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To cut a long story short, I had to pay him off. The Inspector graciously accepted my fiver, then charged me another hundred for the rest of my term. After yet another half-hour of red tape, I stepped onto the gray teleport pad.

"Till next time," the mage on duty smirked before activating the portal.

My feet jerked slightly with the impact. I found myself on a grassless spot about twenty paces from the city's north gate. I knew the place well. This was where I'd first entered the city. The sun was setting over the bustling crowd of players who'd just come home from work or school and jumped into their FIVR capsules. The night gaming session had begun.

I hurled two copper to a vendor and got myself a large frothy mug of beer. The drink had a pleasantly chilled straight-from-the-fridge taste. No idea if it was done by magic or as part of the game reality.

Freedom! I stepped aside and sat down on the grass. Blowing the froth off the beer, I longed for a handful or salted peanuts, but I was too comfortable to get up and walk around searching for them. Life was good as it was.

I emptied the mug in two hearty gulps and stretched out, basking in the evening sun. A shadow blocked it out. I opened my eyes: Eric.

He grinned, plopped down next to me and elbowed my ribs. "Long time no see! Where've you been, dude? I was already thinking you snuffed it a bit earlier than planned. Either that, or your plans to go perma didn't work out."

I sat up. "In your dreams. I was doing time, that's all."

"Whatcha mean?"

"Nothing really. Just some cops banged me up. Like, I'm a nasty Necro, so the guards started aggroing my pet and we had to smoke them double quick. Plus a few other things, enough for a short stretch. Then the cavalry arrived, well, they got me. I'll never forgive them my pet. Too good for words, he was."

I threw my hands in the air showing how much I missed him. Still, deep inside I was celebrating. The sight of a dumbfounded Eric was just too funny.

"You don't mean it."

"I damn well do. Only been out for ten minutes."

"You're too much, dude."

"You bet. You should stick with me if you want a nice cozy cell."

He guffawed.

"Listen, Eric. I've been meaning to ask you. Is there a way to find out whether I'm perma or not yet?"

He tensed, suddenly serious. "You mean you don't know yet? How long have you been in full immersion now?"

"Seven days non-stop."

He phewed. "Let's have a look. Close your eyes."

I did.

"Can you tell me where the sun is?"

I concentrated. The warm sunrays seeped through my eyelids and warmed my right check. I pointed without even thinking.

"Good. What else do you feel?"

"Hmm, let me think. There's a breeze in my face. A fly is crawling up my arm," I said, waving it off.

"Can you smell anything?"

"I can smell dung. And food. Flowers. I can also smell beer on myself and sweat on you."

"I didn't get the chance to remove my armor today," Eric murmured, embarrassed. "Let's try one other thing," he rattled through his bag. "Where's it now... ah, here, take it," he handed me a heavy piece of steel. "Tell me all you can about it."

I commented as I studied it. "It's either a knife or a dagger. Sorry, don't know much about them. It's old. The handle is leather, well worn. The blade is dull and rusty in places. It smells of rotten leather, and also of earth and steel. Very old, I'd say. The rust is flaking off."

Eric chuckled and took the thing away from me. "You can open your eyes. Well, congrats, dude. You're one of us now. Full immersion or not, a normal player wouldn't have noticed half of the stuff you've just told me. They call it virtual reality, but it's still a fake. But it's your home now. That's why you experience it full scale."

I looked at him, still unbelieving. "You think? Doesn't sound very convincing to me."

He smiled. "Okay. Let's do another check. But this one will depend on how long you've been
 
in perma mode. Where's south east?"

I pointed without even thinking.

"How did you know?"

"Well, we've got the compass, haven't we?"

"Are you sure?"

I glanced over the interface and saw that the compass was gone. What the hell? How did I know, then?

Eric was having the time of his life watching me. "No one knows how it happens. The digitized players start losing the interface. Or rather, its functions turn into their own skills. The compass is one of the first to go. All the location maps get imprinted in your mind—that includes places where you haven't yet been to. By the way, you have camera eye now. Remember the last monster you killed? Can you list the objects he dropped?"

