Chapter 2
Waking up was a surreal experience. I was laying down in a cot-like bed with a rough spun blanket and a very lumpy pillow. Looking around I found myself in a small room. About eight feet by ten feet. With only the bed, a chest at the foot, and a very rough looking desk that I could pull over to the bed. The walls and ceiling were wood and the floor was sanded smooth.
Noticing a blinking light on my link I opened up the notification and read it. “Welcome to the ARK Simulation. During your trip we will be simulating what the starting days on Mars will be like and how to help the community setup civilization smoothly. Basic living accommodations have been provided for everyone. The designated construction workers and engineers will be given courses on how to quickly process raw materials and build these basic amenities. We hope that everyone has a very harmonious beginning to their new lives.” I just stare at the message for a second. “Harmonious” Who uses the word harmonious I think to myself.
A second yellow flashing notification follows the first. “You have been assessed and found to be a construction worker. With your past experience you have also been assigned as a foreman, and given a group of ten workers to lead. Your first session with your team will be 1200 hours." Well at least I have that going for me. I’ve enjoyed being a construction foreman before.
Looking up at the top of my optical display I see that it is around 0800. “Okay,” I say to myself. “Now I know that I have around four hours before I can start on whatever training I need to do. I think it’s time for some breakfast.” Thinking about that thought makes me wonder why they would program hunger into the simulation. I actually feel my stomach rumble a little bit from how hungry I am. Walking over the door I leave and get my first look at my new home for the foreseeable future. Or at least until this simulation ends.
Looking left and right as I exit I wonder where I am supposed to go for breakfast. I stop when I notice a note tacked to everyone’s door. Looking at mine it has a map of the few buildings in our virtual town and labels for each. I scan it into my link with a quick double wink and pull up an opaque version up in the top right of my vision. Just below the clock. Turning left I walk to the shorter end of the hall and see that it opens into a lobby area. There are about two dozen people walking around and getting to know each other.
“Oh hey, look, another one wakes up. Good morning sleeping beauty. My name is Alice, I have been elected by the laborers to get all the new people together and give everyone a quick rundown of everything after breakfast, before you start your first day of fun and adventure.” A short red headed woman says as she notices me walking into the lobby.
Giving her a quick once over I can’t help but notice she is about five feet eight inches or so. A slightly muscular build, and has stunning blue eyes. She is wearing similar clothes as everyone else in the room, it is almost a uniform. Durable looking jeans, and a brownish colored shirt.
Raising a brow I ask, “what do you mean sleeping beauty.” Smiling back at me she answers, “You’re part of the second wave to wake up. Most of us have been here for two weeks now. Looks like a new wave starts every two weeks with the basics.” “Oh” I say. Looking around again I notice that there are some other people looking slightly lost like I am. “Are we all construction workers here?” “Yeah she says, it looks like they broke us up depending on what our new profession will be. There are separate buildings for farmers, cooks, construction workers, and hunters. There is also the town hall that has the people they sent to help us organize and set up the government in the colony. But I will cover all of that after breakfast. "
Nodding to her I say, “You think they would have given us some more information before dumping us in here.” “Yeah you would think so. But I guess that falls under the, learn everything on the way there. Part of their plan.” Looking around at the group of forty or so people in the lobby she raises her voice. “OK everyone, I know from personal experience that you are all very hungry. We don’t know why they would program that in, but breakfast is ready in the mess hall across the street. Let’s get over it and get some food in you and then I will start talking about things to expect before you start the program of learning to do everything from scratch.” Everyone quieted down when she started speaking and when she turned and headed out the door we all began to follow her.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Going out the door I tried to take it all in. There were dozens of identical looking buildings. Most looked like sleeping quarters, the others had to be mess halls. I know this because they matched the building we were walking towards. I was a little surprised though that with all of these buildings there weren't that many people I could see. Walking into the mess hall was like walking into any cafeteria in the real world. Long tables with benches to sit down on, and at the far end a stretched out counter with room for an assortment of food and people to dish it out. However there were only four people dishing out bowls of oatmeal and cups of coffee. Getting in line with everyone else it only took a few minutes for us all to get a bowel and a cup of coffee or water. Sitting down, our group only took up half of one of the long tables. Eating oatmeal was a sad affair. It was plain, no sugar or honey, and no other seasonings. The coffee was surprisingly excellent however.
