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Note: This is the original first chapter. You can find the new one, as well as the prologue, by going back to my page and clicking the banner that looks like the one above. Thanks for reading! 
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Chapter One4
Boredom5
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“So boring,” Turner said to himself. He set his head down on arms folded across his desk. His parents had been gone for a week already, and they had taken both cars with them, so driving to a friend's house was no option.7
After drumming his fingertips on the black plastic desk top for several long minutes, Turner rose to his full height and walked out of his room, out through the front doorway, and into the streets.8
He walked aimlessly, thinking...9
Turner wondered often how people long ago didn't die of boredom. The 1800s—no cars; the 1900s—no computers; the 2000s—no good music. And as for the 2100s—he couldn't tell what was missing. He had everything from a fully-automated smoothie maker to a high-speed Grid connection—though it did flicker for a split second between the pages, and that was always annoying.10
“Turner!” a voice called. It was his brother; annoying had met its match.11
“What do you want, Alex?” Turner called back across the street.12
“What are you doing?”13
“Walking.”14
Alex waved a beckoning hand. Turner couldn't hold back from going to his brother. “What?”15
His little brother, short and seemingly underweight, jumped up and down excitedly. “You have to come play this game with me!”16
Turner sighed. “You know I'm not as lame as you, right?”17
“C'mon, bro! Just for a little bit. It's, like, uber-cooler now!”18
Turner narrowed his eyes. “What's so 'uber-cooler' about it?”19
“Well, before when you played the game, you had to play as a polygonal three-dimensional character that you made when you make your account, and now they've finished building and installing this system that puts you right in the game!” He stopped to catch his breath. “Besides, do you have anything better to do?”20
“Well—I—uh...” he stumbled for a way out. Finally, he gave in. Shaking his head, he said, “Fine.”21
As luck would have it, the game café was just around the corner, and Alex had been coming home to bring Turner there anyway. Alex had always been into these sorts of virtual reality games since a young age, and though it had been ten years since his first time, he was still just as enthusiastic about them—if not more.22
But now a game that was more 'reality' than 'virtual'? He had to see it to believe it. Turner wouldn't admit it to Alex, but the technology behind this actually interested him more than being in the game.23
And then the thought of playing it came to mind. Would he have to be some sort of medieval dragon-slayer killing monster after monster to gather quest items and bring them to some computer-player who sent him on this pointless journey for the sole purpose of some gold coins and experience points? What a drool that would be.24
He sighed as he walked in the door after his brother. The café was well air-conditioned, and Turner was glad to be out of the heat. “Welcome!” a cheerful woman greeted them.25
Alex pulled a plastic card out of his pocket and handed it to her. “He's new.” Alex turned to Turner. “I'll go on ahead so I can meet you at the New Users' Entrance.”26
The woman smiled at Turner. “I just have a couple questions. Do you have any health problems which may hinder your ability to play this game?”27
“Just one: apathy.”28
She returned an annoyed yet hurt look. In a subdued voice, she said, “U—um. Here's your card.”29
Turner looked at the card. It had a long strip of numbers and “EUG” in bold print. Nothing special to it, even for a company with such sophisticated technology.30
He followed the arrow that led to the “Dock.” Endless rows of pod-like contraptions were lined up in the back. There was no attendant here, though it was fairly easy to figure out what to do—there were instructions printed on the insides of the pods.31
Each of the pods had three things: a soft, therapeutic, comfortable chair (most likely so the users don't require chiropractic work after playing); a card reader; and a pair of thick headphones. At least, they appeared to be headphones. One pod was stationed under the “Loading” sign, and it looked to be attached to something that would swing it away to somewhere else where it would be stored with hundreds of similar pods.32
He stepped in and examined the headphones. They appeared normal from the outside, but in the space where there should be speakers, there was a wave transmitter. I see now, he thought. They use a frequency on the same level as the waves our brains use to send the signal back and forth between the system and the user. He was excited with his find, as it was a subject he was quite interested in.33
Ready to find out more about this system, Turner jumped in the pod and swiped his card through the reader. The door closed and a blue screen appeared.34
“Welcome, New User. Please state real name.”35
Interesting. “Turner Matthews.”36
“Please state desired user name.”37
“Uh... Turner.” Why use a fake name?38
The screen showed the word “Verifying.” After a few seconds, the machine spoke again: “Sorry. Name is already in use.”39
Damn. That's why.40
He thought quickly, blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “Trigger.”41
The screen changed again, this time saying, “Name, 'Trigger,' successfully registered. Enjoy your stay in the world of Magikor.”42
How original.43
The pod began to sway slightly, and just as he had thought, it swung away to where the other pods went—wherever that was. Once it stopped moving, Turner started to feel lightweight. He thought he was falling at first, but soon realized that it was the gravity-detector, a system used to simulate the exact shape and mass of a person. This was extremely sophisticated technology, and he wondered how they could afford it.44
The real gravity returned and Turner felt heavy all of a sudden. It seemed the program had one more preparation to make: the brainwave emittance. As he realized this, the headphones began to buzz, and a counter appeared on the screen.45
Three...46
Two...47
One.48
Adding your comment:
I've also read some really horrible virtual reality storys, but let's not talk about those. 
