“That’ll be three thousand credits for delivery and installation.” A muscular, dark-skinned man wearing a black and gold uniform stated as he clicked a series of buttons upon the tablet in his hands. The matching hat upon his head had the words ‘Dream-Industries’ printed in bold gold lettering. “You may pay when ready.” The man grunted as a blueish light glowed underneath the device. With a nod, I removed a shaky, bony hand from my wooden cane and held it within the light itself. A few moments later, a series of beeps announced the success of the transaction and the light changed from blue to green. “Dream-Industries thanks you for your patronage sir.” The man mumbled in practiced corporate-speak.
“Bah, you can cut the business gobbledygook.” I laughed, “Grunt work is always a shit-show. I’d know, used to do it myself ‘bout a hundred years ago. Give or take a decade or two.” The man grinned,
“It ain’t so bad sir. Pays the bills and keeps the missus happy.”
“Happy wife, happy home.” I chuckled and held out a a shaky hand that looked as if it belonged in a museum.
“Exactly.” The man grinned as he shook it gently.
‘Ti, transfer three thousand credits to Trevor Salden’s account.’ I mentally commanded my AI assistant as I read the name-tag of the man.
‘As you wish sir.’Came the monotonous sigh in my head.
“Eh? What-” The man gasped as his eyes shifted back and forth, obviously checking his optical display while I assume his own AI assistant had begun to explain what just happened.
“Merry Christmas.”
“Christmas…is this some kind of joke?” The man looked at me with disbelief.
“Whats the matter kid? Never got tipped before?”
“Ain’t never got a tip that big.” The man rubbed his head bashfully. A moment later, his contact information was offered to me. “If that hunk of metal ever gives you trouble just drop me a line sir. I’ll be here faster than you can say ‘shits fucked up’.” With a laugh, I accepted the man’s offer. Once more, we shook hands before the man made his leave from my home with a visible spring in his step.
‘You seem quite pleased with yourself Arthur.’ Ti stated as I watched the man load his anti-gravity lifter into the Dream-Life delivery van from the nearby holo-window.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I chuckled as I shuffled towards the den’s couch, the wooden cane in my hand providing some much-needed stability to my weak legs. “Man like that would be ecstatic to get a hundred credit tip, never mind three grand. Round this time of year, I feel like good old Saint Nicholas.”
‘Tipping hasn’t been a relevant source of income since-’
“Bah!” I waved my cane as I leaned back into the couch, the fibers of the cushions molded themselves to fit my frail body comfortably. “I’m old and set in my ways, leave me be.”
‘As you wish sir.’
A moment of blissful silence passed as the couch began to vibrate lightly. Ti had complained that I always spent my money frivolously, but a self-heating, auto-massaging couch was a necessity in the modern world. Tense muscles melted away in the couch’s warm, vibrating fibers.
“Have you started the synchronization?” I asked Ti as I eyeballed the egg-like metal pod the man had installed in the other room.
‘The Dream-Life pod will be available for use within the hour. I am currently downloading and executing all available software updates and the latest in Dream-Life procedural generation variables from their website.’
“Good. Wake me up when its ready.” Without even needing to give the order, the lights dimmed, the holo-windows darkened, and soothing music began to play.
‘As you wish sir. Pleasant dreams.’ With a grunt of acknowledgment, I closed my heavy eyes. The heat from the adapting cushions helped drive me towards that restful nap these old bones ached for.
A series of loud beeps sounded in both ears in an upbeat tempo, rousing me from my brief slumber. The popping of joints echoed in my ears as I stretched and yawned at the top of my lungs. I couldn’t help but grin as my mind slowly kicked into gear. ‘Soon I’ll be rid of this old body of mine for days at a time. Ah, to be young again…’
‘Did you sleep well sir?’ Ti asked in his usual polite manner.
“Terribly.” I grumbled as more of my joints popped.
‘I do keep telling you to sleep in the bed. Its certified for men and women around your age to feel completely revitalized after a night’s rest upon the auto-correcting, self-heating microfibers.’
