Since gaining independence in 2029, Cascadia has, if anything, become more liberal but also strangely more militarized. Most claim it’s due to the increase of ecological activism, but I have never really bought that idea. My time in the service, and the work I did there, didn’t really jibe with that. But even then I could see the start of a booming industry.
That’s why I bought Threat Dynamics, and since then, I’ve become more doubtful of that reasoning. Working inside the industry, I’ve seen subtle signs of both the Portland and Cascadia governments encouraging the arming of the citizenry. The government is preparing for a threat we aren’t aware of yet, and I intend for Threat Dynamics to be the firm hand, pushing alongside them.
Last year, Seattle was invaded by Antithesis. Rumor had it that the Samurai in the city had a falling out, resulting in an offshore hive growing out of control. They are starting to pull themselves out of the ashes, but Portland has had to take up the burden of keeping the middle and southern part of the country safe from Antithesis.
In response, the Portland council stepped up military recruiting and issued heavy subsidies to both companies and individuals. PMCs, always a staple of the economy, find themselves awash in training funds, and the cost of ammo has dropped in half. In other words, business is booming for the private military and firearms industries and Threat Dynamics in particular.
--Barry Hanson, owner, introduction of a letter to key business partners and employees outlining his third series of expansions, 2057.
***
Cleaned up and back in street clothes, I hopped on the lightrail and headed north to Threat Dynamics.
Even with a stop for lunch, I arrived several hours early for my shift as usual. Staff were allowed time on the ranges, and instructors were expected to use it to keep their skills up. I preferred to practice before my shift, since I usually worked until closing time. Starting with my usual rifle range, I was shocked at how much the enhancements had changed my ability, because frankly, I now sucked.
I had expected to need to retrain, but not that much. My first couple of shots hit outside the second circle, and I had to fight to keep embarrassment from turning my cheeks bright red. The last time I’d had a flyer that bad was when I was still in school. Fortunately, target ammo was even cheaper than plain bullets in bulk. For only a couple points, I purchased several thousand practice rounds and some colored magazines.
I wanted to blame the poor accuracy score on the new rifle, but with no consistency in where the rounds went, it was clearly not an equipment problem. As I had feared, I was the culprit, or rather the upgrades I’d taken. Habits honed by years of training fell apart when the muscles and nerves no longer reacted the same way, sending my shots all over the target.
Eventually, I found that switching back to my trusty old P5-AT let me focus on the fine control needed to return to shape, and by the end of my regular range time, I’d regained some of my control. Not enough, but I was getting there. The pistol range proved less discouraging, but only because I didn’t have as much skill to begin with.
Finally, I followed it up with some interactive VR simulations. Threat Dynamics had both a physical pop-up maze and several bunkered rooms with full VR operations for realistic scenario practice and training. Since the physical arena had some company’s team-building event going on, I used a virtual gallery.
Target practice, whether static or dynamic, only took you so far. Real combat readiness came from responding to dynamic situations. To encourage that, we made sure that our virtual reality arenas were both entertaining and the best interactive combat environments in the country.
The sims included scenarios ranging from hostage recovery to riot control, from eco-raids to antithesis clearing. There were even some fantastical scenes like a couple of alien planets. Unfortunately, despite my best lobbying, we never could get a realistic lunar simulation. The lack of a way to reduce your weight broke the realism too much.
The first couple scenarios I ran against antithesis seemed almost too easy. It felt like the aliens moved in slow motion, and I could easily react to them long before they became a threat.
--They are considerably weaker than the real thing. I think someone futzed with the software… Yep, there’s a code note that it was reduced due to server load. Let me fix that; there’s more than enough capacity for full speed. I can even bump it up for a harder challenge. Though I can see why they were having problems with server load, the whole suite is not optimized for crap.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
--Okay. I can also link up your training module’s AR mode, or we could even go full AR and make this much more realistic.
--Like for other people? That’s farther than I can go, since it would mean creating an app. I can tweak the current software since it will help you train, but beyond that you’ll have to develop the capability to do the changes yourself, either by buying a catalog or learning to write code on your own.
