Action at a Distance

"When you need to be somewhere, but can't get there? You need the Hideki Ascend. There is no distance that will keep you from making your mark on the world. Be sure to sign up for the Ascend Ambassador program, and you'll always have access to a body in any Hideki location around the world. Be everywhere."

The commercial for the new Hideki invention flashed on a nearby screen. It began with a woman looking at flight tickets from New York to Berlin, seeing she missed her flight. The commercial cut to a second woman who placed a mask on her face, which for a moment remained a glossy black before the first woman's face appeared on it. The commercial flashed to a boardroom, where the masked woman in a business suit gave a presentation to a variety of executives.

For a company on the verge of dozens of biotech innovations, the Hideki Ascend was still a surprise when it was revealed to the rest of the world. A relatively compact device on its own, the Ascend boasted incredible power behind its screen. Being able to fully override the sensory and motor pathways of a body has a variety of revolutionary applications, but the Ascend promised to change how people could connect with one another. With the ability to essentially travel the world without needing to actually go there and still experience things like they were really there, businesses and entertainment companies buying them in bulk, taking a step far, far beyond virtual reality. When the mask displayed the face of another person from somewhere else in high definition, it was easy to forget that the body under the mask wasn't really their body. At least, the illusion felt very convincing to all those who spent time with someone wearing an Ascend mask, and seeing their friends, family, or lovers moving as if they were really their with them.

Of course, there were plenty of people buying their own Hideki Ascend devices, for all sorts of their own uses. Many people bought the remote unit, so they could control other bodies--especially popular for long-distance relationships, people would find many new ways to be with their significant others. Others bought the Ascend for themselves, where they would 'rent' their bodies out as part of the Ascend Ambassador program. People would pay to use their bodies for the day doing whatever they wished--making a lot of money while someone else moved them? For many, that was the perfect job, as long as they didn't mind what they ended up doing when they weren't in charge of their own actions.

And of course, not every wearer of the Hideki Ascend knew what they were getting into until it was too late and they felt control over their own body melt away, unable to even call out from behind the mask...