"Not a monster," I corrected him. "It was a guard. Two silver, nine copper and a badge."

I froze. I couldn't believe it. I really did remember.

"You see?" he said. "It means you were already digital when you did it. You have computer memory now. All you need is to open the logs and you'll remember it straight away. Cool, eh? Now the big check. Press the logout."

I felt uncomfortable. I'd press it, and it would throw me out. My dream life would turn out to be just that, a dream.

"Don't be a chicken, dude. Coming under fire feels much worse, I tell you. And still people do it. Go ahead and press it."

I pressed. Then I pressed again, and again. I froze for a second. Then I yelled in a George-Michael-ish falsetto,

"Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! You've gotta give for what you take!"

I jumped to my feet and did a bit of a song and dance. The bustling crowd turned their heads to look at me. Eric watched my dervish act with a smile. Then he gave me a bear hug.

"Congrats, dude. You've fooled the Grim Reaper. That's official. You back to the Three Little Pigs with me? This calls for a celebration."

"Sure I am. The memories of your chef's roast kept me going in the slammer. But first of all I've got to get to the bank and the post office."

"They're on the way. Which bank do you want? The
 
AlterWorld or the Olders'?"

"They have their own bank?"

"They have lots of things."

I gave it a thought. "What's the difference?"

"The difference is, the Olders have a lower interest rate. They've also introduced lots of third party services like mailing, and better deposit and withdrawal options for perma players. Even special credit rates."

"Sounds good. Can I get a mortgage?"

"Don't laugh. You won't live in and out of hotels forever. One day you'll want a place of your own."

"Fair enough. Let's go see the Olders', then."

A ranger Elf came flying past us. I had a funny feeling I'd seen the guy before. As I frowned trying to fix the face to a place, he yelled, “Ten gold pieces to anyone with Red Bear’s coordinates!”

But of course. This was the dork who’d given me Teddy on a silver platter.

Having said that... “Eric, any idea why they’re all so obsessed about that bear?"

He cringed and waved the question away. “Don’t even remind me. I’ve wasted a month of my life on that wretched thing. I'd spent two weeks farming him all over the location. Finally, some freakin' noob sighted him and thought of nothing better than to post it in the chat. Before I got there, the place was so packed the poor Teddy got buried under all the wannabes. For the next two weeks I used to sit by the town gate, just like that ranger over there, promising a king’s ransom to anyone who’d direct me to the Red Bear. Finally, I got a tipoff, but when I got to him, there were four more dudes there already chasing him. I freaked out and added 4 kills to my PK counter. Piece of cake—I was already level 80 by then. Then I smoked the bear, and what do you think it dropped? A heart. Not a single vial of blood. It happens quite often. Sometimes you get none, other times you get two. After that, I just gave up. I’m not going to spend another month chasing him around the location."

As he spoke, I impatiently shifted from one foot to the other. “And? What’s all this about his heart and blood? Come on, tell me.”

Eric looked up at me, surprised. “Hey, keep your hair on. It's a quest. What else do you think it is? One of the best mounts around. The Royal Alchemist has a stuffed Red Bear and wants to try his animation potion on him. But he needs two more ingredients: the bear's heart and blood. If you give them to him, he can animate the bear and give him to you for a riding mount. Better than a horse. The Bear's weak at first, but that's not what matters. First, he can fight together with his master. And second, the bear receives some of your experience on top of his own. It's up to you how much you allow him to have. I think it's up to 10% or so. The Bear levels up really well, so the sooner you have him the more impressive the result. It can make a good top tank or alternatively, a cross between a mount and a truck. Too cool for words. Just don’t hold your breath, dude. Have a look at me first. A whole
 
month
 
I’ve been after him.”

Eric shrugged and turned away. I kept staring at him, my mind replaying what he’d just said. Did he mean you could revive the bear? Hummungus, pup! Daddy’s coming!

When the initial stupor had passed, I grabbed Eric’s sleeve and dragged him away from the main road. I dropped my bag on the ground and squatted, rummaging through its capacious inventory. Eric shifted his feet nearby, clueless as to what was causing the delay. Finally I found what I was looking for. I looked up at Eric and handed him one of the two vials containing Red Bear’s blood.

