“Okay, Mr Molyneux. The pod is all set up for vocal control. Is there anything else you need?”

The technician had spent the last two hours bringing in all the equipment and setting up the various wires and modules. Kalir had paced and snooped, for the most part, listening for audible cues that would indicate he’d finished.

“I’ll be good from here, thank you, James. I want to give it a go.”

“Here,” James said, grabbing Kal’s arm. He pulled Kal forwards, placing his hand against a smooth plastic surface. Kal could feel the curvature and imagined something like an MRI scanner. “There are several panels which can be used to control the pod. Here, here, and here.”

The technician guided Kal’s hand with each ‘here’.

Kal’s fingertips brushed against the cool glass of three small touch tablets.

“I understand the screens may not be of too much use, but adaptations were made for your accessibility,” said James.

The last panel had a series of old school buttons. Braille embossing described each button. ‘Menu’, ‘Back’, ‘Enter’, and directional arrows. A steady arm tugged Kal back a stride from the pod.

“Now, the fun part,” James continued with an elated buzz, “Pod, open.”

Something clicked and whirred as it moved in front of Kal. “You can rename the pod anything you like. The main command words are open, close, run, and abort. ‘Help’ will take you through all the intricacies. It will also improve at understanding more terms as you engage with it. Kinda like your home vocal control system.” James had also fitted that.

Kal nodded several times, a response he’d never lost over time. “Is there anything else?”

“I just need a written sig-.” James halted. “I’ll take a verbal affirmation.” There was a tap and then a beep.

“Kalir Rosswell,” he said knowing there would be a handheld tablet listening.

“Thanks.” Kal heard a shuffling as James began to pack up his tools. “There's an extra waiver and some T's and C's you'll need to accept. On your first login, the system will guide you through.”

Kal stood for several minutes, waiting for the man to finish packing.

James cleared his throat, “Okay, that's me. Want me to help you into the pod?”

“No, I'll work it out.” Kal figured he'd need to learn to do it on his own. “Thank you for this.”

“Just my job, Mr Molyneux,” James took a deep breath. “Good luck, I hope it works out for you. You should know…”

“I know the tech doesn't work with everyone like me. But I have to give it a go.”

“If it doesn't work out, just get back in touch. You'll get your money back minus the setup fees,” James sighed, “actually, I'll put a word in. You'll get it all back.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Kal gritted his teeth, “thanks, James.”

“Just doing my job.” He patted Kal on the shoulder and left.

Footsteps stomped from the hallway, before a metallic click and a thud. Kalir was alone.

Kal felt around the open pod; his hands patted along the interior. Six-or-so inches in, the material became cushioned and soft, emanating a smell of fresh plastic and rubber. To one side, the cot came to a concave arch where his head would be supported.

If disappointment was coming, Kal wanted it over and done with. He pulled himself into the pod and banged his head against the side of the roof.

“Fuck!” Kal cursed, holding his head with one hand. The other he gripped against the base to steady himself. “You stubborn bastard,” Kal chuckled to himself. He should have asked James for guidance into the pod. He tried a second time and eased himself slowly into the cot.

Kal lay down and shuffled around to get comfortable. The cushions below him were crisp and smooth. As he dropped his head into place, the unit responded, cupping his head to support the neck.

“Pod, close.”

“Pod closing.” The machine replied in a genderless tone. “Would you like to run VR Testing Environment, VR Sports, or Alter Online. You may also browse to download more features.”

“Run Alter Online,” Kal bristled with anticipation.

“As this is your first time entering the pod, we'll do some checks on your health status. These processes will take place in the background.”

Even this machine was going to judge, Kal squirmed.

“Visual sense impairment detected. Please contact a medical professional.

…

…

Proceed?”

Kal swallowed deep, “proceed.”

Kal had the machine read out the terms and conditions; an arduous process, but thankfully he could skip being read out every single clause.

“I accept… I accept.”

Completion took nearly ten minutes. Kal was sure he'd given away all of his possible rights in the pod; he barely read them before agreeing. After what felt like an eternity, the clauses and waivers came to an end.

“Welcome to Alter Online”

…

…

“As this is your first time loading Alter Online, we will take you to the character creator. Would you like to proceed? The voice had a serene femininity, like a robed priestess.

