Then What Am I Supposed To Do?

Inside the VR simulation called Haven stood the girl named Charlotte. Haven was the ultimate game and entertainment center virtual reality experience. Charlotte was standing in the general area of Haven, made up of grassy lands, bodies of water, shops, and villages. Think of Final Fantasy or Elder Scrolls, but on a hyper level. Haven started as a VR sim, much like Second Life. Still, things that were once held in the real world like conventions, private parties, celebrity meet-and-greets, etc., were now happening in Haven. This was only Charlotte's third day in Haven, and she wished she could enjoy the simulation more, just like all the other players, but knew she had a job to do.

She thought to herself, "I wish Charlie could just mingle with the other players like everybody else, but mingling isn't exactly Charlie's strong suit." Charlotte was not a typical player or NPC (Non-Playable Character) in Haven. But that didn't detract from Charlotte's bubbly personality and childlike wonder. She would stare wide-eyed at the other players coming in and out of mini-games and challenges that made up Haven. Her nervousness of approaching somebody was something she had to deal with. She looked at one female player in her teens. By her looks, she couldn't look any older than fifteen. Charlotte was also designed to appear no older than fifteen. She looked at the girl and started to read her feelings. Charlotte felt a mixture of ecstatic and dread exuding from the girl. Charlotte could only guess that the girl was probably thrilled for experiencing Haven but couldn't tell why she was feeling dread as well. Of course, the girl was also feeling dread because she didn't want to go back to her everyday life. She had a deadbeat dad, an older brother who abused her, and an alcoholic mother who wouldn't even so much as wince by her surroundings. Charlotte could read people's feelings, but not their thoughts. Charlotte contemplated to herself if she should go over and talk to the girl, like what she was designed for, but a new instinct introduced inside Charlotte told her "no." Her purpose was to go find someone else in Haven.

***

One day in October, Jerome Peterson, a frequent Haven player, logged in and began to march to his gaming destination. Jerome's username in Haven, however, was Guardian Wolf. Since his username was Guardian Wolf, Jerome's avatar was fashioned as an anthropomorphic grey wolf. Haven was a massive VR simulation where anyone can enter in real-time, with their avatars, to different sections and areas that populated the sim. Most of these areas were inhabited by mini-games and challenges. Haven was primarily for gamers, after all. Ever since Haven was introduced into the market, every next-gen console became obsolete. Sony went back to selling TVs and cameras while Nintendo signed a deal with Haven to port all of its games onto the sim to save the company from going bankrupt. Microsoft tried to port its Xbox games into Haven, but their offer was denied, so they went back to selling software and computer hardware. Jerome, however, was not going into any of the areas where you can play video games VR style in the world of Haven. Jerome was going to a Magic the Gathering meet-up to play against other players. Jerome used to be a part of a guild, but he left that guild some time ago for reasons that aren't known to many. Jerome has always been an avid card gamer, though, for Magic the Gathering. See Haven added a feature where Magic players can meet virtually in the sim and play against each other. All Haven needed from the player was to scan the barcode number of their card deck and upload it into Haven's data mainframe.

Jerome eagerly walked past a few Haven sections where players were participating in different gaming activities. On Jerome's right-hand side, he passed some players playing Haven's Nintendo VR games. You could see Mario and Princess Peach interacting with some players on one side and Link from The Legend of Zelda on the other. On Jerome's left-hand side, people were taking advantage of Haven's unique go-kart racing circuit. Mario Kart and Crash Team Racing's elements could be seen as each player had a particular vehicle with weapons equipped. Jerome was almost at the Magic the Gathering station now. This would be one of the highlights of his week.

Jerome signed into the Magic the Gathering station with his Haven Profile ID. Everyone in Haven was required to make a profile used as their ID, much like most online games from the past did. Jerome recognized at least three-quarters of the Magic players at the section. Some of them Jerome considered being his new friends, while others were acquaintances. Jerome didn't recognize the ones that would be new players coming on to the section for the first time. Some of them would stick and others would drop out like flies. Jerome didn't mind though, the way he saw it, the fewer players there were, the better it was for him. Playing Magic meant everything to Jerome. It was his life, the best part of his life. Maybe even the only good thing in his life. As Jerome scanned the area with his eyes, searching for what he deemed to be his next "worthy opponent," his eyes landed on the player MasterofLuck. The player's real name was Brendan Romero, but Jerome wouldn't know that. He figured it was time to settle the score. Jerome approached Brendan in anticipation.

