The Existential Crisis

One day, I had an idea. I was going to spend all day in virtual reality. I slipped on the headset and spent time wandering around digital worlds, making friends with expressionless avatars from far away. All the socializing made me tired, and I felt my eyes closing against my will.

I woke up again later, unsure of how long I'd slept. I didn't recognize the room around me – a featureless purple void of floating land masses. Oh, that's right, I thought. I forgot to take the headset off. So I reached up and pulled it off my face, but I was still in a void. This time it was green. I pulled off another headset, but all it did was change the color again. I tried to run, but my legs were trapped. I looked down. I didn't have any legs. I was still just an avatar. What was happening?

Suddenly I woke up again. I was still in the purple void, the first one. I reached up and pulled off the headset. Then I was back in the real world, back in my chair in my living room. I breathed a sigh of relief. What a strange dream, I thought. Thank goodness it's over now.

But how can I be sure?