"What do you think of this, Jared?" Joe from IT showed Jared, the CTO, an amusement park setting.


    "Sure, that''s fine, Joe, but no NPCs. She wants it exclusive."


    Employees plugged in to join a corporate metaverse picnic while bringing their families.


    The employees exclusively gathered together for a short agenda meeting during a lunch break.


    Sarah, the CEO, stood on a stage and spoke to everyone else seated.


    "First, I''d like to say I''m so glad all of you could make it. It''s a pleasure meeting your spouses, partners, and children. Now let''s get to business quickly so we can enjoy the rest of the day!"


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    A buzzer sounded, then a voice stated: "Warning, unsupported topical protocol violation."


    "What the heck?" Sarah looked around.


    Jared chuckled.


    "What''s so funny, Jared?" asked Sarah.


    "It''s the nature of the metaverse." He shrugged and folded his arms.


    "Hmm. Okay. As I was saying, I''ve read your holo-charts and ..."


    The buzzer sounded again: "Final warning. Any further business discussion will incur servicing fees."


    "Huh? Okay ... Your aggregated data suggests ..."


    "One thousand credits is being debited per minute for business discussion."


    "Jared, what''s going on?"


    "You chose the recreational advertising-free model, Sarah."


    "That''s right, Jared. We paid a large lump sum for this virtual amusement park."


    "Yes, but only for recreational activities. Typically any business discussion incurs a fee. And all virtual activity is associated with advertising like holographic billboards or virtual NPCs representing and interacting with commercial interests unless there''s a prepay as we did for this amusement park."


    "Oh, fine." Sarah raised her hands in annoyance while stepping off the stage. "We''ll skip this ..."