I Was Offered 100.000 Euros to Beta-Test a New Piece of Virtual Reality Technology – Final Part
As I sat up in the grass, I realized that it had all been fake. The entire second reality, the insane Kitagawa and even the supposed brain damage I was suffering from. It had all been another part of their simulation. I grew angry before rage overtook me. “The fuck ...
I Was Offered 100.000 Euros to Beta-Test a New Piece of Virtual Reality Technology – Part 2
“What the hell are you talking about?” “You arrived here at our Munich facility this morning to test our new immersion rig.” With that, Dr. Kitagawa pointed at a different contraption. One I’d never seen before. It looked almost like a giant wheel a person could be strapped to. A ...
I Was Offered 100.000 Euros to Beta-Test a New Piece of Virtual Reality Technology – Part 1
“Hitting rock bottom doesn’t mean you have to stay there.” - Michelle Parsons That was the reason I found myself in front of a small, mundane office building in the outskirts of Berlin. It should be the greatest mistake of my life, even more so than all the shit I’d ...
The Wonderful Works of Nikolay the Wonderful
“The Wonderful Works of Nikolay the Wonderful,” he read out loud as he stared at the book I’d handed him. His eyes returned from the book to me, and a questioning look formed on his face. I couldn’t help but giggle. Nikolay was the smartest man I knew, a bona ...
I Wish I’d Never Met the Man Named Ivan Nikolayev
The passing of time is a strange thing. "Uncle Mike's died," mom told me over the phone. I was devastated, but not shocked. My great uncle Mike had been an old man, very old indeed. He was in his mid-nineties when he died. I'd only ever met him when I ...
Robert’s Repairs
If you'd seen Robert's Repairs, you'd most likely think of it as a simple, small-town repair shop—the owner, Robert, just another typical grease monkey. In reality, there was much more to the shop and its owner. The most interesting fact about Robert was that he could fix anything. I don't ...