009 - First-Hand Experience

Publish date: 20th Nov 2019

Perspective: Arjay
Date: [Y17450 D97 P6 M12] (22 days later)

Tom: What do you think?

Arjay had made his mind up: The Humans were either geniuses, or insane.

They had taken their new crown jewel, combined holographic imaging and the ability to show a distant object in real-time, and recreated it in four days, one of which was spent merely transporting it.
After another twelve, they managed to separate the two functions, something his top scientists thought impossible.
They've finally come back with what they're calling "Sixth Sense", or in layman's terms, X-ray goggles.
They also had the audacity to point out improvements to the compact fusion reactor powering the original device, and the worst part was that it actually improved the power output by 6%.

Arjay dons the goggles, being careful not to tug on the cables too hard. It was a prototype, after all.

Arjay: It...looks the same.

Tom: See that wall?

Tom points at an isolated segment of wall, about a metre across and 10cm thick.

Arjay: Yeah?

Arjay wasn't sure what the significance of that wall was, but when Tom flicked the switched it was apparant.
The wall suddenly became a soft blue, showing five Humans behind playing a game of cards.
Arjay's jaw promptly hit the floor, this was beyond anything he could have imagined.

Tom: I'll take it you like it.

Tom was, of course, correct. Arjay was too busy exploring its capabilities to muster a response.
Arjay could concentrate on the wall, and information about its composition would appear. Mostly steel.
As he watched the five of them play cards, he was eventually informed that they were playing "poker".

Tom suddenly interjected by placing a strange object in Arjay's hands.

Arjay: What's this?

Tom: Mess around with it.

It was a strange device, it was a giant stick with a bunch of buttons on it.
Arjay nudged the stick forward, and almost lost his footing as his view suddenly lurched forward.
The wall now appeared to be directly in front of him, though everything looked a bit off.
Arjay reached out to touch the wall, and went straight through it. Tom started chuckling behind him.

Tom: Virtual reality, it's not real but it can be fed real data.

Arjay: How did you make this in 22 days?

Arjay had taken the goggles off at this point, and turned to Tom.
Tom looked briefly confused, before returning to his smug self.

Tom: We've had VR for a couple hundred years, the new part is being able to recreate real life in real-time.
Here, let me show you.

Tom took the goggles, put on some earmuff-like things, and nodded to Loe sitting at a desk to his right.
Loe started doing something on the computer-like object the goggles were plugged into, before bringing over a portable computer. It showed Tom in the middle of an empty environment, with multiple channels in front of him extending off for what looked like forever.

Loe: Here, this shows what he sees.

Tom starts doing strange motions. On the portable computer, it looks like he's navigating a menu.
He makes a selection, and the menu vanishes. Blocks start heading towards Tom as music starts playing.

A quick glance at Tom in real life indicates he's flailing his arms around erratically, but the portable computer shows him striking down blocks rhythmically to the music.

Loe: They call this Beat Saber, I'm told it's an extremely old form of entertainement.

Arjay: I...what's the goal?

Loe points to a number at the top-right of the screen.

Loe: His score, higher is better. He's been trying to beat Romov quite some time.

Arjay had no idea who Romov was, but that didn't bug him nearly as much as how hard Tom was exerting himself. After several minutes of what looked more like an intense workout than enjoyment, the music stopped and a list of scores appeared.
Tom was still third, he couldn't quite beat Romov. Surprisingly, Loe was first.

Tom wiped his forehead, still breathing heavily, and handed the goggles back to Arjay.

Tom: Here, you try it.

Arjay: What? I'm not nearly that fast!

Tom: Don't worry, there's slower options.

Arjay thought about it for a moment, before putting the goggles back on. He hated exercise.
He found himself in a vast abyss, with a strange menu in front of him.

Loe: I'll set it up, all you have to do is strike the blocks.

Tom: You'll also want these.

Tom put the earmuffs on Arjay, and he was briefly shocked as he couldn't see it happening.
The menu in front of him started navigating itself.
It vanished, and the same song started playing again, though the blocks approaching were coming much slower.


