Jake exited a metaverse arena, then holo-call his girlfriend, Sally.

  “Wow, that was tough, but I won!”

  “Oh, what happened?”

  “So I encountered a nanite swarm that coalesces into giant robots. Anyways I kept dying and respawning.”

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  “Oh right. I heard that level’s bugged.”

  “Wrong … I beat it!

  “But how?”

  “Well, the game offered me a super laser.”

  “That worked?”

  “Almost, but not really. Even after I purchased that, the game offered me the vaporizer attachment. It cost a lot more credits. My parents are gonna be pissed. But I’m ranked #1!”

  “Uh, Jake, where’s the challenge in that?”