Ricardo opened his eyes to the first rays of sunshine coming through his window. He had been restless until late into the night, but even so his body raised up in anticipation.
Turns out it was too much anticipation. His alarm wouldn't be going off for another couple of hours. Well, he had two hours to waste. Sandro wouldn't be up until at least 7:30.
Today was the day Ricardo would finally register into Virtual Connection. It had been recommended to him quite a few times, by Sandro mostly, but he never imagined he would get into it in this way.
He made himself breakfast and watched a few gameplay videos, getting into the gamer mindset.
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Monday, December 27th ,2027
8:00 am UTC-5
Finally, the time had come.
Ricardo stared at the VR machine in the corner for a minute. His mind drifted for a bit, going back to one of the first classes he took at university. He recalled how the wires could transmit impulses directly to his nerve connections, bypassing his sensory organs; the trick for faking reality.
It was quite unnerving if one stopped to analyze it.
Ok, that was really bad.
He cringed at himself–a signal to stop wasting time–and got inside.
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“You're finally joining VC, I thought the day would never come,” said Sandro, inside the VR prichat room.
“Yeah, who knew it would be like this,” said Ricardo, feeling the couch's upholstery under his fingers.
They were in what was prichat's standard living room template: a couch, a table, a couple of chairs and a widescreen TV set.
Everything seemed real at first glance, the warm ambient lights, the rugged wood of the table, the cold metal of the chairs' frame... But the illusion broke easily enough. The textures just weren't quite right, and the smells were simplified to the max. Prichat didn't even have taste simulation at all.
People got used to VR–many said they didn't notice anymore–but Ricardo could never get fully into it.
“Are you ready now?” asked Sandro, his lips moving naturally–a sign that he wasn't just an avatar, but a full body VR simulation.
“As ready as I'll ever be,” answered Ricardo.
Ricardo had gone through his character sheet enough to commit it to memory. He also watched the character creation video plenty of times; the image for his/her desired physical appearance at the top of his mind.
“When you finish creating your character, just go to the inn. Clara and I will be waiting for you.”
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Leaving prichat always disoriented Ricardo; the VR lobby had mostly visual and sound feed, the touch sense barely enough for moving around. And the change was jarring.
Regaining his bearings, he looked for Virtual Connection in the game list of his command screen. It was very easy to find, being one of the most popular VR extensions at the moment. After a few pages of legal jargon that he didn't bother to read–if they really wanted you to know, they would have voiced it–he was officially in.
An ornate wooden door appeared in the lobby, beckoning him inside.
Before getting into the game for real, there was a last thing Ricardo needed to do. He opened the VC cash shop and; carefully, put a thousand platinum hearts, the game's premium currency, into his cart. He rechecked twice–cash shop purchases weren't refundable–and confirmed the transaction.
Not going back after this.
He could have done it from the game, if he had linked his credit card. He didn't trust them that far yet.
Ricardo took a step back and went towards the row of extension doors–there were just a handful of them–all related to school or work. He stood in front of the last one, took a virtual breath in, and opened it.
Welcome to Virtual Connection.
Make your own story in the fantasy land of true love!
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As Ricardo entered the Character Creation room, he was taken aback, his senses coming alive. The sunlight warming his skin, a soft breeze blowing by his hair, a fresh air aroma tingling in his nose. A cumulus of sensations were returning to their right place, after being forcefully stripped away.
It was almost like if he had left the VR machine altogether.
The room itself didn't look like a room at all. It appeared like if someone had cut a circular plot out of a meadow and brought it up to the sky, its diffuse edges blending into the clouds.
There was an arch of metallic platforms across the middle, from which only seven were active. The centermost one had a mirror image of himself, wearing the beginner equipment: a white tunic tied with a cordon, straw sandals and a plain baby blue backpack. The six outer ones projected holographic images–also of him–this time in six different haircut types. That was the only free customization granted by the game.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
Having paused for a moment for Ricardo to adjust himself, the voice-over restarted playing. He, knowing already what it would say, skipped ahead and asked for the full customization.
In seconds, a thousand platinum hearts were consumed. And seven very uncanny looking female models appeared in front of him.
He despaired at first. Even if he should have expected it, it was a shocking image all the same.
Ricardo closed his VR eyes for a bit, recalling the ideal image he had designed. That kept him focused during the task ahead. He tweaked and fiddled with the options for what seemed like hours–Clara and Sandro must have been cursing him–but he needed to get it right. He only had one try after all.
As the last step, he tried on the female body he had meticulously sculpted. It felt mostly alright, just a few bumps here and there. It helped that he didn't need to change his height, the perks of being on the shorter side.
Altogether, the biggest adjustment was the long hair, which did impossible waves as he moved around. It was impractical and bothersome, making him wonder why girls subjected themselves to it.
Well, it's pretty.
Ricardo stalled as much as he could justify himself, before finally pressing the confirm button. Having locked his character's appearance, he selected 'Torinelo' from the options for beginning locations.
Suddenly, the clouds that surrounded him drifted away, showing an aerial view of the city, as the room shrank in its descent. He finally hovered over a plaza before the–now circular platform–disappeared.
You have entered Torinelo Starter City
As soon as he landed on the cobbled surface of the plaza, Ricardo felt weird. The rather small impact had been absorbed in a new, unusual way. He turned around, looking at his reflexion on the water of a fountain. It was definitely female, a stunningly beautiful one. He closed his eyes–he had prepared for this moment–and thought about the character he was going to portray.
