Otto26
Inconsistent
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2006
- Posts
- 1,498
The studio was not show-place neat since there was some transitory clutter: few books on a table, the last of the groceries that hadn't been put away, the laundry that was hanging to dry. But there wasn't any dirt or trash and the walls were clean. Liam had spent hours cleaning the place before he moved in. It was nothing special, visitors, which were few, entered from the exterior service corridor, walked fast the bathroom, past the kitchen and closet, and into the living space, which was as far as anyone could go as the unit lacked a balcony. The window looked out onto a courtyard and a fire-escape and Liam never used it. He'd taken surplus flatscreen monitors which could be bought by the pallet and turned one wall and the ceiling of the room into a giant video screen which played nature scenes. The desk/bed unit took up most of the space in the single room and was nothing fancy since Liam had built it himself. It had only three virtues, but those were what Liam was looking for: it was cheap, it was sturdy, and it was soundproof. The apartment complex could be loud, but between his headset during the day and his insulated bed at night, Liam had all the quiet he wanted.
The bathroom had two towels, two washcloths, a body wash that doubled as a shampoo, a shower head, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some mouthwash. He used the shower daily, twice when it was hot, the toilet two or three times and wiped the space down with a squeegee after every shower. It was a utility space and he treated it as such. His 'kitchen' was much the same. He'd never used the single burner stove or the oven. Everything he ate was fresh or microwaved. It was a utility space, nothing more.
Friends, local friends, might have counseled Liam to dress the place up and live a little. But Liam didn't really have any of those. He lived online and his friends thought his living arrangement was clever. It freed up income for services and savings. Because, while Liam lived online, he was fully aware that he ultimately lived in a real world and would eventually want to do some things in it. Buying a home. Traveling. And, of course, he needed to eat and keep the lights on. But for now he lived online and he enjoyed it.
Work hours were spent as a system administrator. Technically he worked nights. But with the heavy curtains on the only window in his space and the LED screens on the walls and ceiling Liam worked whatever hours he desired. If he wanted to work 'days' then the sun would shine brightly as he sat at his computer. His recreation time was largely spent in study. Certification was the name of the employment game and the key to moving up the ladder. The real money was in management and that's what he was working toward. Physical exercise was another, mandatory, free time activity. Liam didn't like it, but he did it. He'd looked up a fitness plan and he stuck with it. Between that and his diet he was in decent shape. Definitely not an underwear model, but not overweight either.
The rest of his time was spent in virtual reality. VR. Realer than real. It was a grammatically terrible slogan but very effective. With VR Liam could take a private tour of the Taj Mahal or sit in a coffee shop with friends or dance with his girlfriend in a Rio nightclub. The tech wasn't without drawbacks. Plenty of people experienced VR-psychosis, where they became disassociated from reality because they couldn't tell it apart from VR. Plenty of people lost all contact with reality. The new VR viruses could be deadly. But the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, at least in the eyes of the people of the world. There had been attempts to outlaw the tech but those had ultimately fallen by the wayside. Liam, for one, was glad of that.
"Sandesh! How are you?" he asked as the Bengali man's avatar entered the virtual waiting room.
"You goras are the most entitled people in the world," Sandesh complained. "Indians are always trying to get a bargain, the Chinese are just rude, but gora entitlement is infuriating."
"We've earned our entitlement," Liam joked.
Sandesh made a dismissive gesture as Tor walked into the room.
"What is Sandesh complaining about now?" he asked.
"White people," Liam answered simultaneously with Sandesh's "Goras".
Tor rolled his eyes at this. Sandesh worked in a call center and was always complaining about it. "Diego says he'll be a few minutes late," he told them.
Sandesh shrugged. "That's not a problem."
"Hey, guys, Brandi is going to be joining us," Liam said.
"Why?" Tor asked. Sandesh nodded his agreement with the question.
"She wants to see what the game is like and spend some more time with me. And with you," he explained.
"It seems as though she's really pushing into your private space," Tor mused. "You must be serious about her."
"Are you going to be a lovey game couple?" Sandesh demanded.
"Yes," Liam answered them both.
Sandesh groaned.
"Be nice," Tor said. "One day you might be bringing a girl to meet us. A real girl," he clarified, cutting off Sandesh's response. "Sim girls don't count."
"Here she comes now," Liam said.
The bathroom had two towels, two washcloths, a body wash that doubled as a shampoo, a shower head, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and some mouthwash. He used the shower daily, twice when it was hot, the toilet two or three times and wiped the space down with a squeegee after every shower. It was a utility space and he treated it as such. His 'kitchen' was much the same. He'd never used the single burner stove or the oven. Everything he ate was fresh or microwaved. It was a utility space, nothing more.
Friends, local friends, might have counseled Liam to dress the place up and live a little. But Liam didn't really have any of those. He lived online and his friends thought his living arrangement was clever. It freed up income for services and savings. Because, while Liam lived online, he was fully aware that he ultimately lived in a real world and would eventually want to do some things in it. Buying a home. Traveling. And, of course, he needed to eat and keep the lights on. But for now he lived online and he enjoyed it.
Work hours were spent as a system administrator. Technically he worked nights. But with the heavy curtains on the only window in his space and the LED screens on the walls and ceiling Liam worked whatever hours he desired. If he wanted to work 'days' then the sun would shine brightly as he sat at his computer. His recreation time was largely spent in study. Certification was the name of the employment game and the key to moving up the ladder. The real money was in management and that's what he was working toward. Physical exercise was another, mandatory, free time activity. Liam didn't like it, but he did it. He'd looked up a fitness plan and he stuck with it. Between that and his diet he was in decent shape. Definitely not an underwear model, but not overweight either.
The rest of his time was spent in virtual reality. VR. Realer than real. It was a grammatically terrible slogan but very effective. With VR Liam could take a private tour of the Taj Mahal or sit in a coffee shop with friends or dance with his girlfriend in a Rio nightclub. The tech wasn't without drawbacks. Plenty of people experienced VR-psychosis, where they became disassociated from reality because they couldn't tell it apart from VR. Plenty of people lost all contact with reality. The new VR viruses could be deadly. But the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, at least in the eyes of the people of the world. There had been attempts to outlaw the tech but those had ultimately fallen by the wayside. Liam, for one, was glad of that.
"Sandesh! How are you?" he asked as the Bengali man's avatar entered the virtual waiting room.
"You goras are the most entitled people in the world," Sandesh complained. "Indians are always trying to get a bargain, the Chinese are just rude, but gora entitlement is infuriating."
"We've earned our entitlement," Liam joked.
Sandesh made a dismissive gesture as Tor walked into the room.
"What is Sandesh complaining about now?" he asked.
"White people," Liam answered simultaneously with Sandesh's "Goras".
Tor rolled his eyes at this. Sandesh worked in a call center and was always complaining about it. "Diego says he'll be a few minutes late," he told them.
Sandesh shrugged. "That's not a problem."
"Hey, guys, Brandi is going to be joining us," Liam said.
"Why?" Tor asked. Sandesh nodded his agreement with the question.
"She wants to see what the game is like and spend some more time with me. And with you," he explained.
"It seems as though she's really pushing into your private space," Tor mused. "You must be serious about her."
"Are you going to be a lovey game couple?" Sandesh demanded.
"Yes," Liam answered them both.
Sandesh groaned.
"Be nice," Tor said. "One day you might be bringing a girl to meet us. A real girl," he clarified, cutting off Sandesh's response. "Sim girls don't count."
"Here she comes now," Liam said.
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