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Virtual Dreams

Zerrex Narrius

Introduction: Technology of Tomorrow

"So why exactly am I doing this again?" Zerrex asked, looking morbidly from his oldest to his youngest daughter as the lizard fumbled at a strange device on his arm. "I mean, anyone could go in there... and you know I don't exactly get along that well with this kind of stuff..."

At this, the other two reptiles exchanged amused looks before the older, larger female crossed her arms where she was standing. At over eight feet tall, Cherry was far from the average person, with tire-sized biceps and chiseled muscles over her entire form tight against a hide of green scales. Everything about her was large, from her muscles to her bust to her buttocks, and the secret hidden in her pants that currently bulged obscenely against the tight leather of her lower clothing: after all, in truth, Cherry wasn't a female but a hermaphrodite, although she took a distinct pleasure in alluring brawny, cocky males and then turning the tables on them as soon as she could.

But even apart from her tall, powerful body, Cherry was distinctly Cherry: with only the bikini top covering her upper form, it left most of her tattoos and piercings clearly visible, from the rings in her nostril and above one eye to the tattoo of flames that circle around her waist and then bridge up over her stomach to encircle one breast, as well as a large, plain swastika on one bicep and a ‘II' with a swirling border tattooed just above her tail. The same II was also engraved on a metal clasp holding a plain leather collar tight around her neck, showing her status in accordance with Zerrex â€" to her, she would always be the master, the leader, the alpha, and she always his loyal servant, pet, bitch, whatever was required of her... but despite her dominating, pushy nature, she could never stand the thought of standing on equal ground with the Drakkaren, especially with their twisted history together.

The other daughter of Zerrex sat at a computer terminal across the room that was hooked up to a large, looming machine covered in all manner of dials and knobs, something that always made the male nervous. After all, it just added to the morbid idea that this whole setup should be in some mad scientist's lab, not a garage attached to the wrecked house next door... but then Marina smiled slightly, her sapphire eyes â€" almost the exact color as Cherry's, strange when you considered the fact Cherry was really more daughter in name than biological fact â€" gleaming as she murmured: "You're such a worrywart, Daddy..."

Marina was much different than Cherry, and yet in many ways, the same: they both had an attitude, they were both devoted and loyal, and they were dressed in similar outfits â€" the only real difference being the fact Marina favored the old denim of work jeans instead of leather pants. The black bikini top was the same, however, and so was the expression of entertainment on her face, as she tinkered with some other control setting on a large panel near the computer.

The younger daughter had no tattoos on her form, however: the only distinct marking was a long scar, an accident from a training session when Marina had leaned into a cut from Zerrex's heavy sword. She wore it proudly, though, as if it was a reward and not a nasty reminder of what could happen when things got out of hand, but she was always almost servile when it came to her father, adoring the male who had once saved her from a plight far worse than death, and who still bore the scars from that long, hard war that had taken place many years ago now.

The only other odd thing about Marina was the fin on her head: a plain black, semi-translucent fin that went from the back of her neck to her forehead, different from the five forwards-curving fins that Cherry bore upon her own skull. It was another reminder of that hard time the family had been through... but none of the members of the household were much for reminiscing about the past, and all of them were glad to keep busy with the present.

At the moment, however, Zerrex would more than welcome any sort of diversion, as he fiddled again with the device planted on one thick forearm. The Drakkaren looked up, his emerald eyes, glancing back and forth embarrassedly as he tried to think of some way to weasel out of this again, before he looked over the plain black clothes covering his body, saying lamely: "Shouldn't I be in a bodysuit or something? I think that'd be a better idea."

"Technoweenie." Cherry accused cheerfully, crossing her arms, and Zerrex gave her a sour look as he brushed aside some of his white hair that had fallen into his eyes. It was roughly shoulder-length all the way around his head and formed natural bangs over his eyes, one of his own distinct features... the other not being his large size at eight feet and two inches, nor his powerful, toned musculature, but instead the many scars that laced his form, from the slashes and gouges over his arms and chest to the large black burn surrounding one eye. It was his chest â€" which was also covered with navy scales instead of emerald â€" that bore the most damage, from the rips through his abs to the terrible scars on his breast that made it look as if someone had tried to reach in and tear out his heart.

