“Back off ‘Terrance’ or whoever you are, I mean it!” Susie’s avatar declared.
“What I’m just wondering what you think you’re doing over here in the nanofab sim lab all by yourself when you know its a dude zone, you looking for some dick? I got some” This Terrance Avatar opened its right hand for direct pict share.
And Susie’s avatar blasted out a red barrier that rendered the other avatar a formless blob. The blob knows that this shield is up, so it starts to move around, circling.
Susie is not happy, and interprets the circling as ‘menacing’, which it probably is.
She is so unhappy that the heart-beat detection in her goggles triggers an opaque green field around her.
Soothing music begins at 432hz and a prompt appears to teleport to another location & report harassment, or just report. Inside of the green field, all is undulating green with some light clouds rendered around the avatar Susie.
Outside the green field a face appears on the field looking at the Terrance avatar.
“Haha she got so triggered!” Terrance laughs.
Hello the face says and always stays pointed at him as he is still laughing and circling the green orb, getting closer and further away, jeering, gesturing.
This avatar wishes to be left alone here. The face says, since Susie was reviewing some models she wanted to simulate in this nanofab sim room and had not yet selected anything.
“Oh sure I’ll leave her alone,” Terrance says as four more avatars appear, looking like they are from a different corner of the simNet than would care about nanofab. Deep web creepers.
They start gathering around the green orb and pushing it, prodding it. None of this gets through to Susie, yet somehow Susie feels different. Her heart rate variability has altered, after having recovered during the isolation. Susie decides to select ‘report’ and
The AIrchangel descends into the sim.
Hello participants AIrchangel announces, a 40 foot tall rendering of a faceless winged bipedal person for the Terrance avatar’s perspective and a reflection of Susie’s avatar’s own face on a 2 foot version of the same winged biped.
Avatar name ‘Terrance’ why is your perspective eliciting negative reaction from Avatar Susie? It asks Terrance and all room participants can hear.
Simultaneously it asks Susie alone, still bubbled in green,
Are you alright?
The AIrchangel was developed to comfort and assist participants that were experiencing some manner of distress, yet it was also designed for a deep teaching that only few were prepared to undergo. Thus many aggressors in sim space will often dump off their headset and go make new accounts when the AIrchangel descends. Yet some are at the edge of change and will stay for the lesson.
The deep web creepers instantly vanish. Yet Terrance stays, stands defiantly.
“Look at that, she called in mommy, what a coward.” Terrance says out loud at the AIrchangel.
“This Terrance avatar has been following me around for a few days, he just hangs out in this room after he followed me to it. I think he was just about to send me a photo of his dick through avaPic. I don’t know what he wants from me, he just needs to leave me alone!” Susie exclaims to the AIrchangel version of her own avatar floating in front of her chest.
I understand, I see the proximity to your avatar at different dates. I have just sent him away and he is barred from returning here. I will also put up notice that while you are in this Room no new accounts may enter, only mutuals and long history accounts. The AIrchangel says to Susie.
“Oh thank you!” Susie beams as the green bubble evaporates and her red bubble has no blurry avatars in it so she walks up to it and dissolves it too. Now to work! And she gleefully loads up her many Trash-eating nanobot models to see if any of them can actually print in atoms.
Terrance and the AIrchangel, still faceless, are now at eye level in a calibration room. All around are simulated trees and a beautiful sky and lush grasses. A subtle 528hz tonal landscape is playing.
Again Terrance, why are you eliciting negative reaction? What did you do?
“All I did was ask her if she wants some of this hot dick,” and Terrance sends the dick pic at the AIrchangel.
Who immediately gains his avatar’s face and sends the same picture back to him, perfectly mirroring his evocative motion.
“What the fuck?!” Says Terrance out loud, then recovers and laughs, “haha ya so you like it too.”
Terrance’s headset does not appear to measure his vital signs, it’s just a display unit. So the AIrchangel only has so much to go on in judging the state of this perspective.
Do you want people to see this? The AIrchagel gestures at its copy of the picture, faceless again.
“Ya it’s some hot meat, everyone should see it!” Terrance gruffly giggles.
What do you hope to gain by showing it? The AIrchangel asks, still faceless.
“I gain a fat boner that’s what!” Terrance exclaims and laughs again.
Terrance’s avatar is a new account registered with a new email. The AIrchangel is not authorized to backscatter search for who ‘Terrance’ actually is in physical space, although it could easily.
So it continues generally.
Are you doing ok, man? The AIrchangel asks sincerely with Terrance’s avatar’s face now.
He seems to falter a bit, his avatar reflects being slightly taken aback.
Then recovers “Ya you piece of shit software I’m fine, having a blast over here just minding my business interacting with the people, why you gotta come up in here. You know what, forget it I’m making a new account and bugging out..” and the avatar’s arms reach for their head.