"Hey, MasterofLuck! Wanna game?" said Jerome.

"Sure, Guardian Wolf, I'll take you on again!" said Brendan.

The two of them picked a holo table to sit at. All the tables where the Magic players would play had a holographic, neon look to them so that the players' decks would appear more visible to them since they weren't the physical cards but digital replicas. It sort of looked like something that came out of the Tron movies and, if anything, probably inspired by it. Jerome and Brendan sat down and began playing as the digital replicas of their decks appeared. Jerome wasted no time packing his most brutal punch on Brendan, and in turn, Brendan wasn't going easy on Jerome either. These two young gentlemen were such formidable opponents with the countless hours they had practiced and battled others that one would have thought they were playing in a championship round against one another. When Jerome played against an opponent, he especially immersed himself in the game. You can see the difference in his behavior in his eyes. Jerome and Brendan each took turns playing a hand. Jerome started to look into Brendan's mind. He would begin to be able to read some of his moves. Brendan made for such a formidable opponent for Jerome because he was one of the very few players that could maintain a poker face. And since Brendan didn't reveal too much body language or emotion, this made it harder for Jerome to read his thoughts. For you see, Jerome isn't just a regular, everyday guy; he has telepathic abilities. Not just in the simulation, but in the outside world too. Being a telepath or telekinetic was kind of like being part of an exclusive club. Those who had it wouldn't know others who had it until they found them. Once more "TP" and "TK" people found each other, a small community and sub-communities were formed. Being "TK" meant you were telekinetic, while being "TP" meant you were telepathic. Jerome would carefully study each of Brendan's moves and try to read his mind before every one of his moves. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn't. Jerome was still discovering his exceptional talent. He was still exercising this muscle. All of a sudden, though, Jerome sensed something through his telepathy. Something was about to interrupt their game; he just knew it. And sure enough, something did. An ad for Project Superfuntime came on in the middle of Jerome and Brendan's game. The cards disappeared from the table as the ad popped up in holographic images taking over their entire gaming table.

Project Superfuntime was a new, unique program introduced for Haven. In the program, players go through exclusive, intensive combat training to earn double their amount of experience points or "XP" and get boosted on the leaderboards of Haven. By getting your ranking boosted on the leaderboards, you can unlock hidden levels to play at in Haven and special items and accessories and other bonuses like private parties and VIP access to Haven events. This was the lure to participating in Project Superfuntime. However, not every player was able to just freely go into Project Superfuntime at his or her leisure. They had to apply for the program like how you would for a job or an educational institute. This is what made Project Superfuntime exclusive and considered exceptional to be in.

Only the best and fittest players would be chosen to participate. Jerome and Brendan watched the Project Superfuntime ad that was centrifugal on the table, eagerly before them. Some of the top-ranking players of Haven were shown performing extraordinary physical and mental challenges in the ad. Players were shown jumping through hoops of fire, surfing the most enormous and terrifying waves of Haven's sea, and locking into combat with giant monsters categorized as some of Haven's most demanding bosses to defeat in the sim. The narrator of the Project Superfuntime ad touted all the benefits that could be reaped by signing up and applying for Project Superfuntime today and sees if you "have what it takes." All the players presented in the ad were shown like they were top soldiers of the U.S. army from the old days. As the ad finished, Jerome looked at the last image shown with nothing short of veneration. He was in awe. At that moment, Jerome's mind was no longer on the match or anything else except for joining Project Superfuntime. The ad, the program, the idea of being accepted into Project Superfuntime had changed him at that moment forever.

After Jerome finished his match with Brendan, he immediately left the Magic the Gathering station and went to the Project Superfuntime station to sign up. Once Jerome signed up, he would receive an email from the administration of Project Superfuntime that would give him instructions on how to apply online. Jerome needed only two people to reference him for his application. He got Brendan and another one of his friends from Magic that he met through Haven. Jerome finished the lengthy application in just two nights.

