Virtual Reality (RP)

[Silver Emerald]

[If I need to speak OOC, know that my notation involves brackets.]

[Prior references for this RP: Guidelines/initial outline and sign-up/participant list. And if you're reading but not in the RP, assuming it's still running when you read this, feel free to sign up too!]

[As per popular vote on the latter thread, we will begin at the facility and first meet there. And please, don't feel obligated to make really long posts. Just make sure to advance the story somehow.]


In the red-orange light of the evening sun, a bicycle whizzed through the remote forest, following a paved, worn road. Its rider, dressed casually, glanced back every now and again, and occasionally to his watch, concern mounting about the distance to the facility where he'd been accepted to test some sort of virtual reality device. The letter had, admittedly, been somewhat vague, but...the chance to step into the shoes of characters he'd written was just such a powerful possibility. Still...the nearest town was the better part of an hour's ride back at this point, and he had met not a sign of life nor an indication of the path since then. All he could do was trust to his map and turn back if it became much later. He sighed, muttering to himself. "Come on, Jaye...Aurora wouldn't be afraid of a dark forest, would she?"

Soon enough, light shone ahead. A white glow lit the thinning treeline. The road terminated in a parking lot beside a cuboid building. Plenty of vehicles were in the lot, with some spaces left, though Jaye did note vines and webs beginning to creep onto the vehicles there. Getting off the bike, he led it over to the building itself - and discovered that this building, supposedly headquarters of Departure Science, had neither visible doors nor visible windows. Grumbling, he looked around the grounds a bit more and found a fountain on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot, as well as a bike rack at which he left his transportation for the moment.

The fountain, on closer inspection, appeared to be made of marble, dotted with black beetles skittering across its surface, and home to a colorful variety of fish. While Jaye looked up at it, the top began rising...and what he could only call a periscope rose out of the fountain. After a brief flash of green light, it sank back, but the whole fountain began to rumble. Apparently it was stacked on top of some sort of cylinder; once a door opened in the cylinder it became readily apparent that the fountain was home to a secret elevator. From inside, a man leaning on a cane, wearing a suit and a slightly stern expression, beckoned Jaye to the elevator. He approached cautiously. "...who are you?" The man paused a moment before a coughing fit took him for a few seconds, after which he gestured to his nametag: 'Dave Smithson - CEO, Departure Science'. "You're...the leader here?"

In the midst of more coughing, Dave nodded, after which he raspily replied, "You're the first one here...I'll answer questions when everyone gets here. For now...I'm taking you to a conference room...and I'll catch the others as they get here..." Admittedly, Jaye was still rather suspicious, but he went along into the elevator. The ride down was silent aside from Dave's coughs. He guided Jaye through a series of security checkpoints (none of which were manned, but all of which required some form of verification to proceed) and finally into a room off the maze of hallways. All along the way, the walls were sterile white...and despite the soft, white glow there was no apparent source of light.

"You sure you're okay, Mr. Smithson?" The regular coughing really was beginning to concern Jaye.

"It...it comes with age and some of the tests we've done. The kind of thing..." He coughed. "...we might be able to fix after this..." Shaking his head at Jaye's apparent interest in the last statement, he exited the room to await the next participant.

So Jaye turned back to the room itself. The walls were still white, the strange ambient glow still permeated the room without being overbearingly bright. A long table of polished white wood took the central part of the room, with smaller tables of the same material set against the walls. In bowls on these tables were assorted fruits, the first sign of a color other than white he'd seen in a while. Idly he picked up a red apple from one...then replaced it, not sure when to expect someone back, and took a seat at the main table instead. These (still white) chairs, anchored to the floor, nonetheless swiveled, so he swung back and forth for a bit...but after that he settled into sitting and waiting, keeping a lookout for those who would be arriving with their host.

[Timdood3]

Joey Faral had been driving for two hours before he saw any sign that he was going the right direction.  The whole way there, his cat Chip had (when he was not sleeping) been meandering around the car restlessly, rubbing against his arm, butting into his legs, and attempting to sit on his shoulder.  All of things these Joey was normally ok with, but they were on their way to something that would change lives forever.  Not just theirs, but the lives of people all over the world.  While doing things is the name of science was all well and good, and he liked doing it, he was really in it for the recreational aspect.  The young man felt trapped in his life.  Each day going to class, then dealing with crabby customers for the rest of the night, going home and straight to sleep and doing it all over again.

