Interlude- Brandon by Terry Schott Page A

arena.
    With a large smile on his face, Brandon raised his arms in triumph before placing them on the orb.
    The chime sounded for the fourth time.
    Brandon looked at Easton and nodded with satisfaction.

 
    Chapter 24
     
    Cooper sometimes wished he could be a normal, ordinary person.
    Normal people woke up late, strolled through life accomplishing very little, came home every night and ate a boring meal. They sat in front of a view screen and watched the news or some other mindless program, and then went to sleep safe and sound in their beds.
    A normal person didn’t catch whatever snippets of sleep they could while lying in the cold, wet dark in hostile enemy territory. Normal people weren’t crammed into the back of a packed transport plane for twenty-three hours and then dropped from 60,000 feet in a pressure suit, in the dead of night, with no ground support or direction. No stress or pressure… how lucky normal people were to be ignorant of how the world really worked.
    Millions dreamed of being as brave, strong, and popular as Cooper. Yet Cooper dreamed of being a dishwasher in a restaurant, working eight hour days and living in a small apartment above a store.
    Cooper smiled as he shook his head and slowly rolled it around his shoulders in an effort to loosen the tight muscles. He stood, jumped up and down lightly half a dozen times, and shook his arms and hands to get the blood flowing. By the time he opened his eyes his silly little dream was tucked safely away into a small corner of his psyche. He knew the truth of the matter… mediocrity wasn’t for someone like him, and if he ever did find himself in that dream place he would quickly go insane. Cooper was exactly who he wanted to be.
    He closed his eyes and summoned his glow, the golden tingling sensation he’d discovered years ago through meditation training as a student in the Game Facility. Cooper closed his eyes and envisioned a white office. He felt a slight movement, and when he opened his eyes he was standing in it.
    “Thanks, Doc,” he said. “I needed that little bit of alone time.”
    Thorn smiled from behind the desk and nodded. “No problem, Cooper. You seem to have gotten the hang of travel mode inside the simulation.”
    “It’s simple,” Cooper shrugged. “I feel like I’ve been training my whole life to be inside this simulation.”
    Thorn nodded. “You pay attention to my instructions and complete every task easily. I’ve never seen someone take to the VR environment so quickly. It took me two months to master teleportation in here, and I invented the technology.”
    Cooper smiled at the compliment. “What’s next on the agenda, Thorn?” he asked.
    “A confession,” Thorn said.
    “I have nothing to confess,” Cooper said.
    “I was talking about me,” Thorn said.
    “Okay…?”
    “I’ve been building a profile on you, since you came here. The computer recreates you exactly to make this as realistic as possible. It’s not just physical, Cooper, it’s also psychological.”
    Cooper shrugged, “That’s fine, Thorn, I take psych evaluations frequently. I’m as crazy as I have to be and as sane as is required to walk the paths that I do.”
    Thorn chuckled. “Yes, I’m fascinated by the contrasts inside that head of yours. I see a troubled area, however.”
    Cooper frowned. “What area is that?” he asked.
    “Your loyalty to the General is… questionable.” Thorn said.
    Cooper laughed. “No. It isn’t. The General is the father and mother I never had. Without him I’d be dead, or worse.” Cooper stood up and walked to the bookshelf against the wall. “If there’s one area in my life where I’m crystal clear, Thorn, it’s my loyalty to the General. I would do anything for him.”
    Thorn nodded and looked at Cooper for a moment. Then he shook his head in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Cooper, but the General has lied to you.”
    “About what?” Cooper asked.
    “About everything,” Thorn said.
    Cooper picked