Nancy. I failed her.

Theo stared at the sleeping bodies still locked inside of their new realities. A few of the beds were empty, the participants having woken and moved to the cafeteria for breakfast. He would be permitted to join them as soon as he felt physically ready. Then it would be back to the small conference room to fill out a questionnaire about his experience.

Mostly, Theo was angry. While everything had seemed real at the time, he hated that his entire identity had been stripped away as soon as he had entered the simulation. That wasn't the level of immersion he had wanted. Wasn't he supposed to have gotten a choice? That's what Crystal Fedler had told them before the demo had begun. But Theo hadn't felt like he'd had a choice at all. If he had, he definitely would have spent all of his time looking for Nancy, not traipsing around some stupid mine killing a bunch of noob enemies.

It was a lost opportunity, and Theo couldn't even tell if it was his fault or not. Numbly, he dragged himself to the cafeteria. As he ate, he listened to the excited chatter about how amazing the game had been, but he didn't feel that way at all. Sure, leading a completely different life had been interesting. Many would see it as the best gaming experience ever. But having gone in with a goal and feeling like he had no power over accomplishing it, Theo considered The Realm Online more a prison than an escape. Perhaps his personal interests were getting in the way, but he couldn't help but think that there was something nefarious about the game.

Looking past the fact that he had little control over his location or the course of the story, Theo had a lot of other gripes. It was clear that what he'd gone through had been a tutorial of sorts, yet he felt that there was too much left to ambiguity. How could he have possibly known that he was going to need more sticks than the two he had been sent to collect for torches? Or that his pickaxe was going to run out of durability? Or that he was going to return to his own world whenever he used the Teleportation Pendant? The list went on and on. Hell, he hadn't even been able to finish looting the boss monster before he was sent back. Had he known what was going to happen, he would have stayed in the game much longer.

Not wanting to bring everyone else around him down, Theo kept most of his thoughts to himself. It was clear that the rest of the group was looking for the ultimate escape, and this was it. No one else had gone in even wanting to think about the outside world. Of course, they'd all be satisfied.

It took a while for the remainder of the participants to wake up. Theo had been one of the first, probably because he hadn't taken the time to fully explore his surroundings or kill excess monsters. That was clear by the bragging he heard from those who had reached level 10+. Maybe VRMMOs just weren't his thing. He was too used to fast-paced MOBAs. Perhaps, subconsciously, that's why everything had seemed like it needed to be rushed.

When they all returned to the small conference room, Crystal Fedler was waiting with a look of nervous anticipation. The demo had not gone off without a hitch. Theo wasn't the only one who had endured an unpleasant experience when coming to. The first player who had woken up, a woman in her mid-thirties, hadn't even made it an hour into the demo because she had started freaking out. Ignoring the rules, she'd had a bunch of stimulants throughout the day. The game had done its job to force her into full immersion, but her brain wouldn't accept it, and the tug and pull between the Felote and her consciousness had caused her to have a full-blown panic attack. Understandably not wanting to try again, she had already taken her leave.

"How did you guys like it?" Crystal asked, her eyes hopped from happy face to happy face. When she noticed that Theo wasn't smiling, she quickly passed over him. "It was fun, wasn't it?"

A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd.

"I've been given five minutes to answer your questions. After that, you will be required to fill out a questionnaire. Now," Crystal clasped her hands together, "is there anything you'd like to ask about your experience or the future of The Realm Online?"

Almost every person in the room shot their arm into the sky. Theo groaned internally at his competition. With so many people wanting to ask questions and only five minutes to get answers, the odds of her picking him before the window of opportunity closed was slim.

Not surprisingly, the first person she chose was one of the investors. Also not surprisingly, his question had nothing to do with the gameplay itself. He asked about the anticipated release day for The Realm Online and projected sales for the first year.

"We don't have a solid release date planned yet," Crystal told him. "You guys are the first outside group ever to test the functionality of the game. We will take your feedback and the data we gathered and be making changes accordingly. Having said that, we are currently unable to project sales for the first year, though I can tell you that it will be in the billions."

A collective excited gasp erupted from the investors in the room. While the answer wasn't specific, it clearly pleased them.

People flailed their hands in the air when Crystal asked if there were any more questions. By the way that everyone kept glancing down at their wrist comps, it was apparent that they were counting down the time until she would leave, desperately wanting answers before then.

The next opportunity was given to a younger investor. Theo remembered him from the cafeteria as one of the participants who had managed to reach level 10. "I think that everyone here would agree with me that the game mechanics are very lifelike. I played as a human ranger, and I just so happen to have archery experience in real life."

Get on with it, Theo thought impatiently. Time is wasting.

