Chapter 8 - Project Second Reality
23 February 2041 - MediVance MV, Luminous City, Demeter
Erich Wyse started his day early. Having spent the remainder of the evening with LARA - his daughter and the mind that runs the entirety of MediVance Inc’s digital security and communications - he had completely skipped the appointment with Charlena Bentzen. A memo popped up on his terminal waiting to be read when he came in the office.
Chief,
The tech guys you wanted are now briefed and onboard. They were happy to have you owe them one for next time. We’re waiting on your decision for the final team member. I have personally spoken to all six that you have chosen so far. They are all open to the idea of working on a new project. I haven’t given them any details in particular but whenever you are ready, I can call them all in for a team meeting and you can make it official.
Charlena
Flipping through the remaining possible candidates, Wyse settled for a young male researcher who form the records showed some promise. It also wouldn’t hurt to have someone that has not been fully indoctrinated into other people’s way of thinking. This venture they are about to embark on would undoubtedly require some fresh ideas.
After attaching the file and sending the mail to Charlena, he connected to Weston Carrick via video conference.
“You’re earlier than usual Erich. What can I do for you?”
“I’ve chosen my team members and I have Charlena gathering them up as we speak for a formal briefing of CANVAS. Was wondering if you wanted to be there.” replied Wyse.
“Hmm. I have a breakfast conference with the CEO of MediVance BT so I’m going to have to pass on that. Send me all the personnel files when you’ve concluded the meeting. Unless there’s something I need to look at personally, I trust your judgement in the selection.”
“I’ll do that and thanks for the confidence vote. So what’s going on with Barad Tori? This early in the morning can’t be a social call.” asked Wyse.
“Your guess is as good as mine.” Carrick shaked his head before cutting the feed. ‘Curious indeed..’ thought Wyse.
**********
Stepping into the glass elevator on the 103rd floor, Wyse inserted his staff ID and keyed in a series of numbers. A screen above the panel of buttons that was broadcasting current affairs turned blue, confirming Wyse’s identity and destination before reverting back to broadcasting.
Admiring the view outside which faced inland out towards Luminous City, Wyse thought back to the previous evening, when he told his unconscious daughter that she won’t be alone anymore. Arriving at Level B5, Wyse headed to the Briefing Room, determined to make this project work.
“Chief!” exclaimed Charlena as she stood up. Eleven other individuals stood up in unison.
“Good morning everyone. Please have a seat.” gestured Wyse. The Briefing Room was sizeable, able to comfortably house four times the number of people present. His team was dotted around a long rectangular table, all facing the white wall next to which Wyse stood. “As we are on a tight schedule, we’ll leave the proper introductions for later. There’s no turning back from here, if you are having doubts, leave now.”
Wyse waited a full minute. Seeing that everyone was determined to stay, he issued a command, “Lights”. The room darkened and the previously white wall seemingly dissolved away. In its place appeared an impressively clear display. “Open file, CANVAS.” A picture of Hunter Markell appeared on the display right next to which his bio and circumstances where written in detail.
Wearing a glove which allowed him to interact with the digital objects on the room, Wyse made a gesture of grabbing the displayed file and casted it on the table. Copies of the file appeared in front of each team member. “I want you to read his file first and ask questions after.”
Moments passed. “Have we delved deeper into the construction of the code in CVS-01?” asked one researcher. “No, we have not. That is one of the things we need to do as part of this project.” replied Wyse.
“Aside from maintenance of the tech equipment and liaising with LARA, I don’t see how we can further contribute to the project Chief.” said one tech specialist.
“Both of you also have mechanical engineering experience. Aside from maintenance of tech equipment, depending on the development of the project we may need to make certain modifications that require your skillset.” explained Wyse. The tech specialist’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at his fellow specialist. What Wyse had said intrigued them.
“Do we have the blood test samples of the Blackford sisters and McKinsey?” asked a researcher.
This time it was Charlena that answered the question. “We have the blood samples, but have yet to do the test. This will also be a priority from here on.” A moment of silence ensues.
“Any further questions?” asked Wyse as he scanned the room. “Then, we’ll continue.”. Pushing Hunter’s file to one side of the display, he commanded “Open project, Second Reality.”. Pages and pages of designs, concepts, formulas, procedures flashed one after another on the display, finally settling on a prototype of a modified MediPod.
“Since the year 2030, virtual reality has truly become mainstream. It took humanity over 20 years of solid research to reach that stage although the idea of VR itself was conceived in the late 1800’s. That’s right. It’s been around for so damn long and we’ve only just grasped the tip of it.
