"Welcome to the construct, Tommy boy," whispers a familiar yet oddly resonant voice. Moments ago, you had strapped yourself into Julia's father's virtual reality simulator. Although you were unsure of what to expect, you were now standing in a featureless room, lined with some sort of electronic grid. This certainly wasn't the laboratory any more!
"Where are you, Julia?" you yelled out, surprised at the sheer realism of the program. It was impressive. You look down at your clothes, and they were unchanged from 'real life'. The technology was near perfect, and you stood in awe at the surroundings, bland as they may be. But you were a little alarmed that Julia was nowhere in sight. Wasn't she supposed to be here with you?
Again, the voice spoke, and it was Julia's... but strangely powerful, like the voice of a god.
"I had to make some adjustments to the simulation's parameters before I joined you," she explained. "Because of the experimental nature of the program, I can't allow you the same privileges as me."
It made sense, even if you felt there was something she wasn't telling you.
"Okay, but you'll need to show me how to do things in here anyway. I'm just a newbie, Julia." You often appealed to her domineering instincts, as she delighted in telling you what to do. In this world, there was little else you could do anyway.
You heard her chuckling from somewhere. It was a sound you were familiar with, and it usually meant she was up to something. Perhaps this wasn't such a great idea after all.
"Now Tommy boy, I'll join you in a few moments. But first, I need to load my personal programs that I've been preparing for you. I'll let you wander in one of the pre-built worlds, but I've disabled your controls and communications temporarily. I will come and get you when I'm ready."
"Huh?" you muttered. "But Julia, I don't know the first-"
Instantly, the grid-room faded away, and a strange environment sprung into existence. It was...