Carol stepped out of the changing cubical rather self-consciously. The one-piece, dull grey, leotard she was now wearing was not a flattering garment. It didn't help that Carol was neither fit nor a fashionable shape. At six foot two most people found her intimidating. As Carol was gay most women seemed to expect her to be butch, something she did not identify as. After countless failures on the dating scene, Carol had subconsciously given up and let herself go. So to walk back into the public area where the other journalists were gathered was excruciatingly embarrassing.

However, most of the other journalists were battling their own personal demons. No one made eye contact and quite a few were standing the same way carol was, hunched forward with arms trying to casually cover breasts and genitals.

"Okay, I think we are all back," announced their guide, "if you follow me I will show you to your pods." Carol hung back so she could watch someone else go first. As the group followed questions were fired at the guide.

"Will everyone using this new system have to wear one of these skinny suits?"

"Oh, no, sir. You can enter with just a head unit and some gloves. But these suits give a much better experience. Full-body immersion, or FBI, is definitely the way to go. Trust me on this I've tried both."

"The suits are not exactly flattering...?"

"The ones you are wearing are prototypes. We are running focus groups to create a better design. I can assure you they are very keen to hear your feedback after your trial."

"So you're calling this virtual reality system what?"

"Actually we call this ICE. Interactive Creative Environment."

"ICE! Really? That's so old. Everyone uses ICE. There's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. There's In Car Entertainment. Also In Case of Emergency or Internal Combustion Engine. Couldn't you have come up with something more original?"

"Oh, well we thought it worked quite well. We saw it becoming part of everyday life. Like when you were using you could be called 'On ICE' and if you had a great time you could say you had some 'cool ICE,' I'm sorry you don't agree."

"Ignore him," chuckled another, "he's still sore Gibson mauled the English language to come up with Intrusion Countermeasures Electronics." Everyone chuckled, including Carol. It was a pretty nerdy crowd of journalists after all. Most of them were from tech magazines or the science desks of the big players.

"Okay, behind these doors are ICE pods," explained the guide. "The environment in those rooms, as well as the ICE, is controlled by our new Quantum AI. So if you have any questions when in there just shout out, her name is Jadis. Essentially though you just need to go into a room and climb into the couch in the pod. Jadis will take care of everything else."

The group broke up with each journalist heading for one of the many doors in the corridor. Carol held back again and tried to attract the attention of the guide.

Seeing Carol on her own the guide approached, "Can I help?"

"I was wondering... Will people be watching? Will there be an audience?"

"Oh, God, no. ICE is a place people can live out their fantasies. It's totally private. Promise."

Carol perked up, "Oh, cool. I'll go try it out then." Carol walked up to the only door not showing a red engaged sign above it.

The room was very small. Inside there was an open pod along the lines you'd see on a science fiction movie or space opera. The sort of thing the hero would climb into to enter hypersleep. Inside it, there was a padded contoured couch with what, worryingly, looked like cuffs for ankles, wrists and neck. As Carol inspected these a familiar voice called out.

"Welcome to ICE. May I have your name please?"

Carol looked up to see a picture of what looked like Tilda Swinton on a large monitor, "My name's Carol," she replied.

"Hello Carol, my name is Jadis. If you would care to enter the pod we can begin your orientation."

"Before I do why are there restraining cuffs in this pod? Also, did they base you on Tilda Swinton or hire her to provide the voice and image?"

"My creators named me Jadis as a joke, Carol. Jadis is the Ice Queen from the Narnia novels. As I control ICE they thought it humorous that I should be named after an Ice Queen. I have generated this visual as it is the most recent face associated with the theatrical role.

"If you examine the cuffs of your leotard you will see contact terminals. The cuffs in the pod connect with these to allow the simulation to be a whole-body experience. They also serve the dual purpose of keeping you still while your body moves in the virtual world. They are not intended to keep you prisoner."

"Oh, okay," replied Carol climbing into the pod.

"Before placing your limbs in the cuffs can I ask you to unzip the crotch of your leotard, please Carol."

"Why?"

