True to his word, in just a few minutes the lab door beeped, and Brick came stomping in, looking around for Alexander. He was nothing like Alexander had pictured. Roughly 6’4”, he was tall and lean, but with obvious muscle. The kind you get from hard physical labor, not from a gym. He had jet black hair and looked to be of Puerto Rican descent. He took a moment to look suspiciously at the pod across the room, then continued his scan until he noticed the conference room and Alexander stepping into the doorway. His smile stretched from ear to ear, and in two big steps he was lifting Alexander into a bear hug. “Alexander! Good to finally meet ya! Been a long time coming, bud.”
Alexander thumped him on the back a couple times, then wheezed, “Good to meet you too, buddy! And if you put me down, I’ll introduce you to our druidess.”
The large man dropped him, looking a bit sheepish. “Sorry, I forget sometimes”. Then his smile returned immediately as Sasha stepped forward, and another giant hug ensued.
“I’m happy to meet you too, Brick, but you’re squishing me!” Sasha grunted as Brick set her down. “Thank you.”
“He did the same to me in the lobby,” Max’s familiar voice said. “Right in front of the lovely Melanie here, and Bethany the smoking hot receptionist. It was embarrassing!” Max held out a hand for Alexander to shake. He was a stocky black man, roughly 5’6” with a muscled body and a completely shaved head that reflected the light above. Alexander shook his hand, then brought him in for a one-armed hug. Much less enthusiastic than Brick’s.
“Glad to meet you Max. I’m sorry it took so long.”
Max winked at him and said, “Get me Bethany’s phone number, and all is forgiven, my friend!” which caused Melanie to giggle.
“It wouldn’t do you any good, you scoundrel,” Sasha said as she stepped forward to hug Max. “As soon as we get upstairs, I’m warning her about you!”
Max just laughed and gave Sasha a big hug. “C’mon, you wouldn’t do that to me! Would you?” He looked at Melanie. “Would she?” Melanie giggled again.
Alexander waived them into the meeting room, where he introduced his father and Lainey to Max and Brick. Then they all took their seats. Richard took control of the room.
“Thank you, Mr. Lopez, Mr. Thomas, for coming here on such short notice,” he began.
“Call me Brick. My father is Mr. Lopez,” Brick said.
“Max” was all Max said. Short and to the point.
“Very well, Brick. Max. Let me start by assuring you that you did indeed win a prize, each of you. Though I’m sure you’ve both realized that is not the only reason you’re here. But first things first. Let’s take care of a little business, then I will leave you all to get caught up. That big egg thing you saw as you entered the room is called an immersion pod. It’s a prototype virtual reality device that allows full immersion into VR games like Io, which you have been playing with my son.”
“I knew it! Max you owe me 10 gold!” Brick pumped a fist in the air, nearly striking the ceiling. “I told him you were THAT Alexander Greystone.” Brick beamed at Alexander.
“Knew it all along,” said Max with one of his famous winks.
“Yes, well. As I was saying,” Richard continued, “the two of you, as well as Sasha, have earned the opportunity to become beta testers for our immersion pods for the next year. Should you accept, you will each be given one of these pods, which we will either install in your homes, or in one of our facilities near your homes. Your choice. Further, we are offering each of you the use of corporate housing while you are a Jupiter Technologies employee. We have facilities available here on the compound, or in several locations in the city. The position comes with a salary of $150,000, with the usual health insurance and benefits. There is also the opportunity for bonuses based on performance. The contract is for a period of one year, during which time you will be participating in extended immersion tests. Your sessions in the pod will begin at one day, then two, then a week, and so forth.”
Max opened his mouth to ask a question, but Richard held up a hand to stop him, “Please, hold your questions. We will explain to you all the details after I’m done.” Max nodded for him to continue.
“There’s blue slime!” Sasha blurted out! She instantly looked embarrassed. Brick look confused.
“Yes. We’ll get to the blue slime soon enough,” Richard chuckled. “Now, during this beta test, you will be required to undergo regular medical examinations and monitoring to see how the duration of the immersions affects your health. You’ll also be required to report on your experiences after each immersion, report any bugs, and so forth. You’ll also be required to sign non-disclosure agreements which will include stiff penalties if you discuss the equipment or the beta test with anyone outside our own staff, or those in this room. Was that clear to everyone?” Everyone at the table nodded their heads. “Ok then, questions. Max?”
“How are we supposed to stay in game for several days or weeks?” Max asked.
“Very good question. I’ll let Alexander and Melanie fill you in on the specifics. But in general, the pods use a gel system, Sasha’s ‘blue slime’ to support your body, provide muscle stimulation to prevent atrophy, and dispose of all bodily wastes while you are in immersion. Further, there’s a feeding tube that provide a high nutrient paste that will more than sustain you during long test periods. And a newly invented neural interface net that will greatly improve your game experience. Does that answer your question sufficiently?”
“Sounds a little creepy,” Max replied.
“Icky!” this came from Sasha. Again.
“But yes, sir. That answers my question.”
“Good. Any other questions, Max? Brick? Anyone?” Richard waited patiently while they thought it over.
