Authority got done taxing him, $50,000 ECUs would be the prize of the regional competition. If he went to The City finals, he could win the $10,000,000 ECU prize!
Perhaps a greater investment than a personal trainer was necessary for winning Dream Off competitions? Declan decided to visit the “Vicarium” on Wú Avenue. He knew the operator’s son, Georgie Cavoballo, from a Bok Fu class he used to attend on Tuesdays. The two hadn’t talked for five years, but hectic schedules rather than embitterment kept them apart. Life in The City ironically brought billions of people together, yet it prevented them from investing in each other emotionally. That was the way of things.
Declan had forgotten that Georgie developed into a giant of stature. When he arrived at Vermillo’s Vicarium, he had asked for Georgie by name, and his mouth dropped at the sight of his friend bending down to squeeze through a door frame. As he bowed in greeting, the student could hardly comprehend the shadow of his 7’2” associate.
“It’s good to see you again Georgie!” Declan stared up at the towering figure.
“I’m glad you gave me a call,” the giant responded. “As I’m sure you are aware, the price for a session in a Vicarium is very high, and seeing as we’re friends, I thought we could strike up a mutually beneficial agreement.”
“What could I do in exchange for a discount?” Declan asked as Georgie handed him a clipboard with a waiver he needed to sign.
“I’ll give you an hour long session for free ,” Georgie put emphasis on that last word as only a salesman could, “but you have to let me advertise with you during your upcoming competition. Just wear a Vermillo’s Vicarium T-shirt and we have a deal.”
“Georgie, I knew we were friends for a reason,” Declan smiled back and signed the unread waiver.
***
Vicariums were state of the art facilities, which used holographic technology to such an extent that fiction and reality often blurred beyond recognition. While denizens of The City could experience virtual reality within their own heads, without the need for external stimuli, nothing beat the experience of physically seeing a bizarre world with one’s own eyes. At some point in human history, entertainment shifted away from producing fictions in which the entertained actively participated and imagined to mediums were they passively accepted the narratives presented to them. Declan liked to think that Vicariums were a shift back in the direction of active participation, even if they weren’t as radical as the notion of reading a book with one’s own eyes or playing physical games.
As he stepped into the room to which he was assigned, Declan inhaled in surprise. The room reacted to his history of searches and downloads in his brain’s nanotubes, yet the world it created around him did not match his expectations.
The holographic simulation produced a land for Declan that looked like a sandy desert – an empty environment from the days before The City spread across the face of the globe. Declan had expected a forest or maybe even a clear underwater world to surround him, but a land of dunes and hot sun arose anyway. He had heard that a Vicarium room created the environment that its occupant most wanted to inhabit. How did this barren landscape reflect his desires?
He decided to enjoy it as much as possible. An exercise that helped lucid dreamers involved touching the surfaces around them and reminding themselves that they were awake and not asleep. Declan ran his hand through the simulacra of sand that surrounded him. It was an alien feeling, the minute, course stones running across his palms. Touchable holograms were not a new invention. They had been used in computer interfaces for decades, and The City’s pornography industry relied heavily on this technology. Still, the simulations of the natural world baffled Declan with their realism.
Deciding to make the most of his time, the student took off
Perhaps a greater investment than a personal trainer was necessary for winning Dream Off competitions? Declan decided to visit the “Vicarium” on Wú Avenue. He knew the operator’s son, Georgie Cavoballo, from a Bok Fu class he used to attend on Tuesdays. The two hadn’t talked for five years, but hectic schedules rather than embitterment kept them apart. Life in The City ironically brought billions of people together, yet it prevented them from investing in each other emotionally. That was the way of things.
Declan had forgotten that Georgie developed into a giant of stature. When he arrived at Vermillo’s Vicarium, he had asked for Georgie by name, and his mouth dropped at the sight of his friend bending down to squeeze through a door frame. As he bowed in greeting, the student could hardly comprehend the shadow of his 7’2” associate.
“It’s good to see you again Georgie!” Declan stared up at the towering figure.
“I’m glad you gave me a call,” the giant responded. “As I’m sure you are aware, the price for a session in a Vicarium is very high, and seeing as we’re friends, I thought we could strike up a mutually beneficial agreement.”
“What could I do in exchange for a discount?” Declan asked as Georgie handed him a clipboard with a waiver he needed to sign.
“I’ll give you an hour long session for free ,” Georgie put emphasis on that last word as only a salesman could, “but you have to let me advertise with you during your upcoming competition. Just wear a Vermillo’s Vicarium T-shirt and we have a deal.”
“Georgie, I knew we were friends for a reason,” Declan smiled back and signed the unread waiver.
***
Vicariums were state of the art facilities, which used holographic technology to such an extent that fiction and reality often blurred beyond recognition. While denizens of The City could experience virtual reality within their own heads, without the need for external stimuli, nothing beat the experience of physically seeing a bizarre world with one’s own eyes. At some point in human history, entertainment shifted away from producing fictions in which the entertained actively participated and imagined to mediums were they passively accepted the narratives presented to them. Declan liked to think that Vicariums were a shift back in the direction of active participation, even if they weren’t as radical as the notion of reading a book with one’s own eyes or playing physical games.
As he stepped into the room to which he was assigned, Declan inhaled in surprise. The room reacted to his history of searches and downloads in his brain’s nanotubes, yet the world it created around him did not match his expectations.
The holographic simulation produced a land for Declan that looked like a sandy desert – an empty environment from the days before The City spread across the face of the globe. Declan had expected a forest or maybe even a clear underwater world to surround him, but a land of dunes and hot sun arose anyway. He had heard that a Vicarium room created the environment that its occupant most wanted to inhabit. How did this barren landscape reflect his desires?
He decided to enjoy it as much as possible. An exercise that helped lucid dreamers involved touching the surfaces around them and reminding themselves that they were awake and not asleep. Declan ran his hand through the simulacra of sand that surrounded him. It was an alien feeling, the minute, course stones running across his palms. Touchable holograms were not a new invention. They had been used in computer interfaces for decades, and The City’s pornography industry relied heavily on this technology. Still, the simulations of the natural world baffled Declan with their realism.
Deciding to make the most of his time, the student took off
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