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“Not anymore,” Felix replied.

“Version 5 is special,” said the instructor, a woman named Dina with calm, grey eyes. “Previous versions taught you to drive. Version 5 teaches you to become a driver.” Felix reclined into the pod. Sensors adhered to his temples, wrists, and the base of his spine. The visor hummed, and the world dissolved.

Desperate, he signed up for something new: — a fully immersive, neural-haptic driving school promising “zero-risk, real-stakes training.” The facility looked like a sleep clinic crossed with an arcade. Reclining chairs, VR visors with tendril-like sensors, and a faint smell of ozone.

Felix’s heart pounded. He could ignore it — stay on the main road, finish the hour. But curiosity killed the cat. He made the U-turn, pulled over, turned off the ignition. The door opened by itself.