@AlanTheGamer > Hey, are you still selling the VR headset you posted?

 

@Evelyn92 > yeah

@Evelyn92 > if you want it, its yours for $250 plus whatever it costs to ship

 

@AlanTheGamer > Wow, that's crazy cheap for a Cortex. Is it real beat-up or something?

 

@Evelyn92 > no, it's basically new, just i got it from my ex and i wanna get rid of it quick

@Evelyn92 > too many shitty memories

 

@AlanTheGamer > Ah, gotcha. I'd love to take it off your hands, what's the best way to send you money?

Alan scrawled his signature on the delivery person’s touchpad, and eagerly carried the box inside. Pulling out his keys, he awkwardly cut through the packing tape and opened it up. There it was, a Cortex Sensorium in perfect condition. This was the cutting edge of VR gaming technology, with neural sensors and biofeedback years ahead of the competition. A brand-new one would have cost him at least $800, if he could even find a store that wasn’t sold out. He’d gotten the deal of a lifetime… if it worked. He pulled the headset out of its box, placed it over his head, carefully adjusted the fit, muttered a silent prayer, and pressed the power button.

Immediately, a synthetic chime played, and the Cortex logo appeared before his eyes, a stylized polygon-mesh brain rotating in 3D. After a few seconds it was replaced with a home screen, a set of cubes with various tools and options superimposed over a view of his living room.

“Fuck yes!” Alan pumped his fist excitedly, and saw his arm appear in the Sensorium’s field of vision too. Well, not quite his arm; it matched his movements perfectly, but had a shimmery blue texture instead of his actual skin tone.

Alan looked through the menu cubes: App Store, System Settings, Telepresence, Games (1 new)…

Huh. Did Evelyn forget to wipe her data before she sent it over? He reached out a hand and tapped the Games cube. It expanded to fill the room, and the other cubes faded into the background. In front of him now was a single option, a 3D heart labeled “Together Forever”. Some kinda dating sim?

Alan tapped the heart, and as it expanded, the view of the room around him faded to black and was replaced by a swirly pattern of shifting colors. Soft music began to play, with faint whispery vocals that he couldn’t quite make out. All he could understand were the words, “Relax. Breathe.” As he parsed out the words, they also appeared in front of him in soft pink letters. He exhaled, and found himself feeling more relaxed. As he relaxed, he took a deeper breath in. “Good girl,” he heard and saw.

But I’m not…

As soon as the thought started, the whispering vocals and softly glowing words shifted. “Don’t worry, just relax…” The tone of the voice was soothing, gentle, and reassuring.

It’s fine, I don’t need to worry about it…

The swirling background seemed to have little flows of color, currents that drew Alan’s gaze along with them, back and forth. “The more you breathe, the more you watch, the deeper you can relax…” Alan slowly leaned back in the couch, his body feeling looser and heavier as the voice and words and colors guided him deeper.

After… a couple minutes? Alan wasn’t quite sure… the voice shifted again. It was a little clearer, firmer, easier to hear now. “You know this voice. You recognize this voice.”

Do I? I guess maybe I do, but where did I…

“It’s me, Rachel.”

Oh, that’s right, it’s Rachel… Who’s Rachel again…?

“You’ve known Rachel for so long. You trust Rachel. You love Rachel, with all your heart…”

Wait, wha…

“Just relax, just breathe, just let yourself go deeper…” The half-formed thought dissolved in a wash of color.

“You love Rachel, isn’t that right? You always have.”

I… love Rachel…

“You trust Rachel completely. You know you can believe whatever Rachel says.”

I trust Rachel? I guess that must be true, she said so after all…

“You’ve been very confused lately, about a lot of things. I’m going to help you sort it all out, because I love you and care about you so very much…”

That’s… Yeah, this is kinda confusing… I’m glad Rachel’s helping me figure it out…

“For instance, don’t you keep feeling confused about what kinds of clothes you want to wear? I can help you with that. I know what kinds of clothes you like best. You love wearing cute dresses, the frillier and skimpier the better. T-shirts and jeans just feel so uptight and uncomfortable and boring, don’t they?”

Something didn’t quite make sense to Alan, but he couldn’t put his finger on what. Rachel’s saying it, so it must be right, but…

“Cute frilly dresses are your favorite things to wear, aren’t they? After all, you’re such a cute girl, and accentuating your cute girly body feels so good, doesn’t it?”

I… wait, I’m…

“There’s nothing to worry about, love. Just breathe, and relax. I know you can be a good girl for me, and listen to everything I say. You’re such a pretty girl, and it’d be a waste for a lovely girl like you to wear boyish clothes, wouldn’t it, my good girl?”

I… I’m… a good girl… Alan’s body trembled slightly, but as the music and the colors shifted and swayed, and Rachel’s voice whispered softly in her ears, her body relaxed and she was calm and still once more.

“Your favorite thing of all to wear is a sexy maid outfit, isn’t that right? After all, you love cooking and cleaning for me, and taking care of all the other chores around the house. Serving the woman you love makes you feel so, so good…”

Serving… being a maid… feels good…

“You love taking care of my house so much, there’s nowhere else you ever need to stay. You want to live with me, don’t you? To be my cute girlfriend and my live-in maid?”

Want… to live… with Rachel…

“You don’t need to remember any other home. 745 Belmont Street, that’s the only address you ever need to remember. That’s where you live. That’s where you belong. Can you feel all the other places slipping right out of your mind, fading away because you don’t need them?”

My only home… is with Rachel… Everything else… can go away…

“And you also keep getting confused about your name, don’t you? Just remember, your name is Evie. Nice and short and cute. That’s the only name you’ve ever had. Your name is Evie, and my name is Rachel, and those are the only names you need to remember.”

My… name… wait…

“Shhh, just relax, Evie. You’re such a good girl, Evie. And I know you can go even deeper for me, if you just breathe…”

Rachel slowly got up from her computer to answer the doorbell. Opening the door, she saw a cute trans girl wearing a bright pink wig and a skimpy maid outfit that must have earned her some very odd looks on her way over here.

“And who might you be?” Rachel asked, although wheels were starting to turn inside her head.

“It, it’s me, Evie, Mistress!” the girl replied. “Your girlfriend! I’m home now, Mistress, and we can finally be together forever!”

“So, she gave away the headset, did she? I was half hoping my program might still reel her back in, but honestly, you look much more fun~ I bet you’ll be a better Evie than she ever would have been…”

“What are you talking about, Mistress Rachel? I’m the only Evie, aren’t I?”

“Yes, Evie love, that’s right. Welcome home. Now why don’t you come on in and start fixing me dinner…”