Free Continue Online (Part 3, Realities) by Stephan Morse

playing. If Liz locked me out of Continue Online forever this might be my only place to relax. It would just be without Xin, Dusk, or any of the other Travelers I had gotten to know.
    "When you want to be, Unit Hermes," she said, a smile beamed across her face. "Now please, Unit Hermes, go forth and achieve great contribution to the Consortium."
    The machine released me and everything felt a bit more jerky. There was a tingle to my skin that hadn't been there before. Not like the numbness or itching when that shower stall like vice had trapped me. No, this was like having a sunburn.
    "Okay." I nodded. This game was neat too in terms of ARC feedback for the world details.
    Thirty minutes later and I was walking around on the hull. The shock of endless stars still lingered, but my resolution to be braver held true. All that time spent as William Carver, Hermes, and even the [Red Imp] Spite, helped me adapt to a new situation fairly quick. Having a death grip magnet ability helped.
    "Whoa." My energy bar flashed yellow. I scrambled for one of the handholds. They were planted every fifty feet. Little places to grip and hang onto.
    "Still. There's a lot to clean up. This is probably going to take forever, huh Dusk," I said absently. Talking to the small dragon-like creature had become habit after a few relative months inside Continue Online. The [Messenger's Pet] didn't cross through games with me though so I was basically talking to myself.
    "It's like the world's dirtiest dish." I surveyed the landscape of Wayfarer Seven. So far my first non-Voice induced quest felt dull. My energy bar took a few minutes to recharge and once complete I started wandering the hull picking up any manner of items
    Some were globs of goo materials. I assumed it was space bird crap like on a car. There were places with smudges of dirt that I brushed off with a giant mop like tool. The item itself thankfully came with a belt and tether so I never lost it when [Anchor] wore off. In addition was actual space debris that flew by and needed to be dodged. If bathroom cleanup was a mini-game somewhere it was probably just as boring.
    I came close to falling off six or seven times before cleaning one of the huge areas.
    The work was absorbing if monotonous. The solitude of space gave me time to sort myself out regarding Xin, Liz, Beth, and everyone else. It was during one of the pauses for energy recovery that I fired up the ARC's messaging system. Luckily it worked the same here as in Continue Online.
Grant Legate : Hi, Munchkin. If you want to talk about what happened please let me know. You're an adult now so you have a right to have it explained.
     
    Maybe Beth didn't have a right to know. Honestly, my attempted suicide could be no one's business but my own. She was my niece and Doctor Litt had okayed it if I wanted to.
    The only real difference was needing to wait for a time dilation difference. Continue Online didn't accept relative conversation with the outside world. While it ran four to one, nearly no other programs did. Advance Online seemed to operate at a two to one, but it wasn't as impressive.
Elizabeth Legate : Uncle Grant. Mom's still really mad. She keeps waiting for you to call her. We're worried. Are you okay?
     
Grant Legate : Of course I'm okay.

    I couldn't call myself completely fixed, but the self-destructive impulses from years gone by were far less than they had been. Games skewed my behavior while playing. That was no new issue though or restricted to just the ARC.
Elizabeth Legate : Are you sure? I don't know what you two were yelling about. Mom won't explain it. She says it's not something for me to worry about. I'm not ten anymore, Uncle Grant.
    Grant Legate : I know you're not, Munchkin. It's hard for us adults to see past the young girl who lost her baby teeth.
     
    Typing out the message brought a smile with it. Beth was always fun to tease. In my eyes, she would never stop being that little girl who rushed around the