Alec awoke to a splitting headache. Sleep had only come to him in starts and spurts last night. When it did get going for a length of time, it subjected him to heart-racing nightmares. He originally planned to play Cyberlinks all day, but with his character effectively finished, he had no intentions of crawling out of bed at a reasonable time today.

But something persisted in keeping Alec awake. He sat up and listened. His home’s AI spoke to him,

“Incoming urgent call.”

“Block it,” Alec croaked. He told work he had off today. The Core Defense Force hired him part-time as a private instructor at Trestle City’s Reserves outpost. He ran their new urban combat program on a strict schedule, mainly so the job didn’t interfere with his missions in Cyberlinks. Or his sleep.

The AI persisted. "The caller is Mila Stanley," said the monotone voice. "She claims to be your body insurance agent from Civitas Mundi."

Alec’s heart pulsed, forcing his mind awake. He heard about Stellar Link's subscription retainment policies. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he reached for his aug-glasses.

"What do you want?" asked Alec.

The face of a woman appeared in the center of his vision. Her brown hair was cut to a chin-length bob that flared out at the ends. Pointed cheekbones contrasted with her small round chin. Only a few lines around her mouth showed that she was a woman who aged extremely well.

"I'm calling to discuss body replacement. You can’t let this string of bad luck keep you down. You’re too skilled for that." Her tone matched her plastic smile.

Alec sat there for a moment, trying to slow his heart-rate. He rubbed at his neck and shoulders as the tension bulged his veins.

"What's it going to cost?"

Mila's smile fell. "You're looking at just over a million for your current genetic configuration."

Burning heat returned to his skin. He had roughly half that amount. "I have nowhere near that. What if we drop the enhancements? What's a stock body gonna run me?" His specialized body gave him an edge as Hound. The ability to track players without raising his tech-signature. Without it, would anyone even give him a contract? Might as well be the death of his character.

"It's not so much the enhancements. It’s the risk to continue insuring you. A stock configured body would still run you 850,000 dollars." Mila forced a frown.

Alec laughed. "I could just buy a body for a fraction of that."

"Yes, but that wouldn't help you rebuild your credit. Four deaths in a 30-day period has sunk you deep. And not just for your body insurance. This will factor into your available missions. Your only chance to rebuild is to get in a new body with continued insurance coverage." The plastic smile returned. "And start completing missions without dying."

Alec's forearms tensed as he made fists. "You know how much cash I have. I can't pull funds from my world to help." He opened his hands and stared at his palms. "It's time to say goodbye to Terry Locke."

Mila's face sank, and it looked genuine. Probably because she might lose a commission. "There is an alternative path we can take." She stared off at something next to the camera. "We rarely offer this to clients as it puts us in a lot of gray areas, but you've been a good client and a hell of a bounty hunter. To lose you would be to lose a city asset." Some warmth came to her face.

"We call it a Reset. All of your Skill ranks will return to zero, and you will forfeit all Certification Points and unlocks.”

Alec stared out the long pane of windows. Mountains towered beyond the cityscape. In between lay a vast landscape of red sand. Sand that constantly attempted reclamation of dilapidated buildings and the squatter's children living in the outskirts. He pictured their dry eyes surrounded by red crusted skin.

The squatter’s presence expanded along the fringes of the city as jobs came and went, clinging to the high-grav zone. How far could he go as a full-time instructor in the Reserves? How long could he stay in this condo when they decided his skills had no use?

"Now what's it going to cost me?"

Mila made a thin line of her lips. "Only 650,000. You have more than enough assets we can claim to cover the difference. You'll be given a new identity and body, along with some low-level assets to make it look like you've been around a while." She tilted her head. "With your advanced skills I'm sure your ranks will return quickly."

"At that point why don't I just ask the admins to create me a new account?"

The smile vanished from Mila's face. "Because then you'll lose your relationship with us. You'd start from complete scratch with none of your prior assets. With a new identity from us, we can help you build new credit faster." The lines of her face hardened. "If you're looking to quit, you might as well give this a shot just to see what happens. You’ve got nothing else to lose."

Fuck. She had a point. "All right. Do it."

Mila grinned. "Thank you." She glanced off again. "We need a few days to set this up and find you a body. With the slow-moving time in your world, that should be today around sundown for you."

"I'll login then. Goodbye"

"I'll personally see you when you get back. Thank you." She cut the connection.

Alec laid back down though he didn’t intend to fall asleep. Maybe his gaming career wasn’t fucked.