That night I had made my decision. I was taking the job. I mean, really, how could I not? My life and my career were going nowhere, and truthfully, I was looking for something to change in my life. Who knows, maybe this was it. I also knew that if I didn’t take it, I would regret it later. The next day, I told Karl, and like Ian had said, he was ok with it. He actually thought it was going to be good for me. He took me out Friday night with a few of the other guys from work. It must have been a good night because when I woke up the following day, my head was pounding.

Ian let me know the few things I should bring, so I packed some clothes and a few other personal items. I informed my parents and sister that I had taken a new job and that I would be gone for the next six months. Needless to say, they were surprised, and my mom and sister, of course pretty concerned. I was able to calm both of them down with some good words and telling them how excited I was. Of course, I couldn’t tell them anything about it.

Monday morning, Ian picked me up from my townhome, and off we went. Two hours later, we got to Xplicit’s new compound. It was something out of an old science fiction novel. I remember reading when I was a teenager about how, in the future, companies would be their own small countries. Xplicit certainly seemed to fit into that future. After being signed in at the front gate as a guest of Ian’s, we drove through a small housing development to get to the complex of more prominent buildings in the center of everything. “This place is something else Ian. Who lives in all these houses?” I said.

“Oh, lots of employees do. It’s temporary housing. Some people like to use it when on a long project with tons of hours. Like the one we’re going to be starting.”

“So we will be staying in them for the next six months?” I asked.

“No, you, my friend, get to stay in the Midrealm complex. Everyone involved in this beta testing will be. They want to monitor how the tech reacts to you over time. Till now, we’ve only used it in short spurts. You get to use it for long stretches.”

“Right…man, this is sounding pretty intense. You sure everything is going to be alright?” Being here, at Xplicit’s complex, and seeing the millions upon millions of dollars put into the place had me worried. Ian had emailed me the paperwork for me to sign over the weekend. I signed it and sent it back pretty quickly. According to Xplicit’s rules of conduct, everything seen and experienced during this contract was completely confidential. Any leak on my part would be a breach of contract, and I wouldn’t get paid a dime.

Ian chuckled. “Everything is going to be fine. The tech and systems are all safe. I've used it plenty of times over the last few months since we brought Midrealm online. Man, it is honestly unbelievable. I can’t wait for you to try it.”

We pulled up to a huge two-story building that was completely black. No windows, just large front doors with the words Midrealm above them. Ian parked in the spot that his name was on. We got out of the Porsche; I grabbed my bag, and we went inside. Once we got through the rigorous security, I followed Ian down the vast hall. The main floor of the building seemed to be split right down the middle. Doors on either side, like a hotel, except a much larger hallway. The whole time we walked, everyone greeted Ian. I guess he is a big shot here, I thought, rolling my eyes.

“Mister Harret, everything is all set up for orientation.” A cute brunette with glasses told Ian as we walked.

“Great, thanks Lisa. How’s the network holding up? Any hang-ups since the restart?” Ian asked.

“Nope, nothing. Everything’s been running better than ever.”

“Great. Thanks.”

We kept walking as I looked at Ian. “Man, you really have work mode, don’t you? I swear even your voice is different.”

He laughed. “Believe it or not, I actually had to practice. Once I got this promotion, I figured I should be more professional. Hard to turn it on and off sometimes.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“I bet,” I said as Ian opened the last door on the right. We stepped in and looked around. Yep, this was a hotel room. Complete with TV and microwave.

“Ok man, this your place for the whole contract,” Ian said

“This is it?” I asked, looking around the small room. A double bed, a desk, TV, microwave, and bathroom.

“Yep, believe me, you won’t be doing much here except sleeping. The ‘real’ action is going to happen in here.” Ian opened what I thought was the closet door. It wasn’t. The door opened to another room. Similar in size to my sleeping quarters, this one had a desk with a computer set up in one corner, and in the center of the room was some kind of pod. The pod looked just large enough for someone to lay down in. Jeez, this thing looked like a cryogenic pod from science fiction, complete with see-through glass that I just knew would fog up if I was in there too long.

“Jesus man, you didn’t say anything about fucking cryo pods. What is this?”

“This, my friend, is the new Xplicit gaming pod X1A, complete with all bodily function capabilities.” Ian laughed a bit at the last part.

Amazed by what I was looking at, I went to check it out. I looked through the glass on top. Hmm, it did look pretty comfortable. “Ok, so whats the deal? How does it work?” I asked

“You’ll find out during the orientation. It’s actually pretty straightforward. But listen, I’ve got to get to a meeting upstairs before orientation starts. You good? Oh, lunch will come to the door in about an hour.”

“So, can I leave the room?” I said with an exaggeration.

“Right now, yes, you can. There really isn’t anywhere to go, though. Once the orientation gets underway, though, it’s in here for the duration. Seriously, Matt, don’t worry. It. Is. Going. To. Be. Amazing.” He must have seen the concern in my face.

“Alright man, I’m trusting you on this. Will I see you again?” I asked.

“Yeah, for sure, I’ll come visit during your off days.” With that, Ian left the room, and I was alone. I walked back into the bedroom. Hmm, the TV now had a timer on it that said forty-eight minutes until orientation. I found a mini fridge under the small counter with the microwave on it. Inside, there was water, some Coke, and a few energy drinks. I took out a water, opened it, and took a swallow. Then I spotted another appliance and almost fell to my knees. Thank god, a coffee maker. I filled it up and let the coffee brew. In the meantime, I went back into the pod room and fired up the computer.

Strangely, the computer greeted me through an unseen speaker system that was around the whole room. “Welcome, Matt.” It said in a feminine voice.

“Great, it’s a fucking AI.” I sighed. I had never really gotten into all the Alexa and goggle craze of the last fifteen or so years. My house was not a smart house like most were these days.

“What would you like to do?” The AI asked me.

“Uh, can I send an email?” I figured I would send one out to my family before the project began in earnest. My phone had already lost all signal. Apparently, it is to keep us from divulging any information about project Midrealm.

“Yes, absolutely.” The woman said, and sure enough, everything showed up on the screen. I told my parents that everything was getting ready to start and to email me if they wanted to get in contact. I also told them it might be a bit before they were to hear from me again. I sent it, then went to get my coffee. Damn, Xplicit spared no expense. The coffee was fucking great.

The TV counted down the last few seconds until orientation, and on the screen, a short movie played. It was a typical game trailer showing different landscapes along with people and settlements. It was ultra-realistic. If I didn’t know any better, I would say it was a movie. But that was nothing new to the gaming industry, especially for a trailer. If the gameplay was to be believed, it was first person; my god, was it realistic and pretty gory. All it showed was the player fighting a common-looking panther of some sort, but man, it looked intense. After the killing blow, the words Midrealm Online slowly scrolled up the screen to some pretty good music. After the image blurred out and back in, to what looked like a real presentation. I won't go over everything that the orientation went over because a large chunk of it was boring. However, they did explain how to use the new X1A pod along with the haptic feedback suits we were required to wear while in them. Also, lunch showed up at my door sometime during—an excellent burger and fries. I guess I had missed the suit that was apparently hanging up in the pod room. Apparently, there was a total of two hundred of us all here for the beta. The second floor must have more rooms. Tomorrow morning at eight am sharp, every one of us was to strap into the suit and load into Midrealm. Truthfully I was pretty damn excited, though there was some hesitation. Apparently, we were told it was possible that the experience could be too much for some to tolerate. I guess this is why the game and system are still being tested. I spent the night reading through the manual for the pod and the smaller book that told me some of the basic lore of Midrealm. I passed out later, watching some B movie on the television. Tomorrow was going to be something, that’s for sure.