by Isaac Stone
“Why you leave?” she screamed from the watch.
The wolves leaped at me. Their mouths were full of blood and they were on me in seconds.
I shot up in the seat of the couch and trembled. My hands shook as I drank more water from my cup. At least that one was a dream and I didn’t have to worry if I was really back in the old asylum. The pain in my head was gone, but my whole body shook from the intensity of the dream.
Maybe it was guilt. Even for leaving a woman who didn’t exist. Guilt was an emotion and didn’t have a rational basis to it. Yes sir, full blown VR-PTSD and I was the index case.
I returned to the box and tried to find more out about Hans. Most of what was in it were personal effects no one would need. Pens. Pencils. Empty medicine bottles. Plenty of paperback books of action novels from the 80’s. These were all authors I didn’t know, but there might be something in common to them all. My favorite was a design manual for one of the original moon suits. Hans wasn’t around when that project was in full swing, but he’d picked up a spare copy when he worked for NASA. It was hard to imagine the frail man I visited at the rest home as a fearless explorer of space. The manual was full of hand-written notes, so it was a subject he loved. I needed to find out who remembered him at NASA, but that would cost money I didn’t have at the moment.
I sifted through the rest of the box before I closed it. Nothing obvious in there that would tell you why he’d saved some old diagrams and manuals from NASA. None of the material was even classified. The only thing odd was the division that didn’t seem to exist. I couldn’t even find information on it from the conspiracy websites.
A few days later, I found out some more news about Sandstone Gems. They announced the company had solved a few of the problems with the VR prototype chamber and were ready to start production on them once they had the preliminary testing finished. After what happened to me, I was very interested in what they were up to with this project. If they had it “solved”, it meant the issues I continued to have when I slipped between the different realities could be fixed. They didn’t happen that often, but often enough to make me know it wasn’t going to go away.
I’d talked to the psych doctor several times about what happened, always keeping the reference points to myself. I told him I would have visions of a forest in the mountains several times a week and I didn’t know what caused them. By now, I’d taken to public transportation to get around. I wasn’t about to risk being behind the wheel of a car when one of them hit.
“We can schedule you some brain scans,” he told me. “There are many reasons this could be triggered and I’ll recommend some tests.” He wrote me prescriptions for powerful hypnotics if I felt the onset of the head pain.
They couldn’t find a reason why I had the head pains.
My scans appeared normal and all the physical tests failed to find a reason for my phase shift. I’d never played with psychedelic drugs, so that wasn’t an issue. All of this was paid by my agreement with Sandstone Gems.
Sandstone issued several press releases over the next few days. Each one made bigger promises than the one before it. The VR chambers would be installed in special game centers administered by the company and people could experience the full effects of virtual reality for a nominal fee. They issued photographs of ordinary people fighting dragons, walking at the bottom of the sea, or on a spaceship. None of them featured the Wolf Mountain scenario.
I was concerned why they pushed this new VR system on the public. What would happen if thousands of people had the same problems I experienced? Society couldn’t function if people were afraid to leave their house due to phase shift issues. The doctors couldn’t even find a cause for my condition and Sandstone Gems wanted to make this technology available to the public? It was insane.
I decided to risk my settlement with the company and make contact. I knew they were aware of my frequent trips to the psych doctor. They couldn’t shove this system on an unsuspecting public.
21
It took me awhile, but I was able to get Jack on the phone after a few false starts.
“What is it Vince?” he said to me. I could hear children in the background. I’d called him at home and didn’t know if the line was monitored, but the work one would be tapped.
“I need to talk to you about the work you’re doing on the new VR system,” I told him. “Have you solved all the problems you had with the one you used on me?”
“We’ve got them under control,” he told me. “No, we don’t know what went wrong with your scenario, but you were the only subject who had issues. Everyone is doing just fine. Are you visiting the psychiatrist we pay for, Vince?”
“I see him often enough. Don’t you get the reports?”
“Not my division. What’s wrong?”
“I’m shifting between realities. One moment I’m sitting on the couch, the next I’m in front of the abandoned asylum on Wolf Mountain. Hasn’t anyone told you what’s happening to me?”
“Like I said, not my department. What do your doctors say?”
“They can’t figure it out. Nothing shows up on the tests. They’ve suggested it might be a mental condition.”
“Perhaps they’re right. I’m sorry we rushed you into that chamber without the proper tests, but we’ve found ways to screen for whatever caused your problem. We needed to get the ball rolling at the time. As it was, the project was almost canceled and all of us would have hit the unemployment line.”
I decided to reason with him another way. There was always a way to get through to people.
“I’m willing to come up and serve as a test subject again,” I offered. “You send me the tickets and I will arrange it. I can’t drive right now, but we can work out something.”
“No,” he responded abruptly. “I can’t do that. We can’t put you inside one of those machines again. We almost lost you last time, this might be worse. I’ve told you, the company will pay anything it can for your medical care. We are very sorry what happened, but you were eager to take part in this test and we have signed papers. So be happy for what you get.”
