James had the most wonderful dream, in it he was on a plane, but the plane was a mile long, and was as wide as three houses, in fact, it was not anything like a plane, but it felt like one, an on the other side of it was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen, with the kind of grin that told him that she was in desperate need of loosing something, as he ran the plane began to fall gently and he flew into the air, floating, soon he was soaring towards the girl, just as he was about to though, everything stopped, as if it were just he and her, she elegantly jumped to join him as they floated, she undid her bra, and just as James was about to do the deed, the plane began to crash, alarms began to ring, but there was something wrong with them, they were to slow, and then the plane hit the ground.
He awoke to find Daniel with his fist hovering above him
"I swear to god James, if you don't get up real soon I'm guna punch you so hard your grandkids are guna have trouble sleep'n" he said
James was still getting over the fact that the girl was in fact a dream. With the feeling of lose over, he quickly got changed and checked his calendar, simulation-meet in the front atrium. He shrugged, figuring it was just the holo goggles with some forced feedback, he'd seen them at the fair all the time.
"Yea, yea I'm up Daniel, no need to kill me" said James, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"You sure? Cause I mean I was ready to punch ya n'all, be right waste of energy if ya know what I mean" replied Daniel, eager to got a chance to punch James
"No no, I'm up, don't worry 'bout it"
"got my punch all lined up and everything"
"I'm getting up now" said James, starting to get fed up
"Fine, take all the fun out of it" said Daniel walking away. James got up, changed and walked out the door. James found himself looking for Kim; he didn't know why though, back in Riddlefield, if you were Kim, you were dead, simple as that. He spotted Kim as he entered the mess, he was fiddling with the scanner on the machine, interested in how many levels of shit Kim was getting into he went to see what would happen next.
"Hey Kim, so...what are doing with the machine?" he asked
Kim didn't bother looking up "I'm trying to reprogram and reconfigure the machines standard 3.8.9 gono scanner to accept my identity bracelet's signature as second tier, so I can get guard rations" he said, James simply nodding as he tried to figure out what he Kim has said, Kim continued to fidget with the poor machine for another few seconds until there was an audible 'click' noise, Kim hovered his identity bracelet under the machine, it was a credit card, an insurance document, and a drivers licence all in one, and yet even with all those things, it still seemed to stick out, everyone had one, if you couldn't get your girlfriend the right gift, you could buy a scanner online and scan hers to see what she liked. It was just something more to go wrong in James's mind. It made uncomfortably bad noises for a moment, beeped, and the machine went silent. Kim moved his tray underneath the tubes, were usually porridge and some artificial bacon would pop out, this time though, it was much better, with a healthy serving of real bacon, glistening with real grease, a pancake, and some scrambled eggs. James was agape, while he and the rest of the chumps got to eat food that spent more time in a vat or the earth then on an animal, Kim got to eat like a regular person.
"Kim" said James "why didn't you tell me you were useful" he continued as he slid his tray under the machine, hoping in vain that he would get the same meal, and sulking when it dropped a ball of porridge into an indent in the tray, followed by some mystery meat bacon.
"The nerds will inherit the earth" he muttered, walking over to the table.
Tommy had always loved showing off, something about beating the crap out of the leader of a group gave him a primal buzz. He and some Latino had been at each other's throats, mostly verbal, but now the term took on a very real meaning. Most institutions have banned open fighting; those that haven't mostly allow it to control the population. However, some fights are accepted, the most popular being head lock. The goal was to keep your opponent in a headlock while he did the same, most tried to strangle their opponents, while others just endured until the other was weak enough to just give up. Tommy, preferred to get it over with, he and the Latino, a guy's name Philippe, and they'd been at it for half an hour, Tommy was currently trying to get a kidney shot, while Philippe was pulling his locked arm with his free one, trying to strangle Tommy, both the boys had sweat pouring from their foreheads. Philippe wiped his eyes, Tommy took his chance and punched him in the chest, Philippe doubled up with a shriek, clutching his chest like a stab wound.
"You piece of shit" he cried "you fucking cheap shot piece of shit, I'm gona fucking kill you!" he screamed, his face red with anger.
