Gripping my head, I took a long, calming breath. Just because I’d time-traveled, simution-sed, or whatever this was, didn’t mean I was in aer position thaerday.

  If all those sci-fi time-travel movies taught me anything, it’s that I needed a pn—and it usually involved making money. Or maybe breaking down the AI maes. No, scratch that. If the “simution within a simution” thing was real, that was a terrible pn.

  Alright, so the goal was simple: make money. With enough of it, maybe I could create jobs and ge the future, solve this whole mess of AI stealing jobs. Or something like that. But how to make a fortune?

  The only thing I remembered about future markets was the big cryptocurrency surge in a couple of years. But was it two years? I hadn’t paid attention. Stock market? Didn’t care. Wheat or oil prices? Nope. Super Bowl? Not ied. Any other sport? The only thing I cared about was Rimelion PvP—that was my real passion.

  Wait. Rimelion!

  I could make a ton of money pying the game! Finally, I’d be able to stomp on “normal” pyers instead of just other testers!

  Excited, I jumped into my old capsule, beled in big red letters: FOR TESTING PURPOSES ONLY. It was bed-sized, with a sleek, metallic silver finish. I settled ihe system s my retina, and a sed ter, I was logged into my Rimelion at.

  [Wele back, John.]“New at, random name. I don’t care.”

  [Error, you ot create a character. You are part of the development team.]

  Oh, no! How could I fet? The time-travel mumble-duple-jumbo didn’t ge the fact that I couldn’t py. An annoying foul mood washed over me, seeping into my bones like some cursed elven ice cream. History was repeating itself, because I’d faced this same frustration back then. Today was that day, wasn’t it? The unch of Rimelion.

  I gave my head a little knock, trying to jolt my memory.

  How did it go? Lucas had promised he could get me into the game, but I’d turned him down. I rubbed my temples, straining to recall the reason. How could I remember every detail after all these years? Well, le—one phone call could clear this up.

  “Hey, John! What’s up?”

  Lucas was still alive! My heart pounded in my chest, each beat eg like an imperial war drum. “Lucas, you get me into Rimelion?” I asked, my voice trembling with excitement. Adrenaline surged through me, making my fiingle. If I could get into the game…maybe I could eve a whiskey-loving girlfriend. Wait, no! I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I was doing this for the moo save the world.

  “John, I told you to e here!” Lucas’s irritation seeped through the line. “Not over the phone; meet me at my p three hours.” The li dead, and I felt a flicker of frustration. How was I supposed to know I’d asked him the same question 20 years ago?

  Alright, one more thing to handle before I strike it rich. With renewed determination, I logged into my corporate at.

  [You are about to end your tract, are you sure?]“Yes.” My finger hovered over the button, and a pang of fear hit me. This pany had been like family, and if I did this, there’d be no more coffee breaks with Lu the ste room. With a deep breath and eyes shut, I firmed my decision.

  After all, I was still seething over that yoff twenty years iure—or was it in another simution? All this simution mumbo-jumbo was messing with my head, and the obnoxiing phone wasn’t helping. Wait, what—a call? From the R&D ter, no less!

  “Hello? What’s going on?” I demanded. “You ’t force me to work anymore!”

  “Greetings, John. I wao reach out because I received a notification that you have terminated your tract with us,” said a bored monotone voice—too ft to be robotic. She had to be real. “Your dissatisfa with our workpce is disappointing to hear. However, we value your feedbad would like to extend aing opportunity to you. We are currently running a test program for our -geion capsules, the Mark 3. As a valued member of our team, we’d like to offer you the ce to participate in this program and receive a plimentary Mark 3 capsule for testing purposes.”

  Her words sounded like she’d repeated them a thousand times. “We believe your expertise as a tester will be invaluable in helping us refine and improve the performance of our products. By participating, you’ll tio shape the future of our pany.”

  Did she say Mark 3? My current capsule was just the first model—no nutritioure, no sanitation options. This was definitely an upgrade. There was only och. “ I py the game?”

