Zane and Tom Nguyen calmly watched as Evans headed to another room full of apparatus resembling sensory-deprivation tanks. The mathematician's eyes lingered on Evans' back when Zane turned his head to look at him and asked, "Jealous?"
"Don't you think it's unfair? We have to study hard, put in the time and effort to master our craft, but he can just pay to get the same result," he stated with his hands clenched.
"How old are you? Haven't you long realized that there was no such thing as fairness in this world?"
"I know that, but education and knowledge were supposed to be the opportunity for people like us to distinguish ourselves. And I thought magic would be the same, but it's the opposite. In the magic world, money is even more invaluable. As long as you have enough, you can basically acquire almost anything."
Tom Nguyen was exaggerating, but Zane understood his sentiment. So, he patted his shoulder and said, "Compared to the capitalist hellscape that we live in, Magic is still fair since it offers countless opportunities for upward socio-economic mobility. Plus, it's not like we have much of a choice, like we can change things."
After uttering these words, Zane walked over to Seat 098C. Life in that prison had long taught him how cruel the world can be; it taught him that just because someone was smart did not mean they were guaranteed success. On the contrary, it was the opposite; smart and capable people are the most exploited individuals.
Once he was seated, Zane began to operate the machine. Ulbram had already registered him, so he calmly put the helmet on, lowered his seat to a comfortable position, and closed his eyes. "Initiate mind-link," he uttered. A small tremor massaged his head, and before Zane could process any more information, he felt his mind traveling upward at an alarming speed.
As he was about to scream, the sensation stopped. The odd thing was that he felt no vertigo, and more importantly, the sweet smell of grass suddenly started to caress his nose, followed by the intense heat of summer, which he hadn't felt since arriving at the academy. Looking around, Zane found himself in this endless plain with grass as far as the eye could see.
"Is this the level of Virtual Reality the tower has achieved? I can't tell the difference between reality," Zane thought, suddenly feeling scared. He hurriedly touched his body, kicked the grass, smelled the air, and even pinched himself — all the sensations were indistinguishable from the "real world."
[Noticing User 9876746G is panicking. Do you wish to lower the level of realism?]
"Yes," Zane hurriedly said. The program was swift and highly efficient, with the differences immediately noticeable. First, his senses were much lower, especially his sense of pain, which had utterly dissipated. Secondly, the graphics of the world around him became more computer-generated. Zane didn't know if this was true or if his mind was playing tricks, but he swore some of the grass turned into pixels if he stared at them for too long. And that somehow provided him a sense of relief or comfort.
"Whoever designed this place must have done extensive testing on Earthlings' reactions, or maybe humans in general," Zane reflected. The speed at which this program recognized his state and provided a clear and effective solution tickled something in his engineering brain. After all, what good engineer doesn't want their products to be perfect before launch? Sadly, that's harder to do than stated.
"Well, now that I've calmed down, what's next?" Zane muttered.
[Please select your professor archetype.]
"Hmm?" Zane looked at the screen, and he was immediately intrigued. Most people prefer different ways of learning: some are visual learners, some are good at rote memorization, and some prefer a hands-on approach. The Virtual Learning Lab allows students to take an exam before creating a professor who is perfectly suited to their preferred learning style.
"Which gender do you feel most comfortable learning from?" Zane read out loud. "Well, that's one way to start an exam." After answering the question, more of them appeared, and he answered them one after the other. It didn't take long for Zane to realize how detailed this test was. In the end, the test took more than 15 minutes. Then, the green plain collapsed into pixels, and Zane found himself in a classroom similar to MIT. No, it was exactly the one at MIT: the one he took Applied Engineering.
"It was my favorite," Zane thought. He remembered the cold winter breeze blowing through the window, the warm spring air that made him sleepy, the coolness of the AC in the summer heat, and the fresh scent of trees in autumn.
"This brings back some good memories," he sighed to himself before finally focusing on the professor teaching the class. He glanced at an older woman, probably in her late 60s, dressed in a blue sweater, black pants, and comfortable black shoes.