Brick raised his hand, and seeing Richard smile at him, said, “I have two questions. First, if I choose this company housing deal, can my family come live with me?”
“I’m afraid not,” Richard said. “The pod and its technology are top secret, and we must limit knowledge of them to those directly involved. You won’t even be able to tell your family about it, let alone have them see it. I’m sorry.”
“Fair enough,” Brick said. “Second question. You’re paying us a salary? How often do we get paid? Oh! And, can we still sell the loot we get in the auction house?”
“You will be paid every two weeks, just like all of our employees. We can deposit the funds directly into any account, or accounts, you specify. Bonuses will be awarded on a quarterly basis, Mr. Lopez. Sorry, Brick. Let me just say that I’m fully aware that you are supporting a large family, and I admire that. I would never try to make it more difficult for you to do so. In fact, I think with this new interface, your group will be able to tackle more difficult fights with ease, and thus generate more loot drops. Between those loot sales, the salary, and the potential for bonuses, I believe your family will be able to live quite comfortably.” Brick nodded thoughtfully.
“Ok then, any other questions?” He waited politely, but no further questions came. After a minute or so, he sat back in his chair. “Good, then. Let me just say that you are here today in no small part because of the friendship you have shown my son. I have had the good fortune to work side by side with one of my best friends for the last twenty years, and I put a high value on true friendship, so I hope you will both consider my offer seriously and that we get the chance to work together. I’ll leave you to get better acquainted and to discuss things for a while. Alexander, when you need me, just tell Heimdall”. Richard rose from his seat and headed toward the door.
“Oh! And I forgot to mention one more important thing. The immersion. Our testers reported the sensations of being in game in the pod as being ‘more real than real’. In fact, it created a bit of a disconnect, or a lag if you will, in the control reactions. Mainly because they were still trying to ‘button push’ as we like to call it. Meaning they were trying to use the old interface method of focusing their eyes on a skill to launch it. With the ne
w interface, you need only think it. Just like with your real life body. The reactions will be instantaneous. We had to create all new code to allow for the speed of the neural feedback and the sensory input from the pod, which now includes more realistic taste and smell. When you first log in there will be what we call a syncing period. The game will instruct you to move about, talk, think of certain things, and ask you a series of questions. All the while the neural net will be learning all it can about you and your real life abilities and knowledge. Then it will generate a new character creation venue for you in which you will find starting stats that may provide you some surprising bonuses. Because of this new interface, and the possibility of new skills and attributes available, I’m afraid you’ll have to start your characters at level one. However, you will be able to log in normally before then and to store all your existing gear and treasures in your fancy new guild house, which you will also retain, along with all your reputations. You will also retain the crafting abilities and skills learned by your existing characters.”
And with that, he left the room full of shocked faces. All except Lainey, who just looked thoughtful.
“Did he just say we’ll have to start over at level one?” Max half mumbled to himself.
“Screw that! I’m not givin up me new shield fer no big fancy job!” Brick’s massive hand slammed down on the defenseless table. He was so upset about his beloved shield he’d fallen into his character’s speech pattern.
“Yeah, that’s a new twist,” Alexander confirmed. “But relax buddy. He did say we can keep all our stuff. Store it at the guild house. And the way Dad and Michael designed Io, the gear isn’t level specific. Meaning you can use your fancy shield at level one, or, as soon as you have the strength to lift it. I have a feeling the stats will scale down at lower levels, but it won’t take THAT long to level back up. Especially since it’ll be our JOBS to play. We’d be in game for days and weeks straight.”
“Fair point, Alexander,” Max said. “But wouldn’t it be OUR jobs, not yours? I didn’t hear your dad offering to pay you to play. And why didn’t you tell us your dad was the big boss of the game?”
“Yeah, about that. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys. I didn’t want you to start calling me rich boy, or treating me any different.” Alexander hung his head. “As for the jobs, no I won’t be getting paid to play. I’m playing for another reason.” He paused to take a deep breath and consider the best way to explain his situation. He was tired. This had already been a long day.
Just do it. Get it all out in the open. Right now.
Lainey put a hand on Alexander’s shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. Sasha reached out and took his hand in both of hers, while simultaneously giving both Brick and Max and look that told them to behave or she’d cut parts off of them.
“I guess you could say I’m playing for my health,” Alexander began. “When I was eleven I was diagnosed with NDS, which is Neuromuscular Degenerative Syndrome. I won’t go into the details now, but basically it means my brain is eating itself, or specifically the parts that control all my muscles. I don’t move so well in real life anymore. Lainey here, she’s my nurse and my physical trainer. She’s family. And she has taken care of me every day for years now. I found out today that my dad has been working since I was diagnosed to find a way to extend my life. He and his research teams have developed a drug that has slowed down my condition, so I’m not getting worse nearly so quickly as I was. That pod out there, that was developed as a way to teach my brain to make new connections, find new ways to control my muscles. Well, not just mine, anymore. This could help millions of people.”
Alexander leaned back in his chair, giving his friends some time to absorb and react. Sasha squeezed his hand, and was uncharacteristically quiet.
