Chapter 29
I began blinking rapidly.
It felt almost like… waking from sort of dream. You could kind of touch it, feel it, but whenever you focus on it, it drifts away. Just out of your reach.
I took the headset off, and took a look around the room, letting my eyes adjust. I could see that several rigs were empty already. I wonder what happened there?
“Hey, glad to see you made it!” I heard, looking suddenly to my left. There stood Diondre, he was wiping off his goggles with some sort of sterile wipe from the looks of it.
“Er… I… yeah.” I mumbled, trying to get my bearings. “What… happened?”
Diondre looked at me, a hint of trepidation on his face. “Well… I hate to tell you this, but you can’t remember anything about what happened there.”
I looked at him, dumbfounded. “Wha… why? Why would they block us from knowing what happens?”
Diondre shrugged, his face taking on a serious look. “Operational Security. At least, thats what we are told. It keeps you guys from reaching out, passing on information to the other side. I guess back when all this started, initially the members could remember what happened between sessions… but… it had consequences they didn’t foresee. Some people broke with some of the things people did. Additionally, people would sell the information they gained, in a way rigging the outcomes of what happened. This went on for nearly 20 years, and… well, they install a chip in your head.”
He did a tapping motion on the right side of his head.
“I’ve heard that there are ways to unlock the chip, but I haven’t seen anyone who has. Whether its an augment, or some sort of upgrade within the system, I couldn’t tell you.” He shrugged, “Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, we aren’t allowed to divulge that until after your first session.”
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I shook my head, still struggling to process this. “Then… how do I remember whats going on?”
Diondre nodded, “Its still up there. Its almost like a save point in a video game. You log back in, it all comes right back.”
It dawned on me then, and I looked seriously at Diondre. “Why can you remember? What prevents you from telling me whats going on in there?”
He smiled, a sad pitying sort of look on his face. “ Well, keeping my job, for one. But honestly… what would you gain from it? Also, we are only privy to what happens in these basic simulations. Every trainee, in every military, worldwide go through a very similar process. It could be a different simulation, but its the game general concept - it is there to introduce you guys to the systems, and how to operate in the environment. Thats all.”
I began stripping the suit off me. Parts of it were sticking to my skin, and I frowned. I must have been sweating or moving a lot apparently. As I got undressed, Diondre took the pieces, wiping off the helmet, then dropping the suit, gloves, and socks in some sort of bucket with a solution. I spotted a fresh set of clothes folded next to me, along with a plastic jug of wipes. It was obvious I needed to… “clean myself” downstairs before getting changed. As I did so, Diondre turned around, patiently waiting.
As I got dressed, Diondre cleared his throat, speaking up for the first time in about fifteen minutes. “Ok, lets go over cleaning up everything and resetting for the next day.”
As I walked out of the bay with the rigs, I bumped into Tom. Like me, he was wearing a fresh set of fatigues, his hair looking dishoveled. I wondered if I looked much the same.
“Er uh… hey buddy!” Tom said, awkwardly waving at me. “Did… you have a good time?”
I rapidly blinked, looking at him stupified.
“I don’t know, did you?” I responded sarcastically.
Tom burst out in a laugh, patting me on the shoulder. “Good point! Neither us can remember, eh?”
I nodded, “Now you got it. Yeah. Did you just log out as well?”
He nodded, “Yessir. My assistant said I did a good job.”
I smiled at him, “Well, thats great, I guess? I’m starving, wanna hit chow?”
Toms eyes got huge, his smile almost looking comical. “Never thought you’d ask!”