It's... hard to describe. [ he makes a low hum like noise as he thinks about how to actually put it in words ] When you are uploaded, you really are your Holon; full control, full sensation. It doesn't feel artificial.

[ The trade-off being that it means all the pain feels real, too, but Val finds that he's become desensitised to a lot of it over time. ]

It's like being yourself only four storeys tall, unnaturally strong and able to do and survive all sorts of things you could never do in your normal body. You can even edit your mind's code, if you choose, but we mostly stick to minor alterations to suit a fight.

And there's a sort of... intrinsic connection between other minds that are uploaded with you. A network.