The first shoot

The next morning, on the 28th of June.

Ben and his family arrived at the airport. They said their goodbyes to Ben and watched him pass the security.

As it was the second fly alone, Ben was calmer than the last time. The only thing he was thinking about was either the coming shooting experience or the next step to do.

´Everything so far went perfectly. My stats are on the right way. My skill list is well-filled. After creating the …? What should I call it Gun skill? Shooting skill? No. It sounds stupid.

Maybe something with Firearms? Firearms expertise! Sounds great, right? Right.

Then back to my original thought. After creating the firearms expertise, I should look for some Martial artists to improve in close combat.

Oh. I forgot. I still need to learn driving. It would be strange to go to war without being able to drive. Or what would other people think about a guild leader and CEO, who couldn't drive? Just joking. Who cares what others think? Maybe a little but only for an easier life.

What else do I need? A first Aid skill would also be great? Even if I never need it, others will surely require my help.´

Ben arrived at Gate 12, where he sat down and continued thinking.

´So about what I should do after coming back? The Virtual Reality market will soon have several breakthroughs. If I invest in some of these companies, I can make a bit more money.

I should act more actively. Maybe I can make my own gaming company.

I could make a game, which has similarities with the future, preparing the player for what is coming. It would be the fairest exchange in the entertainment industry. Who would not pay to see how the future would look like. But like before… who would I even lead or even leave in charge?

Louis definitely has potential. Such a prodigy should be given more attention. Naturally not as a chef, more like an employee with the potential to be in charge of the company in the future.

I am sure I can win him other.

Amadeus would also be a great help, but he is still too inexperienced. Should I wait after he studied a bit? No way. I need him now. Should I ask him to focus now on learning computer science? I mean giving him the opportunity to rise faster just by focusing on his dream job isn't wrong, right? I should ask him when I come back.

This isn't the most difficult problem. I would need connections to buy the right equipment. The best way would be to have a cooperation with a VR-helmet company. Maybe it is possible. I should ask Efron about it. What was even the leading company in the VR-helmet market?

Right, for gaming it was a Magic leap. But how would I even contact such a company?´

With all insecurities in his mind, Ben flew in the sky on the way to Arizona.

Landing at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Ben took some time to find a taxi.

As he was driven to the CowTown Shooting range, he watched the landscape.

The first impression he had of Arizona and its Airport was that it was modern but at the same time old. The landscape was in this region mostly dessert and the temperature was over 30°C.

Arriving at the range, it was already 6 pm. Tomorrow, Ben would have his first class.

Having read about the effect of shooting the first time, he had planned to shot today.

Going inside the building, Ben saw an old publicity in a frame on the wall:

"If God made man, Sam Colt made them equal." — slogan often attributed to Cold Manufacturing Company in the 1800s.

´What a good slogan. Even though I am not the same opinion.´

Next to it was a similar slogan:

"Abe Lincoln may have freed all men, but Sam Colt made them equal"

´What a good reminder of the racist roots of gun control in Amerika.´

"Hello dear customer, if you read all slogans you will take hours. So why don't you just skip that boring part?"

After Ben explained his situation and that he wanted to do his first shoot today, the owner named Bill went with Ben through two hours of safety training and familiarization in a room.

The hours covered general safety rules, safe firearms handling, and range procedure, and an examination of the particular firearm they will be using, including loading, unloading, clearing, sight picture, trigger handling.

Bill explained what Ben should expect, including noise, blast, and recoil from the particular firearm. It is not what one would expect from TV.

Ear and eye protection were mandatory in this range, so Ben had to borrow them.

If Ben wasn't so rich he would have never tried shooting. Everything was so costly.

Bill single loaded the first few rounds so that a person who is startled by the blast, flash, recoil does not fire again in an uncontrolled way.

Bill stayed at Ben's side, in the beginning, to assure that the safety procedures were being followed.

The other reason was that when people believe that they are being competently taught and that they will not do anything unsafe because they will not be permitted to do so, they do not get frightened.

Before that Saturday Ben had never held a loaded gun and certainly not a gun that was cocked and loaded. Up to that point, Ben's knowledge of gun safety came from his old life. Bill also walked me through some basics and pointed out when I broke a rule like don't put your finger on the trigger until you're ready to shoot.

So there Ben stood at the armory off I-65, no experience shooting guns, with his arms extended facing a target 5 yards away, and a 9mm pistol in his hands.

Shooting accuracy requires proper aiming. To line up the three notches on the site Ben closed his right eye and aimed carefully. The bullet landed far from the target's center. Down and to the left.

What seemed to happen so fast and unimportant was for Ben a life-changer.

Ben felt slightly surprised by the strong recoil, but what shocked him was the mental and emotional head-rush that he was feeling.

Ben had read that first-timers can experience a fight-or-flight response, which was the body's way of automatically responding to what it perceives could be mortal danger.

The brain rapidly releases cortisol, adrenaline, and other hormones like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.

Ben was feeling a mix of intense fear, anxiety, and aggression.

His fight-or-flight response had always been quite strong, but with the memories, Ben knew exactly what to do.

He didn't move for some minutes and just slowly breathed out and in.

Bill was satisfied with Ben's control. He took the gun and recharged it.

Ben's second bullet was fired. Another down and to the left. And again.

Bill, who was always happy to provide help, explained that shooting down and to the left is a common problem with new shooters; the shooter anticipates the recoil and starts moving the gun before pulling the trigger.

´Through three targets and four boxes of ammo of 9mm, then 45 calibers, my aim improved and I was hitting the target near the bullseye and got inside the bullseye twice. Well, six or eight shots could easily produce a couple of good shots at random, so I had room for improvement.´

Bill suggested Ben to keep both eyes open to improve his aim and it helped a bit. Still even after all these rounds, Ben still couldn't control his body's response completely.

This wasn't surprising as even veterans couldn't completely suppress it.

Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing go up.

"The fight-or-flight response evolved to keep us alive in sticky situations, and spiking hormone levels also triggers a grab-bag of autonomic bodily reactions.

It's based on our primate heritage." Bill said.

"If you're going to run away from or fight something, you'd better start breathing faster to get enough oxygen in your blood, and pumping that oxygen around. As a result, the heart begins to race, blood vessels constrict, and blood pressure skyrockets, in turn rapidly delivering oxygen and sugar to muscles. The mind goes into overdrive. The rush of blood and fight-or-flight levels of neurochemicals also affects the brain's function. Mental focus increases, and so does the ability to recognize patterns, while time seems to slow down with an increased flow of conscious and subconscious information."

After the initial response and the come-down, Ben felt a sense of pleasure. Ben knew that feeling exactly. It was like in his memories of fighting for survival and then surviving.

"That rush of serotonin feels good," Bill commented, seeing the slight smile on Ben's face.

"A lot of people don't like being scared, but there are people who like to jump out of airplanes or bungee jump."

"So you are European? Most Europeans don't appreciate firearms!

But this often changes after you experience it. Why do you want to learn to handle firearms?" Bill asked curiously.

"You know. Protecting your family and other typical reasons." Ben said still trying to slow down his heartbeat.

"But why would you reserve so many classes, if you can't own a gun in your country?"

"You never know what could happen in the future and I wanted to see if the military could be something for me!" Ben lied to not rouse any more suspicion.