Gigged Up

By Mr. Jeffrey Robert Palin Jr.

Eric is given the opportunity to modify/create a world for him and others to experience. He can change the laws of nature, physics, reality and anything else that he wants for his new world and he can add magic and other things to his new world. He realized that he can connect his world to other worlds that were created/modified by other people who were given the same opportunity. Join Eric as he and others realize the true nature of the opportunity that they were offered.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mr. Jeffrey Robert Palin Jr.
• Release date: Aug 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215563670

Mr. Jeffrey Robert Palin Jr.

To one, glass half empty. To another, glass half full. When it comes to accurate perspectives, sometimes one realizes one and doesn't realize the other as soon. Although not in all cases of differing perspectives, this is proof that people don't have to have the same perspective as each other since two different people can have two different perspectives about the same thing, yet, although different, those two different perspectives are both accurate. "People having differing Perspectives can (but not always)" = "different but not unacceptable nor disdain-related"

Book preview

Chapter 1 - Eric

It was another normal day of traveling in the city. It was nice out; the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Eric and his wife were walking around the city and popping their heads into the little trinket shops along their way.

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Before beginning crossing a street on their way back to their parked car located a ways away, Eric's wife begins crossing the street first, she pauses, looks back and reaches out her hand towards Eric with a smile. Eric raises his eyebrows while smiling back at her and he grabs her hand as they playfully enjoy each other's company while crossing the street. BEEEEEEP!!!! In seconds, a car horn alarming everyone got closer and louder.

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It all happened too fast. Before Eric knew it, a car was barreling towards them, catching them both by surprise. Spotting the onrushing vehicle too late to get out of the way, he did what he could and shoved his wife out of the automobile's path, but it was not enough. Despite his efforts, the car still struck his wife's ankles at the same time as it hit him square on. The car swerved almost hitting more things as its driver continued accelerating until the car was gone from where Eric and his wife still are.

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Eric's wife had already rushed to Eric.

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Her heart is racing and tears are streaming down her face as she screams for someone to call an ambulance. A few bystanders nearby made the phone call without having to be asked and they tried to comfort her in her time of despair.

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She had found Eric still breathing but badly injured when she had rushed to him. Police and an ambulance didn't take long to arrive at the scene.

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Emergency medical services bring Eric, along with Eric's wife, to the nearest hospital and they find that Eric is now undergoing cardiac arrest. Eric's wife is crying and shaking as she pleads for them to save him.

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The medical professionals handle the situation professionally. Eric remains alive but Eric is seemingly unresponsive and Eric's condition is seeming as though Eric's condition might remain unresponsive for the foreseeable future. The medical professionals tell Eric's wife that to get a better picture of Eric's prognosis, they would need her to consent to record Eric's brain responses to stimuli, since Eric seems comatose and cannot do so himself. Results show the medical professionals that Eric has conscious responses. They had discovered that Eric was able to sometimes intentionally slightly move his middle finger as many times as he was told to per the exact number that he was told to move his finger during when they had counted upwards from zero. However, they also discovered that his eyes were moving rapidly underneath their eyelids.

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A few days later, Eric's state still has not changed but the medical professionals did discover that, regarding all parts of Eric's body, Eric feels the touch whenever any part of his body is physically touched and that, regarding all parts of Eric's body, Eric feels the pain whenever any part of his body physically undergoes something that normally is painful.

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Many days pass while Eric's wife Amy visits Eric at his hospital room as often and as long as she can manage. While visiting Eric at the hospital, Amy is approached by a man in a suit holding a briefcase. Hi. She says hesitantly.

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Hello. I am aware of the situation you and your husband are in and I am here to propose to you a solution. The man replied.

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Forgive me, who, may I ask, are you? Amy asks.

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Oh my. Forgive my rudeness. I am with the VRC. He answers.

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VRC? The woman asks.

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The Virtual Reality Corporation. You see, the VRC had many hospitals implemented in different towns, cities, and other locations throughout the country. These hospitals are owned by the VRC. We have been working on new technologies for patients who are in a minimally conscious state. I am here to assist you in setting up said technology if you so choose to accept my offer. No payment as of right now. We are only testing the material. If we set up Eric with our technology, you will be able to communicate and interact with your husband much more efficiently. You'll both be able to have verbal conversations with each other and you'll both be able to do more than that. But part of the offer and the only way for our services to accomplish the forementioned things, is that Eric is required to undergo surgeries if you accept our offer. Brain surgery is one of those surgeries if you accept our offer. You and I are currently standing in one of the VRC's hospitals.

