A few days had passed since Chuck had met with RMO, and after passing the contract they’d asked him to sign which was combination job contract and NDA to a guildmate that was pre-law, he was walking back into their offices with the printed out paperwork signed.

Despite it no longer being the weekend, when he walked into the reception lobby, the anime receptionist smiled at him from the screen hanging behind the reception desk, “Greetings Mr. Wallace, It is good to see you. Are you here with the paperwork?”

It felt somewhat strange to be talking to a cartoon character, but Chuck figured that it was no less weird than interacting with some of the game streamers on Twitch or Youtube. He patted the bag he was carrying, the papers inside it, “Uh, yeah?”

“Wonderful. Mr Rose is already in the back getting a walkthrough of the process. Someone will be up to escort you shortly.”

Chuck only nodded, then realized that there was probably no point in nodding to the screen. He looked around the lobby area again and was about to sit down in one of the chairs, when a man in a white lab coat came through one of the interior doors.

“Charles Wallace?” he asked, extending a hand.

Chuck took it, “Chuck is fine.”

The lab tech smiled and nodded, “Mmmhmm. This way please.” And turned back around to lead Chuck back through the door he’d come through.

Chuck followed the lab tech back through the office space he’d gone through a few days prior. Instead of being empty of people, the space was full of men and women. Each sat at a cubicle and were either talking on the phone, working on their desktop, or some combination of both. Not knowing much about the technical aspect of computer programming Chuck didn’t even try to understand what was on the computer screen more than being able to recognize when one person or another was using Excel, or Outlook, or some other program he was familiar with. Most of the office workers paid Chuck and the lab tech no mind. A few smiled politely as Chuck walked by.

Soon enough, the pair had crossed the room and entered the studio with the VR Tanks. Chuck saw Mr King leaning against one of the tanks speaking to Jeremy. The tall bald black man was sitting on top of one of the tanks and looked unusual compared to the day before. Jeremy’s polo and khaki’s had been replaced with what Chuck could only describe as a skin-tight body suit, like the ones used for motion capture.

Mr King saw the two enter and waved them over. “Charles, Chuck . . . glad you could make it. Glad you decided to join us on this little venture. I assume you have the paperwork all signed and ready? Did you e-mail it? Cecilia did, she’ll be in later.”

Chuck opened his bag and took the papers out. “No, I printed it out and had a lawyer look it over. Can never been too careful about what you sign. He said it was fairly standard. Tighter NDA than he’d seen, but he also said he doesn’t typically deal with many NDA’s with his focus.”

Mr King nodded politely and took the accepted paperwork, then thumbed through the pages and verified appropriate signatures were in the proper spots. “Well, it looks like it’s all in order. We’ll get this over to the Records department so that it can be filed, and then we’ll get you started up.”

Jeremy, who had moved to the side of one of the tanks as Mr King had been talking and reached his hand down into the green tinted translucent goo that comprised it’s contents. There was something floating in the solution that sparkled as if it were filled with actual glitter. The tank itself was six and a half feet tall and six feet in diameter. The top was opened and able to be reached from a catwalk that ran along the back of all four tanks in the room. Each was filled two thirds full with the translucent substance. Jeremy called down to the men on the floor, “What exactly is this stuff and why are we going to be swimming in it?”

A lab tech looked up at Jeremy, “The tanks are devised to help nullify any and all feeling and sensation your body feels. It’s a buoyant solution with anesthesia agent and relaxant. The theory is that you should be able to float in the tank and not need to worry about tactile input while under the VR environment.”

“There’s not enough in there for me to float. I’m a pretty tall dude.”

“Well, displacement. The level will rise once you get in. And of course, if need be, we can add or drain the amount as needed.”

Jeremy shrugged and slipped into the tank. The solution inside the tank rose to just under the black man’s shoulders. The lab tech walked up and around to the side of the tank and opened a panel on its side. A small keypad and display were revealed and the tech started punching a few keys. The liquid level rose to just under Jeremy’s chin. “Don’t be alarmed.” The tech said calmly.

The level appeared to drop slightly, but actually was just adjusting to compensate for the bottom lowering inside the tank to stop Jeremy from standing, forcing him to float in the goo.

“This is weird.” Jeremy said once he was completely floating.

The tech chuckled, “That’s not the part I was referring to.”

Jeremy cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. Chuck noticed before Jeremy what the tech must have been referencing as a cover for the tank started closing from either side of it, right at neck height for Jeremy. The edges of the cover appeared padded, and as the two half circles met in the center of the tank, instead of crushing or cutting into Jeremy’s neck, the padding just adjusted to allow the neck and head to remain.

The tank appeared at that point like a wedding cake with a head cake topper. “What is this?” Jeremy asked with some serious concern in his voice.

“I said don’t worry.” The lab tech repeated. “it’s to help stabilize you is all. You won’t even notice once you’re logged in.”

“Man, you’d better fix this right now.” Jeremy insisted, starting to panic, “That or get me out of here!”

Mr King moved up to the the top of the tank and took something from just off to the side. He moved over to Jeremy’s head from behind, “Jeremy, it’s okay. I’m going to put the VR Helmet on you. It’ll be okay.”

Mr King slid what looked like a motorcycle helmet on top of Jeremy’s head. Once it was in place, he glared at the lab tech, “Maybe next time, let him get the helmet on and get accustomed to the tank before closing it off?” he whispered.

The tech nodded and turned to continue getting Jeremy set.