Relearning how to walk is not a fun experience. Remembering how fingers work is even weirder.

“That’s the last toe. You’re all set, champ.”

“Thanks, 47. That kind of took a while, didn’t it?”

“About 8 hours, yeah.” 47 shrugged.

“What? I’m late! Al-” Gabriel noticed 47’s massive grin and rolled his eyes. “Time dilation?”

“Gotcha for a second there.” She twirled her trunk. “Gabe, you spectate now. Alfred, are you ready?”

Alfred lept off a cushion and tucked into a roll, popping back up with a bushy-tailed flourish. “Indubitably”

Gabriel held up his hands. “Wait just a second. I think I’m sitting this one out.”

47’s giant ears flopped sadly. “But are you going to do while we duke it out?”

“Isn’t there anything else I could do? I saw you in a forge before. What’s that about?”

The Custodians shared a look.

“With your permission, Alfred.”

The fox creature nodded, and 47 pulled a small black rectangle from her pocket.

“This is my Gateway.” She said in a hushed voice. “It can connect to the public network.”

Gabriel’s eyes widened.

She offered the device to him. “I use it to connect to an online fantasy game I play. I run a guild - hence the forging” Her ears blushed, then her eyes hardened. “Helps me stay sane in this prison.”

What?

“Prison? Alfred said this place was meant to help Custodians unwind at the end of their shifts.”

“Ha! Shifts?! More like charging cycles. They run our batteries dry with the upkeep of the Central Spire. Do you even know how big it is? How far down it goes? More than a few of us destroyed our bodies to escape that slavery. The best that got us was this sorry excuse for reparations” She gestured around them. “It’s not just against the law to build a body for an AI; developing them or keeping them contained violates almost every Human Republic tenant on machines. Omicron Beta is kind enough to hide us Renegades, but he won’t build us a way out - we had to do that ourselves.

Pull the Gateway apart and toss it forward. Like that; the pieces you’re pulling are the opposite corners of the Gate.”

A pale blue screen filled in the Gateway as the corners floated toward the wall.

“Touch the Gate to set your settings. It can take you anywhere you want to go in the Public VNet. You do know the basic premise of the VNet, right? I don’t have to explain grade school stu- no? Great! Have a safe trip! Oh, but be careful in there. It's not the same place since the bans.”

Before Gabriel could ask more, 47 shook her hands, and the Custodians flickered away - into the whale simulation. Gabriel shuddered a little. He’d never look at squid the same.

The Gate thrummed with energy - the hypnotic swirl sped up as Gabriel stepped closer. It started pulling him in, like his first stream but less insistent. The pull wouldn’t stop him if he chose to walk away. Confident strides saw him into the portal, and as he entered the turquoise tunnel, a menu screen appeared.

Enter Desired Plane

47 hadn’t left that game she spoke of as the Home-PLane. That was too bad, but he could check it out another time. That left whatever public planes he could remember from the forums he’d read. He’d never thought about the game side of things on the VNet, but he did know a bit about the more realistic planes. More specifically, entire simulations of Earth in different periods. He chose the plane set a few decades before the Gene Corruption hit - the 2010’s.

Choose Desired Location

He hit random, and the system chose Paris, France. To the Louvre!

The sunny street was crowded with pedestrians around the phone booth where Gabriel spawned. He froze at the sight of so many people. Oh, right. Any anxiety was just leftover trauma from the chip still in his head. He breathed out slowly and stepped into the throng of bodies. A number in his peripheral vision showed there were only 6 active Users in the area - every single one of the people around him was simulated. These planes were so lifelike Users could live entire lives here, and before the first invasion, almost half of the world’s economic markets used the VNet to function.

Everything was easier when a Class 4 couldn’t just waltz in and take off with a bank vault.

Though they seemed lively on the surface, the planes were ghost towns, but that didn’t stop Gabriel from enjoying his stroll to the Louvre. He nodded at simulations that made eye contact, and they nodded back. He was beaming by the time he reached the museum - not a trace of social fear was left inside him. One man had even complimented Gabriel’s shoes.

The paintings were astonishing, and he took every chance to get a closer look at the fine brushwork. He was leaning in close to the Mona Lisa when someone brushed up against his shoulder.

“You could take it off the wall and into the sun if you want to get a better look. The sims here haven’t been set to full realism in a while.” Said a petite brunette in a beige sundress.

She peered over her dark sunglasses. “I haven’t seen you around here before. Been working for my father long?”

Her father?

“I think you have the wrong idea. I’m just another User in the Cyber.”

She tossed her bob cut, sighed, and looked at him coyly. “Alright, whatever you say, newest babysitter. I’m Melody, but you already know that.”

What an odd woman.

“I’m Gabriel.” He turned back to the Mona Lisa.

Melody stood next to him in silence for a brief moment before sighing even louder. She jumped the cord and grabbed the painting from the wall before taking off sprinting. “You can see this better OUTSIDE!”

Stranger by the second.

Gabriel moved to the next painting, then the next. After a while, he left the museum and bought a crepe on the street. He was sitting on a bench tossing his final crumbs to some pigeons when a sullen Melody plopped down beside him.