Kal paused. He didn't know what he’d expected. The world was still thoughts, feelings, sounds, the smell of the pristine VR chamber.

“Ye-Yes.”

…

...

“Pulling VR user data.”

…

...

“Error. No response to visual stimuli.”

…

...

“Can you read this text?”

“No.”

Everything wooshed. Kal felt as if he was on a speeding train with the cabin window open. He shivered in the cold air and instinctively rubbed his arms, brushing against the raised hairs.

“Can you see your surroundings?”

“No,” Kal spat, unable to hide the bitter tone.

Several times something shifted, swishing and churning. Nausea grew, like a travel sickness from facing the wrong way. Kal considered aborting the process. He could send the kit back before any further let down. Before he soiled the compartment.

I knew this was an awful idea.

“Running Troubleshooter.”

…

…

…

“How many birds can you see?”

“None,” Kal choked, “I can see nothing.”

“Alternate visual systems loading.”

…

…

…

Nerves seared in the back of Kal’s eyes. His building scream cut short as it was soothed near-immediately. Shadows spread and disappeared in a flash. A kaleidoscope of dizzying hues collapsed and reformed.

…

...

“Welcome to Alter Online.”

Kal gasped. This time the words filled his vision. They hovered above him, surrounded by whirling clouds reflecting arcs of multihued light. He blinked several times, his head reeling at the sudden sensory overload. He saw.

“As this is your first time loading Alter Online, we will take you to character creation. Would you like to proceed?”

This time along with the pleasant voice, Kal could see the words scrolling down in bold wisps. He savoured every arch and curve of the letters, tracing along the serifs. Long-forgotten laughter burst out of him. Hearty and belly rumbling. He’d never expected a simple font to give such pleasure.

“Yes!” He exclaimed after reading the phrase over and over.

“There are many races available to play in Alter Online,” the voice continued.

First, a tall man stood before him. He wore a simple red tunic and beige pants. The human floated in the air barefooted.

“Humans, like in your own world, are numerous.”

“Next,” Kal exclaimed, delighting in the way the bright light danced off the colours. The man disappeared, a short, sturdy fellow taking his place.

“This is a dwarf.” The disembodied woman told him.

The stout figure was no more than four feet tall. Its brown beard fell over a red patterned vest. The dwarf’s eyes were a piercing grey; its lined features emanated keen wisdom.

Kal cycled through the races, taking time to marvel at each of their details. After the dwarf stood a lithe, half feline on two legs. It breathed with a gentle purr, pointed ears twitched as it listened out. Next was what looked to be a human, but with red eyes, dark lips matched the skin tone, and bone-white hair billowed in the breeze. The system informed him this was the Callus race.

Kal skipped forward, not enticed by the harsh looking man. He flicked through various types of elves and half-elves. Small halflings, monstrous goliaths, and various human races were all options. Kal raised an eyebrow at a scaled lizardman. Though impressive, Kal didn't want to be too different. He firmly believed that one could have too much choice.

After a second cycle through the many races, Kal had a thought. “Can you use me as a template?”

“Affirmative. Pulling user body image.”

…

…

...

Before Kal stood a mirror image of himself. He wore the same basic outfit of the in-world races, but a small belly pushed at the maroon fabric. His greasy black hair fell nearly to shoulder length. Kal tried to avoid the unfocused bloodshot eyes, which looked out between several scars and a dark, unkempt beard.

“Man, I let myself go,” Kal winced at the mirror image, “If only I were my old self...”

“Would you like to load a past self?”

“That's possible?”

“We can use your memories to form a representation of anyone. Just picture a person, and I'll form it. Though it is not advised to use someone’s likeness without their permission.”

Kal imagined the picture he’d once kept on the mantelpiece. He’d stood smiling in his uniform, police hat under his arm; his hair kept short and smart.

“Pulling image from memory.”

Before him, his former ‘peak’ self replaced the contemporary figure. The belly and the beard reduced, muscle instead of fat bulged under the tunic. His eyes returned to their past deep brown.

“Are you happy with your chosen avatar?” The game asked.

“I am,” Kal beamed with pride. He reminisced of a time when he’d been happy and driven. Here was the man he envied the most in the world. A man he’d be again.