[Republished] A World Gone Virtual (8 in Science Fiction 3/8/13)
22 parts Complete Book 1 of the "World Gone Virtual" series.
In 2073, the human race has acheived one of its dreams--strong artificial intelligence, and, along with it, true virtual reality. Seth Wells is an average 2073 young adult. He spends most of his time plugged in to CyberSphere, the virtual reality system created by CyberSphere Corporations, as do most people his age. However, there is a problem with this utopian virtual society: People choose to treat the System as a virtual playground, disregarding the Sphere's rules in favor of their own desires (and Seth will admit he's not immune to this). Seth is so enamoured with the System that he contemplates doing something that might risk his whole way of life. And, as he slowly discovers, beneath this opening turmoil lurks a secret that could risk so much more.