by Wells, JB
The line started moving forward and Kieran was standing still with a confused look on his face, he stared up at the shiny letters just trying to work out what on earth was going on. A helpful hand shoved him harder than necessary, Kieran blinked and turned to see who had pushed him along, of course it was Richard. Kieran ignored him and hastened his speed, trying to catch up with the others.
They walked into the great white building, where they stopped in the hallway. The floor was metallic, like the walls that housed the tunnel but a lot more shiny with glass covering every inch. Uniformed cadets marched past in perfect unison in all directions, making the new campers feel in the way.
“Right, follow me please.” With their heads all scanning from left to right, they were led into a small conference room where they were directed to sit. At the front of the room was a little stage and no one had noticed the people that were lined up there.
“Attention!” An officer called out by the door. Everyone jumped to their feet and saluted as a man walked across the stage. The new cadets rose and copied everyone around them, just waiting for a prompt that they could relax.
“At ease, cadets.” He stopped in the dead centre of the stage and a spot light focused on him. He had swept back mousey brown hair and looked fairly young for the authority he held. He wore the same as Ex, a black t-shirt and brown combat trousers but there was no writing on his shirt and over it he had a long black leather coat. He was tall and also very muscular, showing he worked-out hard.
“Welcome to gamers summer camp. My name is General North but from now on you will call me Alpha One. When you are addressed by a senior officer you are to answer by saying yes sir. Is that clear?”
No one answered. Eyes flitted around the room as they were all nervous and not sure of what they were actually getting into.
“Is that clear?” Alpha one’s voice was loud and booming with a scary edge to it.
“Yes Sir,” the voices in the room responded in a chorus, but most of the voices were filled with a scared anticipation.
Kieran could feel his heart in his mouth, he was nervous. This wasn’t the fun summer camp that he was expecting anymore, he thought Thomas was right, this was army camp.
“Now, you may all think that you’ve come here to play games, make camp fires and toast marshmallows, but you are wrong.” Alpha One was pacing the length of the stage looking at the floor as he shouted to the room. He held his hands behind his back as he walked. “You have been selected out of hundreds of thousands of other people to be here, you are the elite and one of the last hopes this world may have. In the next few days you will see things that you thought were impossible, things that will confuse and amaze you. But most of all you must understand, this is not a game. You are here because we need you and in one way or another you need us. You will all be split into your Clans and be shown to a barracks. Once you are in your clan, get to know the people because for the next six weeks they will be your new family. You will eat, sleep, learn and exercise with them.” He stopped pacing and looked at the fifty new, scared cadets.
Kieran felt like his eyes were fixated onto him and him alone, he glanced to Dexter who was trying not to laugh.
“Then and only then will you start gaming together,” Alpha One continued his lap of the stage. “There will be a very close eye kept on you all, and if you are not fulfilling the requirements I will personally see you doing a job you will hate for six weeks. We do have a full time school here, and we offer scholarships to cadets who show exceptional promise. You could win a placement here, but this is dependent on your 6 week trial.” There was no joking in his voice, he meant every regimented word he was spouting. The effect he had on the new cadets was obvious as most stared at him, too scared to breathe loudly or cough. “Here at WIPI we govern the Internet, we protect those who use it and stop those who want to abuse it. We test games, gamers and new software. You will be using the new software like the hundreds of other cadets that have been here before you. If you had any thoughts that this was like the army, then you are correct. The only difference between us and the real army is that you won’t be shooting a real gun. You will of course have a lot of questions and they will all be answered in due course. Lastly, I want to introduce you to the important people that work here and you will work alongside on a daily basis. Sergeant Ex you have all met, he was the recruitment officer who had the arduous task of hunting each of you down. Here at camp you will refer to him as Sergeant Ex, is that clear?”
“Yes Sir!” All the cadets answered.
Kieran’s leg bounced uncontrollably and his palms were growing hot and sweaty. He wiped them on his trouser legs and tried to calm his breathing and fully take in the information they were being told. Thomas was scratching his head and Isabelle was playing with her ears. It was slowly dawning on them all that this was not what they signed up for.
“Sergeant Ex is head of battle training and battle manoeuvers.” Sergeant Ex saluted the new cadets and stepped back into line.
“This is Lieutenant Pimley.” A fair-haired slender man stepped forward from the line, his beret peak covering his eyes. “Lieutenant Pimley is the head of the Guiders, there will only be a select few that make it into this squadron but Pimley here is the best trainer we’ve had.” Alpha One nodded to Lieutenant Pimley who receded back into line.
“Corporal Chumly.” A short dumpy man marched forward, with a cane held up under his arm. He came to an abrupt halt and stamped his feet. “The Corporal is the head of the learning section here at WIPI, he is in charge of the English and Maths units. These are the two main units you will all be learning to a comprehensive extent. Of course full time cadets learn the full curriculum.” Alpha One saluted Corporal Chumly and the little man turned on his heel and marched back to his place in the line.
“Dr Satchel,” Alpha One called and a tall burly lady with thick grey hair tied up in a bun, half-heartedly stomped forward. She looked and acted as if she’d rather be anywhere but there. “Dr Satchel has been the medical practitioner here at the Institute for over ten years.”