"What are you waiting for? I'm right here" said Tommy, with a sly grin; Philippe was on his feet in an instant, charging at Tommy like a demon. He swung out wide at Tommy; Tommy ducked to dodge the punch and came back with a jab to the face followed by a second punch in the eye. Philippe roared with rage and grabbed Tommy's throat. For once Tommy was actually worried, Philippe had a strong grip and he was losing air fast, his heart was pumping, and it seemed like the world was getting fuzzy. Tommy reached out and grabbed Philippe's face, jabbing his thumbs into his eyes. Philippe let go to protect himself. Tommy took a moment to breath before hitting Philippe in the face with a haymaker, his nose exploded in a gush of blood, covering most of Philippe's mouth; Tommy reared up on his left leg and let out a side kick, hitting Philippe in the chest. He staggered for a bit as he gasped for air before tipping over and falling like a guy with a broken nose and a concussion, hard. Tommy looked at the reflective panels, he could see a few bruises around his neck and a few on his chest, satisfied, and he casually walked out of the alpha dorm.
Leaving the mess James and Kim headed out for the meeting in the atrium. The atrium was a large room right before the classrooms, it was a two story room with round tables spread out all over, the chairs were magnetically sealed to the floor but besides from that it was actually the most normal room in the whole complex. Today the tables had been removed and the chairs rearranged into lines, James and Kim split up, as the rows were divided into red, yellow, blue, and green. All of which represented a different group, James took a seat in a blue chair, and waited for whatever was supposed to happen, he looked over at the entrance to the atrium to find a group of guys walking into the room. They had red shirts which meant they were alpha, some of them reminded James of Tommy, who he hadn't given much thought, it was strange, and why had they picked him instead of Tommy? The trough he figured, was that he was dead, gassed or shot it didn't matter, he was dead. Just then a man in a lab coat, followed by several guards walked to the front.
"Hello, my name is Dr. Henderson" he said, his voice carried by experience, he was a middle aged man, but looked younger than that, but his eyes were full of knowledge beyond his humble appearance, James didn't catch any of that but none the less he listened
"We have gathered here today, fifty of the Western hemispheres best recruits, all under one roof, we have several from the patriot youth groups, and Adam Hither military academy no?"
Several ho-ras came from behind him
"I do believe we also have an Adam Hither academy graduate?" Brandon gave a nod
"As well several from recently annexed Canada, please stand up" a few stood up, their faces expressionless, one caught James's eye, a girl, with just the right amount of curve, the goldy locks standard, not to hot, not to cute as he said. They all sat down
"And finally many from the privet and...Judicial sector" James knew this was his cue to stand up; he did so briefly, and sat down without looking around.
"I will not lie" he said, a stern look in his eye "you have been brought here to become the best at what you do, you were selected for one purpose, to fight, you will become soldiers, there is no doubt, what set's you apart is your age, at your age you have yet to meet your physical limits, no crippling injuries, no bad back. You are limitless, the history books may never here of you, but the battles you win will decide the fate of our world, this is why you have been brought here" he finished, walking out of sight. Apparently somebody took the news badly, a boy stood up from his chairs frantically, about seventeen, sweat dripping from his brow "you can't do this man, it's wrong, and...And, I never did anything that bad, I can't take this!" he ran, stumbling several times, he ran down the main hallway, a brief explosion echoed in the halls. And then silence. He had been shot. James looked around; everyone was getting back in their seats, all of them looking around worriedly.
"I forgot to mention, this facility is still a prison by standard, any attempt to flee will result in execution, for those who have not committed a crime, and you will be shot for desertion. Thank you" said the doctor. Murmurs started among the groups. James noticed a man arguing with the doctor. He was wearing a military uniform, medals along his chest were many, at least ten. He looked in his early thirties. Guards walked up to the group, the leader spoke.
"Alright, you will go down these elevators behind me, once at the bottom, find a map of the floor to your right, locate your name on the list next to it and move that room, you will be given instruction from there. That is all, move out!" he said.