"My question is, will skills within The Realm Online translate into real life. For instance, if I had never shot a bow before, but I learned how to do it inside The Realm, would I also be able to use that skill in real life."

"The answer to this is two-fold," Crystal began.

No. No. No long answers. Just yes or no, please. Of course, it wouldn't be that quick.

"Radical Interactive has strived to make every real-world skill as realistic as possible. As you all know, many other games currently on the market have done this as well. The problem with practical application remains the same. You are using the skill inside of your mind which means that your muscles are not being trained." She paused for a moment to think. "I suppose what I'm trying to say is that you will never become a master swordsman simply from playing. The knowledge of the techniques that you learn inside the game can be brought into the real world. The stances. The way you should move your body. But you would need to practice with an actual weapon to become proficient."

"So the medical technology contained within the Felote adds no benefit to learning such skills in real life?" The man followed up his question with another which pissed Theo off and probably everyone else in the room who was still waiting to ask theirs.

"Not entirely." Crystal cocked her head to the side. "One of the medical benefits that the Felote provides is that it helps boost memory retention. This quality is unique to the Felote. With that said, theoretically, the odds of you mastering a skill that you learned inside The Realm Online faster than you would playing other games is certainly possible."

"But it hasn't been tested yet?" the man added.

Fuck's sake.

"No, it hasn't been tested yet. Not on that application," Crystal admitted. As if fearing he would ask something else, she turned her attention away from him. "I have time for one more question."

Please let it be me. Please let it be me. Now Theo was one of the people frantically waving his hand in the air. He was so desperate that he was rising from his seat to gain height on everyone else.

Crystal ignored him in lieu of one of the few women in the room.

"You spoke about avatar customization and selecting a level of immersion, but I do not feel that I was able to do either. When I arrived in The Realm Online, my avatar's physical features were set. There were no screens to make selections. I was provided with a single choice, and my brain seemed....programmed, for lack of a better word, to just accept it without question." She seemed to be struggling to word what she wanted to say. "What was up with that?"

At least this was one of the questions that Theo would have wanted to ask. Still, it didn't satisfy what he truly needed to know.

"The representation of your character comes from your subconscious mind. For this demo, we matched you with a race, and your brain produced a reflection based on what you would want to look like as that race. All changes to the base avatar are made instantaneously so that you immediately recognize it as you. If there was something about your reflection that you didn't like, it would change before you could register it. The technology behind how this happens is rather complex, but I assure you that your avatar turned out just as you wanted it to."

The woman hesitated, "I was fine with how my avatar looked. I suppose I'm just used to other games where you spend an hour tweaking every little aspect to perfection. To stand in front of a mirror and see, what you say is, exactly what I wanted...it's a foreign concept to me. I'm still having trouble wrapping my brain around the idea."

There was a murmur of agreement from the room. Even Theo thought it odd. He couldn't have ever imagined before how he would have envisioned himself as a dwarf. The likeliness was similar enough. Certainly, he wasn't displeased with how he had looked. Yet he was still curious if he would have been able to see other options, would he have chosen the same avatar. Crystal's answer seemed like a cop-out. It was hard to believe that the game could delve that deeply into the brain—that the immersion was so complex. Though, everything else he had experienced had undoubtedly pointed in that direction. Never had he ever played a game where he had lost his real identity before.

"As far as immersion goes, that is also something that you subconsciously decide, and it can change every time you play. For instance, one day you might be in a hardcore gaming mood where you want to feel every ounce of pain that The Realm Online has to throw at you. Another day, you might want something a bit more leisurely where pain barely registers at all."

"Perhaps I'm confused about what you meant by immersion," the woman continued. "I was referring to the fact that I couldn't even tell it was a game at all. I was unaware of this outside world." She gestured around her.

"Ah." Crystal smiled. "Well, isn't that the point of playing games?"

"I mean—" the woman began to speak again, but Crystal quickly cut her off.

"I'm sorry, but that's all I have time for today. If you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to leave them in the space provided at the end of the questionnaire. You should be able to access it from your wrist comp now. Thank you all for participating in this demo. Your feedback is very valuable to us." She bowed her head in appreciation, then made for the door at a quick pace.

Panic raced through Theo as fast as Crystal's footsteps. Within seconds, she'd be gone. He could ask one of the other staff members his question, but he doubted any of them would know the answer. She was the main representative for this demo, charged with speaking to investors and other important people in the game industry. It just made sense that she would have insider information about Radical Interactive.

Words blurted from Theo's mouth without restraint, rising above the soft conversation that had enveloped the room as soon as Crystal had announced her departure. "What about the secret version of The Realm that Radical Interactive has been working on? The one for coma patients. At any time during the demo, did we have access to that version?"