“Yeah, I can see the cobwebs on her,” someone from behind sniggered.
Alpha One glared into the audience, he had pinpointed where the heckling had come from but made no effort in calling them out. Instead he appeared to make a mental note of the person, and Kieran was sure that at some point they would face the repercussions of it. Meanwhile Dr Satchel had gloomily made her way back to the line.
“Finally and most importantly we have Professor Wing. Every one of you will at some point work with or alongside the professor, and most likely you will work with his team on a daily basis. His team alone is a thousand people strong and he looks forward to those of you that will be joining it.” He walked back to the centre of the stage and fussed around in his pockets looking for something.
“Very believable, don’t you think?” Isabelle’s mouth was wide open. “It’s a game but they are so realistic about it, calling it war and all that.”
“Do you think it’s just an act?” Owen leant over Kieran and whispered to her.
“Of course it is. Come on, think about it,” she tutted and sat back in her chair.
“The motto here at WIPI is: In all we trust. Without one the others will fall. This is a team, a family so you must all learn to work together, regardless if you like each other or not. I look forward to working with you all and seeing what we can achieve. Welcome to Gamer Hell.”
Alpha One and the others walked off the stage, the doors opened and more officers filed in each one of them lining the wall. There was one that stood out, she appeared to be fairly young and smiled as her eyes caught his. Kieran silently wished that all his friends would be together and they would get her as their leader. More than anything he wanted a kind person to explain what this place was. A smile was nice to see amongst the line of sternly trained officers.
“Cadets,” Jessie called and gained everyone’s full attention, “Once your name is called, I will call y
our number and clan. Take note of this number as it is your cadet number, you cannot have a different one nor can you forget it. With your number mentally noted and clan stored, please proceed to your leader.”
The process began with Officer Fallump and his trusty tablet. He took a deep breath and started calling out names. “Walker, Richard 555, TakeDown. Collins, Felix 449, TakeDown. Samuels, Rhys 381, TakeDown. Mead, Lois 274, TakeDown. Over to Lieutenant Frost please.”
A uniformed man stepped forward, and greeted the group.
“How did they manage to get into TakeDown?” Dexter scoffed.
“They are supposedly the best,” Alfie Replied.
“Wouldn’t surprise me if they’d found glitches and won by using weapons that were banned.”
As more names were called, cadets gathered in front of Jessie and then they were directed to one of the awaiting officers. The next eight were called and the same happened.
“Kealey, Kieran 191, Hunter. Bailey, Isabelle 239, Hunter. Price, Dexter 301, Hunter. Berry, Owen 665, Hunter. Curel, Thomas G919, Guider. Best, Alfie 422, Hunter. And…” he took a laboured breath and lowered his board, “Turner, Kaitlyn 747, Medic.”
“191, 191…the nice officer please,” Kieran whispered as he approached Jessie, his fingers were tightly crossed behind his back as he kept wishing for the nice smiley officer.
“You guys are with Private Officer Seal,” Jessie pointed in her direction. She smiled and Kieran felt relief wash over him for the first time since they had arrived. He was happy that his friends were all together and that there was no chance of the clan being broken up at this point. Things could only get better.
“I am Private Officer Seal,” smiled the new barracks leader, “but you can all call me officer Seal, or just Seal when there are no other officers around. I am in charge of your development and behaviour here at the Institute, I am also in charge of your barracks. If you would like to follow me, I will show you all where you will be living for the next six weeks. Sorry lads but the two lucky ladies get a room to themselves and the rest of you will be sharing.”
7
The Institute seemed to be a never ending maze of corridors, and the cadets had been following Officer Seal for what felt like an eternity. Finally they turned into another corridor and passed under an archway that led in to yet another hallway of doors. The words ‘Cadets year 1’ were stamped perfectly into the Steel support that formed the arch. Private Officer Seal unlocked a door and using her whole body she pushed it open. Kieran carried his heavy back pack over one arm, making his way into the room. He saw Churchill Barracks stencilled on their door.
“This is your barracks for now. Ladies, the door on the left will lead you to your room, and boys you are through the door ahead. You are now the cadets of Churchill Barracks. Welcome to your new home.
Kieran turned and looked at the door opposite which read ‘Trafalgar Barracks’ the next said ‘Winston Barracks’, and so on, each door was named in that fashion. Dexter and Alfie pushed the next door open and gasped in shock, Kieran was expecting three bunk beds all positioned close together with maybe one cupboard to share at the end of the room. Instead they each had a bed that was sectioned off by a low rise white wall, and under the beds were drawers and shelves. A bedside table stood beside each bed with a lamp and built in clock. In the centre of the room was a table and six chairs and in the far right of the room was a red phone that had a sign saying ‘incoming calls only’. There were no sheets or bedding on the beds, the room looked clinically stark and the smell of bleach was still pungent.
