A Visitor to the Future - 90 - An Out of Body Experience
The tall grass here obstructed movement as we crossed the field back to Antonia's table, the three Proxies trailing behind at Sarkona's instruction. Apart from the cosmetic differences, there was an entirely different feel to the Proxies here as opposed to the ones I'd encountered at the ERP site. Whereas the construction Proxies had seemed nimble, easily pivoting with every step, these Proxies walked with a real weight to them, more heft to each and every movement - whether that was the swing of an arm or the bobbing of the head in motion. Walking as I was at the back of the group, I could hear the feet of the Proxy impacting the ground, the dry dirt displaced as each claw-like footstep sunk in with a subtle crunch.
Sarkona made a gesture and the Proxies suddenly stopped following, leaving us to walk the remaining fifty metres to the table.
"Right," said Alexandra, "We have five people who have yet to decide on a role. I suggest that we take some time with the Proxies and figure out who is the most interested - and for that matter, capable."
"We should start with the basics," said Sarkona, stepping to the front of the group, "Who here has never linked with a Proxy, or something like it?"
Surprisingly, I wasn't the only one to raise my hand. Antonia and Gatecrash did the same. Tungsten also gave a rough hand-wobble wave to indicate partial agreement. It seemed that only Sasha had any real experience with a Proxy of those actually able to participate in the tournament.
"Super, all pretty much on the same level then! Sasha, as you're the most experienced, would you mind demonstrating?" asked Sarkona. Sasha's long, pointy-ears perked up, following which she seemed to stand at rest, relaxing her stance. Suddenly, the dark-yellow Proxy in the distance fell out of its rigid stance, mirroring the stance that Sasha had assumed. Then it perked up and began to approach us, moving more naturally and human-like than previously.
"Sasha is now in control of this Proxy. Give us a wave if you'd be so kind," said Sarkona. Surely enough, the yellow Proxy waved. At my side, Sasha looked entirely normal, still in the same relaxed pose.
"Can Sasha still hear us?" I asked.
"Yes," said Sasha for herself, pointing to her ears, "Very well, in fact."
Anode looked up from a small projection on the table where she was sat, numbers, graphs and charts flying around on the display, guided by some unknown force. "I'll be patching your neural links through. As it's some of your first times using one, allow me to explain. Experienced link users can handle the sensory inputs from one or more sources. Sasha can clearly handle both the Proxy and her own senses - impressive! But can you do the classic exercise?"
Sasha pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow at Anode. Her left hand made a circling motion around her stomach. Meanwhile, in the distance, the Proxy patted it's head with it's right hand.
"Haha! Nice," said Anode, "You might have some talent for Teleforming!" There was a beeping sound, and Anode's attention was drawn back to her projection once more, but she kept speaking to us, "We call what Sasha is doing pass-through - you get the input from both bodies. For you newbies, we'll be keeping things simple, Proxy inputs and outputs only. So make sure you sit down before you start!"
"Thanks Anode," said Sarkona, clapping their hands together, "Now, before you start, please be aware that the first experience may feel a little strange, which is why we've got the Proxies twenty-five metres away. You're probably going to lose your balance and fall over. That's fine! Anode will also be monitoring your vitals. If you panic too much, she'll pull you out. Take as long as you need to adjust. Remember, this won't feel like your original body. As a result, CIs tend to take better to the linking process, with humans needing a little more time."
"Strongly disagree on that one," stated Tungsten, "The first time I linked with a drone I had nausea for a few hours afterwards. Before that, I didn't even know it was possible for me to feel nauseous. My human friends were running circles around me."
"That almost sounds like a challenge," said Antonia, moving to sit down at the table next to Anode. "I'll go next, ready when you are!"
Suddenly Antonia slumped forward, and I lurched forward instinctively to try and catch her, as if I were close enough. As it turned out, Anode was already well on-top of the problem, one of her hair-like cables reeling out to make sure she stayed upright.
There was a crash in the distance as one of the Proxies fell over, faceplanting straight into the ground. Sasha's Proxy turned around and started making its way in its direction.
"Connection solid," said Anode triumphantly, "Room for one more - who's next?"
I looked over the field nervously, but found myself moving to sit down next to Anode anyway. Some part of me thought it was better to take the plunge now than later. "Can you grab me before I go in?" I asked Anode.
"That seems very reasonable, practical, and sensible, no wonder I didn't think of it," she said, a cable reaching out to hold me upright. "Ready?"
"Ready," I said.
The world fell apart around me.
The sensation of sudden darkness, utter pitch blackness with no sound, sensation or thought, became all-encompassing. It was like falling asleep suddenly, without warning - but unlike when you close your eyes, there were no flecks of light behind the eyelid, no patterns - it was just pitch black.
A beat passed and my situation didn't change. I suddenly felt a rising sense of panic. But it wasn't the same as the normal sense of panic - there was no increased heartrate, no sinking feeling, nothing. It was a purely mental sort of panic. My body was gone, a victim of the dark void that had overtaken all of my senses.
In my hindbrain, some part of this seemed familiar. I could swear that I heard a faint voice.
"Breathe in, breathe out, there you go. Focus on the sensation. See! You're already doing better. Isolation training isn't easy, but I think you'll find the meditation techniques helpful."
Right. My mediation lessons with Gatecrash. But I couldn't breathe, so I instead focused on the memory of breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth. A motion essential to life, well-remembered.
I felt better.
Just as quickly as they had gone, senses returned. Light, colour, touch - balance! I was falling! I swayed forward, leaning backwards to compensate. But I was heavy - and tall! The grass suddenly seeming much shorter than it had but seconds beforehand. I leaned forward again and swayed, correcting my stance and trying to balance.
The motion stopped, seemingly stable. I looked at my hands, taking in the unfamiliar sight of a silver thumb and three fingers. Metallic, not organic joints.
"Connection solid," said Anode's voice, crystal clear, as if someone were speaking straight into my skull, "And you didn't fall over! Very impressive!"
I slowly glanced upwards, away from the tall grass and up towards the table. There was the assembled group - and sat at the table with them, my own body, limp in Anode's secure grasp.
This was going to take some getting used to.