Would you be willing to chance dying to come out of a coma? Would you do the same if it was your son’s life? Mary and Senator Tad Williams pushed their son Justin to go on a date that went horribly wrong. Now, they try to figure out a way to help their son out of a coma. At almost $5,000 a day for ICU expenses, their insurance options are running out. Amber, Nick, and Jacob built a new immersive game system for the future. The only problem is, at $800 a day, no one can afford it. Dr. Dubois wrote a paper about how you might help a person out of a coma, but it was crushed under the might of the medical lobbyists on Capitol Hill. Now, the three groups need each other to save a life, fight the establishment, and help a young man in need. The only challenge is, Justin can die in real life if he dies in the game. Will he wake up from his coma? Will lobbyists crush the principled senator who needs to talk to his son one more time? And can Justin possibly survive inside a fantasy world built in his own mind, where pain is real? It isn’t just the future of humanity at stake, it’s Justin’s life, too.

If you were dying of cancer, would you risk entering a game that saved you from pain, even if you chanced dying early? Dorothy Hunt is not willing to go out with a whimper, but rather a bang. The main problem? Not all of her family will support her decision. This time, she gets to choose a body that isn't pretty, isn't bound by the social customs of her family and generation. "Make me ugly." Unused to video games, fighting cancer, Dorothy Hunt is focused on providing the scientists something they can't acquire without her. Data on an older human who is about to die. Will she be able to reconcile her decision with her children? Will she be able to engage with the game when she feels the pain her character feels? Will she ever get used to the smell? Dorothy Hunt will forever change the future of medicine, If she can stay alive long enough to do it. You don't send a kid to do a mature adult's job.

A push to regain a little of the relationship with his best friend before kids took him out of the picture. A mountain face that was not forgiving. Benjamin Ainsworth moves from job to job aimlessly, never allowing himself to be tied down. The problem is his friends are getting married, setting up house and looking to have children. His relationships are growing up into a world he doesn’t want. He has a chance to regain a bit of the fun when his friend agrees to go mountain climbing before the big day. Cynical and self-absorbed he never considers the consequences until he wakes up. He can move, but has lost all memory of HOW to move. Anything. There is a promising technique that requires Benjamin to enter a virtual world. The problem? He will be forced to admit to his fears. The ground-breaking technology includes a hidden A.I. staying off the radar of the Department of Defense. Will he be the one treated, or will his attitude perhaps affect the newly formed and still learning entity? If he wants to move again, Benjamin Ainsworth has some growing to do whether he wants to or not. Sometimes, growing up after you are an adult is the hardest thing to do.

It’s time. Who will win this latest challenge? _A young woman who fears sleeping. An AI on the brink of discovery. A government agent seeking what’s hidden. Who will end up healed, hidden, or found?_ The final chapter closed. For now…