Chapter 9 : Virtuality

Location : Simulated Environment
Era : Offline (snapshots of 2283 & 2299 Mesh resources accessible)

Mark felt the air ripple over his wings as he accelerated. He banked sharply left in order try to shake the drones on his tail. He felt a sharp pain in his arm / wing as he turned. He pulled up violently and felt something give in his wing, nauseating pain radiated from his arm as his wing tore off from his airframe. He started spinning and tumbling uncontrollably. The world dissolved around him and he found himself in a simulator with Ichigo standing over him.

<Are you alright?>

<Yes. I'll recover. Why am I in a simulation of a simulator.>

<Because you need to learn how to get in and out of one of these, > she sent as she showed him how to detach the various tubes and cables.

<I didn't need all these things in the real world. You just dumped me in a tub of ice.>

<You may have noticed me disappearing now and then. That is because I am organizing things in the real world. One of those things I am organizing is better equipment. Drones are hooking you up in real life to something very much like this setup while we message, > she sent.

<Lets debrief. You seem very good at taking sensory input from artificial sources. You also adjust well to the alterations in your mirror neutrons needed to map your body image to the machine you are controlling. You accept the machine as your body. Your control of the machine's actuators is natural and fluid. However you ignored the pain and discomfort the plane was using to warn you that you were turning too sharply. Also you weren't going to be able to lose those drones just by turning. You needed to confuse them by using optical and electronic countermeasures. When they have lost their lock on you, then you turn. While dogfighting is fun, more practical skills would be taking off and landing. I recommend between a minimum of 10% and a maximum 20% of fun time. I recommend 'my fun game list' for a list of things you can do to chill out while in simulation. For skills you are actually going need to learn, first I want you to be able control ten Gromov Mark IVf observer drones at once while walking around. Start at one and work your way up. I also want you checked out on a Paredes Tranq rifle, a Himura anti-tank gun, and the following non-lethal grenades, Screamer, Taser bomb, Tranq burst, mag pulse and of course smoke. If I catch you firing a lethal at anything other than a drone or a bot even in simulation I will tear you a new asshole. Oh you will also need to be able to drive a 2243 Jeong Utility.>

<That seems to be a very specific set of skills. Um, why would I need to be able to drive a car? I thought all cars were autonomous.>

<The ground vehicle is for our visit to Newstock. We are going to need some place to stash the people I plan to retrieve. Newstock is one of the best places in history to avoid notice. It is also one of the most fun places and possibly the best place in history to get laid. I guarantee you will like it. It doesn't have normal roads hence the need to be hands on. As for the rest of the equipment, you volunteered to be lookout for the snatch of my parents. The need for the observer drones is obvious. I doubt you will need the weapons, but if something unexpected should happen then with a good vantage point you should be able to stop a small army with that weapon mix. It better to over-pack for these things than to end up wishing for something left at home. Oh, and I also want you to learn how to use your adaptive camouflage and your climbing spikes.>

It turned out to be long day for Mark. After teaching him how to climb a variety of trees and buildings using the retractable claws and spurs in his hands, feet, and knees, she showed him how to control a second pair of transparent protective eyelids inside his first that he now had. She then moved on to teaching him how to fool guard dogs by controlling his scent. He was bitten more than once before mastering the technique and since Ichigo was a great believer in the power of pain to motivate learning, the simulated pain of dog bites was indeed very painful. Then she taught him how to use the animated tattoos covering his body to mimic his environment so from a distance he was almost invisible. She then had him practice the technique in some sort of stealth combat game. They had practiced in a variety of settings, snow, desert, urban, and were now in a jungle setting. Where she walked silently, his feet always seemed to find snapping twigs, his hips and shoulders always found rustling leaves. Where his skin was covered in scratches and punctures, hers was unmarked. While his camouflage left much to be desired, she was almost impossible to see.

Mark saw his objective ahead; a camp guarded by three solders. He moved as silently and as carefully as he could manage.

<You take the two on the left and I will take the two on the right.>

<Are you saying there are four guards? I can only see three.> Mark heard a rustling behind him. He froze and concentrated on making his back look like the tree in front of him. His heart thudded in his chest as he waited for the sound of the rifle shot and the impact of the bullet. He had been shot once before in this game and it was not an experience he wanted to repeat. The sound moved off to the side. He tried to keep the best camouflaging image pointed towards the sound while still concealing himself from the three guards in the camp. Ever so slowly, he rotated his head bringing the enemy solder in view. Slowly he brought his hand up and fired a bee sting into the enemy's neck. The solder dropped, then there was shouting from the camp. Bullets whizzed past his head and he moved to better cover behind the tree. Ichigo had taken out her two soldiers and he knew better than to think that she would take out the last. She would regard dealing with the last solder as his responsibility. Keeping under cover, he moved to the left a good distance then scrambled up a tree using his claws. The last remaining solder kept under cover, training his weapon on the trees near Marks position. Mark waited and finally the solder grabbed a medical kit and tried to revive his companions. With the guard distracted, Mark swung down to the ground and moved closer. Mark sprinted the last few meters and as the solder straightened and attempted to bring his weapon to bear, Mark fired and the solder crumpled.

<Debrief! You're getting better at camouflage, but you allowed yourself to get distracted. You saw the camp and you focused on that instead of continuing to being aware of your surroundings. Because of this, you missed the fourth guard and you were nearly spotted and killed. Then after showing discipline and patience by waiting until the target was no long vigilant, you rushed the last section. It would have been wiser to maintain discipline until the end.>

<I am done. I am exhausted. What about the 20% fun times you mentioned earlier?>

<We could do that. I suspect that you would find most of the games on my list a little too demanding for your current mood. How about that flight simulator you were using before but instead of controlling an airplane, we just fly about like Peter Pan-- as if by magic?>

<That sounds good. Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning.> The world dissolved and they were both falling though the sky. Ichigo spread her arms and arched her back towing him through the air. Mark copied her, flying beside her. Letting go of his hand she spun and pirouetted, then looped the loop. Whooping, she brought her arms to her side and dived. He swooped after her. He caught her up as she skimmed over the tops of the clouds. She coasted on her back, arms behind her head, mist swirling about her. Mark drifted closer and gathered her in his arms. They snuggled together for a while.

<Why are you bothering with me?> he asked.

<I have had a life time of experience with tarka. You have had a day. Don't get discouraged. It will come with time. Did you expect to master it straight away?>

<No. Why are we together?>

<Why are we together as student and teacher? Or why are we together as lovers?> she asked.