Chapter 125

Brian was in a furnished bedroom with a plush blue rug that stretched from wall to wall. He had just finished dressing. During the limo ride to the building his room was in, the man in the red vest had refused to answer any questions but has assured him he would be taken care of.

They'd provided him with a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, a new pair of underwear, and a pair of black shoes with yellow stitching that had really soft insoles. Brian hoped he could keep them.

The bedroom wasn't much. A queen sized bed. A dresser. A desk. A chair. A couch. A bathroom off of a side door. Even though the furnishings weren't lavish they were still more than Brian was used to. Keep in mind that Brian's favorite couch had been taken off of the street on rubbish day and his twin bed lacked even a box spring – he was not exactly used to luxury.

The odd thing, if anything could be considered uniquely odd at that point, was the wide open space large enough to fit another queen sized bed between the bed and the wall. It looked like an odd amount of unused space and Brian couldn't imagine why it had been left like that. He sighed, he hadn't seen anything yet that would help him understand what was going on.

He had been ushered in to the room on arrival too quickly for him to get a look at anything other than the numerous security stations they were forced to pass through. There were no signs or labels for any of the corridors of rooms. They had even entered through a nondescript windowless door. The entire building lacked windows now that Brian thought of it. He hadn't noticed a single window on the way in.

Brian had been sitting in the black chair at the desk. It was black and looked like it had been woven out of some kind of dark plastic threads which let it adjust perfectly to his body when he sat in it. Brian sighed.

His room-mate Kevin had always wanted one of them for his computer desk setup and after sitting in one Brian could understand why. The fact that they cost more than a couple months rent ensured that he'd never own one.

Shaking his head Brian stood up and went to the dresser. He opened up the top drawer and saw that it was half filled with underwear. His underwear. Not his exactly but in his size. The other half was socks.

The drawer below had white t-shirts and Brian could guess what the other drawer held. Jeans. So it appeared that they expected him to stay for at least more than a day. Hopefully.

His door dinged and Brian waited. It dinged again and Brian realized that he might need to be involved in opening it. He approached the door.

“Hello?” he said to the empty room. No answer. Great, he thought to himself.

He looked at the door and noticed a display panel to the left side of it. He pressed a button labeled 'answer' that took up half of the screen.

“Hello! And welcome to Orientation! There are multiple phases to the application process for entry to Eden. In a moment your door will open. When that happens there will be a glowing green line on the wall. Please follow that line to its destination for Orientation, thank you!” said a chirpy voice that came from the display panel.

A moment later the door slid open and Brian could see a line on the wall outside his room glowing light green. He stepped in to the corridor and patted his pockets as he did so. They were empty. It felt weird to violate one of his rules. He always patted his pockets when he left his room at home to make sure he didn't forget his keys. Now he didn't have keys. Or anything else really.

The line brought him past numerous closed doors, all windowless. Brian wondered if there were people just like him behind some of the doors. His surroundings looked more like an office building than anything else and the green line would occasionally go past a lounge area or a cafeteria. No matter where it brought him, he was alone.

Finally the line stopped at a room that looked like all of the other rooms. There was no real way to tell them apart and if it weren't for the green line he'd be lost entirely.

The green line of lights went dark. It left him alone in a featureless corridor in front of a locked door.

The door slid open and after a brief hesitation Brian poked his head inside.

It was an office. Light beige walls, plenum ceiling, the kind of carpet that hides stains – just a normal office. There was a large desk that had a computer on it facing away from Brian.

“Please, come on in!” said a nice looking older lady in a lab coat wearing glasses. She had gray hair except for a single streak of purple.

Brian entered the room and she had him sit in a guest chair while she took a seat behind the desk and computer.

“I'm Sasha and I'm here to get you processed in! First, you may quit at any time just by saying out loud 'I quit.' Be aware that once you say the words there is no taking them back and you will be removed from the program no matter how much you argue against it. Do you understand?” said the woman kindly with a smile that sent creases across the skin around her eyes.

Brian nodded. “I understand.”

“While you are here there will be zero communication with the outside world until the end of the program. If that is unacceptable you may say out loud now “I quit,” and you will returned home. Any attempts to contact others while you are here will result in dismissal. Do you understand?” Sasha asked kindly but intently.

Brian nodded, “I do.”

“What we do here is not ready for release to the public and you may be shown things that we do not want to become public knowledge just yet. Because of that we are asking all applicants to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Basically you are agreeing not to talk about any of this with anyone unless we say it's ok.” Sasha explained patiently. “There are also a few release clauses for any damages or injuries. What we do is non-invasive but experimental. If you would rather wait for a consumer version all you have to do is say 'I quit' right now.”

She gave him time to say the words but Brian stayed quiet. He had zero intentions of quitting.

Brian waited and she passed him a contract and a pen. Brian tried to read it but it was really dense legal language and he finally got frustrated and just signed it. It wasn't like he was going to quit and walk out just yet.

She took back the contract and filed it away in the desk before turning back to him with a serious expression.

“Now, you have been invited to apply for entry to Eden. That does not mean that you will make it in however. There are technical, medical, and ethical requirements that we must first test you for. That is a large part of this process.” Sasha continued while looking directly at Brian.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Brian smiled at the mention of Eden and said “Yes!” happily then said “oh” when she told him he might not get in after all.

