Virtual Life Experience

A plaintive cry came from a thicket to his left. Jason went to investigate. A vaguely rodent looking animal about the size of a house-cat was flailing about, hopelessly tangled in the purple leaf vines. It had bulbous eyes and leathery skin sporting three rows of spines down its back. Two of its six short legs waved ineffectively while the rest were wrapped in vine tendrils.

Jason couldn't make sense of how it could have gotten so badly tangled. It was almost as if the plant had grown around it. Jason shrugged. Regardless, it was a gift wrapped meal. He quickly severed its head with his laser knife and cut the body free from the vines. At first he thought he imagined it, but watching closely he saw that the vines recoiled slightly from the touch of the laser. What's more, the severed ends of the vines that fell to the ground writhed a little before going still. Jason found that just a little unsettling.

The next question was how to cook the thing. Making a fire with the tools he had was simple, but making a sustained fire without anything resembling wood might not be. The leaf litter on the forest floor was flammable, but burned so quickly he couldn't feed the fire fast enough. After some trial and error, he eventually found softball sized hairy seed pods that did the trick. Jason cleaned the entrails from his kill and skewered the carcass on a green stem propped over the fire.

The flesh smelled enticing as it cooked, but the taste and texture was a bit disappointing. It reminded Jason of lamb, but more bland and tough. Still, it was passable and filling. He finished his meal with a chunk of 'aloe' leaf. He sealed the remaining meat in a plastic bag and put it in his pack for later.

He continued on his way toward the blip on his tracking screen that represented Nikki. He had closed the distance by 6 miles by mid-afternoon. He began to get an unsettling feeling like something was following him. He stopped twice, his eyes and ears straining to pick up anything menacing in the underbrush, but he came up empty.

About a mile later, he thought he heard a rustling behind him. He wheeled around quickly, and caught a subtle shifting of the dappled shadows about 60 yards behind him. He stared at the spot until he made out the camouflaged outline of the crouching ridge-back spotted cat, another species he had encountered in vicarious VLE struggles as Nikki. He switched on the gossamer light beams on either side of his laser sword. The device looked a bit like a spear when turned off, with a flat metal center shaft terminating in a triangular tip. When turned on, two hair thin lasers bridged between the underside of the triangle and the hilt, running on either side of the center shaft.

It was time to go on the offensive. Yelling, Jason charged the cat, waving the sword. It came out of its crouch and growled, the stiff hairs along its back standing straight up. It held its ground until Jason got about half-way there, then turned and bolted. It stopped about 100 yards away and turned back, baring its teeth. Jason stopped and the two stared each other down for a moment. Jason pulled out his handgun and set it for a short energy burst. He squeezed off a shot at the animal's flank. The cat leaped in the air, squealing pig-like in surprise and pain and sprinted away. Jason expected that particular cat would think twice before hunting another human.

As the sun began to set on the long day, Jason was surprised to find that he was only a few miles from the blip on his tracker. As luck would have it, Nikki was apparently moving in his direction.

There was a pretty good chance he would find her tomorrow. For now, though, he needed a relatively safe place to bed down. In this world, he wasn't entirely sure what that meant. He really didn't know where the nocturnal threats would come from.

Jason found a particularly dense patch of purple-vine. Where the vines grew out of the ground there was an open space almost big enough for him to stand in. 360 degrees around this point, the vines draped down to the ground. They grew so thickly and were intertwined so tightly that the only passage into this space was to squeeze between the underside of the vines and the dirt. Jason found he could do this, but nothing much bigger than him would be able to follow him. This would seem to present some measure of protection. Jason packed dry leaf litter around the perimeter of the vine cluster. Anything trying to get to him by squeezing under the vines would need to brush the dead leaves aside, likely making enough noise to alert him.

Finally, under this vine canopy, Jason made a campfire using more seed-pods. It was a warm night, so he didn't need the fire for warmth, but he knew most animals feared fire.

It took a while for Jason to settle his mind enough to sleep. He awoke with a start from a frightening dream where serpent-like creatures were constricting him. In horror, he realized that he was bound in vines to the point where he could barely move. How could a plant wrap him up so completely in just a few hours?

