City of the Falling Sky
laughed.
    “ You can’t beat a bit of
jam,” Henrei said defensively.
    Seckry glanced around him at two huge,
circular domes which were blinking with blue lights. One of them
had the faded letters FRI ON printed on it.
    “ Are those the Friction
pods?” Seckry asked.
    “ Indeed they are, my boy,”
Henrei said, striding over to them. “Got a few screws loose, this
left one here, but I’ve masking taped it up. Good as any pods
you’ll find in the city, these are. Been running them for twenty
five years now. Had them when Friction was first invented, I did. I
tell you what, the game looked a lot different back
then.”
    Seckry examined the pods. They were made of
fibreglass and it looked as though both of them had begun to melt
at the bottom from the heat of their power supplies. They were
perfect spheres with a hatch each on opposite sides. He opened one
and peered into it.
    The pod was empty, but its inner walls were
coated with dark glass. The only blemish in the sphere’s perfection
was an open slot in the base, which was just big enough to hold an
avatar tablet.
    “ You want a go?” Henrei
asked.
    “ I’d love to,” Seckry said
truthfully, “but I haven’t spent my vouchers yet. I haven’t got an
avatar.”
    “ Well, no need to worry,
lad. Most newbies don’t have one. You don’t need an avatar for the
training program, and I wouldn’t advise jumping straight in without
at least getting to grips with the basics. Go on, get
in.”
    A smile spread across Seckry’s face. He
thought he’d have to wait ages before he’d be able to have a go of
one of these things. He got inside cautiously. It smelled a bit
sweaty and damp but he didn’t mind.
    “ The pod will detect that
you’re a new player and it’ll load up the training program,” Henrei
said. “I’m gonna close the door. It won’t start until I do. Here’s
a reference sheet if you forget any of it. And there’s always an
exit button located on your waist for when you’re ready to quit.”
Henrei stuffed a small, laminated piece of paper into Seckry’s left
pocket and shut the pod hatch with a thud. It seemed as though it
were hanging loose a bit.
    Seckry spun his head around. It was strange
being so enclosed.
    Before he had time to ponder any more, there
was a burst of colour all around him and some music began playing,
a nice, subtle background piece.
    “ Welcome,” said a woman’s
voice. “Just relax while we begin your Friction
experience.”
    The voice was soft and soothing, crisp clear
with a Skyfall accent.
    “ You will now be lifted into
the centre of the pod.”
    Lifted? Seckry thought. He looked
around, but there was nothing to take a hold of him.
    Suddenly, Seckry found that his arms felt a
lot lighter, and they were drifting up towards his head. Then he
realised that his feet were parting with the glass sheen of the
floor.
    He was floating.
    “ Oh my Gedin!” Seckry said
to himself.
    “ Now that you are suspended
in the air, Friction can fully emulate your surroundings. The first
thing we will emulate is a floor.”
    There was a flicker of green light and a wire
mesh appeared momentarily beneath him before transforming into a
patch of grass.
    Seckry’s weight seemed to come back then, and
he dropped onto it. The amazing thing was that this grass wasn’t
confined to the pod, it seemed to stretch for miles in all
directions. An illusion by the pod, no doubt, but an utterly
convincing one.
    He ran his fingers through the grass and it
felt cold and slightly wet and . . . real.
    “ There we are,” the voice
said reassuringly. “Now tell me your name.”
    “ Seckry,” Seckry said,
unsure of where to aim his voice. It didn’t seem to matter though,
as the woman replied, “Hello Seckry.”
    “ Hi,” Seckry said
sheepishly, glancing all around him.
    “ Let me tell you a little
bit about Friction before we begin.”
    The Friction logo appeared in the sky.
    “ Friction was invented
twenty five years ago by design team

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