple. Gesturing with two fingers aimed outgoing waves, but they frequently went off path for no reason. Poking at a target with an index finger fired your tower's cannon, resulting in low-damage fireworks. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">The entire battlefield was often lit up by these fireworks during games, the result of fidgety players. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">By default, the game didn't produce sound. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<br />It was a game no one cared about. But everyone decided to kill T anyway. There was no discussion of it, and no secret conspiracy of coordinating texts. Everyone just targeted their waves at his castle while they continued talking. The odds of this having the desired effect was low. Armies tended to interfere with each other's paths, for one thing. But T did not care that their betrayal was futile. He reversed his personal gravity and fell up to the ceiling where he stood looking down/up at the game.
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u></b>: And so it begins.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> You're not talking about this dwarf thing on the coffee table, right?</span>
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<br />T's agent Villain appeared on his shoulder. It fell into the game, landing just in front of T's tower. The chinchilla shrank as he fell until he was the volume of a pair of dice, the game's maximum volume for a player's "champion". He was small, but was monstrous relative to the dwarves in the game, which only came up to his shins. Champions were a way for players to gain more direct control over the game, traditionally using agents. They allowed better control over the direction of waves and were capable of inflicting considerable damage themselves. They were one of Tide's options that deepened the experience, making it more of a game and less of a passive experience. In other words, ruining the fun.
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<br />Villain dove into the closest enemy wave, which happened to be Saitou's. He went completely, dwarf murderingly, nuts. It was like a monster movie.
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Chess, why did you set it to allow champions? </span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> Just my default settings. </span>
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<br />Chester sent his agent in response to Villain. Sifl the sock puppet appeared near Chess' castle and was soon rampaging across the table toward Mike's castle, crushing wave after wave under sock while awkwardly wielding a sword in its mouth. Sam dropped Tacky the octopus into the game. Tacky's 20 arms carried swords and bows and arrows. Tacky immediately began shooting at every enemy that moved. Each arrow hitting the ground killed a dozen dwarves. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Mike appeared to sit silently watching. He was actually busy talking to Kyu and Miguel. Thanks to his ear insert, phone calls no longer disturbed anyone but him. Mike had a quick chat with Kyu and Miguel regarding a few last details about the Saturday shoot and was done before anyone knew he was taking a call. He then went back to ignoring the game. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Villain intercepted Sifl and tackled him. The vicious (but cute) battle ended with Villain running from the sock puppet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>GRATUITOUS ESCALATION</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">T normally wouldn't have cared about Tides of War, but he wasn't about to let a sock puppet kill his chinchilla. T reversed his gravity, holding on to the ceiling by a single foot while letting his other leg fall into a figure four shape. He hung there for a moment, swinging back and forth like a pendulum, taking aim. At the right moment he fell into the game, shrinking to half Villain's size and landing on his back. Villain reversed his flight from the sock and T threw axes at Sifl until he freaked out and ran away. T and Villain ran rampant over Chester's dwarves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">T battered Chester's dwarves with the flat of his axe. T and Villain smacked one wave so hard it turned entirely around, a rare achievement. In triumph, T licked some of the dwarf innards hanging off his axe. Marshmallow. Keen, for whatever reason, sat up in his chair to watch the game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Player proxies too? Really Chess?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> Default. Settings. I am not responsible for T's antics. This is a stupid game anyway.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> This </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><i>is</i></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> a stupid game. It's for relaxation. This is like </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><i>the</i></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> stupidest game to get competitive over. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> So let it go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> I am going to let it go. All over T's face. Hey, get away from my tower!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span>: [yelling up at her] No! Come make me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">T, still riding his chinchilla, had slaughtered his way through Sam's army with his axe, and was ramming into Sam's tower. It wasn't doing much damage, but that wasn't the point. Tacky had wandered across the field and was now returning to Sam's Tower, but Sam knew he would be no match for Thomas. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester had entered a proxy into the game, controlled by her URC. She carried a mace and ran alongside her puppet Sifl, waded through Sam's troops and tackled T. Sifl and Villain went at it again while Chester and T traded blows. T switched to a longsword and had shortly cut Chester into pieces, removing her from the game for two minutes. He then helped Villain slaughter and dismember the sock puppet. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> <span style="color: blue;">Holy crap. Thomas is really good at this game.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam, deciding to do something about T, entered the game riding Tacky and charged after Thomas. She threw a spear at his head that narrowly missed. Tacky grappled with Villain while Sam engaged in mortal combat with T. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan looked pensive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Hey new Plant, why don't you join them?
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Yeah. Uh... let's see here....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan's proxy entered the game. She cut off her physical senses to make it easier to adjust to the game. Tides, it turned out, was terrifyingly real for proxies down in the game. Where there was fighting, which was everywhere, dwarves were brutally dismembering each other, their body parts flying in all directions. The ground was stained with blood, something she had never zoomed in enough to see. She looked up and saw everyone around the table watching the game or talking. She reeled from that surreal moment. She hadn't expected this game to be so immersive, to so quickly draw her in. She was soaking in a new, absurd reality, full of endless cycles of death and sweaty, sweaty dwarves.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: #741b47;">:</span> <span style="color: blue;">[yelling down to Meg] Go kill T!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Megan started running toward where Sam and T were fighting. She pulled out a mace and used it to clear a path through a wave of dwarves. They only came up to midway up her shin, but they had a way of climbing on each other to form larger obstacles. Their strikes and arrows felt like little pinches, but there were a lot of them. She got used to murdering them pretty quickly. They were ridiculous caricatures and their deaths were amusing. It was a friendly game, after all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam's tower was next to hers, so it didn't take her long to get there. Sam and T were still going at it, now with their bare fists. Tacky had crushed Villain to death and though wounded by the chinchilla's bites was now shooting arrows at T. Thomas dodged the arrows amazing well considering how thoroughly Sam had bloodied him. </span><br />
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</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Tacky noticed Megan and shot two arrows at her. She managed to dive out of the first one's way, but was hit straight in the chest by the second. It sent a small, sharp pain through her chest. By itself it wouldn't have killed her, but Megan had panicked and hit her Plant's kill switch, temporarily shutting it down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Suddenly she was purely inhabiting her physical again. Megan reflexively jerked her legs up to protect her chest from further arrows, hitting the table and knocked over Chester's virtual drink and Sam's real beer, which was luckily half-empty. Sam, still locked in combat, picked the beer up and ordered a house robot to clean up the spill, indicating it with some quick eye tracking. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Sorry! Sorry. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> Don't feel bad. You just died.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> It hurt! I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> Oh, you will. Pain's not that bad once you know it can't hurt you. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> I guess Thomas is right. I really should go diving.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> It'll be fun. [:)]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Soon, Thomas had been beaten to death. He had taken a few arrows too, but it was the stark fist of Sam that had done him in.
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Tacky-chan, consume his corpse!</span>
<br />
<br />That done, Sam went back to inhabiting her physical body. Thomas' proxy reappeared where he had died. Thomas was no longer in the game, so he couldn't interact with it or cause trouble, but he could still run around on it. He climbed up and sat on the top of Sam's tower and made himself a foot high so he could talk with people. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> How did you guys do all that? It happened so fast.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> Your proxy isn't trained for combat.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Should it be?
<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> It helps if you're going to play violent games.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b></span></span>: [yelling with his tiny voice] My proxy is trained to automatically deal with certain threats, such as knocking arrows out of the air. You were doing everything manually.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> But if your proxy is doing everything for you, what's the point?
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It's just like training your physical body and mind. When you first learn to drive, for instance, you have to think about everything, but soon it's mostly automated, so you sort of just direct where you're going. You train these automated processes in your brain, which are mostly unconscious, to take care of the mechanics for you. You don't have to think about all the muscles involved in moving your arms and legs to drive a car, but it still feels like you're driving. Not that people drive that much anymore. Anyway, it's the same thing with training a proxy. You'll know it inside and out, and you learn that you can trust it. Swatting arrows out of the air like that feels like I'm doing it, because I am. You just have to extend your identity.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Giving up control like that is scary though. Will a trained proxy feel really like me?
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> It's just something you have to experience yourself.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>FUTURE PLANS & STUFF </b></span><br />
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</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> This Friday is Crain Slain! [info tag] They suggest if you don't donate some money to throw a rock at someone's head during a solo.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Also, movie shoot this Saturday afternoon, if anyone wants to come contribute to art.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> I might be able to go. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Oh, oh, I want to see a movie being made!
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Cool. After that we're going to Omni.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Megs said she'd go diving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Yep. Plus, I apparently have to check out all the sex feeds.
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b></span> That reminds me. Megan, can I turn your proxy into a sexbot?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Sure, I don't care. But I don't have any sexy ghosts.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b></span> That's alright, I'll throw a generic sexbot ghost in there. Or maybe one of Thomas' ghosts.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Why T's?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> I have several excellent ghosts of various genders and orientations fit for a wide range of sexual purposes, all there for the taking on my SIS. I get compliments.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b></span> I, for one, am a satisfied user. </span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Don't encourage Thomas. He really doesn't need it.</span>
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Tacky informed Sam that it was about time to wrap it up.
She and Dexter had to get up early the next day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Well folks, that seems like a good enough place to end the party. Physicals can stick around of course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Thomas jumped up from Sam's tower and returned to his full height.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> Keen stood up and smiled at everyone. It was friendly, but creepy. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u></span></b></span></span><span style="color: magenta;">:</span> [as its proxy blew away like dandelion] Thanks for the party! It was very entertaining. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">There were hugs and goodbyes all around. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> I've never been at a party that had a scheduled ending.
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></b></span></span> Oh yeah, this is your first Sam party. Just wait a second.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>ONE WAY TO END A PARTY</b></span></div>
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<br />A spinning roulette wheel appeared on the table. Sam threw a ball into it and it glided around the wheel's slots labelled:
<br /><u>Bullet Ballet
<br />Fistfight
<br />Musical Number
<br />SD Mecha
<br />Wingsuit Massacre</u>
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> Come on, Fistfight!</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></b></span></span> Why can't we just do Wingsuit Massacre? Everyone likes that one.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Shush, the ball is speaking.</span>
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<br />The ball settled on Bullet Ballet. The wheel disappeared and "Bullet Ballet" floated blinking for a few seconds as it faded away. Sam and Megan stayed on the couch while everyone else jumped away from the table and spread out through the room. Mike and Dexter's proxies left their physicals </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">sitting there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Standard house rules apply to proxies, physics and weapons. Bullet speed accelerates as time goes on. If you've got a natural body here, death takes your house privileges. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">80% damage now ejects your proxy from the house.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Wait, what's going on?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Slow motion bullet battle to the death begins... now!</span>
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<br />Targets with damage percentages appeared over each proxy's chest and head. And it was on.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />T pulled a </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Walther P38</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> and </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">went gunning for Chester. T's green glowing bullets glided at human walking speed. Chester easily weaved through them while firing back with her uzi. Bullet Ballet guns were realistic in their operation and the look of their bullets, except that they had no kick, never ran out of ammo, and bullets all moved the same speed and did unrealistic relative damage. It was a friendly game, after all.
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Mike and Dexter's physicals were safe by the table, since only damage to the player's primary proxy counted. Without a Plant, Mike was not quite as agile with his proxy as the others, but it still beat trying to physically run around the house dodging virtual bullets. Mike and Dexter immediately paired up and started shooting at Saitou with their handguns. Saitou, who had lost his stars in favor of a matte black body, easily dodged the bullets while going crazy with his M16. Streams of orange glowing bullets peppered the air. They were harder to dodge, but did little damage, so Mike was able to block some with his forearms.
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<br />It quickly became nearly impossible for anyone to avoid all of the bullets. The game's default setting made getting hit by bullets produce an unpleasant buzzing sensation, which Mike's haptic suit did a fair job emulating. As always, virtual sensory experiences were the player's alone to set. Hits caused penalty reactions in the proxies, a spasm and a second of slowness. Saitou felt a slight buzz as one of Dexter's hit his side, causing numerous stars hidden under his matte finish to spew into the air. He managed to stumble out of the way of further fire.
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<br />Thomas winced as one of Chester's bullets hit his thigh, producing a sensation not unlike being shot by a paintball at medium range. Thomas' impact setting produced pain at a motivational level. One of T's bullets grazed Chester's head, causing her head to splinter. To Chester, the wound produced a taste of tart raspberry.
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<br />As the living room was filled with bullets, Sam and Megan sat on the couch watching and occasionally leaned over or shifting in their seats to avoid bullets. They pulled the virtual representation of the coffee table onto its side to protect their legs. A puddle of dwarves fell to their deaths. Sam laid her proxy down on the ground behind the table while her physical body stayed on the couch, safe from the bullets passing through it.
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<br />Thomas found that his leg was wounded enough to slow him down, so he fell to the ceiling and laid flat against it. Chester sprayed the ceiling with metal death, trying to predict which direction T was going to go, but T was faster than the bullets. He propelled himself across the ceiling like it was lubed, with a combination of skillful manipulation of gravity's direction and the force from his gunfire. He fired rapidly toward his feet while changing gravity to pull toward his head and moved at a frightful speed to the other side of the room, where he assaulted Saitou, then Mike and Dexter from above. He then turned at a right angle just before hitting the wall and sped off in another direction.
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<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Is that legal?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> I suppose so, or he wouldn't be able to do it.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> How can he add so much speed to falling with just the force of that low velocity gunfire?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Have you ever tried to lift him? He's really light. Also, not real bullets.</span>
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<br />Now everyone was trying to kill T, while also trying to kill everyone else. When the ceiling was too crowded with bullets T fell and stood on a wall, minimizing himself as a target into his head and shoulders. Chester tried riding on the ceiling, but found it awkward. She wondered where T had gathered such experience with gravity manipulation.
<br />
<br />T managed to wing Mike, which stunned his proxy long enough for Saitou to put a bullet through his heart, putting him at over 80% damage. Mike proxy turned into steam and evaporated. His physical sat up in his chair and watched the battle unfold. Sam had let him keep the game layer, so he could watch.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> Proxies darted around the room as haphazard trails of bullets filled the air.
</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Mike leaned over and whispered something to Dexter's physical. Dexter's proxy slowed down with a comical flourish and caught some of Saitou's bullets. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Dexter</u>:</span></b></span></span> [last gasp] Oh noes, I've been shot! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Demons dragged Dexter's proxy down through a fiery hole in the ground. Then Dexter lead Mike to his bedroom, mindless of the carnage. Megan pulled out a pistol and used its butt to hammer a bullet away from her. It didn't work and the bullet hitting her neck produced an off-putting kissing sensation. She considered giving up by turning off the Bullet Ballet layer, but kept it on so that she could watch the battle.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b>FIRE IN THE KITCHEN </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">T glided into the kitchen, hopping over the top of the door frame, followed quickly by Saitou and Chester. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">The living room was full of holes. The coffee table, chairs and couch were destroyed. A rainbow pool of dead dwarves spread across the floor. Shredded books were scattered around the media case. The virtual posters on the walls displayed static and glitched from their gaping holes. The Neo-Kyoto wall was in even more of a shambles than it had been. The sand wall was full of smoking holes and its "gravity" was freaking out, spraying sand in all directions, causing heaps of it to gather on the floor and ceiling.
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan and Sam watched the proxies' targets fly around the kitchen, unsure of what exactly was going on. Sam could have cheated and looked, since it was her house, but that wouldn't have been fair. While they were watching, the bullets reached jogging speed, fast enough to breach the wall between the kitchen and the living room. The living room was once again filled with bullets. Two bullets approached Megan. She leaned her proxy out of the way as the bullets passed harmlessly through her physical head and chest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">In the kitchen, T slid randomly around the ceiling, targeting mostly Chester. It became increasingly difficult to dodge the bullets and Chester was forced to take some side blows. Splinters leaked from her wounds. Saitou menaced T, hitting his extremities occasionally. Chester hit Saitou's knee, limiting his movement. That's when Saitou pulled out a flamethrower. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> No fair! How can you have that?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b></span> I saved up my points last time. Die!</span>
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<br />Saitou's variable length flame evaporated Chester and Thomas' bullets. At minimum length, it was an almost perfect shield, surrounding his body. At maximum length it was 15 feet long and still did some damage.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"> It also set everything it touched on fire.
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<br />Chester whipped out a shotgun and began pumping away at Saitou, hoping the wide area effect would get through. While Sai was distracted by Chess, T shot a few bullets from a distance. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Falling from the ceiling, T changed his gravity to fall toward a far wall at a diagonal vector. He caught some of Saitou's flame, but his trailing bullets hit Sai's shoulder and stomach. Chester hit Sai's leg, but she took </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">flame to the face in return, leaving her at critical health.
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<br />Chester took the rest of her points and bought a grenade. She threw it behind the kitchen counter so that it rolled behind Saitou while he was still being distracted by T. It went off, unnecessarily loud, shaking the house and annihilating the refrigerator. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">Shrapnel pierced Saitou's back, sending his proxy into spasms on the floor. Thomas put him out of his misery. The stars in Saitou's body rapidly converged and formed black holes, ripping his body apart.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas, shell-shocked and bloody, walked over to Chester. She was blackened and warped, her body in splinters. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></b></span> You were a... worthy opponent... [into a Star Trek communicator] One to beam up. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester shimmered away. She had another party to go to anyway.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Back in the living room, Sam and Megan could see Saitou and Chester's death animations through the wall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> So what happens if <i>you</i> die?
