[CHAPTER 111]

"...check the LMS run, is that correct…?"

James Lovell

E.A.R.T.H

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Harry Eisenhower, for all his wealth, had a small house. It was a standard bungalow with sleek scandinavian-inspired exteriors. For those that knew their architecture, the appearance of steam-bent pine harked back to a fad for such designs in the forties. On the outside, the property looked no different than any other house in the quiet rural corner of Jersey. Detached, a bit of a garden, and solar panel tiling. Pinvale wasn't the type of place you'd expect to find the chairman of GOKIA, but it was homely nonetheless.

Richard didn't mind catching the bus back from work each day. Given that he spent most of the time four stories below the surface, it was nice to catch up on the vitamin D he'd been missing. Emerging from his underground den with it's constant air temperature of ten degrees, Richard enjoyed his sunlit evening walks.

Why the former welder (although he now liked to think of himself as the world's first 'immerser') was living in Harry's house rather than being put up in some fancy hotel seemed strange. Eisnehower had blamed his own cheapskate nature and not wanting to pay hotel fees for weeks or even months. Given Richards poor background, he couldn't argue with the logic. However, he'd now been living with the middle-aged man for long enough to know the truth of the matter. Harry was keeping him under a close watch to ensure he didn't reveal the true activities in his nine-to-five. As far as anyone outside the GOKIA Jersey branch was concerned, immersion didn't exist. Richard was listed as an intern without any association to the new technology.

Whilst the media was ripping into GOKIA in an attempt to uncover the truth behind uploading, Harry Eisenhower was keeping attention away from something even greater. It was under plain sight that Yana's expert computer team constructed the next evolution of virtual reality. It was almost like the casual cover had been planned. Even though weeks had gone buy, the various media agencies were keen to find out more about the first person to be uploaded into a computer. What they didn't know was that James was running around inside HORIZON at this very moment catching Pokémon - not inside the isolated simulation GOKIA claimed he was.

Richard missed that. It was strange considering that at this very moment, James's pet Liepard was curled up cozily inside its Pokéball waiting for their next adventure. If Mark and the two doctors gave the go-ahead, that would be tomorrow morning when Richard strapped on his Dreamcatcher headset. He couldn't wait. The Pokémon world and all its mystery and mayhem was a million times better than his time outside the simulation effectively twiddling his thumbs.

It was difficult to refrain from blabbering about his excitement to return to HORIZON. Then again, beyond Harry and Yana's small team of computer scientists, Richard didn't really have anyone to talk to anyways. The whole topic of immersion and Richard's role in it was a white elephant in the room. It loomed over the immerser even if he lacked the courage to voice his concerns. Richard been doing his own research on Neuralink, the psychological effects of prolonged VR, and even bottling. It gave him something to do during his awkward afternoons with Harry.

Most evenings were the same. The two of them would eat at the kitchen table before retiring to the living room catching up on the seven-o-clock news. It had become their normal routine.

Although Harry was clearly a minimalist, he did have a television. It was an old fashioned LCD set that was hung up on the wall adjacent to the window, with the blinds yanked down to fight off the late evening sun. The chubby man lay back in an armchair flicking through articles on his softscreen with only a small fraction of his attention on the news.

"This situation is only becoming more serious what with the immigration crisis facing Germany."A female reporter stood under an umbrella in Berlin, a microphone clutched in her gloved hands. "Given the increasingly arid conditions continuing to spread throughout Turkey and the Balkans...Britannica and the free-states are being pressed to open their borders and to provide further aid.''

Richard rolled his shoulders, fidgeting in his armchair. It contained a bamboo-framed seat was rather spartan in appearance and indeed in feel. The young man was progressively starting to find that such everyday positions like sitting and lying down were no longer as comfortable as they used to be. Given that he spent most of his working day hung up above a treadmill, it didn't come as any great surprise.

"And now on BBS news. Our headlines for today."

'About fuckin' time' Harry murmured though he failed to look up from his softscreen. He mopped at his balding head with the back of his sleeve.

"President Martinez is visiting Plymouth after rising fears of sabotage to undersea cables connecting Britannica to the United States."

An image of a deep-sea diver flashed up on the screen briefly before it cut to a short clip of a white science laboratory.

'And it's been six months since the United Nations decided on implementing the 2nd-Tier Gene Editing act legalizing the modification of humans and human-like animals for advanced medical testing. However, concerns have been raised that the gene editing laws may allow the creation of so-called "Spectres" - a highly sophisticated genetically modified labour force that the Britannica government has been proposing to aid their efforts in building a fully functioning space station in the next five…'

Without warning, the television screen turned black.

