Alpha Base

  Alex stumbled as his foot hit solid flooring. The world lurched into being around him. He felt as though he’d reached the end of a moving walkway without realizing it. He hadn’t really been able to see anything while in the portal, just distortions of colour and impressions of light without edges, but now reality snapped in piece by piece, like his brain was buffering the room and couldn’t quite catch up.

  The air smelled sharp, metallic, sterile. He sucked in a breath and blinked against the glare.

  It wasn’t the view he’d imagined.

  For some reason he had expected to come out in a back room of the Dungeon’s Inc. inn, the place where all great campaigns start. He had been ready for fantasy: the timber beams, the smell of smoke from a stone hearth, of spilled beer and hay, rowdy singing from the locals…

  What he got was buzzing fluorescent lights above a broad chamber in industrial white. The walls were smooth concrete. The ceiling bristled with vents and pipes. Three nearly identical portals shimmered on the wall behind him, each framed in black and yellow hazard tape and bracketed with cables.

  A fourth, smaller portal sat in the corner, no bigger than a crawlspace hatch with thick bundles of wires snaking through it. The place looked less like the Narnia that Mel seemed to want to visit and more like a depressing government basement - if depressing government basements were filled with shimmering portals to other worlds anyway.

  Alex felt his stomach knot up. Probably nerves, but the sensation quickly spread through his body and he could feel an uncomfortable heat blooming under his skin on his arms and face.

  Jay’s voice echoed through the mostly empty room, “Man, I was expecting something a little more… rustic I guess. This looks like a dentist’s waiting room.”

  “Or another room in the underground lab and now we’ve just stepped through to the other side of that weird fake portal wall,” Ravenna said, staring back at the portal they had just come through, hands in the front pocket of her black hoodie.

  Valentina smiled, her posture perfect, her eyes sweeping the room to take everyone in.

  “Welcome to Earth 3,” she said, her tone as casual as if she’d said welcome to the food court.

  Rae snorted and pushed her hands lower, pulling the hood on her sweater tighter around her face. Mel just smiled while Danny drifted around the room like there might be something interesting to see if he just found the right angle.

  Alex pressed a palm to his cheek. Definitely hot. He could feel the flush. His arms itched. Great. An allergic reaction. To what? He had allergies, but they were minor. Pet dander, pine, dust… He looked around the room. It looked like a sterile room. Maybe it was the cleaner they used.

  “Um, why 3 portals?” Danny asked.

  “This chamber connects to all three of our offices,” Valentina continued briskly. She pointed with a gloved hand. “New York. San Francisco. And of course, Ontario, where you came in. That portal was our first.

  “The vehicle-sized portal you may have noticed back in the Earth 1 lab opens up into a warehouse basement here in the village.

  “And of course there’s the little media portal in the corner there - the one with the wires. It is the only portal that runs 24/7 and the bundle of wires keeps us connected with Earth 1.” She finished by bringing her extended fingers together and tapping them. Alex assumed it was supposed to represent the bridging of two worlds. Maybe.

  He was going to ask more about the Media Portal, but was interrupted by a moment of panic when his vision blurred, almost like there was a fog in the room. He blinked fast a couple of times and the moment passed. Shit. Something was definitely hitting his allergies hard. It was probably dust from the mine on the Earth side of the portal – he was NOT going to start calling it Earth 1 – finally working its way into his system.

  “Uh… quick question. Do you have medical on site?” Alex asked. He didn’t want to cause a problem, but back at home he knew where the Reactin was. And if he were there, he’d be popping one right about now.

  There must have been something in his tone that made it sound more serious than he had intended because everyone turned to look at him.

  Valentina’s smile faltered for a moment. “Is everything okay?”

  “I… I think so,” Alex said. “Um. Just a bit of an allergic reaction I think. Could be dust in the air from the mine lab, maybe.” He was just guessing, but he didn’t know what else he would have come into contact with. “I didn’t bring anything for allergies though.”

  “Oh,” Valentina visibly relaxed and her smile returned. “Good then. Yes, we actually have a state of the art medical facility. You will see it tomorrow. In the meantime, I will notify the doctor and he can get you what you need. And if it worsens, let us know and we’ll route you past the clinic before dinner.”

  Her eyes glazed as she stared at the wall long enough to become awkward. Alex and Jay exchanged a glance, Jays eyebrow way up his forehead. Then she was back with, “Message sent, he’ll come see you in the trainee hut.”

  Before Alex could even say thank you though, she launched back into her practiced speech as she gestured toward an archway at the far end of the chamber.

  “Through there everyone,” she said as she led them across the room. The Archway led into a wide hallway with a security post half way down. Before the checkpoint there were three doors.

  “No Earth 1 artifacts beyond this point. Immersion in the village has to be complete, you understand. We can’t have Earth 1 artifacts accidentally making their way on camera!” Valentina stopped in the middle of the hall, arms wide and hands pointed to either door with her palms facing the ceiling. She looked like a gameshow presenter.

