Chapter 7

“Now that all that paperwork is taken care of, I can get on with your entry orientation.” all looked towards Major Jacobs as he signaled the assistants to come back in. This time they brought in and placed a viewing screen to one side of the table. “Please look towards the viewing screen, and follow along.” he then started.

“The world of Nexitus is a physical world.” murmurs were instantly heard throughout the room. “Quiet down!” He barked out and the murmurs came to a stop. Continuing, “Many of you are thinking how is this going to be better than the Earth? The immersion into Nexitus, that the Nexit has created, is like being reborn into a new and improved body, that can experience everything you do now and then. You will be able to feel, taste, smell, hear and see just as you do now, but you'll also be able to have a 6th sense. This 6th sense is the ability to feel and control energies made possible by phemtonanites (p-nities for short). These p-nanites have been created by Nexit and have been integrated into everything on Nexitus.”

“Here on the screen I will be showing you some images that the second team were able to send.” he lifted a small remote with buttons on it and pressed one. The screen lit up and still images of what you could call a town began to appear. It would be comparable to what would have been found on earth back during the medieval ages. More images of the town and its surrounding land were shown as he continued to click his remote.

“As you can see from these images technology is very limited. Our teams initially tried to request items that we can find here at first, but interestingly they were not able to speak about those items at all. It seems like this world is set in this time of advancement and that one can not talk or mention our technology at all. What is even more disturbing is that as time went on our teams forgot about things like AI, cars, and other such technol...”

“What do you mean they forgot! A woman with red hair stood up, interrupting loudly. Must be one of the assumed privileged of the group. “How could they just forget? Did they forget everything about Earth; and will that happen to us if we go?”

“Good questions Mrs. Dawn, now kindly, sit, back, down, and hold any further questions till the end.” Major Jacobs ordered. Mrs. Dawn sat down slowly, with a sour look on her face. She obviously did not like being told what to do. She remained quiet but still was quite flustered, now that she was sitting.

Major Jacobs looked at everyone and stated quietly but firmly, “You will not forget about Earth, or that you have been sent to Nexitus from here. Your information on all Earth technology will be forgotten but not your memories of people and places. You will have technological information equivalent to what was found in the medieval ages and your Earth memories will reflect with it. Fortunately, there will be running water in more established cities, and the locals are acutely aware of things such as disease spread by poor hygiene practices.” He clicked to another set of pictures that showed a man in metal armor holding his thumbs up and behind him what looked to be running water from a rudimentary facet, and a basic toilet as well. “As for communication, it is done by what they call a seer glass. So you will still be able to talk to your loved ones.”

A collective sigh could be heard throughout the room. People whispered amongst themselves about this new revelation on what they will have to be living with. In a way, it makes sense for us to forget… well most of our memories will be adjusted to fit with the current technology of Nexitus. Kind of nice really, as we will never remember what we had before going there. As for talking with family back on Earth, that will not be a big deal for Susan and I.

Susan’s family was all dead. She had only one sibling, an elder brother, but he was one of the unlucky ones to be in the first group to immerse. Her family was well off and after the accident, they were able to have him on life support. It lasted only for a few weeks then he died. Both her parents had passed a few years after they had been married. They were still fairly young but both were heavy alcoholics and frequently used drugs to suppress their sorrow over the death of their son. Susan was not sad about their deaths, as she recounted many times that her parents had pretty much neglected her and forgot about her after her brother's death. Susan mentioned, however, that the death of her brother was what drove her to work in biomedical engineering. That way no one would have to suffer post immersion trauma as her family had.

As for me well, an only child born to poor parents. Like Susan's parents, both of mine are dead as well. They both had died in a car crash touring Europe shortly before I had met Susan in college. As for any of our extended family, we have not kept in touch and we honestly don't know if they are still living.

