Sunday Snippet: To V or Not to V (a V-World novella)

Winter blast is lingering for at least another week. Our low is supposed to minus eight on Tuesday. And I'll probably have to go out when it's that low. I can't wait.

Lighter than normal work week, but I had come copy editing on my plate. Finished one project and started another one. I also have some new stuff floating in the wings and will hopefully start that soon.

Had an okay week of viewing and made it through the full slate of shows. I'll be starting a new one this week and I'm pretty sure I have the show picked out.

Finished up the series run of Mr. and Mrs. Murder. I quite enjoyed this show. Sometimes I got annoyed at the antics but mostly loved the interactions between the characters.

Caught another episode of London Kills and loved the twisty turns in the episode. I'm loving the vibe between the characters and I'm happy to see Billie become a full detective constable. Looking forward to the next episode.

Loved the Christmas episode of Death in Paradise. The beginning of season eleven is off to a great start. Really cool to see Dwayne again.

Enjoyed another episode of Beyond Paradise. My favorite actor showed up and I'm very excited to see what happens. Still not sure about the mom. Can't quite figure out if she's going to be an anvil between Humphrey and Martha or supportive.

Watched another episode of Elementary and quite enjoyed. I'm not really sure about Joan's new love interest. I actually think he's a bit annoying.

Caught another episode of Batman Beyond and loved it. I remembered this one and possibly caught an easter egg related to Batman: The Animated Series and the Gray Ghost character. Fun times!

Enjoyed the last episode of the eighth season of Classic Rugrats. I'll be starting the final season this week. Very much looking forward to picking back up with new episodes once my rewatch is complete.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from To V or Not to V, a V-World novella.

Here's the miniblurb:

Mallory Biden and Surge Tempest work side by side to police crimes in V-World, a virtual reality recreation area where anyone can live out their wildest fantasy. But when Surge goes rogue to track down an old nemesis and enters the Void Zone, a dangerous, untraceable place he helped create, Mallory will risk getting trapped inside to pull him out.

And a sneaky peek…

Mallory entered Rick's workspace and sat on the chaise recliner. Her leg bobbed up and down with nervous tension while she waited for her brother to finish his computations.

Rick rose from his seat, grabbed a pair of V-Goggles and handed them to Mallory.

She swung her legs up and settled back in the recliner. "Okay. You're sure you can track me?" The goggles dangled from her finger, and she spun them around a couple of times.

Rick turned toward her. "Yes, Mal. I'm sure." He fiddled with the second set-up, matching it to the one he had monitoring Surge's movements. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He focused back on the screen in front of him. "You are my fave sibling, you know."

Mallory snorted. "I'm your only sibling, you idiot. But I'll take the compliment." She pushed out a nervous breath. She trusted Rick, sibling jokes aside. He wouldn't let her get trapped or stuck in the grid with no way out.

In short, he wouldn't let her down. He never had.

Lifting the goggles, she adjusted them to fit her head. "You'll drop me in, right? No matter where Surge is or what he's doing?" Her anger had settled into a cold ball in the middle of her stomach. It actually helped. Enabled her to be as calm as she could be about the situation.

V-World and some of the things that went on there made her queasy. The work took her to the less desirable places, the sex rooms, the shoot 'em galleries, the speed zones, where seasoned participants often took advantage of newbies who didn't know the ropes. But she got to nab those abusers.

The VZ, almost impossible to police, had a lawless atmosphere. The speed zones in the VZ thrived on high speed, adrenaline charging chase and pursuits. The shooting galleries didn't get progressively harder. Participants dropped in both sections and if they got pegged … game over. The hackers couldn't enter the ranges again and they had to find a new form of fun. The sex rooms in V-World had a racy, raunchy vibe. The VZ went ten steps further, adding a darkly twisted depravity to the acts available.

She'd grown up around violence and mayhem, they tended to not faze her. And she had a bit of a kinky side, but most of what transpired in the VZ made her want to heave. The outer fringes she could handle, they inclined toward the deeper sections of V-World. The rest of the zone, though, like virtual reality hopped up on syntho, the latest highly addictive narcotic. Insanity ruled the streams in the VZ.

Rick cleared his throat, and Mallory snapped her attention back where it should be. He glanced in her direction. "Mal. I know how important this is to you." This being Surge. "I'll slide you into whatever scenario he's got going on. First as an observer—you'll have a thirty second window before you can actualize—after that, you decide when to go hot."

Mallory frowned. "Why the delay?"

Rick shook his head. "Jesus, Mal. This isn't like V-World where we can see what's going on once we have the trace. If Surge is in the middle of a fire fight, you could get killed. Literally." He stopped short, took a breath and continued. "I don't mind covering your ass while you're in the zone, but I'll be damned if I'm taking over on a permanent basis."

Mallory didn't say anything. She couldn't have if she tried. He'd hit on the topic she didn't want to think about. Rick would pick up the slack if anything happened to her, but he'd be hard pressed to hold everyone together the way she did.

Her brother liked lurking in the background. Liked just being there to cheer, egg, and urge everyone else on, to save the day with a slick program or to pick up the pieces and put her back together when she occasionally shattered under the strain of being the HBIC of their covert little group that monitored and played oversight for the sprawling virtual scene.

If she got lost or couldn't make it out, he'd do his best to step up and lead even though they both knew it would never be enough.

Giving him a curt nod, she sat back, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "Okay. Hook me up and send me in."

She heard the keystroke—the last thing she'd hear of the real world until Rick pulled her out or she left of her own accord—and opened her eyes. The blue-green-red of the goggles reflected off her irises, and she was in.

Oh. My.

This series is so much fun to write. I'm very excited to see where it goes with Surge and Mallory.

 

That's it for this week. Catch everyone on the flipside.

ML Skye