  “These two doors will take you to the staff locker rooms. You can claim any of the open lockers to store your things; they are fingerprint locked, so just use the touchscreens to set it up when you are ready. You’ll deposit all your belongings for storage while you are here on Earth 3.”

  “Wait,” Ravenna said, her voice showing more emotion than in anything Alex had heard from her up until this point. “Everything?”

  Valentina’s eyes flicked toward her, sharp and unreadable. “Yes. including your clothes right down to your socks. But don’t worry, Ms. Clarke. You’ll be able to access your locker during your free time. Nothing crosses to the surface though.”

  Alex looked down at his backpack. Two paperbacks. Two school books and a notebook. His phone! His hand tightened on the strap until his knuckles went white. He didn’t like the idea of giving up his stuff. A weekend without his phone?!

  He forced himself to take a deep breath. Focus on the goal: Adventuring! Exploring a whole new planet!

  Valentina was still talking about the features of the locker room, showers, steam room, etc and then: “At the back of the locker rooms you will find supply shelves containing soaps and shampoos, towels etc. You will also find racks containing the starter outfits you will all wear during your training period.”

  “How long will that last?” Jay interrupted.

  “Four weekends typically. We want to get you out in the world as soon as possible and you will find that we give you the resources to ramp up quickly.”

  Valentina looked over the group as she continued. “If that is all of your questions, please head in and get changed into your training uniforms. Meet here again in 5 minutes – I’ve got to get you to your rooms.”

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  One by one they filtered into the appropriate locker room. The men's was at the end of a long hall that wrapped around whatever room was behind door number three, right before the security checkpoint. The locker room itself was basically what you would expect to find in any upscale gym – not that Alex had ever set foot in one, but he did watch movies.

  He walked to the end of the room where an open supply closet stood. As advertised, there were towels and shower caps and little bottles of shampoos and soaps. On the opposite wall of the closet there were shelves of neatly folded clothes in various shades of brown.

  Alex quickly grabbed a couple of outfits to get him through the weekend, the fabric was a little scratchy, but not too bad. Utilitarian. He wandered around the room until he found a locker in a corner with the number #6535. He smiled.

  “Something funny?” Jay asked. He had found an empty locker in the same row.

  “Oh, no. Not really.” Alex pointed to the locker number on the open locker door and said, “Just a piece of pi.”

  “Huh?”

  “Pi. The number.”

  “Ah.” Jay looked confused. “Pi is 3.14 though.”

  “Well, yeah, but really it’s: three point one four one five nine two six five three five.” He tapped 6535. “6535 - A little slice of Pie.” It was stupid, he knew it. But the thought amused him and at least he would remember which locker was his.

  “Right… but if pi is infinite,” Jay said while looking around the room, “wouldn’t all these locker numbers show up somewhere in there eventually?”

  Alex looked around at the locker numbers around him and frowned. “I suppose so. Lots of pieces of pi then maybe.” He looked back at Jay again. “But I only know the first 150 numbers or so and can’t confirm that.”

  Jay stopped getting dressed and looked over at him for a moment before asking, “Why?”

  “I don’t know… pi is interesting. It’s universal and emergent, but also irrational. A bridge between the finite and the infinite.” Alex shrugged and jammed his backpack into his locker. “Kind of like that portal that just brought us here in a way.”

  Jay watched him for another moment and then just shook his head and finished getting changed. When Alex was done he leaned against the cool metal of the locker – it felt good on his flushed face.

  A few minutes later they were all back out in the hallway. Valentina was chatting with the security guard but came over when everyone was assembled. “Great! Look at you all!” she beamed at them and clapped her hands. “You all look like you are ready to jump into action!”

  Alex looked around at the group. Jay, as always, looked ready for whatever came next. Maybe Band Camp Melissa too. But everyone else looked as uncomfortable in their new uniforms as Alex felt. Ravenna looked like she didn’t know what to do with her hands.

  "Ok. We’ll head through the checkpoint in a minute, I just want to show you the Staff Lounge while we’re here," said Valentina. She led them through the third and last door in the hallway and they stepped into a massive chamber with a high ceiling.

  Half a dozen people sat on couches arranged in loose clusters. TVs flickered on the walls, and vending machines humming in the corners. A board game shelf took up a long section of wall, stacked with Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, and a hundred other games Alex didn’t recognize. The smell of coffee hung in the air.

  “Yo, they’ve got Risk!” Jay exclaimed. “We’re totally playing that.”

  Mel twirled in a circle, arms spread. “Oh my gods, karaoke!”

  Rae blinked at her, unimpressed.

  Valentina smiled. “Staff lounge area. When you’re off-shift, this is yours. Down here, you’ll find all modern amenities, including computer access just around the corner there,” she said, gesturing to a door near the back of the room. “Of course, up on the surface, none of this exists. Up there, you are fantasy adventurers looking to right wrongs and defeat evil.”

  They filed back out into the hall as Valentina talked about Dungeon Inc. and what great additions they were all going to make to the show.

  At the security checkpoint Valentina paused long enough to say, “This is Al. Everyone say: ‘Hi Al’.” Everyone did.