'Let's tidy up shall we?' Harry grunted, lifted his eyebrows towards Richard. The sudden loss of signal had startled the young man who was in the middle of raising his concerns over the apparently broken device. Harry's tired eyes eyes revealed the truth behind the situation however. The businessman never talked about it openly, but he was still frustrated by his failure to implement uploading.

Richard watched the man struggled out of his chair. Even if Harry had committed to a daily morning jog, the extra exercise was by no means paying off.

'I'm guessing you're pissed off because your uploading thing was…'

'You learn quick kid.' Harry interrupted, rubbing at his chin. 'Do you mind giving me a hand?'

Richard had learnt the hard way that the question wasn't in truth a request. Harry lead a tight ship and expected the young man to keep things clean and tidy in exchange for bed and board. It was difficult to place Harry's strange habits. His personality seemed completely at odds with his job role and often aggressive organisational skills. Then again, the GOKIA chairman had been raised during a very different time. Back then the United Kingdom was still 'united' and the global sustainability crisis was at breaking point. Harry's minimalist home and strangely conservative habits were a stark reminder of how rapidly things had changed over the past decade.

The kitchen quickly became a hive of activity. Harry was already at the sink pouring a bowl of steaming hot water for the washing up. He had a neat kitchen and seemed to enjoy cooking both for himself and for the company. Given his size, it was no surprise that he enjoyed his food. Harry was efficient in how he prepared his meals and tidied up afterwards, forsaking the traditional dishwasher to instead wash things by hand. Richard grabbed a tea towel in preparation for his role drying up each plate and utensil.

'So uh-' Harry attempted to make conversation before the softscreen in his pocket blared loudly. 'Shit. Let me just get that.'

The businessman didn't wait for an answer, stepping out of the room even as he lifted the device up to his ear. He spoke loud enough for Richard could identify one side of the conversation even with Harry stood in the hallway.

'Hello? Yeah thanks...just finished reading through the...ah…' There was a long pause. 'Cool. We think at least a few more weeks.' Richard stayed as silent as he dared without making it obvious he was listening in.

'Seriously?!' Harry boomed suddenly, 'There's clearly something pre-arranged based on how quickly this spectre scheme has got off the ground...yeah of course I'm suspicious! It's a crazy idea when I...yes...YES…'

Einsenhower appeared to be arguing with someone down the line.

'No this is completely under wraps. I've got a small team working on it but nothing gets leaked until we've done a proof of concept run. We'll trickle something to the media before...ahh yeah I know. Any...Anyhow. I'll send the write up tomorrow and we'll discuss things further next week...yeah…Of course I like the designs!'

Another long pause interrupted Harry's babbling.

'Yes I've got someone with the right skills to test the prototypes. You need to think about launching some of the more recent designs to test the full capabilities of these things...as well the planned workforce. You know? Make it look glamorous and like there's going to be lots of jobs...course...yeah you too...see ya.'

There was a small beep as the conversation ended. Richard pretending to look busy as Harry blundered back towards the sink.

'Sorry about that Rich. I've been part-timing on so many things that working hours don't really exist anymore.'

Richard just shrugged.

The chubby man began the prolonged procedure of scrubbing at foamy plates with a natural sponge. For a while it was just that...two men cleaning plates after a meal with nothing out of the ordinary to even suggest the true madness in both of their lives.

Richard ran the teatowel between his hands, feeling the fibres rub against his palms. He'd spent so long in virtual reality that he often forgot the disparity between computer simulations and the real thing. Reality was so perfect in it's imperfections. Everything had shape and form, touch and feel. For the briefest of moments the world became a dizzying vivid whirlwind of all the five senses.

'Whoa kid. Are you relapsing after the bottling or are you just high?'

The world kicked back into normality. Richard blinked.

'Uh...sorry. Yeah I guess I'm still recovering.'

'Well it's on the risk assessment so it shouldn't be an issue. Using the Neuralink can be a little dangerous if it tries to eject you. It takes time for the disconnection to occur but it won't result in any long term problems.' Harry dumped a couple of plates onto the drainer to be dried. `You're going to want a good night's sleep if Mark's going to let you back in tomorrow. Him and Jean are really jumpy about this stuff.'

'They said something about the Neuralink being a bidirectional link? What does that mean?'

'Yeah. It's an interface between the computer and your brain. Dangerous kit really...and we have to ensure that it only uploads your brain activity to the computer and not the other way around.'

The man itched at his rounded nose. Richard had been reading up the very same issues on his softscreen earlier that afternoon.

'Anyways...How's it working out with your brother in the sims? You getting on well?'

