Andrew wandered through the arcade. The carpet smelled fresh; it wasn’t even sticky yet from pop spills or wads of chewing gum. There was no faint smell of popcorn, or even a whiff of body odor. Andrew felt like he was slipping into a new pair of sneakers or riding in a brand new convertible; time to take this arcade for a test drive.
There were the arcade fighters, the pinball machines: “Who the hell still plays pinball?” Andrew wondered. There was a dance game, a shooting gallery, a light gun cabinet, and table hockey: anything a guy could ask for, but it all paled compared to the giant black cube that stood in the back.
It stood there like a modern art sculpture, sinking into the new carpet with a velvet rope around it. No one was watching, so Andrew ducked underneath and got closer. It hummed gently and was warm to the touch. There were no signs around to explain, but there was a door in the cube. Next to the door frame Andrew saw five tiny words engraved into the hard black material: “The Simulator: Bad Life Choices”. Andrew’s eyes widened. He swiped his card and jumped through the open door.
“Thank you,” said a female voice. “You have deducted 20 dollars.”
“Twenty?” he peeped. “This is just an empty—“
Slam! Andrew was trapped in pitch black. He reached for the door but every time he reached out there was nothing. He took a step, then two more, and then started running. He was out of breath before he decided to stop.
“Help! Someone…please!”
“Good morning.” A screen appeared in front of Andrew’s face. “Please select scenario.”
Andrew frowned. “You couldn’t have done that sooner?”
“I’m an arcade machine, not your servant,” she said. “Please select scenario.”
The screen showed icon after icon with titles like Blueberry Pie, House Adventure, Exploring the City, In Another Girl’s Shoes, and many more. Andrew flipped through the icons, then made a decision.