Just hit the blocks...sure...
Arjay gingerly extended his hand above where the blocks were approaching, and slowly brought it down onto one.
It shattered into millions of pieces right as he hit it, and he stepped back to avoid shards that were quickly vanishing.
Arjay took a moment to look at his hands, before concentrating on the approaching blocks.
Something flipped inside him, and he found himself a completely different person. Far more energetic.

Unfortunately for Arjay, it wasn't nearly long enough for him to really get into it.
Arjay was about to ask for another go, before remembering why he was here in the first place.
Arjay took off the earmuffs and goggles, handing them to Tom.

Arjay: Can, uh, can we get back on track.

Tom: Right, so, basically, we also use this for training.
The cable on this one is only required for Sixth Sense, but our training programs can function without one. Come with me.

Tom motioned towards a door, and after going through they found themselves in an open room with a ton of omnidirectional treadmills.
He picked out three sets of goggles, these ones lacking the cable from before, and three sets of earmuffs.
He also had a large replica rifle, and three sets of short-range comms.
He handed the rifle and one set of gear to Loe, and a second set to Arjay.

Tom: We've been working on a program that would recreate a situation your scouts would be expected to perform in.

Arjay: What do you mean?

Tom: We can create any scenario you can imagine, though some of them would require more specific apparatus.

Tom and Loe stepped onto treadmills and donned their gear, Arjay did the same.

Tom: There's a switch on the left side of the goggles.

Arjay flicked the switch, and suddenly found himself in a forest.
Tom started talking, though it was somewhat disorienting since he sounded closer than he looked to be.

Tom: Turn on the comms, and put the earmuffs on.

Arjay did as instructed, and could now hear the forest. When Tom started talking this time, it seemed far more normal.

Tom: Better?

Arjay: Much better.

Tom pointed to some smoke rising in the distance.

Tom: See that?

Arjay: Yeah?

Tom: You're the scout, investigate it.

Arjay: What? You said this was for training, I'm no soldier!

Tom: No, but you're here to make sure it all works fine.

Arjay huffed. More physical work.

Arjay: Fine.

Tom: Oh, also, don't let them see you.

Arjay: What? Who?

Tom: The Roak that are presumably over there.
Training, remember?

Arjay thought about how his people would actually be doing this in the future, and felt slightly nauseous.
He steeled himself, and headed out, waving to Tom and Loe as he left.

After a short while of walking, Loe broke the silence.

Loe: Any news?

Arjay: Nothing yet.

Arjay wasn't happy about having to do this, but at least the scenery was nice.
It would have been far better to feel the gentle breeze, though.
Arjay stopped as he found himself in a particularly dense section of trees, realising that he had lost track of the smoke trail, and sighed.
He looked around, contemplating what to do, when he noticed a faint conversation taking place.

Arjay started whispering into his comms.

Arjay: I've found them, what do I do?

Tom: You have a small tube-like device on your waist, grab it and hold the button on top.

Arjay held down the button, and a red light started flashing.

Tom: I see you, looks like there's four of them.

Loe: Let me get to a better spot.

Arjay waited, and waited, and waited...

Arjay: ...what do I do?

Loe: I'm nearly there, hold on.

Loe sounded out of breath, what was she doing?

Loe: Alright, I'm ready.

Tom: RJ, hide.

Hide? What does he mean hide?
BOOM! A thunderous crack rattled him as the tree next to the Roak splintered.
The Roak look around confused, and one spots him.

Roak: Intruder!

Arjay bolts, and strangely cold plasma bolts start flying past him.
One flies straight through where his chest was, and the screen goes blank.

Tom: You're dead, RJ. I told you to hide.

Arjay takes off his goggles, and finds Tom standing next to him.
Loe is laying prone holding the replica rifle. She pulls the trigger, and her whole body ripples.
She pulls back a lever on the side, before sliding it back into place.

Loe: One down.

Her voice is shaky, that thing must be extremely loud.