Anika gulped down a hot cup of coffee and searched for the address of the Everscape headquarters in London. The offices were located south of the river, she could get a tube to Greenwich and then a taxi the rest of the way. It was an area of London she had never spent much time in, but she knew that many of the multinational corporations had their headquarters there.

On the way, she pulled up articles about Everscape and read more stories of people leaving their Perma pods. Reading through them made her feel sick to her stomach, and she wished she had eaten breakfast. The story she read yesterday, about the boy in the hospital bed who looked like a zombie, was not an isolated case. There were many more stories like this and there were groups of parents and relatives who were campaigning to put an end to the technology that was being used. She also found an official announcement from an Everscape spokesperson trying to defend their technology. It turned out that most of the negative side effects had occurred when these pods were still in beta. They had originally developed a health monitoring system which would alert the players about their physical health and give them the option to logout. In the early stage beta pods, this system was not functioning properly and so the proper warnings had not been received by several players.

Anika was shaking her head with each story she read. Even if they had improved the technology and made it safer to play, there was no way she would allow her son to get involved in that. Not only was the game itself highly addictive, although she couldn't see why she also felt it was irresponsible for a business to disregard the health of their customers.

She arrived at the Everscape offices shortly after nine in the morning and was greeted by a huge building fronted with glass windows. Once inside, it was clear she had found the right place as the Everscape branding was all over the walls. She marched straight up to the reception and explained to the young lady that she needed to see her son.

"I'm very sorry Miss, but I'm not allowed to give out any details about players in the game or their location." It was a stock response and seemed like it had been rehearsed. This was not the first time this young lady was having to deal with someone like Anika.

"I don't think you understand what is going on. I am Ted's mother and I have not given permission for him to be turned into a zombie by your gaming pods. If you don't fetch somebody who can help, I will go straight to the police." She knew it would be pointless to have any further conversation with the receptionist so throwing in the bit about the police would hopefully get her to escalate the situation.

"Just wait one moment, I will have somebody come and see you." The receptionist displayed a fake smile.

"You better make it quick. I need Ted out of those things straight away." She banged her fist on the reception counter, causing quite a stir with the other visitors. This wasn't like her at all. She was normally quiet and diplomatic, but all she felt in that moment was anger and rage, fuelled by the stories she had read on the train in the morning.

The young lady at reception had a phone to her ear but didn't seem to be speaking with anyone. What was she waiting for? After a few minutes, Anika was getting frustrated and was just about to speak up again when the lady at reception looked over her shoulder and smiled with relief. Anika turned around, expecting to see a manager or something, someone she could explain the situation to and get the help she needed.

Instead of a manager coming to help, she now saw two security guards walking straight towards her. The receptionist must have pressed a panic button and was just holding the telephone for show. What a bitch.

"Could you come with us please, right this way." Both of the guards gestured her away from the reception.

"I'm not going anywhere until I see my son." Despite her outburst, she let the guards escort her to some seats near the entrance. They explained to her that she should stay calm and that any further signs of aggression and they would call the police. To reassure her, they said an Everscape rep would come down and talk to her if she was patient.

Although it was only 20 minutes of waiting, it felt like hours. During that time she considered all her options. If talking to this representative was unsuccessful then what could she do? Calling her solicitor would be the first step, and it sounded the most logical, but what she most wanted to do was cause damage to something or someone. That was how she felt.

The representative was a well dressed young man with soft blue eyes and a smart suit. He greeted her with a smile and took a seat next to her. Everything about his body language seemed to show he had been trained to deal with situations like this. He spent the first five minutes clarifying that he understood how upset she was, and that he remembered when he first left home, how sad and upset his mother was.

"This has nothing to do with my son leaving home. This is about your technology, your Perma pods and the danger that my son is in."

The young man then explained about all the latest developments in their technology. About how safe it was, about how many players were using the pods and about the health warnings. Basically, there was nothing for her to be scared of. He also reminded her that Ted was now 18 years old, so there was nothing she could do. He had signed a contract, and the terms and conditions between Everscape and the players stated that their identity and the location of the pods were strictly confidential.

This guy was a smooth talker, he pre-empted her questions and concerns with well-rehearsed lines about safety and the legal issues involved. After thirty minutes of conversation, it was clear that she would not be getting any help from this company. When she didn't seem to have any further questions or objections, he stood up and held out his hand thanking her for her visit. He was even cheeky enough to suggest that if she wanted to speak with her son, she could sign up for an account and meet with him inside the game.

"Don't be ridiculous. You will hear from my solicitor." And with that she rushed out of the building, her head in a mess, lips trembling with rage and a small tear in her eye.