Like the gentle ocean, the grass field seemed to have slight dips and peaks. It wasn’t enough for someone to feel like they were over exerting themselves, and more like walking through a peaceful park. There was the occasional deer and other animals, which scampered away, if people approach them. With the occasional giant oak tree, it served as a usual place to lay down and enjoy the nice breeze, and watch the clouds pass by. If there was a place that people would call Eden, it felt like The World would be such a place.
From a distance, the image of Sam and Lisa lying on the grass under the shade of an oak tree seemed to be like something out of a painting. Occasionally, a cloud would pass in front of the sun and a shadow would roll across the manicured grassy field. Most people would be reminded of their childhood, when the stress of adulthood would still be a distant event in the future.
In his entire life, Sam never experience a day like today where he could just enjoy a friend’s companionship, while underneath a blue sky. He thought about his life and the constant struggles he had to go through. There were some aspects of his life he wasn’t, particularly, proud of, especially when it concerned his abilities with computers. Compared to others, Sam knew that he was lucky that he never had to experience the inside of a prison cell, unlike many others he personally knew. Whenever he visited the various forums, there would be news about another friend being arrested by the FBI and sent to jail. Even though he was fairly careful, the thought was always in the back of his mind. Though he may not have been as infamous as Dread Pirate Roberts or LulzSec, the idea of getting arrested by local authorities wasn’t foreign to him.
“What are you thinking about?” Lisa asked him. They had been lying under the shade for what seemed like quite some time.
Staring at the sky, Sam said, “Just thinking about how fortunate I’ve been, compared to others outside of this place.”
Sam could feel her hand covering his, letting him know that she was there.
The two of them had walked for a couple of hours, towards their destination, and on the way they spotted the oak tree. For some reason, looking at the tree just by itself looked like something out of a movie, so they took the opportunity to lay down and rest. The position of the sun made him think it was near noon, so the two of them must have been lying there for quite some time.
“Have you thought about how realistic they made the sky?” Lisa asked, echoing his own thoughts. “The way the sun moves makes it seem like we can actually base time off of it. I keep forgetting that we’re inside a giant building.” She continued.
Gently squeezing her hand, Sam replied, “I’ve been thinking the same thing. I can understand why there were so many solar panels around this place, considering how much energy that thing must require. Part of me wants to figure out how they’re doing it, while another side of me wants to just accept the illusion.”
Raising his upper body up, so he could sit and stare across the grassy field, he felt like if everyday was like this he could be happy. After gazing at the scenery, Sam turned his head and looked at Lisa as she lay on her back. She looked back at him and gave a big smile. “We should probably keep going, so we don’t end up sleeping outside.” He told her.
“Sleeping outside doesn’t seem like that bad of a thing.” She laughed, innocently.
Grinning, Sam said, “I don’t think you’d like it if it rained.”
“What!? It rains in here, too!?” Her expression shocked, by this new information. “Is that true?” Lisa said to herself, talking to her companion. A few moments passed, as she listened to her companion supporting the information.
Getting up, Lisa started to twirl around while laughing happily. Seeing Sam’s expression, she informed him, “I love the rain! I was thinking I wouldn’t see it for a half a decade, or more!”
Sam started to laugh, infected by how happy Lisa was by this revelation.
“Hey, Sam, why didn’t they make any roads leading to the other villages?” Lisa asked him, after they started walking again.
Contemplating on the reason, Sam confessed, “I’m not really sure why they didn’t. It would have made the most sense, making it easier to reach the other villages without having to rely on our companions. Maybe it’s because there aren’t any vehicles? Why would you need roads, if you didn’t have any cars?” He didn’t feel like this really answered the question, which was also on his mind as they were walking.
“Even though this place looks so amazing, a part of me kind of wonders what the point of this is.” She wondered out loud.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we’re going to be living in this Eden like place, where most of the things we worried about outside doesn’t exist in here. The amount of money that was used to build this place must have been enormous, on top of paying us after this is over. Part of me is wondering what the catch is. What’s their end-game?” Lisa pondered.