The only thing that really kept him connected was Chip.  The two of them have a rather 'special' interaction: An empathic bond that defies logic or explanation.  When he moved out of his parents' house, he sought a companion; a cat was a natural choice.  He checked various shelters to see what his options were, or at least he planned to.  The moment the two of them made eye contact, an unbreakable bond was formed.  The two of them understood that they were together until the end.  Joey brought Chip home with him that night and since has never left his side.  When he enters an area where animals aren't allowed, say a grocery store or the like, Chip will simply wait outside for his master and companion to return.  Naturally he doesn't just sit there, he'll be a typical annoying cat:  nuzzling people's legs and begging for attention.

Joey's hopes for this experiment were high, even if his expectations were low.  He wanted freedom, even if it wasn't real.  He was daydreaming of flying through the clouds when he reached his destination.  About time, too, t'was getting dark.  However, what he saw did not exactly match with his mental image.  There was a dilapidated and decrepit building before him.  But it felt like the right place so he stepped out of the car and Chip trotted after him.  He inspected the building for an entrance while Chip played around swatting fish in a fountain.  The fountain started to move and a hidden elevator became apparent.  An aged man stepped out.  Joey approached him, but not before picking Chip up from the edge of the fountain.  "So we're in the right place then?"

"I'm Dave Smithson, CEO of Departure Science.  You're in the right place."  Smithson's speech was interrupted intermittently by coughs, "Faral, is it?  Wasn't there another with the name?  Where is he?"

Joey looked at the man, dazed, before realizing what he meant.  "Oh.  Err, I think there's been a misunderstanding.  This is Chip, the other participant."

Smithson looked at the man and the animal, unamused.  "There will be no cat participating in my experiment."

Joey pleaded with the man, "But Mr. Smithson, you're a man of science are you not?  It would be less than thorough if you didn't test whether lesser minds could handle being put through to the other side."  Chip communicated his disapproval at being called a lesser being through their bond, and Joey apologized.  Joey could tell he was getting through to the man, "And let me tell you something:  Chip and I have a bond.  Our minds are connected.  If you don't believe us, why not allow us to prove it....As well as test whether that bond will remain in the test?"

Being the man of science that he was, Dave Smithson, CEO could not turn down the young man's offer, nor could he rebut the argument.  His only choice was to allow the feline to participate.  Reluctantly and wordlessly, he gave way to allow the pair to enter the elevator.  They were lead down a hall, a rather white one at that.  Actually, everything was white and it was quite unnerving.  It made sense, really, being a testing facility; you can't have colors psychologically affecting your subjects.  But doesn't white affect them just as much?  It made Joey uncomfortable and paranoid until he was ushered into a conference room where there sat a lone man, another participant most likely. 

Smithson walked out of the room, presumably to greet more new arrivals, and Joey sat down next to the other man in the room.  There were bowls of fruit on the single long table, the color of which was a relief to Joey, so he nonchalantly picked up an orange and began to peel it.  Meanwhile, Chip wandered around the room sniffing things.  Without looking up from his orange, Joey greeted the man next to him with a simple "Yo."

[Aves]

"That will be $45.00." Grimacing, Aetius dug into his pocket and fished out a handful of worn bills from his wallet. There was enough, but aside from the odd job here and there, he'd been relying mostly on savings-- and it was beginning to run out. Funny, how people tended to overlook you when you listed your incomplete education record. You want us to take you with a Bachelor's? Hah. In your dreams.

"Thanks for the ride," he mumbled, and exited the cab. As the hired car rumbled into the distance, he checked his pack. Supplies. Phone. Chargers-- check, check, and check. Everything there? Check. Stuffing his wallet into it, he looked back to the road one last time. Ah, trees. It was so... pure... here. No car exhaust buffeting faces on the sidewalk, no smoky radiator spewing out junk. Just the fresh scent of crushed pine needles and the chilly invigoration that came from a beautiful autumn evening. That, and some very old cars, but hey, no place was perfect. Then again, if something was ever going to be perfect, this experiment just might be it.

Right. Time to move on. Turning around, he moved to enter the building-- but there was no door. Huh.

Five minutes of fruitless searching yielded no results: Plenty of white walls, no entrances. A fountain by the building closest to the one facing the parking lot. Some other uninteresting features. None had been doors. A quick glance towards the other building revealed nothing -- wait. There was a disturbance on the ground, faintly visible, in the space by the bike rack and the fountain.

A flash of white light came unexpectedly. Was that lightning? Shielding his eyes, he blinked.

"You there!" A woman with a clipboard now stood by the fountain. "I'm Rachel Whitman, Project Coordinator." She glanced at the clipboard. "You must be one of the candidates we're expecting. Aetius? Aetius White? You're the third one here. Come on, we don't have all day."

"Uh. Alright. Where are we going?" he asked.

She made a gesture at the fountain, and it moved, revealing a hidden entrance. Aetius grinned. He was going to love this place.


