Will you please join us?”“Oh no, I couldn’t. Thank you for offering.”“Go ahead and have some, Brianna,” said George. “You’ll be doing ...ess a favor.”“I ... guess I am a little hungry,” said Brianna, “if I’m not imposing. Thank you very much.” From what Nancy could see their new acquaintance was very hungry. Brianna must not have eaten in days. She ate almost as much as Bess.“What’s your destination,” Nancy asked.“I’m going to River Heights,” Brianna replied.“That’s our town,” said Bess.“I’m. Instead, they offered me a job.••••••••••They wanted a beta tester for a product they were developing. An immersive full recreation of a fictional setting, with access to an extremely pay-to-win cash shop. They had tens of millions in production, and I’d be matched with one and go through the experience they were developing for their customers. If my experiences and feedback provide them with acceptably useful data, I may even be placed in a queue to test another world after my eventual demise.. Then there’s just one more thing”“What’s that, Sir?” She wore a slight frown, as if she knew what was coming.“I asked you to do something for me. Did you do as I asked?”“I’m sorry, Sir. I tried, but the sensations were so strong I wasn’t able to concentrate. I lost count.”“I see. Just when did you lose count?”“Thirty-three, Sir. But I’m not even sure about that.”Jesus. She really came that often? And that wasn’t even the end of it? “Thirty-three is a very impressive number. Do you know what. On the way out I ordered another bottle for the cottage.And I told her about Spook.Well, most of it. I edited out the part where he was DEFCONTROL; in this version I'd happened across him surfing the 'Net. But the rest of it was as it had gone, beginning with the misidentified hack.As I'd known it would be, it was hard for her to swallow."Honey, most of this is about, well, a new friend that I've found," I'd begun. "A very good friend. Somebody I've been trusting with my life these last several.