Mission 00

Chapter 1
Day 1
Mission 00

Date: December 1st, 2017
Time: 14:23
Location: Unknown

As if the trip to their location wasn’t creepy enough to begin with, with its blindfolding and staying in one’s own cabin as they travelled via ship for what felt like hours, then the fact they all had the entirety of their luggage taken away as soon as they hit land caused some of the participants to be irked at best. The group who had previously noticed each other at the private docking area ‘on the other side’ were now stood in a large, indoor space. It was white. Almost blinding, and filled with an array of medical contraptions. The group of thirty-five showed varying signs of attention, some staring at nothing beside the machines ahead of them, others glowering at the hoard of men and women in scrubs and lab coats; and a few complaints about lack of answers they had received for their fervent questions.

There were no windows, and two doors; the one the participating group had come in through, and a smaller one at the back of the room with a green exit sign above it, just like at any other public establishment. Those who avoided the advice to wear warmer clothes shivered in the chill of the room. It was a common consensus that there was an astringent stink of cleaning products, and a couple of people at the back of the herd shared whispers over how strange the entire experience was. They were only supposed to be testing a VR video game.

“We’ll get started with a general health check,” one of the medical technicians spoke and all eyes directed to the front. “Please line up in three queues.” A man average by every physical aspect bar the black bags under his eyes put a fully-gloved hand over the paper mask covering the lower half of his face and adjusted it a fraction. Placing his clipboard on a metal trolley to his side, at the head of one of the beds surrounded by a prop for a divider, he wagged his blue latexed finger at the first in the far left line.

Doing as they were told, a short man with black smoky eye-makeup advanced with his chest puffed out. “What’s this about?” He asked as he hopped up onto the hospital bed. The ruffle of the curtain being drawn semi-muffled his words.

At the other end bed, a tall redhead easily clearing six-foot stepped up to the call. Towering over the medical team of two, heavily made-up eyes gleamed. “Don’t hesitate, Doc. Give it to me straight.” Her ruby lips curled into a grin and she held out her arms, her forearms inked in a vintage style.

As if they were robots, the medical teams saw to the first person in each line: closing the curtains, then doing whatever they did under the cover of the shroud, and then ripping the blind back open. The participant was gone, and they were back to calling to the next person as the tissue bedsheet was being replaced by a secondary medic.  

There was a chorus of grunts and huffs from behind the dividers. Every so often, a yowl, or a curse for what could only be a lack of bedside-manner as they prodded and poked would bring the others' attention back to the present. As soon as the next person had been led down on the bed, the fellow soon-to-be examinees tried to listen to what was happening a few feet away, but the anticipation of their own physical examination was more than enough of a distraction. One Medic took temperatures, and pressed joints, and read vitals, while another took notes within the tiny tents. Most of the questions asked were generic things that any doctor would ask during their first check-up with a new patient, but there were a few invasive, seemingly irrelevant pries every now and then. The latter made the little monitor to their right blip thanks to the pads wired up to their chest and lower neck of each subject.

They were twenty-seven people in when a yell came from the right enclosure. “You never said anything about needles.” A rough voice, still female, surely, stopped the awkward chatter of those still waiting their turn.

“You signed the contract-” One of the medics spoke.

“-I didn’t sign shit saying you could take my D.N.A.”

“Section 62, Paragraph 4, line 3: ‘You shall submit to any testing required of you before, during, and after the participation of the game Dogma: The Original S-"

“-Get fucked!” The bark cut through the icy air and a clamour followed.  The sound of the uniform metal trolley being knocked over clattered and the the pair of medics in tent 3 squabbled with the female clearly throwing a fit.

Looking to his left, a skinny, tattooed man glanced down on a petite blonde beside him. “I guess some people just aren’t cut out for this.” He wriggled his fingers at her waist. She giggled at the touch and his eyes shut to show the black liner when he grinned.  

A weight hit the floor and a muscular leg flopped past the bottom of the curtain. “You have one more chance to comply before you’re thrown out, Lai-“

“No names,” another Medic’s voice strained before the pair of employees began murmuring incoherently.

“Next,” the Medic in tent two called out. A well-built man dressed in black straightened up and advanced for the middle tent.

