Inside The Game

After he touched down and his wings vanished back into the virtual ether, he looked at me, suddenly serious.

"Wait, if I die in here, do I die in real life?"

I blinked a few times until I had a reply chain ready that satisfied both my honesty subroutines and his chosen preferences for my personality.

"What, you think we have a bomb strapped to the interface device?"

He looked a little sheepish.

"Well, no."

"Indeed. There's nothing inside the game that can kill you, so please relax."

Now, remember, the gathering officers and their guns aren't inside the game.