Video Game Recruiting

CHAPTER 1

Science fiction lied to us. It lied to everyone, and it was completely undisturbed by how we had been led astray.

Everyone on Earth had seen movies, read books or talked to people about the future. There was going to be a golden age. There was hope for what was to come.

Cures to all the diseases were just around the corner, along with enough food for everyone. Energy and resources were going to be plentiful. Even the poor would be able to have a lifestyle where they were not living in fear of a downturn in the economy kicking them out to freeze in the night.

Then that hope was stabbed in the back.

The aliens that made first contact with us and gave us a first-generation star drive?  They let humanity know that life was the same every day. Struggle and work hard, with regular bouts of things going wrong.

There were no magic pills, and a lot of what science answered just opened up more questions.

It was a blow to the human ego—and as a species, we did not take it well.

A lot of people felt that if they looked up to the stars to see the glory like we had been doing for generations, well, then you were likely not going to see the big pile of crap that you were about to step in.

Everyone stopped looking up and kept looking for that big pile of feces. It just didn’t work for us, though. Not in the long term.

Humanity had started looking up again, with a faint gleam of hope in our collective eye, when the invasion happened.

The generation that lived during that time stopped looking up, unless they were watching the skies fearfully for another invasion. With almost a billion dead there was no hope; just terror and the fear that you would not survive. The fear was not made easier when the first world experienced famine and disease. Families in affected areas put their children to sleep crying from hunger. It took years for the world to recover from that attack.

Humanity is nothing if not resilient, though. We had to look to the stars again, if for no other reason than to try to fortify them and get ready for when the bad guys come back.

Now, after another generation, we are starting to have some hope. But humanity is almost directionless. The so-called world government that was created after the invasion is mostly powerless. The one thing that they were able to do was grant a special charter to the Glentol Corporation.  

CHAPTER 2

A MARKETING VIDEO

The Glentol Corporation, like any other business, is concerned about its public appearance. Do people know factual information, or are dark rumours of the horrors that are being carried out in its labs what the general public knows?

So marketing is important. With the development of implant technology happening now, the everyday citizen is going to have access to a basic implant set courtesy of the Corporation within this generation. That way, marketing will be even stronger. Sim addiction is a proposed side effect that may occur, but we all know how scientists have been inaccurate before!

"Good day, and welcome to the formal introduction to the Glentol Corporation.

"Everyone in the Sol System today knows about the Glentol Corporation. In existence for the last hundred-plus years, the Corporation has amalgamated several times, in that time buying up smaller corporations and entities to pursue profitable and ethical future growth.

"The Corporation was a supplier of weapon systems and ‘soldier systems,’ which consisted of top-notch integrated information technologies that gave the soldier a battlefield advantage during platoon and section-level activities, as more information could be made available more securely. Additionally, the Corporation had dealt with different levels of government across every continent on Earth.

"The medical field was led by the Corporation; it was able to reduce the potency of numerous viruses that had plagued mankind for years. The death toll across the world dropped and our quality of life went up. The average life expectancy increased by 3.2 years for men and 2.4 years for women across the planet. Operations that were risky had those risks reduced, increasing survival rates again!

"No government or organization has ever come forward and claimed responsibility for the plague outbreak over 130 years ago. That plague outbreak was targeted at North America, and directly caused the death of over four million people in just seven days. That death toll would have been much higher if the Corporation had not been able to quickly extract a vaccine from early test subjects and begin mass inoculations immediately. To this day, all tests of the material have been inconclusive as to who could have released something that evil. The Corporation has maintained a high state of readiness, along with world governments, in the event of another outbreak, and stands ready to safeguard your life and the lives of your loved ones.

"Of course, we’ve been heavily involved with automation and robotics, providing some of the earliest pre-AIs in the past, and now today, we provide the majority of the militaries’ and governments’ AIs.

"The Corporation is normally not involved with food production as there are other companies that are better suited for mass production of grains and cereals, as well as meat. The Corporation is, however, involved with some genetic modification of foodstuffs, as well as the further development of vat-grown meats. These crops and foods are not meant to be used on Earth, but in habitats and on colonies in space that due to the different hazards and elements of space itself need hardier and easier-to-travel foodstuffs that are resilient and nutritional.

"Deep space won’t be colonized easily! But we are getting there, one day at a time.

