The Soid

         Philip Moss let out a sigh of relief as he swiped the entry card to the pod car. At least it's over, he thought. The day had been hard, and adding to it Mr. Fleming chewed him out for getting too many customer complaints.
         "You're on thin ice Moss." words from Mr. Fleming that reverberated in Philip's mind. The implications scared him. He had no friends, or family that kept in touch. If he lost the job, he didn't know what he'd do. Inside the car, Philip tried not to think about it much but the emotions still lingered.
         Philip worked as a customer service representative for Podzen, a pod car company. Who knows why, out of all the jobs, the government decided to add customer service reps to the list of protected jobs from automation. Philip often thought, after especially rude customers that maybe it was a joke the politicians were playing on them. Or maybe, he liked to think, it was a study to see how many times a person can be cussed out in a day.
         Either way, Philip hated the job. Countless hours of boredom stuck in a cramped call center being berated over the phone. The cherry on top was that he got Mr. Fleming as a boss. A grouchy man who never seemed to be in a good mood, Mr. Fleming was the type of person to take everything too seriously. He acted like a hotshot CEO for some fortune 500 company instead of a middle manager.
         On top of Mr. Fleming, there was Barry Grover. A name Philip's grown to despise. Popular around the office, he seemed to charm everyone. Maybe it was the hair gelled to perfection or that bright smile but whatever it was he just had a sway over people. Even Philip liked him at one point but his feelings changed over the years.
         He noticed Barry won employee of the month the most. Just one of the ways being in Mr. Fleming's favor liked to show. On top of that, lucky things just happened to him. One of his clients turned out to be Angus Boone. A famous musician who at the time recently put out an album. Of course, Barry's suave demeanor got him invited to a party. The stories from that night, Barry never let anyone forget.
         It was like he had it all, Philip would think, jealousy bubbling inside. It was like that today. Philip on the phone, listening to an angry customer drone on while Barry Grover chuckled on the phone across the room. How is that even possible Philip thought. We're pod car tech support. The only reason anybody calls is if something is wrong. So why in the world is Barry having a good time.
         Philip thought maybe people were so mad over the phone because they expected an AI with an artificial voice on the other side. An AI responder could be programmed to be more polite or forgiving. But people are more fickle, word choice and tones of voice more easily misunderstood. Plus it's harder to argue with something that hasn't been programmed to be agreeable.

         New Austin was an average city in the late twenty-first century. A dense patchwork of skyscrapers connected by countless bridges, overpasses, and rails. At night it was a glow of RGB neon. Advertisements covered the tallest skyscrapers, vying to be seen. Natural was out and artificial was in seemed to be its motto.
         As the pod car drove through the heart of the city, a particular ad out of the hundreds caught Philip's eye. On it read the words, "Introducing the Soid, the next big thing in entertainment" with the picture of an ocular headset underneath. Philip was already intrigued but what piqued his interest was another slogan on it that read "It's like reality but better." If it was true, he couldn't wait to try it.
         Making its way through the city, the car continued on its route leaving the ad behind. As it stopped in front of his building, Philip made the familiar trip up the elevator and through to his apartment.
         It was a modest place. And comfortable for someone living alone. The front door opened to the living room with a kitchenette on the right. On the left, there was a short hallway that led to the bedroom and bathroom on opposite sides.
         The view wasn't much. Even though it was high up on the fifty-third floor, all you could see were the other high rises staring back. It was worse at night where the hue from RGB lights almost became blinding.
         The living room was by far the largest and most important in the apartment simply because it held the computer. When Philip wasn't working, the computer was where he was at. The monitor was the size of a tv, mounted on the wall. Seeing it now comforted him. Watching a show would help, he thought.
         Philip turned it on and sunk into the couch. He was watching one of his favorite shows. A game show where the contestants have to guess whether something is made out of chocolate or not, using their mouths. For a couple minutes he sat there watching but it didn't seem to cheer him up. Unlike other days where he could relax and forget about the outside world, today he couldn't seem to lift his mood. After a couple more minutes, he remembered the ad for something called the Soid. It seemed interesting enough and maybe it'll cheer him up. Something new would be good, Philip thought and he searched for the Soid online. It had good reviews so he ordered it. He even paid for the earliest delivery so it'd come tomorrow.

