Page 28 of Tapeworld Induction

He missed his teammates. He missed Sacha.

11

Tapeworld

Dylan

Evening. Tapeworld. Beach. Isaak.

“Why does everything look so… shiny here? Grander, more real than IRL?” Dylan asked.

“Real life is dull, monochrome,” Isaak said, “all the glass buildings, concrete, the suits, the overcast skies. The Tapeworld frees you of all that boring shit. It’s always sunny here, or cool night-time, depending on what you fancy.”

“Hmm. Reminds me of a philosopher, who wrote that just because a reality is virtual, digital, it doesn’t mean it’s worthless or fake. It still exists, and you still experience it. It has a physicality even if you can’t touch it.”

Isaak smiled. “The map is not the territory.”

“Is that also Jean Baudrillard?” she asked.

“Korzybski… Who was a huge influence on Baudrillard, so not far off.”

“Of course.” She huffed in feigned annoyance, a half-smile on her lips. “I didn’t know you were into general semantics?”

“I got into it when I started striding the Tapeworld.” He looked out to the beach. “It was inevitable I’d want to know the words to define my everyday, how to think about it.” He stretched an arm out in front of him, palm down, and raised it slowly. Sand gathered beneath it, responding to his command gesture. “Did you ever see VR that looked and felt this good?”

He gestured down the beach, inviting her to walk with him. She moved to his side, leaving a only small gap between them as they set off together.

“I haven’t really used VR much before, if that’s what you’re asking,” she said, watching as he raised more tiny mounds of sand along their path. “I only use it at the gym, and it’s fairly basic.”

He looked at her, his expression asking her to elaborate.

“My parents didn’t let me, growing up,” she explained. “They hate everything tech. Especially VR. All part of some nefarious plot by the Kings to enslave people, they say. So I never really got into it…”

He laughed. “They might be right… But I love it.”

It’s why I was a fan of you for years, she thought. Living vicariously through you, experiencing all of your excitement, watching your match vids.

“You were telling me about the Tapeworld,” she said aloud. “Show me.”

His face relaxed into a smile. “Sure. Try it. Hold out your hand and picture something.” Something about explaining this place to her lit a fire in his eyes, and they gleamed like the infinite stars in the sky.

It excited her too. The idea of manipulating the sand like him felt unreal. She had to keep telling herself this wasn’t real life. Alright. Let’s try this…

Her fingers outstretched, she became aware of how bare they looked. The assortment of rings she wore in the real world… They were gone here.

After a stare from Isaak, she focused on the tiny hill of sand between them.

Nothing happened.

“Am I doing something wrong?”

“Here.” He closed the distance between them and placed his palm over the back of her hand, spreading the gaps between her fingers wider with his. The sensation of his skin on hers threatened to tip her over the edge of normality and calm she pretty much had to fight to maintain at all times here in the Tapeworld.

This isn’t real?

“Focus on the sand and where you want it to go,” Isaak said. “Don’t just think it. Visualise it.”

She took a deep breath, holding it as she saw the motions in her mind’s eye.