Control

The first day in the PAC was spent familiarizing yourself with the different screens. You could have done it just fine at a desk, but you suspect that part of the training is getting used to being in the PAC.

The PAC was not as cramped inside as you would have guessed from looking at it, but it was definitely different than the engineering desks you were used to. Your torso and limbs, even your head, were trapped in their own web of wires. You could move them slowly in any direction, within limits, but anything sudden caused them to tauten. Matteo had just said, “You’ll be glad of this once we start with movement. And collisions.”

For now it was just disorienting. Thankfully the screen stayed in front of your face, giving something of a familiarity to the proceedings. You’ve spent most of your working life in front of a screen.

So yesterday had been the screens, and today would be the buttons.

As you approach the training field, you see that Elder Matteo is talking with another person. Getting closer you start to recognize him- Terrance Mayhew. Terrance, the man whose discoveries raised PAC efficiency 14%. One of only five people with significant achievements in both engineering and the PAC corps (although he had started in PAC and shifted to engineering, where he was now much more famous). The most honored of the ‘Ahl Al-Kitab.

The talking ceases when you arrive.

“Salam,” says Matteo, “Are you ready for an experiment?”

You nod, buzzing faintly with nervousness. The soreness in your limbs is forgotten in the excitement.

“Terrance and I have been working together on an enhancement to the training process, one that could decrease the disorientation and death that sometimes accompanies this stage of the training. We thought that you, with your background, would be the perfect test subject.”

You nod again. Decreasing death sounds pretty good. And if it means you get to work on a project with Terrance…

You also begin to understand how big a deal Matteo is in the PAC world. Terrance could work with anyone, and it was Matteo. And you get to work with both of them. Maybe the summons wasn’t such a curse after all.

“Where do I go?” you ask.

Matteo points to the PAC. You step in, standing still for the few seconds it takes for the wires to take hold.

“We’re going to start with how you control the PAC.”