         The next day, the package arrived and he opened it immediately. In it was the ocular headset, a pamphlet of instructions and to his surprise a bottle of pills. He set the headset and bottle on the coffee table and opened the pamphlet. He skimmed past disclaimers and to the how to use section. It read, Take a pill from the bottle and wait thirty seconds. After thirty seconds power on and wear the headset. Instructions within the Soid will lead you from there.
         Philip looked at the bottle apprehensively. He'd never heard of needing to take a pill before using a piece of tech but there's a first time for everything he supposed. I've already spent the money and gotten this far, might as well try it, he thought.
         He shook a pill from the bottle, took it, and powered on the headset. After thirty seconds, he felt a little dizzy and wondered if this was a mistake. Regardless, he picked up the headset and put it over his head. His eyes and ears being completely covered.

         Immediately he felt transported to a different place. He was no longer in his living room sitting on a couch. Now Philip was standing in an empty room. It had white walls with a dim light overhead giving everything a bluish tint. In the far corner, a counter and a woman behind it materialized. She seemed to match the room, wearing a white dress and a necklace that held a sapphire gem. The only thing that Philip thought was out of place was a yellow bracelet around her wrist.
         Before he could say anything, the woman behind the counter started speaking, "Hello, welcome to the Soid. My name is Elaina, I'm here to clear up any confusion you might have." She had the voice of a news anchor with a touch of artificiality. She continued, "I can tell that you're new, so I'll go over the basics.
         "The Soid is a virtual space with many things to do. There are restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, bars, and sporting events. What makes this any special then? you're probably asking yourself. Kinda seems like a glorified mall right? Wrong." She smiled like she was about to tell a secret," You might have noticed the lighting in here is a bit dim. If it wasn't your eyes would be overstimulated because the senses are heightened here. Everything looks better, music sounds better, and food tastes better."

         Then the walls fell away and the woman disappeared. Philip blinked and felt like he didn't know what was going on. It was like he had been moved through space and now he was in a wide hallway with similar blue lights. Everything seemed darker since the walls were black. On the floor, there were arrows pointing behind him. He turned around and saw at the end of the hallway double doors and the silhouette of a person.
         He followed the arrows and walked up to the doors. When he got close the man said, "Reservations?"
         "Uh...reservations?," he stammered, "I just got-"
         "Yes," answered a voice from behind Philip.
         Philip turned around, surprised since he hadn't seen any others in the hall. "I don't think we know each other. You must be thinking of someone else."
         "We don't know each other," the stranger responded, confidently friendly, "I'm Leo Vinson," he said and stuck out his hand. They shook and he continued, "You seem new, so I figured I'd help you out a little bit."
         Philip didn't think to ask why he hadn't seen him in the hallway or what was going on at all. Leo Vinson was very charismatic and the type to get along with anyone. He was in his late twenties with messy blonde hair and a slight tan.
         Before the two could talk more, the doorman opened the doors, revealing a large restaurant bustling with people. It wasn't like any normal restaurant Philip had been to, it was the nicest but also weirdest one he's seen.
         The main room was several stories high with balconies on the sides. In the middle of the room, floating was a large orange sphere giving off mood lighting for the restaurant. On the far end, where it looked like there should be windows, instead the whole wall was covered in fish tanks. Everyone in the restaurant was well dressed and seemed to match the fancy decor.
         Philip was a little taken aback seeing it for the first time. It completely contrasted the hallway and room where he started. "Right this way," said the hostess. As the two followed, Philip remembered he hadn't introduced himself and did so. When they reached their table near the fish tanks, they sat.
         "So what is this place exactly?" Philip asked.
         "It's the Soid. It's kind of its own reality when you think about it."
         "But none of this is real," Philip said, trying to wrap his head around it.
         Leo leaned back and explained, "Depends on how you think about it. Sure all of this is in the headset but it feels pretty real to me."
         Philip thought a moment then asked, "Are you real?"
         Leo rolled his head back and laughed, "Of course I'm real. You don't see a yellow bracelet do you?" he said, holding up his wrists.
         "Yellow bracelets?"
         "Jesus, Elaina told you nothing. If you see someone with a yellow bracelet in the Soid it means they're a simulant. Simulants are made up by the Soid." Leo saw that Philip was still trying to process everything and explained further, "Nobody comes into the Soid and wants to be a waiter or a hostess. That's why we have simulants. Now this isn't a video game where you can say or do anything you want to them. They have their own dreams, flaws, and desires. In fact, the only reason you can tell the difference between a simulant and a non-simulant is those special yellow bracelets."
         Their waiter arrived and took their drink orders. Philip made sure to look at his wrists and sure enough, there was a glowing yellow bracelet.
         "Is there anything else I should know about?" Philip asked, now curious about the Soid.
         Leo replied with a slight smile, "Well, there is the simulator."