“Maybe this was created to experiment what an ideal society could look like?” He offered. “They did talk about how this is meant to better humanity, and considering how much money was involved I would assume the Federal Government was involved in this.”
Contemplating the others thoughts, the two of them walked in silence. Considering how they didn’t have any information, a part of Sam considered if there was any point in thinking about the overall purpose of this experiment. In the field of psychology, there were plenty of ethical restriction when people were involved, especially after experiments like the Milgram and Stanford Prison Experiment. Both of those really opened the eyes of people, relating what people would do when faced with an authority figure. The benefit of this experiment was that there were no authority figures, to goad people into doing stuff they didn’t want to. Keeping this in mind, Sam thought that this would likely be a peaceful experiment, maybe on an ideal social environment. It seemed like all the bare requirements were provided. Even though he rolled a two, Sam was able to get ahold of food and gain access to free lodging. It kind of reminded him of the current political climate, where people were talking about a Guaranteed Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. As far as the world knew, there wasn’t a robust AI system in place to speed up automation, though he knew this was likely not the case. The Singularity Event, where a true AI system is created, seems to be near, after his interactions with Brittany. He thought about all the interviews on YouTube he watched, where great minds talked about how the rise of machines would bring big problems to the world. Even when he was working at McDonald’s, he remembered learning about the automated ordering option, where customers could input their own order and just swipe their phones. How much longer would service industry people have a job.
Sam jumped, when Lisa placed her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t realized that Lisa had stopped and he had walked past her.
Looking at him, Lisa asked, “Are you okay?” She looked worried, considering she had called out to him and he didn’t respond.
Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts, Sam said, “I was just thinking about some stuff, related to everything outside of here. Leaving a puzzle unsolved was never a strong point of mine, and trying to guess at what the Center for the Study of Mankind’s purpose is got me thinking about stuff.” Placing his hand on top of her, he tried to convey that he was okay.
Lightening up the mood, Lisa said, “Did you see the theater at the town? I wonder what kind of movies they play? Adam, my companion, told me that watching a movie would require 15 tickets, but they have stuff like soda, popcorn, and candy! I hope that we’ll be able to go there sometime, if you are interested.” She looked at him shyly.
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“I would enjoy that. Who wouldn’t enjoy going to see a movie, especially with a friend like you.” He grinned at her. Sam thought it was cute how she was pretty reserved, comparably to Sarah, who was really outspoken.
When they started to walk again, he asked Lisa, “Did you go to the movies a lot with your friends?”
“Yeah. I used to go with my friends all the time, though lately they all would bring their boyfriends so I would feel like a third wheel. It was still a lot of fun, but different when it would just be my friends and me.” She told him, sounding a little moody near the end.
A part of him was a little happy, when she mentioned this. The way she worded it, Sam didn’t think she was the type to have a lot of guy friends. He never minded when a girl had lots of guy friends, but a part of him felt a little uncomfortable with it. Including Sarah, Sam knew various other girls who seemed to hang out with guys a lot and for the same reason, as with Sarah, he never felt the need to bridge the gap between platonic and romantic.
The day continued to pass by, as they continued their walk, both enjoying the warm weather. Aside from the manicured grass, they would see the occasional wild flower patch and wetland area. Looking at a patch of wild flowers, Sam stopped and grabbed a flower and smelled it. It was a peaceful smell, full of the feel of nature free of civilization. Walking up to Lisa, who was humming to herself, it sounded like some video game theme song, he tapped her on the shoulder and when she turned around he tucked the flower so it rested above her ear.
Touching her ear, she blushed and said, “Thank you.”
Sam took her hand and they continued to walk. In front of them, they could see a small village, probably half the size of the welcome town. The structures in the village looked a bit more rugged, but from what he could see there were similar places. In the distance, Sam could see the local hospital on top of the hill, past the various buildings. The houses didn’t look modern, but instead looked rustic. The apartments looked a bit more modern, but didn’t clash with the feel of the place and seemed to complement everything, unlike the hospital which looked very modern.