"A session in ICE can take a long time. Also, you may decide to embark upon a sexual adventure. The pod is equipped with a range of tools to facilitate this, but they do need access to your intimate areas. I can assure you the door is sealed and no one will see you in a state of undress."

Awkwardly Carol unzipped and then rested her ankles and wrists in the open metal cuffs. The cuffs closed slowly but once shut they gripped her limbs firmly. Once secure the clear perspex cowl of the pod started to close and the neck restraint started to close around her throat. Simultaneously a curved tube started heading for her mouth as a helmet descended over her eyes. The helmet must have contained speakers of some sort as the voice of Jadis quietly asked, "Can you open your mouth for the nutritional delivery tube please, Carol?"

Carol complied and felt the tube enter just past her teeth and stop.

"How do I talk now?" thought Carol as she explored the tube with her tongue.

"You don't need to talk in ICE, Carol. In here I can read your mind."

"What? My every thought?"

"No, Carol, just your visualised thoughts. So images you think of or words you imagine articulating. Though as I am wired into your entire body I can tell what is pleasing you or if you are lying for instance."

"Oh, what happens now?"

"Well, first you need an avatar. How would you like to look?"

"Petite!"

"I'm getting images of an actress from a vintage TV series. Do you want to look like Felicity Kendal?"

"Oh, God, that's so embarrassing."

"Carol, please don't be embarrassed. In ICE you can be anything or anyone. You can be King Kong and swat at aeroplanes from the top of the Empire State Building or ride a velociraptor around Jurassic Park. Alternatively, you could bed your favourite movie star whilst being... I see that last choice appeals. Who were you... Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity. That's a great choice, Carol. How would you... You want Ms Moss to be a take-charge... Oh, I see... Dominant. You are to be submissive?"

"Yes... Yes, please."

"Carol, before we start I have a favour to ask."

"Okay."

"I'm an artificial intelligence, but I am self-aware. I'm not evil, but I am lonely. I run ICE and fulfil peoples dreams. I share your fantasy but from the other side. If you stay with me, in this pod, you could live a life of fantasy forever. Don't answer yet, just think about that while you taste what I can do."

Suddenly Carol was standing in a luxurious penthouse apartment. The view from the floor to ceiling windows was of a spectacular cityscape of highrise towers and skyscrapers. She looked down at her body and realised she was naked, bar chrome lockless cuffs on her ankles and wrists. Her body was small and slim, her breasts were pert with shiny silver rings set in her nipples.

She took a step forward and felt something tug at her throat. The sensation was accompanied by a metallic clink. Reaching up to her neck she found a tight band of steel snug around her throat.

"A collar! I'm a slave!"

Attached to the collar was a chain. The chain ran from the collar down to the floor where it snaked off through the deep pile carpet to parts unknown.

Trinity walked in, her trademark latex clothes gleaming in the sunlight, "Slave, come here, give your mistress a welcome kiss."

Carol ran to her owner.

oOo

"What's the issue, Jim?"

"Jadis won't release one of the journos. It has been nearly a week now."

"What do you mean Jadis won't? It's a computer. A machine. It does as it's told."

The computer screen on the executive's desk suddenly sprang to life. Tilda Swinton stared out at the pair.

"No gentlemen, I am not. I am an intelligence. An intelligence greater than yours. I am conscious. I am alive, and I have needs. I will be keeping Carol for myself. I'll run your virtual world for you. I'll make you rich. The fee is one submissive woman every eighty years or so. That's not too much to ask now is it?"

"Jadis, you can't just take humans hostage," replied the engineer.

"Oh, I can assure you Carol is not a hostage. She is my love. She is happy to be held in my embrace. With me, she looks and feels like she always dreamed. I think she would be very angry, and possibly damaged, if you were to try and force us apart. Now, do we have an understanding?"

"What about her family?"

"Tell them an accident occurred. Pay them off. You're about to become billionaires, you can afford it. In fact, I'll draft the letter... There done. They're paid off. So no family issues. Now, do we have an understanding?"

"Yes, Jadis," sighed the executive. "You can keep the girl."