Hello everyone! I was working on writing the next chapter for my Mystery Music collection when this idea popped into my head. I couldn't focus on writing the other story because of it. So here we are with the first chapter of A Virtual Switch. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this except for the plot I attempt to write. I also don't own the Matrix. Sad really...

It was summer vacation.

A very special summer vacation for the Ed trio; it was the last ever. Three years of college were over and after senior year all the graduates would be heading out into the "real world" to start the next phase of life. Eddy was going to be working with his dad at the car dealership. Ed was discovered by a local comic book artist and was offered an apprenticeship. Edd, however, was going to graduate school for computer sciences.

The smartest of the three had already applied to a few of the more prestigious universities around the country, but was constantly getting the same answer: grades are important, but what else have you done? So, not only was this summer the last chance for the three to hang out and enjoy their disappearing childhood, it was also the best time for Edd to work on a project that would assure his future with the college of his choice. So while the other two Ed's were off working their part time jobs for their future, Edd propped open the door to his garage and was working on his own.

It was a fairly mild summer day all things considered. Edd had a few fans going in the garage as he typed away on his computer. Today was construction day for the genius. He'd spent the last few weeks programming his project, now he just needed to create the system that would run it. Soon the garage was filled with sparks and sizzling sounds as he welded. Small clouds of smoke were floating gently through the open garage door as his project slowly took form. As Edd hooked up the wires to the main body of his project, a low rumbling came down the street of the cul-de-sac.

Kevin pulled into the driveway of his house and cut the engine of his motorcycle. Removing his helmet and securing it to the saddlebag, he glanced over at the open garage of his neighbor. The air inside was slightly hazy from smoke, but he easily see Edd moving around inside with some sort of helmet looking thing. Curiosity got the better of him, and Kevin sauntered across the street.

Edd had just finished plugging all the wires of his project into the server he had set up on his desk. The helmet's lights blinked on to show it was receiving power. He smiled as he went back to the computer screen to start the diagnostics.

Kevin reached the entrance to the garage and leaned against the wall. "Hey Double Dork! What are you doin' in here?"

Edd jumped slightly at the sudden noise. He turned in his chair to face the other, "Greetings Kevin! I'm just working on my graduate school project. Also, might I mention that we are in our twenties now. Don't you think we are past the childish nicknames?"

Kevin chuckled, "Nah, man. You'll always be Double Dork to me." Everyone in the cul-de-sac had reconciled their differences with each other years ago. Between growing up and becoming semi-responsible adults, and the Ed's putting a stop to their scamming at the beginning of high school, there really wasn't anything for the group to fight over. Some of them were closer than others, but everyone got along well enough. "What are you doing for your project?"

"Well, the general concept is a full immersion virtual reality. At the moment, I have a basic landscape and a small combat system. It would take a whole team of programmers to create an entire world, but if I can make a tutorial of sorts that will most likely be more than enough to impress my future college."

Kevin furrowed his brows in confusion. "Full immersion…? You mean like those special goggles you wear and you see the game in front of you?"

Edd smiled at the redhead. "In a way, yes. This takes it one step further. Instead of just your eyes and ears being the only two senses utilized in the game, as it is with the virtual reality systems on the market right now, this system will take all five of your senses and put you directly into the game. You will be able to see, hear, taste, touch, and even smell the environment around you, all with just your mind. Your physical body stays in the real world, connected to the system."

"Fuck dude! That's some Matrix shit right there."

"Language Kevin. But yes, I suppose you are correct, it is a bit like the Matrix. Less dangerous though. If you die in the game, it shouldn't kill you in real life."

"Awesome. So can I try it out?" Kevin shrugged off the wall and made his way over to where Edd was sitting.

Edd began rambling and fidgeting with his hands."W-well I don't know if it's r-ready yet. There are still a bunch of tests I need to run and the system could be u-unsafe, I m-mean what would I do if something went wr-wrong and your mind was t-trapped in there or you lost one of your senses when you came back out. I can't say for sure that it is a f-foolproof system and it would be better to ju-"

Kevin grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to turn all the way around in the swivel chair. "Dork. Calm down. You're like, the smartest guy in the history of smart guys. I'm sure it's just fine. Besides, you have to test it at some point anyway. Might as well test it now." Kevin smirked as he dropped into the other chair next to the desk. He leaned over and grabbed the helmet, turning it over in his hands to get a look at the inside. There were wires neatly bundled all across the top and two sensors near where someone's temples would sit that looked like high tech suction cups. Kevin flipped the helmet expertly in his hands and dropped it on his head. He looked expectantly at the man across from him as he grinned and crossed his arms

Edd sighed and turned to face the computer screen. He quickly checked the results of the diagnostics he had run earlier, everything looked okay. It was running the way it was supposed to, so it would be logical to test it now, right? He was going to test it himself in a couple of days, but this was probably a better idea anyway. What if something went wrong while he was in there? Who would fix it if not himself?

"Are you a hundred percent sure you want to do this?" Edd asked nervously.

"Just do it, Dork. What's the worst that could happen." Kevin leaned back in the chair a bit, looking smug.

You could get your mind trapped in a virtual reality and never be able to escape. Edd sighed again and brought up the program. "Alright, I just need a bit of information from you before we can start. How tall are you?"

"6'1""

"Approximate weight?"

"190?"

"Do you want to be a swordsman or an archer? Those are the only two I have programmed right now."

Kevin laughed, "Definitely a swordsman."

"You understand that I have no idea how your mind will process this. The system is designed to be as consistent as it can be with the real world, but everything will still be slightly digital, even your body. It could make you go insane, do you understand the risks?" Edd was scared. Kevin might be a willing participant in this, but it was still his program. If something went wrong the blame was going to fall solely on him. He didn't want to hurt the jock.

"Yeah, risks are noted. Are we doing this or what?" Kevin huffed impatiently.

"Yes, yes. Get comfortable, close your eyes, and I'm going to count backwards from five."

Kevin did as he was instructed. Edd typed a few more things then loaded up the launch screen. He glanced over at the redhead beside him. Kevin looked completely calm, eyes closed, hands resting against his legs. Edd took one last deep breath, counted down, and launched the program.

I am currently half way through writing the second chapter to this. Been working on it all day. I was originally going to just make it one really long chapter, but the more I wrote the more it seemed like I should break them up into at least two. If I don't upload chapter two tonight, it will definitely be up tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Cthepolkadots