Kenny Bust was a normal man. He worked a normal job selling lightning strike insurance. He owned a house and a car. He was married with a child.
Some things are destined to happen. Maybe they are written in the stars or written on fortune cookies. Whatever the case is, not even Kenny Bust was ready for what was in store for him.
Life was bumbling along fine. Kenny went to work, sat at his desk, turned on his computer, took a sip of coffee and opened his file cabinet. Today he would be calling clients for various reasons related to their insurance policies. Normal day for Kenny.
At the end of his work day he drove the same route he always drives with the talk radio station on. “Welcome to the show. Tech Talk with Sarnovulka Yi. Today we have a special announcement. An unannounced surprise product snuck onto the market that crushes the competition. First, a commercial break.”
Kenny wondered what the new thing was. He thought about the possibilities. How can someone surprise us in a world as deeply connected and cross-invasive as this one is today? What a stumper.
The commercial break ended. “Welcome to Tech Talk. I'm your host Sarnovulka Yi and I am now going to give you a heads up on the brand new buzz.”
“On May 7th three tech companies rolled out a ton of state-of-the-art new technologies. They let it all hang out. So much high tech product hitting the market all at once has consumers confused and fascinated and devouring their savings to get these new creations. With no advertising and promotional media to support their new products and no press releases before or after these technologies hit the shelves, it’s a wonder what they were trying to make happen and an even greater wonder how they kept it a secret. Alright, what do we got here? Number one product burning up the market right now is a virtual reality interfacing system that you can connect to nearly anything. Alright, sounds interesting. Number two product on the hot market. An artificial intelligence program that is self-sufficient and can inhabit any electronic connected to the internet. I don't know about that one. What does it do? Number three product blasting off the shelves. Invisibility cloak. Haha. Funny. What is this a joke? Wait a second here. Let me talk to the producer for a second. Sorry folks, this never happens.”
The radio was silent for thirty seconds. The host returned.
“Yeah whatever man, you keep telling yourself that. Okay folks, I gotta read this thing because apparently its true. Product three. Invisibility cloak. This product has the effect of making the person wearing it invisible to the naked eye and invisible to infrared detection. Okay, so, if this invisibility cloak thing really is out there sitting on the shelf at the department store how come it isn't number one? I don't believe this. Moving on. Number four product that secretly hit the market. Anti-gravitation engine. Look at that price tag. Ten million dollars. No wonder its number four. Does anybody believe this #$@!. What? Huh? Okay, you do this, I quit.”
Kenny turned the radio off. Something wasn't right. The traffic was somehow unnatural. Like, all the cars were perfectly spaced apart and moving at precisely the same speed. There were no people on the sidewalk. Everything seemed too quiet and too calm.
Kenny got to his house and picked a box up off his porch, sent from his daughter. Inside he locked his door and brought the box to the dining room table to open it. The box contained a headset and a boot up disc for a virtual reality program. The words 'Hero Soul' were printed across the outside of the visor. The note in the box said, “Happy Birthday Daddy! XOXO Melissa” He forgot that it was his birthday. Kenny Bust shrugged then took the new toy to his living room.
The headset was wireless. His computer was connected to his television so that he could sit on his couch and websurf when he wanted. He booted up the disc and installed the program then activated the wireless connection. There were directions for purchasing virtual reality programs and a tutorial program with a default disc program that new users could use to learn. He opened the tutorial and followed the instructions.
Kenny learned how to use the headset and program. The tutorial was filmed on a beach that looked real, complete with surround sound. He truly felt like he was at the beach. The only thing missing was the cold breeze and the sand between his toes. This virtual reality headset only allowed the user to stand in one place and look around. You could move your position up and down the beach, but couldn’t walk around one step at a time. The menu was accessed on the television screen with a remote control and couldn’t be accessed with the headgear on. When he was done with the tutorial he took the headset off and went through the menu options, going about to purchase something fun.
