by Jason Bourn
“It was because of people like himself and his mother that the US had such slow adoption,” thought Calaes. He had been trying to convince his mother for more than two years to allow him to make the “Better Reality” leap, but she said he would have to wait until his eighteenth birthday. She thought there was so much more future potential for him by waiting, but even she saw that those that made the leap were much more productive being able to collaborate with others in the virtual environment. There were less and less of Calaes’ peers that had not made the leap, so his mom had finally relented – when he was eighteen. She said she still worried that he would “waste his life away” playing games.
Calaes had researched it himself, extensively. When the user put the suit on, they could not tell the difference between being in real life and being in the suit in the virtual world.
A micro-mechanical nanite-controlled layer provided two key functionalities: First, it provided the receptors to assess what the body was doing, and second, it provided to the body the feedback required to make the body feel like it was really experiencing the environment.
This included all of the senses of feeling: From soft touches, to strong pressure and even pain. The electronics were so advanced that they continuously auto-calibrated the pain threshold to ensure that the pain was never too much. The suit was rated at ten times the maximum human theoretical capacity, so the strongest person could not bend their arm or push with their leg if the suit electronics didn’t want them to. This meant that virtual games like football or soccer could be made as realistic as in real life. Someone putting forth a supreme effort was rewarded in the virtual world, just like they would in real life. And all without concussions, broken bones and the like.
Even better, the latest version allowed the user to sustain their virtual experience indefinitely. There really was no limit to how long you could theoretically stay immersed in the suit since all of the biological functions were taken care of through the distribution and absorption of both liquids and solids by the nanites. Auto feeding was accomplished via standardized “soup” ports, where raw carbs, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water were fed into the suit and the nanites diverted it into the body, while waste products were whisked away. Eating sounded gross on paper, but the user thought they were getting a steak and, for all intents and purposes, they were.
Sight was actually the easiest, since so many people had already been working on headgear – it was pretty much licked.
Touch was where the virtual suit was novel and groundbreaking. Once the user put on the suit, the suit’s electronics combined with the nanite-based “skin” to provide the full array of touch sensitivity. Subtle inner ear pressure in perfect orchestration with these touch capabilities allowed the suit to mimic the effects of acceleration, falling and jumping.
Taste was another ground-breaking area where the suit interfaced with the new standardized virtual room. This allowed the nutrition to be ported directly from the virtual room into the virtual suit and then into the body’s system. Care was given to ensure that the taste buds were stimulated at the same time as the olfactory smelling buds in the nose, along with appropriate resistance of the suit in the mouth area gave the entire feeling of eating.
Smell was a bit trickier – they sort of cheated there. They ended up using the nanites and the same ingredients as the food source. It was amazing how you could break down carbs and proteins and such to get the basic building blocks of smell. They nailed it though – five hundred thousand unique smells programmed and more being cataloged every day. As an added bonus, which was sure to add to the appeal of the virtual suit, they had broken down the chemical composition of many natural pheromones, including a vast array of male and female sex pheromones.
The bottom line was that once you were in your virtual suit, you could never tell if you were walking through thick mud in reality or in virtual reality, since the suit provided resistance to your legs so it felt “real.” You could wrestle with a virtual opponent and you could be pinned by the suit, just like if a real opponent had done it. The suit’s electronic feedback, when linked to the virtual reality world, could provide an experience exactly like being in the real world.
And now that time was here – Calaes was eighteen years old today. Calaes still couldn’t believe the time had finally arrived. He had arrived at the mid-town virtual room complex, taking an automated bus. There were not many people around, since so many had already taken the leap. There were far too few to drive buses or perform any other minor jobs. It was projected that everything would be fully automated within five years, as there was expected to be almost full participation into the virtual rooms by then.
When the bus pulled up at the huge building, Calaes could see the slogan in huge letters across the top of the building:
“BECOME PART OF A BETTER REALITY.”
Just a few steps from the bus stop, the lobby of the giant building gleamed in the sunlight. He knew that this was the last true sunlight he might ever see, but he was excited nonetheless.
Walking into the lobby, Calaes followed the signs pointing to the check-in counter. Another sign asked him to extend his hand to provide his identification information.
Placing his hand inside the scanner, a readout appeared welcoming him and indicating he should follow the drone assigned to him. A drone instantly appeared, flying quietly just below the ceiling with his name projected in large characters. The drone moved forward, pausing to wait for Calaes as he occasionally stopped to take in his surroundings. Several corridors branched out from the lobby. Calaes walked for what seemed several kilometers, passing several elevators and stairs before finally taking an elevator to the forty-second floor. “I’ve never seen anything close to a building this big,” thought Calaes. He knew that the building was several city blocks on each side, so even though he tried to pay attention to the route they had followed, he knew that he was utterly lost within the building.
