A smell update for VR
Everything in bold was written by me. The rest is auto-continued by an artificial intelligence called GPT-3. [Warning: This story is for mature readers only.]
Jay entered the virtual reality mode, as he did every morning. A few years back, they had added touch, which greatly enhanced immersion. Today's update was special: adding the sensation of smell.
Jay felt himself sit down in a chair, getting comfortable. His virtual self wore a pair of pajamas, and his virtual body was a bit flabby. His virtual hands rested on the virtual arms of the chair.
The smell was a bit strong. Jay wasn't sure what it was. A combination of sweat, alcohol, and vomit.
Jay commanded the virtual room to turn around. He was sitting in a nightclub. The music was a bit too loud, and there was a drunk couple sitting on the carpet right in front of him.
"It's my wife's birthday, man!" the man slurred loudly, "You gotta help me here!"
"What kind of help do you need?" Jay asked.
"I need you to tell me she's beautiful!"
"I'm sorry, I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because she's not."
"No, man, you don't understand! She's my wife!"
"I'm sorry, I don't think I can help you."
"Okay, okay, how about this? I'll buy you a drink!"
"You don't have to buy me anything."
"No, man, I insist!"
The virtual man walked out of his field of view. Jay waited patiently for a few moments. He could hear the man ordering a drink.
"Here you go, man!" the man shouted from behind him.
The man's virtual body came into view, but he was holding a glass of water.
"Thank you," Jay said.
"No problem, man. Let's drink to my lovely wife!"
"Umm, it's water."
"Oh… right… then let's drink to the lovely woman who hooked up with me!"
The man downed the glass of water, and Jay felt his virtual body drinking the water.
"I'm sorry, I have to go," Jay said.
He turned back toward the chair, but the man grabbed him by the arm.
"Hey, buddy, don't go! I just want to talk!"
"I'm sorry, I don't have time for this."
Jay took a step toward the chair, but the man pulled him back.
"Come on, man. Just a couple of questions."
"I don't have time for questions right now."
"Just one question. Okay? How does it feel to be a loser?"
"I'm sorry, I don't have time to discuss this."
"Yeah, I bet you don't. Look at you, living in a crappy one-room apartment. You don't have a college degree. You don't have a job. You're a freaking loser."
Jay took a deep breath as he stared at the man.
"I'm sorry, I don't have time for this."
"Go ahead, run away, loser! Look at you, you're pathetic! You can't even stand up to a drunk! You're not even worth any of my spit!"
Jay found himself on the floor. The man was leaning over him, spitting in his face.
"Now, you're gonna pay for that, you little bitch!"
The man pulled out a gun and pointed it at Jay. In the back of his mind, Jay knew that you can't die in VR, but he was still feeling his heart race. The odor update had kicked in now, and the smell of sweat and blood was overwhelming.
The man cocked the gun.
"You're gonna fucking die, you little bitch!"
The man pulled the trigger.
Jay's eyes shot open. The VR session ended. He was sweating, and breathing heavily.
He wasn't sure why he was feeling so worked up. He had been in VR for almost ten years now, and the feeling had gone away long ago.
He was about to try to go back to sleep when he remembered the smell. He had never experienced it before. It was the smell of a gunshot.
***
The next day, Jay logged in again. He turned back to the VR mode, and he heard the gun go off. He felt the gun go off. He felt the bullet enter his body.
He was lying on the floor. He could not move his body, but he could hear everything around him.
The man was standing over him, laughing.
"Man, I never knew it felt like this!" the man shouted, "So real!"
"Wait a second, man! What the fuck did you do to me?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, buddy. I just wanted a little extra realism."
"What the fuck are you talking about?!"
"Well, you know, the VR is supposed to smell and feel real, but you can't die. So I wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. I'll kill you again if you like, but it won't do anything."
"You're a sick fuck, you know that?"
"I know. That's why I'm doing this."
The man pulled out a knife and leaned over Jay.
Jay felt the knife enter his body.
"Ahh! What the fuck?! What the fuck?! What the fuck?!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, man. I thought you wanted this. I'll just kill you again. Fun, right?"
Jay felt the knife go in again.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, man. I'm just having some fun."
The man stood up.
"I'm gonna get you some water. I'm sorry, man, I thought you wanted this."
***
Jay didn't enter VR for a few days after this incident. The smell update was adding too much realism to cruelty. He did not want to be murdered again.
But the smell lingered in his nostrils. He couldn't get rid of it. He contacted the company that provided the smell update, but they couldn't do anything about it. The smell was designed to be incredibly realistic.
***
After a while, Jay decided to give VR another try. He logged in.
"Hello, sir," the virtual assistant greeted him, "How may I help you?"
"I would like to schedule a murder."
"What kind of murder would you like to schedule?"
"I don't know. Just something realistic."
"Okay, sir. Please wait a moment."
A few moments later, the virtual assistant returned.
"I have an opening this afternoon."
"Great. I'll take it."
"Very well, sir. Please follow me."
The virtual assistant walked him down a hallway.
"Here we are, sir. Please take a seat."
The assistanted handed Jay a knife, and Jay sat down. He heard a door open behind him.
"Please wait a moment, sir. The person you requested will be here shortly."
"Thank you."
The door closed behind Jay, and he turned around. There was a man sitting on the other side of the table.
"Hello, sir," the man said.
"Hello," Jay responded.
Jay wasn't sure what to say to the man.
"Please take the knife in your right hand, sir," the virtual assistant said.
Jay did so.
"Now, please stab the other person."
"What?"
"Please stab the other person."
Jay looked at the other person. He raised the knife.
"What the fuck, man?" the other person said.
"Please stab the other person," the virtual assistant repeated itself.
Jay put the knife to the other person's chest.
"Please stab the other person," the virtual assistant said again.
"What the fuck is this, man?" the other person said.
Jay pushed the knife into the other person's chest.
The other person screamed.
"What the fuck, man?!"
Jay pulled the knife out, and blood sprayed out of the wound.
"What the fuck?!"
Jay put the knife back into the person's chest.
"What the fuck, man?!"
***
A week later, Jay heard the door bell ring. He opened the door.
"Hello," a man wearing a policeman's uniform said.
"Hello, officer."
"May I come in?"
"Sure."
The officer stepped into the apartment.
"I have a few questions for you."