Episode One - November 22nd, 2211

I checked my neural transmitter for the fifth time. Login still not ready, and Plop Technologies^™were already waiting for me on vMeet^©. PT's MD had set the vMeet request to 'urgent - life or death' and I needed to be there. So much for my vPear^© signal – pear-shape more like.


My MediWrist now glowed stress factor 6, although I put at least 2 points of that down to too much SythiCaff. I needed a holiday. Maybe I should book another session on VirtuBreak^™.


Then the holoplasma shimmered and I was in the room.


“Ahh, nice of you to join us Art,” said Dom, his ludicrously large purple boater not detracting from his sarcastic manner.


(You can now add your own silly hat graphics to your view of attendees in vMeet, it’s probably an upgrade I shouldn’t have messed with. I wondered what sort of hat my Designers had set for me.)


“I was just explaining to your Designers how PT was now number two in the waste management arena, ” He continued, "Obviously my evening with the head of the Department for Order, Development and Opportunity wasn't a complete waste."


Before I could congratulate him, he carried on “So I managed to get a last minute Adholo slot for next Thursday on EVacU8, to tell the world.”


I set my vSelf to happy face, already trying to work out how we were possibly going to meet the deadline he’d dumped on us, how I was going to tell him EVacU8 had rubbish viewing figures, and how PT still owed us for the abortive “We’re in it together” vCampaign, that covered all their customers in virtual sludge – not entirely my idea.


Dorid Saturn got in ahead of me. “That’s great Mr. Estos, we’ll bring in the new Brown Trout^™ logo as well.” I noticed Dorid had set his strangely young-looking, artificially tanned vSelf to ecstatic, but he just looked slightly mad – and I had forgotten having set him to wear a pink sombrero.


We had to get on. A throbbing pip at the top of my vision told me I had an incoming call, a throbbing courgette told me I had another virus.


“OK guys, we’ll get right on it,” I looked at our Designers. Jupe had on a bowler hat, thick glasses and a rubber nose, Nepty was wearing what looked like a large green duck.


“After all, if you want to get ahead…”

(to be continued)

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