by Travis Borne
Inside was a grand circular room. Dimly lit in a sunken central area, there were—beds. There are lots of…beds? What? The ceiling stretched high like a circus tent, way higher than one actually. The cone-shaped interior went at least eighty feet up. I’m actually inside the great wall, she thought while spinning about, realizing now why it bulged out such as it does. Awe left her jaw hanging and curiosity energized her from toes to brain with a tingling sensation that made every hair on her body stand up.
Technology themed the area to her left, lining at least a third of the room’s cylindrical wall. Lit panels, controls, and myriad screens adorned it and there were four people spread out at various workstations: opposites near, twins afar.
They’re all watching me.
They had paused their work and seemed just as eager as she was. The large man that’d passed her earlier was placing the handicapped girl on a bed, and many of the other beds already supported people, sleeping people! Thirty beds encircled the center of the room in pairs around a tall cylindrical beam. Encircling it were several vertical lines of tiny white lights flashing in a sequential upward motion. The beam, like a colossal jousting spear, was ten feet in diameter at its base and soared into the constricting shape of the ceiling, stabbing the top. It towered, near the height of the wall itself, and the flowing lights gently lit the space for as high as could be seen. Near eye level, circular bands of color enwrapped it. They seemed to indicate status; a bright green band near the top was illuminated. The bottommost band was red, above that, yellow. At the top, more distant from the green, was another unlit purple band. Bound cables were strewn outward from its base and visible through the pristine glass floor supporting the sleepers. The wires snaked to each pair of linked beds.
A black man in a white lab coat stepped forward from behind. “Hello again, Amy. Welcome to the broadcast room.” He rolled his hand outward at the room. “I was hoping to be able to walk you here but you beat me. A little early I see, anxious perhaps?”
Amy remembered him from testing. He was tall and slender, patchy bald with white hair on the sides. She especially remembered seeing the horrific scarring on the back of his head. But, such a nice man and his gentle voice set her at ease.
“The entire facility is dedicated to supporting this one room. You look quite surprised. I will say, that is to be expected.”
“I—I was expecting—” She looked around for another door. Perhaps one that led to another bay—with some flyers. There was a supply closet with brooms and boxes to her right. There were bathrooms in the back, a kitchen—bah. Ugh, and more exercise stuff. No flying ships or portal to the outside and this room surely fills the capacity of the bulge.
“I hope we didn’t let you down,” Ted said, smiling, interpreting her gaze. Amy shook her head. “Well, I think we have a few surprises in store for you. But, we haven’t been properly introduced. My name is Theodore Newell and I work closely with the lenders here. You can call me Ted. I’m in charge of this room. I work under our head director, Mr. Enrique Lopez, who approved your enlistment.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Ted,” Amy said, putting out her hand to meet his shake. “And yes. I do have a lot of questions, and, I notice I feel a little weird.”
The door opened again and he entered. Amy recognized him from the picture on her initiation report. It closed, then almost immediately after, opened again. A petite blond with a figure that looked like it had been sculpted to perfection, came in accompanied by a dark and slender, athletic-looking man. They headed to the kitchen. Both gave Amy a small, quick smile then returned their heads into the air. They had tighter uniforms, which accentuated their perfect figures.
Jim stepped up. He looks younger than his picture, she thought. And surely stronger. Their eyes met, and for the first time she felt a little shy. His skin was smooth and lightly tanned, and flawless, and his hair was thick—very, very handsome.
“Good morning, Jim,” Ted said.
“Hey, Ted. And you must be Amy,” he bowed slightly, putting a hand out. “A pleasure to finally meet you.”
“Hi—Jim,” she stuttered. “It’s—very nice to meet you, too.”
“Jim, please join us if you would.” Ted intervened by gently putting an arm around Amy. “Let’s take a little walk around and I’ll explain a few basics about the room. Jim will be doing a whole lot of explaining once we get you logged in. You will be working closely with him for a while. Oh, and yes, the lights in that hallway work in conjunction with the vitamin you took for breakfast. Also, the floor pads emit a special vibration, and there’s a binaural beat melody. It all helps you—get ready for work. But more on that later.”
