Sitting up in the sand, Ari laughed, not even trying to make it back to the mat. She took in the exercise area set up in the middle of this island paradise. Hell in the middle of heaven, she called it. “I think jogging five miles a day is plenty.”
Niomi offered Ari a hand and pulled her up. “Being in top physical and mental health will aid you in your abilities inside the program.”
“But I haven’t even spent that much time in the program.” Ari had been doing classes on logics, problem solving, world history and politics, in addition to her combat and physical training.
Niomi narrowed her eyes, her dark tattooed eyeliner knife sharp, matching the intricate tattoo on her ear.
“Okay, okay.” Ari raised a hand in defeat and reached for her own hydro pack.
“Finish your strength exercises and meet me in my room by one. We have something new to go over.” Without another word, Niomi took off at a jog towards their section of the Wave.
Mind turning with what Niomi meant by ‘new’, Ari was tempted to skip the exercises, but Niomi would know. Her required uniform, a sleek navy Fit Suit worth more than her old apartment, constantly read her vitals and reported everything back to Niomi. Heading towards the weight set, she re-braided her long brown hair. She may have the tanned skin of an islander, but her already wavy hair turned into a fizzy mess with the humidity on the island.
Nothing she could do about it now, unless she wanted to shave it off like Niomi. She wiped off the sweat with a nearby towel and went to work. By the end of the next hour every muscle ached with fatigue. Instead of running, Ari slowly walked, wishing she would have brought a board for the ride back. Maybe with enough boards she could just float black in a sublime position. She’d have to work on that.
Sweat continued to drip down her neck as she headed towards her secluded rooms in the Wave. Small monkeys chirped in the trees as they jumped from branch to branch with ease, as if almost mocking her. Niomi said working outdoors made training more realistic. Ari loved the view but hated the air. It made her feel like a human sponge, always damp. Watching the sky, it looked to her as if another storm was going to pass through tonight.
The Wave appeared in front of her, the main building of VisionTech. Constructed out of a crystalline photoelectric material that curved and rose like a ribbon waving in the wind, it could project a variety of images to blend in with the surroundings, though from the inside it was clear. It melded a perfect balance of nature and technology.
Her rooms were on the west end of the building, a small annex of sorts. An annex with high security clearance. The doors opened on command, a gush of air greeting her and cooling the sweat on her brow.
“Welcome, Ariana Mendez,” her AI said as she entered the building.
“Hey, Henry,” she answered her ever-present assistant. Having a computer track her every step didn’t sit right with her. She not only had her uniform, but the implant in the base of her neck, right below her VR port, tracking her physical location too. She understood the reason: she was expensive to obtain and worth a lot more. The threat of her being taken by another company or government was real, but it never felt natural.
Ari headed down the silent hall, past the empty communal kitchen, coffee shop, and theater area. It took a while to get used to the isolation, especially when she knew there were hundreds, probably thousands of people working on this island. These rooms, actually the whole wing, were reserved for warpers, but she was the only one. Niomi also had rooms nearby but usually kept to herself.
On entering her own suite, the lights flicked on, and her playlist blared through the halls. Mostly electro songs, they seemed to fit the sterile environment, but every now and then she’d listen to some old Latin tunes to remind her of home.
Walking into her bathroom, she stripped down and jumped into the shower cubicle. Warm water massaged her muscles, and she had to fight the urge not to linger. Today, Niomi had something new for her and Ari still couldn’t guess what it was.
With a command, Ari shut off the water and turned on the full body, floor-to-ceiling dryer. Like a silver doorway, it warmed her up and dried her off in no time. Once her hair was mostly dry, she dressed in a clean Fit Suit. Ari didn’t always wear these electronic suits, but Niomi preferred them for work, especially if she was going under, so they could monitor their vitals. Fingering the expensive material, she wondered how much these suits helped while in the VR.
If her father had one, would he have still gone into a coma? Probably. His VR coma was of his own making. Not wanting to face reality, his subconscious chose to never wake up. But they could maybe help her brother, Marco, who had the same tendencies.
Thinking of home, she wished she could call Reed, but he worked until five. Her boyfriend was the one thing she was able to bring with her. VisionTech gave Reed a job and opportunities that he couldn’t find back at home, opportunities that kept him just as busy as Ari. Pushing aside her distracting thoughts, she headed out to find Niomi.
The hall shone with its pristine white floors and large floor-to-ceiling windows leading out to a view of lush jungle life making the beauty feel alive. A colorful bird soared down into the dense foliage. Surreal.
Ari continued down the hall as a knock sounded from her suit. With her hands tangled in her hair she was unable to see who was calling. “Answer,” she said. “This is Ari. Who’s this?”
“Only your most brilliant friend that you will adore and worship forever.” Ari recognized his voice of her technical liaison.
“So, why are you so brilliant today?”
“I finished your personalized modification for your VR suit. You’ll be flying through your program.”
“Flying, huh? Pretty sure humans conquered that in the 1800s.”
“Not like this. Trust me, you’ll love it.”
A grin stretched wide on her face. Vinh’s job was to assist with her gear and anything else she needed. In the past months, he quickly grew into a friend. A quirky friend with no people skills, who loved to socialize.
