Specter 3

"Almost there!" Teyo exclaimed as he approached his house. He had just ran something short of half a mile back to his house after buying the newest VR headset, 'The Specter 3'. The specter system was the latest innovation made by Odnetnin, allowing players to feel and live the game. It required nothing more than the console and an internet connection. After that, you could just lay down or sit and be transported away into the world of your video games.

Teyo raced up his stairs. "I'm back!" he yelled to the house as a blanket announcement to let his mother and sister know he was home. Even without speaking, the quick succession of his footsteps up the staircase was all to familiar to them.

"Annnd freedom!" Teyo exclaimed as he let loose a symphony of wet noises into his toilet bowl. "Never drinking coffee on an empty stomach again," he murmered as his bowels continued to empty with sputtered splashes into the toilet. Teyo sighed in relief and opened the bag in his hands to look at the box to read it's contents while struggling on the toilet.

"Ah man I'm so excited! I can't wait. The Specter 2 only had in game view, but it now has simulated senses! If I can find one of those adu.."

"Teyoo!! Don't you dare play on your new Yons system before your chores! Get down here and get them done now!" his mother exclaimed.

Teyo let out a grumpy sigh and walked downstairs. His sister was sitting on the couch watching T.V. She hardly gave him any recognition beyond a simple "Yo" before returning to be aloof as ever. "Huh , puberty must have hit. She's all 'emo' now" he thought.

He walked in the kitchen and saw his mom making sandwiches on the counter. She must have done the dishes, she had the water running in the sink. He went over and turned off the faucet, then came up to his mother and gave her a gentle side hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Mmm, cucumber sandwiches? Do I get one?" he asked with charm.

His mother, now actively focusing on the sandwich making, turned to look at him with a scrunched up brow. "Do I look like I'm making extra? This is for your sister. You are nineteen. Now make your own." She gave him a quick shoo away motion to move him from the cupboard he was standing in front of to grab a plate. "Get your chores done. And you better stay on top of your grades! If that console becomes an issue I'll get my money back, one way or another," she warned.

"Okay, okay. Jeez mom, what's the deal? I'll get them done. If I do the rest of the dishes, can you make me a sandwich too? Please? Yours always taste better," he pleaded. Teyo didn't let his mom say no before he quickly went to take out the trash.

After picking up the dog poop and then doing the rest of the dishes, he was happily met with a sandwich left on the counter for him. Beside it was a note his mother left. "Teyo hun, take a shower. You stink. Also, I took your sister to soccer practice. We will be home at 5. If you're not started on homework then I will give your gamebox to your cousin. Thanks for the chores hun, here's a sandwich and there's another in the fridge if you're still hungry. XO Mom."

He smirked. "Mom, I haven't touched my xcube for years." Teyo let out a good laugh before he took his sandwich up stairs. After a brief moment of undress, he took a quick shower and went into his room. He sat at his computer desk and unboxed his Specter 3. He read through the inner contents while munching on his sandwich. "Pretty straight forward. Plug it into a monitor or TV, set up the wifi, create a profile, annnnd done. Too bad they don't have backwards compatible play, why do they never have that?? I'm loyal to the brand! Whatever." he grabbed out his helmet and set it on the desk.

The helmet was rather bland, it was a regular head shaped motorcycle helmet if only for it's face was a dark sheet of black glass, sight was completely blocked while wearing it. It was rather aerodynamic in shape as if it could be worn for style. On one side a stumpy antenna that was formed into the helmets overall shape protruding just an inch off the top. The sides where the earholes would be were where the power button, and phase screen buttons were.They allowed for the ears to slide up into the helmet so you could hear anything happening IRL, but they ruined immersion so Teyo immediately disregarded them. A mouth hole big enough for a straw was a wonderful addition to it's last iteration he had already thought he wouldn't be using it though. " What if I get it wet inside." It's solid white matte paint was it's classy touch, the embossed logo of Specter 3 on it's brow was the only real flare of branding.

" This thing looks sick!" Teyo plugged it into a charging station and then his computer monitor. After a few clicks it had access to his home internet. It has a lightning fast charge so he decided to finish his sandwich while it charged.

" Mmf, damn.. cream cheese, mixed with black pepper, onion powder, lemon juice, and a dash of paprika, thinly sliced cucumber and whole wheat...." Teyo stuffed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. He heard a light chime that his helmet was done charging and grabbed it to put on.