James got up from his seat and followed his group, there were twelve of them, with some quick maths, he realised that that if there were four groups, with twelve each, then why would they need fifty, with that one guy dead, that left one without a group. Probably just a clerical error, nothing to be worried about he thought. People were taking their time getting onto the elevators; there were four of them, again marked with the groups colors. By the time they arrived at the bottom James had given up trying to make sense of it all. He walked over to the map, shoving his way to the front, he scanned for his name among the list, he found it, room D3, he paced until he found it. The rooms were about five by five meters big, blocking his way was a metal door, and beside it was a list of names.
J. TARTONI
J. KINDLE
A. DOE
B. LEVEQUE
Seeing his name he assumed the door must have a scanner, unlocking it with his bracelet and walked in. Inside he found four metal coffins, two were open, looking inside he found an intricate series of wires held in place by a frame on hinges. Someone else entered, he recognised Brandon, with his white hair and blue eyes he was impossible to miss.
"I recognise you" he said "you're the one Kim seems to have clung on to, aspergers syndrome with him I suspect" James couldn't help it, he laughed.
"aspergers syndrome? Really, as in 'ass burgers'?" he said, trying to hold back his amusement.
"How very juvenile of you, it's discovery was by that of German ancestry" said Brandon in distaste as he walked away.
James continued to inspect the coffins; the inside was layered with a soft gel, like a rubber of some kind. Large tanks were attached to the bottom of it; they were cold to the touch.
Brandon began looking at the coffins as well "If you would care to know, I do think these are simulation pods, thought of the design a few years ago, never thought it was possible, the subjects mind would be destroyed in the transfer, I suspect those tanks are for keeping the subjects body from reacting to the simulations stimuli, absolutely fascinating, never thought it could be done" he seemed almost bewitched by the complexity of the machines, his eyes ignorant to the world. James let him be as he sat down on the floor and waited for instructions. Two minutes later two more boys entered the room, the first one looked like he'd been taken out of a movie, heavy build and crew cut. The second was just average, average build and average height; he honestly could be lost in a crowd of one.
The big one spoke first, "well looks like everyone's here, names Alex, you guys?" he asked casually
"Brandon Leveque" said Brandon
"James"
The small one spoke up "Names Josh Kindle, been here two days and I'm already having second thoughts" he said, probably the kid who had a small circle of friends, spoke like a follower though.
Alex spoke up "ah don't worry about it' he said with little worry.
Before the conversation could continue, the PA came on, it was the guard.
"Enter the pods in the room, stay calm and do not resist" he said. All the boys in the room shrugged and got into the pods, James brought the wire frame down on his body, the lid closed on its own, sealing James inside. James began breathing heavily; a he smelled something in the air. It was gas. He held his breath, trying to keep from breathing it. Thirty seconds later he finally gave up and gasped for air, with the gas in his lungs he began to lose feeling of his hands, feeling more and more tired he eventually passed out.
He was floating in darkness; it was darkness without end, no light, nothing. His body was not there. James tried to move an arm, he could feel it move, but did not see it. His mind survived but his body was gone. Alone in an infinite sea of nothing was too much, he yelled out, trying with all he could to be heard, there was an echo, a perfect echo with no end. He began to feel wind, a soft autumn breeze; he could feel sand beneath on his feet, and yet still there was nothing. He closed his mind's eye, and opened it. He was in a concrete room, along with everyone else he had met in the room, Brandon, Alex and josh, they were all there looking around. James looked down, he saw two feet, but they weren't his, he tried to walk and they moved. Everyone else was doing the same, stumbling around the room trying to get used to their new bodies. Brandon was in the lotus position, breathing slowly and rolling his head around, brining his arms up in a wide arch until they touched above his head.
"Hey, brains" yelled Alex, who was currently stumbling about "what the hell are you doing?" he asked.
Brandon sighed "I'm allowing my mind to become familiar with the avatar body" he replied.
"Ava what?" asked josh
Another sigh "avatar refers to a second body controlled by the user, in this case a digital representation" replied Brandon
"Digital?" said Alex.
