“10th Standard Board Exam topper, Saurav Tiwari committed suicide on June 6th, 2048. Experts claim the radiation emitted by uVR Earth afflicted him with a serious case of depression…”

In a middle-class household, it was evening time as the lights were switched off. The TV continued the news incessantly as the pictures of a wide-grinned boy kept looping. The news anchor had invited a group of specialists, equally divided in terms of opinion between uVR Earth.

The former advocated the absolute safety of uVR Earth and blamed the stress given to the students by parents. The latter complained about the recent increase in suicide rates ever since uVR Earth was introduced into the civilian market, using statistics to prove their point.

The two groups argued forth; their spittle flew everywhere as the discussion heated up. Eventually, even civil cusses were exchanged. The cheeks of everyone on the panel were red, as if it was their son that had died. In truth, they represented their respective lobby.

Saurav’s case was just a tool to further their agenda, as usual with all such cases.

Seated on her sofa with a dispirited gaze was Anubha Tiwari, blankly staring at the news; her dead eyes hovered over the wide-grinned picture of her son. Forming a contrast with the bright image was a mosaic picture, of bloody gore, taken from the scene of death. The subject in both was the same boy.

The headlines jumped around the screen, as if on adrenaline. Anubha stared blankly, her breaths shallow and weak. There was no one else in the house.

Three years into marriage, she had heated talks with her husband and ended up divorcing him. Among her children, the oldest, Saurav stayed with her while the youngest was taken custody by her husband. That was the court ruling.

They never had any contact after that. Saurav was her whole world. And now, her world was no more.

Knock! Knock!

Just as she lamented her life, a knocking sound resounded from the door. Thinking that it was the flies from the media again, Anubha didn’t even bother moving an inch from her spot. She truly had no energy to put up with their bullshit enquiries.

“Excuse me…madam.” The door opened as a youth entered, shocking Anubha.

“Who are you? How did you open the door?” Anubha stood up in alarm. A moment later, her eyes seethed in hatred, ‘If he’s able to open a locked door, then Saurav’s death might not be suicide. It could have been…’

“You murderer! I’ll kill you!” Anubha screeched like a banshee as she threw her TV remote, followed by a vase, followed by a book stand, followed by anything she could get her hands on and throw.

The youth seemed surprisingly experienced with the situation as he pulled out an umbrella and opened it, defending against the projectiles calmly while saying, “Madam, you should calm down. I’m from the police…”

“Screw you, liar!” Anubha glared at the pair of horns on his head that was emitting a greenish light, “The uVR Earth of those in the entertainment field emits the green colour.”

“Did you barge in here for content? Is my despair nothing but content for your fucking views? You psychopath!” Anubha scanned the living room, running out of things to throw as she rushed into the kitchen, intending to pull out a knife. At this point, she wasn’t sane enough to think things through calmly.

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“Why…do I have to study?”

Her steps came to an abrupt halt as Anubha felt like she had been electrocuted. For a moment, she expressed confusion before sinking into her delusion. Her eyes lit up as she turned around in a hurry, shouting in joy, “Saurav! I knew you were pranking me all along!”

For a moment, she felt as if everything that happened before was just a nightmare and Saurav had only gone for a walk, returning now. It wasn’t anything worth worrying about, ‘Maybe I’m getting delusional with age.’

But a second later, reality came crashing down. Before her was a holographic projection, created by the pair of horns—uVR Earth—on the youth’s head.

It was a 3D projection of Saurav seated on his study table, frustrated as he stared at a thick book before him, one that weighed five kilograms. It was a study material regarding Differential Equations, one of the most important concepts of eleventh-standard maths.

He had been solving questions like a madman. Irrespective of how smart he was, there was a limit to how much he could study in a short duration. But he was an honest, enthusiastic student. And hence, he was wholeheartedly giving his all to study, no matter how difficult it was.

But he, of course, broke down in the end, crying upon seeing that even after studying for ten days straight in Virtual Reality, he had barely completed twenty pages in the book that had over 2000 pages.

“It’s hard to go through this on my own. There’s still time for school to start. These are concepts that have yet to be taught to me…” At this point, tears streamed out of his eyes, depressed, “Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought.”

