"In the Loop" by Brian Plante

A man is employed by a company that operates a virtual reality 'rest home', where the residents are dead people who are software simulations. His job is to get the residents ('spooks') to 'break their loops'. Since the spooks can be whatever they want, most of them are now very good at singing, dancing, diving or playing tennis and don't want to do anything else. His job is to be the 'spoke in the wheel' and jog them out of their loops and do other things. While at work, he becomes fascinated by one particular spook who appears to be really stuck. But in the end, whose loop is bring broken depends on your point of view on life and death.

• Read from Analog SF, July-August 2005 issue