A good soldier never gives up

To trust a machine

"You must be joking. How can I control this machine with my mind if it holds the potential of killing the operator?" I asked the scientists as I stared up at the huge robot in front of me. It gave me doubts about my safety, knowing this machine is custom made. "I thought this machine would only cause temporary paralysis."

The scientist shook his head no. "Those machines are the ones your friends are operating right this very minute. Don't be afraid. It shouldn't kill you. We believe we fixed all the glitches so far."

"So far?" I backed away, a bit frightened to operate it. "How do I know it's safe for me when you can not guarantee my own safety in your machine?"

He pushed me forward, saying everything would be alright, without listening to my complaints. He had other scientists and medics standing by, one holding a special black suit out to me.

"William, you need to change into this before going inside."

The suit was made of a rubber like material. It was a black shirt that ended just below my waist line, and the pants ended at my ankles. It was extremely difficult to put on, especially when the material was rubbing uncomfortably on your skin.

"It's nice to see that no changes needs to be made on the operating suit. How does it feel?" one of the scientists asked.

I looked up at them to see if they were serious. "It's difficult to move in. Is it supposed to be very uncomfortable to wear?"

"It doesn't matter if it's uncomfortable. It's made out of rubber to prevent electricity to flow through you. You see, the machine is going to use your brain waves to operate. It's going to need your arms and legs to operate and the rubber lowers your chances of getting electrocuted to the point of paralysis. Don't worry about it though. Your comrades have been given similar suits."

Alicia and Kevin walked out from their changing rooms dressed in the same suits. They both wore a frown as they took a look at me.

"These suits don't suit anybody. Not to mention it's rubbing too much in uncomfortable places," Kevin said as he tried to pull on this suit. "This thing is so tight; it's like a second skin."

Alicia rolled her eyes as she said, "they didn't tell us this on purpose. They just knew that no one would volunteer if they told us about these damn rubber suits."

I shrugged, silently agreeing with them. "We can not complain. The scientists do not care how we feel as long as we wear them."

"You complained to them, didn't you?" Alicia asked.

I nodded. "They asked for my opinion, and I gave it to them. The man became a bit angry and said it doesn't matter."

They laughed before being sent to their machines. Simultaneously, we walked on to a pit where it immediately lifted us up to the top of the machines. I stepped inside the operator's deck where I took my seat.

"There should be a head band behind you. It looks like a head rest, but you need to make sure it's properly on." A voice called out as I searched for the head band they were speaking of. "Do you three have it on?"

"Of course," Kevin said.

"Yeah," Alicia said. "How about you, Will?"

"Affirmative."

"By the way, you three are in a conference station. It is recommended that you stay in this station at all times, but if necessary, you each can use private stations to talk to someone else. That method is recommended for planning something with one other team member." The scientist informed us to press a button where you could actually see the others. "Usually when talking, you will be able to see the other team members. It was made so it would not get in the way of your view of the opponent."