Red Bison VR

R.C. was laid out on a medical table under a bright light. A white spherical drone hovered over him. It scanned his body with all sorts of lasers and lights.

This was his third day of stem cell treatments. The procedure was highly uncomfortable and mildly painful, but it was working incredibly for an experimental treatment. After only three days his wounds were already almost healed and his body felt 100%.

The drone slowly lowered toward R.C.'s stomach. A syringe came out from a port. It injected the needle into him.

R.C. had been injected by syringes so many times in the last few days, he was starting to get used to it.

"How are you feeling?" Pipp asked.

"To be honest, I feel amazing. It's almost like nothing happened. What the hell is this treatment?" R.C. Responded, sitting up from the operating table.

"It was developed by 15 hour energy. It's a special serum that mixes a highly potent energy shot with stem cells. This mixture rapidly regenerates damaged cells. As of now, only us and the military are authorized to use it."

"Wow, I feel kind of special now. So, when do I start this training, old man?"

"Well if you're feeling alright, We'll start right now. Get up and follow me. We're going to the training center."

...

Old Man Pipp and R.C. stood on a large industrial elevator that was heading down to the lower level, deep beneath the union hall. As the elevator moved slowly downward, the metallic walls that could be seen from elevator's grated sides eventually became exposed raw stone the deeper they went. It seemed like where they were heading was deep underground.

"I bet you're wondering why the training center is so far underground." Pipp said.

"To be honest no not really. From what I've seen so far, I think I already know the answer. It's probably because this training center is some high tech, cutting edge thing the government or whatever wants to keep secret."

"I see you catch on fast."

Finally the elevator reached the bottom floor. R.C. and Pipp stepped out into a large room. The room was dome shaped. The floor and domed ceiling were seamless and egg shell white, there wasn't a single gap on any surface. The space was surprisingly empty.

Codea and Milo were already there waiting for them.

"What's with all the empty space? I thought this was a training room?" R.C. asked.

"Why don't you just wait and listen, idiot." Codea said.

"I see you're in a great mood like usual today." R.C. responded

"And I see you're still an asshole today.”

Pipp quickly jumped in to diffuse them.

"Knock it off, we don't have time for this. We have to get R.C. up to speed on everything."

Everyone calmed down a bit. A moment passed and three white podiums suddenly rose up from the floor. Each one had some sort of gray device sitting on top.

"Is that what I think it is?"

R.C. walked over to the center podium. On it sat what looked to be some sort of helmet. It was round and bulky. It had a visor that was similar in shape to ski goggles. He picked it up and inspected it.

"This sort of looks like those new virtual reality rigs Red Bison Energy released." R.C. Observed.

"That's because it is, but this one is a special version initially designed for military use." Pipp explained.

"What's the difference?"

"You'll see in a few moments. Why don't you put it on."

He placed the VR helmet on his head. At first his vision was black. Then suddenly the device powered on. The Red Bison logo flashed, momentarily on the screen.

A mild stinging sensation could be felt at the base of R.C.'s skull briefly. The room he was in became visible on the screen.

A terminal came up from the floor. Pipp went over to it and began typing in it.

"Alright, since this is your first time using this device. We're going to have to do some calibration. Codea and Yellow, you two put on your head sets as well." Pipp said.

"So what do you need me to do first?" R.C. asked.

"Stand still for a moment. I'm going to start flipping through a few different sceneries."

R.C. stood stationary. The plain white room he was in suddenly changed. He was now standing in the middle of a dense rainforest. It flipped again, this time to a barren desert, then the top of a mountain.

"Wow I have to say this is pretty realistic."

"Just wait, it's about to get more real. Now I'm going to calibrate your senses."

The scenery changed once again. Now he was on top of a building. He could hear a loud wind sweeping over him. The unusual thing though was that not only did he hear it, but he could feel it too.

He reached down to feel the rocky cement below him. He could actually feel it. A scent drifted over his nose. It smelt horrible, sort of like raw sewage.

"How is it that I can feel and smell? What kind of VR is this?"

Pipp spoke, "This is the military version of this head set. Unlike the civilian version, this one links into your brain's neural waves. This is how it can simulate all five senses. Seems like everything is working great. Just one last thing..."

Codea and Yellow suddenly appeared before him. Codea was holding what looked like a fire ax.

"I've been waiting all day for this!" Codea said.

"What do you me-"

Codea without any warning, she walked up to R.C.. With all the force she could muster, she drove the ax into R.C.'s forearm.

He yelled out in pain.

"What the hell!?"

He could see his severed arm laying next to him.

Codea laughed sadistically.

"It's all just a simulation, none of it's real, idiot."

"I can assure you the pain is real!"

R.C. felt as if he was actually bleeding out from his wound.

"Alright I just hit the reset button. Now that you're all set up, let's get to your first training scenario." Pipp said over the mic.

There was a sudden flash and everything seemed to reset. The pain he felt subsided and his arm was reattached. Training was about to begin.