“You’re playing this again?” James asked.

  The two were sitting in Patrick’s bedroom, James on Patrick’s bed, Patrick in his office chair. The place was littered with random pieces of antique tech, the blinds were closed and the lamp was off. The only light was from the TV, where the two of them were watching Patrick play a game on a console that came out decades before either of them were born.

  “What’s wrong with Final Fantasy XIII?” Patrick replied. “I thought you liked it.”

  “I do, it’s just…there’s so many new RPGs that you haven’t played. The Covenant Trilogy, Of Metal and Flesh, Eternium, Persona 7. But instead we’re back on this game that came out nearly 40 years ago. For the fifth time. And the intro is so dull gameplay-wise, why are you doing it again?”

  “Because it's good, I know it’s good, and it’s guaranteed not to contain any Lotus Root spyware. Did you know selling this game is now banned over here? No one said why, but Maximilian Kable’s paranoia was so bad that he had to ban the 40 year old JRPG with the vaguest anti-government leanings.”

  James smiled an empty smile. “Forget I asked. Let’s just play the game.”

  Patrick paused. “I’m sorry, I know I go off on random tangents about stuff all the time. Must be annoying.”

  James laughed. Patrick looked confused. “What’s so funny?”

  “Patrick, I would not come to someone’s house to watch them play a 40 year old RPG I’ve already played if I found them annoying. Stop worrying, just be yourself. James smiled. “That’s the person I care about.”

  Patrick blushed. “You are annoyingly nice.”

  “Amelia says the same thing. So did the new kid.”

  “That Grey guy? They seemed alright. Never met someone like them. Never even heard of someone like them. Also, didn’t their accent strike you as weird?”

  James shrugged. “They’re weird, so what?”

  Patrick nodded, smiling. James always had a type.

  They quickly changed the conversation. “I was thinking of beating the game without Ravagers this time around.”

  James looked concerned. “How are you going to build stagger?”

  “Slowly.”

  He thought harder. “How are you going to beat the last Eidolon?”

  “...You don’t need Ravagers for that.”

  “So that's why I found it so hard…”

  Patrick shook his head in mock disappointment. “It’s almost like you’ve never played this game before. Just watch and learn.”

  James laughed. “Alright. I’ll give you any advice if I think of anyone. Good luck, Patrick. You’re gonna need it.”

  “Wake up already, dumbass.”

  Patrick woke from Sable Online to hear the sweet words of his sister, Riahannon. As he shut down the headset, he was immediately hit by thirst and hunger: he’d been disconnected from his body so long that the sudden rush of bodily functions coming back shocked him. He felt weirdly tired too, like he really had been traveling across massive landscapes and casting magic. The others must have gotten used to it a long time ago.

  “Hey,” He said, his throat a little raspy, “you wouldn’t happen to have some water, would you? And maybe a chocolate bar?”

  “I’m not your maid,” She responded. “I’m here to take that off you. I want a go.”

  “Why would you play games at 1 in the morning?”

  “Why would you?”

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  “Point taken,” Patrick sighed. “It’s probably for the best. I could do with some sleep, and the idea of wearing Kable stuff on me for so long makes my skin crawl.”

  “I thought you blocked it from finding our IP address or something like that.”

  “I did do something like that, but I still hate wearing it anyway.”

  He sat up and gave the headset to her. It was now he realised what a mess his room was: a mess of wires and strewn controllers. His games were piled up in the corner: everything from NES games to a couple of indie games on the last Kabletech console before the Scavenger had become the standard for video games. He had made it his goal to obtain and preserve as many classic consoles and games as he could, but that wasn’t easy now that a lot of them were no longer functional. Overtime he’d learnt how to repair them, and was currently working on fixing up a Wii U that was in bits on his desk. He was certain his homework was hidden under the junk too, but that would be even harder to find than replacement parts for the console's infamous Gamepad.

  Riahannon examined the Scavenger headset, a collection of curved panels held together by fabric and a strap that let you adjust it to fit your head, with a dark visor and earbuds on the interior for headphones. The way the panels spread out meant it was impossible to see the fabric underneath, but Patrick had seen them disassembled before and knew what went into them. Even after learning that, and as much as he hated to admit it, he still thought the headset was a marvellous piece of technology.

