Drift Effect

Chapter 02: Reaction

General Daryll Williams observed the next room through a one-way mirror, concealed from view on the other side. He assessed a hundred recruits who had applied for the Mobile Infantry. Inside SNK Capsules, neatly arranged in rows and columns, each recruit was visible through the thick, transparent glass on the front panel, allowing easy monitoring of their progress.

The General singled out a specific recruit whose face was contorted in a grimace, eyes tightly shut. The recruit's entire body twitched in an unsettling, seemingly unnatural manner, with sweat pouring out as if condensing on his skin at an accelerated rate.

Williams glanced at the man beside him and remarked, "So, these are the Capsules everyone's raving about."

"Yes," Commander John Rico responded. "SNK Capsules. Snakes for short. Max Drift dilation of one to seven-hundred and thirty.”

Williams whistled. "So, a month in an hour? Seems a bit excessive for Infantry training, don't you think?"

"It's adjustable based on the training," Rico explained. "A month per hour is valuable for spec ops or more technical skills like piloting Titans or OFs, especially with the maximum eighty-five percent sync rate.”

"Sync rates," Williams muttered. "I still get confused about that. Dot explained to me that the capsule syncs with the nanites in our bodies, acting like an artificial stimulus to induce kinesthetic development. That everything you do in the Drift, you can do in reality." He shook his head. "Honestly, it sounds like magic.”

"Don't blame you," the commander agreed. "Though to be fair, that explanation is a little too generous. The body still needs to be supplemented with PT. Just because you know how to run like the fastest sprinter in the galaxy doesn't mean you'll be just as fast."

"I still call it magic," Williams insisted, turning toward the pods once more. "So, what, these recruits are going to come out like experienced veterans or something?”

"Wouldn't that be nice?" Rico replied with a short laugh. "No, overall, it just makes them experience everything at a faster rate. Skills, camaraderie with fellow recruits, tactics and formation—anything that would take weeks to learn can be done in a matter of hours. Right now, the recruits are spending the first week at boot camp, with five extra DIs giving the usual shit. All set up with a sixty-seven sync rate.”

"Is sixty-seven a good rate?"

"Slightly higher than what they're normally used to. We need to ease them in, make them feel the difference between the Snakes and the Wicks.”

"Wicks?"

"The WCK Capsules," Rico replied. "The majority of people call them Wicks, and it's mostly used by the general populace. It'll probably replace the DriftStations.”

"I didn't think anyone could dethrone the DSs. They were like a staple for decades. So, what do the Wicks offer?"

"Maximum dilation of one to three-hundred thirty-six. Max sync at sixty.”

Williams stared at him for a few seconds. "Two weeks with sixty? For non-military use, that seems a little high-spec'd."

"Hence why I think they'll replace the DSs," Rico explained with a shrug. "The future generations of militia are going to be even tougher sons of bitches before we even get our hands on them. Maybe one day, they will be so well trained, physically and mentally, that we might even skip Infantry drills and jump to armor and marksman training if they join the MI."

Williams shook his head. "Fuck. It wasn't even that long ago when our recruitment training was just us being taught how to shoot rifles."

Rico grinned. "We already knew how to shoot even before MI." He paused for effect. "Well, I knew, at least. I remember a certain soft-dicked cityfolk who didn't know which end to point at the enemy, though."