--The changes I’m making for you are minor. The Trickle Trainer module already has extensive AR for things like this. All I have to do is tell the room’s software how to speak with it.
The next scenario started, and a small barn rose around me. This time I was better able to immerse myself in the situation, and I even felt a couple aliens coming in behind me. They still seemed slow, and when I complained again to Corie, she replied with a giggle.
--That’s because you are faster. Your body is now able to move at a speed that more closely matches your thinking speed—much faster than yesterday. Of course they all seem slower. I could tweak the software some and make them even faster than reality?
--Studies show that training for something harder than reality does help, but that is for improvement. Right now, however, you need a strong dose of reality to help you adjust to your upgrades faster. You’re still not reaching your recent performance levels, much less the potential your enhancements provide. How about I vary it some? Have the speed increase and decrease between scenarios?
With that, I continued for the rest of the hour. I improved, but even at the end I lost to a scenario that I used to defeat without breaking a sweat. At the control booth, I ran into Barry, who was looking at my scores.
“Your fancy new glasses need adjusting; they seem to have screwed up your accuracy. And did I hear you still doing full auto?” As critical as ever, Barry expected that his employees, and especially his instructors, meet a high standard. I usually had no trouble blowing away my annual exams and held more than a few company records, but my score today barely passed the general employee level.
Contrary to the stereotypical boss, I liked Barry. He had seen a young kid with a passion for shooting and his parent’s membership and guided me in developing my style. When I was old enough, he took the risk of hiring me, first part-time, then full-time when I left school. I figured he was hoping I’d develop some business skills so he could start preparing me to take over the company.
My heart, however, had always been on the military or PMCs. I wanted to be out doing the work myself. Instructing was always a poor third choice that I took only because the first two were denied. And to his credit, Barry never let my choices sour our relationship.
He genuinely cared for his employees and could be relied on to help out anyone who was struggling, so long as they put in the effort. He could be firm, a necessity in an industry where a mistake could mean a person’s life. But also fair and didn’t drive his people to the bone. All while never forgetting the bottom line.
A former military special operative, Barry had kept up and even improved his skills and could outshoot nearly everyone in the store. If any employee needed discipline, a single session in the paintball arena with him set to rights any questions about who was boss.
I removed the magazine and cleared the chamber on the Deuce before pointing it at the ceiling and dry-firing it in quick succession. His eyebrows raised as the rapid clicks of the trigger sounded out with a speed equal to most fully automatic weapons. “Check out that reaction time,” I told him, pointing to the analysis display on the monitor.
Barry looked at the stat, and a puzzled look came over his face. “How do you get a negative reaction time?”
“The metric is based on the average human reaction speed, where zero is a bit faster than an unaltered human can reach. I got an upgrade that boosts me beyond the norm. That’s why my aim is off; I’m having to rebuild my muscle memory. I’ll get back to where I was soon enough, then blow on past.”
Even in the couple hours of training today, I could see my skill returning, and the later scores showed it. “However, the software needs updating. I noticed at least six kills that didn’t register.”
“Not possible. You know how bleeding-edge the software is. The programmer guaranteed the accuracy of hit counts.”
“There’s a vulnerability in the M-4s. If you hit the flank at the right angle, a nerve gets severed that results in a kill every time. In there,” I waved at the shooting arena, “I hit that spot four times for certain, probably six, and the target barely twitched.”
--I can include that vulnerability, and others, when I do a refresh.
“Nothing in the literature has even hinted towards a vulnerability like that. We used the best models around to set up that sim. Even the people that designed the military’s sims were impressed. How do you know that this vulnerability exists?”
I shrugged. I hadn’t thought about how I knew of the weak spot, but it was true. The first time I used it, I had been busy with half a dozen aliens on me at once. I hit one on the weak spot and turned my back on it, sure of the kill, only to have the monster jump on me from behind. After that I’d made a point of testing that spot on several others, all failures.