Reality Shift
Isaac jolted awake; the transfer was sudden and jarring, as if he had been drifting off to sleep only to have his body shock itself back into a state of alertness. He found himself sitting in a chair, across from a mirror, with a few wires connected to his temples. The effect was not unlike something from a B-rated horror film, although the chair was a plastic office chair, and the wires were connected instead to a sleek, professional looking machine.
"Weird..." said Isaac, standing up to stare at himself in front of the mirror. "I'm actually using this guy's avatar now. This is so weird. Did I stumble inside one of those awkward body switching sims? They're always so badly written..." Isaac started poking at his new face in the mirror. "And yet, I feel so... I dunno, heavy."
"Hey, Vince, are you... oh, right," said Isaac, realizing Vince was still in the pod room. "Message Exclamation Point Pound Sign Vince." Isaac waited patiently, but nothing happened. "Hey, computer, are you there? Message Exclamation Point Pound Sign Vince!"
"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself. "Computer, Set Exclamation Point Pound Sign Computer Double Equals Debug Underscore Mode."
Isaac began to pace nervously around the room. "This can't be good. I've never run into a situation where the computer has been completely-" He stopped midsentence, when something on the room's computer monitor caught his eye. It looked like a screenshot of an MMO; Isaac had seen a few recreations in his day, although most video games existed as little more than background details in simulations that strived for historical accuracy. There was a chat bar along the bottom, a map at the top right, and a bunch of menu buttons assigned to hotkeys. That wasn't the part that had caught his eye, though. The screen showed Vince, standing in the pod room.
"Oh my God," breathed Isaac, hit with the sudden realization, "I'm outside of the server. I'm in the real world." He looked over at the computer screen, to see how the controls were set up. It seemed less like a game and more like a viewing window because of the way there was no character to control, but the chat bar history still displayed the conversation he and Vince had just had. The cursor was hovering over the chat bar, waiting for input.
"Vince, prepare for deletion," he typed. Isaac laughed as Vince frantically looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice. "Nah, I'm just kidding," he typed. "It's just me, Isaac. You'll never believe what just happened. I think I'm outside of the server, in some guy's body."
"What? No way!" Although Isaac couldn't hear Vince speak, he could read what he was saying by reading the chat log. "I didn't think anyone existed outside of the servers! What's it like?"
"It's... a lot like the reality simulations that old people like to host," admitted Isaac. "Other than a few out of place pieces of technology, it looks like an office room from the nineties. I... actually, I don't know what my name is." Isaac patted his pants, finding a leather wallet in his back pocket. "I guess my name is Trent Summers," he typed, reading what appeared to be a driver's license. "The guy can't be too bad off, if this is his office."
"Unless he was summoned there to be a guinea pig," countered Vince. "It's not like we can find him and ask him. I wonder why he was hooked up, anyway. Are they, like, spying on us? Except, if you're talking into my head, you can probably see me, too..."
"Come to think of it... how they managed to hook him up is probably a better question."
"I agree," said Vince. "What happens now? Maybe when the servers are back online I can try to find him? I feel kinda bad that you're taking control of his life like this... although if he does have power, we're in a lot of trouble if he finds out who took his body out for a spin. Maybe I shouldn't find him..."
A knock at the door broke Isaac's concentration. "Hang on," he typed. "Someone's coming. We'll talk later."
"Hello? Is someone in here?" asked a female voice, through the door. "Oh, hello there," she said, opening the door and finding him sitting at the desk. "Are... are you Trent?"
"Weird..." said Isaac, standing up to stare at himself in front of the mirror. "I'm actually using this guy's avatar now. This is so weird. Did I stumble inside one of those awkward body switching sims? They're always so badly written..." Isaac started poking at his new face in the mirror. "And yet, I feel so... I dunno, heavy."
"Hey, Vince, are you... oh, right," said Isaac, realizing Vince was still in the pod room. "Message Exclamation Point Pound Sign Vince." Isaac waited patiently, but nothing happened. "Hey, computer, are you there? Message Exclamation Point Pound Sign Vince!"
"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself. "Computer, Set Exclamation Point Pound Sign Computer Double Equals Debug Underscore Mode."
Isaac began to pace nervously around the room. "This can't be good. I've never run into a situation where the computer has been completely-" He stopped midsentence, when something on the room's computer monitor caught his eye. It looked like a screenshot of an MMO; Isaac had seen a few recreations in his day, although most video games existed as little more than background details in simulations that strived for historical accuracy. There was a chat bar along the bottom, a map at the top right, and a bunch of menu buttons assigned to hotkeys. That wasn't the part that had caught his eye, though. The screen showed Vince, standing in the pod room.
"Oh my God," breathed Isaac, hit with the sudden realization, "I'm outside of the server. I'm in the real world." He looked over at the computer screen, to see how the controls were set up. It seemed less like a game and more like a viewing window because of the way there was no character to control, but the chat bar history still displayed the conversation he and Vince had just had. The cursor was hovering over the chat bar, waiting for input.
"Vince, prepare for deletion," he typed. Isaac laughed as Vince frantically looked around the room, trying to find the source of the voice. "Nah, I'm just kidding," he typed. "It's just me, Isaac. You'll never believe what just happened. I think I'm outside of the server, in some guy's body."
"What? No way!" Although Isaac couldn't hear Vince speak, he could read what he was saying by reading the chat log. "I didn't think anyone existed outside of the servers! What's it like?"
"It's... a lot like the reality simulations that old people like to host," admitted Isaac. "Other than a few out of place pieces of technology, it looks like an office room from the nineties. I... actually, I don't know what my name is." Isaac patted his pants, finding a leather wallet in his back pocket. "I guess my name is Trent Summers," he typed, reading what appeared to be a driver's license. "The guy can't be too bad off, if this is his office."
"Unless he was summoned there to be a guinea pig," countered Vince. "It's not like we can find him and ask him. I wonder why he was hooked up, anyway. Are they, like, spying on us? Except, if you're talking into my head, you can probably see me, too..."
"Come to think of it... how they managed to hook him up is probably a better question."
"I agree," said Vince. "What happens now? Maybe when the servers are back online I can try to find him? I feel kinda bad that you're taking control of his life like this... although if he does have power, we're in a lot of trouble if he finds out who took his body out for a spin. Maybe I shouldn't find him..."
A knock at the door broke Isaac's concentration. "Hang on," he typed. "Someone's coming. We'll talk later."
"Hello? Is someone in here?" asked a female voice, through the door. "Oh, hello there," she said, opening the door and finding him sitting at the desk. "Are... are you Trent?"