  “I regret to inform you that curreris remain in effect, and as of now, no exceptions have been granted by your superiors,” she replied, her voice so lifeless that I actually felt sorry for her. What a miserable job. “Therefore, you must adhere to the established protocols and ply with the regutions accly.”

  “Then what exactly am I supposed to do with the capsule?” I asked, pletely baffled. “I terminated my tester tract, so I ’t even log into the test servers.”

  “Dear John, I would like to crify that, within my role and responsibilities, I am not authorized to question or challenge any directives issued. My objective is simply to extend this opportunity and provide the necessary details for your sideration. Therefore, I must request a definitive response from you—either accepting or deing the offer presented. Your decision will be duly respected, and reciate your prompt attention to this matter.”

  ht, corporate nonsense. Ohey’d giveen days of vacation and flight to pnt trees in Indonesia just because I’d stumbled around a hallway half-drunk and the janitor’s kid saw me. Yeah, I didn’t get it either, but in the corporate world, you just took it and didn’t ask questions. “Sign me up! When I expect the delivery?”

  “We would like to request permission for our teis to enter your apartment within the wo hours to install the capsule. We uand this may be an invenience, but we assure you that our team will strive to minimize any disruption to your daily routine. We greatly appreciate your cooperation and look forward to hearing from you at your earliest venience.”

  I gnced around my apartment. The only things of value were my old TV and the current capsule. “Sure, I’ve got nothing valuable here, so I’ll go see my friend. Thanks, miss!” I heard her groan before she hung up.

  I dug through my closet, threw on a pin shirt and jeans, and dashed outside. Lucas was waiting! The scorg sun hit me like any other day, but the st time I’d walked these streets, I’d only seen robots. Everyone else, except a few wolves like me, was at home pying the game. But now the streets were packed with cars and people—so many living, breathing people!

  The smell of exhaust wasly pleasant, but it beat the endless bckouts iure. I darted through the crowded street, grinning at strangers like an idiot. One guy shook his head and hurried his pace, but I just smiled wider, skipping and jumping along until I reached a ten-story white building.

  Last I checked, back before the “ies” arrived, even the cheapest apartments here were way out of my budget. I swung open the door, stepping onto the familiar beige rug in the lobby, and blinked in surprise—a real, living woman was w the reception desk. No way! The st time I visited, there was only a s with an AI that had zero personality because it wasn’t advanced yet. That was around the time of… the funeral.

  “ I help you? Do you have an appoi?” she asked, gng at my torn jeans. Hey, that’s fashion. I’d ripped them with a khe day I bought them!

  Sure, they’d sted me awenty-five years, but here they were only five years old!

  Lucas and I had been friends forever, so I knew firsthand how fetful he was. Fshing my best smile, I let the ser read my retina and gave her a nod. I opened my mouth to tell her I was here to see Luaybe crack a joke, but the wot stuck. I couldn’t even say my name.

  Right. As much as I wao be around real, living people, I still couldn’t talk to them. How could I have fotten? My stupid brain was still wired wrong, even after the time jump. Whenever I tried to talk ters, I froze up, borderline panic attao problem in the game, amoers I knew personally. Maybe it was a good thing people mostly stayed home in my time?

  After she firmed that Lucas had, miraculously, left a note for me, I found myself knog at his door. Even something as simple as a door here was more extravagant than my entire apartment—polished wood inid with gold ats, the e “Lucas” gleaming in pure gold. Gold!

  The door swung open, and there stood Lucas, grinning at me. “I thought you’d just run back to the b life of QA.” He looked eveer than I remembered: a twenty-five-year-old with a military physique aly cropped hair. I just stared, speechless. He’d been dead for ten years. “John? You in there?”

  I snapped out of my daze only when he pinched my shoulder. “Lucas, I’d never go back! I’ve thought it over, and you were right!” Whatever you told past-me, anyway.

  He ushered me inside, and as usual, vodka was mandatory. After he filled me in on his test romantic drama, we headed to his hag room. God, I’d missed this—the old days ing back to life.

  Ever seen a real hacker? Sure, Lucas had the whole setup—three monitors, a VR helmet for 3D hag, like something out of a movie. But iy, his “hag room” was more of an energy drink warehouse, with s stacked everywhere to fuel his caffeine obsession. Or to repce vodka obsession?