“If you would like to pick your sections, the headboard will have your name and number projected on it. I will then take you down to the stores to collect your bedding and your issued uniform. Monday to Friday you will be wearing what are called Grey’s, they are the uniform unless it’s free time, then you can wear your own clothes. Twice a week you will have to change the bedding and collect fresh sheets from the stores, you will also be issued with three sets of daily uniform along with one set of exercise uniform. You must wear antistatic boots at all times unless you are in the commons room, canteen or here. It’s just a precaution otherwise the machines can go a bit haywire, not to mention the beastly electric shocks some have been known to get.” She took a breath and carried on, “The laundry is collected on a Tuesday and Friday so you have to make sure that you have at least one set of greys in for a clean. Your number that you were allocated will be on everything you have, from your uniform to your books. Although they say don’t forget it, you won’t be able to. She smiled at them sweetly as they looked at her in utter bewilderment. “Don’t worry you will all get to love this place by the end of the week.”
“I love it already,” Thomas beamed like he’d eaten too much sugar.
“You would!” Dexter playfully punched him in the arm.
Kieran watched on as a mini play fight broke out, but it was short lived as Officer Seal called them to follow her.
“Officer Seal?” Isabelle asked as they walked along.
“Yes?”
“Why are our numbers so different?”
“Numbers match chairs and Avatars. Each Avatar is made specifically for you, but each chair fits each person differently, we know from your gaming style and stats where to place you. So, numbers are recycled over the years along with their matching chair. Cadets become officers or leave for other jobs, and well some just stop playing and so the numbers are passed on.”
“Oh, I wonder who had my number before me.” Isabelle had linked with Kaitlyn and they were giggling about who it could have been.
“191, well I wonder how many had mine?” Kieran said to his friends mimicking the girls.
“Only one,” Seal said in passing but she quickly quashed the conversation as they reached the room they needed. “Each Clan has their own symbol, so Hunters have Wings as they are seen as guardians for all. TakeDown have crosshairs as they specialise in certain targets and then Medics have the medical Symbol.
The collection trip turned out to be more traumatic than any of them could have imagined. The room itself was pretty big but every cadet in the Institute had decided to go at the same time. On one side of the room there were fifty new cadets, each one of them collecting armfuls of gear. Lining the other side were hundreds of older cadets. Some were dropping off many bundles of dirty washing, while others had just a few.
“Cor,” Dexter sighed, “This is as bad as a penny sale in the pound shop.”
Owen looked at him strangely and began to laugh.
“My mum drags me along.” Dexter shuffled along with the queue. “Well, she needs her strong boy to carry the shopping.”
“More like she still doesn’t trust him alone in the house.” Isabelle took a baby step forward and rolled her eyes.
“Yes!” Kieran shouted with realisation, “I forgot he broke the TV.”
“It was a genuine accident,” Dexter held his hands up, “I didn’t know the control would fly out of my hand.”
“What’s this?” Alfie asked.
Owen turned around and began to explain, “Genius there was playing Golf on the Wii, he didn’t put the wrist strap on and the control slipped from his hand and straight into the TV.”
“Ouch,” Alfie winced.
Dexter nodded solemnly, “I just wanted to knock Dad off the leader board.”
“Since then,” Owen continued, “he’s not allowed to be on his own.”
The queue stopped and an older, miserable looking cadet shouted, “Next.” Dexter stepped forward and she took one look at him, she didn’t smile she just robotically ordered, “Arms out.”
Dexter placed his arms out and on them she laid three sets of Greys, one PE kit, two sheets, two blankets, a pillow slip, a pillow and a jacket. Then on top of that she dumped four folders, around one wrist she placed a pair of strange looking trainers, and around the other she placed a set of boots. “This is a little heavy,” he strained through gritted teeth.
Isa
belle knew his mum didn’t drag him along for his strength, he may have been the tallest out of them and taller than some of their parents, but she was physically stronger than him. “Takes you along to carry the shopping eh?” She stepped forward looking at him knowingly. Dexter ignored her and waited.
“Next!”
Kieran shuffled forward and held out his arms before the prompt was barked at him. He received the same as the others and was pushed to the side. Richard and his group marched through everyone, barging them out of the way and muscling their way to the front of the queue.
“Ohh,” Isabelle growled, “he annoys me so much.”
“He needs putting in his place!” Alfie coughed and put his inhaler to his mouth.
“You lot should move for me.” Richard turned and walked back towards them having heard their remarks. “I am better than all of you put together. Think of this as survival of the fittest. I am the best and to survive you need to keep out of my way.”
Kieran laughed in his face, he didn’t mean to, it was an involuntary reflex.
Richard squinted his eyes and looked Kieran up and down, “I’ll take you down, no problem.”
“Move along!” Lieutenant Frost ordered and Richard cowered back to where he should be.
Past the washing section were six cadets lining the exit, all of them had symbols on the breast of their Greys. The symbols were that of each Clan but through them were wavy lines.
“They are unit workers, they work in Main Control, Account Info and places like that. They all belong to a clan but their duties are too important for them to fight unless they are called up. Their skills are invaluable to the whole outfit, their jobs fit them,” Private Officer Seal explained to the group.
Each of the six cadets had a handheld scanner, the cadets had their hands and eyes scanned which was then stored onto the system. “Number and Name?” The cadet asked as Kieran approached.
“Kealey, 191.”
“Hand here please, thanks. Now look at the dot on the pad, thanks.”