The buzz for the 10th Annual HeroCon was unprecedented. Comic book fans from across the continent were clamoring for tickets and this year’s edition promised to be the most popular ever. One of the many new attractions this year was the iCostume: Instant Hero, a brand new machine that promised to kit out any fan with the perfect costume just for them. Like many simple concepts, the iCostume was built using cutting-edge technology. It looked like a large booth with an entrance at one end and an exit at the other. The booth itself was divided into three sections that each customer would pass through. In the first room, the customer was required to scan their personalized ticket as proof of purchase and deposit their clothes into one of the provided metal drawers. Upon moving into the central chamber a laser would scan the customer to determine the exact required size while the customer completed a short psychological profile to determine character. Finally, the costume would be dispensed in the final room which was essentially a small changing cubicle. The iCostume was in effect the perfect tool for the lazy convention goer.
Paul was one of such convention-goers. Despite him and his girlfriend having tickets for months, he had not even found time to visit a costume store, let alone make his own. Therefore immediately upon arriving at HeroCon, Paul snatched his ticket from his girlfriend’s purse and entered the iCostume. Hurriedly he swiped his ticket, threw all of his clothes into the metal bin and entered the second chamber eager to ogle the female cosplayers waiting in the convention hall. When prompted he answered the questionnaire quickly without much thought while the laser-scanned his body, pausing only when asked for keywords to describe his desired character. “Powerful, intelligent, virtuous, invincible,” Paul said. It was only when he reached the final room that Paul realized that something had gone wrong. Confused, he stared at the costume that lay waiting for him. This can’t be right. He tried to re-enter the previous chamber but it was only designed to open from the other side. Already he could hear the laser scanning the next customer. Panicking he turned back to his costume and the accompanying receipt. ‘THANK YOU ALEXIS, HAVE A GREAT DAY AT HEROCON’. Dammit!! He’d picked up his girlfriend’s ticket by mistake!! Unwilling to wait naked for the next customer to enter the chamber, Paul reluctantly slipped into the spandex costume and exited into the crowded convention hall Intelligent and virtuous indeed…
