Julia laid down on her backyard lawn to sunbathe.


    As she gazed up at the sky, she saw a cloud pixelate and then return to normal.


    “What the heck?”  She holo-called her friend Robert. “Rob, have you seen things pixelate?”


    “Uhm, no, that’s not a good sign, Jules. It means that you’ve plugged in too often. You need to take a break from VR.”


    Julia, dissatisfied with Robert’s answer, coded a program to hack the system and investigate.


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    “Oh my god!”  She holo-called Robert again. “Rob, I need to meet you in VR right now!”


    “All right, I’ll be there in a moment.”


    —————


    “Rob, I’m encrypting our connection.”


    “What’s up, Jules? Why all this cloak-and-dagger silliness?”


    “Rob, do you recall the first time you ever used VR?”


    “Uh, yeah, when I was very young.”


    “Was it the full immersion type?”


    “Let me think … Yes, it was. Where they upload your mind using The Chip and temporarily substitute it with AI, then return you to your body after the session finishes.”


    “Yes, well, Rob, my program discovered something …”


    “What’s that, Jules?”


    “We never returned.”