"Mrs. Heidi?" Zane muttered, his eyes dazed. Most of his high school teachers worshiped the ground he walked on, but only Mrs. Heidi saw him for who he truly was: a young man who was acting out because there was trouble at home. Sadly, they had a falling-out after Zane said some nasty things, and afterward, even though she continued helping him, their relationship was never the same.
"Maybe I should check to see if she's still teaching, maybe apologize," Zane thought. As his eyes regained focus, he realized this woman wasn't exactly like Mrs. Heidi but shared many traits; this program seemed to have taken Mrs. Heidi as a character model and combined her with many of Zane's favorite professors.
"Students, let me introduce myself. My name is…"
Now that the class was starting, Zane focused. Although this class was free, in his mind, there is never a true price for knowledge. Interestingly, Zane discovered he could still use [Mental Channeling] in this virtual world. So, without wasting a moment, he began channeling his mental energy into different parts of his brain to improve focus and memory retention.
An hour passed without Zane noticing. If not for the professor reminding him that time was up, he wouldn't have sensed anything. Opening his eyes, Zane removed the helmet before adjusting his seat. "What a wonderful technology," he thought. "And with so many applications."
If Earth had access to this virtual reality technology, so many fields would be greatly affected. Forget the obvious answer of education, which is what this machine is primarily designed to do; numerous other fields would also immensely benefit.
First, there is the medical field. Training surgeons is a risky endeavor, but with a virtual lab for practice, efficiency, cost, and risk would improve drastically. Many patients suffer from complex medical issues. If doctors could scan their bodies and recreate them in the virtual world, they could try different treatments — of course, that's assuming the virtual world has achieved 100% realism and can perfectly recreate the complex structure of the human body.
With the ability to simulate complex environments and situations, the applications of this Virtual Realm are endless. With its use, humans could solve countless problems simply by recreating them in the virtual world and testing different solutions —from global warming to wildlife preservation—everything was possible. Unfortunately, that also means military applications; many countries could simulate war with other nations, or worse, test out even more terrifying weapons than nuclear bombs.
Shaking his head to remove these thoughts from his mind, Zane stood, preparing to greet Tom Nguyen, who was next to him, when Evans came rushing from the other room. "I remember — I remember now! During the memory infusion, many old memories became clearer, and I remember."
"Remember what exactly?" Zane frowned.
"I remember why you looked familiar," Evans continued. "Around 2008, you won a robotic competition funded by Boston Dynamics. I was at the reception with my family, and I heard your speech."
"Oh, you were there too? Sorry, but I don't remember you," Zane said. He had met countless people that night, and as such, he had no recollection of Evans or his family. For all he knows, he may have shaken hands with them, but if he did not make a good enough impression, Zane would not remember him among so many people.
"It's fine. Right after your speech, my little brother started acting, and I had to leave early with my mother. So, we didn't even get to meet," Evans waved his hands.
"Now, I feel less embarrassed," Zane nodded. Tom Nguyen woke up from his class, and they headed out together.
Evans chuckled, "But what happened to you? After we returned home that day, my father kept talking about how you were the future of the robotic industry. He kept tabs on you, preparing to offer you a job after graduation. But you suddenly disappeared."
"Life happened," Zane casually replied. "And my focus is primarily on software engineering, not robotics."
"Is it because of PETMAN?"
Zane — who was near the lab's exit — paused briefly before sighing, "That's part of it, I guess."
"I'm sorry," Evans patted his shoulder.
"What's PETMAN?" Tom Nguyen asked.
"It's an acronym for Protection Ensemble Test Mannequin," Evans explained. "Back in the 2000s, the US military contracted Boston Dynamics for 26 million dollars to create a humanoid robot to test chemical protection suits. Unfortunately, they couldn't deliver — at least, not in the time frame they promised. Out of ideas, they used their connection at MIT to create a contest and let these bright students try, and someone succeeded.
"Unfortunately, the rights to the final product belonged to Boston Dynamics, and the students probably received some minor compensation."
"$2500," Zane replied. "If you count for today's inflation, $2786.85."
"A $26 million contract and they only gave you $2500?"
"Back then, it was quite common," Evans added.
"Common doesn't mean fair or right," Tom Nguyen snapped back.
"Didn't say it was."