Visionless Reality

Ten

        With all the setup ready, I was ready for the journey to find the essential information about the game. First of all, I thought of going to the practice mode and ask Teddy about it but he was a common store owner who would have never known much about the VR world. Then the thought came of Jason, but he was gone for some days. Pathetic mode would be of no use for it was best to practice the skills and gain additional knowledge apart from the main story of the game. ‘Main story… That’s it. It would provide me with much more information of the game than required.’ That was the night I plugged in to try the story mode in the game. I was very much excited for the origin of the VR platform was to be disclosed.

        Accessing the main menu, I was still confused. Was it good to play the story mode, or should I be get going with the practice mode. Story mode was the choice which felt better for me as then I would be able to know more about the game’s story… where it all started and all. Generating all the courage from inside, I finally chose the story mode without any prior knowledge. The tablet from where I could access any mode of game to play, vibrated twice... displaying some kind of warning.

‘Warning: This mode is currently under the Beta testing. The mode is currently unstable to play. We recommend you to play other modes rather than this one.’

That was the message with two selection buttons of ‘Continue anyway’ and ‘Leave’. Being a game tester for last few months, the main thing that I’ve understood that beta versions are risky. They can even lead to your system’s crash. But there’s nothing to be worried about. Although my heart was thumping, for it was a hard to make decision… but I was all set for the game. Tapping the ‘Continue anyway’ option, one more warning jumped up.

‘Warning: Due to the Beta version of the story mode, we would be unable to save your game before the fifth task of the initial rank. We are extremely apologetic for this inconvenience. Please proceed on your own risk.’

The message was again with two same options as previous one. That was really a very difficult choice to make. Who knows how long were the first 5 tasks in the initial rank? But assuming the mode, being similar to the pathetic mode, I proceeded with ‘Continue anyway’ option once again. This time, the transition was minimal and slow. The walls around me were similar… But the wall behind my back, disappeared, and warm dusty winds could be felt. I turned to see that it was a deserted land, with sun on the top. I stepped into the environment… and those dusty winds turned wild. I tried to get back into the white room but it evaporated. I had my backpack with a knife, flash light and a metal container. I was already regretting my choice, when I saw a small area with camps. Tearing off my t-shirt, I made a mask to cover my nose and mouth from the dust and my head to protect it from the sun’s direct rays. I started running towards the destination… but instead of approaching it, it was going far. I was extremely tired and in immediate need of water. I heard sound of a passing by vehicle, when I started shouting and screaming for help. They were some army men on a patrol. At first, they pointed their weapons at me but looking at the tag of recruit, they let me in their jeep towards their place.

The place we landed on, was a huge camp… with the address of ‘Arena-1, Nation-A’. And this reminded me of the pathetic mode. All the people here were well dressed and I was the only one in rags. One of the armed people, dropped me in a facility with recruits just like me. He gave me a grey t-shirt and trousers to change. All the other recruits were wearing the same outfit. After changing the clothes, I was exploring that environment when I saw the noticeboard. All the posters there were holding some kind of information, none of them useful for me. After a few minutes, a horn was heard, which was a sign of something important.

‘Welcome recruits. You all have been waiting for this time of yours, to get verified as an armed professional. But before that, you have to clear some certain tasks, to get a higher rank, eligible to gain professional level knowledge. So are you all ready to give, whatever it takes? To get a higher rank, you have been assigned a team by our professionals. Each team will have 4 members and those teams have been posted on the noticeboard. After forming the teams, you have to complete a total no. of 7 tasks, lined up for your mastery on the recruit level. These tasks will lead you to the private rank. Your first task will be provided to you by Major Willis. Good luck everyone’-Instructor.

        Well that was pretty straight forward. I was not knowing that all we are competing is for higher ranks in the armed forces. That would be a great way to train the armed forces virtually. Looking at the noticeboard, my other 3 teammates were Recruit-38, Recruit-147, Recruit-399. Finding the tags in the crowd was a bit hard. There were around 40 recruits, roaming around in that facility. My teammates were sitting in a corner like dumbs.

‘Hey everyone, I am your teammate… Recruit-5.’

‘What are you happy about huh? Is this some kind of joke to you?’-Recruit-38.

‘Chill dude! Why being so rude? He is here just to introduce himself’-Recruit-147.

        I didn’t know what was wrong with them but I was feeling stuck with poor teammates. This was my first time playing around with random people and the reason I preferred staying away from them was trust. I couldn’t trust anyone easily. But this time, it was far worse. I was feeling that it was time to forget about team spirit.