“Let head into gym 2 for the next part of orientation”. Said, Major Jacobs. Heading into the gym there were already 3 men dressed in army pants and a plain black tee waiting for arrival. It did not look like a typical gym. The room itself was sectioned off into three areas. They were open to each other in the center of each room and were long and skinny. There was not a single piece of exercise equipment to be seen. No training mats, or free weights, treadmills, or the standard mirrors that one uses to assist with form maintenance. Instead, the walls were covered in shelves and tables holding armor, weapons of different kinds, and a table of large books in the other.

“Susan and Phil,” Major Jacobs interrupted our musing of the room. “ I will have you be assigned to Lieutenant Pike. Please follow him into the next room and he will introduce you to items that you may come across in Nexitus.”

Following Lieutenant Pike into the back part of the rooms, he took us to a table covered in an arrangement of weapons. He briefly explained each one when he handed me a battle ax. I was surprised by its weight and almost dropped it. Lut Pike smirked at my inability to hold it one-handed. “Its appearance is deceiving right. Please hand it carefully to your wife so that she can feel its weight.”

I handed it to her as he suggested, carefully, holding onto it until I was sure that her grip was sure. She stared at it, lifting higher to her face and turning it to see how the weapon was put together. “Will we be able to test the weapons that you are showing to us?” she asked Lut Pike as she handed him back the weapon.

“I’ll have to double-check with the major, but I don't see why not! Let me ask him here quickly before he becomes too involved with the rest of the group's questions.”

Leaving us briefly to communicate Susan’s request to Major Jacobs, I looked at her with raised brows.

“What's that look for? If we are going to learn about them, should we not at least test them too? I figured that if we become more familiar with the weapons before going, maybe we will have a slight advantage due to a better understanding of how the weapons handle.”

I began to think about what she said, she may have a point. I don't know for sure if it will give us an advantage, but it can't hurt to try. Looking more closely at the weapons that are on the table, I started to feel a rightness in learning and trying out these weapons. What if we get there and did not know how they felt? It could become a big mistake if we choose a weapon that in the long term did not fit our style. Better learn here and now than when it's crunch time.

Lut Pike came back towards us with a smile on his face. “You guys are brown-nosing the Major. He has cleared you to beagle to handle them, he likes your idea and will see what he can set up for the two of you out of class time.”

He then guided us towards the different types of armor in the next room. As Lut Pike began to explain the weak points in each of the different armor types. My mind drifted, out of boredom as I thought that he sure knew a lot about all this stuff. “Lut Pike, how is it that you know all of this? I mean you're ex-military, but medieval studies are not taught when going into the military, so how is it that you know so much?”

Chuckling Lut Pike responded, “When I was younger I thought medieval studies would be a great degree to have, you know, all the chicks dig the archeologists, but the second you go looking for a job… well there is none. I was thinking with a much smaller brain at that time” We all laughed at this response knowing that there was not much to dig up nowadays due to the advancement in sonographic and radiographic equipment and anything that was of significant discovery had been discovered and is now old news.

“So I graduated with a degree in medieval studies and warfare, with no money and no job, I did the next best thing. I followed my buddy Jacobs into the military and after a few years of squashing AntiNex, took a job here with the EIC. Lucky I guess! I mean not only does it pay pretty well, but I get to teach the newbies using my actual college degree. I also get to immerse eventually without having to pay for it, so, win-win for me!”

“Did the Major do medieval studies also? Is that where you got to know him?” Susan asked.

“No to both questions. He and I grew up together and we got lucky that we ended up with scholarships to the same school. While I did the medieval studies route and the chicks, he did modern warfare, minored in politics and social economics. He knew that he was going military afterward.” Lut Pike offered back.

“Surprisingly, he got bored with military life after a few years, and when he was offered the Job at EIC, he got me in.” His gaze drifted away to an old memory briefly before coming back to focus on us. “Anyways he had my back, and when I was well... let's just say I was headed for some trouble, he asked if I could tag along too.” Looking towards the front of the room at the Major, he continued, “But as I can see him glaring at me for deviating from the lesson, we had better get back on course or he will have my hide, buddy or not!”

