Reality Bytes Part Three--Dante's

Alicia stood up and headed for the bedroom, putting herself in motion to help stave off the tears. The voice of the house computer spoke again, exceedingly polite. "Excuse me, Ally, but I have registered a marked increase in your heart rate and blood pressure and dilation of your pupils, which would indicate--"

"Shut up!" she spat at the machine. She needed to go somewhere, anywhere, where she could forget about it all, forget her loneliness. She stripped off her plain, functional work clothes and slipped into a pearlescent red and green dress. She stood before a full-length mirror and applied the finishing touches to her make-up, feeling a touch of renewed confidence at seeing her exotic Asian-American face framed by long, flowing black hair. Her green eyes were set off perfectly by the dress's dual-tone color.

Alicia got into a taxi and told it to drive her to the nearest club. It dropped her at the curb in front of a sign hovering in midair that spelled out in brilliant pink letters, "Dante's". At the door, she waved her hand over a tiny sensor. The ring on her index finger contained a tiny transciever that gave emitted an encrypted data stream that would grant the club permission to debit a cover fee from her bank account .

She winced at the bright, floating holo-images and blare of music that greeted her as she entered. A quick survey of the crowd told her that the majority were younger than her, but she feared if she walked out now she would just end up going back home.

She wandered a bit through the club, returning the greetings of interested males as well as females. The name of the place had tickled her memory and now she remembered why it was familiar. She had read Dante's "Divine Comedy" as part of a required literature course. It seemed that the operator of the club had been inspired to recreate the three realms of the afterlife, Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The use of holo-effects created the illusion of walking through a billowing cloudscape of singing cherubs or of a burning lake hosted by terrifying demons.

She finally settled into a quiet corner in Purgatory and ordered a drink. The bartender who mixed her drink appeared to have his eyes sown shut. She was certain it was only a bit of clever makeup. "What's your sin?" she asked him. The souls in Purgatory paid penance for sins committed in their lifetime.

He looked at her sightlessly. "Envy."

Well, that fit the book, sort of. This place was quickly becoming tiresome. It was the same cheap exploitation as always, murdering a classic work of literature in the hope of creating a new experience. She poured back her drink and stood, intending to leave, but then paused to listen to a conversation from a table nearby.

A blond-haired young man was leaning in close to a busty brunette. "It's the most amazing thing you'll ever feel. It will give you a whole new appreciation for sex. These people are professionals who do this for a living and you get to feel everything they feel. Come on, just try it with me once." The woman still appeared skeptical, but she gave him a nod of acceptance. Curious, Alicia followed them back into the raccous horrors of Hell, coming to the stormy sea where adulterers floated, forever tossed about by the wind and waves, the second level of Hell. They walked through the holograms and into a separate room behind.

The room was predominantly white and filled with furniture that was most conducive to laying down rather than sitting. At the center of the room was a bed that resembled a stage. A great many people were lying about, chatting while they waited. Alicia sat next to a very pretty young woman with light brown skin. Her hair was colored an exotic light blue. She smiled and introduced herself as Clara.

"I've never done this before," Alicia admitted. "What happens?"

Clara just shrugged. "It's a bit hard to explain. You just feel what they feel, you know?"

A few people with "Dante's" emblazoned on their clothing were working through the crowd, distributing what appeared to be lightweight VR rigs, though they lacked eyescreens. A worker came next to Alicia and offered the rig, giving her the price. "A little steep for VR, don't you think?" Alicia remarked.

"Don't worry, sugar," Clara said. "It's worth it."

Alicia paid the price with her cred ring and unfolded the rig to place on her head. In a few moments, the last of the rigs had been passed out and the workers left the room. Now, four people, two male and two female, made their way into the room and up to the stage. A murmur passed through the watching crowd, a sound of ancticipation.

