The Olympus Project: Gaia Book 1 by Zoë Routh

Author:Zoë Routh [Routh, Zoë]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inner Compass Australia Pty Ltd
Published: 2022-11-08T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Five

“An important aspect of the training here is to have participants face down their darkest fantasies, the part of them so repressed and buried that any association to themselves seems an aberration. They need to see their shadow or be doomed to live it out. Most people don’t like this part of the training much.”

TROY BRUIN, ‘PERSON OF THE YEAR’ INTERVIEW

New Baths of Caracalla, VR Chamber: Jonas

Jonas stared reluctantly at the virtual reality garment. This was what Maja had called the ‘empathy suit’. It was skin-tight with a special flexible glass visor. It was equipped with sensors everywhere to simulate physical senses.

They were being put through multiple scenarios to learn fear management underwater, in confined spaces and at height. Jonas hated heights, always had. He dodged a fair amount of rigging training on the Sea Rover, but his father insisted he do the minimum. He clambered up the ladders, arms shaking, brain jittery with terror. All he remembered from those experiences was the desperate urge to flee and the warped sensation of the ground flying away from him. The memories hovered around him now, drumming his heart into a frenzy.

They were paired, alternating being the subject and the support. Jonas was disappointed he was paired with Xanthe. He’d lost an opportunity to build rapport with Serena, the scrumptious minx. So far she’d evaded his charms at selection, but here he could play hero and all that. Though it was probably a good thing she wouldn’t see him at his weakest. Be cool, he thought, it’s virtual, not real. Just don’t piss your pants.

The Virtual Reality chamber was an empty space with padded walls and floor, big enough to hold five pairs. There were sensor harnesses strung up in different parts of the room. These were to help simulate resistance when required. Under the weblike harness was a multi-directional moving floor that would allow walking or running.

They entered the chamber, in nervous excitement. Troy directed them to their respective areas of the room where a staff member would look after one small group each. The staff member had comms to the pair who could only hear each other.

Troy started the briefing.

“Welcome fellow trainees! A few reminders before we begin: our team will monitor safety. Remember your fear management techniques: breathing, focus, anchoring. The brain doesn’t know the difference between reality and virtual reality, so this will feel like physical reality. You need to manage your fear the same way you would do so in the physical world. Any actions you take here have consequences, biochemically. You won’t actually fall from a skyscraper, but your brain will think you do, so it’s up to you to remain calm throughout. This is what we’ll need for the Moon: absolute modulation of our fear response. We need to THINK our way through a crisis, not react through it. Your fellow trainee is there to assist you, just as they will be on the Moon expedition. This is just as much an exercise of support.

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