"The Corporation, while partnered with the unified Earth government, produces all starships for the Sol System. There are multiple companies that produce spaceships for in-system use, but the cost and technologies involved in starship production necessitated one approach if there was to be success.

"This brings us to one of the most important items that the Corporation produces. The backbone of the space research: Power Armour.

"Power armour is the cutting edge of current technology. The armour is used by the Corporate Marines for operations in space and those environs. This space suit is well armoured and has enough sensors that it could track all the flights of a mid-size airport! Strength enhancement and state-of-the-art weapon systems mean this suit is necessary in the depths of space, as space pirates really do exist!

"On the other side of the coin, the power armour is the testing ground for new and refined technologies. These technologies are also used in every environ of space. Improvements have been made to space mining, colonization, space safety, space travel and many more elements of space life.

"Thank you to the brave men and women who make up the Corporate Marines and put their lives on the line against Space Pirates and in the testing of new technologies!

"Would you like to know more about the Corporation? Press here!

Would you like to know more about the Corporate Marines and their power armour? Press here!

CHAPTER 3

THE BRIEFING

I walk into the fitting room and look around. All twelve candidates are here doing the ongoing stretching and exercising that the technicians and doctors need them to do to make sure that the armour is properly synced up with their systems. It is amazing, but after they are finished, it is like watching armoured demi-gods walk.

I had been cleared to see some of the combat footage, and while they are demi-gods that can do more than anyone could possibly imagine, they are still mortal. They can still bleed and die.

I clear my throat to get their attention.

I hadn’t needed to. They don’t realize how fit and more than just humans they are now. They had been tracking me as a potential threat, even if that threat had only been the expectation of a yelling fit from some guy in charge.

But I am taking a different tack with them.

When you are done your fitting here, I would like you to meet me in the briefing room that you have been using for your updates. I’ll see you there. I turn to my guide and look at her perfect, cold profile. Seven, do you want to be there?

She is eyeing one of the candidates that the techs are having sensor problems with. No, sir, I have nothing to do there and I do not want to hear stupid questions. I get enough of those.

I nod. Very well.

I turn and walk out of the room and head down the corridor.

In the briefing room, I move to the front and activate the podium. I know all the files of those who have passed to this level. To be honest, they are all Marines now, even if they don’t know it. If they somehow screw everything up here, then they won’t be assigned to a section but will instead be held in Sol, practicing and acting as security on certain projects or as a quick reaction force, just in case. While they sat there, they would keep running through sims that would bring them up to the standard.

After the costs and efforts of getting them to this level, there is no way we are going to let them wash out.

I need to review the one file... here. His.

It still looks bad. I had been staring at this from the beginning. Based on what is sitting there in the public portion, this member should never have been allowed into this program. He should never have been allowed out of a cell—or, more realistically, he should have been executed.

But the other part of the profile the part that the public could not see, that gave me the rest. In my mind, he is perfect. Some of the senior people in the Corporation don’t see it that way, but more do. More importantly, the president had announced that he was in, and that had been it. All official opposition had fallen away.

Of course, there are always some people hoping that things will go wrong. That’s just human nature.

The side door opens and Seven walks in. No smile, no real sign that she recognizes me as a human being. She had processed me as a non-threat and knew my position. She is always on the job protecting the Corporation, doing her job—whatever that ends up being.

She walks over and looks at the open file on the screen. If the candidates walk in, they won’t be able to see anything here because of the way the security fields work.

She sniffs. Having second thoughts about him?

I shake my head. No, of course not, Seven. I believe he has the potential to be one of the better Marines that we have. You’re the expert, though. What do you think?

She reaches up and turns the screen off. "They’ll be here in a second. He has the potential to be in the top 10 percent if he survives his first few missions. He has some hang-ups that will fade—if he survives. Action out there is picking up, though. I don’t think we have as much time as some people hope."

I can’t say anything to that and don’t have the time to anymore. The candidates start trooping in and quickly move to their seats.

I admire them. I still work out and am a casual gamer, but they? They move in here like smoothly functioning machines. Their bodies gleam silver, as they are all in the full bodysuit that is like a second skin, and they aren’t self-conscious about it. They don’t have the easy carriage and hunter’s eyes like any experienced Marine does. But they are on their way.