         Out of excitement, they decided to skip the meal to find a simulator. But there was something Leo had left out about himself. He was an adrenaline junkie.
         They walked out of the restaurant the way they came in, but instead of being met with the same hallway, it was different. Where the hallway had led forward was now a wall and to the right and left of the doors, new hallways appeared. The halls looked identical to the first one. Black walls with blue lights.
         A look a confusion came across Philip's face when he saw that it didn't look the same. Leo noticed and said, "that's just how things work in here, you'll get used to it." He turned right and said, "the simulator isn't far."
They walked down the hall and stopped at something that looked like an atm machine. There was a touchscreen and on it was a list of activities to do. As Leo scrolled through the list he explained, "As you probably guessed by now, the simulator simulates certain activities. If you like adrenaline, there's skydiving, bungee jumping, rollercoasters, you name it." Nonchalantly he added, "And if you want something more visceral, there's robberies, shootouts, bombings stabbings, anything you want."
         "Let's try something tamer," Philip said quickly not wanting to go down that rabbit hole.
         "Like?"
         "A hike would be nice."
         "Ok," Leo agreed and pushed the screen to select. Philip thought he would put up more of a fight but he couldn't dwell on it long because a door appeared in the hallway opening up. White light from the opening spilled into the hall. "After you," Leo said.
         Philip stepped blindly through the door. Instead of his foot finding solid ground, it found nothing but air and his body tumbled forward. Now he was falling toward the earth at twelve thousand feet. The wind tore at his face and ruffled his clothes. He felt a parachute bag on his back but didn't know how it got there.
         The air rushing past was deafening. Philip's heart pounded as he stared, wide-eyed at the incoming ground. This isn't real, he thought closing his eyes shut, this is all virtual, none of it is real. None of it is real.
         Of course, none of it helped his situation. He opened his eyes again disappointed that he was still in freefall. What should I do, he thought. Then he remembered the parachute and stretched his arm back to reach for the cord. He found it and tugged hard, releasing the parachute. His fall was immediately slowed and Philip was able to relax a little.
         Once he felt somewhat secure, he was able to appreciate the view. A valley of fields stretched below, rising into a mountain range in the distance. Everything was pristine and in just the right place. He felt at peace. Really something more than peace. He'd never felt this way before in his life. It was like everything in the universe built up to this moment to make it right. To make it perfect.
         Out of curiosity, Philip looked above and saw Leo with his parachute deployed several hundred feet up from him. Philip felt his normal emotions rush back and a tinge of anger as the feeling of being tricked set in.
         On the ground Philip confronted Leo. "Why'd you do that?" he said.
         "Do what?"
         "A hike. I said I wanted to go on a hike."
         "But this is better," Leo said, acting like it was nothing. "It's not like there was any danger."
         "What if my parachute didn't open. What if I died of shock or a heart attack." Philip snapped, getting fed up.
         "Hey man, this is the Soid. You can't get hurt," he said in a sincere tone. "If the parachute didn't open you'd hit the ground, feel nothing and the simulation would reset with you falling again." Leo saw that it calmed Philip some, "See, there's no danger here," he said and touched his thumb to his pinkie and held it there.
         Just before Philip could ask what he was doing his surroundings became fuzzy and pixelated. The green field they stood in floated away and suddenly they were back in the hallway near the simulator.
         "That's how you get back," Leo said, showing his thumb and pinkie. "Just touch your thumb to your and pinkie for a couple of seconds and it'll take you out."