The drone finally led him to a nondescript door that opened as he approached. Seeing the room number of 42-3396 did not reassure Calaes at all. Walking in, he smelled a pungent odor – from his research he knew it was from the combination of nanites and the chemicals used to process the virtual suit. Looking down, he saw the suit lying gaping open before him. The drone announce that he was to strip and get inside the suit. The suit was disturbingly black – as if light was not strong enough to penetrate within it or reflect off of it. He knew that this was the nanites at work, utilizing every photon of energy that they received to convert into energy. As Calaes got inside the suit, it automatically sealed shut, knowing that its purpose in life was about to be fulfilled. Calaes could feel it filling into every depression and cavity in his body analyzing and conforming to his unique body dimensions and body chemistry. As the bio-luminescent faceplate grew rapidly over his eyes, Calaes felt a mixture of awe and nervousness.
Calaes had found out that there was a fifteen-minute adjustment period where the nanites interfaced with his body and with each other to form a total system. During that time Calaes waited, feeling like he was being lightly massaged over every part of his body. Meanwhile, the display screen faded to a pleasant light blue hue, which then faded, to be replaced with him reclining on a couch in the lobby. He could now hear the background noise of all the people coming and going in the lobby. The last sensation was a quick queasy feeling, like going down a steep roller coaster. Calaes knew this was the nanites adjusting his inner ear so they could affect his perception of balance. He had been told this was the only slightly uncomfortable part of the entire procedure, and it would be over very quickly. Shortly, Calaes knew that they were telling the truth. Not only did his body feel like he was lying on a couch in the lobby, his eyes showed the couch and the lobby, the background sounds were perfectly in sync and his back was being softly supported by the couch, but also his inner ear told him that he was in a lying down position as well.
Calaes stood up and stretched. In his mind he knew that he hadn’t really done it,
but he had to use the same exact muscles as if he had really done it and the feedback from his eyes, ears and inner ear told him that he had done it, so for all practical purposes he had indeed just got up. He tried walking – and his body felt just like he was walking. Since his body could not distinguish between really walking and this virtual simulation of his walking, his brain just went along with what his senses were telling him. It really was amazing how the brain adapted to your environment. It could get used to anything. Calaes realized that looking at still-framed pictures changing at thirty times per second, standard for movies, the brain thought that this was real motion. It was no wonder that the virtual suit, with so much better technology, could fool the brain into thinking every virtual experience was really happening.
The sights and sounds were perfect. Perfectly rich in colors and detailed even better than the Mark IV, since specialized nanites could interface directly with his eyes. The sounds were perfectly synced with the sights, again even better than the Mark IV. What truly set the virtual suit apart, however, was the motion, the body feedback, the balance changes and the smells. It was odd how much the brain “bought into” the realism when you started walking in a room full of people and you could feel the air moving against your skin and smell the perfume of the person walking by you. Everything was done perfectly to convince your brain that you were really there. You would think your brain would know that this wasn’t real, but when it is hit with all the feedback it just goes with the flow. No wonder no one wanted to leave the suit.
Interfacing with all computing platforms via his persa was the same as always. In fact, with everything being virtual, the persa’s strengths expanded exponentially. Calaes could talk to any computing platform, use gestures or use a virtual keyboard. He decided to talk to his old friend Sam. As he started his request, Calaes’ persa had anticipated it and was already setting up a link. Sam answered immediately and suggested they try out an adventure in the Amazon rainforest. The scenery faded to the familiar pleasant light blue hue, which then changed to a jungle with parrots flying and screeching and all manner of greenery everywhere. The sights, sounds and even the smells were absolutely perfect. There was no way that Calaes could tell he wasn’t actually there. This was so much better than the old virtual reality, it really put the latest model to shame. You really had to experience it for yourself. There was no way to describe it otherwise. It was just that good – just that real.
Calaes asked, “Sam is that really you or is it your persa?” It would be easy to fool anyone by saying it was a live person, but Sam and Calaes had made a pact many years ago that they would always tell the truth to this question. Sheepishly Sam’s persa responded, “No, I’m actually involved in the latest ‘Defiers of the Universe XII’ game, but since it is based upon magic, I figure that you probably would not want to join. I know you prefer realistic games, nothing to do with magic. If you want, I can interrupt Sam if it is really important.” Sam had allowed this capability to only a handful of his closest friends – a true honor. “No," Calaes said, “have fun and I wish you well – I’ll talk to you later.”
Calaes’ persa automatically popped him out of the Amazonian scenery, through the light blue hue and back to the lobby of the virtual room building. What he really wanted to do anyway was to try out the Flight Simulator simulation. The Flight Simulator sim was supposed to be the follow-up to the “Martian Survival Challenge” that came with the Mark IV. Supposedly you could jump right in since they intentionally made all the equipment and the interfaces the same. After Calaes had been invited to the next level in the Martian Survival Challenge, he had spent as much time as possible there leading many exploits, exploring the vast facility and learning how to survive on Mars without any assistance from Earth. Based on this, he thought he was well prepared for the Flight Simulator sim.
“Well, no time like the present,” Calaes said aloud to himself. And with that, Calaes gave the command to launch the Flight Simulator sim. After agreeing to the standard two rules, for non-dissemination of information and no contact outside the simulation, the screen faded to the light blue hue – then Calaes was in the much-anticipated simulation.