<br /><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> I explode. Guts everywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> It was a nice party.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Oh yeah, thanks. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam pulled a katana out of a portal in her neck and ran to the kitchen.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The kitchen was a bullet-ridden inferno, perfect for a showdown. Thomas dropped his gun and pulled a sword out of his chest. They faced off, then went at it. Sam was better, but T was wily. He fell between the ceiling and the floor and back. He had more space to work with, and could add gravity's force to his weight with ease. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Having made little progress, Sam flipped to the ceiling with Thomas and locked their gravity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> Hey, no fair!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> <span style="color: blue;">How about this for fair?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam instated Bushido Blade mode, turning the kitchen ceiling into a bamboo forest. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> And people call me a cheater.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Hey, you got your health back and we have equal proxies now.</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> But this is like your favorite game!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">They clashed again and again. Each time T was sure he had an advantage and each time he came away with a few more cuts. Seeing that he was as doomed as he initially thought, he tried a desperate gamble. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> I challenge you to a dance off!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Fine. But winner only get a strength advantage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas instated Dance Slam and the bamboo forest became a street with a large cheering crowd. T and Sam were now dressed in tasteful spandex. Their dancing would be judged by the game for funkiness and rhythm. Preset routines were not allowed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam picked a heavy metal song, and their band appeared on a stage in the distance, ready to rock. T nixed it and choose a new song. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> How about a more traditional dance song? </span>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Let's do it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Rick Astley appeared on stage.
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Announcer</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">Ready! Go!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: lime;"><b style="color: #a64d79;"><u>Rick Astley</u></b><span style="color: #a64d79;">:</span> <span style="color: blue;">[singing, plus techno enhancement] We're no strangers to love. You know the rules, and so do I...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">And they danced. In some ways, the dancing was more furious than the sword fight had been, and now there was an audience of sorts. Sam's style was hip-hop with a touch of break dancing. T's had a jazz core with a splash of rave. They both danced well, but Thomas was better and Sam grew frustrated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Screw it! You win!
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> Ha!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The crowd went wild. They picked T up and threw him into the air. He was midair when Dance Slam changed back to Bushido Blade and he fell hard onto the forest ground. He dusted himself off and they clashed swords again. This time, T had a strength advantage. But even with that, Sam continued to whittle him down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Meanwhile, Megan sat and figured she should leave. So she used all her points, pulled out a bazooka and fired it at her chest. For a moment, everything went black. Then she opened her eyes. Megan was hovering over a crater where the couch used to be. Her body parts were strewn around the room. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Oh yeah. I'm physically here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">The house layer turned off and she was back on the couch. Without augmentation, the walls of the living room were empty. It was a little sad. She stood up to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></b></span></span> Bye everyone!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">But they were all too busy getting killed or whatever, so she left. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;">Back in Bushido Blade mode, T had one final maneuver. He feigned right and raised his sword, exposing his chest. He cut into Sam's neck as she skewered his heart. They stood like that for a moment, then staggered, slumped to the ground, and commenced dying. The forest turned back into what was left of the kitchen, which had mostly burned down. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> Mutually assured death. Nice.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> Yep. Nice party. Oh, can I go say bye to Mike?</span>
<br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></b></span></span> You can try. See you later.</span>
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<br />Every part of Thomas' body was sliced up. His guts were hanging out, and he was spilling blood everywhere. It kind of hurt. He managed to limp along the ceiling into the living room before Sam exploded. Her blood and guts spread over the ceiling, then dropped to the floor, extinguishing the fire.</span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />The fire from the kitchen had spread to the living room. No Mike in sight.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> Villain, where is Mike?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Villain</u>:</b> Last footage shows him going with Dexter into Dexter's room.</span>
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<br />Thomas' quickly decaying body crawled over to enter Dexter's room, but it was restricted. </span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">
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<br /><b><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></span></span></b> Huh... oh... I get it.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;">
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<br />And then his body turned into a dozen cats which fell from the ceiling and ran off in all directions.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">
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<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2011/02/episode-04-crain-slain-1-of-2.html">Next- Episode 04: Crain Slain (1 of 2)</a></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 100%;">
</span></b></span>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-53490140335881909172010-10-07T03:35:00.000-07:002013-06-10T18:56:19.787-07:00Episode 03: Party! (1 of 2)<hr style="font-family: Times New Roman; height: 3px;" />
<b>SAM AND DEXTER'S HOUSE</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas set his jetpack to land smoothly in the backyard so he didn't slam into the pool or the people sitting around the patio table. It was too early to cause a scene. He touched down near the table and his jetpack disappeared.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">Fighting specialty</span><span style="color: blue;">:</span></b> Specialist of everything. Likes bare knuckle brawling.<br /><b><span style="color: blue;">Pertinent facts</span><span style="color: blue;">:</span></b> Changes his appearance regularly. May be The One?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Agent</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">:</span></span></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Villain the chinchilla.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Current appearance</span><span style="color: blue;">:</span></b> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Lanky. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Looney Tunes colors and proportions.<br /><b><span style="color: blue;">Environment filter</span><span style="color: blue;">:</span></b> None. Things and people appear as others set them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">T waved at Dexter. He ignored the other people outside that he didn't know or care about, and they ignored him.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Dexter</u></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Fighter jets.<br /><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Pertinent facts:</span> </b>Mike's friend. Lives with Sam. Physical body present at party. A lame-o?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Agent:</span></b> Something dumb, probably.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Appearance to others:</span></b> Art Deco-ish.<br /><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Environment filter:</span></b> Art Deco everything. An awful way to live.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">T entered the kitchen to find Sam talking with Saitou. He waved at them and they waved back as they continued talking. Sam was wearing her infinitely revolving short movie/pics shirt, which cycled randomly through her image file. At the instant T came in, it was apparently stuck on funny kitten pics.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span><br /><span style="color: #9900ff;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Expert sword fighter. Possesses strong kung-fu.<br /><b><span style="color: #9900ff;">Pertinent facts:</span></b> Resides in house. Physical body present.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #9900ff; font-size: 100%;">Agent:</span></b> Tacky the octopus.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><b>Appearance to others:</b></span> Natural. Short hair. Tomboy.<br /><b><span style="color: #9900ff;">Environment filter:</span></b> Impressionist environment. None for body proxies.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Saitou was wearing his star suit. His hands and head were natural, but the rest of the space where his body would be was a deep star field. It displayed notable astronomical objects that existed in the direction the viewer looked through Saitou's body.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u></span></span></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Strategy from a distance. Starcraft 4 addict.<br /><b><span style="color: #999999;">Pertinent facts:</span></b> T suspects Saitou of being a Japanese school girl.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #999999; font-size: 100%;">Agent:</span></b> Mr. Naps the man-eating lion.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: #999999;">Appearance to others:</span></b> Head and hands natural. Everything else astronomical.<br /><b><span style="color: #999999;">Environment filter:</span></b> Classic horror theme. Oozing blood from the walls, random zombie faces on proxies, spiders, webs, and bats hanging from the ceiling, etc. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Saitou simultaneously maintains a 1st and 3rd person view at all times.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas went over to Saitou, stuck a hand into his chest and swished the stars and galaxies around. They swirled around for a few moments before reorienting into their correct position. Saitou's suit used a comprehensive astronomical database to create the most accurate and up-to-date starscape possible. T walked around behind Saitou, looking for something shiny. He stopped and watched as Saitou's back zoomed deeper and deeper into the field.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He watched objects passing by until he found a sufficiently fetching elliptical galaxy. He plucked it out and let it go in front of him. He enlarged it to basketball size and opened up its data tags, which showed its name and other information- when it was discovered, what instrument discovered it, how far away it was, its diameter, etc. </span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He played the projected evolution of the galax</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;">y from its beginning to its end. Then he spun it like a top and punched it back into Saitou, who didn't notice it spin its way home. T began paying attention to the conversation in progress.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b> It's annoying. I mean, he's really annoying about it. You see what I mean? Gendered pronouns are useful, at least until someone invents a better neutral term than "it" or "them". Why isn't there one by now anyway?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Is this about Pawn? Cause Pawn's annoying in all kinds of ways.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></b> Pawn doesn't care about pronouns. We're talking about Keen. You probably don't know him. Er, it. It's in the other room. Keen is. Geeze. Keen doesn't pay attention if you call it "him" or "her". If it ever pays attention at all.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas knew Keen, sort of, but had never looked "it" up before. He looked up the SIS tag for Keen that had come up when Saitou said its name. Keen's SIS page featured a ridiculous number of pictures and video of him/her in its various guises- male, female, animals, geometrical. Keen was proud to have live broadcast every moment of its life for the last 11 years.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u></span></span></b><br /><b><span style="color: magenta;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Doesn't fight.<br /><b><span style="color: magenta;">Pertinent facts:</span></b> Known weirdo. Gender unknown. T suspects Keen of being a shell proxy for multiple users, but does not yet have evidence. Not that it matters. Performance artist?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: magenta;">Agent:</span></b> None known.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="color: magenta;">Appearance to others:</span></b> When in anthropic form: pale, black hair, sunken eyes, generally Goth. Often assumes abstract shapes like clouds.<br /><b><span style="color: magenta;">Environment filter:</span> </b>Unknown, but probably strange.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas tried to teleport from the kitchen to the living room, but failed. The house layer shared by all partygoers restricted T's proxy to standardized physical properties as usual, but new restrictions had been added since the last party. He could only have two proxies at once and their total volume was limited. He couldn't turn invisible, but he could still adjust his gravity at will. He could phase through the wall dividing the kitchen and the living room, but otherwise he had to use doors. He couldn't even teleport or use portals inside the house. His movement was restrained to a jogging level, so he couldn't bounce around the house like he had at NumNums. He had been leashed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">All guests had access to the house's public layer. It facilitated socializing and created a shared environment. Guests were given great liberty in adding and sharing their own layers while they were there, but Sam was perfectly willing to take away that privilege, as Thomas well knew. Thomas wondered if the new rules only applied to him, or if they affected other people as well. He had gotten a little rambunctious at Sam's last party, as was his tendency.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He had, among other things, instantly flooded the house all the way to its ceiling with orange juice. It had made perfect sense at the time. He had also stretched his skin over the living room and kitchen floor and screamed whenever anyone walked on it. Sam had shown great patience before ejecting him from the house by having him eaten by an army of tiny, ravenous leprechauns. There was applause as he was eaten. He had been leaving anyway. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas noticed the familiar purple cartoon octopus wrapped flat around his left pinkie. All the guests in the house had one.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> It represented Sam's agent Tacky the octopus. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Guests could move the icon, filter it away if they didn't like it,</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> or they could activate it by looking at it intently. Tacky served as an interface for Sam's house. It provided a map of the house (including a "you are here" arrow), a real-time inventory of food and drink available in the kitchen, both Sam and Dexter's SIS links, and access to some of the surveillance "bugs" roaming the house.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">T took a look around the kitchen as he headed (on foot) to the living room. The kitchen had all the standard features. The sensors in their refrigerator and pantry kept track of which items were running low. The kitchen sink was both motion controlled and could be operated remotely. The kitchen walls appeared light blue, but T knew they were physically an unsightly pearl. There was an infinite movie poster on one of the kitchen walls, cycling through the posters for untold thousands of movies. Another kitchen wall served as a real time window to magnificent sights such as the towering cliffs of Cirrus in the virtual world Ataraxia (complete with dragon nests), to various perspectives inside the tanks in the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and to ongoing battles of note in various virtual worlds.<br /><br />For the house in general, lights turned on and off automatically according to the preference of the inhabitants. The house tried to compromise if multiple people were present with different lighting desires. Air conditioning was usually set to turn off when the owners weren't home, and to be turned back on again shortly before they arrived. Basically everything in the house was hooked up to a network that could be controlled remotely.<br /><br />Most devices by this point were powered or recharged wirelessly, via inductive charging bases, which were typically hidden into walls or countertops. This was convenient for the service robots that lived in the house. They cleaned floors and other surfaces, caught and disposed of bugs and pests and generally watched over the house. The walls had embedded sensors for sound and scent, and fixed cameras around giving several views of most rooms. <br /><br />There were also the ubiquitous mobile surveillance devices known affectionately as "bugs". Sam and Dexter's house featured 12 bugs. They were small, furry, cute, and durable. You could step on one without hurting yourself or damaging the bug. They could also be safely kicked or thrown around. They carried visible and infrared cameras, microphones, small speakers, scent and chemical sensors, and lasers for judging distances. They were slow moving, but capable of climbing on any wall or ceiling due to their light weight and advanced "sticky toes". Designs varied and most were adorable. Some of Sam's looked like cartoon spiders, others looked like caterpillars, a few looked like tribbles, and two looked like super deformed koalas.<br /><br />Owners could remotely control bugs to look in on the house. They tirelessly kept guard- detecting fire, burst pipes, or alerting authorities to a break in (while allowing the owner to scream at the burglars). Bugs were very useful to proxies. They helped paint an accurate virtual representation of a place for augmented reality or proxy use. Proxies were often allowed control over them to get a better view of people and events in the house, and to establish a more vigorous presence.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">To recharge, bugs simply moved near charge spots on the wall or counters. They were disposable, stayed out of the way, and were generally ignored by the usual inhabitants of the house except for remote check ins.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">LIVING ROOM</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas walked into the living room and was immediately captivated by the wall to his right. The entire wall was one giant sand garden. T took a look around the living room and determined that everyone was sufficiently distracted so that he could politely play with the sand. The garden featured long, intertwining strings of multicolored sand, along with nine fist-sized rocks. Concentric circles, of brilliant alternating colors, surrounded the rocks. Everywhere else was a chaos of twisting trails and spirals. T grabbed a handful of it. It lost its color as soon as it was removed from the wall. It felt like sand, but smelled like sandalwood. The sand pushed into his hand exactly as if gravity was oriented into the direction of the wall. He poured it in wavy line back onto the wall and was pleased as red and green curls sprouted along his trail. It made no sound.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He raked his fingers along it and observed the waves of changing color sweeping across the sand. Discordant interference patterns appeared as the waves smashed into each other. He smacked the wall with his fist, creating a whirlpool which sucked up surrounding colors and replaced them with a deep blue. He picked up one of the rocks and threw it at the ceiling. It bounced off and arced toward the wall. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Intermixed streams of color appeared </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">where it rolled down the wall.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">As a final test, T shoved his arm deep into the sand, flattened it out to widen his arm's surface area and flung the sand into the living room as fast as Sam's proxy rules allowed. Sand spread out in the air and fell like torrential rain all over the wall, splashing new colors everywhere. It sent waves of primary colors flowing across the wall and rebounding off of the ceiling and floor. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Everything he did to the wall changed it in unexpected ways, but nothing seemed to unbalance it or make it unaesthetic. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></b><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">: [shouting softly to Sam] Where the hell did you get this sand thing?</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b> Oh, Dex got it somewhere the other day. I think he copied it from one of his friend's places. The tag's right on it if you want it. I think it's got sound too, but I've never messed with it.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u>Thomas</u>:</b> </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Cool. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas' agent Villain (the chinchilla) automatically downloaded everything in T's range as a matter of course, so he'd have it to play with it later. He had been so swept up by the sand's playful anarchy that he had forgotten about the rest of the room.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Turning around, he saw a couch and several chairs surrounding a coffee table at the opposite end of the room. Deathly pale Keen, in its elegant Goth gear, was using up one of the physical chairs, staring at the surface of the coffee table, which was broadcasting a to-scale replica of an ongoing transhuman league soccer match. Keen had horrible posture, bending its head forward to watch the game (which it could have just zoom into), while clasping its knees to its chest. Keen's proxy looked quite male for being neuter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Opposite Keen, sitting thoughtfully in a virtual chair so as not to take up a physical one, was Chester. Chester was slumped back in her chair, completely still. Her proxy kept her presence at the party while her mind was busy elsewhere.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester's proxy was made of sleek wood. Her life-size marionette body (no strings) was covered in a pleasing oak grain. Her body was as sexy as a 5 foot marionette could be. She had no face or paint markings of any kind on her body. Her breasts were perky, but lacked nipples, while her crotch sported an ornate rose engraving. Her hands sported a full set of fingers. Each of her feet was enclosed within a large green leaf, the only part of her proxy which wasn't wood.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: #38761d;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Dragon Ball style- flying through the air, blowing up the damn moon.<br /><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Pertinent facts:</span></b> Besides Mike, T's oldest nemesis (and friend). </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Hard knocks, but soft hugs.</span><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 100%;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: 100%;">Agent:</span></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Sifl the punk sock puppet.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Appearance to others:</span> </b>Wooden body. Painted face and grass hair when active.<br /><b><span style="color: #38761d;">Environment filter:</span></b> Sci-fi theme. Lens flare, random "alien" modifications to people's faces, walls made of chrome with touch screens and "futuristic" beeps and whistles. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">There were two other bodies in the room, and they were both Megan. Megan's physical body sat on the couch, carefully chewing pizza. Her proxy was standing by the house media collection, perusing Dexter's books while listening to Sam's music. Both Megans had lite freckles and brown hair. Her physical body wore overalls. Her proxy was animated. The outfit covering its body was a snowy wonderland, complete with mountains for breasts, a skating rink (with skaters) for a stomach and a forest for her midsection. The effect was a little freaky, but fun.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="color: red;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Unknown.<br /><b style="color: red;">Pertinent facts</b><span style="color: red;">:</span> Physical body present. Newly Planted.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Agent:</span></b><span style="font-size: 100%;"> None known.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="color: red;">Appearance to others:</span></b> Anime- Classic Madhouse Studios design. Snowy resort body.<br /><b style="color: red;">Environment filter:</b> Anime (funky Madhouse)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Since all media was available instantly over the Internet and for very little cost (or just for donation, for reasons we are going to see later), physical collections of movies and music had disappeared, except for specialty collectors. The Social Interface System (SIS) had largely replaced perusing someone's stuff while you're over at their place. SIS could give you a list of shared media and let you easily go over anyone's favorites list and ratings. Virtual media collections like Sam's also served this function less exactly, while giving guests something to do.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">The display was a selected set of Sam and Dexter's favorite and recently viewed movies, shows, books, graphic novels, and music, all displayed as if they were physical medium. Meg made a rotating motion with her fingers to access Sam's books. Meg swiped her fingers from left to right in front of the display, cycling the display to more books. She picked up one of the books from the shelf and read the back cover. She put it back and swiped her fingers from up to down, changing it into CD shelves. Thomas hopped over to Megan's proxy, only stopping for a moment to look at the physical glass display case suspended on the wall next to Sam's media collection. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Hey Megs, I like your outfit.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [hugging T] Oh, hey! When'd you get here?</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> A few minutes ago. I can't believe you're here! And you're... over there too [gesturing to the couch].