Chapter 118: 118:Diving Into VR

The chair crashed onto the study table with a loud bang, the force from the throw leaving a dent in the polished wood. Nathaniel, narrowly avoiding the impact, stared at his daughter with a mix of shock and deep anguish.

Suri's rage was noticeable as her eyes were blazing with a fiery intensity that seemed almost to scorch the air around her. Nathaniel, usually composed and unflappable, now bore the marks of a man in profound emotional turmoil.

As he watched Suri, memories from his past surged unbidden to the forefront of his mind.

He remembered his first love with agonizing clarity. Suri's mother had been the embodiment of innocence and naivety, qualities that had captivated him completely. Their youthful romance had been passionate but fraught with complications. When she became pregnant, their marriage had been a desperate attempt to shield their love from societal judgment.

Yet, even that gesture hadn't been enough. The Barrett family had rejected her outright, deeming her unworthy despite her status.

The pain had been acute, but it was nothing compared to what followed.

His family's members, driven by cold-hearted ruthlessness, had led to a tragic accident.

Nathaniel had been drugged and forced into an engagement with another, and the cruel irony was that his love had been forced to witness the betrayal firsthand. That moment had shattered everything they had built together.

Nathaniel's heart ached as he recalled how Suri's mother had ultimately left with their daughter, escaping the toxic environment that had turned against them both

Despite her efforts to shield their daughter, Suri had suffered the consequences of their broken family. The Singhs rejected Suri's presence and resented her as without her, their daughter might still have great value.

The Barrett family's disdain had turned into active hostility, and Suri's childhood had been marked by hardship and sorrow.

Yet, Nathaniel had always been proud of Suri's resilience. Despite the odds, she had grown into a strong, independent woman. His heart swelled with a mixture of pride and regret for the pain she had endured.

The room was silent save for the heavy breathing of father and daughter. Finally, Nathaniel spoke, his voice thick with emotion, "Suri, you have no idea how much I've regretted the way things turned out. Your mother... she was everything to me. I wanted to make things right, but I was powerless against my own family's cruelty."

"And I didn't ch....Haaa! Let it be..." Nathaniel decided to stop.

Explaining further seemed futile and he didn't think that Suri would even believe him. He stared at her with a confused expression before continuing.

"Suri, I called you not only because of Richard. It doesn't matter whom you marry but don't be impulsive and marry a weak person. Because as someone from Barrett, people will always target you, and if your husband is weak, they'll go after him too. You can't always shield him.

If you don't want your life to be caught in a whirlwind of tragedy, marry someone who can tear and go against the world for you."

The hardware was ready, but they still had a long way to go in crafting the software.

"Initiate VR sequence," Evan commanded, then lifted the headgear and placed it on his head.

Aurora responded promptly with an ethereal, cheerful voice that seemed to blend with the seamless hum of the room.

[Executing command.]

The headgear came to life, its internal systems activating as tiny lights along its rim flickered and the neural interfaces engaged.

Evan felt a slight tingling sensation as the sensors began to sync with his brainwaves.

The headgear emitted a soft, pulsing signal—a complex sequence of electromagnetic pulses that interacted with the neurons in his brain. This process established a direct connection between his consciousness and the virtual environment.

Soon, a refreshing sense of calm washed over him, easing his fears. At this beginning stage, if anything went wrong, it would result in severe brain damage, as had happened with experimental dummies due to the influx of charge.

However, it seemed that he would soon make it.

The VR headgear operated through a sophisticated blend of neurotechnology and sensory modulation to deliver an immersive experience.

At its core, the headgear's neural interface employed a combination of EEG (electroencephalography) and fNIRS (functional near-infrared spectroscopy) sensors to monitor and interact with the user's brain.

These sensors would detect and interpret neural activity, creating a direct link between the user's cognitive processes and the virtual environment.

To ensure that the user's real-world body remained stationary while their consciousness was engaged with the virtual world, the headgear uses neurofeedback loops to intercept and modulate motor commands from the brain.

By altering the activity of the motor cortex, it effectively suppresses involuntary physical movements, targeting specific brainwave patterns associated with motor control to prevent any actions that could disrupt the virtual experience.

Additionally, the headgear also induced a state of controlled sensory deprivation by dampening sensory signals from the real world. This was achieved by modulating the brain's sensory processing areas to minimize external stimuli, allowing the user to concentrate entirely on the virtual input.

Sensory suppressors would then create an altered state of consciousness, reducing the brain's awareness of the physical environment and enhancing immersion in the virtual space.

Now, the next tricky part was the transition of consciousness into the virtual realm without any harmful effect.