The good-looking couple descended the steps toward a pair of beds. They mounted, got comfortable, and closed their eyes. A moment later a set of blue glowing orbs rose up from the sides. The light extinguished to a degree as the devices rested against their temples. Sleep? What in the… The attention thief stole her focus. Amy was noticeably puzzled as both Ted and Jim watched her gaze upon—the login procedure.
Ted managed to retrieve her attention and slowly they continued the stroll. The sections were divided like a huge pizza pie. A walkway encircled the entire room a few steps beyond the sleeping area that was surrounded by intermittent glass partitions. They were already at the first section, and largest slice: the tech center. Screens plastered the walls, information scrolled, graphs fluctuated. There were illuminated diagrams of the human body, and various scenes of the world as it once was. A sign above read: B.R.O.C.C.
“This is the Broadcast Room Operations Control Center,” Ted said. “We simply call it the BROCC.” Amy’s eyes widened at the scope of it all.
It was being managed by only four workers. They wore the same white uniform of a tech. Highly advanced, she thought, especially compared to the town outside which has zero technology! Her imagination delivered flashes of flying saucers, aliens, and new story ideas grew like branches on trees during springtime.
“The screens look like you could just reach inside, so clear,” Amy said.
“Yes, they are quite useful,” Ted said, nodding humbly. The two techs at the beginning smiled, pausing work again to give Amy a welcome as she passed. She recognized the contrasting duo from Saturday’s testing. They’d been standing up, motioning; information on the screen changed according to their hand and finger gestures. The two others at the far end did seated work, but occasionally reached up to make similar gestures. One held a portable screen.
Continuing along, they neared the middle of the tech area. A bulbous-bottomed table at least ten feet across divided the space in two. Amy’s jaw dropped, she hustled over and began walking around it slowly. She inspected the detailed scenes it was generating, squinting to see further within; it was as detailed, more perhaps, than real life itself. A curved wall about twelve feet in length by four feet tall, had partially hidden this wonder from view. Had she seen it first she might not have bothered with thoughts of piloting a flyer!
“We call this the HAT. Kind of resembles one, doesn’t it? An easy acronym for hologram table.”
But she thought it looked like the flying saucer that had snuck into her imagination moments earlier. She didn’t speak, couldn’t. As Ted neared, the hologram emanated energy as a brilliant dome revealing a tropical island paradise. He explained how the table was used to monitor every person logged in to the system. He moved closer and nudged a control; there were many in grouped sections around its flat ledge but only one set was brightly lit. The zoom level changed taking the view further inside. Amy leaned closer. She could see people inside conversing and relaxing. She saw seagulls in the sky and waves crashing on the beach. She wanted to reach in and touch, but managed, barely, to control herself. Two people were highlighted in white and relaxing on beach chairs. Something relatively small behind them was illuminated in red. The rest of the few beach goers were highlighted in varying shades of blues and greens. Any that were closer to the two bathed in white emitted a brighter green; t
hose farther away, blue, darker depending on the relative distance. Ted spun the flat edge like Saturn’s rings and activated another set of grouped controls. The scene changed views: a desert canyon.
“This is amazing. There’s a whole world in there,” Amy said. “No one in town knows about any of this!”
“For good reason,” Ted said. “You will soon learn a lot.”
He continued to explain the various sections of the broadcast room. The next pie-sliced section of the room was a resting place. It had several comfortable recliners, a couch, a large 3D screen on the wall displaying harmonious scenes and sounds, a kitchen, countertops and tables, and a fridge. It was dimly lit except for the kitchen area. The next slice was a fitness room containing various stretching machines, a few mats, and a water dispenser. Entrance to the bathroom was inside this area. Continuing full circle, they passed a door marked with a wooden sign engraved with a name: TED. And Ted explained it was his personal office and living area. Next to it was the supply room which Amy had already seen, then back to the entrance door to finish the walk.
All the while, others had been arriving in pairs, heading to the beds, and repeating the odd procedure she’d witnessed. Contrarily, others awoke. One couple headed to the bathrooms together. They waved to Amy, obviously wanting to introduce themselves.