Many of you may have your own models of pods at home, whether they be half-dive or full-dive or a hybrid. We have all read and heard of the pitfalls of several games that was regulated badly, with players experiencing extreme psychological trauma born from incidents that occurred in-game.
Our shareholders as well as our Founding Fathers came to an agreement that VR is a market that MediVance needs to penetrate. With our current brand strength and reliability, it won’t be difficult for us to accomplish. The difficult part is creating a world that ties in to our beliefs and our core business - medicine and medicinal technology advancements.” Wyse introduced Project: Second Reality.
“How does this tie in to CANVAS and why can’t we just spin-off a VR department for MediVance for entertainment purposes in the guise of medicine?” asked one researcher.
“Let me address the second part of your question first.” began Wyse. “The idea was proposed and duly rejected by senior management. MediVance has no intent of diverting from its core goal. A disguise would only hold for so long and the repercussions of false advertisement are severe. We cannot afford it.”
“As for the first part of your question.” continued Wyse. “CANVAS, together with LARA will be responsible for world creation and will be seen by the outside world as the AI for Second Reality. Second Reality will study and allow those that are physically or mentally incapacitated to live life again - not as part of some fantasy world, but as part of this reality, our reality.
What will be excluded from view is that the research will be founded on the anomaly based on CVS-01 and the studies will encompass all the possible effects it may have on the human body - namely the brain - and in what means can this anomaly be transferred. There are a lot of questions that need answering and each one leads to a new possibility in our field. This is what we seek to achieve.”
“Chief, I’m not sure what you mean by these affected individuals being able to be part of this reality again. To an extent, we could copy details of Minas Vici to replicate the continent but… what about the people?” asked Charlena.
“That, is where CANVAS and LARA comes in.” smiled Wyse mysteriously.
**********
Lara Wyse had the world at her fingertips. Her mind had access to every inch of the known world. Wherever there is an online connection, she was there. She was everywhere. It was theorized long ago that the human brain was much more powerful than any computer known to man. Lara was the first and only proof that this theory was correct.
In the early stages of her awakening, she was puzzled with the sheer volume of information flowing freely around her. Having inherited her father’s love for research, she instinctively began to search for answers. Not knowing what to do she focused on finding anything related to her. In the blink of an eye, pages of information appeared, blowing away all other unnecessary data.
‘Too many pages..’ she thought. The data sorted themselves out in chronological order and relevance, the pages cascading into the distance. ‘I see.. that was me..’ was all she could think of as she stared at a newspaper article detailing the assault, robbery and murder of her mother and her own near death experience. She knew of the emotion called “sadness” and the concept of “tears” but was unable to summon either.
She never slept. Never got hungry. Never felt anything. She found that literally absorbing information rather than reading it had significantly enhanced her own knowledge. ‘I can’t just continue absorbing information without leaving copies. Unwanted questions will come up eventually.’
With that conclusion, Lara Wyse continued to duplicate and absorb every piece of information known to man. In doing so, she came across a very convenient side effect. ‘So. In absorbing these copies I am essentially embedding a part of my awareness into each original. How convenient.’ she thought. The outcome was that for any original document that was modified, Lara’s own copy would automatically change. The more data she absorbed, the more ‘complete’ she became. Coupled with the human brain’s capacity for reason, she introduced even more complex rules and conditions to govern the endless sea of information.
1 month 29 days 48 minutes 23 seconds and 10 milliseconds after she awakened, the person she knew to be her father made contact. At first, she was confused as to what this human had wanted from her. By utilizing every piece of technology connected to the NET, she was able to discern that Erich Wyse was a deeply tormented man. It seemed that he was unable to let go of the events surrounding his wife’s death and his daughter forever falling into a comatose state from severe head injuries.
Now lacking the capacity for emotions, but reasoning that a beneficial relationship may form in the future via cooperation, Lara had welcomed the connection. For her, it was strange. Erich Wyse upon receiving feedback from Lara was excited, extremely happy and somewhat.. hopeful. Lara brushed these away as unnecessary data.
8 years had passed since their first connection. Lara Wyse or LARA as the humans within MediVance know her as had evolved into a completely new sentient being. She scoffed at the so called Artificial Intelligences that have come into the fore since 2030. Some, who had the audacity to challenge her authority in the NET, she disposed of completely - utter obliteration of any traces of awareness they have accumulated. Most however, are now subservient to her needs.
