After using the facilities, which it turned out were around the corner and just out of sight of the front entrance, we proceeded to the elevators located nearby. The placement of the elevators and bathroom made me feel that the building didn’t have a closed door policy, but it didn’t want tourists inside either. Stepping into the elevator, I looked up as I awaited our voyage into the air. So it was a bit of a shock to my system when the elevator started going down. And it went down for several floors.
“Didn’t even know this building had basement floors,” I said to Dylan.
“Well the equipment we are using is newer than what you are used to, and the climate controls necessary for the number of units negated using the upper floors. Don’t worry Alex, the area is safe. I’m guessing you aren’t claustrophobic, what with wearing a pod for hours on end each day.”
The elevator stopped and I smiled and responded, “Wasn’t when I got here. I’ll let you know at the end of the day.”
Dylan chuckled at my joke as we walked into a large open area. I expected to see cubicles and offices. But none of that was here. This was a workshop, plain and simple. And what I saw wasn’t computing at all. There were rows of what looked like coffins set up on the floor. There had to be at least a hundred of them. The only other thing in the room was a set of chairs, a podium, and a holo-projector sitting on the podium.
“Dylan…. remember how you told me not to worry. Well what I am seeing here, buddy, is causing me to worry.”
Dylan laughed again and there was no malice in the sound. It honestly put me a little at ease. I was expecting him to begin cackling like some old school Bond villain. He could see the concern in my eyes though, and his empathy kicked in. Definitely psychology degree.
“I understand Alex, we don’t tell people what to expect because what we are designing here is state of the art and next generation. Yours’s is not the first group to come through here and there will be two more groups after you. After you sit down with your colleagues and hear the presentation, I promise you,” waving his arm out over the large open area “all of this will make total and complete sense.”
“How about we just get me some coffee, and then we can go from there.”
* * *
True to form, Dylan avoided my offer for coffee. His excuse was indeed well played, using my own reason for turning me down; he didn’t want to have to leave and use the bathroom in the middle of the presentation. I was impressed.
The rest of the group showed up and all in all there were eight of us. I don’t know if you have ever seen eight introverts, when no one knows each other, standing around a room. But I can tell you it is a sight to behold. No one can entertain themselves better than an introvert. Period. It was for this reason that before the session began, we were all forced to introduce ourselves to the other members of our “team.”
I forgot everyone’s name soon after they said it, and made the mental note to meet everyone again to solidify who they were. But before I could begin the rounds again, the holo-projector turned on and an avatar appeared. I say avatar because it was obvious this individual was not real. Mostly because they were an elf. A high-elf to be exact. Anyone who has ever seen those old Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movies, can tell you what a high-elf looks like, but for the 1 percent out there that haven’t, they are tall, light skinned people. Usually with blonde or white hair, and are always amazingly attractive. And of course, they have pointy elf ears. That’s usually what gives it away.
“Good Morning and welcome to AltCon. Please take a seat, all of you,” the avatar said.
We all began milling around and looking for where to sit. As you can guess, we introverts quickly came up with how to divide the seats so that there was maximum distance between all of us. The avatar spoke during our sauntering toward the chairs, “hurry now, we have a long day and we mustn’t waste precious time.” As soon as the last butt was in the chair, the avatar began again.
“I realize you must think this to be a pre-recorded message. That after certain amounts of time I will just move on to the next topic. That is not the case. My name is Victoria and I am being projected from within Resurgence, to you. This is me in the game.” The explanation sounded plausible, but life like constructs from within virtual reality were often more pixilated and twitchy. Victoria was smooth and you would have thought she were real if you couldn’t make out a bit of the details of the wall behind her translucent form. So I was guessing she was still pre-recorded.
“Mr. Stanton, would you like a cup holder for your coffee?”
On second thought, yeah, she’s real.
“Thank you Victoria, but I’m good with holding it. The temperature is a bit arctic down here and I am using the cup to keep my hands warm.”
Victoria gave a good chuckle and continued, “Yes, the temperature is a bit south of what you are used to above ground. The reason is those containers you see behind you. During your initial interviews you were told that our new AI and means for bringing the game to the consumer is why we wanted discreet testers. Behind you are the new means. Say hello to the very first fully immersive virtual pods.”
Every head turned. And almost as if choreographed, every one of us began to get out of our chairs toward the pods. Victoria laughed again and said, “Stay seated. There will be ample time to check out the new pods. It’s the same reaction with every group.” We all sat back down and were now way more interested in what Victoria had to say.
As I mentioned earlier, pod-heads were forced to wear tactile augmentation devices like gloves, boots, or suits in order to experience the sense of feeling. The suits were so packed with electronics that heat transfer was always a problem. Many people died of heat stroke due to staying too long in a virt-suit. But a self-contained pod could work. The issue was cost. However, AltCon had the type of money for R&D and production to make it possible. I wasn’t glancing over at a pipe dream in some guy’s garage. This was likely the real deal.
