My name is.... or rather . . . . Let's start out with the past first....

I was born in the year 2025. Life hasn't changed much from the beginning of the millennium. No major wars. No major discoveries. No new inventions. All there was to look forward to was an Iphone of a different number and size. Life was at a constant with no change in sight.

One day, however, a man made a breakthrough discovery - Virtual Reality.

This wasn't your good ol' Oculus Rift. This was full immersion VR. You could actually taste the virtual foods. You could actually tire yourself out from virtual running.

To those who had their senses dulled in reality, this new VR was even realer than real life! The blind could see. The deaf could hear. The full immersion VR was seen as the flagship of hope. A ship that would send us all into a better tomorrow.... and it did.

By studying the body's reactions in VR, man was able to make breakthrough after breakthrough.

The medical fields were able to study multiple diseases at a faster pace, leading to the eradication of many illnesses.

The study of the brain and the body's functions lead to the creation of Artificial Intelligence and robots.

Man had finally stepped into the future.

All of these new inventions and discoveries were appreciated, but no one forgot their childhood dream of experiencing another world from the comfort of their home. Game companies immediately began the production of new MMO's.

Soon everyone was spending their time in VR. Many people began to worry for the health of their fellow countrymen who spent weeks within their homes. In order to deal with this, nations all over the globe made it mandatory for their citizens to spend five hours at their local gym every week, and to spend time outside their homes for another five hours.

The mood of the shut in populace soured at these new decrees. They would much rather explore the world of VR than spend their time in the boring, outside world.

Many companies began work to to solve this soured mood. The solution they came up with was disproportionate time.

This was the same property of VR you may have seen in the novels of the past. For every two hours spent in VR, only one hour would pass in reality.

Many people questioned the safety of this new solution, but they soon came to accept it.

Enough with the history lesson. Let's get back to me.

My parents were both opposed to the idea of VR. They grew up well before its creation, and were very skeptical of it. I couldn't blame them. Thinking from their perspective, a random man came up with a device which would send the mind some place else. Too many problems could come from this.

When I was born, my parents named me Solomon Grant. With this name, they hoped I would grow to become a wise man who would lead others.

I inherited my parents' distrust toward these devices, thinking I would be sent into a coma if the device were to be forcefully removed.

During my first year middle school, however, a couple of my friends invited me to the VR arcade. I was hesitant at first, but finally decided to join them.

We played VR racing games and VR puzzles. I definitely didn't play any fight games, though. That would be too much for me to handle.

By the time we were done, although I still feared the possible pains from the device, I had come to love it.

I would spend my time after school at the arcade since I did not own any VR equipment at home. I mean who did? It was a hot new product. It would be hard to find one under a thousand dollars. What made it even harder for me to get one was my parent's opposition to the equipment.

Playing VR games had become a norm for me. I was surprised my parents hadn't caught on... that was until my freshmen year in high school.

On my way to my arcade, it seems that my mother had spotted me. When I got back home, my parents had a talk with me.

They asked me how long I had been playing. I answered truthfully.

They asked me if I felt anything weird since I started playing. I told them no.

They asked if I really enjoyed VR. I told them yes.

They continued asking the questions of any worried parent and I hid behind no lies.

When they finished, they paused for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute or two.

"Maybe I really did get some side effects from the VR. I can't even tell time properly." I joked in my head.

After gathering their thoughts, my parents told me they would allow me to use the VR equipment as long as I would stop the moment I felt something was wrong, and as long as I kept my priorities in check.

After having the talk with my parents, I went back to my routine of visiting the VR arcade, although I was a bit more watchful to see if someone was following me.

My days passed like this for the next couple of months.

When Christmas came, I find to my surprise that a set of VR equipment lay under the tree.

My parents played it off as being less expensive than going to the arcade, and that if something did cause me problems, they would be within reach.

I thanked my parents and excitedly set it up in my room.

It took me a few hours to get everything put together. I had no clue how the actual equipment worked after all. In the arcade I would only come in to play and then leave. I never cared for how it was put together.

Once it was all put together, I sat in my chair in a way I was sure to be comfortable.

I slowly brought the head gear to my face. I took a few moments to appreciate it before putting it on.

I had done this hundreds of times in the arcade, but having one of my own made me much more nervous.

I gently brought my finger to the power button and pressed it.

A flash of light shot through the screen and I was instantly sent to the familiar world of virtual reality.

"This is going to be fun." I thought.