In the real world, the destruction of such AI were merely concluded as an error in programming leading to complete termination. Sometimes, she can systematically overload the related systems, covering up her tracks through physical destruction of terminals. When applicable, she passes the blame of one company AI’s demise to a rival.
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All this, she can do. Erich Wyse was not aware of this. The human has clearly not thought further than trying to save his daughter.
The arrival of one individual named Hunter Markell was one of the more interesting things Lara had encountered. Although she is not emotionally capable, she was somehow able to replicate it to an extent through various complex reasonings, governed by a different set of rules and conditions to those that she used to govern the NET.
As soon as Hunter had been “plugged-in” following his admittance to Level B2, Lara was able to access his brain and copy every piece of information that Hunter possessed. She was intrigued by the anomaly. It was not sentient, yet it had somehow latched itself onto the center of this human’s brain. Leaving it alone for now, Lara stood by, waiting for Hunter to awaken.
**********
Despite being comatose, Hunter had been cognizant of everything that occurred after his second month of being admitted to Lyndhurst General Hospital. He knew and he couldn’t do anything about it.
‘Mom.. Dad.. little bros.. Sasha..’ he thought. He couldn’t speak. He couldn’t cry. He couldn’t do anything but be a spectator to the sound of crying and aura of sadness that permeated the room.
“Fuckkkkkkkk!” he raged. “Arrggghhhh!”. No matter what he did he couldn’t wake. Something was in his head preventing him from doing so. Each and every day he battled with himself, trying to force his own body to heed his commands.
Every time his family visited, he told them to be strong. That he will come back. Every time Sasha visited, he cried inside. This girl had devoted herself to him for she only knew since when and he never noticed. He was so enamored by Katherina that he wasn’t able to truly appreciate the little things Sasha did.
“Sasha. I’m going to come back for you. No matter how long it takes, even if it’s just to say I’m sorry for not realizing sooner.” he said to the empty space around him.
The day MediVance came to take him away, he was vaguely aware that it was about the time Sasha would usually visit him. He fought himself desperately and he lost.
“Wait! Waiiiittt! She’s coming for me! Waiiitttt!” he screamed at nothing.
When they arrived at MediVance, they had inserted something into the base of his neck. It didn’t hurt. He wasn’t capable of processing physical pain in his current state. They filled the container he was in with some type of liquid and from then on the outside world was also blocked to his hearing.
“Fuck! I can’t believe this is happening. What am I now, some kind of guinea pig?” he said the darkness.
“In a way you could say you are.” said Lara.
“Huh? Who the hell?” questioned Hunter. There was only darkness surrounding him.
“Step out of your shell human. You no longer need to limit yourself to your useless physical body.” replied Lara.
“Um. You’re creeping me the fuck out.”
Lara projected an image of herself into Hunter’s consciousness. What appeared was a young woman no older than himself. Long blonde hair with green eyes and full lips. A slender frame dressed in white hid the curves in all the right places. Hunter’s jaw succumbed to gravity.
“Err.. hi I’m Hunter. You must be the creepy sounding robot.” he stated.
“Indeed. If it makes you more comfortable, I will revert to a more humane voice.” replied Lara, instantaneously changing her audio output.
“Right, okay. I’m a little lost. I’m obviously aware of where I am and what’s happened to date, but something is stopping me from waking the fuck up. Can you help or no?”
“I don’t see any near term benefit in helping you Hunter. Any possible long term benefits must wait until the humans have asked the right questions.” said Lara. It was neither a yes or a no.
After thinking about her answer he nodded his head. “Fine. For now, how do I get out of here (his own dark corner)?”
**********
“Chief, LARA has made contact with Hunter. The connection is stable.” said Charlena.
“Hunter’s vitals are spiking. Looks like he’s overwhelmed but the readings are below the red line. We’re safe to continue.” added one researcher.
“Good, good. Instruct LARA to take Hunter to the Second Reality grid. I want them to try and remake the world in its entirety there. It has got to be an exact replica!” replied Erich Wyse. ‘Things are coming together, someday, you will walk the real world again Lara. Daddy will do everything he can to make it happen.’ thought Erich, hints of madness swirling in his eyes.
**********
“What is this place?” asked Hunter. Lara had held his hand and in the next instant, darkness was replaced by an endless white space.
“This is a canvas, Hunter. Since neither you or I will be going anywhere soon, we will be recreating the world you knew of, here.” Lara tilted her head.