“Take it. It’s yours now. Just a trinket to celebrate my success.”

Unsure, Eric reached out and squinted at the vial, moving his lips, as he read the item's ID. Then he jerked his hand away. “Any idea how much this costs? Judging by your newb kit, it’s not as if you shit gold.”

“I’ve got two gold, to be precise. The rest I had to splurge on takeaways. Jail food nearly killed my palate.”

“You could sell the vial for a couple grand. Three, even. In gold.” I could see he was dying to accept the gift but his honesty was getting the better of him.

My inner greedy pig, who had only a moment ago been hopping up and down celebrating my freedom and the unexpected financial windfall, squeaked and dropped senseless with shock.

That was serious money. Had I known it, I’d have thought twice before giving the vial away. But claiming it back would mean a total loss of face. Besides, I liked this honest, cheerful and straightforward tower of a grunt.

I grinned, “Oh, whatever. You only live once. Take it. I'll distract my inner greedy pig before he throws a fit.”

Eric managed a shy smile and accepted the vial. “I’ll be damned, dude. You won’t believe how much time I’ve spent chasing after him. The bear is one hell of a mount. I'll do some work on him and he'll be slaying dragons. I owe you. Don't say anything. You're a Necro, aren't you? We'll have to check the bank. I'm sure they have something for you."

"I'm actually a Death Knight," I corrected, pointing his sense of gratitude in the right direction. "I specialize in pet summoning."

Overjoyed, Eric slammed my shoulder. My health bar quivered. A few guards exchanged worried looks as they passed by, tightening their grip on the weapons.

“Quiet, you ox. People have been killed with a lighter touch,” I rubbed my aching shoulder.

He just grinned nonsensically, pressing the vial to his chest. “Come along, then. I’ll take you to the bank, pick up the heart, then I'll go pay the alchemist a visit. My guys will freak out when they see me coming on the bear's back."

"Hold your horses, will you? I'm coming along. I want me a bear, too."

"Do you? Have you got another bear kit?"

I gave him a wink. Eric was brimming with emotion.

"Dude, you're awesome. Shame I can't refer you to our clan. You need to have combat experience to join. You haven't been in action, have you?"

"I did service, sure," I hurried to explain. "Air defense. Shoot'em down, sort'em out on the ground. But I wasn't in action, no. Probably for the better."

Eric nodded. "Most likely. But if we decide to start a nursery, I'll give you a reference and an invitation. You'll be a standby guy. Think you'll join?"

I shrugged. "We'll see. Thanks, anyway."

In the bank, everything went hunky dory. As a
 
perma player, I was eligible for a low-rate bank account, providing my digitized status was confirmed by another perma with a solid track record. Eric fit the role fine. Among other freebies, they gave me a thirty days free texting number. All the messages arriving at the number were forwarded to my inbox. I could also use it for sending outgoing messages, but I couldn't do it myself, only through an operator. The plan was so good I signed up for automatic renewal: retaining contact with the outer world was worth the fifty gold it cost me.

I tested it on the spot, sending my Mom a quick and rambling message reproaching her for sending me too much money too soon, then thanking her all the same. Then I slapped my forehead and sent her another one in all-caps:

MOM! I WON'T DIE! I'VE MADE IT!
 
YOU CAN TURN THE CAPSULE OFF NOW! I'M IN PERMA MODE!!!

I felt a bit uneasy typing the last sentence, but I'd been convinced by both Eric and my failure to log out.

I thought about their Internet services. It wasn't real Internet, of course—more like a paid database for perma players. You sent your search request to the operator who looked it up and sent you the most relevant search result. Twenty gold per request. A bit pricey for me at the moment, but it might come in handy at a later date.

The Olders seemed to have made it big. They basically controlled the service market. Need someone to look after your grave in the real world? Or a
 
lawyer to take care of your offline property? Hire a nanny or a house help for your surviving family, buy whatever you fancied, check on your wife to make sure she hadn't stranded in your absence—easy.