When I came to, I found myself reborn. And to my pleasant surprise, I’d finally returned to form, so to speak. A ‘body’ had been molded around my consciousness as I slept, forming a perfect representation of my now discarded flesh. Blood and bone had been replaced and rebuilt from pixel and code, and the end result was impossible to tell from the real thing. I felt my chest expand, as it simulated the inhalation of artificial air. Facsimile or not, it was incredibly reassuring to have a body again.

I’d woken up in the fetal position, lying in some vague, VR generated stopover between the world of matter and the world of information, naked, save for my newly rendered artificial flesh. The scenario I’d entered appeared to be set outdoors, had the ambiance of a moonlit night, and came with no status message to advise of its location. A quick glimpse around me brought no further clues; it was little more than rocky wasteland, offering my new form an alarming lack of shelter from the artificial elements, as a rain of what appeared to be randomly generated code beat down upon my exposed, virtual frame.

I regarded my chosen body with my newly rendered eyes. Yup, no question about it, this was indeed a perfect digital representation of the flesh I had so carelessly allowed to be destroyed, right down to the very scar, birthmark and regrettable drunken tattoo. I decided that the body they had shown me back in avatar selection must have been little more than a basic mockup, and that time had been needed to fit me with the real deal. Admittedly, it was worth the wait.

As I lay there, I took a small moment to collect my senses. The new body was numb, its sense of touch oddly dulled, as if my senses were still trying to fully connect. A quick glance down confirmed my suspicions as to why I was finding it so difficult to move: my wrists and ankles were heavily bound.

Oh come on, I thought to myself. Surely that’s just overkill. I’m already at their mercy. Where in the hell do they think I’m going to escape to?

I decided that my tightly bound nakedness was probably more of a psychological ploy than anything else. They wanted me to feel powerless. Vulnerable. At the mercy of their every whim. And I could probably understand that. After all, when you’ve destroyed a man’s body, what was there left to use against him, but mind games?

With few other options available, I tried to make myself comfortable, watching the flickering light of a distant loading screen as it glimmered against the horizon. The moment, for all its strangeness, was oddly serene. It was a moment of calm that was quickly interrupted.

“Wow, you’re a sexy one, aren’t you?” asked a familiar voice. “The body mapping bots did a fantastic job merging your real-world traits to your new avatar. You look good enough to eat.” The voice hesitated, then added: “Um, elves don’t eat humans, by the way. Hope I didn’t panic you there. Heh.”

“Mai, is that you?” I asked, hopefully. I twisted my head upward to see that yes, the elven form of my personal helper was back at my side, eyeing me up like a liquored-up bride-to-be might regard the vulnerable stripper at her hen party.

“Where am I?” I demanded, tightening my legs a little to better hide… well, you know. “What the hell’s going on?”

“We’re on one of the beaches that leads to the isles of judgement, silly,” the elf replied, as if that cleared everything up. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect the entry point into the game to be so dark and gloomy, though. We could do without that ‘rain’ for a start.”

She clicked her slender elven fingers, and the streams of code that lashed the area suddenly disappeared. Without that odd distraction obstructing my vision, I realized that beyond the columns of rock lay a beach, leading to an expanse of something that could only assume had to be water.

Isles of judgement? I thought to myself? Crap. I was wondering when we’d get to this part. My crimes had yet to be addressed. It was probably too much to expect that they’d just give me a new body and send me on my way.

“Mai, would you please help me stand up?” I asked.

“Sure thing boss” she replied, rushing to my aid.

The elf pulled out a small dagger and quickly cut away the bindings that imprisoned my ankles, apologizing that she couldn’t do the same for my other bindings, for fear of opening my wrists in the process. I told her that was okay. Then, working together, we clumsily managed to pull my avatar to its virtual feet. Despite the fact that my wrists were still bound, it was a drastic improvement. I immediately maneuvered my hands to provide a degree of modesty.

“Thanks. Um, you can let go of my ass now, by the way.”

“Will do,” she chirpily replied, releasing her inappropriately positioned grip.

Under any other circumstances, I would have fully appreciated the elf’s wandering hands. Painfully single, I was no stranger to hiring digital companionship of the ‘adult’ variety, and it appeared that I had a hereto undiscovered elf kink. But for now, I had more pressing concerns. Not standing trial with an erection, for a start. Mai placed a reassuring hand on the more appropriate point of my body that was my shoulder. It gave me comfort. That moment would be the closest thing to peace that I’d experience for a long time to come.

[Jacob Mathers] announced an electronic voice, shaking me from my small moment of calm. It was being spoken not directly into my mind, but to me, and it was more artificial than I had anticipated an inhabitant of the ‘game’ possibly sounding. But then, the speaker was no customer service AI, programmed to put me at my ease. No, this voice was cold. Functional. Devoid of any pretense of emotion. And it emanated from a shimmering figure that now stood atop the rocks that lay mere meters from my position. I got the impression that he was looking down on me figuratively and literally.

[My name is Norahc,] continued the hooded male.

He was garbed in white, his glare inducing cloak draped across his equally translucent head, making him look like an actual ghost, albeit one dressed in a pathetic attempt at a ghost outfit. Technically, ‘ghost’ was probably the best word for him. This, I realized, was the ghost in the machine. I knew a high-level operating AI when I saw one. I’d been downloaded into a digital quarantine, and this was my personal reaper, minus the scythe.

[Please remain calm,] continued the ghoul, its dead, lifeless voice instilling none of the calm it professed to be promoting.

Mai placed her hand on my shoulder, offering me support in what little way she could, but I could easily tell that this was not her realm. This place belonged to the glowing ghoul in the hood. So, with that in mind, I did the only thing I could. I braced myself, stared it in its soulless eyes, and awaited its judgement.