‘Listen here recruits… We are going to start the first task of yours in about 10 minutes. Till then, you have to train yourself with the knowledge of some weapons. On the shelf are available the user manuals of the weapons we prefer using in this task. Go on recruits… your 10 minutes start…. Now!!!’-Major.

        And after his words, everyone rushed towards the shelf to get a manual for themselves. I somehow got hold of one. It was a guide to use a P2000 and a USP for both of them were made by the same artillery provider. Also, it contained a brief description of P90, which is a compact assault rifle. I was elevated by the thought that I was going to use an assault rifle for real. The manual provided some step by step tutorials to access different parts of the weapons. USP was similar to P2000 as USP is predecessor of P2000. So all I was left to study was P90. The images of the g*n were appealing and were trying to summon the demon inside. I could not wait to use it. After the end of 10 minutes…

‘Please keep the manuals, back on the shelf. Now, I’ll call you by your team tag and the task would be provided. Team-A, reach the arsenal… Major Willis is there, waiting for you.’-Instructor.

        It was all silent after they entered the arsenal. A few minutes later, firing could be heard… It meant that the task was of aiming. I was excited for I was good in it. Soon, our team was called to the arsenal and there was a total mess of metal pieces, lying on the center table. Some springs, metal pieces, a trigger… oh! It was the pistol… just left disassembled. It was the best task that they could give.

‘So recruits, this is your task… These are the components of a pistol. Assemble it and keep it inside the crate under the table. After that, you would be provided with more components, but they would be of a submachine g*n. Assemble them and keep it in the crate as well. Then, pick up a pistol and an AR from the crate, which is assembled by your teammates, and wait for further announcement.’-Major.

        It was all going good when the announcement came in. So they were going to test our knowledge, gained from the manual. I was ready for that but still was nervous about it. Starting the task, one must be careful, for losing even one component will make the pistol useless. Looking at the components, I was confused at first because the images in the manual were from only one angle. But later on, I separated the pieces that belonged to particular parts of the pistol. Starting from the main body, attaching the trigger, the spring and the switch for burst mode. The next part was the upper barrel which consisted of the recoil spring and some other parts. I attached all the pieces but one of the screw was missing. Tensed to the matter, I started panicking, making me less productive.  But it was not too late when I found it and sighed. The last part was the easiest… the empty magazine. Before assembling it, I tried to peak at what my other teammates were doing. Recruit-399 had already completed assembling the pistol and was working on the assault rifle. While Recuit-147 and Recruit-38 were still trying to figure out where to place the coil springs. I was sure they didn’t have even seen the manual once. While placing the trigger in position, Recruit-147 lost the trigger spring. It bounced from his hand and was never found again. Now that was ridiculous. I pretended like I haven’t seen anything. Both of them were looking at each other like two backbenchers during an exam.

        It was time for assembling the P90. That was a beautiful g*n. With its material and the magazine, it looked stunning. Never used that in any game before, rather than Counter Strike, famous for those Russian gamers. But was really craving to try it. Assembling it, was a bit difficult as I had not seen its components in real life. I continued attaching the components, reminding myself of each and every possible part. Completing the assembly of cartridge and the main body, I ended up losing my memory regarding the further steps. I tried to attach the components left on the table, but none of them did make any sense. It was Recruit-147 who took one of the components, trying to insert in the USP. Due to its size, it was easily discoverable as a part of P90 but who would tell that dumb. I snatched that piece from his hand while he stood there giving me a cold look. Taking away that piece from his hand and inserting it in one of the parts, satisfyingly with a click, made him smile at me like a moron. ‘I knew that it belonged to P90 but I was testing its faithfulness towards its master.’-Recruit-147. Although I was frowning at his mocking face, but deep inside I said ‘May god bless this poor specie!’

        Finishing the assembly of both the weapons, took all of us approximately half an hour. Recruit-399 ringed the bell and Major Willis entered the room.

‘So fellas… done assembling already? Very well then... Step two is to pick up the assembled weapon from the crate without looking at it. You may fell upon your weapon or the one that your teammate assembled. After picking up the weapon, collect the ammunition from the testing field outside, and get ready for the third step.’-Major.

        My goodness. It was totally a bid on the weapon I was going to pick up for I had no belief on the weapons assembled by my teammates… For one of them actually missed a spring. The situations were totally dependent on my action.