A few hours later, Ari’s hands gripped the arm rest, and she couldn’t stop chewing her bottom lip. She thought she was ready but wondered if she’d ever feel ready. Dr. Coleman didn’t speak to her but gave her a look of expectation that told Ari he was serious about her performance. She ignored the looks from the other students, especially Wake glaring at her.
Mica approached with a sympathetic smile and a new ring in her left ear. “You okay?”
“I got it.” Ari was really getting tired of that question.
Ari inserted the cold metal cable into the back of her head. No matter how many times she had to be in virtuals, she would never like that feeling. Closing her eyes, she headed towards the void.
Before she could gather herself in the VR, a cacophony of sound assaulted Ari. She spun sideways as a gush of air and neon lights raced by her.
“Watch it,” someone shouted as they pushed past her.
Standing on a busy sidewalk, buildings surrounded her and rose higher than she could see. Lights blotted out the night sky. Horns blared as cars sped by, ignoring the mass of people flooding the walkways. Distant music carried through the night, but Ari couldn’t say from where. Foreign words flashed on the side of the building. The Chinese symbols told her she was far away from home.
The chaos fed her fear. She clenched her hands against her thighs and focused on what needed to be done. She hadn’t traveled enough to be sure, but this appeared to be a major city in Asia. Never having been there before might make it harder. She ignored her doubt and searched for the problems.
Dr. Coleman’s voice cut through the noise, reminding them of their assignment. “Your test will be to find the limitations and errors in the program. You may have to push, but there are over twenty. You will have thirty minutes.”
Thirty minutes. That would be the longest Ari had ever been in the VR. Hopefully, she wouldn’t need it. A man on a bike raced by, forcing her back. She pressed up against the wall of a building. Closing her eyes, she focused on her breath. I can do this. It’s only code, little numbers floating through my brain.
When she opened her eyes, the scene in front of her flashed in gray and black as if a 2D movie had been scratched. Blinking, the scene returned to the busy street in some city in Asia. Time to work.
Ignoring the twist of nerves in her gut, Ari completed the task in front of her. She pushed in stores, talked to people, searching for any error. It wasn’t as easy as it looked. Searching down the crowded street, she noticed the same Asian man on a bicycle forcing people out of his way. That in itself was an error, but Dr. Coleman would want more than a repeating bicycle. She realized if she really wanted out of this VR, she needed to think outside the box. This was fake, right?
When the bicycle approached, she grabbed a nearby woman with a bag full of groceries and shoved her into the man’s path. Ari braced for the worst, spilled fruit and a bleeding woman. Instead, the scene in front of her flashed black for a moment and then returned to normal as if the bicycle had never hit the woman.
The woman still held her bag of groceries and turned and shouted at Ari. Thankfully, Ari didn’t understand the streams of what was probably Chinese swear words, and she turned to continue down the sidewalk. As she navigated the noisy street, she easily spotted many of the characters in the time loops. The freeze or glitch when each one started over appeared almost too easy to find. It took her more time to memorize them. Mentally she ticked them off: man on bicycle, woman selling flowers, man calling for the same cab, another young man selling tickets, and the list continued.
Coleman would want more thorough specifics on the coding problems. Anyone could pick out repeater loops. She pushed into a nearby store and found herself in a tech shop. A young salesman greeted her at the door in a language Ari didn’t understand. She ignored the man. He was only numbers, she reminded herself. She touched a couple of computers, tech, and other personal links as she headed to the back. Once Ari passed the sales desk, the associates began shouting at her. She knew the problem before she even went into the back. They put the supposed back rooms around a corner. Dark and downplayed, they didn’t want anyone going there. Another associate hollered something and grabbed for her.
Ari made it around the corner and found the door. She reached for the knob and pulled it open. Then in a flash, her world was turned upside down. Colors morphed into a drunken swirl. She closed her eyes, her stomach rolling with unease. When she opened them, she found herself standing back on the sidewalk. The program had spit her back outside. I guess, that’s one way to get rid of unruly customers.
Dizziness still plagued Ari, and she wished for a bit of peace and quiet. She thought she had enough to pass the test and for a moment was tempted to leave. A group of girls headed down the sidewalk towards her. With fluffy crowns and open drinks, it appeared they were part of a bachelorette party or something.
Ari decided to get one more error for the test before leaving. Determined to stay still, she hoped to watch the girl’s glitch at running into her. Maybe they would go around her and then Ari would be out of luck. The girls didn’t even notice her as they laughed and carried on. When they reached Ari, one stumbled into her, actually stumbled into her, shoving her out