Sasha smiled. “Glad to hear you're still interested. Don't worry. As long as you are in good health, don't have any psychopathic tendencies, and are willing to cooperate with the program you've a good chance of getting in. Any questions before I continue?”

Brian's stomach grumbled and he looked up with an embarrassed expression.

“Don't worry, your meals will be sent to your room.” Sasha answered before he could ask.

“Will I be in my room the entire time?” Brian asked.

“Yes. Then Eden.” Sasha replied.

“Will I meet other people?” Brian asked.

“Why? Do you want to?” Sasha asked him as if he had said something interesting.

Brian thought for a moment before shaking his head, “No?”

She laughed, “Then no, you won't. Ready to get started?”

Brian had more questions but didn't want answers more than he wanted to visit Eden. The sooner he jumped through whatever hoops the Company had set up the sooner he could see Eden.

“I'm ready. Let's do this!” Brian said.

“Wonderful! Your first step then is medical. You'll be given a physical and have your first fitting. When you leave just do as you did before, follow the green line.” Sasha said with a crinkly smile. “Good luck!”

“Thank you!” Brian said as he heard the door behind him open. He quickly got up from his seat and quickly walked out and towards his next destination.

He hated getting physicals.

The green line brought him through a number of hallways. This time he didn't pass a cafeteria but instead a courtyard walled off in glass. There was a door to enter the courtyard but it was shut. It looked as if a door at the other end of the courtyard opened but before he could make out who was on the other side of the door the glass suddenly became frosted and impossible to see through.

Fancy electronic glass. Expensive.

The green line of lights dropped him off in front of another door much like the last before going dark once more. Brian was debating whether or not to knock when the door slid open revealing an exam room. On one side of the room was the regular exam table that Brian had gotten used to seeing in doctor's offices everywhere. On the other side was a strange coffin like device that was about as tall as a regular bed with box springs. It was lined with some kind of malleable rubber material.

“You Brian?” said a man in a white coat accusingly. He wore a surgical face mask and had gloves on as well.

Brian nodded dumbly.

“Strip. Leave your underwear on. Step on to the scale. Let me get your temperature. Which arm for your blood pressure, you have a preference? Left arm it is.” the doctor narrated as he ran through a battery of basic physiological tests and wrote the results down on a chart.

“Ok. Have a lay down on the table.” the doctor said as he ran a handheld device over his head as if he were searching for something. He watched a separate display as he did so and wrote down the numbers. Brian could see them just barely enough to make out their colors. The first three results were in green. The last one in orange.

Brian wondered if that was good or bad.

“Great. Looking good. So now I'm going to have you get in to this bed. I know it only barely looks like a bed but it's better than 'game-coffin' so let's stick with bed.” the doctor said, barely pausing for breath as he led Brian over to the other end of the room and helped him up the single stair to the unit.

Brian got in wearing only his underwear and looked up at the doctor questioningly.

The doctor nodded, “Yup. You're doing great. Lay down with your head towards the top there. There you go.”

Brian settled in. His body was now cradled by the rubbery substance and he was surprised to find it extraordinarily comfortable.

“Now you're going to lay back while you wear this on your head,” the doctor told him while displaying what looked like a complicated football helmet.

He helped Brian put it on and it fit comfortably but was heavy. Brian tilted his head back and forth to test the weight of it.

“Lay down and I'll plug you in. You're going to be bored for an hour. All you have to do is lay there. Don't worry, we'll put on a video for you. You have a favorite movie or something?” the doctor asked before wheeling over a monitor and angling it almost upside down so Brian would be able to see it laying down on his back.

Brian grinned. “Yup. Jay's Eden.”

The doctor chuckled. “Of course it is. Ok, there's a new one where they escape Ashagi, how about I put that one on?”

Brian nodded excitedly or at least tried to, the helmet throwing off his movements a great deal.

“Great. There you are, all strapped on. Lay back, keep your neck in the cradle, and... good. I'll be back for you in an hour.” the doctor said.

Before Brian could ask any questions the doctor was gone.

Brian lay in the rubbery embrace of the game bed, his body, neck, and head fully supported. The helmet was doing something but nothing that Brian could detect. The video monitor suspended above him was showing the final Ashagi episode. He hadn't seen that one yet and watched as his body slowly relaxed. The bed was comfortable and he didn't feel any need to adjust.

He'd lost track of time when the doctor returned and stopped the episode early. It seemed that it went on for longer than just an hour.

“Don't worry, you can watch it later. Let's see how you did.” the doctor said as he read a graph on a display next to the game bed. “93% - good for you! Think of that number as a general indicator of success in reaching Eden. The higher the number the better. No I won't tell you the technical details. Bad Applicant!” scolded the doctor and Brian laughed.

“Sorry.” Brian said while still smiling.

“Where was I? Oh, right, your score. Higher is better. Your score is what we look for in an applicant so good for you.” the doctor offered with a half smile.

The doctor did some scribbling on his clipboard before setting it aside. “All set. Off you go.”

The door to outside slid open and Brian saw that a green line had lit up on the wall and curved off to the left.

Brian felt like there was no point in asking questions and decided to follow the line.

It brought him back to his room. The door was open for him when he arrived.

On his desk was a tray of what looked like breakfast. Bacon and cheese omelet, toast, and a peach fruit cup. A juice box of orange juice rounded out the meal.

Eden could wait. He was starving.

Brian went and sat down for lunch, his door sliding shut behind him.