“Good job we’re not physically fighting.” The last one in queue 3 almost squeaked at the sight of the beast stepping up to the plate. “We’d be done before we even got a shot.”

A middle aged man with a scar across his cheeks and nose grunted. “It’s probably steroids.”

“Or gangs…” Shrinking back at noticing another thug, the young man inched aside. “Or prison…”

“Or maybe, just someone with a hard life.” A guy with black hair, not much older than the original speaker, shrugged behind him.

Glancing back, the original speaker’s number was called. Medics stood in wait and those either side of him seemed to be powering up like supervillains. “O-oh n-no…” Trembling, the skinny foreigner cursed himself.

“What are you waiting for?” The man to his right yapped.

“Thank me later.” Another voice came from behind.

“Wha-?” Almost falling over himself, the foreigner stumbled forward. Landing in the arms of a Medic, the pair spun inside the examination pace and the curtain shut.

A few minutes of mumbling, quick farewells later, and the sound of fabric being rung across the steel frame line encompassing the 'private' space passed until the last three were done and dusted with their physical exam.

It had been a question conjured in many forms for those waiting, but it wasn’t until now that they had been answered. Each person who went into the little blue curtained space had not rejoined the group. Like dying and finding out that there was, in fact, something else waiting for them, each person had been ushered down a dark, narrow corridor and into an even darker space. It looked like a movie theatre. If they had to guess, they would swear it was, and it was a good guess, except that the seats were leather and the floor wasn’t sticky. To the dismay of the participants, most of which who hadn’t eaten anything in the last twelve hours, there were also no snacks.

The group sat sporadically around the two hundred-seater space. Questions were racking them when a spotlight hit the left side of the stage. A short man tripped over the velvet curtain and staggered out onto the slight decking in front of the screen. Holding a microphone up to his face, he coughed into the top. A screech pierced the speakers and everyone held their ears, or at least tried to before the petite blonde in an expensive suit tapped the top of the device a couple of times with a subdued giggle. “My bad.” Even with so few words, his accent was clear as day. Moving to the middle of the stage, the small man looked up. “I’m Hirota Aito, the creator of Dogma: The Original Sin, and I humbly thank you all for taking the time and effort to make it this far.” He glanced across the dimmed faces and wafted his hand by his side a little.

The light technician took notice of the hasty gesture and dimmed the overhead lights, and the owner of the structure felt his brow ease. “It’s really warm up here.” He chuckled, but none of his guests laughed along. Returning to his default projection, Hirota kept his eyes on everything but a guest. “Well done on making it thus far. I honestly admire your strength, intelligence, and patience. I made personal bets on the top one hundred and predicted the likeliness to get this far, and eventually win. I must say, we have a couple of wildcards. I’m not sure how I feel about that.” He let out a soft laugh, his eyes turning up into crescents as he cocked his head and held his hand out. “After all of the teasers you’ve fought to unlock, I’m sure you’re all looking forward to the game’s full teaser.” He was about to put his arm down but just as quickly brought the mic back to his mouth. “At least, I hope you are.” Coughing to clear his throat, he held his hand out to the giant screen behind him. “Please be quiet and pay attention; questions will be taken after the showing.” Walking backwards the same way he came from, Hirota again tripped over the corner of the luxury burgundy curtain as he slipped into the dark.

Eyes straight ahead, the participants fixed their stares on the video presentation. The visual of an EKG line pulsed across the black background and the sound synonymous with it filled the cool viewing hall. Low inaudible murmurs mixed in to the piercing ringing. The roll of old jail gates shutting met sobbing and a sense of static electricity found itself prickling the skin of the observers. Flickering like an old television, a flatline ran through the air. The screen blew out a blinding white but vanished just as suddenly as it had begun. Images of decrepit settings and disturbing split-second cut scenes flashed before coming to an abrupt halt.

“Penitence, Vengeance, Desire, Sorrow, and Sacrifice: Each human fits into one of these five states of mind. Look beyond the façade of happiness; Know yourself and recognize your drive. Only then can you really understand how to carry on living. Lies are the basis for survival.”



 

Updated: 28th December 2017 - 18:35