“We strive and suffer. We live and cry. Existence hurts, yet we love and laugh, hoping to reach the end of the road.”

***V.C.***

***Antioch***

People! So many people! They are a mass which threatens to crush me beneath it. The worst of it, there seems to be no way to escape.

I smile and nod as yet another enamoured fangirl takes my hand and shakes it. She links arms with me and a friend of hers points a strange device at me. The ‘clicking’ tells me that the woman just took a picture of us. The two of them squeal and change roles, with the other girl kneeling in front of me, thankfully facing away.

There were fans who were offering… stuff… in public…

I am not a prude, but some things go too far. The crowd around us feels oppressing, strangling and choking my whole being. At the same time, I want to kill the guys who flock to Silith and Lisandra. The two sisters already made it clear that there would be no inappropriate touching, but I still hate it that they have the attention of so many men.

After Silith made a few promises and deals with Jill, ensuring that she gets a say in her reproductive activities, Sam took over for Min. Knowing his personality, we couldn’t really blame him for Min’s machinations. All of us know that he is the minion, while she is the mastermind.

In absence of anything better to do, Jill took us on a sightseeing tour. Clearly showing us off to the inhabitants of the V.C.

Wherever we go, we are the centre of attention as soon as we are recognized. And we are being recognized.

First, we visited the strange fantasy world. Sam and Jill strolled happily onto the battlefield, announcing our visit. The demons stopped fighting at once, seemingly not believing that people like us would visit their realm. An ogre came up to me with his guts hanging out, poking my cheek with a finger. At the time I didn’t know that he was verifying my avatar’s identity. Then he called out to the others that we were real.

Even the defenders of the city stopped shooting their arrows. They opened the large gate to their city, totally ignoring the army beyond their walls. Then we were crowded by people, asking us questions and trying to get signatures from us. Our appearance ended the battle in a most unconventional way. Both sides had forgotten about their rivalries.

It was then, that I realised that I have problems with large gatherings of people. It gives me the jitters, stage-fright. I never expected that I would ever be faced with so many people of my own race. It’s like a dream coming true... as a nightmare.

Clenching my teeth, I comply with the request of yet another girl to pick her up in a princess carry, while her friends take pictures.

Being blinded by their old-style cameras, I smile and zone out again, trying to remember where I failed to object being shown around like a prized bull. It struck me too late what being a celebrity really means in a human society.

After being given the option by Jill, I was too giddy to get to see these strange worlds where my people were roaming free and unmolested by the rest of the universe, free to follow their desires and to strive to become the best they can be.

My expectations were clearly set too high.

What did I expect? Sam and Min didn’t leave without a reason.

Humans, my species, for all they had accomplished, were a pretty banal race.

After indulging the inhabitants of Fantasyworld, we visited the Plain of Lust, where Silith and I got to reside in a luxurious palace. The both of us had a lot of… fun… and the maids were… something else…

I allow my mind to drift, trying to remember the cute girl who accidentally fell down a stairway, flashing me all of her good parts. Let’s just say that it’s probably for the best that we didn’t reside there for too long, or I might have been unfaithful. The women there had way too many happy accidents, which were no accidents at all in my opinion. There is no way that the entire staff of maids was that clumsy for real.

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We continued our tour to various other places, never staying in one location for too long. Our most recent stop is the Lifer’s city ‘Normal’. It’s the best and the worst place I’ve been to so far.

The best, because the people here seem the sanest of them all. The worst, because Silith and I are worshipped as idols, gathering the attention of every humanoid within our sight.

Looking up, I can see my own smiling face in one of the screens above the city’s skyline. A man and a woman put their arms around my shoulders, lodging me between them. They smile as someone else photographs us and I realize that this is happening right now.

They ask me for an autograph and after a while I start zoning out again, allowing my mind to drift while my body is shown around and I comply with their antics.

I endure all of it with a stoic smile, knowing very well that the V.C. has a lot to offer. Despite my overall bad impression of the various human societies, there are things we need from them. I thought of it for a long time, coming to the conclusion that having a lot of them join us will be vital for our survival in the real world.

If Min and Sam are any indication, then having fully formed personalities will be a mighty boost to our population. The siblings grew quickly and, despite their bodies, have to be seen as adults. All of that happened in a little less than a year. If their bodies continue to develop at this rate, they will be adults in no time.

