"Well," Van said, "there's no reason to waste time in the real world, is there? Let's get me into one of these pods."
The operator who had been sitting at the console abruptly snorted and coughed, waking up from his slumber. He began to quietly work on the computer system.
"Yes," Cindy said as she glared at him a little, "let's."
There was some tension in the air, and Van was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable underneath her gaze. It was clear that she had some kind of a problem with him, and her agitation was growing by the moment. He decided to test it a little.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" Van asked.
"No, you said everything right," Cindy said. "But you asked a lot of questions that I don't care for. Asking about security and whatnot. I'm pretty sure that you're going to be trying something funny around here. I know you made some kind of deal with Draco. I know you're important enough that Draco wants you working with them. But you probably aren't really in it to help us, are you?"
"I'm here to do what's right by me," Van said. "That's all."
"That's all? You're gonna try and take the system down somehow. I know it in my heart."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Van asked as he leaned in close. "You spent the last five years of your life slaving away for these guys, and then suddenly they decide to change the rules on you entirely. You're left with nothing special. You were probably a pretty big deal back in the game, weren't you? Now look at you. You're a freaking secretary. Do you even get to play anymore?"
Cindy scowled at him, but he saw a flicker of sadness on her face. The emotion there was strong enough to cause her to hesitate before speaking to him.
"Look, Van," she said, "let's try to get along here. There's not a lot of talkative types around anymore. I don't want to—"
"To fight? Really? What could you do to me anyway?" Van taunted. He knew he was onto something here. All he needed to do was piss her off enough to sew some seeds of discontent in her. Maybe she'd act independently and sabotage the operation somehow. Was that too much to hope for?
"Why are you acting like this? You were just handed the world on a platter!" she shouted. "You were just given everything that anyone could ever want, and at the last possible second, too. You should be thrilled to be here, but instead you're just trying to figure out how to cause trouble!"
"Cause trouble? I'm just trying to figure out how this place is working," Van said. "You're the one who seems so dead-set on the fact that I'm here to make noise."
This apparently frustrated her greatly, as she growled at him a little more. "Are you really just trying to mess with me right now? I don't need this kind of treatment. Your pod is the only one that's open, so just get in it whenever you're ready to get started." And with that, she stormed off.
Van chuckled a little as he watched her stomping away from him. Maybe that would be enough to set her off later.
"Ain't she a trip?" Van asked the operator who had been quietly watching them fight.
"I suppose," the man said quietly. He had no expression on his face, and nor did he seem particularly interested in what they'd been talking about. Van shrugged at the guy and turned around to return to the pod area.
He could see that there was an open pod in the middle of the sea of silver. And no one else was around, save for one man wearing all black. He was part of the security team, but had no gun. He stood by the exit to the lobby where Cindy was working. Van kept his attention directed towards the man as he walked up to the pod. The man never shifted or moved; he was motionless at all times.
Van walked over to the silver pod and looked at it. The inside of the pod was cushioned with what looked to be very soft fabric. He ran his hands along the bottom of the pod slowly, but didn't feel anything special about it. There were no ports sticking out. He slowly walked around the pod to investigate it. The guard didn't bother to look at him, making Van feel a little more at ease. Maybe this whole thing was just some big farce. Draco might think they were in control, but from the looks of it, the operation was running pretty loosely.
Van grew more bold and bent down to look underneath the pod. There was nothing. He realized now that there weren't even power cords attached to the silver machine. This wasn't good – without any kind of external attachments, he had no clue how he was supposed to hack into this machine. He leaned back up and looked around. All of the other pods were humming gently, content to power their players with everything they would ever need in order to survive.
Van glanced at his own pod and sighed. He wondered if he would ever be leaving this thing of his own free will. No doubt, the Emperor would lock him in for an extended period of time once he got into the thing.
As Van placed his hand on the pod, he heard a noise from behind him. It was someone loudly arguing with another.
"This doesn't look at all like I thought it was going to be!" said a familiar voice. Van knew he'd heard the voice before, but couldn't place his finger on who it was. "I thought I was going to some kind of resort and instead they send me here?"
The doors from the lobby slid open as a tall man with bright red hair entered. Cindy was following after him.
"Look, I'm sorry that we had to change the destination on you, but you will find that this place is way better."
"Better? It's in the middle of a desert! I was told there'd be some kind of resort," the man replied. He looked downright infuriated. His voice was still very familiar, but Van didn't recognize the fellow at all.
"These pods are designed to simulate resorts," Cindy said back to him as she waved at the machines. "They're programmed to fulfill your every need."
"I'm tired of being crammed into a tube, Cindy," the man shouted. "I'm starting to feel like all of this stuff is far too insane for me. I mean, first they tell me all about Draco's plans to take over the world or whatever, and then I’m in some kind of magical bunker that can turn invisible to the human eye? I just wanted a job!"
"And you've gotten a job, Peter," Cindy said. "The pay is great, and all you have to do is hang out here for a few years."
Peter? Van slowly remembered that the voice belonged to Peterson, the player who had saved him from certain death. This might be good news for Van, he thought – especially considering the man's outrage.
"I wanted something to impress the woman who left me!" Peter yelled. "This won't impress anyone! I just wanted a nice job, to make some money and to win back my wife. Was that too much to ask for?"
Cindy put her hands on her face. "I don't know what to tell you. You won the contest; you got a job with us. You could have chosen to refuse."
"Like there's any refusing these psychopaths," Peter replied. "Let's face it, Cindy, when I got into that corporate sponsored bus to leave for this place, I didn't have a choice. They told me the whole truth of it on the way over here. What was I supposed to do? Tell the armed men that I wanted out?"
"You have a choice here, Peter," Cindy said. "You can step up and join us, or you can go home. No one is twisting your arm."
Peter was quiet for a moment. "Are they really going to blow up the world?"
"Apparently not yet," Cindy replied. "We got orders last night that things are going to be staying in the preparation phase indefinitely."
"Then I'm going home!" Peter said.
"And you're really going to pass up all of that money?" Cindy asked as Peter turned around to walk off. He stopped mid-step at her question. She continued. "Two-hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars a year is a lot of money. You could work for maybe one, two years and you'd be set, right? Then your wife would love you again, or whatever."