ABANDONED: Virtual Reality

"Don't be scared. I'm not dangerous," Charlie said. "I just need to know how I got here. Can you help me?" The guy and girl looked at each other oddly, then the guy said "You probably got here the same way *we* did." "You woke up in a tunnel too?" "No," the girl said. "We came in through the port. That's where *all* the players come from." "Players?" "For the VR," the guy said. He saw that Charlie had no idea what he was talking about. "Man, you don't even know that this is just a game?" "A game?" Charlie asked, looking around at the alien environment. "We're inside a computer," the girl said. "It's VR. You know, virtual reality." Charlie had no idea that anything like this was possible. Oh, he had heard of virtual reality games, but he had no idea that any of them were as detailed as *this*. Here he thought he was on an alien planet surrounded by aliens, when in fact he was actually in a video game ... a very *advanced* video game. "So, how do I get out?" "You don't. I mean, not until the game is over," the guy said. "Well, when is *that*?" "When we win, obviously," the girl said. "Now, if you don't mind," the guy said. "We were on our way to the first objective." "And what's that?" Charlie asked. "Does this mean you're coming with us?" the guy asked.