"Thank you for joining us," one of the women said. She was the breastier of the two, though not absurdly so, and her dark red hair fell in soft curls across her shoulders. "Does everyone have their VR gear in place?" She looked around quickly. No one said a word of contradiction, so she continued. "My name is Sharon and this is Chloe, Michael, and Derek. Mike here will be the first to activate his rig. Go ahead, Mike."

Michael had the dark skin and rounded features of a South Pacific native. He had a fit, trim body. Alicia felt a tingle travel across her skin, then she felt as though she had just changed her clothes. Hmm, that was weird. She could feel pressure on the soles of her feet, as though she were standing up rather than seated.

The woman named Sharon walked over to Michael, put her arms around him and began to kiss him passionately. Alicia felt the pressure on her own lips and a tongue pressing, then sliding over her own. She turned to look at Clara, who had her eyes half closed and lips parted slightly as if accepting the same kiss. Alicia put her hand over her mouth as an experiment, but though she could feel her hand covering her lips, the sensations of being kissed never stopped. What she felt was completely out of her control. It was both frightening and very exciting.

The two on stage broke their kiss and Alicia could breathe again. Clara looked at her and smiled. "I told you it was worth it, girl."

Alicia began to nod her agreement, but a sudden touch on her cheek startled her. Too late, she remembered the rig and looked back to the stage to see the pair coming back together for another kiss. This time, sensation crawled across her fingertips as Michael ran his hands down Sharon's back, curled inward at her waist and out again at the curve of her thighs. Alicia felt a tugging at her clothes--not her clothes--then Sharon's kisses on her neck as she pulled Michael's shirt off. She could feel a rising flush of tension building up and sudden pressure pressing against the confines of clothing. "Oh my God," she said, pushing down the urge to check herself for the presence of the phantom male organ.

"First erection?" Clara said with a grin.

"Yeah," Alicia answered and a nervous laugh. "It's a little weird."

"Just relax and enjoy it."

Alicia focused her attention back to the two people on the stage. Sharon pressed Mike to lie down, then knelt over him on the bed. She began to kiss down his body, her lips seeming to press on Alicia's skin in warm, pleasant touches. Her hands, too, wandered over his body. She began to move her kisses lower and her hands--Alicia got a sudden jolt as Sharon's fingers passed over Michael's lap. He, in turn, reached up and cupped one of her breasts, warm and soft through the thin fabric of her blouse.

Sharon came to rest on top of Michael, straddling his thighs. Slowly, she unfastened the top of his pants and drew them down. The pressure of the clothing suddenly released. Sharon scooted herself backward and bent down and a gasp came from nearly everyone in the room at once. An explosion of intense pleasure shot through Alicia as warmth enveloped the phantom member.

Alicia could feel the tiny nuances, the subtle motions that Sharon practiced on Michael with her lips and tongue. As the motion became more vigorous, though, all conscious thought of that on the tide of tingling heat that centered upon a body part that she herself did not possess. Pulling herself up out of the depths of blissful unawareness, she looked over at Clara. She rocked slowly in time to Sharon's rhythm, one hand caressing a modest yet shapely breast through her clothing.

Suddenly, the tension was changing, growing and spreading downward. Then, all at once, it released in a clenching wave of flushed tingling, rushing outward. It ended in a peaceful warmth. Alicia gave a long sigh and opened her eyes. Sharon and Michael exchanged a quick kiss, then stood up and moved off the stage. The other couple took their place. "Hello everyone. I'm Derek," the man said. "And this is Chloe. She's up next, everyone." Appreciative noises came from the audience.

Standing less than five feet tall, Chloe was lean and diminutive, with a figure that was far less voluptuous than Sharon's. Derek, in sharp contrast, was tall and generously muscled Chloe began to strip hers and Derek's clothing with little preamble. Alicia wasn't even sure of the exact moment that she activated her rig, but the shocking sensation of a hand squeezing her bottom forced her to bite back a yelp of surprise. Her hand wrapped around something warm which hardened as the hand caressed it lightly and her lips kissed smooth skin. Chloe was kneeling on the bed next to Derek, who was halfway sitting up.