Over the next hour Victoria explained our contract, with a lengthy discussion about the Non-Disclosure Agreement we would be signing before leaving the room. Even if we chose not to take part in the Beta testing, we would be required to sign the NDA. However, the look on everyone’s face told me that no one would be leaving until they got the opportunity to test out the new pods. Additional time was spent detailing the salary we would each be receiving, and I could tell that everyone was happy with this arrangement as well. Truthfully, we all just wanted to get into one of the VRACs (Virtual Reality Augmentation Container), or what Victoria simply called “the RACs.”
“For the next portion of the session here, a technician will take you over and hook you up to the RAC. We will meet in a VR space and you will be able to see the next level of VR technology that we are bringing to bear to use on this game. Please go with your technician now.”
My technician led me over to my RAC and opened the lid. She showed me all of the controls from the outside, explaining how to load the game you want to play. At this point in time there were only two programs that could be accessed; Orientation and Resurgence Beta. She also showed me the internal controls, indicating the emergency release on the left side and the cancel download switch on the right. During the explanation, others were bringing over folded screens that were being set up around each person’s VRAC. The reason for this became obvious after only a few minutes when I realized that I would not be able to use the RAC while wearing all of my clothes.
“Look, I’m just going to say this. I get the reason for no clothes. But what about when I need to, you know, go number 1?” I asked the attendant.
“Oh you definitely aren’t the first to ask that question!” she said. “It’s all very simple. The VRAC is a self-cleaning, self-sanitizing system with an internal waste removal system. The bottom line is, you can just pee till your heart is content and you never have to worry about it. Now for the other thing, you know, number 2, we don’t have anything in place for that. And that would likely require some
sort of connection to your body in order to process that. So we would have to insert a...”
“I get it! I gotta get out for the 2!” I stopped her from continuing.
“Right. In that case you would simply log out and exit the pod and then log back in when all is done. Additionally, the RAC will monitor your hydration levels and provide fluids when necessary. Your RAC will be calibrated specifically to your body, so it will know how to optimize the level of hydration in your body so you don’t need to go all that often. Our tests have run eight hour stints on a subject without having to urinate once during that time and exiting the pod at a perfect level of hydration and ph. Finally, nutrients will be provided through the hydration system to make certain you aren’t suffering from hunger either. You will still need to eat, and this is why we don’t recommend staying in the virtual environment for longer than eight hours.”
“What will happen after eight hours?”
“Nothing will happen after eight hours. But after 12 hours you will be given a notification of the dangerous situation you are putting yourself in, and after 16 hours your RAC will shut down. No matter what. And it won’t start back up for another 24 hours.”
This was all good information to know since many a gamer was known to spend more than 16 hours in the virtual world if they were in the middle of something they deemed to be important enough.
“So I will always have the same RAC when I return on site for the testing?” I asked.
“What? No! You will be doing all of the Beta testing from the comforts of your own home in your RAC,” she responded.
“Wait. What do you mean, ‘my RAC?’ I can’t afford one of these things.”
“Oh, this part comes later in the orientation, but all of you will get your own RAC and a specialist to come to your home to retrofit your space to offset the electrical needs and temperature controls. Part of the bonus for full completion of your contract is getting to keep your RAC.”
I was flabbergasted. I couldn’t imagine a sweeter deal in my entire life. I kept looking for the loophole, the one thing that would make me want to walk away, but I couldn’t find it. I went over the instruments one more time before stripping down and getting into the RAC. The bed liner was soft and pliable, like a gel, and I was told it was full of millions of nano-sensors/emitters that would allow me to feel all over stimulation. Before disrobing, I was also shown where my fluid dispenser was for when I did need to hydrate.
I shut the lid for my RAC and immediately a prompt came up in front of me that said “Download Beginning….0%.” As I sat there the bar moved quickly from 0 to 100 and I was transported to a grey room with my other teammates. And when I say transported, think of when the Millennium Falcon goes into hyperdrive. The lines that form. That’s what it looked like right before I found myself in the grey room, wearing a simple grey jumpsuit. And most surprisingly, everyone else was there and they all looked like themselves.
Faces are difficult in the VR world. It’s one of the reasons that we use avatars. Avatars can be programmed to make certain faces and will look a certain way. But what I was seeing in front of me were my teammates and they were all telling each other to make faces. This alone could make AltCon a fortune. It was good luck that Victoria arrived soon after because two of the guys kept pinching each other all over their bodies and asking, “Seriously, you can feel that right?”
“Ok ladies and gentlemen, please calm down. I know it is a lot to take in the first time, but soon this will all be second nature, much like your own skin. Take a little time to move around the space and interact with each other. Please don’t touch another person without asking them first. In five minutes we will move on to the next part of the Orientation.”
