“Knock.” A heavy thud reverberated through the house penetrating my sleep-addled mind and jolting me to.

“I’m coming” Is what I attempted to say but my mouth was dry and buried in my pillow. Forcing my eyes open, I saw the early morning sunlight slicing through the thin curtain at the window. My alarm clock blinked at me with the little snooze icon flashing. I must have pressed it in my sleep.

As I gradually came to, another knock came, echoing up the stairs. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, pushing down a yawn as I rose to my feet. Stumbling towards the door, I grabbed a dressing gown off the hook on the wall and draped it over myself. The wooden stairs creaked as I thudded down them, turning off at the landing and heading through to the main hall. Sometimes this house feels really big and confusing, even after living here for a few years now I still didn’t see the purpose of some of the little nooks and oddities.

The front door stood at the end of the main hall. This side was in slightly better repair than the external, but it could still do with a coat of paint or something. I flakes of white paint shiver and fall to the floor as the knock came again.

My mind suddenly caught up with me. There was a person on the other side of the door, with my VR gear. If I wanted it, I would have to deal with a person in my home. My skin went cold at the thought. No one came in my home except me. It was a rule. This was my sanctum from the outside, with all of the noise and the petty concerns all the horror and pain that people bring with them.

My eyes dried as I stared at the door, silently wishing the delivery could be handled without me. Maybe they could leave it on the doorstep and I could do it all myself once they were gone. I could feel my heart racing in my chest and my breath start to flutter.

The knock came again, harder, louder this time. Something told me this would be the last knock. There was no sound other than the knock; everything else had faded away as I retreated in my mind from the idea of a person in my home.

Unbidden, my hand rose to touch the lock and turned the key. The click filled the silence, far larger and louder than it should have been. I swallowed the panic back down and plastered a shaky smile on my face as I swung open the door.

“Morning.” The cheery deliveryman offered as he was revealed.

I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. All my concentration was on keeping the door open and not slamming it in his face. My knuckles went white on the door handle.

“You Vincent Relast,” he said looking down at the tablet computer in his hand and then back to my face. “Got a delivery here from Chrysalis Corporation. If you could place your thumb here we can get you all set up.”

I mutely placed my thumb on his tablet and waited for the beep to confirm.

“Wonderful. Now we can set this up or you can do it yourself. Instructions are in the box if you chose to go that route.”

I nodded. And the man seemed to get the hint. He passed me a large box. “This is just the helmet. The bed comes in two boxes that I will have to go to the van to fetch. I was going to install it for you but it’s fairly straightforward. Give me a moment to fetch it and I’ll be right back.” The man turned and walked down the very short path and out front, to where a sleek silver van was parked along the road, the chrysalis logo of a cocoon printed clearly on the side.

The box in my hands was light, almost too light considering what it held. I expected something heavier, bulkier too. But it was not much bigger than my chest and weighed less than a bag of sugar. I gently placed it down on the table next to the door, while keeping an eye on the deliveryman. He was carrying back a larger box on one of those little trolleys. It was larger than he was.

He came up the path and asked me, “Where do you want it?”

I finally found my voice and asked, “Is it heavy?”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Nah. Just big and awkward. If it put it in your hall, when you unpack it you can move it all no problem. Is that alright?”

I thought about it and realised that I didn’t want to open it outside and then move it all in. It could rain or someone could steal it while I moved parts in. Better to bite the bullet and let him in for a moment.

I nodded, my voice abandoning me again.

“Step back then and I’ll wheel it right in.”

I moved, a bit, but not much, opening the door wider and keeping a firm grip on it. My gaze never left the deliveryman but he seemed to have made his peace with it. He carried on with professional good cheer. It grated my nerves to shreds.

Each step he made further into my domain caused my left eye to twitch and my heart to skip a beat. Mercifully, he was quick, as if sensing my discomfort.

“Last box I can leave on the door step. It’s a bit heavy, but not big.”

I nodded, remaining where I was.

As he took his trolley back to the van, my gaze shifted to the box. It was white with the chrysalis label on it. All in all, it was incredibly boring. But the potential inside gripped my heart. If it lived up to even a speck of the hype it would be worth this trial.

The final box was deposited on my doorstep with a light thud.

“That’s all of it. Instructions should be in this box here, he said indicating the box at his feet. “Enjoy the game.” And then he left.

Watching him go, I waited until he was climbing into the driving seat of his van before I moved. Quickly, I grabbed the box on the doorstep, and closed the door behind me. Placing it down, I locked the door, checking and triple checking that the door was secure and then I went through to the kitchen and made myself a cup of tea. For a long while, I sat at the kitchen table and calmed myself. My hands shook and I felt dizzy, as if I couldn’t breathe properly. Reprimanding myself for not preparing, I resolved to do better in the future. I was never this bad normally; it just took me by surprise.

Feeling better, I rose and walked back to the hall with a small kitchen knife. I slid the blade down the tape sealing the box with the instructions shut. Opening it up, I saw a small booklet on top of things. Things that I couldn’t name.

Grabbing it opening to the first page, I saw directions for assembly and installation. Best I get everything all in the right place first. So I picked up the box, grunting slightly at the weight that I hadn’t noticed earlier, and moved it through to the living room. I put it down and went back and fetched the rest of it.

The instructions were clear and simple. The big box had the frame for the bed and the small box all the components. It went together much like a tent, each part sliding and connecting with a little twist. Soon enough I had a large but low bed, raised at one end for my head. Cables ran from a unit underneath that measured the status of the person and maintained comfort. The helmet connected to the unit, through which the connection to the server was managed.

Despite what I thought, it didn’t use the internet but had its own connection to Chrysalis, to maximise speeds and decrease the risk of timeouts and lag.

Finally it was done. A sleek looking bed with a plastic enclosure that closed over it, much like a coffin and a black helmet stood in my living room. A single button powered it on and a gentle humming filled the room.

I stood looking at it for a moment before opening up the enclosure, placing the helmet on my head and laying down. The enclosure sealed over me and I heard a voice.

“New user, welcome to N.U. Please wait while your neural pathways are mapped and your biometric identification is processed… Done. Would you like to begin character creation?”

“Yes”

The world went white.