After I open my eyes, I'll be Ilaria.
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Torinelo City appeared to be inspired in Renaissance Era Italy, or at least what the general population thought the Renaissance looked like. There were blocks of whites and yellows as far as Ilaria could see, a lot of columns and plenty of marble sculptures.
Having already wasted a lot of time, she proceeded to go around, checking the names of each building. As she walked, she saw a few other players seemingly jumping into existence in the plaza's surroundings. Most were clad in the newbie robes, looking like they were joining a religious pilgrimage.
I guess I look just the same.
Ilaria didn't take to long to find it. The inn in question was a medium-sized building with an elevated, roofed porch in the front; light string music could be heard as she approached. The statue of the entrance–an old man with an eagle on his shoulder–confirmed that she was in the right place.
As Ilaria climbed the stairs of the entrance, she crossed sights with most of the people inside, in her quest to find Sandro. No matter who she looked at, they would invariably be looking at her too. She could feel her cheeks warming up as she grew conscious of the attention. It was such a difference from her usual, inconspicuous self.
Finally, sitting in a small table at the corner, she could recognize her friends. Sandro looked just as in real life, tall, athletic and tanned. He probably hadn't paid for any customization at all–not that would need to. About Clara, a petite, green-eyed brunette; she was as cute as always... Mostly? There was something off, maybe her nose.
As Ilaria turned, facing them, Sandro and Clara crossed a glance of realization.
“Here!” exclaimed Clara, standing up and waving.
Sandro just laughed soundlessly in his seat, while Ilaria rushed towards them.
Geez, Clara; as if I needed any more attention.
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“Sit down, sit down,” said Clara, insistently pointing towards the empty chair.
“I'll do, I'll do”
The wooden table looked worn out, probably a stylistic choice; a half-eaten plate of olives and a couple of forks completed the setup.
“You are so pretty!” exclaimed Clara, as soon as everyone was sat.
Ilaria grimaced, looking at Clara with murderous eyes.
“Don't worry; as long as we remain seated, nobody can hear us,” said Sandro, smiling.
“That's good to know,” said Ilaria.
“So, you are Ilaria now?” asked Sandro.
“Yeah,” said Ilaria.
“And I'm Claire, don't forget it,” said Clara, making a serious face.
“Yup, she's Claire in here,” said Sandro. “I'm SanDiego, by the way; but you can keep calling me Sandro.”
Thank god, remembering Clara's will be hard enough.
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“Do you want to try them?” asked Sandro, signaling the olives. “You'll be surprised.”
“Do it; I promise, it'll be wondrous,” added Claire, not taking her eyes off her.
Ricardo–no, Ilaria–had been so absorbed in the scenario, that she had completely forgotten she was inside a VR simulation. She finally could relate to all the people who enjoyed VR extensions on a regular basis.
Ilaria wavered for a second on which fork to take, before grabbing the one in front of Sandro. She picked up an olive, carefully putting it in her mouth. At once, she could feel the cool saltiness over her tongue. She bit it slowly, the acidity of its juices filling her with new sensations.
“It tastes like an olive!” exclaimed Ilaria, being unable to stop herself from laughing. She wondered if that was kinda what the deft felt when they just got their hearing aids.
After that, Sandro and Claire took turns making Ilaria try most of the menu of the inn. It was really wondrous–as Claire would say–despite it being just basic tavern food. She had never realized how far VR had advanced within just a few years.
Ilaria kept making joyful expressions as she tried the food, until she noticed Sandro's stare on her.
“Don't make it weird,” said Ilaria, straightening herself.
“It's weird,” said Sandro, trying a smile. “You totally look like a girl, but you still look like... well, you. It might take some time to get used to it.”
“I should have guessed it would be like that.” said Ilaria.
“And I must admit, you do make a beautiful girl,” said Sandro. “The frail, aloof beauty type.”
Ilaria could feel her cheeks warming again.
“Like an evil stepsister?” asked Claire, interrupting her thoughts.
“What? Which evil stepsister...” said Ilaria, dumbfounded.
“You totally have that look!” exclaimed Claire, laughing. “The rich, pampered villainess, feigning weakness to snare the prince.”
“Now it's a villainess...” said Ilaria, who couldn't help smiling.
The conversation went off on a tangent, Sandro and Claire debating about which female antagonist Ilaria was the closest to. But soon enough it was lunchtime–Ilaria had wasted a lot of time in character creation–and time to end the session.
“I'm sorry, we got to go now,” said Sandro.
“We are gonna have BBQ at the beach,” said Claire, smiling. “You should come by sometime.”
“Thank you,” said Ilaria. “I might call you up on that.”
It was something she often said, but this time she meant it. Even if in this summer she had other worries to attend to, there's always next year. Her family wasn't the only people she had been neglecting.
“We won't log in the afternoon,” said Sandro. “You could call Amelia.”
“Don't worry about it; you have done enough.” said Ilaria. “I have watched tons of tutorials. All will be fine.”
“Here,” said Sandro, dropping a pouch on her hand. It disappeared as soon as it touched her, making a metallic sound. “Knowing you, you'll probably need it.”
After saying that, Sandro and Claire dematerialized in a flash of light, Ilaria following afterwards.
You have left Virtual Connection.