He resumed his lesson and I once again toned him out. As I began to look around the room at nothing in particular, my eye caught sight of Major Jacobs talking to a person in a lab security coat. The gestures of this person were panicked, and his voice filled with desperation. The Major started to talk and that individual interrupted as his voice rose in pitch. At this point, both men had the attention of Lut Pike and my wife as we were the closest group to them.

“You don't understand they are coming here. They have already set off nuclear bombs in Africa, Asia, and the Eastern Coast of the United Americas. They have been specifically targeting AI storage hubs and anything that has to do with immersion. Just before I came to talk to you they had just entered into Long Beach destroying everything in their path to get here. So far local authorities have not been able to stop them and chances are that our security will not fare any better.”

“Have they made any demands, is there any way that we will be able to slow them down so we can evacuate?” the Major asked

“Before the first attack, they demanded that we discontinue and do not permit anyone from immersing into Nexitus. Naturally, no one listened to them, everyone thought that the AntiNex were just a small terrorist group that was holed up in their cities. We have not been focused on them as they have been quiet for the last 10 years” lab security continued. “Everyone was more than surprised when they blasted ING headquarters taking all of Japan with it. I mean fuck, the yield of that one bomb alone will cause nuclear fall out in Eastern Asia, and with the trade winds we will be seeing effects this coming month, that is if for some reason they are not able to blast this place first.”

“Well, this is just fucked” the Major replied. “Sound the facility alert and have everyone evacuate. My men here will be a team and will make our way out of the building hereafter we collect the immersion AI’s, after which we will make our way to the EIC’s safe house.”

The security saluted swiftly before heading back out to the main lobby. Lut Pike grasping the situation whistled and the other ex-military instructors immediately stopped teaching and stood up, making their way towards the Major. The rest of the immersion group startled by the sudden departure of their instructors slowly made their way up to where the rest had gathered.

“What are our orders, sir?” Lut Pike asked.

“We are to recover the AI’s and evacuate the building, no one is to stop for anything. Lethal means are permitted as AntiNex has invaded the city. They have used nuclear bombs in major areas, including the secondary immersion AI’s that were located with ING in Japan. Our AI’s are the only ones now left that are coded with immersion tech, their survival is the priority.” The Major and the others pulled weapons that had been hidden off their persons.

I was surprised, I didn't even notice that they had been carrying weapons at all. As the clicking of rounds being inserted had finished, I curiously asked the now armed men, “Is there anything that we can do to help”?

“Ya, there is, you can follow us and continue to Nexitus, pending we make it to the safe house or you are welcome to make your way out of the building, as of this point your not a priority, so we will not stop for you at all, understood.” Major Jacobs stated before he signaled to his men to move out.

Surprisingly everyone in the group followed the Major and his team out of the gym. Making our way into the main lobby that was now deserted we headed to the service elevators located in the employee’s break room, behind the lobby desk.

The Major brought out a key card from under his shirt, scanned the security access pad, and then selected floor -20. Our elevator dropped quickly, causing Miss Priss to scream. Not even flinching the Major and his team did not give notice as they were focused on the task at hand. The door opened to the -20th floor and we were greeted by a loud hustle and bustle of EIC lab technicians and other members of security quickly moving about the large room, for a brief moment I thought I saw a familiar face but the crowd continued moving and I lost sight of the face. Our group started to make its way through the crowd, heading towards the back of the room where there was a large windowed room that held what looked to be 30 or so large oval pods big enough to hold a human.

As we entered the room there came a loud explosion and the walls around us began to shake. Holding onto Susan’s arm to prevent her from falling, dust billowed into our room from the doorway that we had just come through. Then the lights flickered and everything went black people began screaming and for a second there was nothing but the screaming until the emergency red lights began to glow. My eyes slowly adjusted to the dimmer light. I began to cough as I inhaled some dust. Thankfully both Susan and I were still standing, but unfortunately, Lilly’s wheelchair had suffered damage to one of the wheels and had ended up on its side, tipping Lilly from its seat. Jon was huddled over her with a worried look in his eyes.

