My Own Virtual Hell

I woke up in another cold sweat.
This couldn’t be happening. Things are getting out of hand. I need to talk to someone.
What has my life become? Here I am sitting in bed having nightmares, simply because I have been playing too many games. Video games are not what they use to be. If people were scared of them breeding violence 10-years-ago, then they should be terrified now.
The creation of the Virtual Reality Suit quickly followed the success of the VR gaming goggles. It wasn’t enough to simply see and hear your surroundings, now one could feel them too. The suit had recently just upgraded for the extreme gamer, and now includes nose plugs that help you smell your environment as well.
At first it was all fun and games. The programs that came out for it where light hearted and fun for the whole family. They would be scenarios such as “snowboarding” or “running on the beach” that were crazy immersive but exciting and fun.
It wasn’t until the first Call of Duty was released for the game that things began to change. It was a huge risk for such a well-known gaming series to put themselves out there on such a new platform, but they did it, and they were successful.
Next thing you know, everyone is spending hours and hours immersed in intense warfare. The online option was especially interesting because you really became connected to the other players, considering it felt like you were actually right there with them in real life. If you reached out, you could feel the touch. It was easy in the beginning to separate the game from reality. I could turn off the console and take off the suit and know things were going back to normal. I could just go back to watching T.V. and sleep easy, knowing I hadn’t actually killed anyone.
Then one day, me and my buddies decided to join an online tournament. We had gotten pretty good at the game, and there was a cash prize at the end, so it only made sense to enter.
Three hours in, and I am still feeling good, slightly hungry, but I still was having fun. The teams were starting to dwindle and there were only four armies left standing. The competition was starting to get fierce.
It was after the fifth hour that I noticed the shift. I had been immersed for too long, and things were becoming to feel too real. There were two armies left, I had seen my friends die during the tournament. I had smelled their blood, and that was just something I was not able to shake.
I was noticed the way the leaves were brushing against me as I was now hiding for my life. I was not sure how many of my men were left standing anymore, I could be the last one.
I heard a stick snap close by, I knew someone was near. I tried to steady my breathing so I wouldn’t give away my position. The crunching of leaves were getting closer, I knew this bush wasn’t providing adequate and I was going to have to attack before they attacked me.
I checked my ammo, and realized I only had a few bullets left. I couldn’t bring myself to fire in these close quarters, because if I missed I will have given up my position. I look around to see what else I have, and pull out my knife. This would have to do. It would be quite and quick.
The footsteps seemed within range, and I knew that it was now or never.
I leapt from the bushes and got the other soldier in a choke hold. It was eerily natural to proceed to fatally stabbing him, and gently setting him down. I went to the nearby creek and washed my hands of his blood as if nothing happened.
I was elated, the rush was unreal and I was pumped to go out and bring this win home for my friends and I.
Then suddenly I heard the faint words, “brother”.
I felt my heart stop.
I looked down and realized the soldier I had actually killed without thinking twice was my baby brother. The blood I washed off in elation, was the same blood that ran through me. I ran to his side, but he had already gone.
What was he doing on this server, he was too young for this, and everything was beginning to feel too real.
When it occurred to me that I could unplug, I immediately turned off the console and ripped off the suit. I was panting. I needed to call my brother.
He picked up the phone and actually congratulated me, he said it was a good kill and that my team had won because of it.
How could he be so calm? Has the younger generation become that insensitive to death and murder? I simply thanked him and told him I’d see him at Sunday’s family dinner.
I haven’t been able to get a full night’s sleep since then. I keep reliving the moments where I killed my own kin. The VR suit had become too real for me. My reality had become blurred, and now I am paying the price.
The insensitivity that technology has brought upon us is a terrifying thing.