Dreamscape Adventures, Inc, page 3
“Mr. Mendolssohn sends his compliments,” she told Luke as she poured him a mimosa. He raised his glass, giving her a flirtatious smile.
“Cheers. If you’re only on board to wait on me, why don’t you sit down and join me instead?” The girl hesitated, looking toward the cabin, and Luke shook his head and whispered, “I promise not to tell.”
She giggled and grabbed herself another glass, which Luke filled with mostly champagne. She added just a splash of orange juice, and Luke slid an arm around her slim shoulders.
Aging at double-speed, my ass, he thought. Charlotte didn’t know what she was talking about.
It was about a six hour flight from New York City to the Dreamscape Adventures site in the middle of nowhere. Luke knew from the paperwork that they were now somewhere on the junction between Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Three enormous domes and several ancillary buildings rose high on a raised plateau amid bare red mountains. It had its own landing strip, which was the extent of the airport.
“Wow,” he muttered, “this place is remote. Cheaper land out here, I guess?”
The flight attendant, whose name turned out to be Jenna, smoothed her now-rumpled uniform in preparation for landing, and stared at Luke with adoration.
“I guess,” she agreed in a tone that suggested she hadn’t heard what he’d said at all. “There won’t be any more guests this week, so I’ll be working on site,” she told him. “But if you say something to Mr. Mendolssohn, maybe… I could be part of your dreamscape?” she giggled hopefully.
“Do you rock climb? Because I’m pretty sure I’ll just be climbing and working remotely all week.”
“Oh,” Jenna’s face fell. “Well, maybe… I could give you my number? And I could see you whenever I’m in New York City?”
Luke hesitated, but then smiled. “Sure,” he said, pulling out his cell phone to input Jenna’s number, even though he knew he had no intention of ever calling her. He didn’t do repeats, because repeats led to expectations, and expectations led to relationships, and relationships led to demands—and he didn’t have time for that. But no need to say that now. Jenna would figure it out on her own, eventually.
Jenna escorted Luke to one of the ancillary buildings. It was maybe a quarter mile from the domes, through arid countryside and thin air. Upon entering, Eli Mendolssohn rose from a reception desk yet again to meet him, extending a hand.
“Mr. Darringer. I hope you’ve had a pleasant week since last we met?”
Luke shook, and Eli led him over the threshold into the next room, which looked like a cross between a hair salon with blow drier caps and chairs all in a bay, and futuristic pods for suspended animation. All the bays were empty, but two nurses waited for him with fixed smiles. One wore a simple stethoscope and held a manual blood pressure cuff; the other bore a very large syringe filled with shimmering liquid. Luke didn’t like the look of it.
The nurse with the stethoscope led him to the chair first, and took his vitals, frowning.
“Your blood pressure is 160 over 100,” she murmured. “Do you have a history of hypertension?”
“Circumstantial,” said Luke, glancing apprehensively at the other nurse holding the syringe. “I’m not a fan of needles.”
“Unavoidable, I’m afraid,” said Eli, standing in the corner with his hands behind his back. “The syringe contains nanobots that will pair your nervous system with our dreamscape team computers. While the domes themselves do contain physical landscapes which we can alter for the individual participant, it’s neither cost-effective nor feasible to recreate the environment entirely for everyone, particularly not once we have multiple participants at one time. This way, we will still have control over all of your senses—everything you see and experience will seem completely real to you, even if it’s entirely computer-generated.”
“Hm,” Luke grunted. “That’s… creepy.”
“Not to worry,” Eli grinned broadly, “after your dreamscape concludes, we will debrief you, and tell you exactly what was real and what was not.”
Luke winced as the second nurse prepped his veins for injection. “And how do you get these nanobots out of my bloodstream once the dreamscape is over?”
“They have homing devices embedded in them,” Eli explained. “We call them home, and they jump right back into the syringe. It’s a bit like watching the reversal of the second law of thermodynamics—like watching an egg un-break. Pretty neat, the first time you see it.”
Luke nodded, gasped at the needle’s insertion, and accidentally met the first nurse’s eyes. She handed him a pill and a glass of water, and bid him drink.
“We need to get your blood pressure under control before your adventure begins,” she explained in a soothing tone. “Can’t have you stroking out in there.”
“Comforting,” Luke muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
Eli left the room, and Luke assumed he intended to leave the nurses to their prep work. But then he heard voices in the entryway, and a second later, Eli returned with a young boy who might have been ten, and an older man, presumably his father.
“Right this way, Billy,” said Eli, guiding the boy to another bay like Luke’s. Billy allowed himself to be guided, but there was something off about him. The boy paid little attention to Eli, his eyes darting all around the room. Even herding him to the bay was a hesitating affair. “Nancy and Tricia will be with you in a moment, all right?”
“Wait,” Luke said, frowning. Eli returned to him, and Luke went on, “Who is that? What’s he doing here?”
Eli cast a furtive glance at Billy and his father, and dropped his voice. “Yes. Well. You were supposed to be the first official Dreamscape client, but one of our major investors privately sponsored this boy and insisted he become a client immediately, as soon as the technology could support him.”