Before he could even ask, Lilly said, “I am fine Jon, just have a few bumps from falling over, I’ll be ok.” I could tell he was still worried but nodded to her just the same.

Taking a further look around the group in the pod room none of us appeared to be hurt and other than the shaking that had knocked Liily’s wheelchair over all of us had remained standing. Noticing the continued falling of dust that had been floating around as I turned to look into the room that we had just come from. I finally noticed a massive cave-in by the elevator and more than half of the other room had been buried under tons of rubble. The screams and moans continued as I continued to look about the destroyed room. I tried hard at first not to notice the injured but as I continued to look I could not turn away from a woman that had been buried up to her torso by a large beam. Her eyes looked wildly around her as her screams continued for a few seconds more before her body began to convulse and she began to cough up blood. It poured out of her mouth, choking her as she tried to inhale at one point, and before long she stopped moving altogether, but her blood continued to pour out of her mouth and nose, pooling around her shoulders and into her blond hair slowly turning it red as it floated in the enlarging pool around her head.

“I have got to help them, Phil let me go” Susan had begun to pull against me, trying to get back into the last room, but I had become so enraptured at the sight of the poor woman's death, that I didn't even flinch as Susan began to hit my shoulder trying to break me from my shock so she could get free from my hold.

“Susan there is nothing that you can do, we are 20 stories below ground and the only way out was to go up, which now inaccessible to us. It doesn't matter, you can't help them. At this moment we are in the safest place: the pod room, power generators, and AI hub are the most structurally reinforced areas in the building and can withstand, well a nuclear blast.” Major Jacobs told her

“It doesn't matter!!” she screamed at him “That does not excuse me from helping anyone that I can save. I will be helping any that I can, and seeing how you said that our escape is now inaccessible you might as well help me in any way that you can as we are all now stuck down here until we can escape.”

Turning to me Susan touched my face gently and said “Phil honey let go of me. I know she is dead but I can't help anyone else if you don't let go of me.”

As she continued to rub her fingers against my cheek I eventually started to overcome my shock and turned to look at her. Her face was covered in a fine dust that had come in from the room next to us, tears had left muddy trails down her cheeks. As what she said to me started to register in my brain I loosened my grip around her and nodded slowly.

“Thank you, love, if you could help me move the ones that are not trapped under the rubble into here that would help me.” she looked to the rest of the group “If the rest of you could help me lift the lighter rubble that has the others trapped, I can triage and help who I can”. Turning she started into the other room he back straight and determined.

I followed her and she shortly took control of the chaos that had befallen the room. Jon joined me in helping those that were able to walk into the pod room where they sat next to Lilly. Most had overcome their initial shock but were still crying for the loss of their co-workers and the realization that they were now trapped underground.

Surprisingly Major Jacobs and his team were helping out by moving some of the rubble off of those that were trapped. In total, they were able to pull 8 people from the rubble. Most of them had internal bleeding and Susan said they may live for an hour or two but that was being optimistic. There were only 27 people total that had survived the cave in. After a bit, we had all sat down to rest. We had made the injured as comfortable as possible, now it was time for us to think of how we are going to get out of here.

“So any ideas on how we are going to get out of this one Major.” one of the ex-military asked him.

“The rubble is too big for us to move and even if we tried it may cause more to cave in compromising the rest of this area.” Major Jacobs said.

“Why don't we just all go into the pods and go to Nexitus, I mean that would be better than the alternative of sitting around waiting to die, that is if the bloody things still work,” said Jon as he kicked the base of the closest pod.

“They should still work, they are connected to their power source and the AI’s that control immersion are on their own network, all of the rooms that house the needed equipment are still intact. We would just need to check the connections, and after a few minutes to boot up we should be good to go” replied one of the scientists.

We all turned to look at the major, “If it will work then we should go. There is no way we are going to get out, by the time anyone gets down here we will most likely be dead.”

