Training (2)

[Now we will teach you how to handle your gun. First, you're holding it wrong. The back of a gun should be on your shoulder, not in your armpit like this.]

A hologram appears displaying the right way to hold a gun, and Vero follows suit. Holding it as the A.I. teaches makes it more comfortable.

[Now calm down by taking a deep breath and holding it in. Control your breathing.]

Vero does as the A.I. said. He then observes that when he's holding his gun he's shaking. The gun is in more of his control now that he controls his breathing.

[Now try shooting the target.]

Bang!

A bullet flew off and hit the target with more accuracy than before. Vero is bewildered by how little he has to do to fix his aim, and so is the A.I. by how quickly he is learning. He could now shoot 6 out of 10 targets that are present. even if they're only 50 meters away. The A.I tasked him with getting better accuracy when shooting.

A while later, he stopped shooting because his stomach was grumbling. The A.I. came in with the same old chocolate nutrient bar for him to eat. Vero doesn't know how much time has passed since he's been down here, but the A.I. tells him that he's been here for 8 hours now.

"That long!?"

[Your focus seems to be impenetrable. When you're shooting, you don't even know how long you've been at it. We try to snap you out at the 4-hour mark, but it doesn't work.]

Vero doesn't remember any of that. He only knew he could now shoot 10 out of 10 targets at 50m range perfectly. Vero was trying to remember the A.I. call, but he couldn't. He shelves that thought away and eats the luxurious chocolate nutrient bar.

[You can now stop shooting with the rifle. We would like you to get familiar with more types of guns than are included in the basic training course.]

Vero takes a little more break before the A.I. gives him more guns. A sniper's assault rifle, pistol, and a plasma gun. All of these weapons are included in the basic training course. He learns how to shoot all of them with the A.I. recommendation.

Another 8 hours passed. Vero has now tried every gun, which takes about an hour each.All of them have some advantages and disadvantages explained by the A.I. and experienced by him first-hand. Now that he's tried out all the guns, the A.I. asks him to pick one, so Vero picks the default rifle that he's used for 8 hours.

He's more familiar with this than any other gun. Now that he can shoot the target more accurately, he wants to shoot more of it. When you're good at it you want to do it more.

"Can you set up more? I'd like to get more practice. "

[Sorry, it's dark now, so please sleep. Your response time and your focus would go down with not enough rest. Plus you're at an age where you need sleep the most.]

"But..."

[No excuse. Please follow the line to your assigned room]

"....."

Vero now looked like a kid that got his new toy taken away from him. He follows the A.I. suggestion and arrives at a square door. It opens up into a room with a bed and a bath. Vero marveled at the sight of this place.

Compare to the dark alley or on the slum street this place looks like a different world. The A.I. walked him through how to use most of the room's functions and security. He likes all of this a lot. The bed is soft and he can even take a shower now.

The only thing that is missing is Fran to share all this luxury with. Vero shakes his head and enters the bathroom. The water can be adjusted to change the temperature and how much water you need. Vero plays with the setting and settles on nice warm water. He got out of his ragged shirt and slowly lay down in the bathtub.

Normally he would think that this is a waste of water, but they're giving it out for free. This means that they've got plenty of them left. He wonders why no one is living here. He doesn't have to worry about anything. All he needs is food, water, and a safe shelter. All his needs are already here.

He got out of the bath and put on some old-world clothes. It's a plain white T-shirt that can adjust to his size and a white pant that also has the same function. The A.I. boasted that it could repair itself up to a certain amount of damage.

But Vero got lost in all this convenience. He then lay down on the old world bed. The softness of this object can only be described as heavenly. Vero had a good dream that night.

//////////////

Morning came, and Vero woke up. The A.I gave him a bar or nutrient pack. The A.I walked him through the facility and tasked Vero with another shooting test, but this time the target got further away.

While Vero has a lunch break, he asks.

"Doesn't living here feel lonely?"

[... We are not programmed to feel emotion...]

"Maybe that's better."

Maybe the feeling of losing someone would be nullified if he couldn't feel anything. Vero finishes his lunch and continues with his training.

//////////////////

A month later,

The distance keeps increasing to 500m. Vero can consistently shoot it 9 times out of 10. The A.I. stopped him and made him focus on another objective.

Throughout all of this, A.I. asserted that Vero has a godly amount of focus. If his body doesn't hold him back, he could train nonstop all day, getting better and better. He also got trained in how to shoot a moving target.

It's all going smoothly until an alarm sounds.

[Warning We're detecting an infiltration. Entering lockdown mode]