***

Jerome was now about a month into Project Superfuntime. His application was accepted just three weeks after he applied. By this time, Jerome had already mingled with a few of his comrades in the program. Carl Richards and Jimmy Smith were the two guys Jerome hung out with the most. Jimmy Smith was 17, and Carl Richards was 18, making Jerome the trio's eldest, being 19. Of course, Jerome only knew Carl and Jimmy by their usernames. Carl Richards' username was Pointy Hat, and his avatar was a wizard robe of black with silver lines with a pointy hat on his head from a traditional witch or wizard. It was easy to see how much Carl was inspired by Harry Potter and RPG games for his username and avatar. Jimmy's username was The Trickster. His avatar basically looked like a professional skateboarder, kind of like Tony Hawk. Jerome did happen to notice that everyone that got accepted into Project Superfuntime had some sort of psychic ability, whether they were "TK" or "TP" or both. Jimmy was telekinetic, and Carl was telepathic, like Jerome. Since Jerome and Carl would frequently have conversations in their heads and try to read and guess each other's moves whenever they competed against each other, this made for a friendly rivalry. Jerome would sometimes tease and even make fun of Carl for his Harry Potter obsessions with the pointy hat and wizard get-up. Carl would just shoot back remarks at Jerome teasing him that he's obsessed with being a "furry." Since Jimmy was TK, Jerome felt he could have a more relaxed approach in getting to know him. That was of course when Jimmy wouldn't be trying to sneak a levitated object towards Jerome.

Jerome and Carl would usually race each other on exclusive motorcycles given on Project Superfuntime's arena. The three young men would often participate in some of Project Superfuntime's Olympic-style games and challenges such as disc throwing, sprinting, and kickboxing, just to name a few. Other activities included sharpshooting, manhunt style, and target practice with Project Superfuntime's automatics. As each week passed, the three young men felt they were getting stronger and more skilled. Little did they know that their bodies in the real world were being injected with drugs. Not the good kind either like acetaminophen or morphine. More like steroids combined with methamphetamine, or "speed" like what teens and young adults called them. The people injecting the drugs into the players were agents of Project Superfuntime. Since Project Superfuntime was collecting applications from all their participants and each player had to indicate their real-world address, this made it easy for the agents of Project Superfuntime to sneak into their homes and apartments and inject them with the drugs. Their bodies would be in an unconscious state with their VR headsets over their faces, as it would be happening so they would never even notice. Many people in Haven didn't have jobs in the real world. Some of them took on virtual jobs in Haven itself, so the lack of overall productivity amongst Haven players didn't give away any suspicion to Project Superfuntime. Their nefarious and illegal activities were pretty much invisible to the public eye, making for an airtight operation.

***

Jerome felt his telepathic powers had significantly heightened after five weeks of participating in Project Superfuntime's challenges and activities. He could hear the thoughts of players around him louder and more precise than ever and even could hear the passing thoughts of the staff members of Project Superfuntime, although their thoughts were more blurred out. Jerome considered that his avatar's wolf ears probably mentally enhanced his abilities. Jerome and Carl constantly tried to outmatch each other in challenges and the competition between them grew fierce. Jerome got better at guessing Carl's moves since he could read his thoughts more clearly, especially in card games and just about any game that required scoring points. However, racing and shooting were a little different since those challenges were not "head-to-head" where you can see your opponent in front of you. Carl especially had an edge on Jerome in shoot-outs since Carl would shoot spells out of his wand, thanks to his avatar. Jerome thought it was cheap of him, but he felt pretty good overall about all of it, and yet, something had changed. His focus felt sharper, but it was not filling in a void that had been with Jerome for a long time now.

All of Jerome's friends back at home, in the real world, he had forgotten. Even Jerome's immediate family, which now consisted only of his mom and older brother, felt like a distant memory to Jerome now. As if they were ghosts. Jerome was already experiencing these symptoms even before he started his time on Project Superfuntime, but now his symptoms had gotten worse tenfold. It's like Jerome didn't know who he was anymore. Although Jerome had been questioning his identity ever since the accident…but suddenly, Jerome's train of thought was interrupted. He saw Jimmy, a.ka. The Trickster approaching him.

"Hey Jerome, are you okay?" said Jimmy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I guess I just feel a bit off today. I'm fine though, thanks for asking," said Jerome.