         Philip understood better and felt silly for getting upset. The two ended up going back to the restaurant where Philip ate the best meal of his life. The steak was perfectly tender and seemed to melt in his mouth. Once he took a bite, nothing was going to stop him from finishing his plate.
         After the meal, Philip said goodbye and using his pinkie and thumb left the Soid completely. Like being sucked out of a dream he became aware of the headset covering his face and felt the couch underneath. He took the headset off and looked out the window. It was already dark. Philip looked for the time and saw that he was in the Soid for three hours. What an experience, he thought to himself.

         The next day, Philip was firmly reminded about the blandness of his life. Waking up, his routine already set in motion, he got up, made breakfast, got ready, and left his apartment. He walked down the same hall and got in the same elevator he always does.
         Going into the Soid had pointed something out to him. It made him realize just how boring his life was. He got into the same pod car, that drove the same route and entered the same office. There was no variety in what he did. Nobody new to meet or new activities to do. In the Soid there were. In the Soid he didn't have to go to work. In the Soid he didn't have to do anything.
         Philip suffered through the day and returned to the pod car that drove the same way it did that morning. He gazed out the window at the usual buildings. The city felt the same. The only notable difference being what ads played on the sides of buildings. After a long day at work, Philip's head felt tired. He made his way back to his apartment, up the same elevator, and down the same hall.
         At least he was home where he could get to the Soid. Where Philip spent all his free time for a week. Every day he sat on the couch, took the pill, and put on the headset, now knowing what to expect. Philip felt giddy as his apartment melted away. Going in, he didn't arrive at the white room with Elaina but directly into a hall. Leo told him that these halls were the main way to get around. Basically, the halls connected all the interesting places spread throughout.
          But there isn't a map of the Soid. Leo had explained that things move around and change locations. Everything in the Soid is a little fluid he said.
         Back in the halls of the Soid, there were more people than usual. Looking for yellow bracelets, Philip saw most were simulants. While trying to count how many non-simulants there were his shoulder bumped against another.
         Philip mumbled, "Sorry...I didn't mean to-"
         "It's alright," said the man he bumped into, smiling.
         Philip was surprised by this reaction. After all, nobody's happy to be run into. As Philip walked away he thought it was probably a simulant. That's why the man wasn't bothered. Simulants always seemed to be so nice. I guess that's how they're programmed, he thought.
         The hall ahead forked left and right. A sign pointing to the right read, "New! Immersive Entertainment!" Interested, Philip turned right and came upon a set of double doors. He pushed open into a bright lobby with a man behind a counter.
         "Hello," said the man cheerfully. "Would you like to try our services?"
         "Sure." Why not? he thought.
         "Follow me."
         Philip followed the man through a door and into a large room. The walls were lined with small rooms that each had a reclined metal seat in them. All of the rooms had curtains, some drawn, some not. The man led him to a room and said, "This is Lizzy, she'll be helping you," and left.
         "Have you ever been hooked up before?" asked Lizzy. She was pretty and had a graceful demeanor like all the other simulants.
         "No," he replied, taking a seat.
         "Give me your left hand. This'll feel a little funny."
         Philip outstretched his hand, palm open. Her hands were soft as she took his in hers. He watched as she used her thumb and index to pick at his palm. He waited patiently until she pulled a metallic wire from his hand. Was that there the whole time? he thought.
         "Now rest your hand on the armrest and you'll be set," she said then walked away, the curtain closing behind her.
         Philip couldn't describe the show if he wanted to, and it probably wouldn't make sense to listeners anyway. At times it was the best action he'd ever seen, at others, it was the best drama or comedy he's ever seen. All the actors should have won Oscars. The effects looked real, the setting felt real. Philip has never been invested in something so much. He felt more connected to the character's lives than his own. Time didn't exist while he watched. The show absorbed him totally.
         And it felt like he was really there. If the characters were in a warzone, Philip felt the bullets whizz overhead and the shake of the ground as bombs detonated. If the characters were on a boat in the ocean, he could feel the lull of the waves sway the boat, watching as the yellow rays of sunset faded in the horizon. If a character died it was like a family member died. If a character was achieving their dreams is was like achieving his own.
         After a while of watching the show, there was a nagging in the back of Philip's head. It was a feeling that maybe he's been watching for too long. At first he ignored it, reasoning to stay a little more. But after a while the feeling became unignorable and Philip thought it was time to unhook from the chair and stop watching. Once he did, he touched together his thumb and pinkie and left the Soid.

