VR Troopers: When Worlds Collide

Welcome to Reality

Hours elapsed as three friends witnessed an intense simulation that left them fatigued and at a loss for words. In the midst of simulating a prototype version of Metal Fighters, a loose circuit in their VR head gear resulted in an electronic malfunction of the machine's hardware. To them, the Crossworld Gaming Expo had been an annual staple of theirs since childhood; it had been a social gathering of gaming fanatics from around the world. Until recently, the trio took a moment off from work to spend quality time with one another. What was intended to be their day of leisure took a drastic turn for the worse.

Inside of a medical clinic, Kaitlin and J.B sat at the lobby waiting for Ryan to complete his eyesight checkup. Having finished their previous appointments, they spent their time reflecting over what just transpired back at the convention. Neither one could comprehend what they had to endure. Not once did they attempt to utilize any electronic equipment, even if it meant turning on their cell phones. The only measure taken involves a moment of contemplation.

"Hey guys. I thought you could use something to eat." As an encouragement to his peers, Michael entered the clinic lobby with some potato chips from a nearby vending machine.

"Come on you guys. I hate to see all of you silent," he continued. Despite good intentions, he began to realize not even a single treat could rejuvenate the optimism that previously illuminated from the trio's faces.

As the appointment concluded with Ryan's checkup, J.B and Kaitlin stood up from their chairs in curiosity of his condition.

"Hey, how did yours go?" Kaitlin wondered.

"Well the doctor says my eye sights are fully functional. Even though I could still use my phone, they advise me to only use it in the event of an emergency," Ryan provided them with the update.

"They also said the same thing to me and Kaitlin also," J.B informed. "It's best if we trim back on using our electronics, at least for the time being.

"I would like to think what we saw back there was some sort of act for the show," Michael said.

"That's what we would've have thought," J.B empathized with his nephew. "Whatever technical malfunction that went on, hopefully the game developers figure out a way to fix the engineering."

"Tell me about it," said Kaitlin. "It would've sucked for anyone else to experience what we had to go through."

The rest of the gang nodded in agreement. Neither one could comprehend the happenstance that transpired within the course of 24 hours. Whether the technical malfunction was an accident or a plot devised by the game developers, it didn't help that they as beta testers were nearly at risk of health seizures.

"Let's sign off with our signatures on the time sheet and we can call it a day." Kaitlin insisted. Along with J.B and Ryan, the trio took a moment to sign their names on the time sheet clipped to a clipboard.

When they made their exit from the clinic, they prepared to close out the rest of their festivities with a parting of ways.

"It's been fun hanging out with you guys. I mean, despite what happened back there. I haven't had a blast like this for as long as I could remember," Ryan conceded with a friendly compliment.

"That's what friends do. Socializing and having a great time," said J.B.

"You could say that again," Kaitlin added blowing off the strand of her blonde hair. "I'm going to have quite a field day writing this article."

"Do you think your readers will buy into the fact that some strange occurrence happened to us back there? Given from the fact that our brains almost got zapped by those headsets?" Ryan addressed his concerns to Kaitlin.