“…in time, after this introduction. We’re a family here, and you’ll soon get to know everyone.” Ted noticed how easily she became distracted.
Continuing with the tour they took one of the four paths that descended downward into the dimly lit sleeping area. Ted put a finger to his mouth, expressing the importance of silence, then waved a hand, gesturing at the many beds encircling the central pillar. The broadcast spike, he called it. He made a number two count with his fingers and pointed to her, then Jim, then two beds. Jim looked at her with a smile, and her to him, bashfully. Then Ted whispered, “This is where you will log in. Welcome, Amy, to the Lender Program.”
“What is this LENDER stuff?” Amy asked aloud. Jim hunched his head like a turtle and Ted hushed her, shaking his head with a mellow smile. Then he waved for her to follow him and they went up to the kitchen in the break room.
Ted had explained about every section of the broadcast room but he hadn't explained what she would be doing, no one had. She wasn’t the most patient person; she looked like she was ready to jump up and down to get the ants out of her pants or run wild. He noticed how puzzled she was. “I’m sorry, Amy, but we must be very quiet down there, and still somewhat quiet up here. We can’t have anyone waking up unexpectedly. Now, I know you want to know everything, and you will soon. I’ll leave you with Jim and he will be your guide. Jim is our top lender and you’re in very good hands. Now, how about we get started right away, are you ready?”
Ready for what? Go to sleep so you can suck out my brains! she thought. “Yeah—sure,” she said instead.
“You’ll do just fine, nothing to worry about.” Ted smiled and headed back to the tech area. She glanced at the back of his head, wondering how he’d gotten such horrible scars. Wincing slightly, she turned to Jim. Her thoughts were again beginning to soar. She imagined war, Ted as a young man running in a battle, and drones shooting at him. Jim noticed her eyes go crossed and she jiggled her head.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s just my thoughts—ever since I took that pill.”
“Ah, right. I’m going to be straight with you, Amy, and I will explain things. But first I like to do a few stretches before we log in together. Come on, follow me.” He motioned for her to follow and headed to the stretching area. He mounted the first machine and started right away. “You don’t want to cramp up, not while you're in there. If you get cramps you might want to do a—”
“Sleep?” Amy blurted, interrupting him. She turned to see the people in the beds. “Are we going to sleep? All of this just to lie down and go to sleep?” Perplexed, her face expressed both confusion and anger. She thought of the testing day. Sleeping all day, not even a dream. No fun in this! She wanted to travel, pilot a super-duper-fast flyer, or have any type of adventure—somewhere—anywhere! “The science aspect is cool, sure. But I do not want to sleep, or lie down, or anything of the sort—come on, Jim.”
He only smiled. He could tell she was curious about the world, that she wanted to know what’d she’d been kept in the dark about, what he knew.
“I was hoping to explore, or have an adventure,” Amy continued, but quieter. “Especially with the rumors I’ve heard about this place, and how I was so lucky to be a part of it.”
He just continued stretching with plenty of patience, waiting for his turn to sneak in a word. He clicked another notch on the leg stretcher he’d lodged himself into; he was actually enjoying this, in a funny sort of way.
Amy calmed, and with a flat smile mimicked his laid-back attitude. She worked herself into a machine and pretended to know what she was doing. Jim released a laugh. She looks funny on it, he thought, his own mind whirling from the stuff he’d taken. She rode it backwards and was trying to force it the wrong way.
“Wait, like th—” He tried to explain, then gave up. Ah, forget it. And he laughed inside his mind. “I know, I have a lot of explaining to do. But, you just might get that adventure you were searching for after all—” He hesitated, letting out a breath, stopping his routine. “—Follow me, how about we get right to it then?” He exited, neglecting to finish his sets. He knew Amy was overly anxious, and his own eagerness had gotten the best of him. He was curious. He’d looked forward to this day, like many others, for a long time.
He helped her step out of the machine—which she had herself virtually trapped in—and with a hand flattened in front of her, waited. She slowly gave her hand, then they walked toward a pair of beds.
