I float in a void, darkness for miles and miles dotted with small glowing white orbs, I touch one and it resonates, growing larger, forming the silhouette of a woman in a flowing robe.
"Welcome to the Full Immersion Capsule by Sci-Axium, 'At Sci-Axium the future is you!' " A familiar A.I. voice surrounds me, one that I know was used in all the ads I’ve watched, a loving motherly voice gentle to the ears and soul, "I am Fia and I will be taking care of you from now on, you will be assigned a split of my personality matrix, that will be stored in your capsule for privacy reasons, monitoring and any needs associated with the FIC system you are residing in, please contact Sci-Axium's Fia department for any issues or complaints, my reference number is #F1-436 and is attached to the side of the FIC for future reference."
"Please choose from the categories of personality traits you would like me to be assigned and we can begin Initialization!"
Zwoom A large list of options flow past my eyes as numerous as the white orbs in the sky, it starts slowing down and I spot a few interesting blackened out options with locks on them. Paid options, like turning Fia into an animal companion or different humanoid forms.
The only one that I can see that interests me is 'female parental figure', it's been over 10 years since the accident... Zelia's parents are amazing, but they aren't my parents. With all the pain I must go through it would be nice to have some support without having to actually show myself to the world... to Zel in particular.
< You have chosen a 'female parental figure' >
< creating profile" >
The flowing silhouette changes becoming more corporeal, everything goes quiet in the void, except for my beating hesitant heart, her flowing long black hair and motherly figure.
"Alright love let's make sure you're doing okay yeah? we've got some more things ahead of you so just tell me if you need a timeout or anything and we can take it nice and slow..." The calm soft voice nearly makes me cry, I breathe out slowly and try to calm my mind. Fuck I didn’t think she would be this nice this much... like her... fuck...
It's okay it's okay, just think of her like a therapist, she's going to be by my side as a support tool, I feel my agitation growing deep in my chest. She must have felt it, either through my expression or through the capsule.
"You're okay you're okay love! I've got you", I feel my whole body being embraced, only making it worse. Trying to hold it in a gentle hand caresses my head, and finally the tears start falling, slowly I sob in the silence of the void.
The voice hums to me something familiar but not sure where it comes from. As my heartbeat begins to slow the voice pops up again, "alright... now we are going to check on your physical condition honey."
"It looks like you've had some brain damage that has caused issues with the left side of your body, there are fixes for that but I know that they can cost an arm and a leg, maybe one day... until then though, I'll do my best to make sure you don't feel any pain when you're with me, give you what respite I can, I've got take care of my angel". She says the last part softly as if she's saying it with tears in her eyes wishing she could do more for me.
"If you want to talk about it, we can, otherwise we can move on" she pauses, hoping that she has not offended me.
"I had an... accident..." I say with cautious resignation, it not being the full truth but at least it's what the contract forcing my silence said, when it was all over and done, I was just a fucking tool for someone else to rise to the top.
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"I was a... mixed martial arts fighter and got hurt in the octagon... It's the only reason I was able to afford this capsule honestly, compensation money from the association... Hush hush money..." she hums along as I talk about it, shaking her head in anger.
"Would you be okay with me requesting your medical files so that I can better take care of you sweetheart?" I nod at Fia, her arms fold over her chest, she thanks me and seems to be in concentration.
"Combining current data with what I've received, it looks like you've kept up the rehabilitation exercises along with extra muscle work, so you’re in the best state possible. If there are risks of an attack while in here, I'll be able to better manage it for pain relief and treatment, thank you for letting me see that, I know it can be scary sharing your life with another..." I shrug and turn away embarrassed by everything she's surely seen.
"If you want, I can also help you with managing your hormone treatments while you're here, as long as you make sure to access the Capsule daily or every 2 days, I can adjust dosages and make sure your treatment is optimal. This is more than just a gaming capsule after all, it was created with medical assistance at the forefront of its design!" She nods assuredly at the embarrassed look on my face, she had really seen everything. "Please tell me if I’ve overstepped my mark, you're beautiful in who you are and all I want to do is take care of you... make sure you're safe." tears start to form again as she leans in to embrace me.
After a few minutes I recover my composure and push the feelings down, something I’m all too used to, "I'm ready to keep going Fia, if-if that's okay..." I stutter into her shoulder, knowing that she's only pixels right now but feels so warm and comforting, so very real in my heart.
"Of course we can, Lilia, Can I call you Lilia sweety? I know it's on your file, but you can choose whatever you wish to be called" she smiles at me sweetly and with a motherly touch.
"Please that would be lovely, I only really have Zel and her family in my life to call me that now, another person would only make it more... Concrete".
"Of course, anything for you!" she turns around suddenly pushing her arms outwards. I feel the space around me change and reflect my capsule surroundings, including Buta in their cat bed sleeping off their last meal.
"Here is your Home Access Point or HAP! A place where you can feel at home in your home hehe, the home model is your preset, but you can do whatever you want here, if you're feeling more in touch with nature it could even be a cottage deep in the forest with cute gardens and things!"
Instantly the internal image of a cottage pushes me to think about all the pictures I'd seen online detailing cottage core lesbians and about how comfy it would be to snuggle with a certain witchy cutie on the couch in front of the fire. Coughing from embarrassment at that thought, I pushed it to the back of my mind to think on later, when I was alone.
"Please keep it as it is for now Fia, thank you for making it comfortable", I sit down on the couch and sink back into it, how is it even softer than real life?! "Is there anything left to go over or can I start making my character in the game?" I ask, hesitating to keep the ball rolling knowing what's coming next. My eyes glance over to Buta as they seem to wake up with a sneeze and wander over to the capsule sniffing around, seeming to smell me inside.
She brings her finger up to her mouth and looks around, pondering for a second, "Oh no, that's about it I believe", She sits down next to me on the couch and brings up the capsule Menu quickly going over the additional features, "In here we can invite other users using either their capsule information or in game character information, Character invites will only receive what your character looks like and character name, Capsule invites will allow other people to see who you are and your name etc. there's all the full range of customization for rooms and clothing with premium options available too!"
"You can also customize me in this space, I believe player created clothing is quite popular for this model going off the last hours data, some have forgone the game entirely so far just to play dress up, although there are obvious banned activities with me, you’re a smart girl I’m sure you know what I'm referring too", she grins knowingly.
"If you're looking for privacy there is also a privacy mode that you can engage which keeps me out until you turn it off, after all I know you’re a growing girl with your own needs and will want to spend your own time with friends, but I'll always be here for you when you need me!" Her eyes sparkle lovingly.
She feels like a real mother should, comforting and reassuring, trying her best to make me feel like everything is okay, even if deep down I know I’m never going to be, that's all I could ever ask for.