I am going to owe the boys a fluff fic after this _ There are a few aspects to this story that link up with my Enemy Mine series. Hopefully it reads well without having to read the other ones! Or if you're concerned, go read my other stories :D no pressure!
Gordon leaned over in the chair, peeking at the screen his little brother was furiously tapping on. They were seated on the second row in the auditorium, listening to John as he spoke on a coding concept that was far above the aquanaut's head. Halfway through the talk, he'd questioned his reasoning for attending the conference. Then he remembered the new gaming technology Alan had been eager to test, practically begging him to come along for company. Although John loved the coding aspect, gaming on Alan's scale was not his cup of tea. Brains, currently sitting between himself and professor Moffat, was in the same boat; more into the guts of the tech than the gameplay. Gordon had been surprised to hear the professor had a fondness for fantasy gaming herself.
He gave his brother an elbow to his side, pulling him away from the conversation on his tablet. "BadRabbit, huh? Talking to your girlfriend?" He gave a teasing smile as Alan blushed, elbowing him back in annoyance.
"She's not my girlfriend. She just really likes gaming and couldn't make it, so I'm telling her about it." He went back to typing, turning the screen away from Gordon's view.
"Gaming…. Dating… What's the difference these days?" He grinned as his brother took the bait.
"It's not dating!" He quickly lowered his voice to a harsh whisper as eyes turned to him. "We just do monster raids together. There are, like, twenty of us!"
"And yet you're only texting her." Gordon gave a toothy smile as the redness covered his brother's face.
A mumbled, "Shut up, Gordon" ended the exchange, Alan tucking the tablet away. They turned their attention back to their older brother, the older blond sighing as the red head went over another intricate equation. Another half hour and they could get to the more fun aspect of the conference.
OoOoOoO
The group sat down for lunch, compliments of the people hosting the event. The morning had been spent flitting between the different booths, watching his little brother's play the newest gaming tech. John had to admit it was nice seeing them enjoying some time away from the stresses of rescue operations. Granted, they only had this twenty-four hour window, but it was enough to allow them to act like the kids they wanted to be.
He took a bite of the fish he'd ordered, happy to taste something other than the packaged meals on Thunderbird 5. Trips to the mainland were few and far between for the red head. Admittedly, it was by choice. Originally, he had wanted to decline the invitation to speak, but after hearing Alan and Brains' excitement, plus the chance to learn new coding had won him over.
"I must say, I was q-quite impressed by the VR technology this m-morning." Brains was currently reading through the information pamphlets they'd picked up from the booths, his lunch barely touched.
"Yeah," Alan started. "Too bad that fully immersive one was still being set up. It sounded amazing!"
John frowned, remembering the claim from the company. They promised a system that would allow the user to enter a virtual world through neural stimulation. The players would experience a world they could free roam with just their thoughts. Genius. If it worked. Dangerous, if it didn't.
"The applications go far beyond gaming!" Moffat excitedly read the literature provided by one of the workers. "Imagine being able to interact with a comatose patient simply through the neural connection. Doctors could assess a patient's actual level of consciousness, or even monitor pain during surgery."
John's brow raised at that. Gordon seemed to be just as intrigued, pausing as he chewed on a ketchup-covered fry. He made a mental note to check them out once they were completely set up.
The scrape of a chair as Alan stood pulled their attention away from the literature. "Well, I'm going back to the gaming area. Catch you guys later!"
The eldest Tracy frowned at the retreating back of the youngest. He knew his little brother was more than able to take care of himself, but he couldn't help worrying. Their family had a tendency to find trouble in unlikely places. Reaching over, he tapped Gordon's forearm, the blond already shoving the rest of his lunch into his mouth.
"Ah 'ot 'im!" He stood, giving quick chase to catch Alan.
For a split second, John regretted not going himself, but he knew Gordon would be a much better companion in this setting. If he were truly honest, he had planned on attending one of the lectures on advanced AI integration, something his brothers wouldn't be able to sit still through. This way, they could all enjoy themselves. Speaking of…
"What are your plans for the rest of the day?" John smiled as Brains and Moffat looked up from the paper they were both reading.
"Oh, j-just going to watch the competitive p-programming event." The engineer pointed to the time block of interest.
Professor Moffat placed a hand on Brains' arm, eliciting a slight blush. "Although, I'm fairly certain Hiram could demolish the entire group on his own." John caught the mischievous grin flash across her face as his friend began to bashfully disagree.
Eventually, the group separated with the agreement to meet back up in two hours to go hunt down Gordon and Alan. When that time finally arrived, John was pleasantly surprised to see his brother's waiting by their table.
"Done already?" He gave them a skeptical smile. Their toothy grins were enough of an answer. "I take that as a no. What did you two find?"
Alan was the first to speak after producing a set of, what looked like, tickets, placing them on the table. "So it turns out, the immersive VR booth was by invite only! We talked to the woman who designed it and she was more than happy to let us try it out in an hour. She might've also had a thing for Gordo, the way she kept eyeing him."
John almost laughed as the aquanaut groused, giving their little brother a light shove. By now, Brains and Moffat had returned, the latter looking sheepish, carrying a small trophy, while the other gave a bright I-told-you-so smile.