“Just lie down and relax,” he whispered. “Watch me, it’s easy.” Amy climbed atop hers and looked over at him, attentive to his every move. He laid his arms straight at his sides and positioned himself, accommodating and relaxing, briefly squirming for a comfortable spot. “You should already be very relaxed after that blast of delta waves from the motion path. Take any position you want but keep your head positioned in the center of the blue pad. Those lights pulse at a frequency that will relax you even more. Focus on them for a minute if you’d like. I think it should help, this being your first time.” Jim wasn’t looking at the lights, he had his head turned slightly so he could see her. “When you're comfortable repeat quietly just like this—” He closed his eyes and straightened his head. “—director, Jim to log in.”
Two circular lights arose, one from each side of her bed and illuminated with a soft blue glow. Her head petrified itself but her eyes danced from side to side, wondering. The glowing light faded as the devices gently touched her temples. The sensation they emitted was warm and numbing. She closed her eyes. A sense of calming relaxation flooded over her and all traces of the nervousness she had faded into oblivion.
“Director…Amy to log in.” In less than ten seconds, she was asleep.
13. Beach Outbreak
She awoke on a white beach chair under a warm yellow sun. The sky was vivid blue and unlike that in the real world, speckled with clouds. Gently moving palms provided slatted shade and a humid breeze went through her hair like a damp comb. She felt at ease, well rested with morning eyes like that of a toddler after a nap, but glued to the wooden rungs of the chair as if meshed with them. And things were fuzzy. The world was paint daubs, but changing, assembling!
Clarity snapped. Pulling herself apart from the wood, she sat and turned to the side, then playfully worked wiggling toes into the gritty white sand. Jim appeared behind her on another chair. He stretched with a groan and she turned to see.
“Jim. Where…are we?” The beauty of her surroundings had her unable to concentrate on any one thing. Her head floated in every direction as she tried to absorb the totality of what she was witnessing. “I’ve never been to a place like this. The ocean, it’s a
live. Look at the waves, they really do roll.” The water oozed up the shore then back out again, and a team of noisy gulls flew by overhead.
“Amy,” Jim said, holding two hands out flat as if to say, take it easy. He didn’t want to ignite anxiety or panic—a real and terrible possibility. “We are inside the world of a dream, together. We call this world a map, and it is one of many.”
She plucked her burrowing feet out of the sand. She looked closely at her hands. She looked at the lines in her palms. “It’s just like real life! My body is the same—except for my right arm. It’s, it’s changed!” She found herself completely enthralled. She reached down to grab a handful of sand and rubbed the glassy grains between her thumb and fingers then flung the rest into the breeze. Entranced, she now focused on the fine details.
Jim just watched, somewhat nervously.
“My hair, it’s so—” She ran all ten fingers through her curls and flung her head around like the girls in those old magazine ads—although her hair wasn’t nearly as long. And the largest wave yet rushed up the shore. Whoosh! It charged a salty breeze that activated all of her senses.
Jim relaxed his face. Relief. She showed no signs of anxiety or nervousness and right away took to the world like a pro. She started testing the environment, then exploded: jumping and skipping, doing cartwheels and spins on the cool, hard-packed sand. Then she stopped as if hit with a freeze ray and inspected some seashells. Everything was a lure. With a huge gleaming smile she pushed on toward the ocean. Then she stopped, ankles in, marveling at it with both arms raised.
The water was vacuumed away. “Ooh, it tickles,” she said, as it rushed back. She wore jeans that were sloppily cut off above the knees—one side higher than the other—and a yellow tee shirt, and she inspected herself. “These are clothes I actually had once, yet, they look brand new again.” She took a cautious step farther out. “It feels, real, Jim! And not, too cold.”
Jim rolled up his pants after kicking off his shoes, and joined her. He scrutinized her actions and shared in her excitement. It made him feel happy again, drug-free happy. He probed for changes, looking for the big deal. The resort—he’d been here hundreds of times—was empty, as it should be. The sky, same, sand, same, no differences.
