Adam’s mission this time was deeply personal, compelling him to tap into his savings for crucial, time-sensitive information. Upon arriving at the back entrance of the towering structure that housed the Romantia, he exited the autonomous limousine he had reserved from his apartment-office. A uniquely striking Romantia employee greeted him, embodying the establishment’s distinctive character. Tall and bald, with an almost square face, his muscles seemed on the verge of stretching the fabric of his simple black shirt and suit pants to their limit. His attire, completed with shining shoes, was accompanied by a large, unconvincing smile, making him an intriguing blend of sophistication and danger. The intricate tattoos on his head and the clearly visible illegal cyberware only added to his imposing presence.
“Mr. Pierson, welcome to Romantia,” the employee began with an enthusiasm that felt rehearsed. “We’ve eagerly awaited your arrival. Today, you’ll embark on a journey of dreams, where your deepest desires come to life. Our companions are primed to accompany you on any adventure!” His introduction was a gateway into the realms of fantasy Romantia promised, tailored to each visitor’s imagination.
Adam, maintaining a stoic demeanor, scanned the employee discreetly, noting the black market grade of his cyberware, designed for intimidation and efficiency. “Let’s keep this brief. I’m here for one thing, and one thing only,” Adam stated firmly, his gaze locking with the employee’s, asserting his dominance in the exchange.
Guided through the back entrance, typically reserved for staff, Adam found himself in a less glamorous part of the establishment. The area was utilitarian, a stark contrast to the opulence he expected inside. They stepped onto an elevator, ascending into the higher levels of Romantia.
As the cityscape of Nova Terminus unfolded below them, Adam couldn’t help but reflect on its paradoxical beauty. The neon lights painted a mesmerizing aura against the night sky, the towering skyrises stretching towards the heavens. It was a view that captured the essence of the city—vibrant yet shadowed by the undercurrents of crime, underworld gangs, and corruption.
“Even esteemed clients like Mr. Pierson must follow standard check-in procedures. Please allow me to escort you and connect you to the system once we reach your chambers,” the employee stated, leading Adam from the elevator into a starkly utilitarian area. Amidst shelves stocked with electronic components, a more unsettling inventory caught Adam’s attention—disconnected human limbs and torsos, the grisly byproducts of Romantia’s operations. “Calculated losses for a little credit,” Adam thought grimly, a stark reminder of the extremes to which humanity had ventured in the era of increasing Recep Echoing.
As they moved through the backrooms, Adam discreetly compared his prior virtual reconnaissance to the live security setup. The information he had gathered in the Virt was impressively accurate, validating its cost.
The stark functionality of Romantia’s back area gave way to an environment where luxury and discretion were paramount. The corridor, bathed in soft neon light, led Adam past a succession of private rooms. His enhanced vision allowed glimpses into each, revealing scenes both stark and deeply private.
Within these chambers, the patrons engaged in a range of activities, from fulfilling exotic fantasies to more assertive roleplays. The companions appeared detached, their expressions void of personal agency, transformed into instruments for the realization of hidden desires.
“Our entertainers here at Romantia are handpicked and expertly trained to ensure the highest quality of experience,” his guide explained with a practiced pitch. “We provide only the best Receps, specially bred for our unique requirements. They’re inhabited by carefully selected individuals from Nova Terminus, ensuring that our guests enjoy unparalleled experiences, both in the physical realm and within our Virt environments without any limitations. You have complete freedom to choose your path of indulgence.”
They paused at Room No. 7, its entrance obscured by an opaque light curtain blocking out all light and sound. “This room is attuned exclusively to your patreon frequency, ensuring absolute privacy. Nothing that occurs here can be seen or heard by others, and only you can access it,” the guide explained, offering a sensor pad. “Please upload this frequency to your network transmitter for absolute control of this room’s lock mechanism.”
Adam followed the instructions, uploading the frequency to access the room’s security system. The curtain parted silently, granting him entry into a realm tailored to cater to the most sophisticated of preferences. The air of exclusivity was palpable, a world apart from the bustling city outside, a feeling Adam despised.
The light curtain closed behind him, the room was lit in simple orange and pink neon colors, and the wall displayed some holographic images of colorful waves. In the middle of the room a simple bed, the walls, and the ceiling had multiple installations to suspend individuals for a variety of interactions. Adam sat down in a rebound chair in the far corner, when a holographic projection in the middle of the room started to light up. The projection invited Adam to link up with his newly uploaded patron key.
As the connection was established, the holographic display revealed a myriad of potential adventures before Adam, each narrative finely tailored to the persona Ash had meticulously designed for him. The depth of Romantia’s scan into his fabricated profile was impressively comprehensive, yet Adam’s confidence in the robustness of his disguise remained unshaken. Faced with a variety of characters and storylines, he selected an adventure perfectly suited for Mr. Pierson’s tastes—a spy thriller rich in action, laced with conspiracy theories, punctuated with elements of romance and sex, all balanced with a hint of violence.
Upon making his selection, the ambiance within the room underwent a dramatic transformation. An elevator platform ascended, ushering Adam’s designated companion into an environment now vividly echoing a holographically rendered jungle.
