“Hi, dad.”

“Hey there sport, how are you doing?”

John Black was a man of resolution and dedication. A strict man with values and honor on his side. Such traits had gotten him far in life, a feat when two races living on the same planet were in an unspoken cold war. The fact he snaked a partner on the proposed opposing side was just icing on the cake.

“Surprisingly good so far, dad. Got the new Traveler Games VR system installed today. It’s been everything it’s been hyped up to be. Hope it stays that way.”

“Good, good. That's real nice son. Glad to see you’re enjoying yourself.”

There was a moment of silence. Alex was familiar with this pause in the conversation. He knew his father rarely made a social call. Not at this hour at least. It was a sign he cared. Didn’t stop it from grating on his nerves.

“There was just a dip in power when it was installed. After that, the power went back to regular levels. Didn’t even feel it.”

The sigh of relief he let out was palpable.

“Good. That’s good. Honestly, I was rather worried about the thing being too much for the power grid. Guess I ow your mom dinner for getting worked up.”

Alex couldn’t help but smile at the flirtatious nature his parents had kept all these years. Don’t think he ever met a more amorous couple in his life, real or otherwise. The joy died as he remembered there was only one real blemish on their happily ever after. And it was on a call with his father.

His dad must have picked up on it. He brought up a movie Alex had shown interest in, trying his best to uplift his son’s spirits. And so, the call devolved into a catch-up conversation. Some points of interest were discussed, gripes were aired out, and overall a pleasant talk.

“Well, I better be going son. No rest for the weary as they say right?”

“Course dad. Talk to you later.”

Alex hung up. He stared at his reflection a little longer. An uplifting conversation, as brief as it was. And not a drop of joy showed on his face. They say smiling is less demanding than frowning. Apparently, Alex was aiming to prove them wrong.

If such a firm but loving man was Alex’s father, why did he hate having these conversations? Because every word was dripping with pity and self-blame. He and his mother thought it was their fault for Alex’s misfortune. A perspective that infuriated Alex as he just saw them as being unlucky.

If anyone was to blame, it was Alex himself.

Alex sat on a sofa that faced the window wall of his home. His house was built on the side of the mountain, at the edge of a cliff face that fell into the open ocean. A real tourist attraction as an arm of land reached into the ocean, littered with trees and various fauna. A natural work of art only enhanced by the setting sun and crimson clouds.

It was also entirely fake. If Alex walked up and touched the window, the image would distort as the entire wall of a television flickered. The waterfall he heard falling down the cliff came from speakers than outside. The balcony had sprinklers and hidden fans to simulate storms and wind.

Why was such a financially gifted and medically stable, to the extent he could be, a person like Alex trapped in his fake house? Because if he left his home for more than an hour, he’d die. An incident years prior had left his body irrevocably damaged.

As the tech from new human society was spread around and concurrently advanced, there was a rapid increase of quality-of-life access. Besides hover cars and superior fuel efficiency, came the greatest feat in logistical history.

Teleportation Gates. Or the more scientifically accurate name, as far as Alex knew, a two-point wormhole system. You go through one door; you pop out the other. They were all the rage years back; around the time his parents were born. To Alex’s generation, they were common but expensive forms of transportation.

He was supposed to go on a field trip the first time he was going to go through one of the gates. He’d been so excited Jumping from one side of the world to the next. It was almost magical. So, you have to imagine how horrifying an experience it had been being fine on one side and then walking out the other vomiting blood with your skin beginning to melt.

Turns out half breeds are incredibly sensitive to trans dimensional travel. Since part of you is foreign matter to the universe, the part of you that that came with the new humans, you’re a bit out of sync with old humans’ reality. New humans didn’t have this problem, something about their biology being medically treated when they first crossed over.

Like most things some people slipped through the cracks and didn’t get the treatment. His mother’s grandparents had been one of the lucky few. Really lucky since they hadn’t shown any adverse symptoms. Neither them nor their children, who would grow up to have his mother, ever dealt with the unspoken consequences.

Apparently, her biology had been under a delicate balance where if she ever crossed through another portal, her body would deteriorate. No one ever needed to travel through one of the things, presumably ever, so it had never come up. Not until the time Alex had been born. A lot of people had gone through what Alex had, so it was fair to say a lot of people died until everyone figured out what was going on.

Apparently, out of the billions of scientists on the planet, no one had thought to ask if wormholes and parallel universe hopping technology were incredibly similar. One was banned research, the other was fair game. Of course, nothing could go wrong with enough testing. Funny how that turned outright?

The only real reason Alex had survived the experience was luck and money. Death by the manner Alex was dying by was agonizingly slow. So as traumatizing as it had been, it was enough time for his parent to round enough money to get some scientist to do a quick fix.

Something about layering multiple reality’s on top of each other was enough to fix Alex’s issue. Essentially the same wormhole tech that had been killing him had been his only salvation. Problem was, there had not been an actual method of curing Alex. His body was now permanently compromised. And even then, it hadn’t been a perfect fit. Bits and pieces of his body deteriorated if he overused them. Do you know what body parts were in constant use? The brain and the heart. It's why he needs the daily medication. If he didn’t take them, his brain would rot and his heart would stop with enough time.

So, on top of his failing body, if he ever left the specialty-built house, his ‘foreign’ atoms would be ripped out of his body. Best case, he’d die instantly. Worst case, he’d live the rest of his life as a vegetable of pain and agony.

Staring at the night sky, Alex could only liken his situation to space. Full of potential, only to have it snuffed out by an uncaring universe.

He had money. He had loving parents. He had access to the most immersive and realistic VR technology, giving him as much freedom as anyone else for moments at a time. This was on top of virtually getting anything he asked for. It was a privilege Alex rarely used, but it had never really been challenged. Anyone else could have been happy with the status quo. Anyone else would have been happier in general. Make the most of it.

But Alex? He had only one response to anyone who ever asked why he wasn’t happy.

Happiness is temporary. Satisfaction was eternal.

Alex was feeling pretty fucking unsatisfied and unhappy in his gilded cage.