  As they set off down the hallway beyond the security checkpoint she continued, “tonight, and for the rest of your training period, you’ll be housed in the trainee hut.” She looked over her shoulder and laughed when she saw their faces. “Don’t worry, that’s just the name. It’s actually a very nice little house.”

  They walked down the hall as she spoke. “Your formal training begins tomorrow. Until then, no surface contact. Recruits aren’t permitted to interact with locals until their ANIP systems are installed.”

  Danny raised a hand timidly. “Um… ANIP?”

  “Adaptive Neural Integration Protocol,” Valentina said. “Your HUD interface, security permissions, identity marker. Without it, you can’t access most facilities and you aren’t allowed to interact with the locals. It's the core of that resource package I mentioned earlier, that will get you up to speed and out adventuring!”

  Mel’s hand shot up like a kid in class. “So what if we, y’know, just snuck out? Like… tavern test?”

  Alex tried to hide his smile. He was thinking the same thing.

  Valentina stopped mid stride and swung around to look at Mel, smiling broadly. “Well, I just know that you wouldn’t do a thing like that on the first day of your new job right?” There was a long pause.

  “Um, no. Of course not. I was just… wondering.” Mel’s pale cheeks flushed.

  Valentina laughed, the sound echoing down the bare hall. “I’m just giving you a hard time Mel. You couldn’t sneak out if you wanted to. Go ahead and try.” She gestured to a door a little ways up the hall.

  Mel walked over and tried the handle. It didn’t so much as budge. She frowned at the door and tried again. Nothing.

  “All of the doors are coded to respond to your ANIP. They are locked by default and will open automatically for anyone with the right security clearance. Right now, you are not recognized by the system. But not to fret! Tomorrow you will be able to come and go around the village as you please.” She paused for a moment and looked like she was considering something but Alex was only half listening.

  His pulse hammered in his ears and he was feeling a little dizzy. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to steady himself. When he opened them again, he saw motes of light everywhere he looked.

  “Mostly how you please anyway,” Valentina continued. “There are restricted areas for certain staff. That door you are trying to open, for instance, leads to the warehouse basement where supplies are brought in and stored. Only logistics staff can open it.”

  Explanation complete, she spun on her heels and continued down the hall at a brisk walk. She was clearly not a woman to waste time beyond what was necessary. They followed her down another hallway, fluorescent lights flickering overhead. Ravenna pointed out a few security cameras hidden in corners. At the end, a heavy door opened into a spiral stairwell that climbed upwards.

  When Alex emerged from the top of the stairwell, he couldn’t help the giant smile that split his face. Finally, here was the fantasy world he’d been promised. The fantasy world that he had been dreaming of his entire life if he was being honest with himself.

  The room was built like a lodge, all timber beams and wood plank floors with a large stone hearth at one end of the room. There were mismatched couches clustered around floor rugs and a rugged looking kitchen opposite the hearth. Small windows looked out onto darkness, although he could see torch light flickering somewhere off to the side. A few people already here in the room turned to look at them as they stepped through.

  “This is your dormitory,” Valentina said. “Boys on the second floor, girls on the third. Four rooms per side - Class A on the back, facing the forest. Class B on the front - You are all Class A.” She looked around the room satisfied. “Small but functional. You’ll be here until training concludes.”

  “It’s not that small,” Danny said. “My dorm room is small and the common room isn’t even this big.”

  “Yes, well, maybe not ‘small’, but there will be 12 of you staying here for the next few weeks.” Valentina said as she looked around the room.

  Jay elbowed Alex. “Hogwarts vibes huh? Kinda, anyway.”

  Alex tried to smile, but his lips felt cracked. He needed a drink of water. He saw his reflection in the nearest window and cringed - he looked at least as bad as he felt.

  “Uh, Alex?” Mel said gently. “You don’t look so good.”

  “I’m fine,” he said automatically while trying not to scratch at his arms as he looked over at the kids sitting by the fire.

  Initial forays into Earth-3 were conducted as supply runs: deploy, explore, extract, return. This approach proved inadequate almost immediately.

  Equipment degradation, biological exposure, and a drastically more aggressive local fauna introduced compounding risks that could not be mitigated through short-duration missions.

  The reliance on Earth-side logistics created unacceptable latency that exacerbated injuries, setbacks and restocking.

  The decision to construct Alpha Base was not ideological. It was logistical. A permanent foothold allowed for medical stabilization, equipment maintenance, data aggregation, controlled acclimatization and a stable infrastructure from which we could better maintain and expand inworld operations.

  Alpha Base was designed as a beachhead in the strictest sense of the term: minimal, defensible, expandable. Its purpose was not comfort, nor conquest, but persistence. The show came later and the fact that we built to blend in to the world and hide our technology was coincidental in the beginning.

  With infrastructure in place, Earth-3 ceased to be an exploration destination and transitioned into a full blown operating environment.

  Excerpt from Early Operations Review

  Off-World Access Program — Phase I Retrospective

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  Dungeon Inc. // RECRUIT DIV.

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