Holoverse

Holoverse

“Welcome to the holographic universe or ‘holoverse.’” It’s the first thing you hear when you log on for the first time. The novelty wore thin after the first week. In fact, it was a rite of passage to hack your way around the programmed greeting. More of the advanced hackers just replaced it with their own welcome, some more vulgar than others. The future had finally arrived in the form of this fully immersive experience of the web. The process was simple. Buy yourself the holo-box and after connecting to the internet step inside and wake up in the holoverse. A few years and lawsuits from legitimate claustrophobics later, some companies developed the sleek holo-suit.

People on the inside live the life that they were too afraid to live in the real world. Subsequently, the holoverse has grown to become the most wonderfully horrific place built by mankind. But the particular story that is about to be told does not concern a talk of the arguably legal dealings and ambiguously ethical acts that are a regular occurrence in the holoverse. This is a simple love story between Aaron Rostand and Tricia Andrews.

First Date

Tricia was always nervous on first dates, but a part of her was glad that avatars didn’t sweat. She wrung her fingers and her eyes darted around the room, looking for her date. She fidgeted with her hair, a nervous habit. Tricia had programmed everything on her avatar just perfectly. Her curly golden locks fell to her shoulders. The elegant, black dinner dress that was impossibly expensive in the real world was a next- to-nothing line of code in the holoverse. She wore a string of pearls designed to look like the one that her mother gave her on her sixteenth birthday. When her mother and father met for the first time, Tricia’s mother was wearing those same pearls, and Tricia secretly hoped that there was some sort of magic left in them, even if they were just a digital version.

Aaron hadn’t been out on too many dates. He knew much more of the holographic world than the real one and he was hoping it would not show. At first, when he hacked into his avatar to alter his appearance, his aim was to maintain more anonymity than the average person who logged on. It gave him a sense of confidence to hide behind that façade. He was just trying to do the right thing the day he met Tricia. There was an unspoken etiquette that hackers followed, and to hack into a novice’s avatar to access her bank notes was a serious taboo. Aaron stepped in and saved the day. They were smitten with each other and decided to go out on a holoverse date.

“Hi,” Aaron whispered as he approached her from behind.

“You startled me,” she said as she turned around.

“My apologies, Tricia,” Another simple hack hid his anxiety behind a charming smile, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you,” her voice was just above a whisper. Her eyes were fixated on the ruggedly handsome face of his digital counterpart.

The young couple was completely oblivious to the time melting away as the date progressed, each hour ticked away as quick as a minute. They were like old friends meeting each other for the first time in that holographic room.

“So, tell me, Aaron,” Tricia queried, “How does a man as good looking and charming as you stay single? I find it hard to imagine that you can’t have any girl you want.”

“I’m afraid that’s just how it is,” he replied, “and I’m not all that good looking. Besides, I could ask the same thing of you. You can have any guy you want. Why did you agree to go out with me?”

“Well, I figured I owed you for one. Those guys trying to hack into my account would’ve gotten away with all my cash if it wasn’t for you.”

“I certainly hope that’s not the only reason.”

“Okay, so I was attracted to you. Is that wrong?”

“I’m not used to it is all. Every once in a while a girl feigns interest but it’s just to mask their true motive.”

“Which is?”

“That depends on the girl. I’m a hopeless romantic, what can I say?”

“That’s not too shabby a hubris, if you ask me.” Tricia reached her hand across the table and held Aaron’s in hers. Her fingers curled gently around his hands and a shiver shot down his spine as her soft pink fingertips pressed against his palms. The sensors on Aaron’s holo-suit had never deceived him so well before. He was so lost in the moment; he could swear she was actually holding his hand. Suddenly, the face of Aaron’s watch begin blinking red.

“Damn!” he exclaimed.

“What is it?”

“I have work early in the morning and I’ve got to get to bed. I wish we could just stay here.”

“Me too,” she said, smiling at him, “I can’t believe we had been talking all night!”

“It was worth it. I hope we can do this again sometime.”

“We should,” Tricia took out a piece of paper and wrote something down on it. She folded the paper in half then in quarters and tucked it into Aaron’s jacket pocket. The message sent itself as an e-mail directly into Aaron’s account. To log off, users of the holoverse have to enter a space analogous to a phone booth in the real world. The brain perceiving itself in one world and all of a sudden finding itself in another can be quite dangerous. Before he logged off, Tricia grabbed Aaron’s arms and pulled him away from the booth and kissed him gently on the cheek. She bit her own lip as she smiled at him.

As he returned back into his room he slowly took off the holo-suit with a large smile on his face that he could not hide. He jumped back to his computer to check his email. “Call me” was all it read with the number and her signature on the bottom. He shut off the computer and the reflection of his true self, smiling idiotically, stared back at him from the computer monitor. The large smile quickly faded from his chubby face, which he leaned forward to hide his second chin. He was disgusted with the face that looked back at him. A part of him felt guilty for letting Tricia believe that his avatar wasn’t reprogrammed, but Aaron felt there was no other way to keep her if he didn’t persist with the lie. He hated being this selfish.

In Person

A year had passed. They met often online, called each other on the phone all the time. It had gotten to the point where one could not get through the week without seeing the other. But nothing could prepare Aaron for what Tricia was about to ask.