“Is that part of what Niomi wanted to do today? Try out my gear?”
“Think so. Not sure. Aren’t you cutting it close to meet her? I don’t want to hear you complaining about Niomi busting your butt in training.”
Ari checked the time on the HUB built into the forearm of the suit and realized she was late. “Flip. I better go.” She rushed down the hall.
The annoying AI called out. “Remember your meeting with Niomi in room—”
“Yeah, yeah. Hold your horses, Henry.” Her artificial personal assistant’s name changed weekly, sometimes daily, depending on Ari’s mood. Henry was the name of Ari’s first pet, a pissy old cat. And it fit, today.
Ari hurried down the hall. If she was a minute late, Niomi would require her to run some serious mileage with her tomorrow. And Niomi could run for miles on end. As it was, Ari had never been so fit in her life and never wanted to be. It’s her luck to be stuck with a full-time trainer that thinks muscles outside a virtual are just as important as in.
“You have thirty seconds to—”
“Shut up, Henry.” She quieted her AI as she sprinted around the corner, her feet sliding on the floor.
Metal doors appeared, and Ari hurried to her usual training room, sliding to a stop. While the door read her chip and scanned her cornea for clearance, she tried to slow her breath. Then, she walked into an empty training room.
Once inside the room, her breath caught in her throat as she took in the bloody face before her.
Chapter 2
Two men fought on the screen in some type of office. The fight was shown from the point of view of a of man wearing a black suit of some kind. He was attacking another man dressed in long cream robes. The man in black obviously had the advantage as he pressed forward, striking repeated blows with his fists. Ari cringed as she watched blood drip off the robed man’s chin. His dark skin couldn’t hide the crimson color staining his face and dripping onto his beige robes.
She had seen violent movies and games, even played a few herself. But with this oversized screen, she didn’t hear a soundtrack in the background, only the dull thud of hit after hit punctuated with the moans of pain. It not only looked real, but felt real, like she was the attacker. The Suit spun around, using his elbow to strike at the man’s jaw. A sickening crack echoed through the room as the robed man fell back; Ari turned from the screen unable to stomach any more.
She noticed Niomi standing further in the room with the director at her side. Ari had only met him one other time, when she first signed her contract. She remembered how generic and perfect his looks were, with dark hair, pristine pearl skin, and purposeful brown eyes. Now, with the dim light of the room, Ari thought her first impression was right—attractive yet nondescript.
Niomi glanced over her shoulder. Narrowing her eyes, she motioned for Ari to watch the screen, her lips pursed together with a firm silence. Ari didn’t dare speak and turned back to the screen.
The suit straddled the robed figure, whose fight appeared to finally die out. The robed figure spoke with the accent of an elite, “I don’t have the answers you seek. Killing me won’t help.”
“Oh, I don’t plan on killing you.” The suit slowly bent forward and grabbed the man’s forehead.
The screen blanked out, replaced by lines and lines of code in teal stripes. Code flew by faster than Ari could read it, and she had been practicing. After a moment, things slowed, and she caught bits and pieces. What was this, and where was this coming from? It looked like they were scanning a drive of some kind, but if so, that meant the suit was in a virtual world.
She had hundreds of questions, though with a quick glance at Niomi, Ari knew better than to ask. Whoever was running this, it appeared they were looking for something. They followed certain trails of code, then abandoned the trail and began with another. The lines slowed down. When Ari could finally read what he was after, she thought she’d be sick. Small children… couriers for information… She couldn’t figure out all the details, but there was something about them going insane and there was a slaughter…
“What the hell?” She reached for a nearby table, not trusting her legs to do their job at the moment.
“Pause feed,” the director spoke to the screen and then turned to Niomi, his condescending tone evident in every syllable. “You sure she is ready for this?”
Niomi watched Ari closely, as if accessing her reaction. The reaction beyond what the smart suit recorded. She turned back to the director. “No, but I’m sick of hearing her complaining. And we don’t have time for it.”
Ari snapped her head towards Niomi. “I don’t complain.” Okay, that maybe wasn’t technically true, but she did all Niomi asked.
“Let’s not get into that now.” Niomi’s dark red lips pulled up into a smile. “The director wants you pulled into your next level of training.”
“I didn’t think beating up politicians or clergy would be part of training. With as much money as you guys have, I would have thought you could hire some thugs for that.”
The director walked towards Ari, seemingly unbothered by her accusations, like they were too beneath him to address. His pressed white uniform held a small silver clip on the pocket. It didn’t say a name or anything as mundane as that, but Ari was sure it held something a lot more important. “Arianna, we don’t expect you’ll fight anyone. Your training for Niomi is merely for your health and protection in and out of the virtual. But we need to make sure you are ready for whatever gets thrown at you.”
“If I didn’t watch that guy get beat to a pulp, I’d feel better about it.”
“That agent was always a bloodthirsty type,” Niomi said.
Niomi must have trained him.
“We soon plan to introduce you to VLEX and want you prepared.”
“VLEX?” Ari took a seat at the nearby silver table that she often worked at with Niomi. After her workout, her body couldn’t take any more hits.