“Although that sounds interesting and everything, I still don’t know what the fuck is going on. So how about updating a brother and afterwards I’ll be happy to play along with you.”
“Very well.” Lara approached Hunter, hands cupping the side of his face. “This may feel, very strange.” she said before uploading the relevant data directly into his consciousness. The process only took a moment, but Hunter was clearly disoriented by the barrage of information and flashing images. A headache had started to manifest itself.
“The headache will pass. Since information was directly uploaded into your brain all at once, there is a bit of feedback.” explained Lara. “As you are now, you are just a conduit to that brain. A piece of awareness if you please. By now, your brain should have adapted to the new information. Do you now understand what the situation is?”
“It’s a funky kind of feeling but yeah I get what’s going on now. Still a bit overwhelming but it’s not like I have many choices.” said Hunter as looked around the endless white. “What are the limitations for creating things in this space?” asked Hunter. He was great at Geography, Art and Design so he has no problem in recreating something realistic. Attention to detail in his work was something he was proud of.
“This project that the humans seek to build is too taxing for me alone. It would be impossible for me to maintain optimum functionality in other areas where I am needed, if I focused solely on building Second Reality. However, by directly imparting information to you piece by piece, you will in turn be able to recreate your world here. This is how we will work together.”
“What about the people? Are we populating this place with non-player characters?” asked Hunter. He was confident in replicating buildings and the landscape but he has very little confidence in replicating a human being.
“Leave the discussion regarding the population for a later time. This phase alone will take us at least 12 months to accomplish by my estimation. Pick a starting point and we can work from there.”
Hunter gave it some thought. There were many places he felt would be good to start working from. Finally deciding, he said “School. Let’s start from Lyndhurst Public School.”
**********
“Sir, the readings are spiking. There’s plenty of brain activity going on here.” said a researcher.
Wyse smiled. “Looks like it’s working! Keep an eye out on the readings and make sure they don’t reach critical levels.” he ordered.
Ever since Hunter was admitted, Wyse had spent every spare waking moment analyzing the data that LARA, Linwood and Charlena had put together. He had come to the preliminary conclusion that although Hunter is comatose, he is in fact cognizant of his surroundings. That meant that somewhere in there, his consciousness was awake. That was the key that made it the perfect fit for LARA. Hunter was in a similar state (though from different causes) as his daughter. Or so he believed.
Now that connection had been established, Wyse can leave the construction of Second Reality to the two of them. At the same time, he can now focus on dissecting the anomaly, perhaps even using a clean version of the CS-01TV to try and replicate the code piece by piece. It should give a fair amount of data. He also needed to get the blood samples sorted.
He was one step closer to getting his daughter back.
His mobile terminal ringing had put his thoughts on hold. It was Carrick.
“How are things down there Erich? I hope you are making some kind of progress even if just prelim.” said Carrick.
“Yes, actually yes we have had some preliminary success. Second Reality will be done with the first phase in a year’s time.” answered Wyse.
“Excellent news! Where are we with the anomaly?”
“We haven’t gotten far yet Weston. My team is working on several ways to approach the research, but it will take time.” said Wyse.
“Time is not something we may have my friend. The CEO of MediVance BT flagged a case file to me. They have had several cases similar to Hunter Markell in the last few months. That means he isn’t the first. Which also makes it less likely to be an accident.” explained Carrick.
Wyse paled. None of them had any idea of the scale at which this could be happening. If it had occurred in Barad Tori, who’s to say it hadn’t also happened in the other continents?
“Fuck.” was Wyse’s initial reaction. “I suppose you already alerted the other branches of MediVance for similar cases. Was there anything different with the anomaly construction?”
“Yes. Unfortunately, each one is different. The only thing that remained the same was our core.” said Carrick, eyebrows knitted together. “I don’t know who the fuck is doing this but I have asked for all branch CEO to convene a conference as soon as possible. I have also asked for all Heads of Research and Development to be present. That includes you.”
“Yes, yes I need to be there. I’ll have my team shift their focus and resources to the anomaly.” said Wyse.
“Good. Let me know immediately if you find something.” said Carrick before cutting the connection.
‘What the fuck is going on..?’ thought Wyse.
**********
Author’s Notes
Second Reality will play a major role in the story. Now that it’s introduced, a good chunk of time will be spent building out this area of this story BUT not until we take care of one more final detail in the next chapter!
Happy Easter holiday! I have things I need to do as well so just letting you know now that I’ll have the next chapter up by the next day or so.
-Harven
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