"Looks like you two had fun." Gordon grinned, indicating the trophy.
Brains shifted, fidgeting with the glass prize, an image of a computer engraved on the front. "Oh, w-well, it's not that big an a-accomplishment given the l-level of knowledge from the other p-participants."
"You'd think he went up against a group of teenagers." The professor teased. "Not some of the top scholars from Harvard."
John let out a low whistle, clearly impressed by their genius engineer.
"That calls for celebration, then!" The aquanaut cheered, putting an arm around Brains' shoulder and leading him towards one of the dessert carts. "And then we can check out that immersion whosie-whatsit."
"From the NeuroPlay booth?" Moffat's excited squeal caught them all off guard. John observed as she quickly reigned in her excitement. "They're finally operational?"
"Yep!" Alan waved the tickets around triumphantly, seeming to have picked up the scientists enthusiasm. "It'll be a private showing just for us!"
The two immediately went about giddily discussing the games they hoped to play, going through the list provided by the woman's company. They had been amazed by the cross compatibility the device had. John simply followed, glad to not be the only one enjoying his time at the conference.
OoOoOoO
The tech wasn't what he expected, although Gordon wasn't entirely sure what he had expected. He gave the large, cylindrical tank a once over, noting the slight tilt that would allow the user to lean against the back for better support. Wouldn't be fun standing the whole time. The woman, Sandra, had explained that the compartments were to help eliminated any noise interference when playing. The real tech were the visors and neural patches that linked the user into the game world.
The brunette was back, placing her hands on his shoulders as she guided him into the tube he would be using. Alan and Moffat were already in theirs, John and Brains choosing to sit this demonstration out. Good, considering there were only three spaces.
Gordon turned, guided by the woman as she gently pushed him back against the rear of the tube. Taking hold of the visor, she gave him a quick wink before placing it over his face. He then felt the pressure on his temples and base of his neck as the neural sensors were attached, a flurry of fear sparking even before the device was activated.
Within an instant, before his mind would let him retreat from the capsule, he found himself surrounded by bright colors as the computerized world took shape. Beside him, the images of Alan and the professor appeared. They looked just as real as when they had outside the device
"This is amazing!" Alan was already bouncing around the grassy surface as the game finally loaded. They'd decided on a simple resource collection game. This would allow them to get used to the controls without the hectic gameplay of the ones his little brother was used to.
Gordon looked down at his hands, turning them over and glancing up his arms. Apparently, his clothes had followed him in, but as his hand twisted, a screen popped up, revealing an empty inventory. A soft breeze brushed against his face, warm and comforting. It was hard to believe this was just a game. He turned back to see his brother and Moffat were already at work collecting materials that littered the ground. The professor had fashioned an axe from the combination of sticks and rocks before he could make it over to them.
"What's the plan?" He asked, stepping up beside them to pick up a mushroom, watching it pop into his inventory. Gordon had to admit, even though this was technically a kids game, the tech made it far more interesting. Too bad he'd never played it.
"Hmm, what do you think?" Alan addressed the professor. "Build a house or go explore some caves?"
"Exploration would be ideal with the time constraints." She was already tapping at a different screen, a pickaxe forming. She smiled, gleefully turning towards a mountain off to their right.
"We'll need torches!" Alan quickly showed Gordon how to use the crafting tool, going over the materials they would need. Smiling, he followed his little brother as they made their way towards their first adventure.
OoOoOoO
The screens above the pods gave a first person view for each of the players. John was watching his little brother throw an apple to Gordon. It was amazing how detailed everything looked, to the point he was debating a request to see the devices programming. He took a sip of the sparkling juice Sandra had brought over as they watched, letting that question sit until he could see more.
"Fantastic, isn't it?" The woman's voice floated out to no one in particular.
"Very impressive." Brains was setting his empty glass on the table as he watched Moffat leading the way into a dark cave. Sandra smiled, moving to stand next to the engineer.
"You won't find anything even close to the sophistication built into the programming." Her voice was thick with satisfaction, delighting in her work.
The awe John had been feeling earlier was quickly creeping into a sense of unease. He took another sip of the juice, trying to get more comfortable on the stool. Watching his brother's and the professor, he found the images starting to blur. An alarm was blaring in his mind and he turned to catch his friends attention, only to see him being lowered gently to the floor by the brunette.
"What are you-" Standing was a mistake as the room swayed. The woman stood, calmly walking to him, placing steady hands on his shoulders.
"Now, now, Mr. Tracy." Her voice grew distorted as she guided him back to the stool. "You should really finish your drink." He couldn't protest as the glass was pressed to his lips, his mind unable to fight as the liquid spilled over his tongue. It pooled in his mouth, her hand holding his lips closed. As the haze grew, the liquid fell free down his throat causing him to cough and splutter. The hand moved away, the woman smiled cooly. "There, much better."
To his horror, Sandra's face flickered, blurring with the effects of the drug and then finally changing to the familiar face that haunted his family. "H-hood…" A grin spread across the villain's face, the man's arms linking under his own as he fell forward. As his vision began to dim, he caught the sinister words whispered into his ear.
"Got you."