He pressed the power button and fell limp in his chair. Then over onto the floor with a loud thud. As he lost his sense on the outside, on the inside of the specter Teyo was met with a large white void. He came to realize that it seemed rather endless.
"Hello!" He heard himself echo deep into the pure white. After a brief moment he felt a light tap on his shoulder and twirled around with a girlish scream.

" Hello MindYoBidness, I am the specter three avatar assistant, follow me as we finish the set up of your device." Teyo look onward at a beautiful but rather boringly clothed woman in front of him.

" Holy sh.. this is wildly realistic. I'm like in here. Oh uhm also just call me Teyo."

" Okay 'Teyo'. Where you are is the Specter Zone. This is a place created between the fabric of your mind and body, allowing you to feel the sensations you would have normally. Unlike that connection however this is fully customizable. This is also a blank canvas for you to embellish for any visitors. With a simple thought you can bring up the Menu." As she spoke she brought up various screens and tabs and quickly went through them. " The first screen here is your profile, MindYoBidness age 19, weight 206 pounds, Height 6 ft 3, College student, Is that correct?"

" Yes.."

" Good now, the next page over is the store screen, here you can browse official games published by various distributors. There is even a Head crafted section were you can browse games created through the Specter system by it's users. You can also sell in game items and browse in game items here through accessing your profile and dragging them to the respective game name. As our promise to our customers, no in game currency is available for trade, or purchase. And every game is only allowed One dlc package to release after launch. If we monitor that you are unsatisfied with your purchase after 10 hours of gameplay you may process a refund with your catalog of game experience. Please be mindful of your purchases. The next tab is the Specter zone. Here you will find any and all things to flesh out the space here in your image. None of these items are for purchase and are specifically only available through unlocking them through games. No two items will ever be the same as they are created By you! Your experiences in the games of your choosing will help us facilitate and nurture a perfectly unique atmosphere to show your personality with friends and family."

" WOW. Cool. So that's it then huh? anything else? Kinda seems like there's more ya know. Haha just kidding." The avatar didn't do anything. After a brief moment a quick smile appeared on her face, it gave Teyo a quick chill.

" I'm reading that you were happy and then scared is everything alright?"

" Oh no no I'm fine. So what can I call you, wouldn't it be easier to give you a nickname or something? Specter 3 is a bit long. How about... Spex?"

" Okay I will now respond to Spex. I will now take my leave. Please enjoy your time you have a total of 18 minutes of gameplay remaining today."

"What?? 18 minutes whoa whoa.. Why?"

" Did you read the user manual? The Specter system compiles 10 hours of gaming into 20 minutes outside. We have been configuring and an entire two minutes were used to the set up process before you entered this space. If you would like to download a game while offline you're more than welcome to."

" That's amazing, but why only 20 minutes I guess is the real question? or should I say ten hours?"

" A humans nervous system is blocked during play. Primary functions in the subconscious play an active role but any longer than twenty minutes per day may hinder growth or harm an individual. It's also to not overload your brain with excess heat. The console taps into the processing power of your brain to function smoothly. You must wait an entire day once the console shuts off to have access to relog in."

"Curious. Well thank you Spex. I guess I will begin browsing while I still have time, I will call for you when I need you."

After that Spex simply fell through the floor as if it wasn't there. Teyo pulled up the menu and moved over to the store page. He then motioned to the top rated games. There weren't many games released yet and he wasn't to fond of shooters. So he quickly went through that list until he came to a game that was ranked 28th on the list.

" Wish Legacy " - A rouguelike adventure. Begin as a random class and traverse through the legacy of an ancient being, power through each level with your party and get to the 200th level! Hundreds of unlockable classes and each floor is procedurally generated. Thousand's of variable monsters, bosses, traps and more! Reach safe floors and revel in the glory of what you've made of yourself! Enjoy randomly generated gear and unlock abilities through the creativity of your talents! - On sale now 25% off - 45$

" Hmm, sounds interesting. If I don't enjoy it for ten hours then I guess I can always return it. " Teyo pressed buy. He had saved just over a hundred bucks to splurge on the console when he got it. He logged out as he downloaded it and decided to watch some videos on the game online.