The bell's shrill ring echoed through the empty halls of New Horizon Academy, and I leaned against my classroom door, fingertips brushing the biometric lock to seal it shut. The holographic attendance log flickered as it dissolved into the wall, leaving behind the faint scent of ozone and the lingering weight of my students' restlessness. At twenty-three, with chestnut hair perpetually twisted into a messy bun and glasses smudged from constant adjustments, I felt more like a glorified babysitter for teenagers jacked into neural nets than a teacher of 22nd-century literature.
But it wasn't the kids that haunted me as I stepped into the neon-drenched streets of Neo-Tokyo. It was him.
Luke Mann.
My colleague. The academy's robotics instructor. The man who'd leaned over my desk last week to fix my malfunctioning holoboard, his cedarwood cologne drowning my senses, his thumb grazing mine as he handed back the stylus. "You really ought to upgrade this relic, Jennifer," he'd murmured, his voice like melted caramel. I'd stammered something about budget cuts, my cheeks burning, my thighs pressing together under my desk.
Three days of stolen glances later, I found myself standing outside a chrome-plated boutique in the Red District, its glowing sign slicing through the rain: Elysium VR Custom Fantasies, Discreet Delivery.
My friend Lira had sworn by it. "It's not just porn, Jen. It's... art. You program the AI, pick every detail. They scan your memories to make it feel real. And the haptics--" She'd shivered theatrically. "You'll forget your own name."
My palms slicked against my umbrella handle. I'd never done anything like this. Never paid for a VR sim, never even owned a pleasure-droid. But the ache between my legs whenever Luke smirked at me in the faculty lounge? That was becoming a problem.
The door slid open with a hushed hiss. Inside, the air smelled of jasmine and something metallic. Glass pods lined the walls, their surfaces rippling with constellations of data. A synthoid attendant glided forward, her porcelain face glowing softly. "Welcome to Elysium. How may we transcend your reality today?"
My throat tightened. "I, uh... want a custom scenario. With... someone specific."
"Of course." The synthoid's pupils dilated, scanning my retinas. "Biometric authentication complete. Please follow me."
I was led to a private suite--a circular room with a levitating recliner at its center, tendrils of silicone-coated neural wires coiled above it like serpents. The walls pulsed faintly, breathing in time with my quickening heartbeat.
"You'll begin by designing your companion," the synthoid explained, gesturing to a holographic interface. "Facial structure, voice, personality matrices. Would you like to import a reference?"
I hesitated, then pulled up a faculty photo from the academy's server. Luke's smirk filled the holoscreen, his green eyes crinkling at the corners, his stubble shadowing that infuriatingly perfect jaw.
"Ah." The synthoid tilted its head. "A replication request. Elysium complies with all GDPR-2200 statutes. This AI will not retain data beyond your session, nor will it replicate sentient individuals without legal consent."
"He's not sentient," I blurted. "I mean--he's real, but you're not copying him, right? It's just... inspired."
"Semantic parameters adjusted." The synthoid's fingers danced across the interface. Luke's image fractured into a thousand glowing particles before reforming as a 3D model. "Shall we refine the avatar?"