“Can we meet?” she had wanted to ask that for the past month or so.

“I’d love to meet. You know that.” Aaron couldn’t think of an excuse not to meet. A part of him actually did want to see Tricia in person, but he wasn’t sure how that would play out. He coiled back, hesitant to show enthusiasm and failing to convince Tricia of his sincerity.

“What’s wrong?” she inquired, “Don’t you want to finally meet up in person?”

“I’d love to. I’m just nervous. That’s all. I’m not sure if you’d like me in real life. I’m different here in the holoverse.”

“We’ve been seeing each other for about a year. We’ve talked on the phone. I think it’s time.” She took her hand and gently placed it on the side of his face. He couldn’t help but smile.

“Okay…” Aaron whispered, “Okay.”

When Tricia arrived to the hotel, she decided to take a look around the city. She had never been in a true concrete jungle in all her life. The bus hissed to a stop and she climbed aboard not knowing where she wanted to go. One of the stops glittered with 3-d advertising, something only available in the big cities. She stepped off the bus and saw that it was some sort of shopping center. There were cafes and restaurants, street performers, vendors of all sorts hocking their wares, and in the distance a familiar face. She could recognize the face anywhere. Those piercing eyes, that strong chin, his chestnut hair were undeniably Aaron’s. Well, they were the qualities of Aaron’s avatar that happened to be inspired by a man he envied growing up.

Tricia’s face grew red and warm and tingly with excitement. She smiled a wide smile and ran to him, thinking he was the man she fell for. Before she could run into his unsuspecting arms a rather large man stood in her way. It was only then that she noticed the photographer kneeling down by the lights and she deduced that it was a professional photo shoot.

“Aaron!” she yelled, waving her hands. As is the nature of any man with a beating heart, the waving hands of a pretty girl got the male model’s attention.

“Are you talking to me?”

Mistaken Identity

Aaron is not typically the kind of guy to indulge in sleazy tabloid television show but it had popped up on the screen so suddenly. There was a familiar pretty face on the screen. It was Tricia and paparazzi had claimed her as the new love interest of male model and former acquaintance of Aaron’s, Guy Richards. The image was grainy but Aaron could clearly see Tricia smiling up at the smug face of Guy. Never so loudly had a heart and spirit been ripped apart as a result of an image on a screen.

“Figures,” Aaron shut the television off and couldn’t move. “She’d choose him over me. I can’t say I’m entirely surprised.” The image, it seemed, was permanently burned into his retina. He shut his eyes but it somehow made the picture of Tricia and Guy clearer. When he opened his eyes, the tears spilled down his cheek in hot streaks. He threw his body onto the couch and buried his head in the throw pillows.

The phone rang. Aaron let the machine answer. It was the voice of Guy Richards yelling over loud music. Aaron opened his eyes but still saw no reason to get up. A part of him wanted to kill Guy, but most of him still longed to become him.

“Hey, Aaron,” Guy shouted, “It’s Guy Richards! I know we haven’t talked in a while but I really need you to come down to the club!”

“What’s the point?” Aaron asked himself. Perhaps it was the masochist in him, but Aaron dragged himself off the couch and into the bedroom where he had laid out a suit in preparation for his first meeting with Tricia. It was supposed to be that night. “Screw it,” he said under his breath. He took off his shirt, ran some water, and began to shave. He’d rather have his heart broken in person.

Finally

Aaron walked to the club entrance and the blinding flashes of the photographers nearly blinded him. Fortunately, Guy saw Aaron and grabbed his arm and pulled him into the club, which was reverberating with bass heavy music. Aaron violently pulled his arm away from Guy, staring down at his old friend.

“What the hell do you want, Guy?”

“You’re dressed nicely, Aaron.”

“Cut the crap. I don’t want to hear it!”

“You don’t understand!”

“All I understand is that good things hardly ever happen to me. And when one finally does, you—YOU of all people had to take it from me.”

Aaron had never had the opportunity to stand up for himself, so he decided to create one. It was a dizzying rush. But Guy didn’t seem to fight back. Instead, he led Aaron to small quiet room in the back. The room was barely lit by a single candle on a table in the middle of the room. The glow made Tricia’s eyes sparkle in a way the holoverse couldn’t dare to dream. Aaron gasped and couldn’t feel anything below his knees.

“After that little tantrum you just threw and stealing my likeness for your avatar, Aaron, and this is the thanks I get? Well you’re right about one thing: I can’t think of another guy worthy of having something good happen to them,” Guy shut the door as he left. It was quiet and Aaron’s breath grew shallower with each heave of his chest.

“Hi,” Tricia said. She raised her hand and waved at Aaron, smiling that charming smile.

“Hi,” Aaron was lucky anything was said. He couldn’t believe that what he had been dreaming of for the past year was coming to fruition. His stomach was in knots. Somehow, his clumsy feet found its way to the table. He took his seat and he saw Tricia smile nervously at him. Tricia reached her hand across the table and held Aaron’s in hers. Her fingers curled gently around his hands and a shiver shot down his spine as her soft pink fingertips pressed against his palms. That was something that technology could never replace.