The setting sun cast its cool pink and cream orange net across the flyover states. Stone was admiring the the swirl of fading colors when the emerald glow shining from Solomon's Garden swam into view; the elaborate campus of AoF headquarters contained fanciful towers of housing for thousands of employees and interns; shopping and restaurants were split by a long boardwalk of softly lit LED bricks that opened to a pond large enough to allow canoeing and boating, a running path wound around the water feature and through a carefully designed forest which mimicked what one might see in the North of AoF.

This is insane.

Stone shook his head as the helicopter moved over one of the residential towers that looked like a photo from the cover of Arquitechura Viva. The helipad caught the descending bird and the door slid open as the thump, thump, thump of the blades wound to a stop. Stone's chair was unlocked and he was lowered from the helo. There was a man standing stiff and straight with a black briefcase in his right hand and the other at 90 degrees across his abdomen.

"Master Stone, welcome to Solomon's Garden." The man bowed his head.

"I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore." Stone turned himself slightly left and right, his hands jerking the wheels of his chair back and forth. It was a nervous tic.

"My name is Winston Merry-Weather and I will be your butler for the entirety of your stay at the Garden. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask. For now, this briefcase contains your Sim, and will be accessible only by you. It is portable and requires no outlet as the Echo Diamond Radiaton battery will provide 100 years of play time without interruption. If you would be so kind." Winston held the briefcase out.

"Radiation?" Stone rolled his chair back. "Wait a minute, that briefcase has a Sim I can use...anywhere?"

"To answer your first question, the Meteorite Black SC edition is perfectly safe, I assure you, and as for your second, once you open the briefcase the nanites inside will sync with your body, creating a solid shell of coverage completely wrapping your epidermis, capable of delivering electrical signals five times more precise than your nervous system. You won't even have to change out of your clothes as the program will install itself underneath any wardrobe.

Stone rolled forward and took the briefcase. When his fingers gripped the handle a soft blue light ran along the hard outer shell creating an outline. It disappeared a moment later.

"The synchronization is complete. Come, let me show you to your room."

Stone looked back at the helicopter, straining to get a look at the pilot. He hadn't seen anyone since the thing dropped down and caused his mom to have an aneurism. The doors opened automatically and a lift lowered for him when he approached. Was there ever a person inside? "Is that on autopilot?" Stone asked the back of the butler as he wheeled forward to catch up. The butler seemed not to have heard.

There was a large glass elevator nesting in a larger glass pyramid before them. The butler stepped in the sky cage whose floor was like a film of ice, it seemed far too thin to hold any one person's weight, let alone Stone in his wheeled wrecking ball and Batman's house sitter, Winston Merry-Weather. The view was breathtaking, but the gnawing feeling of imminent death bubbled in Stone's stomach as he lingered at the foot of the elevator. "So, you're going to tell me this is perfectly safe as well?" Stone mimicked the butler's accent as he rolled in.

From the glass aerie, Stone could see an open building with a large tree in the center of the floor. A large artificial stream with several waterfalls wound around the room which was scattered with tables, people were peppered throughout, reading and drinking coffee from the ground level shops or eating a snack or having a beer. There were several restaurants down there from what he could tell. The walls were filled with the balconies of rooms; people were sitting and resting and sleeping on them, enjoying the ambience of rushing water and murmur of social activities below them.

"You will find everything you need here. Consider this your central hub, sir. Your condominium is just this way," The butler paused as the elevator came to halt.

"We've only moved down two floors." Stone stated the obvious. "My condo? What does that mean."

"It's a gift, sir. You will be owner of the property, specifically number 776, a value of 1.2 million dollars. Every approved applicant is given the luxury of ownership for qualifying into the elite program. AoF values it's assets, ownership is contingent upon contract which will be available to you after the program, if you wish to work for AoF. As for now, consider yourself owner in waiting. You have full rights to your condo, and may decorate or demolish as you wish without penalty should you choose not to employ yourself, or disqualify from the internship."