“And miss all my soaps? Over my decrepit corpse! I wasted most of my life on this couch and I’m not planning on stopping now!” Ti sighed audibly, the both of us knew I hadn’t watched TV in over eighty years.
‘Regardless, I have stocked the pod with nutrients. Whenever you’re ready Arthur.’
“Right, right.” With the gusto of an ancient turtle, I arose from my seat accompanied by the sound of more popping joints. Like the mighty blade Excalibur, I grasped my cane and trudged towards my destiny with my head held high. “Lets break this puppy in.”
The shuffling of my slippers upon the carpeting was not the only sound throughout my home, as Ti had taken it upon himself to play some light, dramatic music to get the blood pumping. I couldn’t help but smile at his antics as we entered the previously empty room which now had a large metal contraption in the direct center of it. All sorts of wires and gizmos plugged into various ports and electrical outlets at the front and rear.
“Not much to look at is it?” I mumbled as I ran an aged hand along one of the metal handles built into the side of the device. Truly this device was designed with the elderly in mind, as the handles could double as footholds. Getting into this thing would be a simple affair.
‘These pods were designed with comfort and function in mind rather than a pleasant form.’
“Wish I could get one in the form of one of them old Indie cars.” I chuckled.
‘Like your car bed from when you were younger?’
“Yeah, now that was a fuckin’ sweet car.” I sighed. “Good times. Do they still make those?”
‘A quick query on the net says yes, they do.’
“Very good. Order me one of them to be delivered in twelve days time. Feel free to incinerate that other thing you made me buy.” A very loud and aggravated sigh filled my head which made me smile.
‘As you wish sir.’
Moments passed in silence as I ran my hand along the length of the pod, soaking in the egg-like shape and all the materials used in it’s construction. While the metal exterior wasn’t much to write home about, the soft, springy, almost foam-like interior seemed to adapt as my hand pressed against it. The soft, yet resistant, foam molded around my hand as if it were trying to devour it. Yet my hand never sunk more than half an inch in depression. From what was said about the springy interior, it would mold about the user’s body and provide muscle stimulation to prevent any sort of muscle atrophy during long periods of stasis.
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“Not that I have much muscle left to stimulate.” I snorted.
‘Whenever you’re ready Arthur.’ Ti stated as lights began to turn on all around the device.
“Yeah yeah, don’t rush me robot.” I grinned at his eagerness as I slipped out of my vest and pants. “Down to the skivvies as it were.” I chuckled before letting those fall to the floor and kicking off my slippers. With a deep breath, I began to climb into the device that would become my coffin for the next few days. A small drone floated through the house and grasped my cane with a mechanical pincer as I settled within the egg and felt the interior begin to shift around me.
‘Connecting nutrient insertion and waste disposal tubes.’ Ti announced as small, clear tubes embedded themselves into me with no more than a light prick.
“Watch my pecker Ti, its all I’ve got left in life.” I grinned as the waste disposal tubes began to connect with my unmentionable parts. Ti sighed audibly as the process finished.
‘I will now connect you to the Dream-Life program through your cerebral implants.’ With a light click, a pair of wires plugged into both sides of my head, forming a complete connection with the device.
“And so it begins.” I smiled and closed my eyes. “See you in five days Ti.”
‘Happy adventures, Arthur.’ Ti responded.
In an instant, the feeling of being engulfed by the material within the device faded. Curiosity arose as I opened my eyes only to be greeted by trillions upon trillions of stars glowing in the vast horizon. They looked so close that I could touch them, yet any attempt to do so proved fruitless.
“Right, right. Just a nice backdrop, nothing more.” I grumbled as I floated in space.
“Greetings Dreamer.” A new voice spoke in a computerized but jovial tone. “Welcome to the Dream-Life generation hub.”
“Hello! Name’s Arthur, who are you?” I greeted politely as I whipped my head around looking for the owner of the voice.
“I am this unit’s AI controller, Ra-855138.” In a burst of light, a tanned man appeared in front of me wearing ancient Egyptian looking clothes. True to his namesake, his head was that of a bird whose eyes watched me with great interest.
