Revolution

1- Recruits

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, or events is entirely coincidental.

WARNING: This book contains violence that might not be suitable for young and sensitive audiences.

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Of all the people Beth could work with on the first day of the year, it just had to be Caroline. She was okay but they were not close and that was not okay.

Beth and Caroline sat at the back of an automatic taxi under the name of one of their sponsors. It was not entirely safe and Beth wondered if she should have sat in front to save them from possible failure.

It took them almost half an hour of silence and tapping their fingers on their laps to scroll down articles or social media profiles in their MR views before reaching their destination.

Beth checked herself on the mirror before getting off the vehicle. Her thick foundation and fake face tattoo covered her hideous freckles and her purple hair was covered with a black hood.

Caroline shaved her head recently for feminist purposes and so she could wear wigs much more easily. Today, she did not wear one, she only covered her head with a hood like Beth. On her face, she wore thick makeup inspired by the year 2017.

Their destination was a college with a library open to all who had identification cards. Though they did not come here to read, they had an important task that could either result in them working as official partners or separating them to even out the satisfactory and disappointing people in teams.

They swiped their IDs on a slot under the librarian's supervision. Their identification cards weren't made officially but they were as good as the real thing.

It always made Beth wonder why schools needed IDs when they could be scanning eyes through MR Glasses or any part of their body. After all, holographic technology was the thing now. Physical schools, as always, did not keep up with the trends.

They proceeded into the library and looked for a specific bookcase. The bookcase should have had a series on the history and basic parts of Augmented and Virtual Reality with their volumes arranged in a specific matter. Today, the pattern was 623514. When they found what they were looking for, Beth tapped the morse code for let me in with an addition of I have a guest at the end. The code varied depending on the number of people entering. The door opened, revealing two guards armed with guns and knives. They stood a few paces from a staircase leading to a lower level.

Beth and Caroline descended the steps and found themselves in a chamber the size of two basketball courts with an unfortunate low ceiling in scale. Poker tables were on the right side, arcades and holographic games on the left, and in the middle was a fighting ring. The audience, both holographic and flesh were scattered, with their names displayed above their heads. They were here to bet on the players. Everyone had a chance to win a decent amount of Virtual Dollars which could be turned into real money.

The room was relatively dark. The only sources of light were the games, holograms, and a few neon lights. It was difficult to properly observe anyone in the venue so they had to enhance the quality of their vision through their glasses.

Beth walked towards the left and observed a pair playing Mario Kart. By playing the game, only the person who won earned Virtual Dollars. People could make themselves rich if they played good and frequent enough.

The game lasted for several minutes, the girl won in the end. If she was happy, she didn't show it. She retreated to the lounge with her competitor—except maybe they weren't competitors. They exchanged subtle smiles and friendly glances. They were working together. It was a classic trick to earn more money through VR Gaming.