I nod. Showtime.

Good day, everyone. Thank you for coming and bringing your questions. I can see the confusion. I take it no one told you what was going on? Again I can read the confusion. I have done enough meetings to get the read of much more experienced people than these young ones. But I shouldn’t get cocky.

Very well; let me help you out. The Glentol Corporation is constantly reworking and modifying its recruiting and training programs to make sure we get the best candidates that have optimal chances for success in their training. This is never more true a statement than when it comes to those that are coming through for Marine training. You may have noticed that there were almost three hundred candidates when you all arrived here.

There are several heads nodding and all eyes are on me. I notice a gorgeous blonde, well endowed, staring at me curiously. The candidate that I am interested in is eyeing me the same way. I feel hopeful.

My name is Timothy Labaron. I work as a manager for the Corporation. I am here to answer your questions, and by now you must have some. The training you undergo discourages questions and is geared to getting you to stand on your own with no attachments. The overall desire is to get you to think and react faster. All good things that a Marine should do.

They are watching me with curiosity. Interesting. The training over these months had not killed that in these candidates.

In fact, at this point, you need to take the next step. You need to be encouraged to ask questions and make decisions. After all, we do not want robots. We want Marines that are trained to work together unquestioningly as a team, yet will not go off and do whatever they are ordered no matter what. The ability to question what seems wrong or perhaps just incorrect is important. So this is one of the rare chances that you will have had in the last few months to ask questions with no penalty.

They just watch me, and they aren’t believing. They know that this is a trap. That is the paranoia that had been instilled in them.

This is not a trap. This is part of a highly coordinated training program. This change was made relatively recently and we have gone from one to three successful candidates per course, to what you see now. There are more than ten of you here. We need to increase that number even higher.

The hot blonde puts her hand up. She is the big mouth of the group and I had expected nothing less than her asking most of the questions. I nod at her to ask.

Why do those numbers need to go so much higher? There are over a hundred Marines in service now. We aren’t at war or anything like that. Everyone chuckles at that. War is not possible. Everyone knows that.

I keep the smile off my face and nod as if agreeing with her. There are several answers. First, until relatively recently, the algorithms that were used to scan the data were not optimized. Before you ask, there are thousands of factors being looked at in possible candidates. This is constantly being tweaked, and recently one of those little ‘tweaks’ had a large impact. The next point: the Corporation has made many advances, but we still had a lot of problems that needed ironing out. Some of those problems are resolved. Technology had to catch up.

I take a sip of water from the bottle at the podium. This last one is going to be harder to cover.

"Finally, there is conflict coming. Previously you were not aware, but raids and pirate activity have gone up for all known species in the last five years. Something is stirring the pot, and our analysis indicates that there is a very good chance that the alien race that sent in the invasion is coming back.

To win this, we are estimating we will need almost a thousand Marines operating in sections across the space that we control.

They are just staring at me in total shock. Three of them have their mouths hanging open. They didn’t expect this degree of honesty or openness. That’s the reality of what you have come into. We do not have the luxury of putting it nicely to you. You are both the spear and the shield that will protect humanity.

The blonde doesn’t even put her hand up. So why are you telling us this? It sounds like this wasn’t passed on before to other groups.

You are correct. I did say we had made changes in the assessment criteria, which has introduced more candidates to our training, and with modifications, the number of successful candidates will increase as well over time. One of the recommendations was that I let new candidates know up front what they face.

But what does that do for us? What’s the purpose of telling us?

This is excellent; they are thinking. Now if they would only buy in.

We will do anything to keep humanity free and alive. Given who you are, and how you think, you are all going to work toward success. You will all pull together. Later, you may see new recruits that have ‘questionable’ backgrounds, at least according to what public information you have. Be aware that the Corporation usually can get more detailed information than you would have access to.

Our candidate knows that I’m talking about him. Or at least he thinks I am.

We recently had a potential with a very high score. It was proposed that she be brought into the system. That proposal was denied. She was a serial killer, and analysis indicates that with training and a self-centred focus, her aim would be criminal. She would be a destabilizing force within the overall formation. We need everyone to pull together for the common goals.

Wait, what happened to her? Is she being kept on the side in reserve in case it gets desperate later? Blonde kept going.

"No, of course not. She was executed shortly before the start of your course.