“I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Even whispers in your school?”
Ari shook her head.
“It’s the elite virtual world created for diplomatic meetings and international business cooperation,” the director explained like a lecturer on circuit.
“I assumed those types of worlds existed, but never heard of the name.”
“VisionTech has quite an investment and active participation in VLEX.”
“I see.” Ari couldn’t get the bloody image out of her mind.
“VLEX is nothing like what you just saw. That event didn’t transpire inside VLEX and that agent wasn’t ours. Someone released it to expose people. We just needed you to see what type of people are out there and what could happen if you’re not careful.”
People that obviously need to be tried for their crimes.
“If I had my way, it would have been a lot bloodier,” Niomi said.
“I was hired to program, not fight or be some cyber spy.” Ari pressed on her temple, wondering why they ever thought to hire her. “Ask Niomi, I’m a horrible fighter.”
“I don’t want a fighter,” the director said. “I want a smart mind that can gather information and protect itself against digital manipulations.”
Ari almost laughed. “And here I thought I’d be stuck writing virtual-in-virtuals for pervy old guys.” She’d learned about programs where one could go so deep in the virtual world that they would forget they were in there. Rich people often wanted to retire like that.
“The powers you have to manipulate the virtual environment are a lot more important than that.”
“So, what’s next? Going into VLEX?” Ari asked.
With a voice command, Niomi turned on a smaller monitor in front of Ari. “Soon, but time in the VLEX is very expensive. You’ll watch, learn, and train first.”
The screen flicked on to a picture of a grandiose city, streets lined in stone, and buildings rising up to reach the sky. People moved around the city like ants scurrying around on an expensive table. The sky was a perfect shade of blue, the clouds scattered around on a sunny day. The perfection traveled to another level; even the weather knew better than to destroy the image.
“Can anyone watch this?” She wondered why she’d never seen this before in her schooling. Granted, her schooling usually only dealt with their own history of wars and innovation.
“It costs to have eyes on the city and even this view is limited, but we keep a constant eye on things. We are a global company that has important business throughout the world. We need you to help protect our interests inside VLEX.” The director stood, one eyebrow raised as if expecting an answer.
Did she really have a choice? She signed her contract and if she didn’t have to hurt anyone, she’d do what she could. And being here, she could do more for her family financially than anywhere else.
“I want to see my family again,” she said, changing the subject.
“Of course.” The director said with a smile. He had an air about him, like he was God himself. Turning to Niomi, the almighty commanded, “See that it happens.” Without another word he left.
Ari let her breath go and relaxed in the chair.
“Do you know how much work and money it takes to contact your family?” Niomi asked. “It would better to focus on your training.”
Ari shrugged. She knew but didn’t care. “So, bill me.”
Niomi shook her head in disappointment and headed towards the screen, pulling up the command key in the corner. “While I get your request in order, I want you to start memorizing these skins.”
“What are skins?” Ari turned in her chair to study the screen. A pale girl, with red hair and freckles appeared on the screen.
“People you will be in the VLEX. You need to memorize their back stories, their co-workers, drink preference, what they wear and other appearances down to the freckle. You will be required to become these people when necessary.”
“Where do they come from? Am I taking over their jobs? Won’t someo
ne notice?”
“Don’t worry about that part. You work on being a chameleon. You’ll never show your true self in the VLEX and may have to change appearances in a second’s notice. Changing code from within will alert the authorities but you’ll be long gone before they find you.”
“Anytime people say ‘don’t worry’, somehow it makes me worry more.”
Niomi left the girl on the screen and took a seat next to Ari. “Do you trust me?”
Pulling back slightly, Ari considered the question. She had worked with Niomi for the past six months. Hell, they had sort of bonded over hours of martial arts videos—the old school ones from before computer manipulation ruined film. Niomi was hard, yet fair. But what did Ari really know about her?
Niomi sensed her hesitation. “I’ve always been honest with you. Ask me and I’ll tell you.”
“I can’t beat someone to a pulp like in that video. I can’t kill anyone.”
“We aren’t asking you to. This isn’t real. And your training is more for the mental and physical benefits. But you’re telling me you’ve never played games, killing orcs or whatever the hell kids are playing nowadays?”
Ari rubbed an invisible spot on the desk. “That just looked so real.”
“Never forget where you are or who you are.” Niomi’s voice hit a stern intensity usually saved for training. “There are great differences between these two worlds, but the person is the same. There are several ways to handle a situation in the VR, as you know. Your other tools are a lot more powerful than your fists.”
“What did the agent do to that man’s mind?” The image of blood and then the massive amount of code unsettled her. Invading someone secrets, their beliefs, felt wrong. Despite her natural aptitude, she loathed the idea of VRs to begin with.
“That tactic is only used in serious circumstances, where information is vital. The information will be taken to the authorities. Think of it as interrogation without real or lasting pain. Society has spent years painfully torturing others to get information and a lot of the time that information would be forced or false. That age is passed, at least with warpers.” Niomi placed a hand on Ari’s shoulder. Even though they touched all the time as they fought, this felt important. Her steel eyes held a softness to them. “Warpers are a blessing.”
Hard Wired Trilogy Page 30