'Apart from him thinking I'm effectively a computer generated Pokémon...it's fine.' Richard sniffed, 'It's just nice seeing him happy around me for a change. You know, even if he's not aware it's me. I think it might have been the right decision.'

'Wait? I thought you got on well with James?'

'Uuhh.' Richard groaned. 'Not really. It's kinda the thing between me and him that caused all of this mess. We used to get on...before…'

The immerser trailed off, being reminded of why he was here in the first place. Harry nodded slowly, his eyes flicking to the windowsill before he returned to his scrubbing. After a few moments of awkward silence, during which Harry realized Richard wasn't going to suddenly spill his life story, the older man decided to prompt the discussion more directly.

'So...Go on.'

'Well…' Richard grinned sheepishly, putting a dried plate down onto the solid oak kitchen table. 'James was always the clever younger brother. I got jealous when he got an offer for a scholarship at this big uni abroad. We used to get on so well and I didn't want him to go so I...uh…'

The young man suddenly realized that he didn't really want to talk about his past after all.

'So I tried to get him disqualified from his entrance exams.'

'Whoa..' Harry's eyes widened, 'Talk about a dick move. What Uni was he going-'

'Harvard or MIT or something.' Richard replied abruptly, 'Yeah I know it was stupid. I wish I never did it. James couldn't attend the exams, my parents exploded and I got kicked out. I've never spoken to any of them since...apart from James's now I guess.'

'Well. At least now you're making up for it.'

Richard sighed, refusing to make eye contact with the older man. 'Yeah. I hope so.'

For few moments Harry simply stared out of the window across the Jersey countryside. It was either that or a single photo frame on the windowsill. Richard hadn't spotted any other photographs in the whole house but for that single image. It was a beautiful shot of a happy couple stood next to a shaded river somewhere, featuring a much younger and athletic Harry stood next to a tall blonde woman.

'Wait...isn't that Baba?' Richard spluttered upon making the sudden connection. He pointed at the photo with a soap-studded glad almost slipping from his grasp. Harry, who had previously been scrubbing at a saucepan, stopped suddenly. For a few seconds the room grew very quiet before the chubby man sighed heavily.

'That's my...or that used to be, uh...my wife. Corey.'

'Corey? She looks just like Baba does in VR.' Richard pointed out, not noticing Harry's wary glance in his direction. In one sense the older man had been expecting this conversation to arise at some point. That didn't mean he had prepared anything for the eventuality. He sighed loudly, setting down the pan on the drainer and wiping his hands on a cloth.

'She does a little. That was nearly twenty years ago. We split up a few years later.'

'Ah I...I didn't want to intrude.'

'It's fine.' The large man grumbled, 'I've got over it ages ago.'

If anything, the picture left in the windowsill proved that such a statement was a blatant lie. However, Richard was too tired nor truly clever enough to fix the pieces together. Why Harry's ex-wife was a spitting image of Baba, and perhaps why HORIZON was developed the same time as their eventual divorce. It was one of those puzzles you couldn't see for looking. Richard hummed to himself thoughtfully.

'It must have been tough.'

The businessman gave Richard a long look.

'It was. You know...I don't think you would have said that a couple of weeks ago. You were a bit of a twat when I first met you. And quiet too. You've opened up a bit.'

'I guess.' The young adult shrugged.

'Getting used to being a Pokémon then?' Harry grinned widely upon seeing Richard nod. He cleared his throat. 'Good. I wanted to talk about something with you. Wanna grab a seat?' Harry prodded at a chair before picking up two recently washed glasses from the counter. Pouring two cups of water which almost got lost within the palms of his large hands, the large man sat down with a thump and slid a glass towards Richard. The immerser wasn't quite sure what to expect.

Harry clasped and unclasped his hands. There was a strange nervous energy to the balding businessman.

'Has Yana talked to you about the reason we're testing you specifically on the immersion setup?'

'I was told it had something to do with my brother being inside and our...brainwaves?'

'Eh. Good enough.' Harry waved away the comment. 'We're working on making virtual reality more real. Using the adapted Neuralink technology we've managed basic setups - but nothing like the complete VR that you're testing. For now we're building up a backlog of data to learn the best way to trick the brain into responding to HORIZON. You're the guinea pig.'

'It's kinda like dreaming right?'

'Very good.' Harry's chair creaked as the large meant leant back to cross his arms, 'But I guess it's like with any state of consciousness too. It's about tricking your brain into thinking what it sees is real. The simulation isn't any more advanced...your brain just thinks it is.'

'This is based on the reports by Goodwin right? The dreaming stuff?'