He found a virtual movie, but this wasn’t anything like a Hollywood movie, you weren’t going to be a huge star in a sensational action plot, or perhaps an extra watching from an interesting angle. This was more like a pre-packaged dream. He liked the thought of that and selected the program. His bank account would automatically be charged. He placed the headgear on and waited till the movie started.
Wait a second.
Kenny thought for a second.
“What am I doing” he said.
Silence.
Kenny couldn't see anything.
He couldn't open his eyes.
“Hey!” he yelled. He didn't know what was going on. He tried to think. His mind was empty. He got angry. “HEY!”
Kenny was upset. He couldn't remember what he was doing. He can't see anything.
Finally, he could feel something.
Kenny woke up on his couch. It was nine in the morning and he was late for work. His headset was still on. He tossed it on the couch cushion without interest. He was wearing yesterday's work clothes. He needed to put on a new outfit and go to work. He didn't think he was that damn tired. He didn't even eat dinner. He went to take a shower and go to work.
He locked the door behind him with his suitcase in one hand and a pie pocket in his mouth. He got in his car and started up the engine. The radio turned itself on. “I was sure that I shut the radio off.” he said aloud. He went to turn off the radio with the dash control but a voice blurted out his name. “Hey ladies and gentlemen, have you seen Kenny Bust today? What about yesterday? If you have seen Kenny Bust call us at 453-678-9201.”
Kenny said, “What?” and waited.
“Kenny Bust, the man and the legend. Everybody wants to know about Kenny Bust. Where is Kenny Bust today? Call in with your Kenny Bust stories at 453-678-9201. If you know or have met Kenny Bust go ahead and give us a call.”
Kenny shut off the radio quickly. He sat there still, wondering what to make of the radio blurb. “Somebody is playing a really screwed up joke on me.” he said. He wasn't sure what he should do.
He started the car engine and went on his way to work. He looked at his watch. 10:01am. Stopping at the red light at the intersection, a billboard across the street was staring at him. It was his own picture. The caption read 'Do you know Kenny Bust?' Kenny was getting nervous. He looked around him and didn't see anything else out of the ordinary. Everyone was going about their business normally.
The light turned green and Kenny went on his way. He made it to work at 10:30am, two and a half hours late. The office manager intercepted him halfway to his desk. He said, “How are you, Kenny, you alright? It isn't like you to be late like this.”
Kenny wasn't alright, considering the radio and billboard. He wasn't sure if he was sane. He wasn't going to tell his boss this though. He said, “Yes sir, I'm sorry, I don't know what it was but I fell asleep early and woke up late. Woke up at nine. I must have been tired and didn't even know it.” he said.
His office manager said, “That's okay Kenny. You are a top employee here. Let us know if anything is wrong, okay?”
Kenny said, “Alright.”
They parted ways and Kenny went to his desk. He did the same routine he always does, this time without the coffee. He turned on his computer and opened his file cabinet. He got today's work out and went about his business, but not as usual.
With the computer on he checked his email, clicked the mail box icon on his desktop. When the page loaded a banner across the top of the screen contained a photo of him. The caption read, “Do you know Kenny Bust? click here”
Kenny's nervousness went through the roof. He got out of his chair and said, “Come on now, what the hell is going on here!”
His co-workers were disrupted and looked up from their work. “Are you okay?” one of them said. Kenny held a look of deep distress about him. His eyes were misting up like he was about to cry. He said, “Of course I'm not alright! Who’s idea is this anyway? Somebody end the joke right now, this ain't funny!”
The lady at the desk next to him said, “What's not funny? Should someone call an ambulance? You don't look so good. Why don't you calm down and take a breather.”
Wait a second.
Kenny thought for a second.
“What am I doing” he said.
Silence.
Kenny couldn't see anything.
He couldn't open his eyes.
Kenny woke up on his couch once again, wearing his virtual reality headset that his daughter sent to him. He took the headset off and looked around wildly. He looked at his watch. 7:30pm, same day. The headset must have malfunctioned he thought. But how did it know enough information about him to set him up in a copy of his life and what was with the billboard and the radio and the banner? Kenny Bust was probably never going to use virtual reality ever again.