</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Oh yeah. Obviously, I'm fully Planted. So, yay me! </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Yay you indeed. Sam told me earlier. </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I thought about not bringing it, but I feel more comfortable with </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><i>it</i></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> around. I'm still getting a hang on the Plant.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Hey, you're eating with your physical while you inhabit a proxy. Not bad. </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Yeah, it's sort of weird, but fun. Well, you know. You just set your body to stay within a sitting equilibrium. The eating part isn't too tricky either, cause you can just keep the eating sensations and related motor controls while transferring everything else to a virtual body. So there's no real risk of choking. Then you just control the physical arm every once in a while to eat more food. I keep spilling things though. I'm pretty used to talking through a proxy while eating now. But being able to change the taste is just too cool! I'm adding jalapenos to the pizza and subtracting black olives right now. Way neat. </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Can I share?</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> What? The pizza I'm eating? Uh... really?</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Sure, just send me the eating sensations. It's in a neat little package.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Megan fiddled with her settings and sent a feed to Thomas, who filtered out his own mouth and throat sensations to passively experience Megan's. It replicated the taste and smell of the pizza, along with the sensations of chewing and swallowing.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Uh... this is making me self-conscious about eating.<br /><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: [dropping the feed] Ah, sorry. I remember being self-conscious. But you're doing really well. </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">About as well I did after two months. There's a lot to get used to. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Thanks. I've been practicing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas snapped his fingers and a drink appeared in his hand. He took a sip of his orange smoothie. Many miles away, his physical body took a shot.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Is that just for taste?<b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br /></u></span></span></span></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> First of all, </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><i style="color: blue;">just</i></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> for taste? [hands her a donut] Second, my physical takes shots while my proxy eats or drinks something. I'm aware of it just enough not to choke on it, but I don't like dealing with the taste or the sting of cheap vodka.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Megan</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">[eating the donut] Isn't that kind of dangerous? Wouldn't it be easy to overdo it? Nice donut, by the way.</span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br /></u></span></span></span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> I can tell how drunk I am. I also have an internal BAC detector that I use like a gauge to hit my tipsy sweet spot. Oh, and you can keep the recipe for the donut. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Megan, tired of standing around, walked over to the couch and sat into her body, merging her physical body and her proxy. The physical body was now animated, and featured the snowy wonderland outfit. Thomas followed and sat cross-legged on the coffee table facing her. Without moving, Keen made Thomas transparent so he could watch the soccer match.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u>:</b></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: red;"><b></b> <span style="color: #3333ff;">How's the job?</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u>Megan</u></b>:</span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="color: blue;">Oh, it's as fun as ever. But now I never have to drag my body to work. It wasn't common anyway, since I'm mostly just programming, but sometimes I have to interact with the robots, you know, and I can pretty much just take care of that virtually now. How's your work going?</span><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u>:</b> I'm on sabbatical. I'm a little burnt out, actually. Too much bureaucracy, too many narrow minds. They either don't understand how cyberization can help developing countries or they're afraid of it. Augmentation helps connect people around the world. It helps expose abuses. That's what some of them are afraid of.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas sprouted a second proxy which walked over to examine the glass collectible case by the media display. He moved his primary proxy, sitting on the table, with his usual motor controls, while he moved the second one with his Universal Remote Control. He split his vision between the two proxies, along with an overhead view in a subwindow to keep a tab on the room. His second proxy began to examine the case.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u>Thomas</u></b>: Oh, don't mind me, I'm paying attention. I just wanted to check something out.</span></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u><br />Megan</u></b>: <span style="color: blue;">How do you guys do that? I get so turned around unless I seriously limit one of my bodies.</span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u><br />Thomas</u></b>: Once you master the URC, it's not something you really have to work at. You don't have to understand it any more than you understand how you move your physical body. You direct an arm to move and it just does. You'll get it, it just takes practice. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;">The physical glass case, suspended from the wall, was filled with neat junk. There were puzzles, old Star Trek collectibles, anime figurines, an antique cellphone, an old wireless mouse, and a replica of the Hellraiser puzzle box- the Lament Configuration. Unfortunately, none of the objects had data tags, which meant that the best T could do with them was handle virtual images of them based on the house sensors. He picked the Lament Configuration up through the glass. He could feel its weight, the smoothness of its surface and the finely textured design. These simulated attributes were estimated based primarily on one of the bug's video cameras. Video of an object could often be used to estimate the way it would feel based on similar objects that had been more sensitively measured. This was often, but not always, accurate.<br /><br />He turned the box over to view its underside, which was probably identical to the side he had been viewing. It showed the same thing, but it was fuzzy, indicating that side was a projection and hadn't been captured by camera yet. So he took control of one of the nearby bugs, which happened to be on the ceiling, and had it drop to the floor and move up the wall next to the case to get a better view of the box's underside. It turned out to be the same. Still, the box was inert because T had no recording of someone opening the box to base a simulation on.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: [text to Sam] Does this Hellraiser box do anything cool?</span><span style="color: red;"><u><b><br />Sam</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">[to T] Like open a portal to Hell? Actually, I don't know if it works, it's Dexter's.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;">: [text to Dexter] Does this Hellraiser box work?</span><span style="color: #9900ff;"><b><u><br />Dexter</u></b>: <span style="color: blue;">[to T] Yes.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas did a quick internet search and found data tags for a Lament Configuration replica, maybe even the same as Dexter's. He changed Dexter's box into the working replica and began playing with it. The box began shifting with his touch.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u></b>: [mumbling to himself as he ran his fingers over the puzzle] Come on... I used to be able to do this....</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">A large crack appeared in the wall. He had opened a portal to the realm of Leviathan. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">T, why is Hell erupting into Sam's house?</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u>Thomas</u></b>: [frantically] Well Megs, that was probably my fault. But I'm fixing it, so don't worry. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He managed to revert the Lament Configuration back to its original box shape before throwing it into the closing Hell maw. No Cenobites were involved.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: I don't know what I thought the Lament Configuration replica I randomly found online was going to do. I really just wanted to see if there was a working physical puzzle box based on the design.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Megan</b></u>:</span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Wait, so what happens after the crack opens? I mean, if you didn't close it?<u><b><br /></b></u></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: [throwing her the tag for the box] Find out sometime. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas looked over at Chester.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: Have you spoken to Chester tonight?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Megan</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">Nope. She's been like that since I got here hours ago.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas shifted to face Chester and waved to her. Chester's head suddenly sported a colorfully animated painted face and inch-long grass hair. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester perked up, waved back, made eye contact with T and smiled. She subtly mirrored Thomas' posture and demeanor as he tried to engage with her. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: [knocking loudly on her forehead] Are you in there Chess? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester cocked her head to one side and blinked her eyes</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> quizzically</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">. Chester was obviously not present, but her "ghost" was active now. A proxy "ghost" was the set of trained reactions based on the proxy user's recorded behavior when interacting with other users and when exposed to various stimuli. Ghost controlled proxies could present an often eerie facsimile of a proxy user's nonverbal communication and general sense of presence. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Ghosts could even imitate a person's speech patterns to some degree, though not what they would say, or how they would respond in a specific conversation.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Besides being used as placeholders, ghost proxies were very popular in games and for creating sexbots. Basically, for any repetitive physical behaviors that fall within a limited set of actions. For instance, record a proxy inhabitant having sex 300 times with multiple partners and you could use that data to create a reasonably convincing sexbot patterned after that proxy user's sexual style. That user could then have sex with themselves and get a roughly accurate idea of what they're like in bed. Celebrity patterned sexbots were particularly popular, as one might imagine.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><u>Megan</u></b>: <span style="color: blue;">Maybe she'd wake up if we set her hair on fire.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u></b>: [pulling out a lighter] It would probably just smell really bad.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">But before their experiment could begin, there was a knock on the door.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">MIKE GETS THERE</span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Mike was at the front door, finally arriving with the beer. Megan opened the door for him. Mike entered looking mostly like his usual self except for his fedora, which sported a buzz saw on a robotic arm. Megan hugged him anyway.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u></span></span></b><br /><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Fighting specialty:</span></b> Mecha. Giant robots all the way.<br /><b style="color: #741b47;">Pertinent facts:</b> Physical body present.<br /><b style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Agent:</span></b></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> Tenchi the tachikoma (tactical robotic spider)</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">.<br /><b style="color: #741b47;">Appearance to others:</b> Weaponized fedora, nice jacket. 1920's-ish. Virtual glasses (to complete his style). Black and white.<br /><b style="color: #741b47;">Environment filter:</b> Ultra-Epic Crash Forest. Shoujo for proxies.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Heyo. What's with the hat?</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></span></b> Protection. T knows what it means.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">The buzz saw whirred ominously for a second before disappearing into the hat.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Hmm...</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Why not just filter T's nonsense automatically?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></span></b> What fun would that be? I'm going to go put these beers down...</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Mike said hello to T's second proxy, still standing by the glass case, as he walked to the kitchen. But he was captivated by the sand wall and put the beers down to play with it. He felt the sand run through his fingers via his haptic gloves. T's second proxy jumped over beside him.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> It smells like sandalwood. Very relaxing. And apparently it has sound. </span></span></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Actually, I'm pretty sure this is a music visualizer. </span><br /><br />Thomas yelled as loud as he could at the wall and then blasted music at it, to no effect. Mike played Mozart through the speakers of a nearby bug he moved close to the wall, and also through his jacket, to no effect.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">What is going on in there? </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Mike says this sand thing is a music visualizer. </span><br /><br />Sam came into the living room, put her arm around Mike, and scanned through the sand garden's settings. She started playing a death metal song through the wall speaker. The effect was glorious. The sand melted into expanding, sloshing seas of molten glass. The seas ballooned from the wall and expanded rapidly into the room, pulsing and throbbing with the music, splaying out in myriad forms. The living room was filled with crashing waves, whipping plumes, and effervescent bubbling towers, physically pounding out the heavy music. It even extended into the kitchen. Mike felt the beat of the music rattling his ribs. The proxies in the room felt the waves flowing through them, synchronizing all of their sensations with the spirit of the music.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Holy crap! That's beautiful.</span><br /><br />Tendrils snapped through T in beat to the music. It kind of tickled. Sam stopped the music and turned it back into a sand garden. The forms filling the room collapsed into the wall, leaving only chaotic colored trails through the sand and its 9 rocks.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #9900ff;">:</span> <span style="color: blue;">[accompanying Mike into the kitchen] I just hadn't looked at it, it's got all sorts of settings. I'll have to play with it later. </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam sent a short vid of the visualizer to Dex, who was still sitting outside, arguing about a movie. Saitou had watched the event through the kitchen wall. Saitou's lion agent Mr. Naps, noticing his interest, automatically saved the sand visualizer for him. The 2nd Thomas followed Sam and Mike into the kitchen. Megan sent her proxy walking through the kitchen wall after them.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester's sock puppet agent Sifl alerted her that Sam's party had reached a critical mass of interesting people. Chester decided to leave the 2nd party she was attending, which had gotten kind of lame. Of course, it was 6 a.m. there. The 3rd party she was present at was projected to be awesome around 1 a.m, but that was in three hours.<br /><br />At the moment, Sam's party was just right</span><span style="font-size: 100%;">. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester sat up in her chair and looked around the room, pretending to stretch. Her painted face smiled in greeting to Thomas and Megan. Thomas was always surprised at how expressive and engaging a painted face could be. Her chia hair was kind of endearing too. Thomas' 1st proxy, sitting on the coffee table, turned to face her.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Oh, hi Thomas.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: black;">Chester leaned over and hugged T. Her body was soft and warm despite its appearance. Chester practiced enhanced hugs, which transferred physical warmth, a soothing full-body constriction, and temporary intermingling of certain body senses when the other person's setting allowed. She settled back into her chair.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Nice crotch flower, Chess.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> Carved it myself. Hey Meg.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> I think she's in the kitchen with Sam and me and everybody. Primarily, I mean.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh yeah, she got Planted. Very nice. What's with Keen?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">[looking over his shoulder at him/it] </span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">He's here. It's here. It's just ignoring everything but the game. Which I am sitting on. I don't know why it's watching it here. Keen could be on the field experiencing it, or at least hovering over it. Screw it, he's "he" to me from now on.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> Well, maybe it doesn't communicate, but just likes being around people.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [jumping up and down on Keen's head] Soaking it all in, are you? Contribute!</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">But Keen did not care to react. Thomas sat down on the table and shoved some cheesecake into his mouth. Many miles away, his physical body did a shot.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> So, Chess, how are things in New Zealand? Still got that lag problem?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> They mostly fixed that, but lag is inevitable proxying from New Zealand to anywhere in the United States. Quarter second delay at the best. Speed of light and routing delays and all that. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Well, I've said it before, but your proxy fills in for you quite nicely. At least as far as body language and reflective gesturing goes.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> Well, it's got a lot of data to work with. </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">One function of proxies was to fill in the gap for the user in cases of lag. Spoken communication is more flexible in terms of lag. Except in cases of being slow to deal with interruptions, it can just appear as if the person speaking is taking a short pause to think. But subtle things like eye contact, non-verbal communication and reflexive posturing could make lag during conversations, or other intimate social interactions, awkward.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">A well-trained ghost could help fill in the gaps for its user so that the other side may not even know there's lag. They even help with sex, where a quarter second delay could be very annoying. But if your ghost knows you well enough, they can partially fill in for you. This can be a strange sensation to the user at first, like experiencing an echo of something you were about to do, just before you did it. But if it fits with what the user was going to do, the user's brain more often than not simply gets used to trailing some actions, almost as if it actually had done it. Because it kind of had. Luckily, people's social interactions were, for the most part, limited in their variety, and capable of being modeled to various levels of success.</span> Matching gazes, maintaining appropriate eye contact, angling toward a speaker and generally mirroring other users were commonly compensated for by ghosts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester teleported into the middle of kitchen, shimmering Star Trek style. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">T wondered if he was the only one with restricted porting privileges. Chester</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"> said hello and passed out enhanced hugs to everyone.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">DEALING OUT LIFE LESSONS IN THE KITCHEN</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Thomas switched his attention to his second proxy, which was standing by the kitchen table where Sam was seated. Saitou was doing the moonwalk for some reason. There was much merrymaking.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Eventually Thomas noticed that Sam was mixing drinks with a mid-priced rum on the kitchen table. Many miles away he took another shot.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> I really don't understand why you buy expensive alcohol. Why not get cheap vodka and change its sensation like I do? It's not like any of us have money to burn.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u><br />Sam</u>:</span></span></b> It's not that much more expensive. Besides, Mike appreciates it. </span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u><br />Mike</u>:</span></span></b> That crap you drink is terrible, whether you can taste it or not.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> That's the whole point! Alcohol is nasty no matter how expensive it is, but the cheap stuff works the same. </span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u><br />Sam</u>:</span></span></b> I'm not arguing with you. Like, about anything. Ever.</span><br /><br />Mike got a message from Dexter and excused himself to see what was going on outside. While Megan wasn't paying attention, Mr. Naps sniffed the back of her knee. The cold lion nose caused her to yelp and jump to the other side of the room.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Saitou! Does your lion really eat people?</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u><br />Saitou</u>:</span></span></span></b> I don't have to answer that... Maybe it does. Sometimes.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Well, put it away or shrink it!</span><br /><br />Saitou picked up Mr. Naps by the scruff of the neck. Naps purred and meowed softly.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u><br /><br />Saitou</u>:</span></span></span></b> See, Mr. Naps is just a big kitty. He only eats people if they're incapacitated. Like T will be if he keeps drinking.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> How could you possibly know how drunk I am? Everyone knows I use drunk masking. </span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u><br />Saitou</u>:</span></span></span></b> You're being a little too smooth, T. You haven't even agitated Mike yet.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> He's been here like 4 minutes. And he's outside now.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u><br />Saitou</u>:</span></span></span></b> ...</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><u><br />Thomas</u></b>[text to Saitou]: I am planning revenge against Mike, just you see.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u><br />Saitou</u></span></span></span></b><span style="color: #999999;">:</span> [text to T] What is with you and revenge?</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Saitou turned away and continued talking to Sam about politics. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester had moved over to the fridge and had been gesturing for T to come over, so he did.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br /><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Is Zuul in the fridge or something? </span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u><br />Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> Something in this fridge is being filtered. You know what?</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> I don't know, what? </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />A large window opened up above Thomas' head and a waterfall of green slime drenched him, but without touching anything else. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u><br /><br />Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> You've been green mustard-ed!</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Chester walked away to Saitou before T could respond. T wiped a donut on his chest and ate it. It was not the taste sensation he had hoped for. T filtered the slime away. Proxy Megan jumped up and sat on the island counter between the fridge and the kitchen table.<b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br /><br />Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"> My eyes still sting.</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: #3333ff;">Why doesn't anyone set it so stupid crap like that is automatically filtered?</span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u>: </span></span></span></b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;">How realistic would that be?</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Um...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Besides, now I can get revenge.</span></span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br /></u></span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> What is with you and revenge?<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> It's fun and stuff.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Chester and Saitou stood talking by the table. On a layer private to Meg and himself, T used his index finger as a laser (an ever popular device) and cut the top of Saitou's head off. It fell molten onto Chester's leg and set it on fire. Megan snorted in suppressed laughter. Chester looked at T suspiciously while her body blackened and then melted down like the Wicked Witch of the West. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Chester's melting body flailed its arms impotently as Saitou's half-head spurted blood on the ceiling.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />On the same layer, Meg drew a mustache made of cartoon caterpillars on Sam.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: [text to Meg] Lame!</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [to T] Yeah, how about this...</span><br /><br />Megan restored everyone on their joke layer and created a copy of Chester's proxy next to Chester. It was complete with her ghost (from her SIS). The Chesters started dancing around each other. They started making out (as only marionettes can). Lush tree branches grew out of the Chesters' indicated erogenous zones and wrapped around their bodies until they merged and became a single Chester again, the branches being absorbed back into its body.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [text to Meg] Very nice. And pretty. Not really funny though. Watch what I'm going to do to Starman there.<b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [to T] Starman?<b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [to Meg] Saitou. Wait, are you filtering his proxy's special application? <b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [to T] I just force everything to be my favorite flavor of anime.