Free Office of Mercy (9781101606100) by Ariel Djanikian Page B

red. The vast majority of Pods held only single players, but there was also a row of group training rooms on the ground level. The two Epsilons found Pod G11; the light at the door glowed green.
    â€œYou ready for this?” Eric asked.
    â€œThey wouldn’t have picked us if we couldn’t handle it,” answered Natasha.
    He raised his eyebrows, no more convinced of her fearlessness than she was of his.
    â€œToo late to turn back now,” he said. And with a last little pang of trepidation, Natasha followed Eric inside.
    Jeffrey was already there, strapping himself into the center harness, and the others arrived within minutes. Jeffrey greeted them and directed each person to one of the stations. He was all business; there were no special glances for Natasha today—a relief to Natasha. She had enough pressure on her already.
    Like the individual Pods, Pod G11 had an interior of gray-blue rug that rose up the walls and onto the ceiling, and a very sedate blue light that glowed upward from a panel near the floor. The team members strapped elaborate harnesses around their middles; the apparatus would keep them safely in place while their bodies acted out in whatever world they would soon find themselves. They pulled down their helmets, which also hung from the ceiling, and fastened them over their heads—the helmet flaps making them blind to the “actual” world around them.
    â€œAll right,” Jeffrey said, “as long as everyone’s feeling good, I’m going to throw us right into our first simulation. In this one, we walk straight to the Crane sweep site. I want you to look for identifying landmarks as we go, start familiarizing yourself with the route.”
    The effect came gradually, as the simulators touching Natasha’s head began to warm. At first, Natasha saw only the black helmet flap. But then she allowed her eyes to flutter closed and, as she did, the sensation of the harness where it crossed her legs and torso disappeared; the weight of the helmet dissolved. She opened her eyes—whether she had opened her eyes in the real world as well as in the Pretend world, Natasha could not say. She sensed the presence of a cool, light, stretchy material just grazing her skin. She ran her hands down her thighs, touching through thin gloves the biosuit that covered her body. The air tasted cool and clean, and she became aware of the lightweight airfilter strapped to her back.
    Darkness gave way to looming forms, and these forms steadily coalesced into a forest of thick trees, about thirty paces away. The other members of her team were standing beside her, in the same arrangement as they had stood in the Pod: Douglas, Nolan, and Jeffrey to her right, and Eric and Alejandra to her left. They too were testing the feel of their biosuits, stretching their limbs and feeling over their shoulders for their airfilters. The biosuits were light gray in color, with bright red stitching. Stiff, protective helmets covered their heads, and clear visors covered their faces.
    Natasha turned in a circle and recognized their location immediately. They stood on the green, the large circle of lawn that surrounded America-Five. Two steel wings branched out on either side of them: each wing a series of massive rectangular structures sunk into the earth. The nearer one had the long, thin configuration of the Department of the Exterior. That would make the adjacent, shorter wing the Department of Government. Each of the steel structures connected back to the high Dome, its concrete base stained in yellowish ribbons from dampness and weather, and the honeycomb windows opaque in the noontime sun.
    â€œWelcome to your first training session,” said Jeffrey’s voice in her ear. “As I said, the purpose of this exercise is to familiarize yourself with the route to the Crane sweep site. Douglas has our navigation tools. I’ve kept the obstacles to a minimum for now.”
    â€œWhat, no