Episode Three: The Portal

    Mr. Lombardi smiled as he waited for the elevator to reach the thirty-second floor.  Eight months ago, when work began on the Endless Frontier, he had been confident that they would succeed.  However, the fast progress absolutely surprised him, especially Mr. Kilgore's work.  William worked around the clock and regularly sent detailed reports of the progress he was making. 
    Mr. Senoma, on the other hand, seemed intentionally vague in his infrequent reports.  Dean spent a lot of time and extra money on lavish living.  Mr. Lombardi had been tempted to draw the line when he took a six week foreign vacation that cost a few million dollars.  But now, sooner than he ever expected, The Endless Frontier was ready for testing.
    He easily found the room where Mr. Senoma and Mr. Kilgore were waiting for him.  At Mr. Kilgore's suggestion the words “The Portal” had been printed in large block letters across the door.    Troy expected heavy medical equipment with lots of wires and tubes, but the Portal was deceptively bare.  Six beds, three lined up against the left wall and three on the right, made it look more like a dormitory than a portal to a virtual world..  At the front of the room Mr. Kilgore sat at a desk that was empty except for a keyboard and mouse, both wireless. A projector mounted on the ceiling cast the screen on the front wall. That was all.  The walls were newly painted white and the floor cold tile. 
    “Good morning Mr. Kilgore,” said Mr. Lombardi.  “Doing some last minute adjustments I see.”
    William Kilgore turned around stood to welcome Mr. Lombardi.  “Good morning.  I'm just double checking the equipment.  We set it up here last week, and I wanted to make sure that everything is still running fine.  Mr. Senoma just left to pick up his assistant Miss Stratford.  She will be the one to operate the computer since you wanted the three of us to go in together.”
    “I hope she is as trustworthy as Mr. Senoma claims.  I want to keep this project low until it is ready to reveal to the public.”
    “Mr. Senoma doesn't seem to like the secrecy.”
    “That's because he's never dealt with big businesses.  If word of what we were doing got out there would be all kinds of attempts to steal our technology.  Not to mention random groups that would somehow think what we were doing was wrong and try to get legislation passed to stop us.  Believe me. this is best this way.”
    “Anyway, have a seat.” Mr. Kilgore waved a hand at two other chairs near the desk. “I need to get this finished so that we can start as soon as Mr. Senoma gets back.”
    Miss Stratford wore a neat business suit and high heels that clicked loudly against the tile when they she and Mr. Senoma walked in. Troy was surprised to see that her smile was strained as they greeted each other.
    “Miss Stratford, come take a seat.  I'll show you how to run this thing,” said Mr. Kilgore.
    “That's alright, Mr. Senoma showed me the controls yesterday, after we finished setting up the mental connections equipment”
    Mr. Kilgore gave Mr. Senoma a questioning look.
    “Don't worry,” said Mr. Senoma. “We didn't use any of the equipment.  I just ran the program dry like you did when you showed me the controls the other day.”  
     “Well,” said Mr. Lombardi after an awkward pause. “If I didn't know that you two were both geniuses.  I would say the whole thing is a joke.  There is nothing out of the ordinary in sight, yet you tell me that this room is a portal into a virtual world.”  He said the words with an air of excitement.
    Mr. Kilgore pushed a few keys on the keyboard closing the program he was checking and bringing up the desktop.  “What you don't see, Mr. Lombardi is the large computer server in the other room.  Top of the line, the best money can buy, with a few improvements by myself.”  The picture on the desktop was of a small jungle covered island on a warm summer day.  There was only a single Icon, labeled “The Endless Frontier.”
    “What about the equipment that will connect this wonderful computer to my brain?” said Mr. Lombardi turning to Mr. Senoma.
    “Wireless brain connections,” he said. “Under the head of each bed you will notice a somewhat large white box.  The equipment is in there.”
    “Impressive,” he said as he crouched and examined the closest box. “Enough talk.  I came here to become the first man to experience a complete virtual reality.  What do you need me to do?”
    “Give me a moment to get the program up and running, then all you have to do is choose a bed and lie down.  The computer will do the rest,” said Mr. Kilgore as he loaded the program.  “Oh, one more thing.  The cameras you see in the corners of the room have been recording your every movement.  The computer will analyze the video and create a virtual model of you.  You might want to turn around a few times and stretch so that there is enough video to make an accurate representation.”
    Mr. Lombardi followed William's instructions as he continued to talk. “Once you've entered The Endless Frontier, you will see a camera nearby, that is how we will see you.  You will be able to communicate with us through a cell phone you will find on your belt.”
    Dean and Elizabeth stood off to the side watching Mr. Lombardi as he stretched.  Their apparent lack of excitement bothered him.  He could tell something was making them nervous, but he determined not to let their problems ruin his moment of glory.  After stretching he did a few jumping jacks and jogged in place.
    “It's ready,” said Mr. Kilgore.
    Troy lay down on one of the beds nearest the computer where he could still see the screen.  As he did a message popped up.  “Mind detected.  Do you want to establish a new connection?”  Mr. Kilgore clicked the yes option, and Mr. Lombardi felt the world vanish around him.