Slowly a figure materialized before me. The form solidified into that of a six foot plus tall man with a thick frame. Muscular arms and shoulders, with a fantastic six-pack tapering down to a pair of white manties. Manties being those very sexy tighty whities of days gone by. His skin tone was slightly olive but had a natural tanned appearance. My gaze lowered to the bulging thighs and calves.

“Good lord, who needs a game when I can just stand here and stare at you.” I muttered.

“Jay, my appearance has been set to a form consistent with data and images from your memories.” His voice was a bit hollow, missing the inflections that all people inherently had when speaking.

“I don’t remember you?” Ugh, I thought to myself, Alzheimer’s… must be. I need to get checked right away. If this man is from my past, I desperately want to remember.

“To clarify for you, memories include dreams, pictures, any visual representation that is found by the system.” His lips twitched. Was that a hint of humor?

“I see. Well, I’m glad I’m not losing my mind then. So you are just a construct this vr system pulled out of my mental depths, eh?”

“Yes, Jay.” Assistant said. “Would you care to name me at this time or move on?”

“Oh, I think I’ll name you, and keep you, and pet you, and love you. I will call you George.”

Crystalline blue eyes blinked rapidly, “Name accepted. Please call me George.”

I laughed to myself, “Well, give yourself red hair then and, could you please put some clothes on. I’m afraid the way you look is a bit too tempting for my old heart.”

Suddenly his dark hair turned a deep red, appealing to my Celtic heritage. Black pants and a long sleeve shirt covered his form. I sighed, it was definitely a nice view, but I wasn’t here just to get my rocks off.

“Right then, George, my boy.” I rubbed my hands together, pleased no aching pops resulted. “Give me the details, what is your purpose and where are we and most importantly, how do I enter my new game!”

He smiled, “My purpose is to provide answers to your questions, to aid you in getting started within the Esoteria game system and to provide companionship for respawn should you not wish to leave the capsule during the wait time.”

“Do you join me in the game?”

“No, while you can have companions, pets, or other assorted AI interactions within the game, my location is set to your home location only and can only indirectly interface within your character related data within Esoteria.”

“I see.” I said. “What exactly do I do with my home here?”

“You are able to increase size and decorate to your tastes. If you have other VR modules or applications that interface with this VR pod the access to those will also be found here. As you can see, there is currently a bookshelf which holds a medical bag, when you focused on the bag earlier it opened the application menu for you.”

“Ok then, how do I decorate?”

“Since the system is synced to your brain waves and patterns, simply desire or think upon your home decoration menu and the interface should appear to you. Alternatively, some users prefer to use voice commands, if that is your preferred method, state, ‘Decoration Menu Open’.”

After concentrating a moment, a translucent screen appeared in the air before me. There were tabs indicating furniture, decorations, ambiance, etc. I flipped through them, noticing most of the options were greyed out. Before I could voice my question, George spoke.

“Currently, you only have a limited amount of gratis selections to use in your home. During game play you will earn in-game currency which can be used here in the home to purchase decorations. Additionally, some items within the game are considered non-ability affecting. These items have no value other than what the users place upon them and do not impact game-play in any way. They can be used for decoration within game or here in your home.”

“How would I use them as decoration in the game?” I asked.

“Within Esoteria you will have the opportunity to own land and buildings, some players may choose to never adventure or quest among the lands and instead stay in one location and work toward their own community and crafting.”

I nodded and selected the free rug, couch and coffee table that were active icons. Then closed the window. They were plain brown and an unidentifiable texture, but they worked for now. While the avatar I was in appeared youthful, my mind was still that of an older, arthritic woman and I sank into the cushions of the couch.

“Would you like to download the general getting-started guide to review prior to continuing?” George asked.

“Eh? What? Heavens no. That might ruin any surprises. Reading directions is for men.” I laughed to myself. “So let’s get started, shall we?”