“But you don’t have any insurance to cover him!” Luke hissed. “That’s completely unacceptable!”
Eli opened his hands as if to say, what can I do? “You must understand our position, Mr. Darringer. A venture like Dreamscape Adventures is very, very pricey. I’m still convinced that it will be wildly profitable in time, but only once we are insured, and therefore able to bring in clients to offset all the up-front and operating costs. Angering one of our major investors at this critical time is… inadvisable.”
“But he’s—” Luke cast a glance at the boy, looking for the appropriate word to describe what he was. Billy had almost no interest in his father or either of the two nurses, but he was fascinated by the nurse’s stethoscope. He had stuffed the earbuds in his ears, tapping the chest piece over and over again with his fingers, and squealing in delight at the amplified sound. “What is he? What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s autistic,” Eli whispered back, “and therefore a perfect test case for the rehabilitation side of Dreamscape Adventures. But not to worry. You and he have been assigned to two different domes. Your dreamscapes will not intersect.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” Luke hissed. “If something happens to him in there…”
“Nothing will happen,” said Eli, “the experience is obviously in a very controlled environment, and if at any time the psychologists on staff deem that Billy’s adventure poses a threat to his delicate mental state, they will pull the plug. But we also went to the best law firm we could find to draft an iron-clad liability release. His parents signed. Speaking of which, we need you to do the same. Excuse me one moment…” Eli stepped back into the front office where Luke had entered, and returned with a paper and clipboard, handing it to Luke. Luke eyed it warily, as he speed-read. His scowl deepened with every line, and he glanced up at Eli, who waited pleasantly.
“So if anything goes wrong in there, I have absolutely no legal recourse?”
Eli shrugged. “You of all people should understand our position, Mr. Darringer. But, unlike Billy, I truly cannot conceive of anything in your dreamscape that could go wrong. You too are in a controlled physical environment, and your mental state is not in question. There is little risk to yourself—provided we can keep your blood pressure down.”
Luke huffed, but waggled his fingers at Eli for the pen. “This is outrageous,” he muttered as he signed his name at the bottom, thrusting the clipboard back at Eli. Then he gestured at Billy again. He and his father still paid no attention to Luke. “But I must insist that you delay that boy’s adventure at least until mine is completed, for his safety! I should be the guinea pig, not him.”
Eli sighed, and gestured for Luke to follow him back into the entrance office now that his infusion was complete. When the door closed behind them, he said, “I’ll tell you what I know about Billy, and then hopefully you will better understand the situation. His family is very wealthy and influential. He was in an equestrian therapy program and doing very well—he loved riding and caring for his horse, and he was beginning to talk more and interact with people. But one day while he was out riding with a group, a surprise storm came up out of nowhere, and a tree near Billy was struck by lightning. It spooked the horses, and Billy was thrown from the horse and broke his arm. He couldn’t ride for weeks while it healed, and during those weeks, he became very fearful of storms, and horses. He also regressed back to a non-verbal state, as you see. Dreamscape will provide the perfect, controlled environment: Billy will be totally safe, but will hopefully regain the confidence and progress he made before. And because he’s autistic, he won’t know that the experience isn’t real. His parents are hopeful that with renewed confidence, Billy will be able to return to equestrian therapy after his dreamscape adventure.”
“So you’re sending an autistic boy into that holodome, alone?”
“He won’t know that he’s alone, because he’ll see his parents and his entire group in his adventure,” Eli explained. “And he won’t be alone either, as his every move will be monitored by the IT and psychologist teams every step of the way. His parents are also on site, should anything go wrong. Billy is fine, Luke. Trust me.”
“He’d better be,” Luke growled. “Because even if neither of us can sue Dreamscape for an adventure gone wrong, if anything happens to that boy, I can guarantee, we will never underwrite you. And I will make sure nobody else does, either!”
Nonplussed, Eli opened both hands in concession. “Fair enough. Would you like a tour of the facility, or would you just like to begin your dreamscape? We are ready for you either way.”
Luke sighed irritably, glancing at his watch and hoisting his laptop bag higher on his shoulder. He was waiting on correspondence from three clients and needed to check email. “There is wifi inside the domes?”
Eli’s lips curled at the edges just a bit, but he nodded. “There still is, yes. As there was the last time you asked me that question.”
“Fine, let me just start, then. You can give me a tour afterwards, if all goes well. If not, it won’t matter.”
Eli broke into a smile now. “Your confidence in us is truly touching.”
They walked in silence to the holodome after that. When they got close enough, Luke could see the long entranceway leading up to the dome, and recalled seeing them from above as they flew in, like spokes on a wheel. The airlock made a hissing sound as it opened, admitting Eli and Luke into the tunnel.
“It’s climate-controlled inside, hence the airlock,” Eli explained, when they approached the internal door. He pressed a finger to his ear, as if listening to verbal cues from his IT team. “Hold on, they’ve set up your dreamscape but are waiting to verify that the nanobots have paired with your nervous system and established a connection back to them… okay, pair complete.” He reached forward and grabbed the handle of the door, pulling it up. Another answering hiss announced the door’s opening, and Eli pulled it wide. He gestured to the entrance with a flourish.