He focused all his energy on one hand, but was unable to move it. He tried each limb in turn with no success. He stopped for a moment to gather his wits about him. If he sat still, he could see the vines slowly moving in the predawn light, wrapping themselves further around him. The end of one tendril slowly and inexorably approached his chest. A needle sharp spine came unsheathed between leaflets at the end of the vine. A droplet of milky liquid formed at the tip.

A thick vine was just in front of Jason's face. In a panic, he thrust his head forward and bit down on the vine. The plant reacted, loosening its grip on him a little. He bit down harder and yanked his right hand free. Jason found his laser knife on his belt. Just as he pulled it out and turned it on, he felt a searing pain in his back. He frantically hacked the vines off his limbs and dropped to the ground. The pain in his back intensified, followed by a hot sensation emanating from the point of pain out to the rest of his body. He reached behind him and pulled off the end of the vine that had stabbed him. It came free, but the sharp spine had broken off and was presumably still lodged in his back.

Jason pulled out his laser sword, extended it to full length and energized it. He heard a snarl from beyond his vine cage. Another ridge back cat was watching from outside the purple vine thicket. With just a few swings of the laser sword, he sliced his way free of the vines and advanced on the cat. The animal turned and ran some distance away and stopped to watch him.

Jason felt numbness spreading out to his limbs. The plant had injected him with something toxic. He saw a clearing ahead and began moving toward it. The cat followed at a distance. It knew he was compromised and was just waiting for him to weaken enough to be an easy kill.

He was in deep trouble. He fumbled for his handgun. His fingers seemed incapable of the dexterity necessary to operate it. The gun dropped out of his hands. Jason kept moving toward the clearing and the cat began cautiously closing the gap between them.

By the time Jason broke free of the brush and into the open field, he could no longer feel his feet and hands. He turned to face the cat. It circled him, then sat down about 30 yards away, biding its time. The laser sword dropped from Jason's hands. Jason could no longer turn his head and his vision began to narrow.

Suddenly, the cat looked up and scampered away with a squeal. Jason keeled over on his side, feeling totally numb. There was no panic anymore, he just wondered idly why the cat had departed. A second later, that question was answered when an antoladactyl landed with a thump where the cat had been and fixed his red eyed gaze on the hapless human.

"Great," thought Jason, "the bird chases away the cat to eat the human." Somehow, in his addled state, that seemed vaguely funny to Jason. There was an ear-piercing scream from somewhere off to his right. Jason just caught a flash of something reddish before his sight went black. He was still conscious for a few more seconds and wondered what even fiercer creature was about to eat him instead of the bird or the cat.

Arizona State University, Earth

Aziz caught up with Zack and Mario at the campus coffee shop. "Are you two ready for another round?"

"If you're talking about another VLE party, I'm in," said Mario with enthusiasm.

"That I am. VLE Corp is coming out with an Antola package tonight that they promise has both Jason and Red in it. They're advertising it as 'packed with drama'."

"I can't wait," added Zack.

Two more girls from his dorm, Renee and Olivia as well as another guy, Brock, arrived at the party this time, along with the original six participants.

After some discussion, they decided to keep the scores from the last party and add to them. Mario, Sasha and Marcella were tied for the lead, all having chosen the same option in the first session.

An intriguing set of potential things that could occur were available to vote for on the white board, including "death by wildlife," "Masturbation," "Red and Jason meet" and others. The partiers had a lively conversation choosing score values for each option.

Mario was assigned the third pairing and was matched up with Olivia. Sasha and Zack went first.

The party continued in the living room as the first two participants began their experience. 45 minutes into the hour and a half running time, there was a scream from the bedroom. The rest of the partiers burst into the bedroom to see what was wrong. Sasha staggered out of the booth, her nude body covered with sweat and her face ashen.

"I can't do it. I can't go on."

Someone found her a robe and a glass of wine. After a few minutes, she perked up and returned to her usual outgoing self. When asked what happened, she shuddered and would only say, "It touched on one of my phobias."

Zack emerged a while later, looking sweaty and drained. "Wow. Just fucking wow."