“It looks adorable!!!” Lisa cried out, before pulling on Sam urging him to quicken his pace. Laughing, they started to run towards the village, glad that the walk was over. The sun was starting to set, so both of them were worried that they wouldn’t make it.
Reaching the village, they looked at the various stores. There was a outdoor store, a diner, a movie theater, a grocery store, and a clothing store. It was pretty down to modest, compared to the place they came from and, especially, to the real world.
“Doesn’t this place kind of look like Bright Falls?” Lisa asked him, sounding excited. When she saw his blank expression she added, “You know, the town from the Alan Wake game? It was a pretty cool horror game, where you had to fight off shadow creatures while you searched for your missing wife.”
“Hopefully the appearance is all it resembles.” Sam joked. The last thing they needed was shadow people.
“Could you imagine if there were?!” She elbowed him, seeing his expression. She giggled when he shook his head adamantly. “Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in a survival horror game?” Lisa asked him, enjoying the moment.
“Based on how often my character was killed, and had to respawn, I don’t think it would be a good idea.” He laughed, looking around the empty village. For some reason, being with Lisa in a remote village with no one around made everything feel spookier. A part of him did feel like something was watching him, which he tried to shrug off.
Seeing how he was slightly spooked, Lisa hugged his arm and tried to reassure him. “I do awesome in those types of games, so I would protect him.” Her head resting on his shoulder.
“Want to go to the hospital?” Sam asked her, enjoying the feeling of her on his arm.
Getting to the hospital took a bit more time, compared to Serenity, where they started off. There wasn’t even a road that connected the village to the hospital, making the hospital look like it wasn’t part of this place. Behind the hospital was a dark forest, which made it looked like the hospital was being swallowed up by the forest. He wondered if they were near the edge of the building, considering he had gone through a forest to reach Serenity.
Aside from some cosmetic differences, the layout appeared to be very similar to the previous hospital. The kiosk were up against the wall, in the lobby, and there were plenty of comfortable looking seats available. As they approached one of the kiosks, Sam tapped on the screen and went through the menu to get to where he would roll his die. Tapping the “Let’s Go!” button, the die began to bounce around. Based on his first experience, the cheerful animation annoyed him slightly considering there was a lot at stake. As the die started to slow down, he kept chanting his head, “Don’t let it be a 2. Don’t let it be a 2. Don’t let it be a 2”. When the die stopped, the number 1 appeared on the screen, along with that aggravating “Congratulations!!!” message and confetti.
“Fuck me.” He said in a low voice. Trying to maintain his calm in front of Lisa. Sam heard Lisa’s sharp intake of breath, as soon as she saw the results. Her arms tightening as she hugged his arm.
“It’ll be okay.” She consoled him, trying to raise his spirits.
“I know. At least I don’t need to worry about a place to sleep since the hospital has pods to sleep in.” He said cheerfully. Feeling Lisa head nod, he started to walk over to the elevators. “Let’s head to the cafeteria. At least I can fill up with water, from the sink.” Entering the elevator, they waited until they reached the floor. He caressed Lisa’s head, trying to get her to relax. It seemed like she was taking this new development harder than he was. Lisa didn’t understand that he had already performed a poor roll, yesterday, so she likely thought this was his first time.
Getting off the elevator, he told Lisa to have a seat while he went to grab some water. “I really didn’t expect to do worse than I did yesterday.” Sam muttered to himself.
“Master, are you okay?” Brittany asked, concerned about Sam’s mental health. Even though he was handling it well, there would obviously be some stress accumulating from such an event. Brittany was constantly monitoring her master’s health so she would be able to support him when necessary.
“I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be okay. I’ve gone through worse, outside this building in the real world. I’ll figure out someway to survive this, and use the money to get everything I need.” He made a fist in frustration. For the destitute, this much wouldn’t stop him. Through the double doors, into the kitchen, he grabbed a ceramic cup from the shelf and headed over to the sink. Filling the cup with water, he finished the contents in the cup and repeated until he was satisfied.
“When’s the next time I can roll.” Sam asked Brittany.