Aetius hated this place. Everything was white. Everything! The walls, the ceilings, the lighting. The sterile, gleaming floors. The uniform of his escort. The verifiable maze of checkpoints and questions and passages. Even his damn surname.

"Over here, Mr. White, and we'll be on your way.

"What is the color of that fish, Mr. White?

"What year was the advent of the Epidimensional Location Excitement Motivating Extradimensional Novel Transit Status, Mr. White?

"One last checkpoint and we'll be on our way, Mr. White! Our CEO is in the briefing room with the others who came before you, and you'll meet him on the way there."

Finally.


Aetius felt a flicker of unease as the balding executive excused himself. The CEO of Departure Science was nothing like he'd expected. He'd have to keep a closer watch at the man in the future. Walking into the room, 103-R, the first thing he noticed was a cat by the table with bowls of fruit on it. Interesting; he hadn't expected animal testing to occur with human testing. Was it another test? Maybe it was the company mascot or something. Raising an arm towards the other two occupants of the room, he waved. "Hello there. What do you reckon the cat's here for?" 

[Timdood, the tense of the verbs in your second paragraph is a little confusing-- most things are in the past tense, but then you suddenly switch between present and past]
 

[Solaris]

Chip hops up on the table that the bowls of fruit rest on, sniffing them with interest, not too concerned about the new arrival in the room. He looks into the bowl, of which has captivated his interest... until he realizes that cats generally can't eat fruit.

Spoiler for Inner thoughts, shared with Joey Faral:

"Fruit?! Cats can't eat fruit!"

The metaphorical gears in Chip's feline mind slowly turn, and he formulates a plan. He slowly moves his paw to the rim of the bowl, and starts to slide it towards the edge of the table.

[ProBacon]

Claiborne drove along a long, worn out road only illuminated by his car's headlights. The only thing keeping from falling asleep and driving into a ditch was the radio playing some 80's rock. The drive had been a long and mentally tasking three and a half hours. He had graduated the day before and got no sleep that night due to lots of partying with his fellow graduates. As his eyes begin to close he makes out a faint white glow at the peak of his headlight's glow. It is a sign. For the first time in a whole hour, Claiborne now knows where he is. According to the map he is roughly five minutes away from the facility that houses the test he is going to partake in. As the minutes pass he sees a cube like structure  with a surprising amount of cars in the parking lot for that hour. He figures that that is the facility, and his thought was proven by a sign near the entrance that read "Departure Science". He finds a parking spot rather quickly and parks his car. Getting out he has only two things with him. A deck of cards and a briefcase.

The only thing other than the cube like building is a fountain. Walking up to it he saw dots moving on its figure and fish swimming in its water. As if out of nowhere he felt a shaking coming from the fountain. A tube slid up to face Claiborne. An elevator. He hesitates to get in but finally does after psyching himself up. More shaking occurs after the tube moves down. After about a minute the elevator comes to a stop in front of a room. Next to the door stands a women with a name tag that read "Rachael". He asks her if there is a bathroom. She unlocks a nearby door and gestures that this is the bathroom. He walks in and turns to one of the empty stalls. He goes in and opens up his briefcase. The contents of the case are nothing but a jet black blazer with matching suit pants, a white button down under shirt, a red tie and a pair of black socks. He figures that if he is going to meet new people he might as well look good doing it. After he is done changing he throws the briefcase into a near by trash can and walks out of the bathroom. Walking back to the entrance he is greeted by a man with a slight cough.

"Hello there... I'm" he takes a deep breath only to have it interrupted by a loud cough, "I'm Dave Smithson, CEO of Departure Science."
 
"Well then, hello. I am Claiborne Matthews. I am here for the virtual reality test."

"Ah yes. Right this way." The two start walking to a near by conference room. "You are the fourth one to arrive, well..." he coughs slightly but finishes his sentence, "Well, technically fifth, if you count that darn cat."

He cuts himself off when they reach the entrance to the room. "The others are in there. You will wait with them till the rest of the volunteers show up. At that time and ONLY at that time will I answer any questions you might have concerning the test. Now I must be on my way." He leaves by shutting the door leaving Claiborne in a room with three men and a cat.

He sits down in a chair by himself and takes out his deck of cards. He starts to set up a game of solitaire before a man with a cat on his lap greets him. Claiborne only replies with a slight and quiet, "hello" before continuing to set up his game of solitaire.

[Timdood3]

A new arrival enters the room, greets everyone, and questions why there's a cat.  "That's Chip, my companion.  Things will probably go more smoothly if you don't question it to much.  He'll be participating in the test with us."

Joey glanced at his companion, sensing he was up to something.  Not that it was out of the ordinary, Chip was always up to something....Before he could successfully knock the fruit bowl from the table, Joey picked up his cat and held him on his lap.