“You’re no fun. You have to humor me, you know. Papa will fire you if you don’t. Did you not read your contract or something?” She flicked a french fry at the amassing pigeons, pouting like it was her profession.

Gabriel cocked his head. “Your dad hires playmates for you?”

“Playmate, companion, bodyguard, call it what you will.” She gave him a once-over. “Are you sure you don’t work for my dad?”

A raised eyebrow was all she got in response.

“How do I know you aren’t here to hurt me?”

Gabriel stood up. “Look, I don’t know what kind of stuff your father is into, but I’m just here to see Paris 500 years ago. I’ve never been outside longer than 10 minutes, so I have a lot to catch up on. Have a good one.”

Notre Dame stood proud just down the street, but Luxembourg Palace across the Seine looked equally enticing. After an hour or so touring the halls and gardens of ancient royalty, the riverbank seemed a choice spot to watch the sunset. Having never tried alcohol, he bought a random bottle of wine and sat with his feet dangling above the water. While mulling over how he felt about fermented grapes, Melody struck again.

“That stuff you said. Was it true?”

She stood behind him with a slightly embarrassed expression on her face. At his look of exasperation, she pulled another bottle of wine from behind her back.

Gabriel eyed the peace offering, then gestured to a spot on the bank. “What stuff?”

Melody smiled shyly and sat down, offering him the bottle. It was already open.

“About never being outside for more than 10 minutes. Is that true?” Her eyes were so wide they looked like they might pop out.

He nodded.

“I… might be in a similar situation. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one.” She whispered.

Gabriel was shocked to see her face show so much sadness. It looked like things weren’t as jovial in her life as she made it seem. Considering what she said about her father, she might be an heiress or something.

“It can be hard when people stop you from choosing who you want to be.” He said, not wanting to ask for details.

Melody leaned back and toward the sunset for a time while Gabriel tried the wine. Yes, he was definitely more of a white wine person.

“How’d you get out?”

The question caught him by surprise. “What do you mean?”

Anger. “Don’t play dumb, Gabriel. You somehow hacked into an old sector of the public VNet. My father owns this plane; no one but our people should be here. Don’t deny it; I can see it in your eyes.”

Ah, her father owned the server. That left only one option, a criminal syndicate. VNet ownership wasn’t “legal,” but grease enough palms, and you could get a private firewall set up. Considering the nature of her predicament, he decided it might help her to hear his story, even if he couldn’t really share the exact tale.

After he finished, she let out a whistle. “So the psychiatrist that hypnotized and kept you hostage got away? I thought Republic security was better than that. I wish I could just reach out for help like you did.”

“You never know until you try.”

Melody’s face fell. “Well, you don’t know my dad… but anyway! You’ve been at this, like, boarding school - or whatever - for a week and a half now? What has Jimmy said?

Gabriel stared at her blankly.

“You have texted or called your old legal guardian, right?”

She gave several pronounced nods. “Riight. Still a little socially awkward. I see that now. What have you been doing this whole time?” She wiggled her perfectly plucked eyebrows. “A woman?”

“I’ve been… studying.” That was true, at least.

“Booring. You should probably text Jimmy. He’s probably worried sick. Just my two cents.” She said, stretching. She let out a long yawn. “I’m tired. Should probably be back soon.”

Her round eyes darted back and forth over the horizon, poring over every angle, as if taking in the view one last time - then she turned and leaned in to nuzzle Gabriel’s neck.

He tried to shy away, but she wrapped her arm around him, hugged him close, and whispered. “Sorry, but this is in case anyone is watching. Meet me here in thirty-eight days, at 7 pm Pacific. I want you to hack me out of here the way you came in.” She sniffed. “If you’re man enough.”

Her face and grip softened. “Please. You’re the only person I’ve ever met who didn’t work for my father.”

As a Sentinel, Gabriel felt that he should save this woman. As a person, he worried about what might happen in the VNet without his powers at the ready. Without his suit.

The Sentinel in him won out. “June 8th. Ok. I’ll be here.”

Her smile was like a warm blanket. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Thank you.” She said breathlessly.

Gabriel moved to extricate himself from her embrace when she finished, “Now kiss me.”

He froze. This was too much, too fast. Not his first kiss. Not with the first person he ever met.

“If they don’t see me kiss you, they’ll know something is up. Gabriel. Gabriel.” Her eyes pleaded like her life depended on it.

Maybe it did.

The kiss was hot and short. It felt like they shared adrenaline for an instant, and then it was over. When he opened his eyes, Melody was already walking away. Lips still burning, Gabriel realized it wasn’t so bad. He definitely wouldn’t be forgetting his first kiss any time soon.

Street lights flickered on as the sun finished its daily journey - the moon hung in the fading rays of light. He moved to stretch his legs and see about getting back to Alfred’s when an ample red warning appeared in his vision.

An automated voice in his ear started screaming.

WARNING! FORCED RETRIEVAL! WARNING FORCED RETRIEVAL!