By and By II
We appear inside the inner world. Installed in the innerworld, not just a temp install for games, but a reality within, a duplicate of the highest order. The companymen did a fine job. Though, I can remember… the pain of being installed. I never thought that anything could hurt that much, even when the nanites set into my body. I wonder how it is, or even if it still is, my body.
“This feels weird.”
“That’s because it doesn’t feel at all. Receptors here, it’s contact based, and we now have digital souls.”
“Can we still contact each other?”
“I don’t know. It’s hard to think.”
“Really? I feel a fair amount of clarity buffering.”
“It’s probably because my brain became restructured; it should clear up soon, once the organic/nanite matrix can be rerouted. Tell me if my personality shifts, though…”
“It shouldn’t?”
“Right, now let’s get going.”
I had no trouble dealing with what had been done, for it was all another way to go about it. This, this is the ultimate way to go about it. The entire cybernexus was a permanent infrastructure. It was everywhere, in us, outside of us, inside of itself. To become separately installed… that’s something special. It was the nexus, started out like one giant online portal to play other videogames. It always felt so real, all of them did, but it was still just a game, log in, log off. But with datamapping of the brain, it became a dream to be able to create a duplicate, within the nexus itself.
No gimmicks, guaranteed low rates, fast tracking, instant datapak delivery.
“Wow, now that’s called cash support, and we’re in it!”
“I still think it’s kinda dangerous.”
“Look, we’re talking monthly promotions, here.”
“Yeah, but to claim a bonus for a signdown?”
“Don’t think about it, don’t worry about it, we can provide the best selection towards the end result, we are part of this as users. It’s hard to be beaten.”
“True, but what if we get caught?”
“I don’t even see that as a potentiality. Besides, even if it did happen, the worst thing that can happen is deletion, and not only is that impossible, but we’re backups in here, our real selves still live, and can be reinstalled. The companymen guaranteed that.”
The companymen appeared, logged in, uninstalled. Still way too risky to test on all agents, and rogue agents like these especially wouldn’t risk installing an alternate conciousness on the servers.
Turns out the illegal nanites allowed my body to survive the procedure; my friend, Chaice, was not so lucky. It’s still difficult for my adapting brain to process facial expressions or emotions. I wonder how my outerworld self is taking this. I think for sure I would be feeling sorrow for the loss. I think I am. My friend, however, is completely unfazed. Says he’s better off, free from bondage, a weight off his shoulders. The idea may have infected his brain, I fear.
GuNNhead 
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