I have been working at Micro Center for three long years now. Working to design RPG was never my main goal, but here I am. In my long boring shifts here, I stumbled upon the ever-intriguing Hardware Storage B. As my days grow longer and longer working here, my interest peaks to find out what is behind the storage doors. I make my daily walk around the storage units, finding myself closer and closer to Hardware Storage B. This time, I am close enough to see the door.  

The guard standing watch warns me as I walk by, “Never go back there. They have got some strange designers back there. We are working on top secret projects, none of your business.” 

As a designer, you become very aware of the different groups you are working against. There’s this group known as the Body Snatchers. Rumor has it, they are working on creating the most realistic virtual reality game yet. The game concept is said to feel so real, you hardly can pull yourself away from the game. 

One of the secondary creative designers and programmers told me some of the basics of the coding in the game. Apparently they are revamping the old fashioned games we grew up playing. 

—How did he know all of this? It wasn’t like it was all in the news.

Now, I know this guy is a bit of a conspiracy theorist. He is always talking about the company,  claiming the Body Snatcher designers were a part of a group who designed potentially the worst video game failure of all time: the arcade machine, Magnavox. He says that the new VR that the Body Snatchers are designing is going to be named after the infamous Magnavox, and that an original vintage console is being kept here at work!

I took some time to glance over at my surroundings on my walk today, noticing if there was anybody around me. I saw the storage unit.

—Today I will muster up the courage. If it is a vintage Magnavox, I have to know. It’s Storage Unit B! This is the closest I have ever been. 

I raised my hand to grab hold of the door handle. It was cold and smelled like metallic spray paint. I couldn’t open the door easily, but suddenly, as if not controlled by me, the door opened! Peeking inside I couldn’t find the Magnavox. Curious, I walked fully into the storage unit. As I looked further…suddenly, I found a yellow hue coming from the back where they stored the gaming computers used to test the games. 

—There it was! That’s the Magnavox!

The TV’s screen was ready for playability as it was an old 1970s Magnavox tube TV, and the resolution was ancient.

—My coworker was right!! The vintage game console had a recent edition. 

These new features showed the bright old game logos on the outside of the console. Games such as Pong, Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and even a console version of Temple Run!

—I had to play this game. What if I could be the first to master this game? I knew these old games. I could do it. 

A bright silver CD sat in front of the Magnavox. With shaky fingers, I lifted and inserted it into the console. The game buzzed and spun inside. My whole body was ready as I picked up the new VR remotes and slid the helmet onto my head. My eyes only saw black. I frowned. 

—Hmmm. Maybe I need to press another button. 

The VR remote clicked and for a moment, nothing happened. Then suddenly, the Magnavox began reeling and screaming a wretched screech.

—The CD! 

It shot right out of the console at my stomach and pierced through me as though I was not flesh and blood! The helmet slid back onto my head; the remotes were stuck in my hands. In what felt like 20 seconds, my soul was sucked into a transformative state of a lifeless image with no breath; thus, the entirety of my DNA was sucked into the machine, shaking the walls of the storage unit and causing a power outage across the entire store. 

When I regained consciousness, I realized that I was staring at four distinct tunnels, each with peculiar sounds emanating from the entrance. There was no other way forward or out; I had a choice to make.