Everyone flitted from one person to another, smiling, frowning, making funny faces and touching each other on the arms and hands. It was all so different from the usual VR setting and after five minutes in this environment I knew none of us would be turning this opportunity down. Victoria called a halt to everyone’s fun and began to give instructions for the next part of the orientation.
“There are eight people in this team. You are going to be broken up into two sub teams based on our calculations. I know we have six men and two women in this group, but we will not be splitting the ladies up between the men. We have in other cases, but our data has led us to make the following two sub teams, which we believe have the greatest hopes for success. The first sub team with our two esteemed ladies will be Gary, Timothy, Kaitlin, and Jennifer. That leaves, Alexander, Daniel, Jason, and Wayne for the other team. Split up and meet your teammates.”
We all walked around until we met our counterparts and began introducing ourselves. I learned that Daniel was Dan like I was Alex. Dan was the most laid back of the group. He seemed more like a pot head than a pod-head with a healthy dose of surfer, although we were hundreds of miles from an ocean. When I made the joke about Alexander being the guy from Macedonia, Dan’s only response was “Fuckin’ A man.” Wayne had a hint of crazy behind his eyes. Not bad crazy, but the kind of crazy you want if you ever think getting into a bar fight is a good idea and you only have one friend with you. That look in Wayne’s eyes is that kind of guy. Our final team member, Jason, was stoic. He just kept looking around and saying there was way too much grey, and that there needed to be something to offset it. I don’t know what the others thought of me, but I knew I had to question the “data” that thought putting the four of us together was a good idea.
After the meet and greets we took virtual seats and continued with the orientation. Victoria, still in her high-elf avatar, explained the time line before Beta would start. The company needed another six months to calibrate all of the RACs for each individual and set up each person’s home to receive the merchandise. AltCon also agreed to pay the extra electricity bill that would come from having the RAC and the cooling system installed. The rest of the orientation was mindless drivel, that didn’t have anything to do with the game itself. We learned about the different physical exams we would need to go through to make sure we were all healthy enough, but Victoria assured us this was to detect things like heart murmurs, not if someone didn’t exercise enough. There was a collective sigh around the room. Pod-heads aren’t known for getting out and hitting the weights. I was no exception.
Victoria also informed us that we would continue to meet up with our sub team regularly, and our eight-person team less so. All of us found this a bit odd, but Victoria assured us again this would make more sense once we entered the Beta and began getting assignments to help with the testing. Each meeting, scheduled by AltCon, would be compensated for monetarily. There was no reason to argue except that none of us really wanted to meet up with others. Introverts after all.
“Our day is coming to an end. We will ask all of you to log out in a moment here, get dressed, and meet with our legal team to sign the NDAs. You will then have one week to decide if you want to take part in the Beta for Resurgence. However,” and here her avatar smiled, “if you decide today that you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity, the same legal team will be here to finalize your paperwork and get everything started. Should you decide to join our team, you will receive an email in two weeks from your liaison and things will begin in earnest.”
We exited the RACs by activating a simple heads up display and pushing the log out button in front of us. After we all dressed, a line formed to sign the NDAs. Off to the side was another legal team set up at a different table. There were eight of them. Every one of us went over immediately after signing the NDA and signed up for the Beta. Not a one of the lawyers seemed surprised by this.
CHAPTER 4
August 1st, 2043
Over the next six months I met with the technicians from AltCon as well as physicians on their payroll. It was quickly ascertained that I was in good enough health to take part in the beta test. I didn’t think any of us would fail this portion of the exam unless there was some underlying health issue that wasn’t noticed at b
irth. With today’s advances in medicine it was doubtful that any of the others would have a heart defect that had been undetected for all of these years. Another thing I noted about all of the people from my group was that we were all in the same general age range. I’m 34. Dan is 32, Wayne 30, and Jason 30 as well. Based on my interaction with the other members of my team I didn’t think anyone else was north of 35 or less than 25. I didn’t think much of it though, since this was the ripe age for gamers and full time pod-heads.
I also passed the necessary psychological examinations. Most of these dealt with anxiety, paranoia, and claustrophobia. I didn’t have a problem with these either, which I guessed would also be the same for the others in my team. There was a smattering of other psychological tests as well, mostly dealing with association and susceptibility. I didn’t know if one could pass or fail that portion, but I know it didn’t stop me from continuing in the program.
I also met with my sub team regularly and the other members from the greater team on a less regular basis. AltCon had us doing numerous team building exercises. I was guessing it was their way of getting us to learn the strengths and weaknesses of our team. I learned quickly that in a group full of introverts, I tended to be the most commanding of us four. So I tended to take a leadership role, which none of the others seemed to want. The problem I noted quickly was that the group tended to do what I said without really questioning my reason for saying so. There was no real discussion between us. They just hopped to it. I realized this could be dangerous.
Resurgence: The Rise of Resurgence Book 1 Page 2
