Chapter 2: Into the Dream

The Nexus Corporation welcomed their sights — a spectacularly tall building, stretching up towards the heavens and permeating the appalling smog. Would they be able to see the blue of the sky from the highest floor? 

Miyo opened the door and got out of the car. Waving Andrew good bye, she lumbered towards the entrance, anxiety threatening to get the best of her. The lobby was exactly what she had been expecting: a large reception desk in the middle with a very pleasant looking receptionist, two modernly crafted couches that inched on the abstract, and a very clear white floor, so clear in fact that Miyo could see her reflection in it. The whole building gave off a very sterile aura, similar to that of a hospital. Miyo recounted how despite just now delving into the realm of informatics and technology, Nexus Corporation had first and foremost been a pharmaceutical company. They were the producers of every single drug Miyo had consumed until now: from pain killers, cough snuffers, to antibiotics. 

To further enhance the sterile environment, there was no one in the lobby, not even a single person in the queue. Therefore, Miyo did not have time to mentally prepare herself. She dragged her feet to the front desk and with a meagre 'hello' made her presence known. 

The receptionist — a young woman with a somewhat pleasant face and slicked back hair — responded in kind. 

"I am here for the Dreamland BETA?" Miyo said, her voice pitching towards the end of her sentence. She had always been excessively awkward with people she had not met before. Usually her school affairs were handled by her father and it wasn't like she got too much social interaction either way. 

"I see," The receptionist replied, giving her a small smile. She produced from beneath her desk, from what Miyo guessed would be a drawer, a contract. Much of it bore her father's signature but there was one final space for Miyo to sign as well, which she did, faster than she would have liked to admit. She pushed it right back to the receptionist and waited patiently.

"Have you read the terms and conditions?" The woman asked as she checked the contract one final time. "There are rules you must really respect."

"Yes," Miyo lied. 

"And you're well aware of the risks, right?" 

"Yes?" Miyo hesitated before finally nodding. What risks?

"Great, then take a seat and someone will come fetch you." The woman smiled one final time at Miyo then pointed to the terrifying couches she was unable to wrap her mind about. 

She took a sit and stared at her palms. What kind of risks was the receptionist woman talking about? Perhaps something to do with frying her brain? Obviously, her projection in the dreamland will be facilitated by some sort of machinery. If so, did she refer to side effects? In that case, Miyo couldn't bring herself to care that much. Her brain should have been scrambled eggs by now from the amount of time she had spent playing video games and going to sleep at absurd hours of the night. Consequently, if there were greater risks such as death than she might have brought herself to introspect a little bit more but as it stood since there was a BETA test, the company wouldn't purposely endanger normal people. And they also didn't seem to have some grand design. As far as Miyo was concerned in one hour she was going to live her dream of being a video game character, or at least experience something new for once, feel things she hasn't felt before. 

"Miss Kaminari?" A tubby nurse called her name. The woman was perhaps in her thirties with brown hair that was tied in a low bun behind her hair. Clutching close to her chest what Miyo assumed was her file, the nurse's eyes fixed one moment on her then the next on the file as if to check she was speaking to the right person.

"Yes," Miyo pocketed her phone.

"Please, come with me," the nurse said and turned around, walking out of the lobby. Miyo followed suit, her hands crossed over her chest as she warily let herself take in her surroundings. The nurse led her to the elevators while she continued talking, "I am going to take you to the testing floor. It will be rearranged as a hospital wing. As you have already guessed, we really value our testers and we wish to provide nothing but the best comfort for them."

Miyo only nodded along as she eyed the elevator floors increasing with each floor they passed with spectacular rapidity. 

"As it stands, I am the nurse that's been assigned to take care of you," The woman continued. Miyo's palms started sweating with anticipation. "This doesn't mean we don't have specialised dcotors, but they will only intervene if the situation gets out of my control. Which it shouldn't, but it is still necessary for every patient to know the risks. Our undertaking is to say the least ambitious, but Mr. Friedrich Neumann is candid and considerate. He would not have entertained such an enterprise unless he was absolutely certain it will become successful."

Miyo only nodded along. At once, the elevator's ding, announcing they had reached the thirty-second floor, interrupted the nurse's monologue and once again Miyo was lead through a labyrinth of sterile, white halls to the room she supposed she would log into the dreamland from. 

There was nothing original or outstanding about the room. It was simply an ordinary hospital room but with a computer and a plethora of cables crowded in a cylindrical shape that gave Miyo the impression of a snake. She left her belongings at the edge of the bed and awkwardly sat on it. The nurse turned on the computer, typing up code Miyo could not recognise then handed her some sort of head gear.

When she saw Miyo's confused expression, "Oh it's just something to do with brainwaves or something. There's a whole science behind it, really." 

Miyo only nodded and laid down, urged backwards by the nurse. She had to admit that she felt terrified. Everything just now dawned on her, of the whole situation she had willingly chosen to subject herself to. She felt like running away but there was a part of her that was still filled with curiosity. 

"You did sport, right?" The nurse asked, maybe noticing Miyo's anxiety.

"Yeah." Miyo nodded tersely, swallowing hard. 

"What sport?"

"Fencing, sorta."

"Sorta? Well, what do you mean?" As their conversation continued, the nurse lined her body with small suction pads that Miyo guessed would help track her internal wellness. In fact, on the monitor, her heartbeat was displayed, beating erratically and too fast. Miyo really had to calm herself down. The cold light of the room made her squint and scrunch her nose. 

"Not fencing but kendo."

"Right, the file did say you were half-japanese."

"Yeah."

"Father or mother?"

"Father."

"I'm asking because it is very rare for someone so young to qualify to be an Adapter." The nurse finally gave Miyo space. "Put on your head gear please. Relax and close your eyes. Think of it as going to sleep. If anything goes wrong, I will pull you out of the Dreamland immediately."

"Okay," Miyo nodded, a hundred questions swirling in her mind that she could not bring herself to voice. What was an adapter? Did she have any specific purpose? Or did she try leading her life normally until her time ran out?

Miyo closed her eyes, suppressing any beginning of a feeling as she often times did. Her anxiety was therefore thwarted, leaving behind only a smouldering buzz and a prickling of her skin. She swallowed and relaxed at once. She had come too far to suddenly quit. Beyond her realm of consciousness awaited a new world, one she was lucky enough to get to experience.