All eyes flew to Theo, and confusion littered the expressions of the participants.

Crystal stopped, glancing back at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Then like that, she was gone.

He wanted to run after her, but he was bombarded by questions from the other participants. Theo knew better than to talk. What he had just blurted out was classified information. Hopefully, his words wouldn't have serious repercussions.

Playing it off as a rumor that probably wasn't true, Theo quickly delved into his questionnaire to get everyone off of his back. The room quieted down, and the rest of the participants got to work giving their feedback.

Theo scowled at the digital form, feeling like he'd accomplished nothing. This entire experience had been a waste of his time. Blowing out a breath of frustration, Theo raced through the questionnaire. Most of the questions were standard. One asked if the player preferred instant subconscious customization over the old style of character customization that took forever. Another asked if players preferred for spells(which had been called abilities in his version of the demo), to be bought or earned with experience. Basically, what aspects of the gameplay did the player like and not like. How intense was the immersion? Did they feel like they had received enough guidance through the tutorial?

The very last question asked if he would buy the game when it came out. Theo had fully expected to receive a free copy for his efforts. Perhaps that was a little presumptuous though. As a professional gamer, companies often sent him pre-release versions of their games. He had close to a hundred on his account that he hadn't even touched yet. Whatever the case, it looked like Radical Interactive wouldn't be so generous. Theo had half a mind to tick the no box, but he didn't want to be excluded from any future demo opportunities. Grudgingly, he placed an x in the yes box and moved on to the space at the end of the questionnaire where he could leave his comments.

Theo spent a good thirty minutes typing in his gripes—gripes that most other players would probably say were the game's strengths. It was difficult for him to think about it objectively. He typed so much that he ran out of space. Apparently, a 3,000-word limit wasn't enough.

Participants were excused when they finished the questionnaire. The urge to poke around the facility was strong, but Theo was no detective. Hell, if the detective he had hired couldn't find anything out about Nancy, then why should he be able to?

Feeling utterly defeated, Theo submitted his questionnaire and trudged out of the room. As he was leaving the building, he saw Crystal walking toward her car. With a spark of hope reignited inside of him, Theo took off at a run, catching up just as she was opening the door. Hopefully, she wouldn't slam it in his face.

"Hey!" he said to get her attention.

Seeming disturbed, she glanced up at him. "Oh, hi." Enthusiasm didn't reach her eyes or her voice.

"Sorry about the disturbance in there." Theo thumbed back toward the building.

Crystal's mouth opened as if she was about to speak, but she said nothing. Then she glanced into her car. The interruption clearly made her uncomfortable.

He placed his arm on her door so that she couldn't close it. "I know this is sudden, but I was wondering if you'd like to go out for lunch." What time was it? "Breakfast," Theo quickly corrected himself. Hadn't they already had breakfast? He had, at least, and it was definitely closer to noon. "Lunch," he corrected himself again.

"I'm sorry, but no." There was a touch of amusement tinted with rudeness in her tone.

"Hey, listen," he firmed his grip on the door as she slid into her car, "I really need to know something." Theo's eyes shifted from side to side, making sure that no one was within earshot.

"Whatever you need to know, you'll find out whenever The Realm Online is released." It was now abundantly clear that she was annoyed with him. Crystal grabbed the door handle and tried to close it, but Theo didn't budge.

"My best friend... I think she's trapped in The Realm. She was in a car accident and is in a coma. If you have any information..." Desperation filled his voice.

Her hand went limp on the door handle, and she gave him a brief look of sympathy. "I'm sorry about your friend, but I truly don't know what you're talking about."

"I know it's confidential information," he said before she had a chance to try to shut the door on him again. "We can pretend that this conversation never happened. But I need to know. I need to know if The Realm can save her." It was a lie. All Theo wanted was to know if the rumor was true. Was Nancy Shelton trapped inside of The Realm?

Crystal's jaw set as her features hardened. Her gaze fell to the floor for a moment, then she looked back up at him. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

This time, she used enough force to jerk the door out of Theo's hand. He heard the door locks firmly click into place. She didn't even look at him as the car's autopilot kicked in to back out of the space and drive away.

As he watched the car turn out of the parking lot and disappear in a line of traffic, he analyzed the brief conversation. It had been tense and uncomfortable. Crystal had been too curt. Shutting him down. Avoiding the question. Maybe she didn't really know the answer, but he felt like she did. She was hiding something. All of Radical Interactive was. And Theo refused to stop searching until he found out exactly what they had done with Nancy Shelton.

THE END...or is it?

Want to find out what happened to Nancy Shelton?

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