"Please come in, Mr Jones."

Morgan wheeled his chair through the office doorway. The room was, as always, surgically bright and clean.

"Welcome back, it's good to see you."

The speaker was Dr Nolen, the doctor who had been assigned to Morgan's case for the last three years; a tall man with a wide and friendly face. "Now, I apologize if this is a bit irregular, but I've called you in today to tell you about an offer we've received on your behalf; do you know anything about the company Eleos?"

Morgan looked at him a little confused "Eleos. Yes I think I do. The ones who run that game, right? The immersive virtual reality one? I saw an article in the news the other day about them giving state of the art equipment to district six and seven schools." Indeed, he knew the company; who in the modern world didn't. Its technological development had been at the top of the news feeds for years, as well as it's unprecedented generosity.

Over the last few years the media uptake of Oineiroi had grown to fever pitch, culminating in the game release early last year - on his way into the surgery he'd passed billboards and signage aplenty - 'Eleos presents: Oneiroi - the ultimate virtual reality experience' - usually with fantastical pictures of elves and dwarves and humans in magnificent armour, wielding medieval weapons or globes of elemental magics; facing off against creatures like bears, goblins, trolls and on one appropriately sized billboard, a huge emerald dragon. Along the bottom of the adverts were package prices with figures so large his head span just looking at them. Prices way out of his reach as a lowly district 6 citizen.

Morgan tried to process where he fit into this picture. "What would Eleos want from me?"

Dr Nolen smiled at him broadly. "They've long been involved in technological philanthropy; I believe the game's foundation is built on the back of their mental health research and technology, and their bioregenerative capsules have been in the works for years. And today, I'm delighted to announce that it's your lucky day Morgan - they're looking for volunteers to participate in long term testing of their new capsule units. These units have been in the works longer than the game itself; and may just be the stopgap solution we need for the science to catch up with your ailment."

He stared at the doctor, unbelievingly. "They want to put me in a capsule? And put me in the game?"

Doctor Nolen nodded excitedly, "Yes Morgan, and the capsule will effectively hold your body in stasis - the trials have indicated that all parts of the body apart from the mind slows to a tenth of its previous function; also delaying the spread of cancer, poisons, degenerative diseases and the like. If you don't mind me speaking plainly - this gives you a chance to survive long enough for a cure to be created. I've been keeping up with the teams who are doing the research on your ailment - they're getting closer and closer but as you well know, proper science takes time; and it's time you haven't had. This will change that." He beamed expectantly at Morgan.

Morgan continued to stare at the doctor. "Sorry doctor, this is taking a moment to sink in"

"Take your time, Morgan." The doctor replied with a grin.

Morgan's mind was whirling. He'd been given less than a year to be living comfortably, before the spread of the disease hit his spine and started climbing towards its terminal destination in the brain. He'd been putting a brave face on it; what choice did he have? But he was terrified - He'd been terrified ever since the first diagnosis years ago. His parents did their best with their meagre salaries to keep him busy and comfortable, and his little sister doted on him, becoming more of a carer in the last year as his body grew weaker. He lived with a ticking clock hanging over him, and it was a weight he had been trying to bear with as much grace as he could for their sake. Now, it looked as if he was being offered a lifeline; a stoppage on the clock that ticked its short way down to the end of his life.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He started to stammer out, "How... What..."

Dr Nolen cut him off. "You may not remember, but a couple of years back you and your parents allowed me to post your biometrics on the scientific exchange. It looks like Eleos found something they like in your data and have offered you this trial in return for monitoring your state and running some in-game errands for them, or something to that effect. A full capsule experience sure is nothing to be sneezed at, regardless of if it'll save your life or not. I'd urge you to consider this carefully, this is an experience that is currently out of reach for even those here in the third district."

The doctor handed him a folder with the Eleos logo on the front, with his name printed along the folders edge. "This is what they sent for you; I've also got a copy. Take it with you and have a good read through. Our next appointment is on Friday next week, but if you've an answer to their offer sooner, give my office a call."

He thanked Dr Nolen profusely, taking the folder from him. "I'll have a good look doctor. You... You definitley think this will work?"

"To be frank with you Morgan, I'm not seeing a lot of other options, but even if I did, I would urge you to take this up. This technology is ground-breaking - they've been trialling it for over a year now with great success as far as the reports show. Infact, a retired friend of mine joined the game a few months back. He’s been terribly impressed and keeps trying to get me to join in. Read through the folder, it'll answer some of your questions, then we'll talk and I'll try to clarify anything you don't understand. Got it?"

"Yes. Thank you, doctor.,"

"My pleasure Morgan"

Placing the folder reverently in his satchel, he turned and exited the surgery.

Morgan exited in a daze, slowly rolling himself to the car. Claire was waiting for him, opening the passenger side door, taking his arm and helping him in. She moved around the car, putting the wheelchair into the back before getting into the driver's seat and looking at him expectantly.

"You look like you've just seen a ghost - do I want to know?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll never believe, in fact I don't think I believe what's just happened." He replied, still sounding stunned.

"Go on," she said impatiently, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. "Spit it out"

He gathered hits wits and replied, "It looks like Eleos wants to put me in one of their game capsules; Nolen said it'll slow the disease so I have a chance at surviving long enough for someone to cure me."

"That's wonderful! Great news!" She beamed radiantly. "I'll finally get some peace and quiet if they lock you in a box."

Morgan rolled his eyes, "Har har, very funny"

"Seriously though, that's great news." She paused for a second, before adding, "I haven't wanted to say it, but I've been so worried about you."

"Thanks Claire. Honestly, me too"

She started the old car, it's engine clunking into life as her bangles jingled down to the controls.

"So, what's the details? You know what you're getting into?" Claire began to drive as she launched questions "You know how much that capsule experience costs? I was talking about it a few days ago, in fact, with some friends; you remember Marianne? Yeah, well she knows a guy who works in investments in the old Eridute building, and he was bragging about his new plan of living off his passive income and buying a capsule. It costs millions of credits, more than we could hope to earn in a lifetime, you've seen that right?”

"Whoah, slow down there Claire. I barely even know anything myself." He lifted the folder to show her. "It's all in here, we'll have a look when we get home and talk to Mum and Dad at dinner. I have no idea what to think right now."

Claire gave him a cool look. "Spoilsport. Well, in that case... Did you hear about Erica and Barry?"

The car stopped for a minute at the district four gate while the armed guard scanned their ID cards. When they were through, Claire elaborated about Barry. Claire's friend's boyfriends had a mid-tier account, a haptic VR package, and while she didn't know much about the game itself, she sure knew about its effect on their relationship.

"It's all, c'mon babe, just another hour, I just gotta kill these goblins, collect some rocks and travel to the big city" Claire laughed. "Paraphrasing a bit but you get the jist. She says he's convinced he's gonna make big money out of it. Wants to quit his steady job at the plant and all. Apparently it's possible, however... I don't know if you met this guy, but something tells me he's not gonna make it." Morgan laughed along with her.

"Something of a goblin himself, is he?"

"Yeah, something like that. Bless him.”

The pair continued chatting in that vein as Claire took them through the densely packed city. More armed guards waved them through the gate that marked the boundary of district 5. One more gate and they’d be back home.