“N-No, Saurav…don’t say that. You’re smart, the smartest I’ve seen in my life.” Anubha kneeled on the floor as she felt weak. But upon seeing her son cry, she got up in a hurry and rushed to his rescue, intending to hug him.

“Eh?” She was stupefied, phasing through her son, unable to touch him.

“Ma’am, it’s a projection of the past.” The youth’s voice resounded calmly as he had taken a seat on the sofa at some point in time, “What you’re seeing is a part of his life in the Virtual Space.”

“Your son is dead.”

Aargh!

Anubha screamed, pulling her hair out in frustration and sadness, with regret overwhelming her as she stared at her son’s struggles, “W-Why didn’t I notice it before?”

“My son…he…he was suffering so much. But I…I put him through such horror.” She stared blankly once the projection vanished, gazing at the youth, seemingly looking for an answer in him. “I thought such intense study sessions were nothing for geniuses like him.”

“Even geniuses are human in the end. And he,” The youth said, “Irrespective of his smarts, was just a teenager.”

“There are two reasons for his suicide.” The youth helped Anubha take a seat as he entered the kitchen and poured some instant coffee in milk to prepare the beverage, familiar with the kitchen of this household.

“It’s hot, so be careful.” He handed a cup to Anubha, watching her instinctively drink it as he continued, “You know the first reason.”

“You pressured him to study too much. Yes, Saurav was smart and talented. But, he had just completed his 10th Standard Board Exams. He needed rest. You could have allowed to him play freely without any burdens during these holidays. But burdening his mind with excessive study sessions pushed him down the rabbit hole of suffering.”

“I…killed him.” Anubha spoke, staring at the coffee sullenly, “I just…didn’t wish for him to waste his talents. I always regretted doing that during my childhood. Hence,”

“You know,” The youth refuted her, “Someone like Saurav would have been successful even if he failed to get into IIT. Smart people will always figure out something, unless, of course, that is if they don’t get killed by society and its unrealistic expectations toward them.”

“Anyway, I approached you due to the second reason,” The youth placed a memory card on the table, “When you connect to Virtual Reality, you’re experiencing a world that’s ten times faster than ours. As a result, your brain is processing information at a rate ten times the usual.”

“It has a certain endurance limit. Or in simpler terms,” He tapped the memory card, “It’s how long you can remain in a Virtual Space without mental and physical issues after resting for an hour in reality. Saurav has a Class 2 Endurance. Meaning, he can clock in 10 Virtual Space hours before requiring an hour's rest in reality. But,”

He stared at Anubha, causing her to experience a chill, “Saurav spent 22 hours a day in VR. That’s 220 Virtual hours, twice his capacity. As a result, his nerve cells began to wither away. Even if he hadn’t committed suicide, it was only a matter of time before Saurav died from extended uVR Earth use.”

The youth got up and adjusted his clothes, holding his umbrella as he spoke, “Before using the Nerve Gear, one must test their Endurance. But neither the company that manufactures uVR Earth nor the hospitals that implant a Neural Connector advocate this.”

“As a result, deaths like Saurav keep happening.”

The youth arrived at the door, pausing for a moment as he stared at the memory card, “In that card lies all the data regarding Saurav’s brain degradation upon extended uVR Earth use, from the moment he equipped it, to his death.”

“Someone from the Pomegranate Corporation would arrive next to gently force you into accepting Saurav’s cause of death as solely due to parental pressure. They’ll do their best to erase the uVR Earth’s hand in his suicide. Whether or not you wish to comply with their demand is up to you. My job is to make you aware of the actual reasons. And now, I have completed it.” Followed by a bow, the youth left the house.

Anubha picked up the memory card and clutched it tightly before sobbing in sadness, “I’m a horrible mother.”

Suddenly, she realised something and rushed out of her house, peering down the flight of stairs as she noticed the youth descending it, shouting, “Wait, who are you?”

“Just a victim.” The youth pulled out a cap and covered his horns, quickly making his exit from the apartment.

“A victim, huh?” He muttered once out of sight, spitting in disgust, “Hypocrisy at its finest.”

“I’m an elite of this dystopian society.”