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u><br />Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [to Meg] You should give special applications an exception and at least look at them first before filtering them. You never know what you'll miss.</span><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u><br />Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [removing her filter from Saitou] Holy crap!</span><br /><br />Megan went over to play with Saitou's stars. Thomas noticed that </span><span style="font-size: 100%;">a panel had appeared on the panorama wall, ruining a nice space view of Earth. The panel featured a terminal display complete with a keyboard sticking out beneath it. The terminal simply said, "Keen: Available for chat. Please use the keyboard." Thomas was the only one who noticed it or cared.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Villain ran over and jumped up on the keyboard, ready to hop on the keys to enter T's messages. T sat down at the kitchen table and duplicated the display in front of him so he wouldn't have to stare at the wall.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Hey Keen, how's it going?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Who is typing?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> It's me, Thomas. You know.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Oh. That Thomas. You are famous. </span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> What for?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Games. Some call you Hanged Man.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Yeah, people call me all sorts of things. Why are you a chat room?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Anthropic bodies get in the way of multiple conversations.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Unlike keyboards? Bodies work so nicely with the human brain. Non-verbal communication contains a high bandwidth of tasty information.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> That information is extraneous for my purposes. It speaks of character and social standing, but not of higher truth.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Just how many people are you talking to right now?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> It varies. About 30 that are meaningful shares of information.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> What kind of information?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Today's prepared topics are: Middle Eastern archaeology, neurology, growing brain babies, and contemporary politics in Britain.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Uh... let's go with the babies one.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> There are projects underway to grow babies without physical bodies. Brain vats would sustain and nurture their brains while they inhabited virtual infantile bodies through specially designed brain implants. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Keen displayed a schematic for a baby brain vat, and below it an animation of a genetically modified brain growing from a single cell and being integrated with cybernetics. Then it showed a happy virtual baby, unaware that it existed only Outside.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Brain vats are very much relevant to my interests. It would be nice to not have to worry about my physical. But I think we should better develop brain vats for mature brains before we start thinking about crazy projects that people will freak out over.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Vat babies will be superior. Babies with physical bodies are a pain, and their physical bodies limit them and hamper their development. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Yeah, babies are a pain. You could probably grow their brains larger than regular in vats too. It's limited now by the birth canal, I have heard.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> With bio-engineering, probably. Although it is uncertain that size alone would appreciably affect intelligence, due to its many contributing factors. The primary reason for growing brain vat babies is that fewer and fewer people want to raise a physical child. Eventually, we could have a population crises due to having too few babies to replace the aging populace, even with automation fulfilling humanity's physical needs and supporting our infrastructure.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> But if babies don't have bodies, what will I eat?</span></span></div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Most people don't eat babies. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Do you know what a joke is?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> What is "joke"?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh.... huh.... Keen, are you a chatbot?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> Now who lacks a sense of humor?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> See, this is why people don't talk to you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: magenta;"><u>Keen</u>:</span></span></b> You're just a low priority conversation, that's all.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Are you sure you're not a chatbot? Oh wait, I have to go. "See" you later Keen.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Mike was coming back in to get a new beer.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [text to Megan] Oh, oh, oh, I think Mike's coming back. Check this out. Mike's been physically abusing me! He ejected me from a car and I got run over! So I'm going to teach him a lesson by means of revenge!</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [text to T] How much of that cheap vodka have you had? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">T did not answer. He moved over by the kitchen sink just before Mike got to the refrigerator and began to whistle the Ghostbuster's theme. He had carefully positioned a bug on the ceiling in front of the refrigerator, but it refused to fall when Mike opened the fridge to get another beer. Falling bugs were too light and soft to hurt anyone, and sometimes having one let go of a surface was the fastest way to move it into a different position, so people were generally allowed to drop them. Sam had, however, added a house restriction against bugs falling near physical people. Probably because of T.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Unfortunately for everyone in the kitchen, the falling bug was only the first part of Thomas' plan, and he had contingencies. The bug began to beep at Mike. Mike didn't even look up. Then the kitchen sink turned on. Mike turned it off with a finger flick. The bug continued beeping. T turned the faucet back on. Mike turned it off. The bug beeped. T turned the faucet back on.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></span></b> T!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> What? How do you know it's me?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Mike lightly punched T in the chest. In response, T's chest exploded into a raging geyser of blood that splattered half of the kitchen. As he dramatically crumpled to the ground, the rupture across his chest spread to his stomach, and his insides (including his brain) splayed across the kitchen floor, carried by a cascade of blood. His organs and guts were based on his medical scans, so they were fairly accurate. It was disgustingly realistic, except for the ridiculous amount of blood and the strong smell of cinnamon.<br /><br />Saitou continued talking with Chester, trying to ignore whatever was going on behind him despite being splashed with blood. He took a step back to emphasize a point and slipped on the expanding pool of blood. He nearly hit Sam as he fell. The stars of his body mixed with T's blood. Mr. Naps came over to help him up and lick blood off of his elbow, and off of the floor. Mike buried his face in his palm while Thomas lay writhing in his own guts.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh gods, I'm dying! Why Mike? Why did you have to brutalize me yet again?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [blushing with embarrassment for T] What is this, preschool? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">Sam calmly watched the entire thing happen and let T shame himself for a few more moments before filtering the mess from her house's primary layer. T stood up in his renewed body and brushed himself off. He noted his restricted house privileges. It had been worth it. He should never have had access to the sinks to begin with. But Saitou was an unfortunate casualty.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Sorry Saitou.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></span></b> I've come to expect such things from life in general, and from you in particular.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [turning to his older brother] Mike, have you learned something here?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u>:</span></span></b> I... think several things, probably. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Maybe you'll think about how fragile I am the next time you eject me from a car.<br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><u>Mike</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #741b47;">:</span> [going back outside] You could have just said something.<br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [yelling after him] Graphic lessons are more effective.</span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I think we all got the point. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Megs, sometimes I just don't know why I even try.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> But where would we all be if you gave up trying?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh yeah, that reminds me...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BAD KITTY!</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Mr. Naps was prowling around the kitchen. The blood had fueled his appetite for human flesh and now he was looking for someone to eat. This had given Thomas an idea.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> You should let Mr. Naps eat you. He's always hungry for human flesh.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I don't know about that.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Come on. Just turn discomfort off. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Is this like a rite of passage or something for new proxy users?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span></b> and <b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u></span></span></span></b><span style="color: #38761d;">:</span> No!</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> So it's hazing, then?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #999999;"><u>Saitou</u>:</span></span></span></b> I don't think it even counts as hazing.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Aw, come on! Look how hungry he is!</span><br /><br />Mr. Naps did look pretty hungry.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><b><u>Megan</u></b>: <span style="color: blue;">[turning off her discomfort and blood] Fine, whatever. Come here Mr. Naps. </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><br />Megan was pulled to the ground as Mr. Naps set about quickly eating her, starting with her legs.<br /><br /><span style="color: red;"><u><b>Megan</b></u>: <span style="color: blue;">[one leg being consumed] This is actually not so bad.</span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Thomas</u>:</b> Why would it be? Hey Naps, can you chew off the second leg at the hip and wait a second.</span><br /><span style="color: #999999;"><u><b>Naps</b></u>:</span> <span style="color: blue;">[after swallowing the first leg] Sure. </span><br /><br />Megan's second leg came off after a few chomps. T held it up in the air, took off her sandal, and tickled her foot. She jerked her leg and hit him with her bloody stump.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">What the hell? That's worse than being eaten. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: Tickling is usually a separate option from discomfort. It can be turned off in an instant, but that instant might mean your death in a virtual world. </span><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Yeah, gotcha. Go ahead Mr. Naps. </span><br /><br />Mr. Naps started eat again. Thomas threw Meg's leg into the air and vaporized it with his finger laser. Its ashes fell to the ground.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">: <span style="color: blue;">[eaten up to her belly button] And so what is this for again?</span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: [stepping away from Megan's expanding pool of blood] Mr. Naps was hungry, is all.</span><br /><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">: <span style="color: blue;">[chest and head remaining] My legs feel weird.</span></span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: Haven't you ever turned your body off before?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><u>Megan</u></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [just her head remaining] Yeah, for meditation. But being eaten is different.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><u><b>Thomas</b></u>: Interesting.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b><span style="color: red;">:</span> [head disappearing] It just occurred to me how silly this is.</span><br /><br />Megan reinstated her physical body's senses and found herself on the couch in the living room. T sat on the coffee table looking at her.</span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Good work being eaten. Some new Plants would have freaked out.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">I've been eaten in Zombietown any number of times, and it even hurt a bit.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Being eaten by zombies is always good. Alright, so it was a dumb test. You know what diving is?</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Oh yeah, I've gone a few times. I know it's not the same if you're just getting the tactile feedback from a haptic suit, but it was fun.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> It really isn't even remotely the same thing. Even with a Plant, you have to develop flexibility in your body sense to get the whole experience. All your senses get played like a musical instrument if you can really stretch yourself out in the stream. I think you should try it. You could go with us on Saturday, after the movie shoot. It'll be fun!</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u></span></span></b>: </span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: 100%;">[rubbing her legs thoughtfully] I'm interested, but I don't know. I wouldn't want to get in the way.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh, you couldn't if you tried. That is, we'd just leave you behind. By which I mean that we are going to leave you behind. But it'll be fine.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> <span style="color: blue;">Diving can create some pretty strange distortions, I've read.</span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> You only have to relax to what you're comfortable with. And how do you think people get flexible in the first place? Eventually, your brain has to adapt to some crazy physical distortions if you're going to get the most out of living Outside. </span><br /><br />Chester's living room proxy raised its head.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> You should come and see Club Omni if nothing else. Largest ongoing orgy outside of a sex club.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Hasn't everyone already seen that?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh, sure. But have you </span><i style="color: blue;">felt</i><span style="color: blue;"> it? Participants on the floor often share their proxy's sensory feeds. Just the dancing is pretty incredible by itself. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I've been experimenting with experiencing other user's feeds. It's weird having the senses of a body that someone else is controlling. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><u>Chester</u>:</span></span></span></b> Share a feed and shut out your own senses and it's like you're just some impotent voice in somebody's head. Like a roller coaster ride. But you don't have to go that far. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> You'll need to start riding feeds if you want to appreciate the best movies and shows, not to mention all the worlds that involve sharing. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Alright, yeah, I'll go. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Ha! I knew it. You're gonna get totally washed. It'll be great.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Washed?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Oh my gods, you live in a cave. Getting washed is losing your sense of yourself when you become an experience. It's a Zen thing or something. It's great fun. Shouldn't your agent have looked that term up for you?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I don't have an agent. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [O_O] !</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> What? I like to do things myself.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [text to Sam] Megs doesn't have an agent.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #9900ff;">:</span> [to T] That makes sense, actually. I always get her or voice mail when I call. How could we not notice that? </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u></span></span></span></b>: [to Sam] What should I say?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: #9900ff;"><u>Sam</u></span></span></b><span style="color: #9900ff;">:</span> [to T] Just fix it, Thomas! Geeze. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br />Thomas bit his lower lip. Choosing to not have an agent was like choosing to wash all of your dishes by hand. He looked to Chester for help, but he seemed to have left the living room again.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Uh... you should really try a basic agent. They're indispensable once you get used to them.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> I've got a set of programs that do the same things.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> You'd still use the same programs, but the interface... it's hard to explain until you work with one. It's a relationship. They're like extensions of your mind. I'd be hobbled if I lost Villain.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><u>Villain</u></b>: [appearing on T's shoulder long enough to be petted] Thanks, boss. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> That's kind of why I don't want one. You extend your mind too much and the scaffolding could give out.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Well, I understand that. That's why you have to thoroughly understand your agent and the programs it interfaces. Agents don't obscure how programs work, they actually illuminate them. Agents help train you in new programs and optimize settings. Also, automating communication is really nice. They're like 24 hour secretaries. </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> Maybe I'll try one when you give up being... uh...</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Me. I'll have you know that I am me only occasionally. I'm only me right now by Sam's special invitation.</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Megan</u>:</span></span></b> What are you all the rest of the time?</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-family: times new roman; font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><u>Thomas</u>:</span></span></span></b> Whatever the situation calls for.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: times new roman;"><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/10/episode-03-part-2-of-2-party.html">Next- Episode 03: Party! (2 of 2)</a></span></span><b><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-27665494180833367492010-08-03T03:20:00.000-07:002011-09-03T23:19:18.953-07:00Technology Notes<hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note01"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">01. </b></a><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note01"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Augmented Reality Technologies</b></a><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note02">02. Haptic Smart Clothing </a></b>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note03"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">03. Augmented Reality Controls</b></a>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note04"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">04. Eye Tracking</b></a>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note05"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">05. The Plant</b></a>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note06"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">06. Universal Remote Control</b></a>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note07"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">07. AI, Other Absent Stuff, And Living Outside's Timeframe</b></a>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note08"><b style="font-family: Times New Roman;">08. About the Virtual World Ataraxia</b></a>
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<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note01" name="note01"></a>TECH NOTE 01: Augmented Reality Technologies </span>
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<br />We already have basic audiovisual augmented reality technologies. The phone is an early example. There are smart phone apps which add virtual overlays to show where your friends are or where to find food. More immersive technologies are on the way. Implanted augmentive technologies like neural implants offer the most potential</span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> (see tech notes 05 and 06)</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">, but non-implant devices will be common first.
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<br />For augmenting vision, <a href="http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=39094" id="iqy0" title="Bionic contacts">bionic contacts</a> like Mike's could potentially change their user's vision into anything their eyes could see, and visually alter their environment at will. If they supply enough light, they might even work in the dark.
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_projection" id="whae" title="Virtual Retinal Display">Virtual Retinal Display</a> glasses have been used for some time. They paint images directly onto the retina with lasers. How cool is that? They do have limitations. They might have problems if you're running, and may not be as immersive as bionic contacts could be.
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<br />For augmented hearing, there will be something along the lines of Mike's "ear inserts". You could do a bunch with these. Mike's ear inserts fit snuggly and comfortably into his ear canals, and provide the best quality 3D sound the human ear can perceive. They can be used: to play or mix digital sounds with the environment; as ear plugs; to control volume; to filter certain sounds away and amplify others; to record sounds; possibly for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition" id="a-mh" title="picking up subvocalizations">picking up subvocalizations</a> for discrete communication; and for eye tracking (see see tech notes 04).
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<br />Almost 200,000 people have received <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implants" id="ntmo" title="cochlear implants">cochlear implants</a>. These directly stimulate the auditory nerves in the cochlea, and restore at least some hearing. They are sometimes also used to reduce or eliminate tinnitus.
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<br />Bionic contacts and ear inserts obviously need power to run. Ear inserts might be able to run on a battery for a while, but batteries and contacts don't really mix. Luckily, there are several forms of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_energy_transfer" id="ion6" title="wireless energy">wireless energy</a> which can be used to keep contacts, ear inserts, and internal implants running. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_charging" id="epgv" title="Magnetic inductive charging">Magnetic inductive charging</a> and rf radiation are examples.
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<br />But what is providing wireless energy for these devices? Various places in a home or office could be outfitted with transmitters, transmission could be built into cars, bags, helmets, or even provided by batteries woven into your own clothing. Clothing built to take advantage of the <a href="http://www.physorg.com/news183832835.html" id="qj-q" title="piezoelectric effect">piezoelectric effect</a> might even generate some of the required energy from body movement.
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<br /></span></span><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#visual" id="etp7" title="Related Tech Links: Visual Augmentation">Related Tech Links: Visual Augmentation</a>
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<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note02" name="note02"></a>TECH NOTE 02: Haptic Smart Clothing</span>
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<br />Haptic technology involves tactile feedback- providing touch, pressure, heat, resistance, etc. Neural implants will eventually be able to provide more direct feedback through the nervous system, but haptic technology has a lot of potential.
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<br />Mike's clothes seem pretty ridiculous by our current standards. He has numerous infrared and visible cameras woven into his clothing (mostly his jacket), along with microphones, laser and radar systems, and scent sensors. These are for enhancing his information about his environment for safety reasons, for his augmented reality functions, and to help him paint an accurate simulated environment for people who virtually visit him.
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<br />His clothes are touch sensitive, and are able to restrain his movement in a limited way for his AR functions using artificial muscles. Perhaps carbon nanotube based. His shirt and jacket are </span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;">capable of displaying images, even full movies, and <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/11/05/paper-thin-nanotube-speakers-can-turn-up-the-volume/" id="rfat" title="playing sounds">playing sounds</a>. Yes, some people in the future will use this technology to obnoxious ends. </span>
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<br />For Mike, let's say that most of his sensor functions are in his jacket, so he wouldn't have to clean it as often. His pants would largely be used for their touch sensitivity... for touch controls like keysphere ops. And perhaps for haptic resistance, to simulate someone touching his legs.
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<br />Have I gone a little far with all of these capabilities? Did I not go far enough? Will everyone only have one set of clothes? Will augmented clothing still be machine washable? Only time will tell.
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<br /></span><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#haptics" id="q5mo" title="Related Tech Links: Haptics">Related Tech Links: Haptics</a>
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<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note03" name="note03"></a>TECH NOTE 03: Augmented Reality Controls- Virtual Keysphere and 3D Mouse
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For those without implants, there will have to be some way to enter information and control programs while moving around. These would largely have to be controlled by hands, and would preferably require minimal hardware for the purpose of mobility and convenience. No one wants to carry around a keyboard. In fact, I think that the best systems would require no hardware at all. Thus, the "non-planted" characters in Living Outside primarily use virtual mice and keyspheres.
