Free Enchanted Ever After (Mystic Circle) by Robin D. Owens Page B

cutting edge of the gaming world.
    “Yes,” Jenni said. “I’ve heard of those games, too, even tried
them. But, I promise you, the gloves are not recording any information. They are
for virtual reality purposes only.”
    “I don’t see the connectivity to the computer system.”
    “Optical,” Jenni said promptly.
    Lathyr walked toward her and put his gloves on again—they
weren’t the same texture, more like thin silk. Jenni’s were velvet. He said, “I
assure you, Ms. Palger, that you are a prime candidate for this job.”
    All the repetition brought relief. “I do want the job.”
    Jenni’s brows rose. “Let’s go then.” She waved and the other
monitors blinked on, along with the cheerful cheep of keyboards, game pads and
mice coming online.
    Kiri stared. “Wow, your gloves really work.”
    “Like magic.” Jenni laughed. “Ready?”
    Kiri put her visor on, nothing odd happened. What had she
expected, tentacles slipping into her brain? No, don’t think that.
    “Is everything...okay?” asked Lathyr.
    “Fine,” Kiri said, though she felt a little stupid with the
gloves and visor on. She didn’t think most casual gamers would want to wear the
accessories unless the immersive factor was really amazing. But she sure
wouldn’t say that yet. Not when she was at the starting post, ready to surge
forward and hit the game running.
    No. That might not work with this game. Not all were fast; some
that mimicked real life were deadly slow in her opinion. An alternative to real
life, just trying to make it better with a choice of mate and children...no,
that reminded her of Shannon, and Kiri’s thoughts were too scattered!
    She had to focus, to be primed.
    “Ready?” Lathyr asked.
    “Ready.”
    Light engulfed her vision. Transformation!
Brought to you by Eight Corp! The words vanished in an explosion of
yellow and Kiri dropped into the game.
    She stood atop a low hill, breathing in summer air and looking
down on a carpet of many-colored wildflowers. She could almost believe wind
lifted her hair from her neck. She touched her hair, held it before her face.
Looked exactly like her own hair. She wasn’t wearing gloves, and her hands
appeared to be her own, too, with the glittery tint she’d put on her nails.
    She was there. No visor narrowed
her vision.
    “Wow.” She reached out for the water bottle on the counter
beside her in real life. Nothing happened but her arm slicing thin air. “Wow,”
she repeated. “This really is full immersion.”
    “This is the opening sequence,” Lathyr said. He stood beside
her, dressed as he had been in real life—European-cut suit, pale blue shirt, no
tie.
    He swept an arm around in an expansive gesture, and turned in
place. Kiri did, too.
    “As you can see, there are four realms in Transformation.” His
smile crinkled his eyes and Kiri thought it was the first carefree one she’d
seen from him. Was he easier in a game setup, too? “Since many things in the
game are complex, such as the virtual reality...hardware...” Now he waved a hand
and Kiri thought she saw the outline of a sparkling glove. “We are keeping the
magic portion of the game fairly simple. Each realm corresponds to an ancient
element—water, air, earth, fire.”
    “Ah.” From the hill, the realms were vivid quarters of a round
pie and looked different and colorful. Excitement and just plain fun began to
seep into her—why had she balked, this looked so kewl? She flexed her fingers
and tiny sparkles rose from her hands in spirals. Oh, yes, cool! She did a
little rock in place, a little butt shimmy, and tried another wave. Her mouth
dropped open as small butterflies rose from her fingertips. Her laugh got stuck
in her throat and came out a low chuckle. “I love these gloves!”
    “Good to hear,” Jenni’s smug voice came, vibrating through the
band of Kiri’s visor over her ears.
    “Examine the realms,” Lathyr said. “This is the only time you
will be on this hill and have this