“What I’m getting is insanity. I can’t continue like this, Jack. One of these days, I’ll phase shift and won’t be able to leave Wolf Mountain. How will that make your princely company look?”
“We’ll deal with it, we always do. For your information, we’re going to erase that entire scenario next week. No trace of it will remain.”
I cut the connection to him and slammed the phone down on the table. So they didn’t know what caused my condition or why I nearly died as I was taken out of the chamber. What about the failure they’d told me about? It sounded like they were ready to write it off as a one-time problem.
I don’t know if it was from the stress of my conversation or what, but my head began to hurt again. I took another painkiller and sat down on the couch. I could smell chocolate, which was a clear sign the phase shift was about to begin. By now, I knew what to expect, so I could ride it out without any danger. The key was to be in a place where I wouldn’t be disturbed.
The apartment faded and turned into the bootlegger’s camp once again. I always ended up inside the camp and faced the huts. As always, the sun was in the sky and the birds sang. The air was warm and I could smell the honeysuckle in the forest this time. I stood in place and watched a cloud of bees circle around me. They might be able to sting, but I didn’t want to find out.
“Hello, Vince,” a voice said to me and turned to see the tall form of Howard who stood next to me. “Nice to see you today.”
“What are you doing here, Howard,” I asked him. “How did you recognize me?” As before, the phase shift didn’t give me the he-man body I’d played in the pulp adventure game.
“Son,” he said to me, “I’d know you anywhere. After what we went through on this mountain, how could I ever forget you?”
“I don’t look like a movie star anymore.”
“Don’t care, I can see through any disguise.”
<
br /> He wore the same outfit he’d had on when the truck vanished down the mountain and carried the carbine slung under his arm. The truck was still missing, but I didn’t think he needed one to make an appearance.
“They are ready to destroy this world, don’t you know?” he told me. “It won’t be here in another week. Seems a shame, after all the work that went into it. Of course, I have an interest in keeping it intact.”
“Who are you, Howard?” I asked him.
“The same as you. Random atoms floating in space. Chamita is very hurt you never came back to her.”
“I came back,” I explained, “Not of my own free will, but here I am. I’ve been back in this place plenty of times.”
“She’s still mad at you. Women can be like that, they expect us to keep promises. Even ones we never intended to make. The more important thing to know is that when they delete his place, she goes along with it. So you might want to keep it in mind.”
I began to walk in circles. “Jesus Christ, Howard,” I said, “what the hell am I supposed to do? I can’t even get the damn company to talk to me. This isn’t real; it never was, so why am I arguing with you.”
“Suit yourself,” Howard said and vanished.
I awoke to find myself back on the couch. That one was vivid. I didn’t expect to see Howard there when I shifted into the reality of Wolf Mountain.
I decided there was one thing left I could do, I needed to find another company who worked in VR development. Another gamer company close to a breakthrough who could use the information I would provide to them. Another company who could fix the problem in my head. I needed to act fast if Sandstone Gems was about to destroy Wolf Mountain and every character associated with it. I missed Chamita and wanted to get her back, but if the scenario was destroyed, what would happen to me if I phase shifted?
Perhaps nothing. If this was all a product of my mind and had no basis in objective reality, the phase shifts would continue. I’d find myself in the bootleggers’ camp, same as always. But where did Howard come from? He seemed to know all about what the VR crew at Sandstone was up to. I needed to talk to him some more. And yet, if this were all some hallucination, what difference would any of it make?
I couldn’t afford to take a chance. It took me an hour, but I zeroed in on one company that claimed they were close to a solution on VR interactive systems for video games. Ruby Realization was an older electronic game company who saw its fortunes rise and fall with many different game formats. This was their final effort to become relevant to the electronic gaming world again. They didn’t seem to have any other products that did very well. My guess was that they were throwing every effort into this one huge effort.
These were the kind of people who could use the information I had with me. I played a very dangerous game as they could rat me out to Sandstone. And then I’d lose whatever medical help I needed to stay functional. Sure, I could find a cheap lawyer who smelled money in a major lawsuit, but I could be dead by the time the case finished. I hadn’t even told my parents in Florida what happened to me. I feared I would phase shift into a game that no longer existed. If that happened, would I ever be able to return to this reality? Would I vanish and never be seen again? Or would someone find my dead body on the couch?
I had to act. And fast.
Heath Mint was the director of the VR research team at Ruby Realization. I needed to talk to him. Would he even take my calls? I expected a switchboard operator or phone tree that would route my calls into oblivion. If Ruby was working so hard, they didn’t have time to waste with cranks who claimed to travel into a world that didn’t exist. I might as well try to warn him of the dangers of the Sasquatch.
As I expected, the phone tree at Ruby put me into his voice mail. If he was like any other hot computer engineer, he’d screen his email for the first few words to get rid of people he didn’t need to talk with that day. I had one chance and decided not to blow it.