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<br />I imagine that virtual keyboards will be popular first, due to familiarity. But the shape of a keyboard is not optimal. Imagine typing on a virtual keyboard, hovering in front of you, your fingers tracked by camera. Now imagine its keys wrapped around into a sphere shape. The first advantage this shape has is that it's more natural to manipulate than a board. Hands naturally face each other when brought up from the sides. To type on a keyboard, you have to pronate your hands. Holding a ball is more comfortable. A keysphere would also allow more space for additional controls than a flat setup.
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<br />Once experienced with a keysphere, a user could type anywhere. Hands would not have to be held together, but could drop to the user's sides and enter input on their legs. A semi-transparent keysphere with ghost hands representing the user's hand position could continue to appear as a guide for precision. </span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Keyspheres could be extremely customizable. Experienced users could add multiple layers of context, perhaps depending on the angle that the wrist is held, or some combination of keys that would toggle numerical mode or whatever.
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;">There are several ways to track finger movement for any virtual control system. You could type anywhere a camera- visible or infrared (for the dark)- could see your hands, such as in front of the camera embedded in a pair of augmented reality glasses Rabid Weasel wears, or in view of any of the multiple cameras on Mike's clothing. You could also use touch sensitive haptic wear, such as most of Mike's outfit, but particularly his gloves which precisely track his hands and fingers. Haptic gloves could also provide feedback while handling the keysphere, creating the feel of a ball, providing a slight vibration, or maybe a small "catch" while gliding a finger over a key. </span>
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<br />Hands could also be used as a kind of virtual mouse, allowing manipulation of augmented reality content in three dimensions.</span></span> It's easy to imagine selecting a virtual object, by hand gesture or eye tracking, then moving it in three dimensions with small hand movements. Such control systems are in their infancy right now, but when mature could effect intricate and intuitive controls not possible with any <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">control system now. Eventually, physical keyboards and mice might go out of fashion after the development of virtual systems. For one thing, it would be nice to be able to type with your fingers in any position, and virtual controls, liberated from hardware, might be more flexible than physical hardware. It might also help with repetitive stress injuries.
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">I don't know how popular wearing gloves all the time just for control purposes would be. The camera method would probably be more convenient. However, haptic gloves could also provide haptic resistance and tactile sensations like the roughness of a virtual object or its heat. Those are great features for virtual reality, but I don't know how much they would matter to people going to the grocery store. Also, let's just say that Mike's gloves are washable, so he can wash them in a sink for hygiene like he would wash his hands.
<br /></span></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html" title="Related Tech Links">Related Tech Links</a>: <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#haptics" title="haptics">haptics</a>, <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#controls" title="virtual control schemes">virtual control schemes</a>
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<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note04" name="note04"></a>TECH NOTE 04: Eye Tracking
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<br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >There are several methods of tracking eyes. Bionic contacts might be able to track where a person's eyes are looking. Cameras can already do this fairly well. Augmented glasses presumably use virtual retinal displays, which obviously have to know where your eyes are, so that's an easy one too. Check the <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html" title="Related Tech Links">Related Tech Links</a> for a link about <a href="http://www.physorg.com/news185631087.html" title="headphones that track the eyes">headphones that track the eyes</a> based on the cornea's positive charge. Let's just say that Mike's ear inserts are tracking his eyes using this method. Bionic contacts might add even more charge, making it easier.</span></span>
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<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note05" name="note05"></a>TECH NOTE 05: The Plant</span>
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<br />In Living Outside, "plant" can refer to any neural implant, but "the plant" refers to the system of neural implants which enable full immersion virtual reality. This system is designed to stimulate all of the physical senses: sight, sound, touch, pressure, pain, temperature, smell, taste, acceleration, balance, etc., as well as translating motor signals from the brain into proxy commands for virtual movement.
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<br />The simplest way to accomplish this is to connect the brain's sensory and motor nerves with implants which would act as nerve signal routers. This would involve merging implants with the spinal cord and the 12 cranial nerves (most of which are connected to the conveniently located medula). The signals sent along these nerves are relatively straightforward to read and stimulate as compared to higher brain functions.
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Implants for vision and hearing are pretty straightforward, and we have early versions of them today: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant" id="cs22" title="Cochlear implants">cochlear implants</a> and various <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis" id="jxks" title="visual prosphetics">visual prosphetics</a>. Creating a full body virtual experience is much more difficult, but </span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">there are a multitude of benefits to engaging all of the senses.
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<br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Tactile feedback and motor controls are necessary for immersive virtual reality in that they allow: a fuller sense of presence; natural and free movement; sophistication and depth of social interactions; intuitive control schemes; and the ability to fly, eat food, and have sex. On top of these reasons, there's also wilder possibilities such as remapping your senses to inhabit different bodies or modifying your genitalia from one sex to another (or into a tentacle). Truly convincing a brain of inhabiting a virtual body requires discomfort and pain to add</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" > authenticity and spice. You also have to be able to inhibit the signals being sent to your brain from your body to avoid sensory confusion.
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<br />While haptic clothing could create some level of physical feedback, to truly and satisfactorily accomplish most of this requires a system of full immersion brain implants. It seems pretty implausible to me that forms of technology for reading and manipulating brain activity from outside the skull, such as eeg, fmri, or transcranial magnetic stimulation, could offer any meaningful virtual reality experience. Tech that could fit in a hat might be able to offer some useful thought-based control schemes though. But nothing could compare with in-brain implants. W</span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">hen they become safe and economical, tactile and other sensory implants will inevitably become commonplace.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> For many reasons, but also for two words by themselves: virtual sex.
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<br /></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Below is an idea for a tactile implant technology I find plausible. Who knows how the technology will evolve? Don't judge me harshly, the future!</span>
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<br /><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Plant: Implantation</b>
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<br /></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For the sake of Living Outside, I imagine a system of implants attached to the main sensory nerves feeding into the brain, specifically the 12 cranial nerves and the spinal cord. I'll use the "spinal plant" as an example, but they would all work like this. The spinal cord contains ~20 million axons sending information signals from the body to the brain, and motor signals from the brain to the body. Input/output signals from the brain would be relatively straightforward to read and manipulate, compared to higher brain processing of the senses.
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<br />Ideally, the spinal plant would be injectable. It would be injected next to the spinal cord, somewhere below where it connects with the brain stem.</span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> The device would self-assemble and form a ring around a thin section of the spinal cord. It would then flood the spinal cord with millions of biohybrid nanobots (or other connecting elements) and nanoscale tendrils. These elements, much smaller than the diameter of an axon (1 micrometer or so), would establish connections with each of the spinal cord's axons. Doing this effectively without damaging the spinal cord will take some engineering, but it's plausible that we'll have this level of nanotechnology in the next 30 years.
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<br />Each of the axon/plant connections allows the spinal implant to control the flow of axonal "information" from and to the brain, by altering or suppressing each axon's frequency. In effect, such a plant would be a router, determining the flow of sensory information and motor controls among the brain, the body, and simulated proxies. </span>
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<br />Many of these connections could be disintegrated or neutralized once calibration determines that their physiological correlations are not useful for plant purposes. I imagine that implants will be designed to be permanent, although they would ideally have the ability to dissolve, and be absorbed by the body, in case of a problem or to make room for an upgrade.
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;">Cyberizing the cranial nerve fibers, such as the olfactory or optic nerves, could be done in a similar way with smaller plants. Many of these conveniently connect to the medula, near the top of the spinal cord. Perhaps a system of implants of these nerves connecting to the spinal plant as a hub could work.
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >With self-assembling nano-electronics, implantation could become routine, affordable, and require no invasive brain surgery. </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >I recognize how extreme and risky a spinal plant seems now, but with advances in technology I believe it will eventually carry only a small, acceptable risk considering its enormous potential benefits. Full immersion virtual reality will enable some pretty incredible things, as I hope to demonstrate in future episodes of Living Outside.</span>
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<br /></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Plant: Energy Needs</span></b>
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<br />Most of the computation involved with the plant would be done outside the skull. Tasks such as generating patterns of axonal stimulation to create sensations in the brain would would performed by outside computers. With efficient design, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">the plant would have small energy needs. Actually stimulating the spinal cord, for example, would require very little power. For obvious reasons, implant battery capacity will have to be limited. Some of its needs could be met by taking advantage of its environment- ambient body heat, kinetic energy, the piezoelectric effect, blood sugar, and maybe even the electrical impulses of the spinal axons themselves.
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<br />The spinal plant could be connected by wires to the other implants and to a physical terminal in the back of the neck, which could supply power and communication. To reduce the risk of infection, the terminal could be imbedded in the skull underneath the skin and interact wirelessly through the skin. As awesome as head terminals look, they don't seem like a a good idea to me, due to infection and risk of damage. They would work for robotic bodies like </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Ghost In The Shell</span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">'s Major Kusanagi, of course. </span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />However, wireless technology would be better. For Living Outside, Thomas' plant gets most of its power wirelessly by magnetic induction.</span> By this point wireless bandwidth shouldn't be a problem for handling the human brain's sensory and motor bandwidth needs. I've seen 1 gigabyte a second given as a safe upper bound on the spinal cord's bandwidth, and that's probably much too high for all of the senses combined. That's not counting the potential extra bandwidth for enhanced cyber senses, of course. There's no reason to think that the brain couldn't work with higher resolution sight than provided by our wonderful yet flawed eyeballs.
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<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html" title="Related Tech Notes">Related Tech Notes</a>: <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#bandwidth" title="Human Brain Bandwidth">Human Brain Bandwidth</a>, <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#implants" title="Implants">Neural Implants</a>
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<br /><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Plant: Security</span></b>
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For obvious safety reasons, the plant will contain only the most basic firmware necessary. There should be nothing there to hack, though people will try anyway. And they will occasionally succeed at hacking the surrounding systems, which will support and manage the plant, receiving its input and supplying it with stimulation. Which is why the plant will have to have some sort of kill switch for the safety and comfort of its user. It could be activated either by code or by special motor command of its user, a physical safe word. This action would have to be distinct, and could both stop the plant from operating and start it again. Let's say that T's special motor command is attempting to put his heels together, curl his toes inward and clap his hands repeatedly.
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<br />For the safety and comfort of the plant's user, there would have to be a limit put on pain, heat, pressure and other things that could cause discomfort. I'm not sure what portion of possible pain should be allowed. 10% of maximum in any given area? Let's just say enough to suck under the worst case, but not an unbearable amount.
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As a bonus, you could turn off severe or annoying physical pain or discomfort. It's true that pain is necessary for the continued safety and health of the body. But how long do you have to suffer after you've stubbed your toe? Isn't 2 seconds enough punishment for not watching where you're going? And why should anyone have to deal with the pain of stomach cancer? Besides pain, you could change what food tastes like, or enhance sex (use your imagination or wait until the Club episode). </span></span>
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<br /><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Plant: </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Information Processing As It Relates To The 2nd Episode</span></b>
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >Here's how the plant worked with T's physical body during his time as an insubstantial sphere in the 2nd episode. While Thomas was a sphere, his physical body's nerves continually sent signals into and up his spinal cord, most of which were intercepted and muted by his spinal plant. If T was not projecting to a proxy, but simply inhabiting his own body, the plant would simply have let the axon signals go by unhindered.
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<br />T's plant has complete control over his axonal signals. It can stop them entirely, record them, replay recorded signals, partially mute them, enhance them, replace them with simulated signals, or mix physical and "virtual" signals.
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<br />Most of the processing for this would be done outside of the head. For many purposes a plant user might simply need to be near a wireless network source. But for intense activity, where close proximity might be useful, I imagine them wearing thin, comfortable helmets; maybe even so thin as to embedded in a cloth skullcap or a hat. I imagine proxy users laying with their heads on computerized pillows.
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<br />Users with full-sense proxies, like T's before he became a sphere, would mute their physical senses so they wouldn't be distracted by them. Full immersion proxies work by sending simulated senses to the brain via the plant. The plant stimulates the spinal axons in a way which corresponds with the intended sensation. The feeling of a particular virtual wood grain on a bare foot, for example. Stimulating all of a proxy's sensations together gives the brain the perceptions of a virtual body in just the same way that it is given perceptions of a physical body. With a good enough plant, the user wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
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<br />Without tactile stimulation from a proxy, T would be able to feel his body like a ghost. His brain would rapidly habituate to the sensations coming in from his resting body, much like how people are usually unaware of most of their body. </span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">For example, your toes or scalp are unobtrusive most of the time. With the same regular stimulation, the conscious mind will simply ignore the body, just like the effects of a sensory deprivation tank. </span>
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Thomas, like any proxy user who had taken common sense precautions, could entirely cut off his physical sensations, relatively safely. He has cameras in his apartment that would alert him of problems, and health sensors in his body that would detect significant dangers, so he wouldn't have to worry about his safety while he was projecting away from his physical body. The plant would also monitor the body's muted signals to make sure nothing went wrong, or maybe even to move body parts if they hurt or fall asleep.
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<br />T</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">he brain, deprived of tactile sensation, will eventually start to hallucinate. Occasionally giving it full body pulses should give the brain enough to work with to fix that. A simpler solution would simply be to let the body's own faint signals do the same, which is what T does.</span>
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I imagine that plant users with penchants for lack of tactile sensation could develop cases of phantom limb syndrome, although that could be easily prevented by giving the brain some minor sensations to work with every once in a while. And curing it would be as simple as restoring limb sensation.</span></span></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >
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<br />Related Tech Notes: <a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#proprioception" title="Proprioception">Proprioception</a>
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<br /><b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Plant: Other Full Immersion Implant Ideas</span></b>
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<br />There were three other implant technologies I considered for this story. One involved flooding the brain with nanobots. They would then attach to sensory and motor nerves, and essentially do the same thing that the spinal plant does, but in a decentralized way. This would be cool, eliminate some difficulties, and I don't know why it won't eventually be plausible. I think this could be a successor to the plant method described above, which supplies a centralized base for communication and power. I don't know how those issues would work out with a decentralized cloud of nanobots, and so I would feel weird using this idea since it seems too much like magic given my current ignorance.
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<br />The second idea is to implant a device in, or over, the somatosensory cortex- the area of the brain responsible, crudely speaking, for dealing with the senses. A motor cortex implant could be used to control proxy bodies. This is potentially much more complicated than a spinal plant. A spinal plant just deals with axons and their signal frequencies. Interfacing with the somatosensory cortex involves dealing with sense processing and more advanced brain functions. Again, there are some unanswered questions. How do you use this method to inhibit specific sensations of the body, for instance?
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<br />The spinal plant concept is much easier to grasp right now, but I think there are some very interesting possibilities in a somatosensory plant. For example, instead of co-opting the established brain-body connection through the spinal cord, you could create the sensation of an entirely separate body. Then you could have two bodies at once. One physical and one, or even more, virtual proxies.
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<br />The third idea is to severe the spinal cord and actually put an implant router between its two sections. I got this idea from <a href="http://marshallbrain.com/discard8.htm" id="qxmm" title="Marshal Brain">Marshal Brain</a>. Eventually, this might eventually be the most effective way to interface with the spinal cord, but it carries a pretty high ick factor.
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<br />Finally, I'm not going to deal with other types of brain enhancements in this story, though the possibilities are intriguing. I look forward to in-brain memory enhancement, recording of emotions and thoughts, direct interfaces between the visual center and art programs, and a whole host of other cognitive enhancements. But for Living Outside I wanted to focus in on telepresence and virtual reality to show how those technologies alone could transform human existence.
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<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html#implants" id="wlp3" title="Related Tech Notes: Neural Implants">Related Tech Notes: Neural Implants</a>
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<br /></span><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note06" name="note06"></a>TECH NOTE 06: Universal Remote Control
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<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >URC, or Universal Remote Control, </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >is what I call a mature version of the motor cortex implant which already exists. This implant connects thousands of electrodes (or some other sensors) to various groups of neurons in the motor cortex. When certain neurons, or neuron groups, fire, the electrodes connected to them are activated and create some sort of feedback mechanism, such as moving a game character to the left, so the brain can learn to associate firing certain neurons with specific external consequences. The coolest thing about this is that the brain naturally bridges the gap to communicate with the outside world.
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<br />Let's just say that Living Outside's URC is purely passive, it just detects neuronal signals. It would be cool if these implants eventually provide feedback. That would be more powerful. But for now, it just senses brain activity. Like other brain implants, it should be designed with no hackable elements. I don't think it needs to be activated by the kill switch, because it can't directly influence the brain, and stopping it would limit user options.
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<br />The more electrodes measuring neurons in the motor cortex, the better. Right now the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braingate" id="x935" title="BrainGate">BrainGate</a> chip has less than a hundred electrodes, but there could be many thousands of connections in the future. With that many points of articulation, you could perhaps control an entire secondary body with the precision approaching that of your physical body. With practice, it apparently becomes quit</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >e natural as well. It might even be better in some ways. Stimulation of the URC by the motor cortex to clench a virtual fist is potentially faster than a signal </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >sent through the spinal cord to a physical hand, because of the shorter route. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br />It would take a while to master, but once a user has mastered it in one context, it should be relatively easy to change contexts and create new mappings for the electrodes, similar to how typing on a keyboard gets different results depending on the program. The brain should be able to adapt to the controls for different programs, and to figure out that firing specific neurons produces different effects on the outside world depending on context. Eventually, it should be easy and intuitive to switch between using an art program, using a keyboard, playing Hyper Grind, or "telepathically" communicating with other users. You could use it to </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" >launch and manage programs, change settings on the fly, instantly type messages at several times the speed possible with physical hands, control the motion of proxies, control virtual objects in 3D space with precision telekinesis, control physical electronic equipment like TVs and cars, etc.</span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">People with a URC, like Thomas, wouldn't have as much use for a keysphere. You don't get much better than a direct connection to the brain's motor cortex. T could probably use his URC to simulate hands to operate a keysphere fairly well, although that would be inefficient. T could also use his proxy hands, which are interpreted from motor signals sent down the spinal cord and intercepted by the plant, to operate a keysphere, but that would still be less efficient than commands through a URC. There are big sections of the brain devoted to controlling the hands though, so utilizing the brain's "hand functions" might make sense depending on what was going on. </span>
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<br />As noted, a rudimentary form of this implant exists right now. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrainGate" title="BrainGate">BrainGate</a> is an example.</span>
<br /><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html" title="Related Tech Links">Related Tech Links:</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/science/29brain.html" title="Video of a chimp controlling a robotic arm via motor cortex implant.">Video of a chimp controlling a robotic arm via motor cortex implant</a>
<br /></span><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141180/Intel_Chips_in_brains_will_control_computers_by_2020" title="Intel predicts">Intel scientists predict something like a URC by 2020</a></span>
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<br /></span></p><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note07" name="note07"></a>TECH NOTE 07: AI, Other Absent Stuff, And Living Outside's Timeframe</span>
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<br />The reader might feel that I have left out some important technologies from Living Outside, such as strong AI, robots, and bioengineering. Given the development of computing and brain implants in the first two episodes alone, you would expect other technologies to be present and accomplishing some incredible things. I'm hopeful that strong AI, for example, will be developed before the end of the 21st century, and will have a serious impact on the world. But Living Outside is primarily about exploring the possibilities of VR and AR for personal fulfillment and societal transformation, so I'm "filtering out" other areas of technology to focus on those areas. Also, I have a much better feel for how VR will change society than how AI will.