"Sure thing, Jerome. You look like you have a lot on your mind, though. Maybe you should take a little rest from today's challenges? Don't worry about playing against Carl. I'm sure he would understand," said Jimmy.

"No, it's fine, Jimmy, really. I'm good. I need to get as much out of this program as I can. I'm getting double the amount of XP plus other perks in Haven, so I don't wanna miss out and blow this opportunity." said Jerome.

"Well, suit yourself then!" said Jimmy.

"I will, as a matter of fact!" said Jerome with a laugh.

But Jerome was not fine. Physically he felt better than he ever did. His muscles felt stronger and more toned and his focus was off the wall. But mentally, Jerome wasn't right. There was too much on his mind. Why couldn't he remember things like the way he should, stuff from his everyday life? His friends from back home, who even, are they? Jerome even wondered where his life was going? It was just too much on Jerome. The whole thing was pressing on him more than he could bear.

Jerome thought back to his early days in childhood. He couldn't remember that much. Even from a young age, Jerome had a knack for playing card battle games. As Jerome was growing up, the world was ravaged by air pollution. It only got worse by the time Jerome entered his teen years. Scientists and health experts managed to find ways to keep the air clean in wealthy or well-off cities and neighborhoods, moderately clean in middle-class neighborhoods, and not clean at all in depressed areas. Jerome, unfortunately, grew up in a depressed area. When Jerome got a little older, he blacked out from a freak accident in his late teens. It hit him out of nowhere. But he refused to accept what the accident was. When his family and friends would tell him what happened, Jerome would just never take it. So Jerome's memory of the accident was virtually nonexistent. His memory of his life before the accident and who he was, became blurry ever since then. Sometime after Jerome's accident, that was when he joined a guild, but he didn't last. So ever since then, Jerome fancied himself "a lone wolf." Jerome thought it suited him, especially because of his avatar.

Jerome forced himself to shake off the thoughts and carried on with his day at Project Superfuntime. He could hear everyone else's thoughts in his head now, which made Jerome forget about what he was trying to remember. It was better this way, he figured. He wanted to forget.

By the time all the challenges of the day were complete, Jerome shook hands with Pointy Hat and The Trickster like they always did at the end of a Project Superfuntime session. The lineup of challenges for the day given to them was called a "session." Jerome waved off his comrades and exited the Project Superfuntime station back into Haven. He was getting ready to log off for the day and return to reality to go to bed for the night—the dreadful reality. But before Jerome could log off through the logout portal, he heard a voice out of nowhere.

"Geez, you are a tense one. It shows even just by how you look!" a girl said.

"What?!" said Jerome.

Jerome turned his head and looked at a petite girl with short brown hair and blue eyes and a purple sweatshirt, and a black mini skirt. She had a childlike appearance and a kind of whimsical look to her eyes.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners! My name's Charlotte! Pleased to meet you!" said Charlotte.

Charlotte extended her hand to Jerome for a handshake. Jerome extends his wolf paw to Charlotte.

"Uh, nice to meet you too?" said Jerome.

"I see now why I had to find you! Your mind is just racing! Racey, racey, racey, RACEY! Of course, Charlie can't read your mind, that is!" said Charlotte.

"I'm sorry, but who are you? And why did you follow me?" said Jerome.

"I told you silly-head my name is Charlotte! Or you can just call me Charlie if you want. I'm a magical girl! Actually, no, I'm not. And Charlie finds lots of people in Haven! It's what Charlie does. So don't get any ideas that you're special (whispers). Now can you tell me your name?" said Charlotte.

"Uh, right. So you have nothing better to do in this place than just stalk people. Okay, I get it. I don't mess around with weirdos like you. Go find someone else to stalk," said Jerome.

"You're quite a meanie, aren't you? And Charlie can tell now by your feelings that you must be thinking about your family!" said Charlotte.

"Wait, how did you know that?! I mean, what are you talking about?! You must be insane! Get lost now, you FREAK!" said Jerome.

"You don't wanna make friends with Charlie? You hurt Charlie's feelings, WAH WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" said Charlotte.

"Enough! I won't cave to your crocodile tears!" said Jerome.

"Eh, it's fine. No one usually wants to be friends with Charlie anyway," said Charlotte.

