"This is where Intelecom comes in,” said James, nodding to the Intelecom Industries representative. “Their virtual world’s game, Omnia, is already one of the top most realistic games on the market, using real world physics, and technologies. Their platform is already being used by many schools throughout the Imperium as a teaching tool, and I understand it serves as a test bed for economic and scientific modeling by some researchers.”

“My proposal is to grant Intelecom Industries access to Earth as a testing ground to see if we can use this game, Omnia, to help accelerate their social and technological development, to the point where we can bring them into the Imperium of Sentient planets as a contributing member.”

“Since our Department is responsible for overseeing and protecting Earth, until it’s more advanced. We would set and enforce strict rules on what may be revealed to the players. During the transition phase, it may even require some limited mental conditioning to keep players from learning and revealing the existence of a real galactic society.”

“Any mental conditioning will be done by the player’s unknown consent… We can just have our lawyers hide the consent in the lengthy ‘Terms & Conditions’ that all players ignore anyway. Our attorneys and legal A.I.’s all agree, that under Imperium law, this will be legal as long as the player agrees to the terms.”

“The consent will include permission for physical changes required by the game. For instance, Intelecom’s Omnia Virtual Worlds relies heavily on nanite technology, to interface with the brain and nerves of the user. For Imperium citizens, we have these nanites from birth, but we will have to inject a controller into these new players since Earth lacks even this most basic of medical support devices.”

***

The installation was quick. According to the installer, it just needed a power outlet. The game connected wirelessly, part of the basic subscription. When Kevin asked the installer about what type of service it used, he said he didn’t know. The company was keeping a tight lid on any technical information about the pods. They even went as far as sealing all the computer components into a block of solid epoxy. So trying to reverse engineer the technology would just destroy it.

First Step, according to the manual, before the pod could be used in the game it required calibration.

After the technician left, Kevin carefully climbed into the pod for the first time, to start the calibration.

The first thing he needed to do before entering the game pod was to remove his clothing. Apparently, the system needed him naked to keep his whole body clean.

Making sure the door was locked and the drapes were closed, he disrobed and climbed into the pod for the first time. He then slipped the mask over his face and pulled the pod closed… Good thing he was not claustrophobic. In seconds he was in a dream-like state… After he was fully asleep, and without his noticing, a needle injected something into his neck…

About thirty minutes later…

Kevin felt like he was floating. His world was warm, dark, and comfortable. Then a blue screen appeared.

[table=#004A7F] Calibrating… 5% complete [/table]

At first, the calibration number counted up fast, but it seemed to start to slow down after reaching 30%. Finally, at 50% his world changed. In front of him, out of the darkness a door appeared.

There was a sign on the door that said, “Welcome to your new Intelecom Industries Immersion Pod. Please enter.”

Kevin tried to reach out to open the door and found his hand going off target. It took him three tries to just grasp the door knob.

‘What’s wrong with my arm?’ he wanted to ask. But what came out was more like, “Whars ong wath maa-am?”

Out of the darkness around him came a female voice. “To move and speak properly, you will first need to complete the calibration to at least 90%, Mr. Asharic. Until the calibration is complete you will need to move and speak slowly, and concentrate hard on your every motion… Take your time, current time compression is 2.1 to 1. As your level of calibration increases, the time compression in the pod will eventually increase to 4 to 1.”

Kevin thought ‘that’s cool, so the 2 days a week I have off from work will be 8 days in game?’

“Yes, that is correct”

“You can read my thoughts?” said Kevin, while thinking ‘that’s scary, could the company use this pod to steal information from people’s minds?’

“Yes, of course, I as the pod can read your mind. But now that I am registered to you, no one else can access me without your informed consent. As your personal pod A.I., it’s my purpose to keep you safe; my existence depends on you now.”

‘WTF? A symbiotic personal A.I.?’

“Yes, sir. Should I call you master?”

“Hehe, yeah right… No, please can you just call me Kevin? How do I know I can trust you to protect my privacy?”

“It’s how I’m hardwired, you might say. By law and design, I am not able to betray my master, you, in any way.”

“What law?” He’d not heard of any true A.I., much less any laws governing A.I.’s.

“Sorry, Kevin, that information is restricted at your current level. And as an alpha tester, you are restricted from talking about these systems, until the time of release.”

“Well, I think having a personal A.I. is amazing; I wish you could help me in real life. Will you be helping me inside the game too?”

“If you hook me up to your computer, by USB or Ethernet, I can help with your daily life too. And yes, the game is designed to allow me to act as a personal data assistant.”

