[Republished] A World Gone Virtual (8 in Science Fiction 3/8/13)

Chapter Thirteen

The next few weeks are like a honeymoon.

I come to know AJ better than I had. That her dreams can stretch to include me, that her plans in life can accommodate me being with her. This gives me more happiness than I can ever tell her.

Long walks through Central Park, trips to the Statue of Liberty, going on a tour of Ellis Island, looking out at the world from atop the Empire State Building... There's just so much to do in New York City, whether it's virtual or not.

I'm having so much fun that I hardly think of Jared at all, until he shows up the weekend before I start at the virtual City College for summer term.

Frantic pounding on my apartment door makes me bolt upright in bed, where I've been reading. AJ stumbles out of the bathroom, still half-dressed because she was getting ready for bed. She raises her eyebrows quizzically at me. She's been staying the night a lot recently. It's now very late at night, at least three in the morning.

Cautiously, I head into the living room, pulling on my blue bathrobe as I go. AJ follows after a moment of finding her own nightgown. Glancing at AJ, who nods, I pull open the door.

Jared falls over the threshold, staggering to his feet quickly. He practically runs inside and then slams the door behind him. He's panting hard, like he's been running a long time. Finally he turns to face us, red-faced and sweating. "Hey, Seth," he gasps, lurching over to the sofa and dropping onto its cushions. Looking at each other, we go to sit in the armchairs across from him, staring at him as he gradually gets his breath back.

"Jared, what--? What are you doing here?" I ask.

My unspoken question: why haven't you been deleted yet?

"Why are you here?" AJ says stiffly, and with a jolt, I remember how he treated her the last time they saw each other.

He had hit her.

"I'm on the run," he says, his voice much more even now. "Every time I jack in--"

"Thought you said you couldn't jack out," I say, confused.

He waves that off. "She doesn't know where I live, right? The simulator is actually in my parents' names, they bought it for me. So I bet she thinks I live there, at home. But I took it with me when I moved to an apartment, so--"

"Jared, the simulator has a GPS installed. It's how they know what city you live in, so they can accurately place you in that city in here."

He smiles. "Yeah, but it's not so accurate, is it? I mean, the drop is random. You could appear anywhere."

I shake my head. "Jared, that's for in here. Outside, I'm sure it's a lot more specific."

This information gives him pause for only a moment. "Well, they'd need a warrant to get my body, and the World Court has never said that you can be imprisoned for crimes in virtual reality, so I'm sure--"

"The law can be changed."

We all whip around. In the open doorway stand three agents, guns drawn.

They advance into the room and one shuts the door behind her. The man who spoke continues: "So...Mr. Thomas. You believe you can evade the law forever? You didn't believe we would catch up to you?"

Jared rises slowly, glaring at the agents. "You can't do shit. I have my rights. The law states--"

"The law states what, Mr. Thomas?"

Jared falters for a moment, then recovers. "The Virtual Immersion and Interactivity Code states that Users have the right to conduct themselves as they wish within the simulation, as long as they commit no crime. I haven't killed a simulant or anything. Which isn't illegal, anyway."