The reptile absently adjusted his t-shirt, pulling down the short sleeve a bit to cover up the swastika tattooed on his bicep: it was a strange mark, the symbol inside a circle with a band of ivy surrounding the lizard's thick bicep, a mark left over from the time the Drakkaren had spent as a prisoner of war, being subjected to terrible experiments. It was from that time he'd gotten most of the scars that covered his body, but he couldn't say all: both he and Cherry had an extensive background in the military, after all.

Right now, however, the most interesting part of the reptile was likely the device on his forearm: a tight grey manacle was cinched around it, and upon this sat a simple keyboard with a few odd commands on each large key and what looked almost like a large whitish dial with a G-shape inscribed upon it. Currently, a panel on the top was open, and a set of long, multicolored cables ran from this and into one of the mechanical towers sitting on the floor, which itself was hooked into the computer system Marina was currently typing on. It was a new technological development Cherry had gotten her greedy little claws on â€" likely through some illicit means â€" that was capable of controlling nanomachines to create clothing of all shape and color by itself, but was also likely able to interact with other machines and create an interactive virtual reality.

Cherry strode cheerfully over when Zerrex looked down to fiddle with the machine some more, adjusting its fit against his arm before he grunted as she pushed him firmly down into the nearby chair, and then he sighed when she produced a blindfold and tied it around his eyes, saying amusedly: "Don't worry, Boss, it ain't so I can rape you while you're conked out, assuming this thing all goes according to plan. But the instruction manual Marina stole off the ‘net says that sensory deprivation will help, so uh..."

Zerrex muttered to himself, not liking the clink and clank he heard as Cherry shuffled around, and then he flailed his arms as she slammed a helmet down over his head, everything suddenly sounding dim to the reptile as he stupidly tried to look back and forth, but the blindfold blocked everything except for the vaguest of shapes anyway, and now he could barely make out the female's voice as she said something: likely something sexual, knowing her. Instead of fighting or trying to make a reply to the muffled comment, however, the reptile only tried to relax, realizing that whether he liked it or not, the girls were going to try and ‘give him a little adventure' in Marina's words, and even the youngest daughter wasn't going to use the particular talents she had to try and communicate with him right now, as they tried to get the device on his arm to work and synchronize with the computer and the program Marina had uploaded and modified.

Zerrex figured that either it wouldn't work, or it would bring him into some Hell-dimension where he'd spend most of his time screaming his head off and fighting off monstrosities, since that was the way his luck tended to bend. He opened his mouth to say something... and then suddenly, he felt vertigo overtake him before he blinked stupidly as white stung at his eyes.

The lizard rose an arm, shading them for a moment before he slowly lowered it, frowning slightly as he looked down at his hands... and then he stared around wildly as he realized he was now standing in a white room instead of sitting in a chair, and he was able to see and able to move freely. For a moment, he marvelled at it... then realized that the room was only a twenty-foot white cube, and despite his ability to move around, it wasn't exactly that great. I still don't see how the hell this is possible, though... I mean... it's not like my eyes are covered by the machine or anything... "And... what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"Give me a moment, Daddy, I'm uploading the program." Marina's voice boomed around him like the voice of God, and Zerrex looked back and forth wildly for a moment. It made Marina laugh a bit, and then her voice spoke around him in gentler tones: "Sorry about that... it's going to take a bit to work the kinks out. I can barely make you out on the camera, either, and your body is twitching a bit out here, but... otherwise it seems to be working well, Daddy.

"This isn't exactly like some movie or game, though... you can't affect things based on what you want to see, and I think you can still get hurt, but I'm not sure if you can die..." Marina continued musingly, and Zerrex nodded a bit, crossing his arms as he watched color and texture fill in the white room surrounding him, the walls becoming plain wood and the ground solid concrete, before he winced as a lightbulb on a chain swung down from the ceiling and whacked him firmly in the head, knocking the reptile stumbling and the bulb cracking, but faint light still filling the room now instead of the bright whiteness. "It's a prototype device, remember, so you'll have to be careful... but why don't you explore for yourself, Daddy? I've interfaced the device with a video file I downloaded, I want to see if you can modify it from the inside... it did say you could affect anything with this machine, after all."

Zerrex grunted, and then the lizard sighed as a door appeared in front of him, the Drakkaren rubbing the back of his head a bit before he approached it and pushed it open to gaze into a swirling darkness beyond. The reptile looked at what could be anything from a long tunnel or a strange portal for a few long moments, and then he took a long breath before stepping forwards and into whatever awaited him.