The Alchemists

Since last year, a lot of media companies had been competing in presenting the latest and the best digital experiences for their users. Now people who lived far away from each other could connect using virtual devices and meet with each other as if they were in the same room.

This became very popular with lovers in a long-distance relationship because they could finally spend more quality time with their loved ones. An increasingly global world made lovers and married couples of different countries become very common.

With a Virconnect device, virtual connection service, couples separated by a great distance could have breakfast together to discuss their day and even go outside to run their respective activities.

At night, they could get back together, eat dinner, watch a movie and sleep as if they were side by side. This all helped bring a closer personal relationship between people.

This also saved time and effort. Now a birthday party could be held and invited guests from all over the world could be present virtually. It was really sophisticated!

However, like all the other technologies, this new system had also its pros and cons. It was indeed true that personal relationships could now flourish more, but at the same time, people would become more used to shallow long-distance relationships.

Coffee shops would be very rarely visited by patrons who wanted to enjoy a drink while socializing with relatives and friends. After all, they could do it from the comfort of their homes or wherever they were. They physically did not have to go to the cafe.

The tourism industry would also experience a drastic decline because many individuals would no longer interested in traveling. If they could enjoy the beauty of the beach from the big screen of their homes, why would they go through the hassle, spending so much time and money coming to the beach by themselves?

Due to global warming and pollution, beautiful beaches had become scarce. The cost of traveling there became very expensive due to the high maintenance costs. Only rich people still do the visits personally as they could afford the exorbitant costs of visiting the beaches themselves.

Splitz was always a step ahead of the competition and now they were ready to launch their new Virconnect 4D service that would make people able to connect better virtually through their sophisticated systems.

Humans would be able to share not only pictures, but also sounds, touches, and smells. This 4-dimensional technology that had not yet been launched had been researched for five years. This was the first day they would present it to Alaric.

"Welcome, everyone." A man with glasses welcomed the Splitz higher-ups who entered the very large and empty hall. He gave each of them a special glasses and once they all wore it, he nodded to Pavel and immediately lit something on the wall. "This is Virconnect 4D. We have installed the device at Mr. Adler's house and we are ready to connect with Mrs. Adler."

A moment later, the large hall transformed into a luxurious living room connected to a large kitchen in Pavel's house.

"Mummy!!" Max exclaimed when he saw his mother in the kitchen humming while peeling an apple.

"Hey .. Max, are you being naughty today?" Sande asked, smiling at her son. She rubbed Max's hair and kissed Pavel's cheek. She was not really here, but they could almost feel her touch.

Alaric watched it all intently. This was his vision from ten years ago, a 4-dimensional virtual connection technology. They could feel like they were in the same room as Sande. A cat suddenly jumped behind her and dropped a flower vase to the floor.

The people present were shocked because the sounds produced by the breaking glasses were as clear as if they were really in the same room.

Some of them felt being sprinkled with water from the vase, and thus their shock deepened.

"Crazy ... we can really feel the water," they commented to each other, disbelief in their tone.

"Wait a minute, I want to make coffee," Sande turned on the coffee machine and took out a cup for herself. "I like drinking coffee when writing my novel."

A moment later people could smell the delicious aroma of the coffee wafting over in the air. They were getting excited. This technology was truly amazing. Not only did it present sounds and images, but also odors and temperatures.

This would definitely revolutionize the human lifestyle.

"Thank you, Madam, we will close the connection now," said the engineer politely.

"Alright, see you at home," Sande blew a kiss toward  Pavel and her son, then the room descended into darkness.

"Good," Alaric commented curtly. "What about the holodeck? Is it finished?"

Holodeck was the second product to be launched after Virconnect 4D. Just like the holodeck in the movie Startrek that aired decades ago, humans would now be able to enjoy a virtual experience on their personal holodeck. The price would indeed be very expensive but the benefits would definitely commensurate it.

They would be able to create a holographic space based on their memories and experience any point in their past. They could also experience future fantasies. Like those people who consume ecstasy just so they could feel happy again like when they first fell in love, humans would now be able to revive those happy feelings using holodeck.

The people whose lovers had died would be able to enjoy the experience of being back with those they loved whenever they wanted. Children who lost their parents would be able to return to the times when their mother and father were still alive and could chat with them.

In addition, with a holodeck fantasy package, fans would be able to experience falling in love and having a loving relationship with their idol actor or musician. Splitz had begun campaigning for these two new products and the response from the community was extremely enthusiastic.

It would be only a matter of time before they were launched. Today, Pavel deliberately invited Alaric to come and review the two technologies for himself, if the two were up to his standards or not. If Alaric gave his blessing, then Splitz would launch it.

"The Holodeck Experience is also completed. You can try it." Pavel smiled widely as he handed a small headset to Alaric. "You can choose for yourself which memories you want to relive with the holodeck."

He invited Alaric to sit in a very comfortable chair before wearing the headset on his head.

"This is a memory extractor. In five minutes, it will extract the specific memory that you want to relive."

"Hmm ..."

As soon as the headset framed his head, Alaric felt a small needle pricking his head and making him sleepy. Hmm ... he would try to choose one of his few pleasant memories.

Five minutes later, he removed the headset and sat facing Pavel. "Where are the controls?"

"The control is in your chair, sir." Pavel motioned to the chair's armrest adorned with several buttons and explained the function of each to him. "You can get started here."

Alaric pressed the "START" button and set the experience he wanted. A moment later, the large empty hall had turned into a sea and they all seemed to be on the deck of a ship.

Alaric got up from his chair and surveyed his surroundings. He felt as if he was really on his ship. He just turned off the engine and let his catamaran float above the waves and the wind. When he looked up, he saw billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy decorating the night sky. It was very beautiful.

"Hey ... Please help me prepare dinner," Suddenly, a melodious voice sounded from behind him. He turned to the sound and found Aleksis rising from the kitchen below, carrying a picnic mat and some cutlery. The girl was very beautiful and looked exactly what he remembered.

Alaric knew this was just a memory that Holodeck created for him, but he was still happy as he could see Aleksis again who seemed alive standing near him. For the first time today, he smiled.

Before the scene could continue, he pressed the "OFF" button and the holodeck returned them to the large, empty hall.

"Not bad," he said. "We can launch Virconnect 4D first, and then Holodeck at the end of the year, so the latter becomes a new year gift for many people."

The directors present looked at each other. They did not expect this young man to nonchalantly decide the launching of Splitz's new flagship product. He was not even a director or shareholder.

"Of course, as you wish, Sir," Pavel answered swiftly.