Brandon rolled his eyes "on an island of a thousand idiots" he muttered "we are in a computer" he said, sounding like a professor giving a lecture "I'd heard of the concept, digital transfer of the users mind into a computer. But I never thought it was possible, the amount of space needed would be enormous, I researched the equations, and I did a few myself. But there was one flaw. Texture, the amount of data needed to make a square foot of carpet would overload a super computer, so that must mean they are using pre recorded data..." he pondered for a moment, James beat him to it.
"They're using our memories, or at least someone else's." Said James, Brandon jumped on the idea
"Yes, that could be, but individual experience would leave huge holes in the environment, things they've never seen or felt, the list goes on. Only possible explanation is that they are using combined memories, what one person has, everyone has, ingenious, can't believe I didn't think of that.' He looked at James "James, truly when I first met you I assumed that you were a drug addict with the reading skills of a four year old, you have impressed me" he said.
"Gee, thanks. I guess" said James, rolling his eyes. Alex was wandering around the room, trying to figure out what to do, that seemed to the pressing matter.
"Hey, Brandon" he said "we're in a computer right?" he said
Brandon looked plainly at him "yes, I thought we already discussed this" he said, making an effort to make every word punctuate how stupid he thought Alex was.
"So do you think there's a user interface, like voice or something?" replied josh.
"Perhaps" Brandon looked up "computer" he said. A robotic female voice echoed from the very walls "yes?" it said.
"Holy shit that worked" muttered josh "what is our task?" he asked.
"administrators have instructed me to introduce you to the simulation using the method of self education due to the presence of subject M1 or 'Brandon' I felt your group would speed along the learning curve. The goal of this simulation is to become comfortable in the use of all standard methods of combat, including firearms at all ranges as well as hand to hand combat. I am now granting you full use of facilities. Good luck" the voice went silent. Suddenly the room's walls began to slide down, revealing a large room about the size of three buses side by side, with a small wall in the middle going half way across.
James looked down at his body. His facility clothes had changed, his T-shirt had changed into a black shirt with blue bands running around the sleeve, and he had fingerless gloves on. Looking around he realized that most of the room was dedicated to holding various weapons and armour, with many tables holding tools and shelves on them, most likely for maintenance and modifying. He walked over to the armour racks. There were only four armour racks, one for each of them, James looked and found one with his name on top. Reaching out he touched the armour, it was real, lifting it off of its perch he put it on, it was basic Kevlar body armour, the type often worn by police, and it gave modest protection to the user, protecting the arms, body and head. Walking around the room James found that it if tailored to his size. He looked over at the armour rack, he noticed a control panel, it only had directional buttons on it, left right and select, he pressed one and another type of armour materialized, he pushed the button again and another one took its place.
"Hey Brandon, what the hell's going on with the room, the armour here keeps on changing when I press this button" yelled James, looking over his shoulder to see where he was, he could see Alex arguing with the computer
"What do you mean military weapons are unavailable? They're right there I can SEE them" he yelled
"Due to the nature of the mission, only civilian grade munitions are available" said the computer" Alex shrugged and grabbed the biggest pistol he could and set to work on it.
James passed Josh who was testing out an SMG. He found Brandon examining a selection of pistols, James recognised most of them.
"If you're looking for a pistol I'd say to get the TG 6: 9mm, it's a good all round pistol, bad ammo capacity but good range, and the kick from it is almost nothing" said James, Brandon looked over.
"I was thinking about it, anyway I'm guessing your here because of the strange nature of this room, more specifically the way you select things. From what I've gathered this room acts as a command post for any simulation we happen to be in. The armour changing is just a way of making mundane things like armour and weapon selection more streamlined" Brandon paused "did you get any of that?" he asked
James was hesitant "so it's like a video game right? He said
"More or less yes, if that will keep you away from me than yes, it's like a video game" said Brandon, beginning to loath his teammates for their lack of a 180+ IQ.
James looked around the wall, ever inch dedicated to holding sweet deadly hardware. Picking up a gun from its perch he toyed around with it, it was a 8mm machine pistol, grabbing a second one he put the spare on a magnet on his pants, the gun stuck in place. Grabbing a clip of ammo from a drawer he loaded it, a metallic cling as it slid into place.