Having trouble deciding from the wide selection, Jim noticed one tube marked Mystery Beast and decorated with question marks. It reminded him of one of those cheap ass sideshows the county fair had every year, where you would have to pay a buck to see whatever mystery they were promoting that year. Still, since he couldn't decide, trying the Mystery Beast was as good as any.
As Jim got in the tube and pushed the only visible button, he idly wondered how exactly this worked. This whole thing was some kind of holograms or VR, why was a fair with something so high tech out in the middle of nowhere? And why hadn't there be some sort of charge for this? Maybe this was a kind of pre-season test run. A few lucky visitors get to use the machines for free while they work the bugs out.
Convinced he had figured it out, Jim relaxed as a mist filled the cylinder. Obviously for effect. Not more than a moment seemed to pass before the tube opened up. Jim stepped out, puzzled. Was that it? The junk at the county fair was more impressive than that. But as the fog dissipated and Jim could see around him, he suddenly froze. In the mirror on the wall across from the tube, he saw in the reflection he was...
Sun Jun 17 11:41:43 2001