On the first day of her training, Kate was standing outside the crater in dire need of coffee promptly at 6:00AM waiting for the limo that would start her new life. During the previous week, she had packed up all her belongings at the crater and deposited them in the storage unit where Castle had shipped all her big stuff earlier. Right now all she had were the clothes on her back and a large black trash bag containing her last few belongings.
She was the first to be picked-up and, over the next half hour the driver introduced Clarice, Kerri, and Nancy who had similar black bags. When they arrived, blood, urine, and saliva samples were all taken and hastily rushed for analysis. Soon, all were sitting one-on-one with a staff member going through a mountain of paperwork where blocks were checked and signatures applied. After a short coffee break, they began a series of appointments with different doctors and an exercise physiologist.
With the medical out of the way, they were ushered into four folding chairs for what turned out to be a rather long complicated lecture about the legal agreement they would be signing. The lecturer presented a dour picture, but none of it seemed to raise any concerns for the audience. At the end, the official videotaped a short session where each acknowledged they were doing this voluntarily and understood the risks including death that might arise. In time, Kate would come to realize just how much her life changed that morning.
After a very meager lunch, the guy, who appeared to be in charge, told them to get assemble facing him along a black line about five feet in front him where four large duffel bags lay on the side of the line closest to him. "In the duffels you will find a trash bag, tee shirts, running shorts and trainers which will become your uniform for the duration of your stay. One by one, you can head to the restroom, stow your street clothes and any personal items in the trash bag, and return to the line dressed for your new life."
Kate was third into the restroom and watched as another staff member brought out a chair, a table, and a cordless electric razor just a bit to the left of the group. Once they were all back on the line, the leader said, "You are now on the bottom rung of this organization, and you need to look the part. In that chair your old life will cease." Kate watched in horror as the razor labored to strip off large swaths of hair from Clarice. The resulting look was jarring and clearly meant to signal a break with their past comfortable life.
Once all were sheared, the same guy said, "You are now headed to a place called the Island. It will be the most grueling twelve week experience of your life. You will be hot and sweaty from the moment you arrive until you leave. Training will occur seven days a week. Later today, you will be meet your trainer and get your orientation. For the duration, you will live with minimal creature comforts, while you persevere through an arduous training schedule under deliberately harsh conditions. It is my hope you all have an exhausting camp."
After a brief silent pause, the pilot took some paperwork from the leader, and all the newbies were marched with their duffels on to a waiting jet that departed immediately. From her perch high in the sky, she considered the chair ceremony a bit too dramatic; it couldn't be all that life altering. Within a week, she would come to a far different conclusion as her stressed mind and body adapted to the unrelenting pace of the training schedule in just awful conditions.
The plane landing was bumpy, and Kate considered it an appropriate omen for the unknown she was about to face. Once parked, the pilot came back and instructed all four to retrieve their duffels and disembark through the forward door. With duffels in hand, they disembarked down some rickety stairs into the glaring sunlight, stifling heat, and oppressive humidity. They were met by a delegation of eight females and two males all dressed in black with goggle like sunglasses. Kate desperately wanted a pair of those goggles, but assumed none would be provided.
Once on the ground, they were all ordered to put toes on a line. A female, who appeared to be in charge, welcomed them, and quickly laid out the command structure that would govern their lives for the duration. Each trainee would have an assigned primary trainer who would be their task master, coach, and critic. The primary trainer would always be addressed by first name, while all trainees would be referred to only by their last name. "Your job here is to work hard and then work harder. In the coming weeks, personal and opponent discomfort will be an intentional part of the program. Most humans avoid discomfort whenever possible. Here, we celebrate it. We will train you to beat the best, and that means inflicting and enduring copious amounts discomfort without any hesitation."
"As you may have noticed by now, this place is remarkably hot and humid with heat indexes well above ninety during the day and little relief at night. It has been referred to as a blast furnace inside a sauna, and that is an accurate description. This will make all your daily exercise and combat sessions especially challenging. It will take a toll because it is an unrelenting adversary. The challenge here is to embrace it like everything else you will endure here."