After everyone was finished Alice stood up at the end of the table. “Ok everyone, as I’m sure you all noticed the food is not good. One of the first things we learned when starting two weeks ago was that the food supplies in the kitchen are very basic. Besides the coffee there was no luxury items in there. We also learned that we only need to eat two meals a day. So that makes it a little better. There are already a few farms started to grow vegetables and greenhouses to grow different herbs and spices. The hunter groups have had luck finding fresh game out in the forest far away from where we are logging for wood. We hope to have supplements for our meals in the next two months.” There were more than a few people grumbling about this. “We were all told that we would have to start from scratch on Mars. So this is their way of getting us acclimated to it. We are growing, hunting, and gathering everything we need. For us construction people, that means we are harvesting our own wood, and making it into boards. We also have people on the hunt for metals so that our production people can make us more tools and other essential items. Given the inventory that was shared with us, and I will send it to everyone here as well, we have enough tools and essentials for five percent of the people they are sending.”
“WHAT!” one of the guys down the table shouted out. Why are they only sending us with so little? It’s bullshit. Are they trying to just kill us all when we get there?”
“No," Alice says, raising her voice. “We were given more information from the people setting up the government. They are going to be waking people up in batches as our new colony is able to support them. Due to the weight of everything that everyone would need it isn’t feasible for them to send enough of everything for us all to get started at the same time. That is also what this simulation is for. To pick out the people who are most helpful and able to give the colony a boost at the beginning to help us all get going faster.”
Listening to everyone trying to blame our government for not giving us all the information has me smiling to myself. It doesn’t surprise me that they would send us off half cocked. It’s not like any of the politicians who signed off on this whole thing will be alive when we get there. So for them it’s a win-win scenario. Either we all thrive on Mars and they go down in history for signing the bills to let it happen. Or we all die in the process and they are dead so it doesn’t matter what history says about them.
“OK everyone,” Alice says. She interrupts the table as they go back and forth trying to blame either the government or the people the government sent with us. “That kind of thinking isn’t going to do any one any good. We agreed to this and we should do our damn best to not only survive, but to make sure we thrive when we get on Mars. And I don’t know about all of you, but getting a fresh startup there is definitely better than being stuck on Earth.” The group grudgingly nods at her words and she subtly switches the topic.
“As you all know we are part of the construction crew. Now at first that is going to include harvesting the wood and making the boards by hand until we can get a sawmill up and running. But the good thing is this system actually meshes with our links almost seamlessly if you haven’t noticed. Once you start your shift today it will break everyone into their work crews and give you all step by step directions on how to do this until you have it down.”
“Why are we chopping down trees, aren't there some lumber jacks that could do it?” An almost scrawny looking man asks. “Yes there are lumberjacks with the group. Probably a few thousand of them.” Alice replies, “but the only thing they are good at is harvesting trees. They don’t have any other job experience with construction. So it was decided to be more efficient to have us learn to do it all from the beginning and later on have them make our jobs easier.” The man looks slightly chagrined at this, but I still don’t see him as the type of person to be hauling around lumber. Maybe he is a plumber or an electrician. That would explain a lot about his build.
Standing up Alice gets everyone’s attention again. “Alright, let’s move out people. There are trees to down and buildings to build.” As the group starts to stand something strange happens. Everyone glitches. It’s like everything just stops for a half a second then starts again. It happens a few more times. Looking at people’s faces I start to see concern when a message pops up in my vision. System Uploading. Everyone stops. I hear a guy call out “what the hell…” Then everything goes black.