Mentally, I made a note of that for future use.
“Would you like to take the tutorial or do you know what you wish to do?”
“The tutorial please,” commanded Dylan aloud.
“Very well…the tutorial will begin now.”
Images whooshed through my headset utterly occupying my focus. I jumped when I felt a chair materialize beneath me, forcing me into a sitting position. As the chair completed, giving me armrests on either side, the images also settled. First, the A.I. went through how movies and video games worked in an absolute immersion that included all senses: any smells could be picked up, any touches made real, any taste realized. Secondly, it described how to use your own imagination to create whatever you wanted and have it surround you. All in all, it felt like an hour long tutorial and I couldn’t wait to give it a try.
“Enjoy your OVRR experience, User. If you wish for me to return at any time, find OVRR A.I. on your menu and I’ll return. Have fun!”
“Okay, Allie…what do you want to do first?”
“Create my own world.” I brought up the interaction menu as the A.I. had indicated and chose the appropriate action.
Closing my eyes, I began to envision the world I wished to visit. First, I started with the earth and sky, covering the blank canvas in my mind with grass, dirt, and soil with a blue expanse above it. Next, I pulled up trees from the ground, imagining the cracking of the earth as they rose in their mature form to dominate the land. Finally, I fleshed out all the small details like fallen trees, logs, and other forest debris. When I opened my eyes, everything lay before me just as I’d seen it in my mind.
Yet, there was so much more.
Dewdrops hung on the leaves giving the forest a pleasant aroma. The sparse sunlight filtering through the trees illuminated only small patches of the forest. A twig lay beneath my left foot, giving me slight discomfort. All my senses were engaged in the new world I had dreamed.
“You created a forest?” Dylan gawked at me incredulously.
“No, not just any forest…a mythical one.” I held out my hand as a pixie landed on it, shaking out its wings.
Dylan swept his gaze around my made-up world, his mouth opening in awe as elves, trolls, nymphs and the like all came out to see us. “What made you design a world like this?”
Allowing the pixie to climb up my arm, I responded, “Well, in my world, old growth forests are very rare. I wanted to see how it would feel to walk through one.”
“Then I’ll have to show you our botanical gardens and arboretum sometime.” Crunching leaves alerted me to movement as I saw Dylan go deeper into the forest. “Why don’t we see what else is here?”
For hours, Dylan and I explored the forest. There was a lot more to it than I had realized when I was creating it. Full as any fictional world, I could have stayed there forever. However, an alarm pierced the air, snatching Dylan and me from the virtual world into the real one.
Dylan fumbled through his pockets to pull out his c-com and with a flick of his finger turned off the alarm—the remainder for me to return home. “Sorry, Allie, but we’re going to have to leave now to get you back to the surface before sunset.”
“It’s alright. We’ve spent enough time here,” I lied.
Closing down everything in the OVRR and leaving behind the Entertainment District, we wound through the city back to the docking bay.
Selecting a seamobile near the exit, Dylan started the engine, and then waited for the protective barrier to envelope us before flooding the bay. “I’ll come back and get you tomorrow. Then you can meet my friend Dr. Wilcox, and we can explore some more.”
The seamobile glided smoothly onto the sand as the yellow rays of the sun began to turn orange.
“Thanks for the ride back. I can’t believe the adventure I’ve had today!” I stepped off the seamobile and onto the wet sand.
“No, problem. I’m just glad you enjoyed Oceania.”
Feeling guilty, I added, “Earlier, I thought you were crazy, but I was dead wrong. Just the thought of an entire underwater city housing millions of people seemed too far-fetched—even with your projected diagram.” I smiled, and with a wave said, “Anyway, thanks again, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Dylan turned on the motor to the seamobile again and began backing up into the surf. “Told you I was telling the truth. I guess some people have to see something in order to believe in it. I’ll see you tomorrow at nine a.m. sharp.”
“Okay, see ya!” I called out as he turned the seamobile and began riding off into the waves. I couldn’t help grinning ecstatically as I watched him go. There would be a tomorrow for me in the city that lived beneath the sea.
Chapter 8
Sand kicked up behind me like dust as I sprinted down the hill when the seamobile came into view. We were supposed to meet up at nine a.m., but I’d been too excited to wait, arriving nearly an hour early and watching the surf anxiously for his arrival.
“Are you ready to return to Oceania?” shouted Dylan as he saw me hurrying down the sandy incline toward him.
Grinning like a two-year-old at a candy store, I leapt onto the back of the seamobile, ready to revisit the underwater city. “I was ready hours ago. Let’s get going!”
Dylan revved the seamobile, crashing into the first set of waves and past the surf. My excitement spilled over as we plunged beneath the
