The ceiling lights off, the empty cafeteria at the corner of the 2nd floor is barely lit by the big bulb hanging above the counter. At a white plastic table in the corner, Ryan eats his favorite meal: a double cheeseburger with extra French fries. He takes quick bites of the burger as if he is breaking a starvation strike. Although no one is watching, he tries to gulp the sound of his sob with every bite that he swallows.
A slim hand with long fingers puts a beaten-up handheld video game console on the table next to the French fries.
“Lynda!” Ryan exclaims while looking up. It does not take long before he guesses that she is Lynda’s mother.
“People always say she’s an exact clone of me,” she says while sitting next to Ryan. “Thank goodness, she inherited nothing from her father… except for the stubbornness of course, and the self-destructive fever of winning,” she says, growling at the last part.
Turning his gaze away, Ryan drops the half-eaten burger, stands, and picks up the tray to leave. While turning away, he spits, “I already told your husband—”
“That bastard is not my husband!” she shouts.
Ryan stays put, in shock. He slowly turns back to her.
“He was, at some point, unfortunately,” she continues, turning her gaze down on the table. “But not anymore, fortunately.” She calms her voice. “But we still do share a daughter, and she’s innocent.” Her voice squeaks toward the end. Her face tightening, she presses her lips together.
Leaning forward, Ryan puts his hand on hers. Her lips parting and her face muscles loosening up, she looks up at Ryan. Eyes brightened, a smile cracks on her face. She has Lynda’s cute smile, Ryan thinks.
“Where did you get my Nintendo Switch?” Ryan asks, sitting back on his chair.
“What switch?”
“This handheld video game.”
“Oh. From Lynda’s bedside table. She could never forget you.”
“Then, why—”
“Because… she is as stupid as I was, making the same mistakes I made. But her heart never gave up.” Light reflects in the tears that well up in her eyes.
Ryan clasps her hand, not sure if it is to calm her or for him to remember the touch of Lynda’s hand.
“Where is she now?” he asks.
“Her body is with us, retained by the corporation. Her mind, however, is lost. Trapped somewhere in Uranus.”
“The planet?!” Ryan exclaims, his voice tight.
“The game.”
“Uranus! The game changer game?” Ryan asks, a flush of adrenaline tingling through his body. “That’s… That’s like the most anticipated virtual reality game of the decade.”
“They call it the Alternative Reality world, I believe,” she replies, her face not reflecting Ryan’s excitement.
“But… it won’t be released until Christmas!”
“That would be the projected release date for the mass market, if I’m not mistaken. She’s trapped in a prototype.”
“How did she—”
“Her dad,” she replies, grinding her teeth, the hatred back into her voice. “Her idiot dad. The bastard had pulled the strings to get an early prototype access for her birthday.”
“Lucky her!” Ryan finds himself muttering.
“She’s trapped, remember?” Almost yelling at him, Lynda’s mother shoots Ryan an angry look.
“And that’s where you need me.”
“And that’s where we need you, to be the hero, her hero; to get into the game and bring her back to this world,” she says, showing the handheld console to Ryan, “where her heart is in the right place.”
“Can’t you just simply—”
“Apparently no. I myself don’t fully understand the physics of it. But from what they told me, the game is directly connected to the main neurons in her brain. She has to exit the game voluntarily or otherwise, she’ll be left in a coma forever.”
The frightening description that Lynda’s mother gives has an inverse impact on Ryan. The more she talks, the more excited Ryan gets to hear about the revolutionary game that will forever change virtual reality as they know it. On one hand, he is excited about the game and is tempted to try it out, and on the other hand, he is concerned about the unknown dangers involved in being among the first to step into this virtual world. Lynda, his ex, is already trapped there.
But Lynda does not have a tenth of my gaming skills, Ryan thinks. She must have made some rookie mistakes. I’m a pro. I’ll be fine. I’ll be fine, and I’ll save lovely Lynda. That would be one hell of an exciting exit. And it’ll be only the two of us. And she will fall in love with me all over again. Years of gaming experience, day and night, finally paid off.
Ryan hears the last sentence echoing in his head, “She has to exit the game voluntarily or otherwise, she’ll be left in a coma forever.”
“And why doesn’t she?” he asks, eyes narrowed.
“That I don’t know. No one does, apparently. And you are our only hope to figure it out. If you will be so kind as to just come over, President can explain better.”
“The President herself?!” Ryan exclaims.
“No,” she replies, a bitter smile barely appearing on her face. “I mean, the president of the corporation that has built Uranus. The reach of his power, however, is no less than the president of a country.”
“Will I meet the President in Lynda’s bedroom?!” Ryan asks and licks his lips.
“In their headquarters, where Lynda’s body is retained.”
“Of course. Of course,” he says, blushing.
“They don’t let the prototype leave the office. A task force of the world’s best experts in virtual reality is working on the case, as we’re speaking.”
Senator arrives, his long shadow casting on Ryan.
Lynda’s mother looks away, her face cringing.
Ryan looks up. The shadow on him is replaced with bright light when Senator kneels before him as if Ryan is some sort of knight.
“Please, son,” Senator says, maintaining direct eye-contact while holding Ryan’s right hand. “On behalf of our beloved country, I beg you. I need you. Your country needs you.”
“Lynda needs you,” her mom jumps in, showing the handheld game console.
With his left hand, Ryan takes the console and brings it near his face. Shutting his eyes, he takes a deep sniff. It smells like Lynda, he thinks.