CHAPTER 4
With the advent of the virtual suit and the virtual room, Hayden only saw his plan become even more achievable. As more and more of the population became immersed in VR full-time, this only made his job simpler.
Once they were ensconced in a virtual suit, one hundred percent of their interactions with the outside world were performed electronically. This meant that Hayden no longer had to worry that he might miss out on private personal communications. He now could be assured that he had all the information about those powerful individuals. This meant that he could move forward more quickly than anticipated with the next phase of his plan.
– – –
Calaes was aboard the shuttle in final approach to the huge ship. In all the movies and videos of space ships, there was always a loud deep rumble as the ship was approached. Of course, that was merely theatrics. In space there were no sounds at all, except for those that originated within the shuttle itself. As expected, the imagery and sound quality of the Flight Simulator sim was perfect, but, amazingly, the feeling of being weightless was also flawless. And that was a problem! Of the thirty or so people Calaes could see in the shuttle, over half were actively using their barf bags. Almost all the rest of those that weren’t, were holding a bag close – just in case. Unfortunately, the simulation was perfect in every aspect, even the smell of vomit was perfect.
It had been a shock to his system. The lobby had faded away, replaced by the pleasant light blue hue which, in turn, faded away and then there he was, weightless in the shuttle, his stomach feeling like he was plummeting down an endless roller coaster track. He quelled his queasy nerves and stomach and fought down the urge to reach for a bag of his own. Just based upon principle, he didn’t want to show any sign of weakness.
If he could ignore his queasy stomach, the view of the huge ship they were approaching was mesmerizing – it was simply awesome. It was so black, absorbing every photon of light, that it was hard to look at. He had always pictured in his mind’s eye a long, sleek bullet-shaped ship. However, this ship was never designed to land or even enter any kind of atmosphere, so it had no need for sleekness, nor for being bullet-shaped. What he saw instead was an absolutely huge sphere, one mile in diameter, which was 1.6 km his persa informed him, that was rotating at what he estimated at about one revolution per minute. His persa helpfully showed that this rotation would produce exactly one earth gravity at the outsides of the sphere, with less and less gravity the closer one came to the center. There was a giant parabolic scoop in the front of the sphere – as big in diameter as the largest part of the ship – but why it was there baffled Calaes. The back of the ship had the tell-tale thruster design with a very large nozzle pointing straight back.
Having never seen nor heard of this ship design, Calaes’ persa automatically showed the information from the shuttle’s computational system. The front scoop was just that – a scoop to ensure that no minor space debris was able to hit the ship. It had nanite-based mechanical properties similar to the virtual suit – it could regenerate itself, and it was extremely strong with a honeycomb design which absorbed the shock of space dust and other small particles. The back was the exhaust of the fusion drive which provided the massive thrust needed to reach the speeds needed for extended-length travel.
The center axis along which the sphere rotated, where there was always zero gravity, was hollow with one end being the fusion thruster and the other end the center of the scoop. This provided two key elements of the ship, without which the ship could not function.
First, the entire ship had a huge magnetic field set up around it to deflect cosmic rays, similar to the earth’s magnetic field. This was powered by the fusion drive and was actually an extension of the fusion drive’s magnetic containment field. Without this magnetic field, cosmic rays would soon render
all life aboard the ship sterile. In addition, deflecting these cosmic rays was critical to prevent the premature death of all the electronics aboard the ship.
Second, the front scoop also had a powerful magnetic field, which funneled energy particles into the fusion drive, enhancing the engine’s power and nullifying otherwise negative effects. The energy particles funneled into the engine kept the fusion reaction going while in flight, vastly reducing the need for additional fuel.
In looking at the side of the ship, Calaes mused, it almost looked like a giant black fish. The scoop being its tail, the sphere being its body and the thrusters being its head. The only problem with this picture, Calaes grinned as he thought, was that it would be swimming backwards through space.
The sheer size of the ship was mind boggling. One point six km in diameter meant that, even with fifteen-meter-thick honeycombed outside walls, there was still an awful lot of room inside the ship. With over two billion cubic meters, the ship could easily hold thousands of people or store a wealth of equipment and supplies.
Calaes was grateful that he had become lost in the details of the ship – it had taken his mind off his queasy stomach. The shuttle completed the flyby and flew straight into the middle of the front scoop. This was the logical point of entry into the ship since the spinning was minimized at the center of the ship and since there was a large tunnel running through the ship. This accorded a natural entry point. A large section of the tunnel wall had been retracted, allowing the shuttle entrance into the inner portion of the ship.
The shuttle slowly matched the minimal rotation of the ship and lazily set down inside the shuttle bay. The tunnel section was then replaced and the shuttle was secured. After the bay was pressurized and all safety checks had been completed, the shuttle doors were opened.
Calaes waited patiently for those ahead of him to file out. He chuckled to himself to see that many still appeared a bit nauseous. He was trying not to show it, but he was also looking forward to the return of gravity. Being so close to the center of the axis of rotation, there was still almost no gravity at all. Anyone whose magnetic boots lost their grip would go floating across the bay. Luckily no one suffered the indignity of that occurring – though Calaes felt sure that it had happened many times in the past.