Spoiler for OOC:

[Timdood, the tense of the verbs in your second paragraph is a little confusing-- most things are in the past tense, but then you suddenly switch between present and past]
 --
It felt wrong referring to their bond in the past tense, as if they once had it but it faded.  Reading it back, it does stand out, as it's only the one sentence.  I might go back and change it anyway but eh.

[Solaris]

Chip, slightly dismayed at his plan being foiled, swishes his tail slowly, but quickly bounces back from his slump. He decides to take a cat-nap on Joey's lap.

[AD TienzuStorm]

Nile stepped out of the taxi and into the outside world. So this is what America is like. He'd never seen buildings like these before. They were majestic.

His eyes fell on one particular building, which curiously seemed to have no door. Perhaps "majestic" wasn't the word he was searching for. "Strange"? "Bizarre"? "Peculiar"? Yes, he quite liked that. Peculiar. These buildings were peculiar indeed.

Nile heard a cough behind him and turned around. The taxi driver was getting impatient. Nile sheepishly fished out a 50 dollar bill and handed it to the driver.

Upon receiving his change, Nile set off towards that one building that had caught his eye. It seemed like a natural place to start to search for the "Departure Science Headquarters". Quite a lengthy name, but an interesting one at that.

As he started circling the building, he questioned whether it was legitimately a building. Perhaps it was a giant block of cement. A gargantuan block of cement. With a nice little parking lot.

However, as Nile turned right for the third time, he came across a fountain. It was beautifully made, a real work of art. But, it felt strangely out of place in this drab, lifeless place. He reached out a hand to touch the intricate fish carvings and admire them. The handiwork was one of a truly skilled artisan. As the tips of his fingers touched an especially lifelike fish, he felt the ground rumble slightly, and the fountain rose up, revealing a secret circular room underneath. The doors were already open, and Nile slowly peered inside. There were buttons on one side, and a shiny metal rail lined the entire room. Nile stepped completely inside, and the doors closed automatically behind him. So this is what the Americans called an elevator. He'd seen plenty of pictures, but his hometown had none.

As the seventh ding filled the air in the elevator, the doors opened to reveal a man in a suit holding a cane. He stared at Nile.

"And you are..?"

Nile cleared his throat. "My name is Nile Rusus. I have come to find a place known as the Departure Science Headquarte-"

The man cut him off. "Yes yes, the Departure Science Headquarters. You're in the right place. I am Dave Smithson, the CEO of this building of modern science. Follow me, you're the sixth participant signed up for this wondrous experiment."

After a long walk through hallways of pure white, they eventually reached a door, also white. Mr. Smithson gestured for Nile to enter. "The other participants are waiting in there."

Nile stepped into the room, which just so happened to also be white. As the door closed behind him - along with a muttered "darn cat" - Nile walked in and quickly made his way to the front of the room. He stepped up on a chair and cleared his throat.

"Hello everybody, my name is Nile Rusus. I am pleased to be partaking in this experiment with all of you. I hope we can get along. Thank you."

He stepped down and then sat in his chair. As he adjusted to the seat, he noticed that the man next to him had a cat cradled in his lap. Nile tentatively leaned over and waved. "I hope we can get along as well." The cat snored in response. Nile sat back up and closed his eyes.

Figures.

[Aves]

"You signed up a cat... for a virtual reality simulation?" Aetius opens and closes his mouth, resisting the urge to sigh. Well, it's a free country, and all that. "This company's crazier than I thought. Well, it's their money. And your cat." Moving over to the fruit bowl, he grabs a green pear and bites into it. Swallowing, he continues. "The name's Aetius, but you can call me Pawn. Nice to meet you."

[Timdood3]

A newcomer, a foreigner this time, made a rather formal announcement and then sat down next to Joey.  Strangely, everyone seemed more interested in his cat than in himself.  Joey said hello and then introduced himself to this "Pawn" fellow.  "Joey.  Pleasure."

Spoiler for Thoughts shared with Chip:

Everyone's showing up all at once.  I'm starting to feel constricted.

Joey popped an orange slice into his mouth and continued waiting for more entrances.

[ProBacon]

As more people fill the room and start the usual "meet and greet" with the other volunteers, Claiborne is starting to get a little annoyed at the fact that it is getting hard to concentrate on finishing his game of solitaire. (ಠ ͟ʖಠ)

[Solaris]

Chip slowly opens his right eye, giving both newcomers an ocular patdown.

Spoiler for Thoughts shared with Joey:

Yeah.. Wonder how many more are going to show up.. and if there'll be any other animals..

Chip closes his eye, at ease again. He drifts back off to his catnap.

[*AGGRESSIVELY DESTROYS SOLITAIRE* ]