"I can't imagine why," said Jerome.

Jerome then looked directly into Charlotte's eyes and stared hard at them. His mood shifted at last. He could see the girl didn't mean any harm.

"I'm sorry, that was a bit harsh of me. Must be tough being in Haven and not making any friends. My name is Jerome," said Jerome.

Jerome then tried to read Charlotte's mind, but something was odd. It wasn't working! Why couldn't he read her mind like everybody else's? Why? Just why? This girl must have found a way to hide her thoughts from him, he figured. She must have special powers too, he thought. Could this whole cutesy personality she was putting on all just be an act? Was he being set up or tricked into doing something? Jerome had all these thoughts rushing through his head now.

"I can tell that you're questioning me again. I feel your nerves going all whacky," said Charlotte.

"You keep telling me about how I feel. How do you know how I FEEL?! Are you TP? Or something else I don't know about?!" said Jerome.

Charlotte smiled before answering.

"Not a TP, not like you," said Charlotte.

"Then WHAT?!" shouted Jerome.

"That's not important right now. What is important is you need to get away from Project Superfuntime, Jerome," said Charlotte.

"What? Why? What do you mean I have to get away?" said Jerome.

All of a sudden something triggered in Charlotte. The look in her eyes changed. Jerome could see it. Her eyes had a look of fierceness and command to them that he hadn't seen from her yet. And like a flame bursting out of her, her tone and demeanor completely changed into something scary. The sound of her voice changed completely too almost like she became a witch or some demon possessed her body.

"JEROME! PUT ASIDE YOUR INSECURITIES AND QUESTIONING AND LISTEN TO ME! Things aren't getting better in your life, you're real life, are they, Jerome? Your family has been giving you a hard time, aren't they? And you seem to be yearning for something, right?! Maybe some friends that you lost?" said Charlotte.

Jerome just stood there with a shocked expression on his face, not knowing what to say.

"How…how could you know all of this?" said Jerome.

"Because I'm meant to. I'm meant to help people like you, Jerome. People that are trapped in the deception of Project Superfuntime," said Charlotte.

"You're right about my family. They have been giving me a hard time, my mom and my brother. They think I'm not doing anything meaningful with my life," said Jerome.

"So what have you been doing about that, Jerome?" asked Charlotte.

"I haven't really been doing anything about it to tell you the truth. Ever since I had an accident that gave me a head injury, all I've been doing is coming into Haven and making friends here. The injury gave me a selective memory. So most of my friends from back home I forgot about," said Jerome.

"And has that helped you at all, Jerome? With solving your problems?" said Charlotte.

"Not as much as I hoped to tell you the truth. My mom and brother think I'm a total waste. That I'm good for nothing," said Jerome.

Charlotte's stern voice and demeanor loosened up and she reverted to her "normal" self with her normal voice returned.

"It doesn't have to stay this way, Jerome. You have much to offer to people. So much to give. You can become even better than what you are. Charlie can teach you," said Charlotte.

"You really think so?" said Jerome.

"Yes, but you have to leave Project Superfuntime, Jerome. They've been drugging you in the real world while you've been here without you knowing it," said Charlotte.

"Oh, God! How do you know all of this?" said Jerome.

"I'm not TP or TK, Jerome. I'm a program in Haven. I have a function given to me. A purpose put into my programming," said Charlotte.

"I see," said Jerome.

The two of them then just stared in awkward silence. Jerome thought to himself how Charlotte looked rather cute. But then he reminded himself that she was just a program in Haven. And even if she were real, she didn't look any older than fifteen. That's jailbait. Who could have created Charlotte? Was she just made for helping people like Jerome, who got caught in the wrong place in Haven? Was there anything more to her, he wondered?

"Hey Charlie?" said Jerome.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead, silly head."

"After you help me out and help others out, like me, who are stuck in the same boat with Project Superfuntime, what will you do after that?" said Jerome.

"That's a good question. Something that I've been wondering about myself for a looooooong time now; once I save you and the others. Then what am I supposed to do?" said Charlotte.

Charlotte then turns her head and senses someone nearby. Someone she feels she can make telepathic communication with. That's rare for Charlotte! Charlotte then thinks to herself, "Well, this is new and unexpected. Maybe Charlie has something else she can do after all!"