“Your dreamscape adventure awaits, Mr. Darringer.”
Chapter 4
Luke blinked at the world beyond the door Eli held open, confused. He stepped through, wondering if somehow Eli was playing a joke on him. The terrain inside the dome looked exactly the same as the terrain on the outside—it was as if Eli invited him to pass through an empty doorframe, upright in the middle of the desert. But he walked through it anyway.
Luke spun around when he heard the click of the door shutting behind him, but the door had vanished. It looked for all the world like he’d been abandoned in the middle of the desert. Only now he couldn’t see any of the structures from which he had come.
“Oh-kay,” he muttered to himself, hoisting his laptop bag higher on his shoulder as he scanned the terrain. Far in the distance, he could make out what looked like a camp of some sort, and wondered if that was his destination. At any rate, he needed somewhere to sit down and begin to reply to some of his clients. He could pop a squat on a rock if it came to that, but he’d like to sit somewhere a little more comfortable.
“Luke?”
Luke turned at the sound of the voice, startled to see a lovely brunette in climbing gear, with a large pack on her back. He gaped at her for a minute, before blurting, “Rachel?” The girl was the spitting image of one of his high school girlfriends. But she looked like the pictures he’d seen of her now on social media, not like he remembered her from back then.
She broke into a grin, and opened her arms, stepping forward to embrace him. “How are you?”
Luke felt her arms around him, solid and warm. He pulled her back to marvel at the lines on her face, which hadn’t been there when he’d last seen her.
“Wow. I tell you, these nanobots are really something.”
Rachel blinked at him. “Sorry?”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Rach. I know you’re not really here. Don’t you have a husband and four kids now? You’re not going to drop it all to come play in my dreamscape.”
Her confused smile stayed frozen on her face, and she shook her head. “I’m—not sure what you’re talking about. I just came to climb in Red Rock. I go climbing and canyoneering by myself sometimes, and James watches the kids.”
Luke arched an eyebrow. He might have lectured her on the dangers of such adventures alone, if he’d believed she was really here—but she wasn’t. He and Rachel used to go hiking together in high school, though, and he took her to indoor rock gyms and on a few beginners’ adventures back in the day. He knew she had continued on with those adventures even after their relationship had ended, but he never remembered her being this hard core.
Also, he tried to remember—was James her husband’s actual name? He’d never paid that much attention. And did Rachel’s social media ever say anything about climbing? Wasn’t it all about her children these days?
And why Rachel, anyway? Sure, in some ways she was the ‘one who got away’—or the one he let get away. They’d been friends for a year and a half, dated for five months, and then Luke broke up with her and she dropped off the face of the planet. He’d been rather sorry after that, and once or twice regretted the breakup. But if he hadn’t, those four kids would be his now, and he’d be anchored to Rachel’s midwestern family, practicing law in some po-dunk firm in the middle of nowhere, and probably still trying to pay off his law school loans. Or more likely, they’d be divorced already, and he’d be paying alimony and child support as well.
“Well?” Rachel looked back over her shoulder at him. “Are you coming with me, or aren’t you?”
Luke shrugged. “Sure. I guess. When in Rome…”
“We’d better go to the lodge first, to get you some actual gear,” Rachel said, surveying his slacks and laptop bag. “You look like you’re going to a conference, not going climbing.”
“We don’t have to go to a lodge. They can just change my clothes.”
“They?” she looked back at him, puzzled. “Who’s ‘they’?”
Luke pointed up. “The Dreamscape IT staff.” Then he turned up and shouted at the sky, “Hey guys! I need a pack, some rope and carabiners, some boots—”
“Did you go insane since the last time I saw you?” Rachel frowned.
Luke rolled his eyes. “If there’s some kind of 'don’t-ask, don’t-tell’ rule in here, where we all mutually pretend this is reality, you really should have put that in the fine print!” This last bit, too, he also shouted at the sky. Then he saw Rachel staring at him, looking rather frightened now. “Fine, sorry, I’ll play along, since apparently I have no choice. Where’s this lodge of yours?”
Ten minutes later, they arrived at the lodge at the bottom of the plateau. It was majestic, with glass windows on every side boasting sweeping views of the canyon. An enormous crackling fire invited them to stay awhile—and Luke realized it was the ‘golden hour,’ that last glorious hour before sunset when the sun bathed the earth in golden light. This probably wasn’t the time to start a climb. He glanced at his watch, as Rachel approached the front desk and asked to rent some men’s climbing gear for Luke. She returned with a stack of brand-name clothing, a pack, boots, and a harness, all in his size. Luke peeked inside the pack and verified that the rope, carabiners, and anchors were all there too.
“The rental charges for the gear will be added to your room bill when you check out,” Rachel told him.
Luke gave her a knowing smile. “Thanks, Rach. But look, I’ve got to get back to some of my clients, and by the time I do that, it’s gonna be getting dark. Why don’t you go on without me, and I’ll join you for a climb tomorrow?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You bring work on vacation? Same old Luke…”
“Yeah, yeah. You sound like Charlotte.”
“Charlotte?” she asked. “Your girlfriend?”