Aziz and Venus emerged after their session looking similarly spent. "That was fucking intense," added Aziz.

It was with some trepidation that Mario entered the bedroom. Olivia was modest and turned her back to Mario to get undressed. In deference to her, Mario did the same, although he did sneak a peek at her bare backside just before she entered the booth. Olivia was a bit chunky, but not unpleasantly so.

As advertised, the session was an emotional roller coaster. He felt pure terror when he found himself immobilized by the purple-vine. The situation intensified by the fact that he was claustrophobic, he came close to calling out the safe word that would end the session as Sasha had. He stuck it out, though, to be rewarded by more heart pounding drama.

When Mario/Jason's vision faded to black, the system announced it was switching to Nikki's experience. Suddenly, Mario/Nikki was charging a great winged beast, sword in hand and screaming in abandon.

It was a hell of a ride, but when the experience was over, Mario was worried that Jason wasn't going to make it.

Mario stumbled out of the booth drained and emotional. Olivia emerged similarly overwhelmed. Her previous modesty forgotten, she hugged Mario. Despite the naked female in his arms, Mario did not get aroused, as his mind was elsewhere.

Antola

Jason's vision cleared before his brain. He was in a dark shadowy place with some lights; green, red and white, some steady and some blinking. Sort of pretty, in a way. Angular shapes, hard 90 degree edges said man-made, not organic. His brain snapped into focus jarringly. He was in his transport pod, strapped in and very much alive. Had he just landed? Had he just experienced some dream fueled by the strange faster than light process of transport? No, it had been too realistic, and besides, he realized this was a different pod, similar to his own, but different.

He tried to move but could only manage to blink his eyes.

The hatch opened and bright light streamed in, the glare temporarily blinding him. Something squeezed in the pod beside him. It was Nikki.

"So, I see your eyes are open now. That's a start I guess. Maybe you'll pull through after all. Then you can tell me why the fuck you were tracking me."

She held out a finger and moved it back and forth in front of him. He tried to follow it with his eyes with limited success.

"I'll be back in a few hours."

Jason must have dozed off. Sometime later he awoke again. He had regained control of his head and most of his upper body.

The pod opened again and Nikki poked her head in.

"If you are an assassin, you are doing a miserable job."

"Assassin?"

"Sure, sent from 'Vile Corp' to off me."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, I figure they've got to be pretty pissed off at me by now. They send me, a 'hardened criminal', out to die spectacularly for the amusement of their bloodthirsty audience, and so far I've manage to stay alive."

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"The last thing VLE Corp wants to do is kill you off. It would be like killing the goose that lays the golden egg. They make millions, maybe billions, off you every day."

"What? Why? How?"

"Dammit Red, you're a fucking superstar. The earth loves you. You have 2 billion adoring fans living your adventures along with you. Every time you kill some nasty beast that's trying to eat you, the world experiences the same adrenalin rush in the safety of their living rooms."

Nikki was silent for a moment. A sly smile crossed her face. "And when I masturbate?"

"Earth experiences the largest fucking simultaneous orgasm ever."

Nikki laughed. "Cool. I figured a few horny guys would watch that part."

"It's more women than men."

"Really? Why are the women watching me? Am I big with the lesbian crowd?"

"Well, you probably are, but that's not the point. Have you forgotten what it's like to reality game?"

Jason had always been under the impression Nikki was pretty bright, but now he wondered. She just didn't seem to grasp the concept.

"I've never done it."

"Wait, really? You've never tried VLE . . . ever?"

"No."

That explained a lot.

"Wow. I didn't think that was possible. Ok, well, it's like this: All your fans on earth, they're not watching you, they're being you. They see what your eyes see and feel what your skin feels. Hence the big following of women when you masturbate. Who better to appreciate the sensations of female self-gratification than a female?"

"Holy shit . . . So when I finger myself, millions of women feel my fingers in their pussies?"

"Yes, and they feel your wet pussy wrapped around their fingers." Jason couldn't help it, he was feeling very aroused.

"My god that's hot. I should masturbate more often."

"Cha-ching! I think VLE Corp just got their money back for sending me here."