“Since the 24 hour period began when you first entered into The World, you will be able to roll again once the sun comes up.”
Slightly shocked, he pondered, “I thought it would be based on when I used the app, the way you described it to me, before.”
“I apologize for not being clear in my instructions, Master. The system was set up so that external events couldn’t get in the way of the participants. There may have been instances where you would not be able to access the kiosk, so the delay could have continually been pushed back, becoming very inefficient. This way, for you, the rising of the sun is a clear indicator, and when you’re able you will be able to use the app.” She sounded guilty, for not performing her duties fully, which didn’t bother Sam at all. He appreciated what she did for him greatly, so such a minor thing could be looked over.
Thinking about it for a second, he wondered, “Wouldn’t this encourage people to wait until the last minute, so they can amass tickets?”
“This may be the case, but considering how the participant has no control over the results any realized gains would, likely, be immaterial.” She calmly told him.
Mulling over what she told him, Sam headed back to where Lisa was sitting. Her mood didn’t appear to have improved. Sitting down next to her he rubbed her back, to help her feel better. Looking at him, Lisa rested her face on his chest, and quietly sobbed. Sam was taken aback by this turn of events, and just held her as she pushed out all of her grief bottled up inside of her.
“What’s the matter?” Sam asked.
“I’m afraid... of what will happen to us, if we continue to roll bad numbers.” she choked out, between sobs.
“Today’s just the first day. It’ll get better. You can’t let one bad roll give you such grief.” He informed her. Hoping statistics would help her out he explained, “There was a 5% chance that you’d land on any given number, but if you think about landing a number above a 10, your changes will increase. Don’t get discouraged with a sample size of one. The more times you roll the die, you’ll see that it’ll all average out.”
Appearing to calm down, Lisa moved away, while having an embarrassed expression on her face. Patting her on the head, Sam was happy that she was feeling better. Getting up and making their way back to the elevator, they head up to where the pods were.
“There are so many pods!” Lisa exclaimed.
“Yeah. I wonder how many people are going into a pod to sleep, instead of the apartment or house, though I’m sure no one should be able to afford a house yet.” He contemplated.
“Well since we are the first ones here, I guess we can grab any of these.” Sam laughed, trying to brighten the mood.
Sam went to the floor level pod nearest to him, again, and crawled into the somewhat spacious area. Laying on his back and resting his head on his arms, a mixture of positive and negative thoughts went through his mind. Overall, there wasn’t much he could complain about. Did he wish he rolled a better number, sure, but considering that there wasn’t much he could do, Sam tried not to think on it for too long. There was better things he could think about. Too bad he couldn’t just hunt the wildlife. He needed to think about this from the viewpoint of a hacker. What were the weak points in the system that he could exploit. This method was a lot more productive, than just complaining about his situation.
“Sam, are you still awake?” Lisa’s voice called out to him.
Slightly surprised by the interruption, he asked, “What’s wrong? Having trouble going to sleep?”
“Yeah.” She sheepishly said. “Is it okay if I come inside there to sleep with you?” Lisa asked.
He was startled by this random request. Sam didn’t expect Lisa to ask to sleep next to him, especially since she didn’t seem like the type.
“Sam?” Lisa called out.
Realizing that he didn’t respond to her, he stammered, “S-Sure. If you w-want.” He tried to sound casual about it, but failed. Moving his body to the side, he could feel Lisa getting into the pod. Though the pod was spacious, it wasn’t designed to fit two people, so it was slightly cramped though not uncomfortably so.
“Being alone in that pod kind of spooked me. I’m not used to sleeping in an unfamiliar place, and I thought sleeping next to you would be better” Lisa confessed.
Trying to make up for his stammering, Sam said, “I’m here, so there’s nothing to be worried about.” With Lisa burying her head into chest, Sam tried to casually place his arm over her. She giggled a little, and started to fall asleep. After a moment or so, Sam could hear the sound of her even breathing.
Sam soon followed Lisa and went to sleep, listening to her rhythmic breathing. The last thought that went through his mind was how not everything was going badly.