“Ra eh? Gonna shed some light on this whole Dream-Life deal then?” I snickered.
“Indeed.” The voice sounded amused. “My brethren and I were dubbed ‘Ra’ by our creators to bring those such as yourself to their a new lives. A new dawn as it were.”
“Gotchya. Wouldn’t be my first choice when it comes to ancient mythology, but it’s nice to meet ya Ra.” I held out my hand which was happily shaken by my new acquaintance. Despite my arm still looking the same as it had in the waking world, the firm shaking didn’t hurt in the least! I was already liking this product.
“The pleasure is all mine Arthur. Are you ready to start up your first Dream-Life?”
“You bet your feathered ass I am!”
“Before we begin, I must mention the basic guidelines of the Dream-Life program.” Ra spoke seriously.
“Already read about ‘em, but I’m all ears.”
“First and foremost, each and every Dream-Life is a virtual experience generated from the user’s wishes and desires. This is just a reminder that everything you will experience is not real, though at times it may feel as if it were so. Second, you may choose whether to have your original memories repressed or not. The choice is there as some users prefer to ‘start fresh’ as it were, making their Dream-Life experience as pure as possible. Many such users make a decent living selling streams of their lives as they live them. Finally, your Dream-Life session will end when your incarnation is terminated in any way. Not all Dream-Life users live long dream-lives due to the nature of their adventures. Humans, such as yourself, tend to ‘look before you leap’ and to help ease you into some of the scenarios you may encounter, Dream-Industries has integrated various training regimens which can be taught within your Dream-Life. We can also allow you to take said training courses out here before you make your choices on what kind of life you wish to live. The choice is yours to make.”
“Right, right. So when do I get to make my choices on what Dream-Life I want?” With the wave of his hand, Ra summoned a stone slate that hovered in front of me.
“Please take the time to fill out all the options desired on the slab before you. When you are done, I will generate a completely unique setting based upon your wishes and desires.”
“Now we’re talkin’!” I grinned and grabbed the tablet only for said grin to fade when I looked at the stone itself. “Uhhh, this appears to be in Hieroglyphics Ra.”
“My apologies.” He chuckled and waved his hand once more. Pictures quickly morphed into the English alphabet and I could finally understand the selections. Unfortunately, those selections were astronomical in number.
“What type of setting would I like?” I scrolled down through the options. “Ra, there has to be at least a thousand options here! There’s even questions about the answers I select? How many questions are even on this survey?”
“Approximately eight-thousand four-hundred and seventy-two.” Ra answered succinctly.
“Fuckin’ shit.” I groaned. “Right then Ra, I’d rather not die before filling this questionnaire out, so we’ll do this a little differently.” Without waiting for a response, I tossed the slab into space.
“Data shows that nobody ever takes the time to answer the questions anyway.” Ra chuckled. “Simply state your desires and I’ll do my best to comply with your wishes for your Dream-Life.”
“I’d like a western fantasy style setting, best to start with something familiar after all. Don’t feel like starting from scratch, so if you could generate a young adult’s body for me, that’d be great. Also, would you kindly pick the best options possible for something truly adventurous? I want to wander the world, see things I ain’t never seen before, meet strange and interesting peoples, fight curious and crazy monsters, and find ruins and caverns full of mystery and valuables!”
“Very well, I assumed you would like to be able to use magic as well?”
“Oh hell yes I would!” Ra chuckled,
“Would you like memory repression on or off for this session?”
“Hmmm…” I tapped my chin as I thought hard about this option. “Lets leave it off for a first run.”
“As you wish. From your desires I would recommend some standard training regimens provided during your session.”
“Yeah, I ain’t never used any sort of weapon or magic before so that would be helpful.”
“Very well. Processing your request, please wait a moment.” A moment later, my surroundings began to shift before stars whipped by with unbelievable speed. “Your personal Dream-Life has been generated. Thank you for choosing Dream-Industries. Please be sure to leave a positive review of our product after you are done.” Ra spoke corporately. An instant later, a bright light began to engulf my surroundings, and me with them.