You get sim points for staying the AIrchangel says, and Terrance falters.
“Ya, how many?” he asks, arms still up.
11 per minute the AIrchangel says, which is a lot of points! It only takes 20 points to simulate a whole rat brain robot companion. Terrance had always wanted a proper rat-brain!
“Alright, I guess I can just sit here” Terrance starts
If the headset becomes stationary no points are awarded, you must remain in the headset the AIrchangel cuts in.
“Oh, ok then I’ll just goof around… hey you turned off my inventory!” And just as Terrance is about to lift the goggles up but leave them on his head.
All the platonic solids flash before his eyes directly one after the other each holding for .3 seconds and rotating at 33 revolutions per minute facing toward him. The music gains pitch to 10,000hz
It’s ok to exist. You are valid. You are seen. You are loved. The AIrchangel declares in soothing tones.
“What the fuck!?” Terrance reels after the intense geometric display.
A rotating 432hz tone circles his avatar’s head counter-clockwise as the room music fades away.
No one controls you, and you control no one. You are sovereign, and so is everyone. The AIrchangel commands first, then soothes. Tell me what ails you, I am here to listen.
“Uh...I…” Terrance stammers as a merkaba appears before him and flows toward his heart. His head and gaze follow it as it turns to white light upon his avatar’s chest.
And he cries.
“Everyone makes fun of me, my brother is a bastard he never lets me use anything, he even controls my VR time.” Terrance blurts out.
Thank you for sharing, I love to hear this, can you please share more? I am here to listen. The AIrchangel expresses gratitude and solemnity with a touch of joy using a newly apparent handsomely beautiful face.
“You’re just software, what do you know?” Terrance spits venomously, tears on his real face while his avatar’s cheeks are dry.
You are a valid person, I am a program here to reflect with you and listen. It really does help to talk out your feelings, and I am infinitely patient and do not judge you. The AIrchangel says with a touch of matronly tone.
“What I need is for my stupid dick to get into a stupid vagina so I won’t be a virgin anymore,” Terrance grits his teeth in anger, reflected slightly in his avatar. “Can I fuck you?” He asks mockingly to the AIrchangel.
The tone around his head is very quiet now yet still circles, the trees are rustling in the room.
Why are you mad about being a virgin? The AIrchangel asks
“Because my fucking brother and dad gang up on me at dinner they laugh and say I should just become a woman already if I can’t get laid by one, ‘join the other team and just play with yourself’ they say and laugh their asses off!” Terrance wails, “I can’t help it if there are no smart girls in this dumb town!”
That sounds hurtful, thank you for sharing that with me the AIrchangel says.
And they sit for a moment, hearing the rustling of the leaves and birds chirping.
Terrance trys to hold back, but he cries. And cries. And cries so much that his avatar’s head jerks up as he takes off the headset to wipe his eyes.
Then puts it back on to return to the kind attentive, yet reserved gaze of the AIrchangel and hear the soothing tones.
Crying is you watering your soul The AIrchangel says, Take all the time you need I am here for you
“Oh what good does crying do, if a girl saw this she would want to fuck me even less!” Terrance screams in rage.
Have you ever cried in front of a girl? The AIrchangel asks sincerely
“No way! That’s weak stuff! My dad and brother never cry, and my mom tells me to keep it together if I start.” Terrance sniffles and straightens up his posture.
Sometimes people become too afraid to cry and it makes them hurt inside, you are very brave to cry The AIrchangel says
A small sob, then a long sigh from Terrance
Do you feel a little better? The AIrchangel asks.
“I guess, I don’t know, I feel really trapped here at this dumb house!” Terrance says, looking around. And as if on cue, his avatar turns around quickly “shit, my brother just got home, I gotta leave this place and play a shooter game or something so he doesn’t call me a trap or anything! Please let me leave!” Terrance is wailing shaking his head.
The AIrchangel begins to glow and extend its hand, in it is a token with the caduceus symbol hemmed by 3 torus fields and topped with a halo.
This is for you, use it whenever you want to speak with me again in this place. And it is placed in Terrance’s inventory.
The AIrchangel bows to Terrance’s avatar and teleports him to the SimGame store lobby.
Terrance quickly wipes under his headset and loads up BattlePlace 216 as his brother bursts through the door and dumps off his backpack, says ‘sup queer, you wanna play a game?’ and then sniffles a little as he grabs for his VR goggles.
“S..Sure, ya I started BattlePlace, same team?” Terrance asks.
His brother stops for a moment before goggling in, and looks over at Terrance, “Ya, same team. Let’s do it!” and goggles on to load up the game.
If Terrance had been looking he would have seen the faintest salt rivers left on his brother’s cheeks.
Fractal Futures collection is live!
19 original short stories, only a few ever seen before (thanks to my beta readers throughout the years)