"I don't remember reading that in any fine print, and I at least tried to find the fine print, on one page."

"It's not revealed until access to the Garden. Nim believes the right applicants should be motivated by passion for AoF first, material wealth has its merits, but should be put in its proper place, Sir."

The butler stood beside the deep blue door with silver numbers: 776. "Your voice phrase will be needed to open it. The line you chose when applying for this position."

"You mean when they asked for a recognition sentence: speak friend, and enter?" Stone's voice ended with a rising inflection, which was not technically a command, but so it goes.

The door withdrew.

"A classic Tolkien line, Sir. Your chateau awaits."

Stone pushed into the condo and nearly rolled over his chin. The open floor plan was grand to put it mildly. The back wall was a window from bottom to top which overlooked the boardwalk and pond far below. The kitchen had a large marble island, ceramic farmhouse sink, and an Edison bulb-filled, spiraling chandelier of fantastic bright swirling brilliance, hovering like pinned stars. Gigantic digital panels on the left wall showed bright works of art, impressionist landscapes which were Stone's favorite, Van Gogh and Monet. The living room possessed a lift in the right wall which would take Stone to the open loft where there was a balcony overlooking the inside of the building and a large bed centered on the cedar wood  floor.

"This is amazing."

"My number will be entered into your contacts once you create your avatar for Age of Fantasy. Don't hesitate to call on me, Sir. Once you log on you will speak with Nim and be given your introduction to the internship and what to expect. The outside boardwalk you saw is open 24 hours as are the pubs, cafes, and bookshop inside the condominium. I'm sure you understand 24 hours is necessary given the wildly erratic gaming habits of all our employees and interns. Enjoy, and welcome to Solomon's Garden." The butler nodded his head and took his leave.

Stone rolled to the view overlooking the bustling campus, even in the moonlight people were strolling the boardwalk and forest path speckled with glowing lights sculpted to look like the hanging lanterns of AoF;  winding around the pond, he could imagine shadows of night walkers flitting across the dimly lit path, not the vampire kind, maybe the vampire kind.

He pulled the phone out of his pocket and called Alex. She didn't answer. He knew she would probably call back immediately but he chanced calling his parents.

"Mom," he said with his lips smiling against the phone.

"You made it!" She said with relief.

"I did, and you are not going to believe it."

"What is it?"

"This place is crazy! I have my own condo on the top floor of the building and it's like an Embassy Suites or something!"

Stone received a FaceTime request from Alex. Of course.

"That's amazing, honey! Michael, Stone is on the phone. Get in here," she yelled out the bedroom door.

"Hey son, congratulations!"

"Thanks, Dad. Sorry I had to leave so quickly. I had no idea it was going to happen like that."

The conversation went on for another thirty minutes, after a long goodbye, and I love you, Stone FaceTimed Alex who picked up. After an hour of showing her around the condo and freaking out together, he hung up.

Stone wheeled over to the briefcase which he sat on the kitchen's cold, dark marble island. He sat the solid black shell in his lap and looked at the clasps. Seemed simple enough to open them. The clasps were silver lion's heads whose mouths were holding the case together. He didn't doubt they were solid sterling. He popped the lions up and lifted the lid. A calm gold light splashed across his face, someone looking at Stone from across the room would have thought the briefcase was filled with solid gold bars.

"Hello, Stone. I am your suit. Your phrase is required to activate." A sultry female's voice rang from the suitcase which was solid black inside, save the gold light emanating from the liner of the lid, filled with what looked like small onyx marbles perfectly filled and flush inside.

"Speak friend, and enter."

"Access granted. Welcome to Age of Fantasy."

The marbles rolled out from the case and began covering Stone's lap and moving up his body. They had a weight to them which was startling. He could feel them like tiny fingers as they rolled up his neck and over his nose. "Umm..." Stone murmured starting to panic as balls marched into his mouth. He was thinking this was not supposed to be happening when a warm tingle hummed across his entire body. "Help!" He managed to stifle through the metal balls melting over his tongue. His vision went black.