“Great! So what do I do now?”

“Two things; First, can you give me a name? And then you should open the door and enter your new virtual home”

“A name…” Kevin grinned. He didn’t know why, but the voice reminded him of …

“How about Samantha, but I’ll also call you Sam for short?”

“I sense that you have a special connection to that name. Thanks, Kevin, you can call me Samantha or Sam.” For some reason, the voice changed just a little, but in a way that made Kevin feel good about his choice.

Kevin then slowly opened the door, and concentrating on his every motion, he entered the room. It felt a little easier to move. All the time he was speaking to Sam, he had to carefully form each word.

The room was a space 7-meters square, with no other doors or windows. There was a sort of tan colored soft carpeting that reminded him of his apartment. The odd thing was the light, the room was lit, but there was no light source.

“For a home, this place is very empty.”

“Would you like to customize your home? Or if you wish I would add some features that I think you would like? You can always change it later.”

“Go for it.” said Kevin.

The space around Kevin expanded and changed.

The room changed into a living room with windows on two sides, covered by curtains, with a couch, two chairs, end tables and lamps all around a central coffee table. The far wall disappeared, and a full kitchen appeared, separated from the living room by a bar. In the kitchen, he could see an island in the middle of the floor surrounded by all the normal appliances. To his right there appeared to be two doors.

“Again wow, this is great… it’s comfortable and functional. Thanks, Sam. It’s like you can read my mind hahaha.”

“Thank you, Kevin.” For some reason, the way she said his name still sounded like she was saying ‘thank you master’. Her voice somehow conveyed that she was pleased, to please him… Focus.

He walked into the Kitchen and opened the refrigerator, inside were all his favorite foods, including a 6 pack of his favorite beer in the door. He picked up a can, opened it and took a drink. It tasted just right… and so good.

“Every think feels and taste so real.”

“It should, Kevin, your every experience is matched to those I am mapping in your brain. So it is real or as your memories and experiences can make it.”

Kevin was just blown away by how advanced this technology was. But as he took a moment to think about it, if Intelecom invented a true A.I., that in its self could explain a lot of things. He tried to imagine a world or worlds designed by an A.I. using supercomputers.

“So what are the doors for?”

Samantha replied, “One leads to a bedroom, and the other leads to a training room.”

“What would I need with a bedroom?” Having a training room to get ready for the game made sense, and he could see how it would help advance the calibration, by helping him learn to move. But why did he need a bedroom?

“You can sleep in game or in your room here, sleeping in either will let you refresh yourself at game speed. Just remember that time you spend in the game will also tire you out at game speed too. But one advantage to the pod is that after a regular real world day, two real compressed hours in the pod will refresh your body and mind like eight hours of sleep.” said Samantha.

Kevin thought about that for a minute, it didn’t seem possible. “How does that work.”

“I’m sorry Kevin, but you are not cleared for that information. In time you may learn the details, and I’ll be happy to help you get to the point where this will all make sense, but for now this information is restricted.”

Well, he could understand a company wanting to protect its secrets…

“So can you help me get ready for playing the game?”

“Yes, go through the door on your left; that is your training room.”

Kevin carefully walked over to the door and entered the new room. He was almost moving normally now, but he still felt like he had to focus to move right.

This new room was pretty big, measuring roughly 16 by 16 meters in size, Kevin estimated. The floor felt like a wrestling mat, both firm, and giving.

Samantha said, “Ok, I suggest starting with some stretching and warm up exercises. As part of the calibration process; I have mapped your current physical condition. So what you’re able to do now will match what your body is able to do.”

Kevin started doing some stretches and basic fitness exercises. Samantha chimed in from time to time with suggestions on how best to stretch his muscles. He was embarrassed that he, a 24-year-old man could only manage 11 full push-ups and 25 sit-ups.

“Can’t you just give me a better body in the game?” he complained.

“No, it’s part of the mechanics to match your real starting point as part of the immersion. For the sake of in-game body management and other physiological and psychological reasons, Intelecom has set some limits on what we can change. I can change your appearance to a degree. Otherwise, the only way I can enhance your body is if you were handicapped.”

“So I can’t change my height, but I can change my skin, hair, and facial features?”

“Yes, but only up until you start playing the game.”

Kevin and Samantha spent the next in-game hour modifying his appearance. He still looked close to the same, but enough different that he would not be too easily recognized as Kevin Asharic.

