With a special kind of glee reserved for this kind of situation I rushed up the stairs and into my room, locking the door tightly. I scanned my room to make sure I was alone. Once sure I had the room to myself I jumped onto my bed with my box in hand. hastily I began to tear at the cardboard until I was able to reveal my destiny. After months of saving money and doing odd jobs I finally got my hands on the funds for a DreamGAME VR system and now I had one in my hands. I set the box aside and booted my PC which I had set up next to my bed. It's hell on the back but worth it. 

My PC sprang to like as I unboxed the VR system. The system itself was a full face helmet and a set of install disks along side some trial software and some freebies. As I began to admire the shirt that came with the system my PC was now fully booted. I loaded all 4 disks into my PC's trays and set to work on running the install. The manual then fell out of the box as I put the disks' packaging back so I decided to thumb through it. The booklet contained the usual sort of warnings and guides that anyone would expect. Or so I thought. 

I got to the lest couple of pages when something caught my eye. A small list of rules for the included virtual city and the other games launched for the platform. While the rules seemed standard one of the rules stood out to me.  

"Rule 7: While the danger is virtual, the stress on your body is real. Avoid binge gaming and know your limits.  Rule 7.1: Your physical body reacts to stimulant from the games. Ensure privacy when using the VR system" 

Shrugging of the rule since it seemed more direct at hardcore gamers I left my computer to install the needed software and went downstairs for a snack. I poured myself a small bowl of chips and checked my phone. To my surprise Jane had tried to call me. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a crush on her so I tried to play it cool and called her back. 

Once my call went through I heard the pleasant voice of a young girl echo on the other end of the line. “Hey Justin. I want to talk be keep it brief please” she said to me as a distant explosion sounded in the distance. One of the features of DreamGAME is being able to run a phone call through it. 

I took a second to compile my thoughts then spoke quickly. “My DreamGAME system finally came in the mail and I'm installing the software now”. 

“Great!” She responded gleefully “I'm busy right now in the ganglands but come find me in-world. I’ll probably be in Motorcity”. The sound of gunfire punctuated her sentence then the line went dead. The gun sounded close to the phone so I assume it was her own. I took my chips back up to my room and returned to my rig. 

The software had finished installing and was already running. I sat by the desk and began to scroll through the various menus and registration forms. All of these were basic questions, name, age, nationality, that kinda thing. Once all of the settings were set and my account was set up I was instructed to put on the helmet and finish the process on the other side. I help the gray device in my hand and stared into the eye covering. The helmet work by stimulating the brain into a dream state then instructed the brain on exactly what to dream. The result being perfect immersion and a gameplay experience like no other. This was further improved by my rig’s high performance parts and my own personal tuning. I turned the helmet around so that it was the right way around and put it on. I turned to my computer and pressed a set of keys to start a countdown as I flipped down the eye cover and laid down on my bed. I felt something similar to a static shock on my scalp and then there was nothing. 

When I say nothing I truly mean nothing. Even with my eyes open I saw only darkness and felt nothing on my body. I could not even feel my body in that void, let alone the bed I was laying on. Even the sensation of breath was lost to me. I tried to speak but nothing could be heard. I just floated, even my mind was blank as the void. Then the voice. “Brain Computer Interface calibration completed stand by for world rendering” said a strange voice in the darkness. Then the light came. 

A blinding light filled the void as my senses returned to me. My eyes opened to the interior of a train. Polished metal coated the train as metal and wood met to form a luxury interior straight from the future. I could feel but not see my own body. My nose was greeted by another passenger’s steak dinner, I could hear the train glide along the monorail track, I tasted the sterile air. Once the new senses dulled I saw sitting across from me an anthro dragoness in a gray pantsuit with yellow trimming and a laptop between us. 

“Greetings Justin. I am an attendant, one of many AI constructs tasked with maintaining the system and its inhabitants. My role is imitation of new users. Before we can begin please enter a first and last username” the dragon explained while opening the laptop. I could sense where my limbs were so I had not issue using the device. I thought long and then decided to use my fursona’s name. Once the name was inputted the screen changed to a comprehensive list of various species. “Please select a species as a base for your avatar” the AI further instructed. 

Since I used my fursona's name I figured I’d use him to form an avatar. I selected for from the list and was brought to a full body diagram of a fox. The fur was of common variety and the anthropomorphic body was of an average build.  I began to tweak and adjust the sliders to change the fur pattern to match Alex. His fur was now gray as iron and his hair an even darker shade. His white belly contrasted beautifully with the gray. The muzzle needed a bit of work to match my fursona's but I managed to get it close. It was the same story with rest of the face, the hair was made a darker shade of gray and adjusted the eyes to make them a bit larger than a real fox's and made the eyes a lovely shade of blue. Once I was finished with a few minor tweaks I closed the laptop and passed back to the attendant.  She gave me a large smile. “You may want to brace yourself for this next bit”. 

The laptop disappeared pixel by pixel into thin air as I felt a tingling sensation across my entire skin. My body began to render as I felt a veil of fur creep across my entire body with a large clump of it forming chest padding. My hands began to reshape with thinner fingers and pads forming on my fingertips and palms. My feet stretched and contorted into wider paws like fox paws. To top all of the strangeness off my face began to extend and my teeth began to lengthen and sharpened into fangs. Once the major changes finished I felt a near uncomfortable heat burn and recolor my eyes and hair.  

Once the burn faded and eyes worked again I looked back towards the attendant. The dragon girl simply smiled as she produced a sports watch from her pocket and  wrapped it around my wrist.  The watch seemed to link with me as the LCD came to life on my wrist. "This is your GameWatch. Everything you buy or unlock will be saved onto the watch. If you cheat, or fail to follow our rules, you will be subject to immediate termination". 

A window appeared on the watch screen displaying a long list of rules and regulations for the DreamWorld. I skimmed the document then tapped on the "accept" icon at the bottom. Once I tapped that the watch returned to displaying the time. My gaze then returned to the attendant who maintained her professional smile. 

"Your watch is your primary means for interfacing with the various technology in the DreamWorld". The attendant then conjured a plate-shaped piece of tech bearing the games city in the sky logo. "Use plates like these to save items and data into your watch. Press your watch to the plate to collect your starter items". 

I followed her instruction and felt the watch buzz as the plate glowed. I removed the watch and looked at the screen. The plate had given me a gray shirt and pants combo with yellow trimmings which I immediately equipped. Along with the clothes was a .38 pistol, a motorcycle and a housing voucher. "Housing voucher?" I inquired as I dismissed the pop-up on the watch. 

"As part of starting a new account with a new system you are entitled to a medium grade appartment free of charge or a discount for a high end appartment, within the city. Your account has also been credited 5,000Cr for your own use. Where would you like to spawn in the city?". 

"Motorcity, I'm meeting a friend".