Grooming children the old-fashioned way would require decades. That’s time which we definitely don’t have.

Jill draws my attention by parting the crowd. The people clearly have a lot of respect for the Blue. When the floating entity moves, its like water parting at a rock. They aren’t forced to, but happily make way out of their own volition. Being faced with her, some people even bow, which makes me feel uncomfortable.

How did the Lifers get the assistance of a being which has the reputation of a true god – at least in this world?

Today, she chose the appearance of a humanoid figure without any distinct features. Her body is shaped entirely out of water. Following in her wake are Lisandra, Silith and Samuel. Minerva had the good judgement of not showing her face since her sudden departure several days ago.

Though, Silith and Lisandra logged out a few times to ‘hunt Min down’.

Being confined to the virtual world, I have no way of knowing how this went down and the two of them treat the entire subject as off-topic.

“Let’s retreat to a private location. You must be tired,” Jill proclaims. She raises a hand and the world dissolves around me. I am not surprised, to find myself back in the empty plane of the Buffer Zone, where Jill created a comfortable place for me to live. According to her explanations, Jill never actually transfers us to another server/world within the V.C. She just creates an avatar on site and links us to everything they see, hear, or experience.

My consciousness never leaves the virtual server on which the Buffer Zone is running.

Though, I have an inkling that this isn’t entirely true. There is definitely something strange about this virtual reality stuff. At times it feels a little too real, and why do some things transfer over to this body, even though it isn’t supposed to be real?

“How are you, Antioch?” Silith steps closer and links arms with me. “I can’t stand watching all those women throwing themselves at you. They are like animals.”

“I am fine.” I rub my face and try to get rid of the ever-smiling expression. “My face hurts from smiling all day long, even though I don’t feel like it. Why is it even necessary to simulate all these muscles?”

“I know what you mean!” Lisandra complains. “I can’t stop smiling, even though I want to. The muscles are all cramped up. If that’s the life of a celebrity, then I don’t want it!”

“The system is rendering your bodies with the highest amount of realism,” Jill explains. “It wouldn’t do you any good to feel better than your real bodies, since you intend to return to ‘Reality1.0’. In the olden days, people often made the mistake of misjudging their actual abilities after extended periods of time spent in a virtual world. You are fairly new at this, so I decided to leave those settings on for all of you.”

“Misjudging their abilities?” Lisandra asks.

“Like walking through walls, jumping from high places, misguided reactions which end up hurting your real bodies,” the Blue comments without any emotion.

I nod, remembering the ogre who was greeting me with his guts hanging out. In Fantasyworld, you were fine as long as your life-bar didn’t hit zero. The inhabitants felt the pain, but after centuries they became adept at not acknowledging it. After returning to the real world, they would have to relearn what it actually meant to have their guts all over the floor.

“I can see how that could become a problem for someone who decides to change servers, or even to return to the real world. Do you think that this will have any impact on the civilisation we are about to create?” I ask.

Sam nods. “You are absolutely right, but we already thought about this problem. The leaders of the Lifer-faction have a lot of effort and investments locked up in this project. There are several adept doctors and psychotherapists ready who will join the first few generations.” His eyes wander over to Jill. “And we even have a special team for the extreme cases.”

Silith turns her attention to our son. “That’s right. You have been showing us around for days. Isn’t it time to meet up with the rest of the Lifer-leadership? Min and you are our only real connection to this so-called Lifer-faction. Who are they? What are their actual goals? When can we meet them?”

Our son looks a little distraught. “We had that planned for tomorrow. It’s not that important.”

“How can it be not important? They are the ones who are pulling the strings in our favour, aren’t they?” I ask.

“Indeed. But they are pulling the strings over here in the V.C. They will see to it that you get a steady stream of talented individuals and assistance. Their job is to separate the wheat from the chaff. As long as joining the demons stays a viable option for anyone with our ideals, we will have their support.”

He spreads his hands and shrugs. “There is a lot going on in the V.C. Especially right now, now that we managed to found our new race. Believe me, they have other things on their minds than to deal with what’s going on in the real world, or to play games with us.”

Sam indicates himself and includes us in the gesture. “For better or worse, dealing with the real world will be our job.”