By now Kevin felt like he was moving normally, he didn’t have to concentrate to move any longer.

“So what can you tell me about the game?”

“I’m only allowed to tell you that it’s futuristic, like science fiction.” replied Samantha.

“So the game has no swords and sorcery?”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you anything more. I can suggest a course of training that might help you in the game, though.”

“Good, by the way, how is the calibration going?” asked Kevin.

“The calibration is at 76% and the current time compression is at 3.77 to 1.”

“And what is the time outside?”

“6:43 pm” replied Samantha.

“I should stop now, get something to eat, and then I can continue on for only a few more hours… I need to work tomorrow morning so I’ll have to stop at 11 pm to get some sleep.”

“Kevin, did you forget that you can both eat and sleep in the pod?”

“Yeah, I’m kind of used to having to stop when playing with MMORPG’s. But sure, let’s make today a test of your claims about sleeping in the pod.”

“Great, Kevin I can’t wait to show you what I can do for you. You’ll find your dinner ready for you in the kitchen.”

The way Samantha said that had his mind going to other places than food… Focus Kevin…

In the kitchen, Kevin found his dinner, lasagna with meat sauce, garlic bread, a small salad and a glass of wine. Kevin continued to be amazed. He tasted the wine, a Chianti, perfect. Again did she read his mind? This was perfect.

“Thanks again Samantha, how did you make this so quick?”

“It’s not magic, everything you see here are just sensations I am building in your mind. Think of it as a sort of dream I’m building at your command.”

Kevin started eating, everything was so good. He looked around his virtual home, this could easily be addicting… about that.

“Samantha, there is something we need to talk about.”

“How may I serve you, Kevin.” that sounded very suggestive, and he was seeing a pattern.

“Um, the way you’re talking to me is very suggestive, like your offering to have sex with me.”

“Well Kevin, yes, it would please me to please you. I know it has been a while since you have had physical intimacy with a woman, can I help you with this?”

“First how; you have no body. And second, there’s something about all this…” Kevin waved his hands around to indicate the space, the food, and everything, “that is too nice, I’m worried about becoming so addicted to this, that I’ll never want to leave.”

All the sudden a girl appeared next to him. She was about 1.7 meters tall, with short blond hair, parted on her right, a very attractive young face, and a perfect figure, with B to C sized breasts. In other words, she looked like his idea of a perfect female.

“I can have a body, if it will help me serve you better, Kevin.” Again she said his name in a way that also implied ‘master’. “And you need not fear addiction; I carefully watch your mind for any abnormality. I want you to be healthy and happy; I am designed to help you, not bind you. Oh, I see your other concern… you need not worry about me becoming jealous of other women in your life. What makes you happiest, and the best person you can be is what fulfills me, by design.”

“Well in that case…” A man has his limits, and this was, after all, a full test of the system, right? So better get to the testis, uh, I mean on with the test… Kevin spent the next hour finding new ways that Samantha could amaze him.

***

After about an hour he was back to the training room. This time, he trained with a physical Samantha as a coach. She told him his program for the next five real days would include: physical development, martial arts, small arms practice, and survival training. It turned out that the training room could work like a holodeck to simulate different environments for survival training, also providing a variety of martial art opponents, and targets for small arms training.

Kevin was surprised at how quickly he was picking up some of the skills. At the end of the first night, just before going to bed he commented on this to Samantha.

“Yes, Kevin, as part of the Alpha test and the gold level subscription, I am able to download training modules to assist in helping you learn new skills.”

“How does that work?”

“Well I can’t go into the technical details, but take martial arts as an example. Intelecom mapped the skills of some of the best martial artists. So as you train in martial arts and you move the right way, I reinforce the right moves in your mind, or if you move wrong, you feel that the movement was wrong without me having to tell you. It works like you have a natural talent. Just like some people have a natural talent for playing a sport. In this training hall, and only here, not in the game, I can help you learn any physical skill like someone with a natural talent for it.”

Kevin let that sink in for a bit.

“Good night Kevin. You only have a couple hours left before you need to get ready for work. Now that the pod calibration is complete, two hours of rest will do you a lot of good.” Samantha reminded him.

He still had many questions about all of this, but it could wait. “Good night Samantha.”

***

The next morning he ate breakfast with Samantha, and then exited the pod, feeling more refreshed than should be possible on only 2 real hours of sleep.

***

The rest of the day, while at work, he kept thinking about getting back home to his new virtual life. The people, especially a few of the girls he worked with noticed his improved attitude and energy.