'We hired him a while back for the Slough branch.' Harry admitted, 'But what I wanted to talk about was trying out something new in the simulations. What do you think about remotely controlling robots using the immersion setup?'

'You mean Booples?' Richard asked. He was taken aback when the man opposite groaned loudly. Harry mumbled something under his breath before taking a sip of water.

'Typical! If that's what Yana calls it. It's designed for linking into HORIZON, but we can also use that system to put you in control of a robotic machine remotely. You can be directing a device anywhere in the world! Of course this isn't anything new, but it's the integration we're after. With uh...Booples...we can achieve a realism and naturalism to robotic control that until now was impossible.'

'I...I don't think I'm the best person to do this.' The young man admitted softly, running a hand through his short brown hair. Harry grinned, reaching for his softscreen and spinning it across the table. With chubby fingers he loaded up a few PDF files with various pictures on.

'That's where you're wrong. You are the only person with the skillset to try this out.'

The soft screen showed a number of technical drawings of four-legged robots which looked strangely feline in appearance. They had four triple-jointed metallic legs which looked highly maneuverable, positioned around a sleek oblong frame. Cameras were marked on what could have been the head end, with storage space for cargo on the back. A scale-bar suggested the robot was not much bigger than a large dog. Sketches showed the machine in various positions.

'That's the drawings from version three. They're working on a version four at the moment. Here, I've got some photos too.'

Harry flickered a rounded finger across the screen with surprising dexterity. A number of pictures of the sleek black robot appeared in various natural settings. There was a strange elegance to the machine as it stood on it's thin nimble legs.

'It looks cool.' Richard provided softly, not wanting to ruin the man's enthusiasm. 'Uh...what's it do?'

'Anything really.' Harry slipped his softscreen back into his pocket. 'It's a multipurpose machine some of the guys in an affiliated branch came up with. Radhardened to work in space too. With Britannica trying to build an orbital ring, they're in need of a workforce. Manual labour completed by machines controlled by humans. Gives people jobs without them having to leave Earth.'

Richard was almost tempted to ask why GOKIA, creators of the world's second ever true artificial intelligence, didn't just design a robot to think for itself. But humanity now lived in a world economy that had already been crashed by one malicious machine. Ever since, creating AI was universally illegal, highly condemned, and no longer attempted. Since the singularity, humans had woken up to the power that technology had to control.

'You're a qualified welder...and you're now highly experienced using all four of your limbs for doing things instead of just two. It's perfect.'

'Wait! So that's why I became a Pokémon? That was your idea!?'

Harry shrugged, ignoring Richard's rising tone.

'Out of other things. It's all on those files I sent if you'd bothered to read them.'

Richard had in fact finished reading all the paperwork and realized there was very little beyond technical jargon for exactly what he would be doing. As far as the risk assessment concerning the modded Neuralink and hours spent in a VR headset, there were even fewer details explaining the technicalities of his job. Or internship rather, as his position was listed on the GOKIA database.

'So what do you think? Willing to give it a try?'

'Welding in space?' Richard clarified, calming down. 'How many of these robot things am I controlling?'

'Just the one.'

It's a proof of concept Richard thought.

'So. Wanna give it a go?'

'I'd rather be in HORIZON with James.' The immerser pointed out quickly, not wanting to sacrifice the time spent with his brother. Not to mention the enjoyment that came with inhabiting the body of a Pokémon.

Harry shrugged, 'Fine with me. Yana will work on Sundays as long as there's pizza.'

'Uh, cool. I can try.'

'Great!' Harry practically beamed, his cheeks puffing up. It was almost comical how quickly the expression dropped to something far more serious. 'And Rich...this is off the books. This design hasn't gone through the proper pathways yet so it doesn't exist. No word of this gets to anyone beyond me. Got it.'

Richard nodded stiffly, wondering what he had just agreed to do.

END

So continues the main storyline for EOrRRoR. The last two chapters acted to break up the onslaught of plot development, although things will continue to speed up after this point. Unlike previously, I don't think I've introduced any technical lingo wildcards. Radhardened is the only one I noticed, shorthand for 'radiation hardening' which is a process of making electronic components resistant to ionizing radiation - especially useful for space technologies. Forties architecture is in reference for the upcoming 2040's rather than the war-era 1940s.

This story contains rather positive views on futurism which will continue to be expanded upon in later chapters. There are a few more nods to BLACKOUT than I was intending, but this story will be discussing some themes which act as a prequel to that separate story. As always, excuse any typos I've missed to correct. Thanks for the ever increasing number of viewers and followers! Enjoy!