  Before the Scavenger, completely immersive VR hadn’t been consumer tech, the kind of thing relegated to convention show floors and what few arcades still existed. Since it came out 7 years ago, it had become an incredibly popular piece of tech, and normal gaming consoles were slowly being phased out. The Scavenger II had come out a year ago, with the heavy metal plates of the original model being shrunk down, but they were still in the hand-off period between the two generations of hardware, and games like Sable Online were still playable on the older models. He was shocked it didn’t run like shit.

  “How’s your first experience of VR gaming?” Riahannon asked. She was as much of a gamer as him, but leaned towards the newer stuff. She’d even joined in with James and co when they’d tried out Valiant Online last year. Unfortunately, Riahannon was at university now, participating in the country’s very last course on journalism. She rarely had time to game between her dissertation and activities on campus, which was on the other side of the city. Not that Patrick minded having the house to himself.

  “It came to me more naturally than I expected,” Patrick mused. “I was expecting to be blown away by how immersive it was, and it really was, but...I dunno. I guess I’m so used to roleplaying in other things it wasn’t an issue for me. There’s still a spot for you in our D&D group for you, by the way.”

  “In your dreams. Is the game any good? It’s 2 Petabytes on here.”

  “I thought it was incredibly simple and the story was cliche, but the others noticed that it was different from other VR games, and I can’t deny I enjoyed it. Never liked realism in games much. Pretty sure that’s why it’s so big. Oh, Amelia said hi by the way.”

  “Cool.”

  Riahannon slotted the helmet onto her head, the plates readjusting themselves to fit her head and not Patrick’s. The visor lit up as it scanned her irises and logged her in, and she took it off again.

  “Maximilian Kable just scanned your brain,” Patrick said. “Now your adverts will be uncomfortably personalised.”

  “Shut up.”

  He laid back in bed. “Thanks for lending me the headset. It’s good to play with the others in a new way. I felt I grew a little too distant from them recently because I just refuse to use Kable’s stuff, and as much as I detest the people who make it, it’s a fun game.”

  She smiled back. “Have it anytime you want, provided I’m not playing it. Finders keepers and all that.”

  “You can always borrow one of my consoles, you know.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “No way. Your games are weird. I couldn’t play Final Fantasy XIII for more than an hour before getting bored, I don’t know what you and James see in it.”

  “Hey, at least you remembered which number it was, that’s better than most people. And it’s a masterpiece, thank you very much. It just takes a few hours to get good. Try not to wake mum and dad up.”

  “You’ve probably done that already. Enjoy your sleep.” Riahannon turned to walk out of the room, before asking, “Oh, by the way, do you know where my lighter went?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “…Could you tell me?”

  “Nope, not a chance. You’ve got to kick that habit already. Mum’s orders.”

  “I’m not a child, I can do what I want!”

  “She said you’d say that.”

  Riahannon scowled. There were few people in society she’d fully accept being ordered around by, and her mother was begrudgingly one of them, “I don't need it anyway. I’ll just go buy a new one.”

  She walked out of the room, closing the door and switching the light off as she went. Patrick laid back and grabbed his phone. He refused to use the fancy Kabletech HoloBracers everyone else used, preferring something that he could stack with as many ad blockers and VPNs as possible. He scrolled through the news and saw everything he expected: Changing ground in Velcorp State, Maximilian Kable being a saint, public happiness at an all time high. The usual things you’d find in a rising dictatorship.

  Of course, Patrick would never say that. His closest friends knew his hate of the government, and while they certainly didn’t love them, they didn’t see it the way he had. The same thing had happened in India, and was the reason his mother had fled the country to Ireland, where she’d met his father. The fact that the same thing was happening again to the place she’d taken refuge broke his heart.

  But he couldn’t change that. He was one man against a broken, uncaring world. The only thing he could do anymore was live in it and try to enjoy his life despite knowing that. And right now, all he could do anymore was sleep.