I admit, it was all, and quite entirely through no intention of my own, something of an accident.

  You see, I never meant to... get into all of this. It all began roughly two years ago, with the invention of neural uploading. No one knew really how it worked - advanced technology most of us couldn't understand, with the promotional material throwing in so many scientific buzzwords and sci-fi sounding fluff that I don't think most of us even bothered to understand what was going on inside the head-mounted machine.

  No, we were more interested with what it could do.

  The way it was expined, broadly, was pre-programmed induced hallucinations. Uploaded memories. The device had the ability to intercept signals from the brain, interpret them, and then send back a response that would key the brain into thinking something had happened. Taking advantage of the way our brains perceive reality, to create a false one.

  Oh the legal battles were insane for a while.

  The big shift in public perception, came with the release of, of all things, a game.

  The Worlds Beyond.

  It was a simple premise, really. In there, you could be whoever you want, experience whatever you wanted, and it would feel completely and totally real- because it would be your own brain imitating it's own perceptions. Complete fidelity to one's daily experience, but with, magic, explosions, portals, and shit.

  That day, it was my birthday. For once, I had company.

  "We got you something, a surprise!"

  I blinked, as Emilia and Jose stepped through the door to my third-story apartment, the short girl practically vibrating with excitement, her brown hair bouncing nearly as much as she was as she hopped on her toes, holding a carefully wrapped present in her hands.

  "Wha- Emi, you aren't even through the door yet!" I failed to suppress a ugh as she danced her way through the door to set the gift - wrapped in a some kind of shimmering white paper - on the isnd of my kitchen. Jose shook his head with a smile as he stepped through the doorway, holding a simple, but very appreciated cake.

  "She's probably more excited for this than anything else that could happen tonight." Jose grinned, the two of us csping each other in the typical one-armed embrace of "guyness", before separating with a fist bump. "It took us quite a while to save up for it, if I'm being honest."

  I smiled, taking the cake and setting it on the counter, before getting a single bottle of wine - the only one I kept in the house - and poured a css for the shorter man. He was about 5' 9", I'd dare to say, in freedom units, putting him around two inches shorter than I, although he insisted he was the tallest in his family. His family was from South America, somewhere, so his cim was most likely valid. I distinctly remembered how tall I had felt while riding the buss in Buenos Aires - the contrast had been impressive, although I had found it retively easy to find street signs or any other markers needed, standing almost a head above a rge chunk of the popution.

  Naturally, there had still been plenty of people who towered over me, but not nearly as often as happened here in the states.

  "Well now you have me curious, what on earth could you have gotten me that would have required both of you to save up?"

  Jose ughed.

  "Look, man, you teach at a martial arts studio. We are intimately aware of the fact that you typically make rent- with little wiggle room for more than a few snacks."

  I shrugged.

  "Economy's a bitch."

  "You can say that again." Emilia scoffed, as she tucked up her legs on a couch. She was, in my eye, the epitome of cuteness. Small in all the ways that accentuated her natural spark for life, making her boundless energy that much more noticeable. Of the three of us, she was, without a doubt, the most well-off.

  A point Jose was quick to pounce on.

  "Emi, of the three of us, your sary is by FAR the rgest. How much did you make st month again?"

  Emilia blushed while she waved a hand dismissively.

  "That doesn't matter Jose!"

  "Wasn't it something close to 6,000? or was it 8,000?"

  "I suppose that depends on how humble she's feeling when we ask doesn't it?" Jose teased.

  A pillow flew at high speed toward Jose's face, and he keeled over dramatically onto the second couch in the room, ughing.

  "I'm just gd that Rhun here was able to pick up the couches before things went truly south." she huffed. "Otherwise I'd have to knock you onto the floor for being rude, rather than onto a nice, soft nding pad."

  I ughed, pouring a gss of wine for each of them, before sitting on a simple armchair set up underneath the windows.