“Mr. Mint,” I said to him. “I was involved in a VR experiment with one of your rival companies that went bad. Very bad. I need to talk to you. I can save your company a lot of time and money. The direction taken by everyone else is wrong. It will get many people hurt. If you talk to me, I can prevent that from happening to your company. Please call me right away.” I left him my phone number and leaned back on the couch to wait. I prayed another phase shift didn’t occur.
Three hours later, he called me. It was late in the evening, which told me he worked late. I saw a number I didn’t recognize pop up on my caller ID, but I knew the area code, the same one used by his company.
I picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”
“This is Heath Mint,” a voice identified itself. “What do you know?”
“I’m the man who didn’t turn out so well when I went into a VR chamber,” I explained to him. “We should meet.”
There was a pause. “You are Vincent Richards, the guy they had trouble with at Sandstone Gems.”
“The same.”
“How do I know I you are the real man?”
“I can tell me why you don’t want to use a nerve induction system for the VR," I said, "There are complications, long term consequences. I don't want to say more until we are face to face."
"I will come to you. My schedule is somewhat public, so if anyone is watching, and they most likely are, this will have to seem circumstantial," said Mint, "My people will be in touch in the next few days with a time and place. If you are who you say you are, then we have much to discuss, and there could be a place for you on our side. Help us and we can help you. Good day Mr. Richards."
I put down the phone and felt relief.
This didn’t end the problem; I still had to be careful of phase shifts. I didn’t know what triggered them, but I suspected it had to do with stress. The medication they gave me reduced tension and the shifts were less common, but they still didn’t go away. I had to do something before they erased the Wolf Mountain scenario or I might not come back. Good for me Heath Mint would meet me soon. It might give me a few days. I didn’t think they could solve my issues in one week, but at least they might be able to make Sandstone Gems stop the destruction of Wolf Mountain.
The funny thing was, I never ended up on Wolf Mountain very long. The average was only five minutes. The weather was always sunny, although one minute of mountain time equaled one minute of this reality’s time, as far as I could tell. I’d tried to find a clock and set it, but I couldn’t locate one in the huts. It didn’t matter as the mechanical clocks back then lacked a way to show the passage of time for more than 12 hours.
I decided to go for a breath of fresh air and get out of the apartment. These days, I had most of my meals delivered. I’d lost a lot of weight since I needed to calculate what they could serve me. No reason to shift and drown in a bowl of soup.
Taking my smart phone with me, I left the building and went for a walk. There was a small park with many trees near my block and I made my way to it. It wasn’t exactly the dense forest on Wolf Mountain, but close enough. I could sit down on a bench and imagine I was back there with Chamita. So far, she’d never materialized when I shifted to the bootlegger camp. Howard was, so far, the only person I’d met when I was at the mountain. I couldn’t search for her because I snapped back in ten minutes at the most, which didn’t allow me any time to search.
I found an unoccupied bench and sat down. At least I’d taken the time to shower and shave before I left. Clean clothes too. Staying in the apartment most of the time tended to make me forget about such things.
It was a warm day and the mothers were out with their children. People wondered over the park. There were a few kids who handed out flyers for some event. I started to feel like a human being again. The air smelled of leaves and the ground was solid under my feat. I listened to the sound of children play. It felt good to be out for a change.
And then I saw her in the distance, standing beneath a tall tree, looking at me as if she didn't believe I was r
eal either.
She wore a pair of jeans, flip-flops and a short top. All she needed was a spear by her side to complete the ensemble.
I stood up and began to walk to her. The rest of the park stayed the same; this was no phase shift. I walked slowly to make her understand I posed no threat. It was possible I’d mistaken a random woman for her. The last thing I needed on my plate was a bust for harassment.
I was ten yards from her when I stopped. She continued to stare at me, but looked like she was ready to bolt at any second. Even in the jeans and sunglasses, I was sure it had to be her.
“Chamita,” I said to her. There were several groups of families around us, but I ignored them.
“Vince,” she said back to me. No one thought this strange and no one looked at us funny.
Chamita turned and ran. I ran after her, which did cause some concern by the families at the park. We were far enough away by the time anyone took action, so no one was run over. I tried to keep up with her, but she had the agility I remembered from Wolf Mountain and so it wasn't long before she was gone.
I made my way back to my apartment afterwards, confused over what happened. If it was Chamita, why did she run? And how had she managed to leave the game world and come to mine? I was beginning to wonder if I'd left the game at all.
The key was in the lock of my apartment door when I looked down and saw the envelope shoved under it and a small cardboard box on the doorstep. I unlocked the door and reached down to pick the stuff up. After I retrieved it, I locked the door behind me and sat down at my kitchen table.
The envelope was sealed and had “Vince” written on it in a very feminine hand. I opened the envelope and read the letter:
“We are all in danger. I’m sorry I ran, but I couldn't be totally sure it was you, even now I have my doubts. Mint cannot be trusted, but he can be a powerful ally. Keep your wits about you and don't assume anything. I will find you again soon. Chamita.”
I let the letter fall onto the table and ripped open the box to discover a blank logbook.
