The procedure to install the input-output port was relatively painless. Just a quick shot of anesthetic, a gentle pinching pressure behind his left ear, and it was done. A week or two later it had healed completely. Not much worse than getting an ear pierced, Dias thought to himself. Though, it did itch a bit.

He scratched it absently, "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Positive," Sigg replied, "It's exactly the same as the transponder you've had in your head for... How long now?"

A message scrolled across the bottom of his field of vision: [Mom> Don't be late for dinner!]

"I don't know. Since I was a cub, I guess," Dias replied, trying to ignore the message.

"Well, they wouldn't put them in children if they weren't safe, would they?"

Another message: [Tomorrow's Forecast, Skyline City> Patchy Fog, then Sunny. High 60. Low 39.]

"Yeah, but this is different."

"It's exactly the same as chipping-in. We're just... Turning up the volume a bit," the older canine said, his lush vulpine tail swaying back and forth as he fiddled with unfamiliar boxes and cables, "Perfectly safe! Besides, this terminal is top of the line," he continued as he entered the sequence of commands that would bring the device on-line, "It's got a built-in firewall. Nothing's going to get you, I promise."

[Music News> Leona Asgand! LIVE! IN CONCERT! TONIGHT!]

"I don't know," the young ferret continued waffle, "Remember that time you thought it would be a good idea to go poking around the mainframe at school?"

"You were curious, too."

"We were almost expelled."

"Dad fixed it."

"This time."

"Hey, we were just looking. It's not like we did anything wrong. Anyway, this is different. I promise, nothing bad will happen this time."

Dias faltered as Sigg handed him one of the two fiber-optic cables that were attached to the terminal. As he studied the bright yellow connector at the end of the cable intently.

[KC> Hurry up! New Horizon, Sector B-4. We're waiting at the White Lady.]

Despite his reservations, the peer pressure was proving to be a surprisingly effective motivator.

"I don't have an avatar," he said softly, looking for any excuse, any way out. Maybe he could have the port removed before anybody noticed. He could probably still get his money back. There was a definite knot forming in the pit of his stomach.

"Not a problem," Sigg said, attaching his own cable to the port concealed discretely behind his right ear, "I picked up something for you to wear. Go ahead, hook up. Quick, before my parents get home."

He reached back, heart racing and hands trembling. No turning back now, he thought to himself. The male end of the cable slid smoothly into the newly installed socket with a soft click. The cable was light, just a few strands of glass, but the feeling of having something like that attached to his head felt heavy and... And wrong, somehow.

"Trust me," Sigg said, he had an uncanny knack for making people feel at ease, "Once you see the net this way, you'll never want to go back... Oh, you're going to want to sit down."

Dias took a seat in one of the cushy chairs, upright, with his paws folded in his lap. He wasn't quite sure what to expect. He thought he felt a faint tingling around the port. Was something happening? He couldn't tell. Maybe it wasn't working. Maybe there was an error, or the system was down, or something. Anything, Gods please, I'm really not sure I should be doing this.

Sigg relaxed on the couch. He hit a few buttons on a wireless keyboard resting in his lap. Without warning, Dias felt his entire body go limp. He collapsed back into the chair, the world spinning around him. He tried to speak, but his mouth would not move. If he forced himself, if he really thought about it, he could make his hands move. They trembled, just a bit, grasping numbly at the upholstery before going limp. Like a nightmare, every muscle in his body felt numb and lifeless. As his vision slowly faded to static only sensation left to him was a feeling of falling...

As if world had been just yanked out from under him.