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<br />So, what is the time frame for the technology in this story? Ray Kurzweil thinks that we'll have full immersion <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/10/09/289307/index.htm" title="virtual reality by 2030">virtual reality by 2030</a>. I would be surprised, given my imperfect understanding of current trends, if we didn't have it by 2050. But who the heck knows? At the beginning of the first episode I said it was 2100 or sooner, which was me being cautious. Let's just say it's sometime in the second half of the 21st century. </span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span></p><hr style="height: 3px;"><span style=";font-family:times new roman;font-size:100%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="note08" name="note08"></a>TECH NOTE 08: About the Virtual World Ataraxia</span></span><span><span>
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<br />What might a full immersion, player created virtual world look like? First, some definitions. By “full immersion”, I mean that players could inhabit proxies within such a world, and experience that world as indistinguishable from physical reality, if such realism was desired. By “player created,” I mean that players create and shape that world how they want, with a </span></span>large degree of freedom. Ataraxia is my attempt to imagine such a world.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Player Created Virtual Worlds are Going to be HUGE:</span>
<br />Video games today, such as World of Warcraft, feature vast virtual spaces, but offer limited social participation and immersion. These limitations restrict the development of participatory culture. When virtual reality allows for eye contact, facial expressions, nonverbal communication, touch, and even the ability to smell other people, virtual reality will be competitive with physical reality for socializing. And when people are given the tools they need to create worlds for themselves, virtual spaces will quickly dwarf the physical world. Just take a look at the videos below to see the world building already being accomplished in Minecraft. Keep in mind that the Minecraft players responsible are donating their time and effort for these projects.
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<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DbYwH4WrZhpY">-Minecraft Timelapse - Huge Floating Steampunk City</a>
<br /><a href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQhksNvUwaRc">-Minecraft - Lord of the Rings built in Minecraft to scale!</a>
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<br />In Living Outside, Ataraxia is inhabited at any given time by tens of millions of players from all over the world. Many people primarily live in that world, giving it their almost full time devotion. Its virtual land covers almost a million square miles, making it comparable in size to India, and is capable of expanding to fit player needs. While much of the land of Ataraxia is procedurally (randomly) generated, players are responsible for designing and implementing most details, from character models to the construction of cities. With enough effort, players can also alter the physics, graphics, and the combat rules of Ataraxia, enabling a profound degree of player directed evolution for that world.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Norms:</span>
<br />A “norm” is what I call the set of properties of an area within Ataraxia- its physics, models, style, rules, and such. There are multiple “norms” in any iteration of Ataraxia, existing side by side in both peace and conflict. A fantasy setting may exist alongside a sci-fi setting, although divergent norms tend to be unstable, and so one will eventually become dominant and absorb, or destroy, the other. The energy that players put into a norm give it momentum and inertia, and this is what allows players to evolve the world and give it direction.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ataraxia as a Way of Life:</span>
<br />Ataraxia was named by several of its founders for a popular Outside warrior ideal: a state of liberation from anxiety and unnecessary preoccupations, a sense of tranquility even in the midst of epic warfare and strife. Ataraxia is a world where people can devote themselves to great or small causes- can strive, fight, and die for their own vision of how existence should be. In Ataraxia, people can live the type of life they need to, with a boldness and honesty that the constraints of physical reality would never allow.
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<br />Ataraxia features a large scale participatory culture. People choose to live in Ataraxia, part or full time, and can leave at any moment. What would such a culture be like? We are most familiar with the so-called "mainstream culture," which is by necessity jury rigged and based on a lowest common-denominator that many people find deeply unsatisfying. An active participatory culture formed voluntarily by enthusiastic players, on the other hand, could have a thriving vitality and authenticity rarely seen in the world today.
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<br />There is no set goal in Ataraxia. Players there can interact with each other in most ways they can in physical reality. Many players live in Ataraxia purely for social reasons. They build cities and live in them, form friendships, and make collaborative art. They have a part to play in shaping the world by changing or sustaining norms.
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<br />As a fully immersive virtual world with no strict rules, combat and even war are regular events. While there are safer game worlds to build communities in, many players enjoy the excitement and danger of living in a world capable of drastic and often violent change. Many find that conflict and competition spur development of new ways of life, and keep things interesting. The possibility of having to go to war to protect a community which a player helped build would be very exciting for many people.
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<br />Most players are not there strictly for social or role playing reasons, and enjoy developing their character's combat abilities and participating in various levels of conflict. Some fight to help realize the goals of one of the many competing factions. Others fight for their own glory, or to wield power over the masses. Some love the sophisticated combat system. Others love the art of making weapons and devices, and customizing proxies. Some griefers simply desire to cause misery to as many people as possible. Others spend great effort protecting the good citizens of Ataraxia from senseless malice.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Physics and Proxies:</span>
<br />People create and control proxies in Ataraxia. Realistic immersive game worlds like Ataraxia, with a thorough simulation of physical reality as a base, require that people controlling proxies must either automate those proxies with ghosts, or control every aspect of that proxy’s motion by themselves. Unless a ghost is set up to automate a proxy, firing a gun, for example, requires loading it, readying it, aiming it, firing it, and dealing with its recoil, all while maintaining balance if you are standing, etc. In other words, you would have to command the use of every muscle required to do the same action in physical reality. Conveniently, ghosts can automate most activity for proxies, allowing players to turn a proxy into a more traditional video game character if desired, although playing so indirectly would put a player at a disadvantage compared to those who directly inhabit their proxies and work more seamlessly with their integrated ghosts.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Power and Developing Your Character:</span>
<br />Competition for resources and cultural dominance in Ataraxia is robust. Players gain power and materials by traditional mmorpg (massively multiplayer online role playing game) means, such as by going on quests, grinding, participating in the in-game economy, but also by conquest, and through social avenues. Joining and ascending to a position within a faction is a popular path. “Factions” of players share resources and hold territory, and if successful, can reshape the entire world.
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<br />Holding and developing territory in Ataraxia is the best way to gather power, and to establish dominance over a region. Changing a territory’s norm requires energy. The more extreme the change from surrounding norms, the more energy and work is required. With enough effort, a group could fortify a city to the extent that no outside force could conquer it, but other players would probably move around it, and there are usually more efficient uses of energy.
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<br />To protect against lazy griefers, gaining significant prominence and power requires dedication and work. If a player wants to wreck senseless havoc on Ataraxia, they will have to work at it.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Combat:</span>
<br />The combat system of Ataraxia is capable of fully realistic physics, but varies from iteration to iteration, and from norm to norm. In one norm, hitting someone with a sword might cut their head off, killing them, while in others it might just drain their energy. A proxy developed in and manifesting the resonance of one norm might not be effective in another. For example, a dragon might not be able to fly in a mech based norm, though this depends on a number of factors.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Death and Return:</span>
<br />Death is easy to return from for most players, although there might be temporary penalties to their power level to prevent them from reentering a combat zone right away. Returning from death at higher power levels requires undergoing certain challenges in the “underworld,” although these get easier the longer the player has been dead. Certain powerful proxies manifesting a great deal of their potential, such as the Pandemoniums, find it extremely difficult or impossible to return from death. Most players can return from death without losing equipment or powers, but there are exceptions.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Cycles of Ataraxia: </span>
<br />The world of Ataraxia is cyclical, evolving with each iteration according to the momentum of its players. Each iteration, which may last months, or more typically years, ends when a new dominant paradigm is decided by its players, or if the situation has become intractably stagnant. Over its many incarnations, Ataraxia has been based around traditional fantasy adventure, space opera, horror, 20th century warfare, mecha, and various combinations of genres.
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<br />If an area of Ataraxia is too divergent from the mainstream norm, it may split off and become its own separate game world. The most notable example of this is CyFrenia, a mech based world that diverted when Ataraxia took a turn toward horror. The Faint faction in Ataraxia inhabits its own twilight dimension that overlaps the dominant norm, and at the time of Living Outside may be diverging into its own world.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Gears:</span>
<br />Ataraxia is administered by “the Gears.” These highly respected players ascend to govern various aspects of Ataraxia and to keep it running. To do this, they must transcend allegiance to factions and their own self interest, or risk losing their reputation and thus their position. They operate as dungeon masters for the areas and aspects of Ataraxia that function like traditional games, creating and distributing quests and coordinating non-player proxies. But they also exist to maintain the core integrity of Ataraxia, and for this this purpose they select certain special players to become guardians of the higher principles of the game world. These players are called Pandemoniums.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The 9 Pandemoniums:</span>
<br />In each iteration of Ataraxia, there are 9 players who ascend to become Pandemoniums. Each of the 9 Pandemonium is granted special powers which represent the exceptional mastery of game mechanics which that player has demonstrated. A few examples of Pan powers include: supreme control of mecha, manipulation of information flow, and control over game physics. Pandemoniums can effectively exert their exceptional power in any norm, and are forces to be reckoned with.
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<br /><hr style="height: 3px;">Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-13649652306358950082010-08-03T02:38:00.000-07:002013-09-26T21:32:17.219-07:00Episode 02: A Trip To The Grocery Store<link href="livingoutside.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" />
<hr/><strong><center>NUMNUMS GROCERY STORE</center></strong>
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<p>As they were exiting the freeway, Mike checked his grocery list and added beer. The list was largely composed of items automatically added by the sensors in his refrigerator and pantry. Though in a hurry to the party, he decided to pick up a few other items beside the beer. Selecting the things he needed from his list, he did an instant price check among stores in the area. Mike examined their itemized lists, which included prices for various brand options. It showed that NumNums offered the best overall price for the items he wanted, even with one of the other stores offering a special on Mike's favorite peanut butter.If he only bought the specified items, he would always know the exact price beforehand, a big help for his budget.</p>
<p>He directed the car to NumNums. It parked in the space closest to the store. Mike took his cloth bags out of the trunk. The store had bags for sale, but most people remembered to bring their own. Customers generally bagged items as they put them into their carts. Mike donned a virtual fedora, threw his bags into a cart, and pushed it into the NumNums.</p>
<p>Out of courtesy to the other customers, Mike stopped playing his game while at the store, but for continuity of ambiance he gave the store a jungle motif. The game's variety of flowers, leaves and fungi hung from the ceiling and sprouted from the floor. Mike's cart pushed a vine aside as he ventured into the jungle/grocery.</p>
<p>Thomas hovered beside him, sitting cross-legged on a large cushion, his head level with Mike's. He set his proxy to stay to either side of Mike, depending on obstacles, so he didn't have to think about keeping up with him. T appeared on one of Mike's private virtual layers, using the cameras and sensors stylishly hidden in his clothing to paint T's virtual environment. Mike's high definition cameras appeared as small buttons in strategic locations all over his clothes, mostly in his jacket. The audio, scent, and other sensors were invisibly interwoven with the circuitry of his clothing, along with infrared lasers, camera, and a radar system which collectively determined distances and surface textures precisely enough for common use, such as painting convincing and detailed virtual environments for augmented reality functions and for visiting proxies to experience his location as if they were really there.</p>
<p>T also used the store's camera system to see parts of the store not in Mike's line-of-sight, although this feed edited out all of the people (with their carts and bags) for privacy reasons. Many stores provided these cameras as a service to aid their customers' augmented reality functions. A lack of public feed cams might also hamper the proxies which often accompanied customers.</p>
<p>Mike filtered away the in-store music and made it sound like the store was playing a live feed of a concert Crain Slain was giving at that moment.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> The Crain Slain concert is Friday night and the film shoot is Saturday afternoon.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> I have both a calender and an agent, you know.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> I'm just saying that you shouldn't get too crazy at the concert. We're doing some of the most important scenes in the Battle For Neo-Kyoto. You need to be ready.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> I was there when it actually happened, remember. I can do it with a hangover.<br/>
<b><span id="mike">Mike:</span></b> Like last time?<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> That was to aid my portrayal. Riful was obviously drunk that day.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> That's probably true, but you are a terrible method actor.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> I am a terrible actor, period. That's why I say it doesn't matter. You're probably just going to redub me anyway.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> Well, parts of you. But this will feature <i><b>the</b></i> critical moment of the entire war, so you need to be there and ready to rumble.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> Alrighty then, director.