  “So, how do we do this? Are you hag my ID or something?” I asked, still trying to my head around how he’d pull it off. Could he actually delete my pany records?

  “That’s easy!” Lucas grinned. “Sihe gover’s ung the official game, Rimelion, there’s a rare ID freeze happening right now! I s your retina ID with someone who died and had a game at…” His voice trailed off, and I raised an eyebrow, but he quickly added, “Which means you’d be able to py!”

  “But wouldn’t that mean I’d teically be that person?” I leaned against a shaky et stacked with energy drinks. “You need an ID for everything.”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds. Look at it this way—you’ll finally get to py the game, and with all the secrets you know, you’ll be a king in no time! e on, take a seat.” He shoved aside a few s, and I plopped onto something that art sofa, part bed.

  “By the way, I just signed a new tract with my pany to test the Mark 3 capsule at home. Is that gonna be a problem?”

  “Nah, no one’s gonna remember you. Thousands of testers are off the radar, so you’ll just blend in. They only keep the identifier lio your ID—it’ll be fine.”

  “But… that means I’ll be stuck with someone else’s virtual body, right?” The thought made me shudder. “I don’t want to end up as some old bald guy! ’t you re-s me?”

  “Nope, body ss are a oime deal. If you want to ge it, we’d have to gh illegal ics or something, sihe DNA on file won’t match yours,” he replied with a shrug.

  That got me riled up. I shot up and stalked toward him. “Okay, okay, but what about the css? What if I end up as a mage? I ’t be a mage! Or what if the dead person had debts? What then?” I stopped an inch from his face, practically gring.

  That was why I hadn’t do before. The ID was vital for dealing with the gover, and o was set, I’d be stuck with it. Or worse, I’d risk execution. ies. Though, to be fair, the democratic gover set it up.

  “Chill out! Just today, over six thousand people died, and there are hundreds of thousands of unprocessed IDs in the system. We’ve got plenty of options.” He brought up a prehensive list of names on his middle s. “Filtering… Okay, only IDs with . You’re into cssic warrior types, right? Filtering again… Looks like we have three hundred warriors, though none of them are named John.”

  I stood beside Lucas for what felt like ages, scrolling through profiles, until he suddenly said, “Hey, here’s one—21 years old, name’s Charlie.” The file shohoto of a young guy with an average build, mid-jump into a pool.

  “Perfect! Let’s go with him!” I spped Lucas on the shoulder, but somehow nudged his hand, causing him to scroll, and the filter vanished. Did he do that on purpose?

  “Careful! Ow, my hand… Alright, here we go. Just head to the ser—”

  “Hold it!” I said, shaking my head. “What do you take me for? I o see the ID first, or I’m gonna end up as someone’s grandpa!” His eyes went wide as he quickly took hold of the mouse.

  “Alright, fine. Here, see? Tags are [], [Rimelion], [Charlie], [21 years old]. Happy now? Let’s do it!”

  I nodded relutly and stepped over to his military-grade eye ser. Wait—military-grade? I knew Lucas was loaded, but this was on another level. He’d never mentiohis over our drinks. Maybe that’s why he’d gotten himself killed—this kind of gear wasn’t just expe robably illegal.

  The ser gave a single beep. “Done. You’re now Charlie. I transferred everything from your old ID, so it’ll feel like nothing ged. Except, you know… name and body. Game starts in two hours. Let’s celebrate!” He handed me a vodka with a wide grin. Ah, yes. Vodka and energy drinks. People have died for less, but that couldn’t have been Lucas’s issue—he always drank slow and steady.

  “When you dig up some loot, don’t fet about ol’ Lucas! I kept my he same in the game.”

  Downing the gss, I grinned back. “You had to jump in fast to snag that! They opened character creation st week, right?”

  “Yep! I wao be just Lucas, nothing like ‘SuperLucas85.’ So, when you’re done slig skulls with that sword, remember, there’s a mage named Lucas around.” He tried to soued, but there was something off—the way he looked at his gss, his slumped posture. Something was weighing on him.

