I had no choice. There was no way to control my avatar at all. I had to just sit and wait for my Reality Check to save me. Unfortunately, three hours in the real world translated to three months in Ether. I was trapped in a little girl's body for three whole months, forced to follow every stupid routine programmed.
Finally, though, I was able to take off the goddamned headset and just be glad I was free. After screaming curses at the game, I went to use the bathroom as a male. I then decided to take a nice long shower to appriciate my own body, but realized that Suzie was probably worried.
I went to my computer and sent an IM to her, but got an error message. "User Suzie458 is playing Future of Gaming," I read. Dammit, I thought. She's still in the game. I sighed and stepped over to the console. I now knew how fast time moved in there and knew there would be no time for a shower right now.
"It'll be okay this time," I tried to reassure myself as I put on the headset. "No randomizer, no NPC trouble. I'll make my own avatar." I took a deep breath and turned it back on.