</span>
<p>Remembering that he was already late for the party, Mike brought his grocery list up. It included a map of the store which popped up when he looked at his right forearm. A window like this could also be set to appear in some fixed portion of a user's vision no matter where they look in relation to their environment or body. That can be useful for critical information like nearby game enemies, but might get annoying for a store map. The window, when eye tracking activated it, displayed a map of the store with the most efficient shopping path indicated by an arrowed line weaving through the aisles. His items were marked on the map with small blinking lights. Mike's guidance system was set to overlay hovering, unobtrusive arrows a few inches off of the ground in front of him, so he didn't have to constantly check the map.</p>
<p>Flowery vines swept aside as he turned down the next aisle. A blinking blue outline indicated his preferred peanut butter brand. He considered getting the cheaper generic brand, but upon querying it, his grocery program told him that he regretted getting that particular generic peanut butter the last time. He picked up the brand name peanut butter and put it in a bag. It was automatically marked as acquired on his list.</p>
<p>Floating beside Mike, Thomas grabbed a deep fried donut from thin air and chomped it down. It was a copy of a donut he had eaten at a county fair once, soon after he was first Planted. He had been lucky enough to be recording his senses when he ate it. It was the most delicious donut he had ever eaten, so he used the recorded smell, taste, and texture to create a virtual duplicate. Now he ate a shameful number of them everyday, with random variance in flavor, temperature and texture to lower habituation.</p>
<p>For T, it was a perfect experience. It didn't have calories and didn't even make a mess unless he wanted it to. Which he did, but the crumbs and grease vaporized into the ether soon after consumption. By themselves, virtual donuts weren't as satisfying as physical ones. That would have required simulating his stomach's reaction, creating a spike in blood sugar, and other tricky things. But full immersion proxy users found that having their physical bodies eat vegetables and other healthy food could "simulate" some of those things for them. While T's physical body almost always ate healthy, his mind, via proxy, delighted in donuts, pizza, chocolate cheesecake, and various forms of cheese.</p>
<br/><hr/><center><b>T GETS SPHERICAL</b></center>
<p>Seeking an open space, T floated above the aisles and toward the produce section on the other side of the NumNums. Behind him stretched a darkening string which attached to Mike when T set his auto-follow on him. Proxies straying from their set object often used such strings to keep a tab on its direction and distance. A rhythmic pluck of the string retracted proxies back to their target. T didn't need it, so he cut it. He then set up a timing algorithm to determine how long he had until Mike finished his shopping route, to shape the scope of his escapades. It showed less than four minutes, but Mike had a way of getting distracted.</p>
<p>No longer needing his body, T changed his proxy to a floating green sphere the size of an orange. For a full view of his environment, he expanded his vision to completely surround him, 360 degrees in every direction, oriented centrally at the core of the sphere. This gave no sense of backwards or forwards, up or down, except for direction of movement while he moved through the store.</p>
<p>T's sphere proxy was almost completely audiovisual, with only a tactile sense of acceleration and deceleration to give feeling of motion, more for fun than anything. Even his sense of gravity had been removed. T's proxy had the appearance of a sphere for the benefit of others, but only as a reference point, an indicator of where T's senses were located. The ball was set to bounce off of surfaces, but people trying to touch it would phase through it like a hologram.</p>
<p>At this point, Thomas was no longer receiving tactile signals from his proxy for his brain to interpret as a body. His first experiences with being incorporeal years ago had been disorienting, but now he was used to it. Luckily, brains are wonderfully adaptive, able to "inhabit" an insubstantial orb and acclimate to drastically reduced tactile senses. But while they were reduced, there was still the faint background sense of his resting physical body, particularly his breathing. While receiving physical signals from a proxy, T wouldn't have been able to detect this faint outline unless something went wrong with his physical body. Even without a tactile proxy, the outline of his body rapidly disappeared from his consciousness, leaving him with the restricted sense input he desired.</p>
<p><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note05">*See "Tech Note 05: The Plant" for some ideas on full immersion capable brain implant systems.</a></p>
<p>T found removing the distractions of his body a great way to focus on getting things done. Like playing games. But first, T had to bounce. He turned his sphere invisible (or rather removed the proxy entirely) so it wouldn't bother anyone while he bounced crazily around the store. While the store's cameras didn't display the people there to him, his antics were being openly broadcast on a personal layer he had created of the store and himself, for those who might opt to see and interact with it. T had a high enough reputation score that many people's defaults opted into seeing and interacting with his virtual presence.</p>
<p>He accelerated at murderous speed toward the ceiling; bounced off it and into and around the dairy section; ricocheted off a customer near Mike; zigzagged down several aisles at up to 200 mph; smacked off another customer; and flew out of the exit and off of a car in the parking lot before returning inside. T savored the freedom and exhilaration of unrestrained movement. He could effortlessly and instantly be anywhere in the store, or most of the civilized world, without the hindrance of even a simulated form, excepting for some places which required a visual proxy with limited movement for security reasons.</p>
<p>Having settled into his new form, T shot over to the produce section. He could have teleported there, which probably wouldn't have been too disorienting. But even when blazing fast, contiguous movement establishes context of location, which helps enable compelling immersion in both real and wholly virtual environments. Arriving in the produce section, T found that someone there was publicly broadcasting their own environmental sensory feed, which allowed him to paint the people present into his virtual produce section, at least those who chose to be captured by the sensors. Mike often let his sensors paint everyone for T's amusement, but including people who didn't opt-in into a more public feed was considered rude. T hovered exactly 3 meters above the ground, giving him the perfect vantage point for his game and brought the game interface up.</p>
<br/><hr/><center><b>HYPER GRIND</b></center>
<p>Thomas started by setting up a new public layer for the game. Anyone with sufficient gear (which was basically everyone) could watch, or even participate in his game, although everyone looked too busy shopping. Their loss. He set the produce section's long refrigerated section and the orange pile near its end as the boundaries of the game. He set the oranges as the end goal and rearranged them (virtually, in his layer) to make the pile taller. Once the boundaries were set, the game randomly generated dozens of enemies based on the available space, obstacles, the time allotted, and T's previously displayed skill level. This time, the 2-inch tall enemy set was mostly small ogres, with some gelatinous cubes, winged skulls, pirates, and other critters for variety.</p>
<p>The game was called Hyper Grind. It was essentially an accelerated RPG. Instead of a health meter there was only a strength level. Getting close enough to one or more monsters initiated the player's character into a struggle with them, which it won if its strength was greater than the strength of the combined enemy force against it. Success made you stronger, but fighting a stronger opponent would result in your death and a reset of the level. Depending on the enemies in your area, you might be able to sneak by them, or you might have to fight several at once. The main strategy came in choosing the optimal path to collect enough strength to reach the goal alive. It had a nice flow to it, which T enjoyed.</p>
<p>In addition to engaging enemies directly, players could use their character's chain hook to grab objects and whip them at monsters. A successful hit temporarily lowered affected monsters' strength, allowing the player to defeat more powerful opponents. The winning condition was reaching the goal, but blocking the goal was the most powerful set of monsters. The game was scored largely based on the player's efficiency.</p>
<p>It was essentially a sophisticated, dynamic puzzle game. T had been practicing with the thought of maybe entering a Hyper Grind tournament. Not that he'd win. Top contenders were scary.</p>
<p>T named his character Strider and set about demolishing the monstrous hordes. Strider beat a few of the weaker enemies and then began maneuvering around a patch of stronger ogres. An ogre got too close, so T shot Strider's hook into a cucumber in the bins overhead and brought it smashing down on the monster, stunning it long enough to get by it.</p>
<p>Strider engaged with a pirate just below his level. He would win the struggle, but it would take 2 or 3 seconds. In the meantime, he was being surrounded by 5 lower level creatures. It would have been a problem, except for T's skill with the hook. In a fraction of a second, T hooked a jalapeño, whipped it into two ogres beneath Strider, knocking them back and temporarily lowering their strength level. In the same second he sent a bell pepper precisely between two killer squids coming from above, giving him the space he needed to begin working on one of the weaker ogres.</p>
<p>The produce section was rich with ammo; outside of tournament regulations in fact. It was good hook practice though. Aiming with the hook was not automatic under T's settings. It required exact precision and used a generally realistic physics engine to accurately simulate the throwing of various objects. T could have effectively used his proxy's hands to command the hook. In that case, his brain would send commands to his hands which would be intercepted by his spinal cord Plant and translated into hand movements in his virtual proxy. These movements could have further been processed into abstract instructions depending on context. For example, a mapping of finger movement to the 3D coordinates of the game.</p>
<p>Controlling an anthropic proxy with his natural body movements this way was the best way to control a proxy overall. It was the most natural, the brain was designed and trained for it, and it was the most immediately immersive way to do it. But for matters of precision and speed like Hyper Grind, T relied on his Universal Remote Control, or URC, a motor cortex implant with flexible and powerful controls for virtual environments or electronics. It bestowed incredibly intuitive and powerful controls directly from the brain. With T's experience, using it to paint or manipulate complex game spaces was effortless and second-nature. T focused on the larger strategy of the game as he flung veggie after veggie with laser precision into their tiny targets.</p>
<p><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note06">*See "Tech Note 06: Universal Remote Control" for more about the URC.</a></p>
<br/><hr/><center><b>A CHALLENGER APPEARS</b></center>
<p>T had a minute of gaming bliss, and was a quarter of the way through the level, before he noticed that someone else was playing too, and rapidly catching up with him. Enemies respawned after 30 seconds to keep you moving, and the new player was going through them nearly twice as fast as Strider had. The player's handle was Rabid Weasel, and they had been given a large handicap to balance T's expert skill. Even considering the handicap, Rabid wasn't a bad player.</p>
<p>T played as fast as he could, but was losing ground. He scanned around for likely players. While he had a complete view of the area with his surround vision, he still had to pay attention to something for his brain to properly process its details. The player was easy to spot. It was a young girl, maybe six, with unnaturally red hair, watching her character thrashing some zombie geckos. She wore augmented reality glasses, what looked like a trainer set. At least that was the form his challenger had chosen when they began playing the game. Children were typically filtered out of all public feeds for obvious safety issues, but her parents might have allowed her settings to represent her accurately.</p>
<p>T set up a blinking blue light on his sphere in her direction to say hello. She noticed out of the corner of her eye and shot him a split second smile. For a few seconds, when her character was moving through a cleared path, her hands came up in front of her as if holding a basketball, and her fingers glided over it as if lightly pushing keys. She was using a beginner's keysphere visualization to guide her fingers while entering text.</p>
<p><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note03">*See "Tech Note 03: Augmented Reality Controls" for details on virtual keyspheres.</a></p>
<p>The girl finished typing with her keysphere, closed her right hand as if crushing a paper, and mimed tossing it at T's sphere, all while continuing to play the game. It was a text message.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="random_person">Girl:</span> [text to T] Nice set up. I respect your skill. You are going to die.
</span>
<p>T had no response to this, except to play harder. Soon Rabid Weasel had almost caught up with Strider. With T's settings, players couldn't directly attack each other, but they could throw things to hit enemies into other players, which is exactly what the Weasel started doing. She masterfully pulled tofu off of the highest shelf, hitting one of the dreaded poison skull walkers near Strider all using simple camera tracked hand commands as a virtual 3D mouse. The girl laughed as T was forced to retreat.</p>
<br/><hr/><center><b>MIKE AND KYU</b></center>
<p>Mike was happily humming along to Crain Slain's live song, "Chainsaw Blizzard," and deciding if he <i>really</i> needed granola bars, when he felt his shirt gently grip his left forearm. Looking down he saw that he was being gripped by an adorable mechanical spider a little smaller than his fist. It was Tenchi, Mike's personal virtual agent. Having Mike's haptic sleeve simulate the spider's grip was Tenchi's inconspicuous way of getting attention.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Tenchi:</span> [with a voice like distant wind chimes] Master, Kyu is online. You may wish to talk about your mutual project.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> Thanks, I'll take care of it.
</span>
<p>Personal virtual agents were a popular interface for managing social contacts, getting help with program interfaces, security management, and generally automating their users' lives. The most advanced agents had what could be considered a very basic AI. While there existed some impressive examples of strong general AI, most AI at this point was not anthropomorphic, but devoted to specific purposes like creating realistic cg animation, doing science, emulating real time virtual world simulations, and helping people efficiently manage their affairs.</p>
<p>Mike activated his visual contact list to see who else was around. His bionic contacts made the world transparent so he could see where his friends were in relation to him geographically. This was to give a sense of orientation. He selected Kyu from the list and his attention was drawn by a thin line through the Earth to South Korea. He zoomed in through the Earth until an upside down Kyu came into view, about five feet below Mike's feet.</p>
<p>Mike waved at Kyu, who was walking down a street, either physical or virtual. From his perspective, Kyu looked down at an upside down Mike and waved back. Their mutual waving activated a proxy exchange. A Kyu proxy appeared on Mike's left, and a Mike proxy appeared on Kyu's right. This was the most convenient orientation for their situations. Mirroring could also be used to put both proxies on the left, or the right. Unless they performed a special change in orientation, they would appear in this relation to each other no matter how fast each walked or even if they spun around, so that they could more conveniently talk to each other.</p>
<p>The full body proxy of each was removed from its original context. Besides the glimpse of the other's environment when they waved at each other, which was readily faked anyway, each could have been in a strip club, a concert, or a carnival for all the other knew. They could, of course, enter more immersively into their proxy and move around freely in the other's environment, but this was the most efficient way to have a quick chat without interrupting their other activities.</p>
<p>The set up could be awkward in places like grocery stores, where Kyu would clip into people and shelving. In such instances the objects, deemed less significant than Kyu, would be made transparent around Kyu so the conversation could continue. Kyu and Mike's proxies each inhabited private layers, so they didn't exist to anyone else who lacked permission to add that layer. People could see Mike communicating with some invisible entity, but that wasn't exactly unusual. The potential annoyance of overhearing one-sided speech was mitigated by the use of subvocal communication.</p>
<p>Mike's ear insert provided high quality sound and optimized his aural surroundings, but also picked up subtle vibrations from the muscles in his throat that operated his vocal cords. It wasn't perfect, but it enabled him to speak to Kyu without any visible or audible sign of talking to anyone else. There were tiny neck implants that could detect subvocalization almost perfectly, and there were several ways of speaking with the Plant, including intercepting motor signals for speech and translating them into proxy speech, but Mike's subvocal-enabled ear inserts worked well enough for him.</p>
<p>Kyu and Mike hugged. Mike had no implants, and Kyu only had a URC, but the squeeze of the hug was simulated, with reasonable success, by the synthetic "muscles" of their haptic clothing.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> So, I'm pretty much done with the overlay of Neo-Kyoto and the background carnage.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> That's awesome. You really didn't have to go to all that trouble.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> It's better if the graphics match. They had realistic textures, but they didn't quite "pop" as much as current graphics. No reason for it not to be perfect.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> What music are you using?
</span>
<p>Kyu brought up a display for Mike showing an overhead view of the city along with the music. Mike stopped and watched the battle raging across Neo-Kyoto, exactly as it had occurred 7 years before inside the game Ataraxia, but now with more striking visuals. If nothing else, Kyu's graphic overlay made it easier to sort out the hundreds of giant robots and powered suits clashing all over the city, fighting desperately for strategic points. Mike imagined updating the graphics had required quite an effort.</p>
<p>He expanded the display and the city sprawled out below him in all directions. He had forgotten how big Neo-Kyoto was. The netizens of Ataraxia sure knew how to overdo things. His contacts made the store, and even his body, transparent for the battle's full vista. He clutched at his shopping cart for balance. It was almost overwhelming how much was going on at once. It was no wonder that no one had properly dramatized this battle. Just picking where to start was problematic. There were so many key players. Still, it was odd that no one had covered the events surrounding the fortuitously named Zero Daisaku's story. Focusing on that part of the story opened up the conflict for examination in an accessible way. He forwarded the feed to watch Zero's escape. He shrank the video back to a window, which hovered in front of him.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> Very nice. The only thing is that I don't think you should start the music swelling until Zero escapes. Can you synchronize the oomph with Blaze's entry into the fray?
</span>
<p>Kyu had his agent adjust the music and played the relevant section back again. It only took a few seconds.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> Awesome. We can use it just like that.
</span>
<p>Mike "grabbed" the window displaying Kyu's video from the area, collapsed it into a ball. With a flick of his fingers, a box labeled "Neo-Kyoto," popped up before him. Mike tossed the ball into the box, and the box disappeared back into thin air. During this, Tenchi, noting a short lull in the conversation, sent Mike a text saying he had, at Sam's request, added "detox pills" to Mike's grocery list and that the shopping path had been rerouted.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> We're all set up for Saturday then. Unless Miguel gets sidetracked again.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> We can always shoot around him. Although that would be tricky, since he's Zero. Hey, whatever happened to you asking him out?<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> I only said that because I was drunk. Miguel's cute and all, but he lives in Mexico.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> Oh yeah. I don't know why I always think you're Planted.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> Probably association with T. Wait, where is he...
</span>
<p>Mike turned the aisles transparent to find T. He zoomed his vision to see T and the game he was playing, and watched it for a moment before noticing a miniature Sam hovering beside T's sphere.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> T is currently fighting to the death at Hyper Grind with some strange little girl in the produce section.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> When you say it like that, it sounds concerning.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> T's Hyper Grind addiction is the least concerning thing about him. Two words: Rainbow Run. He survived a session last month.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> Jesus Christ.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> That was my reaction. He'll give you the recording if you ask.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> I have so many backlogged recs... but that might be interesting. How do you survive Rainbow Run?<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> You probably don't want to know. Being a bastard mostly.
</span>
<p>Mike's haptic-gloved fingers nimbly tapped away in the air for a few seconds as he pushed the cart with his palms, sending a text to T asking permission to share his RR expedition. T nearly instantly shot back a message with a link to an "improved" copy and encouraging him to send it to his complete contact list. Mike grabbed the text from the air in front of him and it turned into a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, which he threw at Kyu's proxy, giving him the link. There were subtler ways to share messages, but they were less fun and immediate.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> Enhanced?<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> I really don't know. Commentary maybe. Dang it, I'm even later now! See you Saturday.<br/>
<span id="kyu">Kyu:</span> Have fun!
</span>
<p>Mike patted Kyu on the shoulder just before he disappeared. He brushed past some overgrown palm leaves as he moved to the next aisle.</p>
<br/><hr/>
<center><b>SAM CALLING</b></center>
<p>Halfway through Mike and Kyu's talk, Sam called Mike. Tenchi responded.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Tenchi:</span> Hey Sam! Mike's talking to someone. Would you like to leave a message?<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Hey Ten. Just: detox pills.<br/>
<span id="mike">Tenchi:</span> Expecting some hangovers?<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Not if Mike comes through. Ja ne!
</span>
<p>Sam then called Thomas. T's chinchilla agent Villain responded.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="thomas">Villain:</span> [with a luxurious Spanish accent] Hello beautiful! How may I please you?<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Aren't you just too cute to live? Can I talk to T?<br/>
<span id="thomas">Villain:</span> He is struggling for his very life. Why do you want to talk to <i>him</i>, anyway?<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Just get me an audience.
</span>
<p>A moment later, a miniature Sam appeared hovering in the air next to T's sphere, on the opposite side from the game so as not to obstruct his view. Miniature Sam wore baggy jeans and a t-shirt that cycled every 8 seconds through a different design-- commemorating the Mars manned landing; a Crain Slain album cover; the 15th Doctor; a Nintendo cast ensemble; the Techno-Pantheist emblem; text: But the fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus and they laughed at Einstein,. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." - Carl Sagan; etc...</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> I am killing things right now. And stuff.<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> We're going diving Saturday night.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> Sure. Omni?<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> We <i>could</i> try somewhere else. I hear good things about Raindrip. But the spiral will be the same. We could try a different spiral....<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> But our pit is so nicely set up. And the abyss <i>is</i> a different spiral every time. Every single minute, really.<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Oh, Meg's here. [spinning around to show surprise] She got a spinal Plant two months ago and didn't tell anyone! She's really getting the hang of it too.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> You're thinking she might be ready for a dive? She could come with us.<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> She says she's done it before.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> [smiley face on his sphere] Everyone does it before they get a full Plant. Then they really do it.<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> [tapping her forehead thoughtfully] You talk to her about it, you're better friends.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> We're such good friends that she didn't tell me about completing the Plant. But yeah, I will. Listen, I have to kill these things now.<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Yeah, yeah. Almost forgot, can you make sure Mike gets those pills?
</span>
<p>Thomas brought up Mike's list and saw the pills listed there. He added "human brains" to the list. It wasn't the first time.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> It's on there.<br/>
<span id="sam">Sam:</span> Thanks!<br/>
</span>
<br/><hr/><center><b>THOMAS FIGHTS A LITTLE GIRL FOR HIS VERY LIFE</b></center>
<p>Rabid Weasel was now ahead by a good two feet. The little girl was also skillfully shoving the nastier enemies at Thomas, slowing him down. Her handicap was large, but to T, the way she leveraged it was just beautiful. He thought that it might be good for her self esteem (or something) if she won. But he wasn't going to just let her win. He opened a space and knocked a strong ogre into Strider and killed it. Then he did another.</p>
<p>Chaining was a risky strategy. By stringing out surrounding monsters and fighting the strongest opponents you could quickly gain power. But it meant that the addition of even a very weak monster into the fight could be disastrous. He was walking the razor's edge, something not considered wise for ranked play. But T had little time and wasn't about to be beaten by a 6 year old girl. At least, not outside of a tournament. T felt lucky as Strider took down a belligerent dwarf, a poisoned skull, a pirate king, and finally a crude caricature of the current president.</p>
<p>Rabid Weasel's player marveled at the skillful way T continuously scattered weaker monsters with his hookshots. It was a feat that was impossible without a URC. Soon Strider smashed his way ahead of Rabid Weasel and victory seemed certain. But then the girl managed to toss an ogre onto Strider, slowing him down enough for surrounding monsters to converge on him. Facing imminent destruction, Strider engaged several powerful monsters near him and then ran at Rabid Weasel in a suicide monstering that resulted in both their deaths.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="random_person">Girl:</span> [sticking her tongue out at T] Cheat! I told you you'd die!<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> [text across his sphere] If I had more time, I'd really challenge you. Practice hard and we may meet again.
</span>
<p>The girl grinned, pleased with herself. And then T flew away.</p>
<br/><hr/><center><b>COMPULSIVE EATING IN THE CEREAL AISLE</b></center>
<p>T returned to Mike's side as he entered the cereal aisle, and switched from the phantom sphere to his regular proxy, phasing in his tactile sensations again.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> You made a serious mess of the produce section.<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> Not that anyone even noticed. Too busy groping fruit to watch an epic struggle. And it was mostly that girl's fault anyway.<br/>
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> I got the battle rec from Kyu, it looks good. What did Sam want?<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> Official dive business. This Saturday night.
