THE MOMENT
"You've built something considerable," Lyra nodded at the Director with a smile. Lyra, an executive representative from Sharp Development, and Director Clayburn sat in the director's spacious office after a facility tour. A large black marble desk sat between them with the Director sitting upright in his highback leather chair. "Unfortunately, I don't see anything Sharp Development would be interested in pursuing. We will not be offering you any funding beyond what we've already granted you. Good luck," she added as she moved to stand up.
"Wait!" he'd considered the possibility that she'd find the Project unimpressive and decided he would be upfront about things. Naturally, they were trying to keep a lot secret, but Sharp Development had started them on the path. The secretive company granted the government immense resources and a list of cutting edge technologies they wanted researched. Then, they'd be back after a year to see how things were progressing and determine whether they'd be worthy of an extended partnership. "I haven't told you everything."
Director Clayburn landed the lead position in the newest department and got down to business right away. Over the past 12 months, he built up a solid, reliable department, and he planned it so that their first batch of product would be ready for the scheduled visit. In a way, he was glad she wasn't impressed; he hadn't really shown anything off yet. But now, he was pushed that extra bit, and he wanted to reveal the full picture.
"The simulation project's true purpose is to make our agents no longer fear death. Since they cannot distinguish between a simulation and reality, they're willing to die for a good 'score'. When a true threat appears, they'll try to 'win' despite overwhelming opposition," he blurted it all out in a rush, and he was relieved to see her smile. Except, she shook her head shortly after the grin appeared.
"I figured that much out," she said. "Since we won't be wasting any more funding here, I will at least help you understand why. The immersive 'AlterNet' technology we encouraged you to develop has already progressed further than you have here. The reason we won't continue our partnership is because we've already seen and done this before," she added. Confusion spread across Director Clayburn's face and was apparent for almost two seconds before he caught himself and regained his composure.
"We gift the technology quite freely in the hopes that someone can show us something we haven't already done ourselves yet. So far, no one has. Not even you," she said. She moved toward the door and this time the Director was too confused to stop her. "We have no reason to reclaim anything we've given you, and you're free to continue pursuing the path you're on. The only thing is, we won't be sending any more resources of any kind your way. Our business is concluded," she said.
"Thank you for your visit," Director Clayburn nodded as he stood to escort her out. That had been one of his deeper worries. If they backed out, he assumed they would also demand he be shut down for 'proprietary reasons'. He wasn't relying on the promised influx of money as much as he wanted to still have a department to run.
"One more piece of advice, on a personal note," Lyra smiled as she opened the door.
"The idea is good, but your methodology is all wrong. The last thing you want is agents who can't distinguish between a simulation and reality. That grounding is more important than you might think."
"Thank you for your advice," Director Clayburn replied without bothering with a polite smile. She had no idea what she was talking about, and she was about to be out of his life forever. Lyra left and he went back to work.
A week later, a group of agents murdered the staff, then each other, with the assumption that it was a fun training simulation.