He looked at each of us in turn, “Ok, let's do this. Jon and Phil will help me and my team assist those that can not get into the pods. You, scientists, get things powered up. Everyone else that can move on your own gets to a pod and get in.”

We began moving towards our respected jobs, we got the injured and those that could not walk into pods. The scientist did a quick check of the systems and began turning on the equipment, all the lights were green and the boot-up was less than a minute. It was at this point when we were all making our way to our individual pods when a familiar face turned around the corner of the backroom and pulled a gun shooting the closest scientist in the chest. The shot was loud and unexpected, many in the group did not see the shooter and ended up covering their heads thinking that it was another cave-in. I continued to watch him while I was standing next to my pod, as he turned his gun into the group letting off three more shots before Lut Pike was able to put around in his chest.

I started to make my way to the shooter, I could not put my finger on it, I had seen him before I just could not remember where. As I got closer, I noticed Lut Pike and Major Jacobs come up with me, both had weapons drawn. The shooter was clasping his chest where blood was pouring from him like a fountain. He was trying to grasp towards his gun that had fallen off to the side.

“Who are you?” the Major demanded.

The man continued to reach towards his gun. The Major then shot the hand that had been reaching, causing the man to scream as his hand was obliterated from the bullet. “I repeat who are you?” this time the Major had kneeled and grasped the shooter’s collar as he put his gun in front of his face.

The shooter coughed and spat out a large wad of congealed blood in the major’s face. “It does not matter who I am, all that matters is that all you fucking alien-loving fuckers are dead” he laughed manically as he pressed a button that had been hiding in his pocket.

Nothing happened… the man’s laughter stopped as he looked at the button pressing it three more times. “Fuck” he said as he began to cough more deeply, causing more blood to pour out of the wound on his chest as his eyes rolled and his head dropped onto his chest dead.

“Well that was pointless,” said the Major as he let go of the body, in doing so the shooter's jacket opened revealing a bomb strapped to his chest. The counter was counting down and was at 8 min 46 sec. “Shit, this is not good. Everyone needs to get to the pods, he had a bomb strapped to his chest and the disarming mechanism is busted… Pike, your shooting was a little too good this time.”

“Man, it's just my luck that I shoot someone and I end up fucking…”

“Phil come quick Susan has been shot” Jon interrupted Lut Pike.

Forgetting about the shooter I ran back to where Jon and a couple of others had gathered around Susan. She was very pale and had a bullet wound in her abdomen. Very carefully I picked her up to place her in the pod that she had been making her way to before the shooter began firing.

She groaned in pain as I laid her down, “Phil…” she began to whisper but she stopped, having passed out, her pulse was weak.

“Fuck, Fuck!” I closed the pod around her and turned back to the scientist nearest me. Grasping his soot-covered lab coat with my bloody hands I said “Send her now, or she won't make it.” I shoved him towards the control panel.

“I can not send just one, the program was meant to send groups of people, we all need to go now.” He began to press buttons. “I will set it to send everyone in 1 min giving us just a few minutes before the bomb goes off.” Making his way to the pod he was going to use he said, “I suggest that everyone get in your pods and close them up.”

“Phil, she is going to make it, get in your pod and you'll see her soon in Nexitus,” Jon said to me, as he made one last pass by Lilly’s pod placing his hand on the glass before making his way to his.

I looked about the room as I saw everyone get into the pods. Major Jacobs had just sat in his and was about to close the lid, when he turned to me “Get in your pod now, if you don't make it because you're too slow getting in, I'm sure Susan will give me an earful if not kill me”. He smiled at me, “She is strong, she will make it.” with those last words he closed the lid.

I got into my pod looking at Susan once more. I laid down and closed the lid. I was going to wipe my face but stopped seeing them covered in blood, Susan’s blood. If she does not make it, I will lose them both.

I had closed my eyes and was thinking about the first time I met Susan when the identity of the shooter came to me. Fuck! Jake the guy from the collections team was the shooter. My mind started to whirl, but before I could think about it some more there came a bright light with a warm fuzzy feeling, and then nothing.