As his mind raced with possibilities, he dropped to his knees and started digging through the sheets. He found the small data chip buried under a few and then he also found the hidden compartment at the back of the white raven folder. Heart racing, he inserted the chip into the VR device. He held his breath as the thing booted up and cleared the systems check, lighting up in green to indicate it was ready for use. Judging by the list of configurations, the Virtual Reality he was about to enter was of the advanced type.
In an adrenaline-fueled frenzy, Aiden sat on the floor with his back against the desk’s side and put the set on, diving headfirst into the unknown.
“Hello!”
Aiden tried to open his eyes, but bright light immediately blinded him. He shoved a hand in front of his face to block it out before trying again.
“Are you okaaay, mister?” a kid’s voice chirped over a friendly snicker, its owner positioning herself between Aiden and the light.
Pleasant warmth like that on a spring day caressed his arm. He let it drop to the side of his body and squinted at the girl. She looked no older than ten and raven-black curls cascaded over her shoulders in layered waves, their gleam of dark blue matching her curious eyes. She wore a red cap and a frilly red dress with too many ribbons to count and held a massive bouquet of lotuses with both hands.
“Well?” she prompted, scrunching her forehead.
Aiden took inventory of himself, finding nothing amiss. “Ye-yeah. I’m fine.”
“Then how long are you going to lie there for?” she scolded him. The frown lines left her face as it lit up with a heartfelt smile, which sort of ruined her effort to appear stern. “C’mon. Let’s have tea!”
Tea?
Still disoriented, Aiden let the girl’s small hand pull him into a sitting position, realizing in the process that the softness he felt under him was grass. Grazing it with his free hand, he looked around.
The sun was high in the cloudless sky, warm and welcoming. A crystal-clear lake shimmered at the bottom of the hill, and beyond it, a lush forest with a heavy canopy sprawled across the horizon. Birdsong and the buzz of insects reached his ears while the air carried the aroma of chamomile tea. He closed his eyes and let his brain take in the realness of this virtual world that felt and looked so much like the real deal. When some of the confusion left him, he met the girl’s smiling eyes.
“What is this place based on?” He took her offered hand once again.
“This is my home,” she said with pride, and pointed behind him.
When Aiden turned around, he found a beautiful mansion looming over them from the top of the hill. It had an angular layout, with protruding modern-looking second floor sections and a marble foundation. White lace and silks billowed from its windows, dancing at the hands of the soft breeze he could feel caress his cheeks.
He’d experienced texture to a degree at some of the high-end VR places, but temperature and smell were next level.
“Well? Are you coming?” the girl insisted, spinning in place to showcase her dress.
“Lead the way.”
She took Aiden to a field with daisies on the left of the house. From there, they followed a path to the back, where a small wooden gazebo was situated near a pond with lotuses and lilies. She put the bouquet in a vase and sat on the gazebo’s bench, scooting in next to a giant teddy bear. Then she started pouring tea from a porcelain set while Aiden sat down across from her.
“Your home is very nice,” he said, accepting the cup and biscuit she handed him. He took a sip and wasn’t surprised at the tasteless VR tea. The aroma was intriguing though—as was this fake world—considering VR technology wasn’t this advanced yet. At least, officially.
“Thank you.” The girl grinned another radiating smile, biscuit crumbles raining from her mouth as she squinted at him. “Aiden Kesley!”
“I see you identified me. And who might you be?” he asked the AI behind this impressive rendition of a human girl. He couldn’t pinpoint the exact place the VR was representing, but it was based on something on Earth.
“I’m Sara Valrais. You might’ve heard of me!” the girl chirped.
Aiden studied her face again, then her dress. He’d never heard the name and he definitely didn’t recognize her. Could she be… a commercial AI model that got scrapped? It happened often enough, though her range of expressions and her ability to maintain a natural flow of conversation weren’t something most mainstream AI-controlled systems were capable of just yet. They were good, yes, but notthisgood.
“I’m afraid I don’t know who you are.”
Her delicate features clouded as her shoulders slumped down. “Then the bad guys have won.”
Aiden gaped at her.Why would she say something like that?“Thebad guys?”
“The ones that came for me and my mommy and daddy.”
Aiden put the cup down, frowning at her despite his still ongoing headache. Was her coding faulty? Given the pleasant setting, it was strange for an AI which had takenon the role of a kid to say something like this. Unless he’d misunderstood…
Carefully, he said, “Are you saying that you were… killed?”