  My apartment wasn't anything grand, by yester-year's standards. Two bedroom, which for me meant I had an office and a sleeping space, a single living room / kitchen combo, and a whole two bathrooms in the space.

  For me, in this day and age? Absolutely luxurious.

  Emilia practically burst.

  "We don't have to wait, right, we can show him?"

  "Once we do, we both know you aren't going to be able to wait." Jose decred. " And we just got here!"

  "Cake first then." I decred, "after that you can surprise me."

  Emilia pouted.

  "Fine."

  It was a good night, we ughed. Swapped stories about work. Drank probably a bit too much, in their case, which I didn't mind. I was more than willing to drive them home to their respective apartments if needed.

  Emilia did, however, hand the package to me at some point, vibrating just as intensely as when she had come through the door.

  "Open it! Openitopenitopenit!"

  I ughed.

  "Ok, ok!"

  I pulled away the wrapping paper, and went still.

  Pristine white ceramic met my eyes. Intricate neural wiring lined the inside of what essentially looked like a halo, with a widened area at the front and back, meant to cover the eyes and cradle the occipital lobe. metallic lining bordered the ceramic insets, and I gasped in shock. I gingerly lifted the device from it's box, and held it up.

  "No way..." I whispered.

  "Yes Way!" Emilia cried out with glee. "It's the Archon200 model, the test creation of Archon enterprises, streamlining any problems encountered with previous models, twice as durable, and rated for re-entry from orbit if needed." She beamed at me, practically glowing.

  "But this costs..."

  "Four thousand bucks. Yep."

  My eyes widened.

  "I- I can't... this is..."

  Jose chuckled.

  "Before you refuse, you might want to open my gift."

  He pulled a small wrapped package from inside his suitcoat, and presented it to me. It felt like a CD case, and my hands shook as I reached for it, not daring to hope.

  I pulled the wrapping away, revealing the infamous cover art for the single most intense gaming experience ever created.

  "Worlds Beyond..." I whispered, heart racing. "You - you shouldn't have!"

  Emilia grinned even wider, wagging a finger at me.

  "A gift is a gift, Rhun my dear, and this is one you cannot refuse!" She hesitated, as she slouched a bit. "We've been friends since college. Jose and I have had the game for a while now - and... we want you to come with us, join us on our next adventure in there."

  Jose nodded.

  "We don't have a lot of freedom, when it comes to schedules, but... with this... hopefully travel times won't cut into how often we can hang out."

  I wiped away an involuntary tear, hoping the others hadn't seen it, but knowing they had.

  "Guys... I - I don't know what to say."

  "Don't worry about saying anything man." Jose said with a grin. "I think this is a good pce to wrap the night eh? It will take some time for you to set up your Archon device, and I've already called an uber to get Emi and me back home safely."

  I ughed, standing to embrace them both as tightly as I could.

  "Well, if I cannot return your absolutely ridiculous gift, then I suppose I will have to make the most of it, no?"

  Emi ughed, rising onto her tiptoes to give a perfectly amicable kiss on my cheek.

  "Have Fun Rhun, We've made sure to upload our contact info to your Archon, so you'll be able to find us as soon as you're ready!"

  I waved them out the door, and they made their way down the three flights of steps down my apartment. I watched them go with a smile, before turning my gaze to the pool down below.

  It was spring, in most pces, which meant that here, in Las Vegas, summer was already fully in swing. Laughter echoed as small families spshed in the small space. I swept my eyes out over the two patches of astro-turf, where someone was pying fetch with their dog in the warm night.

  I went back inside, closed the door, and lifted the masterpiece halo of ceramic, gold, and chrome from it's pce on my coffee table, hands trembling as I carried it, and the game case for Worlds Beyond, into my bedroom.

  I set the device onto my head, turning it on, and inserted the chip for the single most ambitious game ever created thus far.

  Light fshed in my eyes, and I was met by the sensation of falling.