         When Philip came out of the Soid the real world didn't feel real. He was disoriented and looked around his apartment as if he hadn't seen anything before. How long was I in, he thought. His body ached from disuse. He looked across the room at a clock. It read 3:17 am.
         On his computer was a message from Mr. Fleming. Don't bother showing up anymore. You're fired. Philip stared at it, confused then realized the date. He'd been in the Soid for three days. How is that possible he thought? It didn't feel like three days.
         Philip thought and came up with a plan. He didn't want to go back to another job in fact part of him was glad this happened. He decided he would downsize his life. With what little savings he had plus money from selling the apartment, Philip figured he could live for months in a dacha. They're basically small rooms to live in. Mainly occupied by tourists and people trying to get back on their feet they can be rented out for a day or for years.

         Two weeks later Philip arrived to his new home and felt excited for his new chapter. This was the right decision he told himself. The smart decision. With what he had in the bank he would've only been able to stay for a month in his apartment. But now with the apartment and most of his things sold he was set. Philip was going to live in a dacha. He'd heard of others doing the same saying that they were perfectly happy. The rooms were small of course. That's why it was cheap but it wasn't like he need much.
         He checked in and walked down the narrow hall to his new home. The hallway was lined with doors. His new neighbors. Admittedly it was somewhat of a dump, but he saw the bright side. More free time to go into the Soid.
         Philip got to room 324 and unlocked the door. It slid to the side to preserve space. It was eight by five feet. The floor was soft as it also served as the mattress. The walls were black with a computer attached to the far sidewall. A single light glowed overhead casting the only light besides the computer. Bathrooms were communal and down the hall. He set the suitcase to the side and sat down. This is home he thought.
         After getting comfortable, he took out the headset and bottle of pills. Just seeing them lifted his mood. He quickly popped a pill and returned back to the Soid. He got the familiar jolt of excitement as he returned back to the dim halls of the Soid.

         The next couple of weeks were bliss. Philip spent nearly every waking moment in the Soid. He did make an effort to come out to sleep every so often to make sure he didn't completely fall apart. Everything continued like that until he got a message from Alred. The company that developed the product for the Soid.
         It read, "Thank you for being one of our most active customers. We're glad you're having a good time. To show how grateful we are, we'd like to invite you to tour our headquarters to be the first to beta-test one of our upcoming products."
         Philip was surprised when he read it. Although taking a trip would mean less time in the Soid, he didn't want to pass on a special opportunity.
         The next day he was on a train to Alred headquarters. Philip looked at the buildings moving past. The city looked the same but he felt different. He felt he wasn't a part of it anymore. Detached. When he arrived, he was greeted by a large glass monolith of a building. Alred was certainly making money. Philip went up some steps and through a set of glass doors. From there he went through a metal detector and another set of glass doors before reaching the receptionist. The receptionist was an android with metallic blue eyes. It greeted him with its computerized voice. "Hello, do you have business here today?"
         Philip told it his name and explained the message he'd gotten. The android understood and had him follow it through the building. Three halls and one elevator ride later, Philip was passed on to a woman named Ms. Roberts. She spoke softly and had long greying hair.
         "Welcome to Alred," she said, "You've been enjoying the Soid, I hope?"
         "Yeah, it's all I ever do really," Philip admitted slightly embarrassed.
         "Good, good. Follow me." She led him into a circular room with large chairs lining the walls. "The message we sent you wasn't entirely truthful," Ms. Roberts said.
         "Ok," Philip said hesitantly.
         "But you like the Soid a lot?"
         "Yeah."
         "More than real life?"
         He was silent, trying to answer the question himself. She decided to continue, "How would you like to be in the Soid forever. No pesky bills to keep up with. No more drudgery of real life. Just fun in the Soid. We'll just hook you up and that'll be it."
         This could be the best thing to happen to him, he thought. Once the money ran out, he would have to find a job again. But who wants to work when they can be in the Soid. "I'll do it," he said.
         "Great, just have a seat." She motioned towards the chair.
         The last thing Philip remembered was sitting down in the chair. The next moment he was in the Soid wearing a suit. He heard the noise of chatter and laughter. And the low rhythms of jazz. He was in a restaurant standing behind a host stand. On his wrist was a yellow bracelet and he found himself asking, "How many in your party?"