“So, you’re dying? Or, you’ve been dying, the whole time we’ve known you?” Brick was the first to ask after nearly a minute of silence.
“Yeah, buddy. Yes to both. Though I’m not dying as quickly now, apparently. The way this works is I lose muscle control bit by bit. My arms and legs get weaker, I move slower. It gets harder to breathe. Eventually I’ll need a wheelchair to move around. There’s no specific order to it, but next might be loss of speech, or the ability to swallow. After a while I’ll be like Stephen Hawking, in a chair full time, communicating via my eyes or tongue movements. Being that my heart is my largest muscle, eventually it will stop, too.”
“NO!” Brick shouted. Jumped up from his chair and pacing back and forth. “NO! We ain’t gonna let that happen! It ain’t fair! You’re my brother Alex. You can’t… just…” at a loss for words, the tall man slid down a wall, sitting on the floor and bowing his head.
“How… long do you have?” Max asked very quietly. The look on his face and Brick’s obvious pain crushed Alexander’s resolve. He couldn’t bring himself to speak.
“We expect Alexander’s going to live for several years yet,” Lainey took over for him. “His symptoms have already slowed due to the effects of the drugs he’s taking. With the potential improvement from the pod, years might extend into decades. We just don’t know yet. And his father’s teams are still actively working to cure him.”
“Damn right they are!” Brick was up on his feet again, looking ready to fight something. Anything. “Your dad’s got more money than the pope. If anyone can cure you, it’s gonna be him! He’ll invent you some kind of super suit like Iron Man! You’ll be the goddamned Crippled Avenger!” Realizing what he’d just said, his face fell. “Aw, shit. Sorry man. I didn’t mean to say that. I’m a fucking idiot.”
Alexander was about to tell him it was ok, but was distracted as Sasha got up and ran at Brick. The large man, nearly twice her size, cringed a little as she approached, dreading the beat-down she was about to lay on him. Instead, Sasha grabbed him and hugged him tight. “Yes, you are. You’re a huge idiot. But you’re our idiot, and you meant well.” Her voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper. “I didn’t find out until Alexander and I were both 15. I was so pissed at him, I hit him. I kinda lost it, and hit him more than a little.”
“It was a LOT. I had bruises.” Alexander smiled at her, and winked at Max.
“Shut up stupid, let me talk.” she said, still holding on to Brick. “It took me awhile to get used to the idea of losing him. Even if he is an asshole most of the time. He’s my family. Just like Lainey. Just like you and Max.” At that, everyone was silent, not knowing what to say.
“So like I said before, I’ll be playing for my health. But also, because if I can show, if WE can show that these pods are effective, and that they’re safe for the kind of long term immersion that people like me would need in order to help fix themselves, then I have to do it. I know this is a lot to put on you guys, on top of everything else today, but I really hope you’ll consider doing this with me. It… it wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Shit, man. Really?” Max leaned back in his chair and looked at Alexander. “You’re gonna hit us with a fucking ‘win one for the Gipper’ speech?”
Everyone just stared at Max, shocked at his response. Max glared at Alexander for a few seconds, before his poker face failed and he broke into a grin. Then a wink at Sasha.
“BAAAHAHAHA!” Brick’s laughter was like a cleanser, washing away the stress in the room.
“As soon as we get back in the game, I’m stabbing you in your sleep,” Sasha tried her best to look angry. Max gave her his best mock-terrified look.
“So… you guys aren’t mad at me?” Alexander sounded hopeful.
“Well, Sasha’s right. You are kind of an asshole for not telling us all this sooner. But no, I’m not mad at you.” Max replied. Brick’s answer was much more straightforward. He just picked Alexander up out of his chair and hugged him. Gently.
“Alexander, is that large man from the lobby assaulting you?” Heimdall’s voice drifted through the intercom. Brick put him back down very carefully, as if he would shatter.
“No Heimdall. Everythi
ng is fine. But keep an eye on him for me, will you?” Alexander winked at Brick, who muttered about friggin ghosts in the machine.
“Thank you guys. I mean it. I’ve been worried about this day for so long; in my head it always went horribly wrong. You’re better friends than I could ask for.”
“Just remember that next time we’re dividing up the loot!” Brick grinned. So did everyone else.
“Ok. So let me play little rich kid for a moment, and take care of some business.” Alexander said, looking around the table. “Brick, let’s start with you. I know you have your mom and siblings to look after. I’m sorry we can’t install a pod at your house-”
Brick interrupted him, “Stop right there, dude. Are you seriously sweatin’ that? There are 6 of us livin’ in a tiny two bedroom shack. Me moving out will just give the rest of them more space. With the salary plus the income from loot, I can maybe get them into a decent neighborhood. At least for a while. And I can visit them when I’m not in the pod.”
Very relieved, Alexander shook Brick’s hand. “My dad didn’t mention this. But I’m sure we can make it so you can declare them all as your dependents and include them in your health care coverage. We have the best available.”
The Greystone Chronicles: Book One: Io Online Page 11
