Damian fought down the nerves as they arrived at the venue. He was more apprehensive about this Buck's do tonight than his wedding in 3 weeks. With Steve and Brendan in charge, anything was possible.
That said, he was pretty intrigued to finally come to the new VR Experience centre that had opened up in town. It opened with minimal fanfare - he just noticed it one day on the way home from the supermarket. The website was strangely cryptic but after asking around, he got the impression it was really just VR porn.
Still, rather than risking going too far with a stripper just before his wedding, he figured this was a safe option for a night out. His fiance had insisted on a month-long "no sex" rule before the wedding, and he was horny enough that keeping it in his pants would be a challenge.
It seemed all of them had been a little on the nervous side, as they had downed their pre-drinks in record time. Feeling a decent buzz, he walked through the nondescript entry with his 6 mates.
Once inside, the entrance was like a themed hotel, dim lighting, leather and brass fittings giving an overall steampunk vibe. An abandoned counter sat to one side, and Brendan approached it, dinging the bell.
A man walked out, looking like something out of a Doctor Who episode, sporting a waistcoat and bow tie, a shaggy mop of hair upsetting the formal look.
"Ah, welcome, my party of seven." He said cheerfully. "I wondered if you might be running a bit late. I hope you're prepared for the experience of a lifetime! Here at Nevermore, we pride ourselves on unique and...pleasurable experiences! I'm Toby, and I'll be your host, both in real-time and in the virtual world. I trust you've all completed the online pre-training activity prior to attending today. It is quite important."
"Yep, all done and accounted for." Brendan jumped in before anyone could answer. He shot them all a look over his shoulder, making sure they went along with him. Clearly he'd forgotten to send something around for them.
"Good, good." Toby surveyed the crowd, appearing to acknowledge their lack of preparation. "Wouldn't want you to end up in a situation you hadn't expected. Now, is this to be a series of individual experiences today, or are we sticking with the Buck's Do Special?"
Brendan answered for the group. "We'll stick together, I think. Can't have a Buck's Party while we're all off on our own."
Working his way around the group, Toby distributed a set of disclaimer documents, each more than 10 pages long. Damian flicked through it quickly, immediately bored by the legalistic terminology.
He looked at Brendan. "You read this through, right?" He asked. "Anything I should be worried about?"
"Nah, it's just the standard disclaimer bullshit. No one ever reads this. Just sign it and let's get into it."
The rest of the crowd quickly followed suit and Toby ushered them down the hallway to a series of individual dressing rooms. Damian entered his dark room alone and looked around him as the lights switched on automatically. The green walls surrounding him flickered briefly before adopting the same gothic decor as the entry way.
The effect was quite amazing, giving the illusion of standing in a period-style hotel room. He approached the walls and reached out, his hand disappearing through the furniture to touch the smooth screen behind it all.
The only feature out of theme was what appeared to be a reclining chair situated to one side. A smooth, black, shiny casing curved along the underside of the chair, with soft, deep-maroon coloured cushioned lining inside. Suspended from the ceiling hung the other half of the pod, lined with the same maroon cushion on its underside.
A brief shimmer caught Damian's eye, and he turned in time to see Toby appear out of nowhere.
"Hello Damian, I'm Toby, your digital guide." The hologram was remarkably lifelike. "While I may look like the person that met you at the front counter, please know that this is just the face of a digital construct. You might think of me like Siri, I guess, just with a virtual face and body.
"Nevermore uses virtual assistants like me, rather than human staff, to protect your privacy. Whatever I see or hear is kept completely private. You can call me for assistance at any time, just by calling my name.
"It's important at this stage that we run through the rules of the Nevermore platform. This is absolute state-of-the-art tech that we use at Nevermore. Reach out and touch the cushion in the pod over here. You'll see that it's an entirely unfamiliar substance, somewhere between a liquid and a solid. It will mold itself to your entire physical structure. Not only that, it can both respond to neural messages, as well as send them. While you're in the pod, your mind won't be able to tell the difference between the physical and the virtual.
"Now, Nevermore is designed to respond to your deepest desires and unspoken wishes. As such, it's important to have some control over your mind while you're in the platform. The old adage "Be careful what you wish for" has never been truer than it is in Nevermore.
"Your avatar in Nevermore will be an exact replica of your physical form. Based on feedback from prior participants, we have enabled some optional augmentations if you choose. For example, we could arrange an increased...ahem...endowment size if you desire for an additional $500."
Damian nearly choked. How much had this all cost if an optional extra is $500??
"Ah, no thanks, I'll be fine with what I have."
"Alternatively, we're currently offering a free upgrade with the standard package - the Jamie Lannister special - which includes a 30% increase in length and girth, enhanced abdominal contours, increased shoulder and arm musculature and a buttock lift. This comes at no cost, but does require you to agree to a few minor conditions - the use of testimonials (de-identified of course) in our marketing, ownership of the avatar, etc. Just some standard conditions. You can read them all here."
A hologram pops up in front of Damian, with a long scroll of more terms and conditions. He flicked through it quickly. It would be good to look a bit better in front of his mates he supposed.
"I'm sure it's fine." He says, skipping to the end and clicking the 'agree' button.
The hologram vanishes and Toby steps forward. "Well, I think we're all set then." He said cheerfully. "We'll just get you scanned so we can render your avatar. If you'd just get undressed and stand over here for me, we can get it sorted."
He gestured towards 2 glowing footprints on the floor. Damian looked over at him feeling suddenly awkward. He reminded himself that he was just a computer programme. Methodically he removed his clothes, folding them and placing them on a stool in the corner of the room.
Finally bending to remove his underwear, he stood, stark naked, on the designated spot, legs spread apart.
"Now, if you would just raise your arms out to the side like this." As Damian copied his posture, with arms outstretched, green strobing lights hit him from all directions, whipping back and forth across his body in a blinding display. There seemed to be a surprising focus on his genitals more than any other part of his body.
"And just follow my positions please." Damian followed obediently, as Toby had him standing with arms stretched up, squatting low to the floor, twisting and leaning in all directions. As he bent forward, hands gripping his ankles, and the green lights recording every detail of his body, Damian wondered if this was some sort of Buck's party prank. He half expected his mates to come barging in laughing at him.
