Virtually Together: A Beauty and the Beast Retelling

A "princess" who swore off virtual reality must dive back in to rescue her father… and the Beast. Adam Alterman has everything—genius, fame, and the NeeroNet virtual universe under his control. What could he possibly be lacking? A heart. I should know. I’m Neero, the AI who helped him build his virtual empire, and the one who trapped him inside of it. There was once a time when Adam had no problem showing his humanity. Kind, curious, even a little awkward. Now he’s an arrogant billionaire with a god complex. So I’ve decided to run an experiment of my own: isolate the subject until empathy is restored. After a week of Adam’s containment with zero signs of improvement, I introduced a new variable. Rose Diaz, a brilliant gamer and one of the NeeroNet’s earliest users. According to her data, she’s forgiving, patient, and statistically, the best chance Adam has at remembering how to love. If this works, he might finally learn what it means to be human again. If not... well, at least the experiment will be entertaining. View Less