  “A mage, huh? Hate to say it, but that’ll be tough. You know, you’ll o learn all the haures, draw runes mid-air…”

  His jaw dropped as he stared at me, mumbling in disbelief, “Wait—what? I thought I’d just wave a staff around zily from the back! I’m terrible at drawing. Why didn’t you mention that earlier?”

  I ughed so hard I nearly spilled my drink. “Hey, you didn’t ask! But don’t worry. When you do your first css quest, choose ‘Magian’—that’ll suit you better. Or do you really need me to carry you that badly?”

  He took another sip, his expression turning serious. “I… I kinda lost a lot of money, you know. I his game to help me pay off some debts. A friend in the unity said the ey’s going to be huge, and virtual money will be intergeable with dolrs.” I gave him a puzzled look, and he rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean! Credits, but they’re basically dolrs. I hem to clear my debt.”

  I shook my head with a grin. “’t you just sell the door or your apartment? Or hack a bank to give yourself the funds?”

  “Nah, mate, I need more than selling stuff would get me. And I’m a security analyst, not a script kiddie! So, how are we going to get rich, fast?”

  An enormous debt? Why was he living in this extravagant apartment, then? I’d never uand the rich. But I could help him out. After all, the game was my territory.

  “We o hit level fifteen as soon as possible. After that, we’ll be able to make serious money without raising suspi. But don’t expect a fortune in a month—I’m lying low for now. Admins are ruthless.”

  Lucas let out a sigh and nodded. “I know, Charli—” He quickly corrected himself under my gre. “I mean, John, I know. I feel like I’ve lost part of my soul tely. Something big happened… I’ll fill you in ter,” he added, seeing me open my mouth to press him.

  “Funny you mention that. There’s this movement—Children of Gaia, or something like that. They believe the world isn’t real and… they kill themselves to be reborn in the game…” My voice trailed off in a whisper. That group probably hadn’t started up yet, but was there maybe something to it? Could all this simution talk be true? I shook my head and took a long swig of an energy drink.

  When I got home, everything seemed just as I’d left it—except for the shiny, sky-blue capsule now taking up a k of my room. Yesterday, iure, I’d been using my beloved test Mark 9, so this was definitely a downgrade. The Mark 3 would have to do for now, though.

  Oddly enough, I remembered they had skipped the Mark 3 model. But hey, nothing bad’s going to happen. I’m sure of it. I checked the nutrient supply, and they filled it to the brim. Better safe than sorry.

  With some time left before the unch, I flopped down on my trusty sofa and tuned in to Katherine’s stream. She erched on the edge of her seat in her familiar old room, a ly made bed behind her, passionately gesturing as she talked about the game’s release and her big pns.

  This younger Katherine had already dyed her hair purple and was rog a cute pink hoodie. Maybe that’s why I was among her select few fans—most people preferred streamers with less clothing. Then again, the game’s devious developers had made sure female characters would have their own style of “armor.” She’d be revealing plenty. Reag behind the sofa, I grabbed a beer, crag it open with my teeth. They’re there? Old habits die hard, I guess.

  Katherine’s stream and a beer on my sofa. If we weren’t both younger, I’d almost fet I’d traveled twenty years back. Maybe I should tact her in the game? No, that would be creepy. Maybe I’ll just run into her at the marketpce… And pletely blow it, as usual. That wouldn’t be stalkerish at all, right? Right? Just as Katherine disappeared into her capsule, I was gearing up to dive in myself.

  [Wele back, Charlie.]As I ted down the seds, I closed my eyes aally braced myself for the grind. If I was going to save the world, I’d have to outwork every other pyer. As the timer hit zero, the game unched.

  The first thing I noticed was the intense, fresh st of a pine forest—so real it was unmistakable. I felt the weight of my body, the rough dirt beh me, and a gentle breeze on my face. Then I opened my eyes and… saw something that shouldn’t have been there. My hands were a lot smaller than they should’ve been, but the real shock was… a cleavage.

  Why the hell am I a girl?!