Agent Norman Jayden, FBI. The man sat at his desk, staring intently at his tightly clasped hands. He was thinking at a million miles a minute, his thoughts swirling throughout his head, never quite staying long enough to be nailed down but never leaving before he could take a general idea from them. His head had been like this a lot lately; he was suffering from certain addictions, certain problems which hindered his coherent thought processes.
He had been hailed as a hero: he was the agent who saved the day, the man who had made children safe again. He had nearly single-handedly caught and defeated the Origami Killer by compiling evidence he gathered himself; he was hindered by his uncooperative "allies" at the police department, but overcame the odds and put an end to the Origami Killer's reign of terror. The popular evening talk show Let's Talk Tonight had invited him to speak as a guest, and he had gladly accepted; on national television, Norman Jayden was declared a hero. He had simply smiled and accepted the compliments, quite unused to all of the (in his opinion) unnecessary praise. He had simply performed his duties, and performed them to the best of his ability.
It was after the show that his emotional trials truly began. Norman Jayden was a genius by all accounts, but he was certainly not a machine- to solve the Origami Killer case entirely on his own, he had required aid. He had previously signed up for the FBI's experimental ARI Program. The idea was to introduce a new, groundbreaking technology- the Added Reality Interface, or ARI. ARI was composed of a visual interface, which resembled a pair of sunglasses, and a physical interface, a single black glove. The glove allowed him to interact with the visual world created by the glasses; when he wore ARI, he could see things that others couldn't. ARI highlighted possible pieces of evidence based on the information it had about the current case. It also provided him direct access to the FBI's database. In short, ARI made him a multipurpose crime-solving extraordinaire.
However, ARI also made him an addict. When he applied for the ARI Project, he was fully aware that the technology was very experimental- he was prepared to face any negative effects produced by the gadget. What Norman was not prepared for was the complete and total addiction ARI would bring about- he was not prepared to become a junkie. When he went without ARI, he suffered negative effects from his brain attempting to react to the sudden shift in reality- his nose bled, his hands shook, his thoughts were scattered and his vision blurred and contorted. Eventually, Norman found a way to counteract these symptoms- he fought one drug with another. Triptocaine alleviated the negative effects of ARI. On the other hand, Triptocaine was also an experimental drug in and of itself, meaning it was very possible to overdose on it. Norman had once taken an obscene amount of Triptocaine- his withdrawals from ARI wouldn't even permit him to lie down without twitching violently, so he decided that a dose larger than normal was required. Soon after taking the Triptocaine, he felt his body begin to function at normal levels again. However, the effects of the Tripto didn't stop there; not only did his functions revert to normal, they slowed to a degree which shocked him. He could feel his heart struggling to beat, his lungs struggling to expand. After a few moments of absolute terror, he recovered, and monitored his use of Triptocaine very closely ever after.
Essentially, Norman Jayden had become a hero, but one with a great deal of weaknesses. He was still a genius; mentally, he was sharper than ever, and when he could function normally his physical actions were more than satisfactory. Psychologically he was a wreck. Very soon after the end of the Origami Killer case, Norman Jayden experienced something which he had not, until that point, experienced; something which terrified him more than the Triptocaine overdose. The alternate reality provided by ARI had often clashed with the reality seen by the rest of the world- sometimes he would remove ARI and still see the world around him as though he were wearing the glasses, just for a short period of time. These instances were always harsh- the two realities always fought with each other for control. This specific incident changed his perception of his life; the two realities merged seamlessly. One of the features of ARI was a small minigame section, just something to pass the time between cases. One of these games involved miniature tanks driving around and shooting at each other. About one week after finishing the Origami Killer case, Norman Jayden removed ARI and watched a fleet of small, holographic tanks rove across his desk. After making sure that his glasses were indeed off, he came to a startling realization; "Added Reality" had begun to usurp actual reality. When he came to this realization, he abruptly fell unconscious.
By now, Norman was used to these tanks. They were a symptom of madness, certainly, but they never interfered with him. They seemed content to observe, marching across his desk and floor like little rats scurrying about their cage. The tanks were not the reason he was having a panic attack, sitting at his desk and trying not to scream; suddenly, Added Reality had become just a bit too real for him. Something new had happened, something horrifying. ARI had always been immersive- perhaps, looking back, it had been too immersive- but the user had never quite been able to actually touch the objects created by it. Rather, ARI had sent feedback through the glove, tricking the user into "feeling" whatever he or she was "touching." The reason Norman was re-evaluating his life was that one of the tanks had just bumped into his leg- and he had felt it, had recoiled at the sensation.
The thing immediately sped away, as though it were as frightened as he were. Norman struggled with the idea that these things- things which he was sure were hallucinations- could now touch him. He cleared his mind and set about to solving the problem posed by the fact that his hallucinations were now tangible. He came to the conclusion that it was physically impossible for intangible things (which the tanks most definitely were) to be touched, meaning that the feeling had been in his imagination. Then again, when he really thought about it, that was all ARI was; a tool which enhanced the power of his imagination, presenting him with an altered reality and tricking his brain into accepting it.