The companion, a young woman of slender build, stood before him undressed, her unadorned skin presenting a stark contrast to the expected enhancements of contemporary society. The only deviations from her otherwise pristine condition were the ports: one at her neck with a device attached, and others at her wrists. A seemingly new, unaltered human form in a world where physical upgrades were the norm.
Her demeanor, devoid of any discernible emotion as she delivered a clearly scripted greeting, lent her an almost android-like quality. Yet, Adam was keenly aware of the human essence veiled beneath her mechanical exterior—a living, breathing person giving into the role of a mere character in someone else’s narrative.
“Please attach the Synelink to your primary interface port to initiate our neural linkage,” she instructed, presenting the connector. Adam complied, securing the device to his port with vigilance for any potential cyber threats.
Unlike his connection with Ash completely in the Virt, this one propelled him into an unusual state of being, straddling the line between the physical realm and an induced pseudo-reality. The slightest movement here translated into exaggerated actions within this fabricated world, fooling his senses into accepting the virtual jungle’s damp air and radiant warmth as authentic.
Reflecting on his previous training in similar pseudo-virtual environments, Adam recognized the technology’s intent to immerse him fully in the simulation. Yet, he remained acutely conscious of its artificiality.
His companion, now clad in attire that bore the marks of wear and adventure—cargo pants and a loose top, she presented a striking contrast to her earlier appearance. Her face, etched with traces of fatigue yet softened by a semblance of relief, offered a glimpse into the depth of her character within the simulation. Despite the authenticity of her portrayal, Adam was acutely aware of the acting, the emotions and experiences that were aimed to replicate.
A data surge on Adam’s retina set the stage for their venture: Mr. Pierson was transformed into a special agent tasked with a daring rescue mission on Earth.
“Perfect escapism for bored credit-pigs,” Adam thought, his disdain palpable. To him, those who splurged on artificial thrills to mask their own shortcomings, favoring the lavish expenditure of credits over the development of genuine skill, epitomized folly.
There was no time for Adam to indulge in this fabricated escapade. His objective was clear: navigate two stories down to the office segment of the establishment, breach the mainframe server to extract the data he sought, and return undetected. Then, he needed to convince his companion that they had completed the adventure, all within the timeframe a real venture would typically require to avoid raising suspicion. The reconnaissance data Adam had previously gathered proved invaluable now, enabling him to decrypt his companion’s data stream with ease using the correct quantum-genetic key. For the moment, setting her into a dormant state sufficed. He planned to modify her memory later.
With the companion caught in an infinite loop, her eyes mirrored an endless stream of code. Concurrently, the virtual world around him began to flicker, trapped in a brief visual loop.
Maintaining the connection through the device attached to his port, Adam disabled the system component that rendered the holographic imagery visible to him. He took a moment to shed the flamboyant disguise of Mr. Pierson, revealing the sleek, nanofibre combat and stealth suit he wore underneath—a skin-tight ensemble designed for efficiency and invisibility.
He carefully laid his companion’s body on the bed, covering her with the satin quilt as a gesture of respect.
Taking the elevator that had brought the entertainer to the room, Adam descended to the service area below. This zone, a cold, gray tunnel barely tall enough to stand upright in, forced him to hunch as he navigated towards a broader network linking the rooms at this level.
Relying solely on instinct to traverse this labyrinth was futile. Adam resorted to the blueprints and access data acquired from the shadow realm, projecting a 3-dimensional layout map directly onto his OptiCode. Now aware of his path, he remained vigilant to avoid encountering any entertainers while moving through this restricted area. His military-grade auditory enhancements, finely tuned through his HUD to maximum sensitivity, ensured he wouldn’t be caught off guard by others lurking in the shadows.
Upon reaching the maze’s end, Adam stepped into the connective chamber—a hub for the floor’s entertainers. Unexpectedly, this chamber extended across more than a dozen stories, significantly surpassing both the official records of Romantia and Adam’s initial estimates. The space, designed as a hexagonal prism, was lined with alcoves that more closely resembled charging stations than areas for rest, with metal catwalks linking the alcoves across various levels through a series of simple elevators. The setting had a stark, clinical air reminiscent of a prison, where the dormant forms of entertainers were only partially visible behind translucent plastic, reduced to mere silhouettes of a human.
Suppressing his rising disgust, Adam refrained from using the entertainers’ elevator platforms, wary of triggering sensors or alarms. Instead, he chose a more direct approach. With a calculated move, he swung over the catwalk’s rail and embraced gravity, plunging down two stories. In a practiced maneuver, he executed a half-turn mid-air, reaching for the metal rail below. His enhanced muscles flexed silently, absorbing the impact as he caught the rail, his movements fluid and stealthy. This deft action halted his free fall, and with a powerful pull, he propelled himself up and over the rail, landing with the soft precision of a cat.
“Faster than any elevator,” he murmured to himself, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
He glanced at the map projected onto his retina, confirming his next move. The office space he sought was across the chamber. Adam summoned a surge of power to his bio-mechanical leg muscles and launched himself across the void. He soared from one side to the other, his leap a testament to the capabilities of his augmented physique. Landing silently in the shadows on the far side, he pressed forward.
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