</span>
<p>T dipped a donut in chocolate pudding and gulped it down. Then he grabbed a box of sugared cereal off of the shelf and pulled a few handfuls of cereal out of the top. Cereal boxes frequently came with links to product samples for those with appropriate enhancements.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> This cereal is pretty good.
</span>
<p>Mike's eye tracking selected the box and pulled its nutritional information up for his display.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> But it's horrible for you. Who the hell would let their kid eat this?<br/>
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> [shaking the contents of the box into his mouth] It's not horrible for me.
</span>
<p>The boxes also came with a tag that displayed augmented reality animated content over the box. If you didn't filter out ad tags, the cereal section was a glowing mess of frantically competing commercials. No individual box was too obnoxious. They had learned that 3d animation sticking out of the boxes into the aisle resulted in irritated consumers. Obnoxious ads on TV were one thing, because they might cement brand recognition. But in the aisle, customers were less likely to pick up boxes that were actively annoying them at that moment. It was only the collected ads over the entire aisle that was too much.</p>
<p>Still, people generally didn't filter the ads that displayed when they looked directly at an item. Being present for a several second ad would often create digital coupons for products from the item's company. Mike, however, wouldn't trade his dignity for such small savings, so he just filtered all of them.</p>
<p><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html#note04">*See "Tech Note 04: Eye Tracking".</a></p>
<p>Mike remembered the new item that T had added to the list. He pulled a crazy straw out of his palm, jammed it into T's head and began noisily sucking his brains out.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="thomas">Thomas:</span> What the hell, man?
</span>
<p>The straw made a final slurping sound and T's head deflated.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> Is that all? I guess it will have to do.
</span>
<p>T stuck his thumb in his mouth and inflated his head. Mike could see the boxes of cornflakes glowing blue through T. T was automatically made transparent when Mike's eye tracking system indicated he was actually looking for something and not just looking at T. He reached through T and grabbed a box of cornflakes. His grocery list program informed him that the price of that brand had gone up 5% in area stores on average since the last time he bought it. An old woman stopped in T's space, so he pulled her head off and turned it into an apple-sized blackberry, which he then consumed. The woman remained oblivious.</p>
<p>Using the store cameras, Mike made the aisles transparent and zoomed into the fruit section to check out the bananas. They looked ripe enough, but he didn't know about leaving them in the car overnight if he decided to crash at Sam's place, so he marked them off of the active grocery list. The list indicated just detox pills and beer left, in that order. The beer was listed last so it would be coldest for the party.</p>
<br/><hr/><center><b>CHECK OUT</b></center>
<p>Mike got the last items and headed for the exit. Along the way, store sensors scanned his cart and gave him a list of its items with their prices, applicable coupons, and the final checkout price. He glanced at the list as he walked. T threw a few dollars in for the beer and Mike confirmed the purchase. A second later he received a notice from his bank asking for confirmation of payment to the store at the agreed price. He confirmed it. He didn't bother with bank confirmations for some regular, scheduled payments, but he kept a tight rein on all other transactions.</p>
<p>Mike threw everything in the trunk, he and T got in, and he directed the car to head to the party. As they were driving away, wind chimes echoed in the distance. It was Tenchi, alerting Mike that his friend Dexter was calling.</p>
<span id="speech">
<span id="mike">Mike:</span> It's Dex. I'm gonna take this. See you at the party!
</span>
<p>A lever popped out of the right side of Mike's seat. He pulled it and T's seat flew out of the roof, propelled by a giant spring. T landed hard on the road and was promptly run over by a number of cars. T wondered if Mike knew that T's settings, designed for realism, could result in enough pain for that to suck. He would have to teach Mike a lesson of some kind. T jumped over the next car, and while in the air popped a jetpack out of his back and made for the party with an acceleration that would have killed a physical person. And he only crashed into 2 buildings on the way.</p>
<br/><hr/>
<a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/08/technology-notes.html">-See Technology Notes</a> for more details on how the technology in this story might be implemented.<br/>
<a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/07/technology-links-related-to-living.html">-See Related Tech Links</a> for tons of fun stuff.<br/>
<p><a href="http://livingoutside2100.blogspot.com/2010/10/episode-03-part-1-of-2-party.html"><b>Next- Episode 03: Party! (1 of 2)</b></a></span></p>
<!--</div>-->
Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2044788420175609512.post-1719193800057724782010-07-27T02:54:00.000-07:002011-08-21T16:24:26.153-07:00Technology Links Related To Living Outside<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">
<br /><a id="implants" name="implants"></a></span></span><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Neural Implants</span>
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<br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BrainGate" id="g6yf" title="BrainGate">-BrainGate</a>
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<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant" id="oykj" title="Cochlear Implant- has restored hearing to almost 200,000">-Cochlear Implant- has restored hearing to almost 200,000 worldwide</a></span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/25154/" id="rckf" title="Brain Interfaces Made of Silk">-Neat Brain Interface Made of Silk</a><b>
<br /></b>
<br /><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/23878/?a=f" id="iyre" title="Wirelessly Powered Implantable Neural Sensor">-Wirelessly Powered Implantable Neural Sensor</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/science/29brain.html" id="ykay" title="-Monkeys Move Robotic Arm With Motor Cortex Implant">-Monkeys Move Robotic Arm With Motor Cortex Implant</a>
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Nagle" id="i3f3" title="Matthew Nagle: first person to use a brain-computer interface to restore functionality lost due to paralysis.">-Matthew Nagle: first person to use a brain-computer interface to restore functionality lost due to paralysis.</a>
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<br /><a href="http://wapedia.mobi/en/Brain-computer_interface" id="y.zq" title="Brain-computer interface wiki">-Brain-computer interface wiki</a></span>
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis" id="j7lh" title="Visual prosthesis- Wikipedia For a">-Visual prosthesis- Wikipedia entry has a summary of the various types</a></span></span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/fiber-optic-interface-to-link-robotic-limbs-human-brain">-Fiber optic interface to link robotic limbs, human brain</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=21563.php">-First self-powered nanosystem with wireless data transmission</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Futurist Predictions</span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141180/Intel_Chips_in_brains_will_control_computers_by_2020" id="kdhb" title="-URC">-Intel predicts Universal Remote Control by 2020 </a>
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentury/2030-2039.htm#full_immersion_virtual_reality" id="yeny" title="2039: Full immersion virtual reality">-2039: Full immersion virtual reality</a>
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<br /><a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/10/09/289307/index.htm" id="ysj6" title="Ray Kurzweil "By 2030 we'll have full-immersion, shared, virtual-reality environments."">-Ray Kurzweil: "By 2030 we'll have full-immersion, shared, virtual-reality environments."</a></span>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Non-implant Brain Interfaces</span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.bloggingthesingularity.com/2009/07/07/brain-controlled-wheelchair-is-95-percent-accurate/" id="z751" title="-Brain controlled wheelchair">-Brain controlled wheelchair</a>
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<br /><a href="http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/01/honda-develops-a-robot-controlled-by-human-thought-or-is-that-a-joke/" id="j4vc" title="-Brain controlled robot">-Brain controlled robot</a></span>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="visual" name="visual"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Visual Implants And Augmentation</span></span>
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<br />BrainPort: See with your tongue! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKd56D2mvN0" id="m_re" title="Video">Video</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainport" id="wo83" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retina_projection" id="z953" title="Virtual Retinal Display">-Virtual Retinal Display</a><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/advanced-retinal-implant-developed" id="va:5" title="retinal implant">-Retinal implant 1</a>, <a href="http://news.discovery.com/tech/retinal-implant-birghtens-future-for-blind.html">2</a>
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<br /><a style="" href="http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=39094" id="dmq." title="bionic contacts:">-Bionic contacts</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionic_contact_lens" id="vgdl" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsdImcPj5SM">-Apple iLens Concept video</a>
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<br /><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/02/eyeglass-viewing-with-67-inch.html" id="lj-s" title="Virtual Reality Glasses">-Virtual Reality Glasses</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/26692/?p1=A2&a=f">-Augmented Reality Goggles</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/military_grade_augmented_reality_could_redefine_modern_warfare.php" id="s3tz" title="-Military-Grade Augmented Reality">-Military-Grade Augmented Reality</a></span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news183832835.html" id="j_gj" title="-Piezoelectric effect: potential source of power for devices">-Piezoelectric effect: potential source of power for devices</a>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_energy_transfer" id="coeb" title="-Wireless power:">-Wireless power:</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_charging" id="iaix" title="-Wireless power: Inductive Charging">Magnetic Inductive Charging</a>
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<br /></span><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/editors/22184/">-Nanotube Loudspeakers: install speakers everywhere!</a>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telepresence">-Telepresence wiki</a>
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<br /><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/09/portable-laser-backpack-revolutionizes.html">-Portable laser backpack revolutionizes 3D mapping</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/exploring-virtual-copies-of-objects">-Producing and exploring virtual copies of objects</a>
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<br /><a href="http://technology.automated.it/2010/07/20/one-of-the-most-amazing-physics-engines-i%E2%80%99ve-ever-seen/">-Advanced physics engine demo</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/techspecs/26045/">-Etymotic's BlastPLG Electronically Enhanced Earplugs</a>
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<br /><a href="http://mobileuserinterfaces.blogspot.com/2010/09/future-os-screens-experience-video.html">-Future Of Screen Technology</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2011-05/spy-sunglasses-film-and-share-videos">-Spy-Like Sunglasses Shoot and Share Videos</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/35064/">-A Bionic Eye Comes to Market</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/10/14/diminished-reality-s.html">-“Diminished reality” software removes objects from video in real time</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1765587/every-single-gadget-could-see-with-worlds-tiniest-simplest-camera?partner=gnews">-Every Single Gadget Could "See" With World's Tiniest, Simplest Camera </a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.vrtifacts.com/hmds/vuzix-wrap-920-augmented-reality-hands-on/">-Vuzix Wrap 920 Augmented Reality Hands On</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="eyetracking" name="eyetracking"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eye Tracking</span>
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<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.physorg.com/news185631087.html" id="v.sn" title="Eye-Controlled Earphones">-"Eye-Controlled Earphones"- inspiration for Mike's eye tracking ear inserts</a></span>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_tracking" id="q5gi" title="-Eye Tracking Wikipedia">-Eye Tracking Wikipedia entry</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.botjunkie.com/2010/04/28/motion-capture-suit-makes-teleoperation-easy/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Botjunkie+%28BotJunkie%29&utm_content=Google+Reader" id="la9s" title="Teleoperation">-Teleoperation of a robot</a>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS" id="efks" title="-Nintendo 3DS- uses head tracking to create a 3D display">-Nintendo 3DS- uses head tracking to create a 3D display</a></span>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="proprioception" name="proprioception"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Proprioception hacking</span></span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.mutuallyoccluded.com/2008/11/proprioception-hacks-or-how-to-become-a-lobster/" id="rx_d" title="Inhabiting a virtual lobster body">-Inhabiting a virtual lobster body (with a novel control scheme)</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.livescience.com/culture/virtual-face-slap-100513.html" id="o9al" title="Projecting into a virtual woman">-Projecting into a virtual woman and being slapped</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20411858/" id="buhf" title="3rd person perspective of your real body">-3rd person perspective used to dissociate mind from body</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.botjunkie.com/2008/12/04/body-swap-illusion-can-make-you-believe-youre-a-robot-or-a-chick/" id="l.pp" title="-Projecting into a mannequin">-Projecting into a mannequin</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/brain-develops-motor-memory-for-prosthetics-study-finds" id="df73" title="-Brain develops motor memory for prosthetics">-Brain develops motor memory for prosthetics</a></span>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="controls" name="controls"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Control Schemes</span>
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<br /></span><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/an-invisible-computer-mouse" id="v40x" title="Virtual mouse">-Virtual mouse</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/interests/techies/8193/" id="tj6." title="-Virtual keyboard">-Virtual keyboard</a></span>
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition" id="c1jv" title="-Subvocal recognition">-Subvocal recognition</a>
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<br /></span><a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2010/12/13/making-a-virtual-fao.html">-Xbox Kinect makes a virtual FAO Schwartz floor piano</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.popsci.com/gadgets/article/2010-12/video-mits-finger-tracking-kinect-hack-amazing-insert-minority-report-reference-here">-MIT's Kinect Hack Tracks All Ten Fingers Simultaneously</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Brain Organization</span>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory" id="gt24" title="Somatosensory System">-Somatosensory System</a></span>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="bandwidth" name="bandwidth"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bandwidth of The Human Senses</span></span>
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<br /><a href="http://medgadget.com/archives/2006/07/the_bandwidth_o.html" id="g0hg" title="The Bandwidth of the Human Eye">-The Bandwidth of the Human Eye (~10 megabits/second)</a>
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<br /><a href="http://sci.rutgers.edu/forum/showthread.php?t=70993" id="l79l" title="How much data and how fast can the spinal cord transmit to your brain?">-How much data and how fast can the spinal cord transmit to your brain? (~1 GB/second upper limit)</a></span>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="haptics" name="haptics"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Haptics</span></span>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haptic_technology" id="fiwa" title="Haptic Technology">-Haptic Technology</a></span><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/hiro-iii-lets-you-feel-what-you-see-on-screen" id="w3:6" title="Haptic Glove Prototype: HIRO III">-Haptic Glove Prototype: HIRO III</a>
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<br /><a href="http://gizmodo.com/286848/haptic-glove-transmits-feelings-to-your-hands-porn-industry-excited-already" id="teqv" title="Haptic Glove Prototypes">-Another Haptic Glove Prototype</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11179-haptic-glove-to-touch-on-virtual-fabrics.html" id="sru." title="-Haptic Glove">-More about Haptic Gloves</a>
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<br /><a href="http://seriouslyrandumb.wordpress.com/2010/03/05/touch-skin-technology/" id="kzl1" title="-Touch Skin Technology">-Touch Skin Technology</a></span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/nanomuscle/">-Carbon Nanotube Muscles- huge potential for haptics</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/wearable-cameras-allow-for-motion-capture-anywhere">-Wearable cameras allow for motion capture anywhere</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.kurzweilai.net/tactile-technology-guaranteed-to-send-shivers-down-your-spine">-Tactile technology guaranteed to send shivers down your spine</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Virtual Worlds</span>
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<br /></span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYwH4WrZhpY&feature=player_embedded">-Minecraft Timelapse - Huge Floating Steampunk City</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhksNvUwaRc&feature=player_embedded">-Minecraft- Lord of the Rings built in Minecraft to scale!</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TSr15jlfOMk">-Trailer for MMO Otherland- Virtual Reality based role playing game.</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhksNvUwaRc&feature=player_embedded">-Virtual Natural Environments and Their Potential Benefits to Health</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><a id="automation" name="automation"></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Automation</span></span>
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<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driverless_car" id="jtm7" title="Driverless Car Wikipedia Entry">-Driverless Car Wikipedia Entry</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/science/10google.html">-Google's automated cars</a>
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<br /><a href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2010/03/roll-to-roll-printed-nano-based-rfid.html" id="k65t" title="Automated Checkout- RFID labels">-RFID labels for automated checkout</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_SxW_7v9is&feature=player_embedded" id="nyv9" title="BMW Robotic Assembling Plant">-BMW Robotic Assembling Plant</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-04/st_robotwarehouse" id="pozr" title="-little warehouse bots">-Kiba Systems robots warehouse automation</a>
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<br /><a style="" href="http://gizmodo.com/371917/abb-flexpicker-robots-legs-move-so-fast-its-scary" id="m8-b" title="-Fastest industrial robot">-Fastest industrial robot</a></span>
<br /><a href="http://www.botjunkie.com/2010/11/29/fanuc-picker-robot-gets-turned-up-to-11/">
<br />-Picker Robot Gets Turned Up To 11</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.botjunkie.com/2010/08/19/robots-will-take-your-job-if-they-havent-already/">-Robots will take your job if they haven't already</a>
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<br />-<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/07/foxconn-will-replace-workers-with-1-million-robots-in-3-years/242810/">Foxconn Will Replace Workers With 1 Million Robots in 3 Years</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Future of Computers/Other Cool Stuff</span>
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<br /><a style="" href="http://nextbigfuture.com/2009/07/synapse-is-memristor-and-memcapacitors.html">-memristors: are pretty cool</a>
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<br /><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/07/110726132410.htm">-Researchers Graft Olfactory Receptors Onto Nanotubes</a>
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<br /><hr /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Related Movies, TV Shows, and Books </span>
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<br />Avatar
<br />Caprica
<br />Dennou Coil
<br />Inception
<br />Ghost in the Shell
<br /><a href="http://www.marshallbrain.com/">Marshall Brain's site- futurist interested in automation.</a>
<br /><a href="http://www.marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm">Check out Brain's story Manna</a>
<br />The Matrix
<br />Minority Report
<br />Moon- independent hard science fiction!
<br />Rainbow's End- Novel by Vernon Vinge
<br />Strange Days
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<br /><hr />
<br />Augmented reality glasses for the win! These images from Dennou Coil are examples of what augmented reality controls and windows might look like. Note that displays can be suspended in fixed points in space, regardless of where the user may be looking.
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS2NPp8ZCMIaiVzGKtdkI7ALM4holK_iufYOkct_KmI85qGVI2VaTY38RfsQ6xZ_c5wZ3Q8qNcMf0-L74_Q0-qQok3Cwdo_fj8r_HuTrINuc2XfPu_Az8rj4OzWRsn-0QMo9jnNnpPdI/s1600/vlcsnap-3757606.png"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioS2NPp8ZCMIaiVzGKtdkI7ALM4holK_iufYOkct_KmI85qGVI2VaTY38RfsQ6xZ_c5wZ3Q8qNcMf0-L74_Q0-qQok3Cwdo_fj8r_HuTrINuc2XfPu_Az8rj4OzWRsn-0QMo9jnNnpPdI/s320/vlcsnap-3757606.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5498523024686218722" border="0" /></a>Brian Bazzellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06925498993039423182noreply@blogger.com0