Realistically, it had been a matter of time before this altered- or rather, Added- reality had a damaging effect on his brain. Looking back on it, Norman wondered how he hadn't seen it before; if ARI presented him with a false world, a place in which he could transform his office into the barren surface of Mars or pull a filing cabinet from thin air, how could his brain cope with that? The human mind was not a simple thing- it couldn't simply switch between realities with a snap of the fingers because it tried to fill in the gaps as to why these realities were changing. Perhaps it was the issue of his subconscious attempting to discover why there were two different versions of the world that created the addiction; perhaps, on some deeply buried level of his psyche, he was solving yet another mystery. Consciously, however, Norman only knew that he had just felt something which lacks physical form touch him, which meant only one thing; not only was ARI altering his vision when he wasn't using it, it also had a grasp over his nerve endings. If he had felt that tank, what was to stop his imagination from creating the lack of atmosphere associated with Mars? Norman was sure that this was the first true sign of madness- the tanks roving across his desk had been a precursor, something amusing to foreshadow the dark truth. If Norman didn't stop using ARI entirely, completely remove that addictive effect produced by his brain, if he didn't sever the connection entirely, ARI could trick his brain into killing him. Ironically, he supposed with a mirthless half-chuckle, curiosity could kill him.
Gently, he picked up his ARI and rubbed his index finger on the rim. Without thinking, he held them up to his face and stopped with them inches from his eyes- then, he dropped them on his desk and dug his nails into his arm. He couldn't, not anymore. He had to find a way to cope. If he didn't stop using ARI, he would die; therefore, the solution was simple. He would have to stop using ARI. Rising to his feet, he grabbed his ARI glove and exited his office. Biting his lip, he forced himself to take the march down to the Director's office. The Director was understanding- Norman was sure that he would help. He got the Director's door and wrapped his fingers around the handle, aware that the Director's secretary was looking at him with confusion. Closing his eyes, Norman took a deep breath and knocked on the man's door, remembering that entering unannounced was one of the Director's pet peeves.
After a short pause, the Director's voice came through the door; "Come in." Norman took another deep breath and opened the door, stepping over the threshold and struggling to look his boss in the eyes. Norman stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his own shoes, and placed ARI on the Director's desk, tossing the glove down on top of it. Confused, the Director raised his eyebrows and waited for Norman to speak.
"Director, I can't- I mean, I shouldn't- it's just, this program is…" Trailing off, Norman forced himself to gather his thoughts. "Director, you know me. I love what I do. Solving crimes and catching criminals is what I live for. And ARI enables me to do that with ease. The problem, sir, is that ARI is… well, it's highly experimental, correct? It's also highly addictive. I've formulated a few theories, none of which sound sane enough to mention right now, but that doesn't matter; right now, my head is clear and my priorities are straight. I'd like you to take this from me."
Sighing, the Director reached out and took ARI in his hands, looking at Norman with worry engraved in the lines in his forehead. "Norman, I'm going to be honest with you. This is… not surprising. Other agents using ARI have reported… well, negative side effects from usage of ARI. None of them have been anywhere near as successful or dedicated as you, so it only makes sense that you'd be suffering from more advanced negative effects. Here's the deal: we have men working on this. In about a week or so, a new model of ARI is going to come out, with none of the problems of this version. I'm going to grant you sick leave for one week; at the end of the week, depending on how you feel, you can either renew your participation in the ARI program or return to your normal duties."
Norman had been trying to focus on the Director- he really had- but it was difficult. Those damn tanks were back again, circling the Director's chair like landlocked vultures. When Norman heard about the new version of ARI, however, his eyes snapped onto the Director's and he listened with rapt attention. In that instant, all of the walls he had erected to have the strength to give his ARI to the Director collapsed a single thought flooded into his mind: I don't have to quit. With a shaky grin, Norman agreed to take the week's sick leave and drove home.
It wasn't until he opened the door to his modest apartment and sat down on the edge of his bed that he began to feel it- the familiar gnawing at the back of his brain. The tiny voice muttering, do it, put on the glasses, escape- just for a minute. Norman reached into his jacket pocket and chuckled at his own absentmindedness. The chuckles soon subsided, however, when he realized that he wouldn't have ARI for a week- he'd have to deal with this incessant desire for seven days. The worst part of it all was, perhaps, that he'd have those seven days entirely to himself- an entire week to sit around trying not to gouge his own eyes out. Fortunately, it was fairly late at night and he was tired; Norman decided that it would be best to ignore the issue and fall asleep. Falling backwards so that he was lying down, Norman realized how hard it was to move- it was fortunate that he was this exhausted, because the next seven days would be hell.