"OK, so back to that. Why are you here?"

"Well, the simple answer is I'm a convicted felon like you doing my punishment while improving the scientific knowledge of this remote planet."

"And the real answer?"

"I don't know for sure, but somehow VLE Corp thought it would be more entertaining for you to have some human interaction. I'm pretty certain this is about you, not me."

Nikki was silent for a moment, then said in a quiet, matter-of-fact voice, "They're hoping we'll fuck."

Jason looked at the stunning red-head in front of him. His heart was doing flip-flops and his cock was trying to break out of his pants even though he still couldn't move his legs. She was incredibly hot and here she was nonchalantly discussing the possibility of engaging in sex with him. He couldn't read from her how she felt about the prospect. He also thought she was not entirely on the mark.

"I think they want more than that."

"More?"

"Romance. Love. Hate. They want us to fall in love. Or fight. Probably both. Simple sex would delight the VLE porn crowd, but a more complex relationship would really engage the masses."

Nikki climbed through the hatch and slid down beside Jason. "I'm not making any promises on the rest of that shit, but I could go for the fucking part," she said as she reached out and cupped the bulge in his pants.

He could barely feel her hand and his legs were still completely numb, but his cock seemed to respond on its own. Much as sex with her sounded great, he wished she would hold off until he recovered control of the rest of his body.

"Red, this really isn't fair, I can't even move the lower half of my body yet."

"What . . . you're suggesting I'm taking advantage of you?" She unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock as she spoke. "Because I know a thing or two about being taken advantage of and I wouldn't do that to anyone."

Jason shuddered, thinking about what became of the guy, Logan, who tried to rape Red two days after they arrived on Antola. He had her pinned, but she managed to squirm free. Cornered and enraged, she sliced him completely in two with his own laser sword. Jason also remembered her reaction later, which was revealing of her character. In the heat of the moment, she did what she felt she had to, but she was not a cold blooded killer. She vomited immediately afterward, when wept in despair for days over what she had done.

Jason was always amazed at the sick bastards that ordered the VLE of Logan's last hour. He couldn't imagine why anyone would want to "be" him for that experience, but it was a highly rated package amongst VLE horror junkies.

"Just tell me you don't want this and I will stop," she said as she stroked his cock.

Jason opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped. He really didn't want it like this, but damn did he want it.

"That's what I thought," said Nikki smugly and pulled his pants off.

Nikki peeled off her halter top to reveal her firm breasts, tipped with luscious pink nipples. She grabbed Jason's barely functional hands and brought them up to her breasts. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.

She steered Jason's hands slowly down her tight stomach. She slid her shorts off. Jason took in the vision of her naked body.

"My god, Red, you are magnificent."

She looked wild and feral, with her tousled red curls cascading down over one breast and ending midway down the rippling muscles of her abdomen, honed from the rigors of survival in this wild land.

Her hungry green eyes stared back at him.

Nikki grabbed his cock and straddled him. She ran the head over the length of her slit, up over her clit, causing her to twitch and gasp, then up to the triangle of neatly trimmed red pubic hair. As she brought it back down, she let it slip between the lips.

"Oh fuck," she said and she lowered herself to the hilt on his cock.

Despite his partial numbness, it felt great to be inside her. She put her hands on his shoulders and began rocking her hips.

She locked her eyes onto his as they fucked. The longer she rode him, the more sensation returned to his lower body.

She closed her eyes and bit her lip, whimpering, then moaning, then crying out with each thrust. "Oh god yes!"

They stayed coupled together for a while as their breathing and pulses returned to normal.

"You're a damn good fuck, even if you're still half numb. God how I missed having a hard cock in me."

Nikki climbed off him and got dressed again.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Jason."

Well hello Jason, how are your legs now? Can you get up?"

"I think so, let me try."

With a steadying hand from Nikki, Jason got out of the seat and climbed out of the pod. He was still a bit wobbly, but everything seemed to be working now.

"Are you recovered?"

"Pretty much."

"Good, here's all your gear. It's time for you to go."

"Go?"

"Yes, go . . . as in, get the fuck out of here."