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After a couple moments to let that information sink in, Amy looks at her husband who is in a hospital bed.

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The medical professionals haven't been able to get Eric to move his middle finger for three weeks now. We haven't been able to receive any communication from him for three weeks now. He's still alive, breathing, and his eyes are still moving rapidly underneath their eyelids.

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If my husband can respond, does he get a say in the matter?

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Of course he does.

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The man in the suit and Amy discussed the offer with each other in front of Eric for a couple days during visits, but The man in the suit and Amy still didn't receive any communication from Eric.

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Amy finally makes a decision after weighing all of her options. She tells the man that she thinks that she'll go through with his offer.

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This could be my only hope for him to recover in any way or for us to both share each other's lives with each other ever again., Amy says regarding herself and Eric.

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I understand.

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The man in the suit opens his briefcase.

Here is the paperwork. It requires your signature in order to proceed with the VRC's offer. Also, in order to proceed with the VRC's offer, consent from you on Eric's behalf is also required in the form of your signature since, according to the current diagnosis of Eric regarding Eric's state that resulted from his being hit by a car that is in Eric's current medical records, Eric is unable to give consent himself. Please take as long as you need to read it thoroughly before you finalize your decision.

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Amy tells the man in the suit that she wants to read the paperwork with said man in the suit present so that said man in the suit can answer all of her questions and explain things on the spot while Eric may be listening. As Amy reads and discusses things with the man, she looks and sounds like she fully understands the offer. The paperwork provided the same offer and a better explanation regarding what the man had offered and thoroughly explained. Amy signs the paperwork.

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It is agreed that the surgery happens that day and Amy can contact anyone she would like to inform about the surgery. They all stayed at the hospital until the next day and were there for Eric.

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The man assures Amy that Eric should be all set up and ready by noon.

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By noon, Amy, the man in the suit, and Eric were all in Eric's hospital room.

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Allow me to hook the tablet up to the network of the computer that Eric is connected to, the man said to Amy. Amy begins silently praying for all to go well.

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Eric's body, nervous system, and brain are connected to computers and medical equipment. A tablet is set on his bedside table and the tablet's screen shows a sort of application for the program.

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The man in the suit reminds Amy that for this portion of the process, Amy and himself can only observe the encounter that Eric is about to have by viewing and listening to the tablet. Amy nods her head looking very worried and eager.

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The process begins.

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Eric, still able to process and imagine thoughts and imagery, begins to detect what seems like some fuzzy sounds, like the sound that comes from older televisions. It becomes clearer like when tuning a radio. When the tuning is complete, he detects a voice. "

Testing. Can you hear me?

My mental voice said that, I wasn't thinking those words. Hold up, I'm not trying to picture this...my mind is hallucinating!

I can wirelessly send to your brain, from one or numerous ones of my computers, what forces your brain to produce my communication to you since your body has recently been connected to computers in the way that your body has recently been connected to computers.

What the.. He's able to use MY IMAGINATION TO COMMUNICATE TO ME!!!!!!...

Eric is able to converse with the individual via (Eric's) thoughts. Eric confirms that he can detect the individual's voice and asks the individual why he is trying to communicate with him.

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I want to see if you and your wife are worthy.

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Worthy of what? Eric asks.

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Worthy of having a wish granted. the individual answers, as he proceeds to interrogate Eric for quite some time. Eric finds this entire part of the process very unpleasant and clearly uncomfortable.

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Eric found that the time it takes for this one individual to respond is often much faster than the speed at which a normal person is capable of responding. This one individual that he interacts with seems to understand what Eric said before Eric responded. The individual seemed to know what Eric was trying to say before Eric said it and the individual responded before Eric finished what Eric was saying. After being asked and told things so repetitively as if the replies from the individual were a set of programmed replies, Eric asked if he was speaking to an AI or a human. The individual replied Both.. Eric was thoroughly confused. In the meantime, he settles for calling the individual the entity. He told Eric that he was not the first to go through this process. There were many others. The entity begins to tell Eric the information that was relayed to his wife before they started the test. When he finishes his explanation, most of Eric's questions were answered.

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The entity then proceeded to tell Eric that, for the time being, due to the fact that Eric can't function in the real world but his brain is still very much responsive, to insure that he stays in good health until he can get out of his being in a minimally conscious state, he will be able to interact with very many simulated others in a simulated universe in an "already-existing-simulation running on VRC computers that members of the VRC are able to see the simulation's environment-imagery displayed on screens of