The Beginning of the End Part 2

The men in the baseball cap and his crew made their way through the hallways of the hospital, ducking into empty rooms to avoid the nurses and doctors rushing by. They headed to the registration desk, where they hoped to find out what room Diane was in. Thankfully, Rhodes Turner had provided them with all the information they needed, including her name and a description of her face. With that, they were able to search her room number.

The registrars were on a break, leaving the room partially vacant with people entering and exiting frequently. One of the men tried to find Diane's name and details in the registration book, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack. The names and information were all jumbled together, and it was nearly impossible to find what they were looking for. Meanwhile, the rest of the men stood guard outside, keeping watch for any sign of trouble.

As a nurse swiftly entered the room, the men stationed outside were unable to alert him due to the nurse's sudden entrance, which appeared to make her quite anxious. Fortunately, the man inside discreetly concealed himself behind one of the desks, while the nurse proceeded to sift through various files. After a thorough search, she eventually located the specific file she had been seeking.

It was Diane Galkin's file that the nurse picked up, and she left the room. The men outside watched as the nurse hurried out of the registration area, Diane's file in hand. "We need to follow her," one of them said. "She's going to take us right to her room." The others nodded in agreement, and they began to follow the nurse as she made her way through the hospital. They followed at a safe distance, not wanting to be noticed by her or anyone else.

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The tour of Wales Industry had come to a brief pause, and the students were taking a break to relax and refresh themselves before the next stage of the tour. Trent looked around the room and spotted a boy from another school. He thought the boy looked interesting, and decided to strike up a conversation. "Hey, you're from another school, right?" he said, walking over to the boy.

Anton raised an eyebrow at Trent's question. "It's pretty obvious I'm from another school," he said, a sarcastic edge to his voice. Trent let out a nervous chuckle, realizing his question had been a little silly. "Right, right, of course," he said, trying to play it cool. "My name's Trent, by the way.

"My name's Anton," he said, his tone nonchalant as he continued to avoid eye contact with Trent.

Trent, trying to keep the conversation going, blurted out, "Are you Russian?" Anton's eyes widened slightly, and he looked up at Trent. "Yes, I am," he said, his voice softening slightly.

"I knew it! Your name is so Russian!" Trent exclaimed, a little too loudly. People in the room began to look at him strangely.

Realizing he'd gotten a little too excited, Trent blushed and muttered, "Sorry, I got carried away." He cleared his throat and said, "I just haven't met anyone else from Russia before." He was hoping he hadn't made too much of a fool of himself.

"Are you Russian?" Anton inquires, and Trent swiftly nods in response.

Anton's interest was piqued when Trent confirmed that he was Russian. "That's strange," Anton said. "You have an English name, but you're Russian?"

"I'm half-Russian," Trent explained. "My dad's Russian, and my mom's American. My full name is Trent Galkin.

Just as Trent and Anton were getting into their conversation, they were interrupted by the arrival of John Wales. He was accompanied by a group of people, all wearing lab coats, who looked to be his colleagues.

"It's great to see everyone here," John said, addressing the group. "Let's get started with the next part of the tour." The group started to follow John down the hallway, and Trent and Anton were swept along with them.

"We'll be heading to Room 312," John announced, leading the group down the hallway. Anton leaned over to Trent and whispered, "I heard that's where they keep all their cool gadgets." Trent's eyes lit up, and he followed close behind John, eager to see what was in Room 312.

Room 312 stood out from the rest of the rooms in the Industry. It was brimming with cutting-edge technology, featuring state-of-the-art computer screens, machines emitting beeps and whirs, and an array of other gadgets and gizmos. The students were in sheer amazement as they absorbed the scene, making it seem like a setting straight out of a science fiction film.

"Welcome to Wales Industry," John said to the students and teachers. "As you can see, we have a lot of interesting technology here. And I'd like to give you all the opportunity to point to any gadget in the room, and I'll explain how it works." The students and teachers looked around in wonder, taking in the array of gadgets and gizmos that filled the room.

There was a clamor among the students as they all tried to raise their hands to be the first one to point at a gadget. John laughed and said, "I'll choose who gets to point at the gadgets." He scanned the room, looking for the person who seemed the most eager to learn. His eyes landed on a girl in the back of the room who was practically bouncing with excitement. "You there," he said, pointing at her.

Denny from Haltin School was surprised and thrilled to be noticed by John Wales. She composed herself and thanked him for the opportunity. She looked around the room, taking in all the amazing gadgets. But one in particular caught her eye - a virtual reality headset. Even though she knew what it was, she asked John to explain it anyway. "Of course," he said, walking over to the headset. "This is a virtual reality headset," he began.

"This may look like a regular headset," John said, "but it's so much more. It's a device that allows you to experience a simulated 3D environment. You'll be able to look around, move your head, and even interact with the environment." He handed the headset to Denny and encouraged her to put it on. "I can't wait to see what you think," he said with a smile.

As Denny put on the virtual reality headset, the world around her melted away. She found herself in a simulated environment, surrounded by a lush forest. It was so realistic, she could almost feel the breeze rustling through the leaves. She reached out to touch a tree, and she felt a realistic sensation of rough bark beneath her fingertips. She was amazed by the level of realism.

Denny pulled off the virtual reality headset and looked around at the other students, who were all staring at her in awe. John continued, "The VR headset does this by blocking out your view of the real world and replacing it with a computer-generated one. The headset uses sensors to track your head movements, and the software generates images that move in response. This creates the illusion that you're in a completely different world."

"That's incredible," one of the students said. "It's like you're actually there."

"I know, right?" Denny said, still a little awestruck by the experience.

50 minutes later.

John was beginning to feel a bit worn out from explaining all the different gadgets to the students. He noticed Trent had been silent the whole time, so he pointed at him and said, "You've been quiet so far. Would you like to point out something?"

Trent immediately pointed at a large machine covered with a cloth, as if he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity. "What's that?" he asked, his voice tinged with curiosity.

Before John could say anything, one of his colleagues stepped in. "You need to choose something else," she said to Trent.

But John raised his hand to signal her to stop. "It's alright," he reassured her. "I will explain what the machine is and what it does."

John pulled the cloth off the machine with a flourish, revealing a sleek, futuristic-looking device. "This is our Norman 3.0," he said, "named after the founder of Wales Industry." 

Everyone was captivated by the machine, eagerly anticipating its description. Trent was the first to break the silence, his voice filled with wonder as he asked, "What is its function?"

John took a deep breath and began to explain. "This machine was designed to enhance growth," he said. "However, it was ultimately deemed a failure because it caused dangerous side effects." He went on to explain that the machine had been mothballed, but that the scientists at Wales Industry were still trying to understand its potential.

As John signaled to Fane, he tossed him an apple. John took a big bite, eating almost the entire apple, before tossing it into the large opening at the front of the machine.

A beam of light shot out of the machine, hitting the half-eaten apple, and suddenly, the apple was whole again. It looked fresh and perfect, as if it had never been touched.

But then, the apple started to rot, the skin turning brown and the flesh turning mushy. It was as if the machine had sped up the apple's natural process of decay.

Everyone stared at the rotten apple in disbelief, trying to process what they had just seen. John continued to speak, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "The machine is able to sense movement," he said. "When you throw something into the machine, or walk past the blue line on the floor, the machine will shoot out a beam of light that will hit the object or person. That's what happened to the apple, and that's what could happen to any of us."

He paused, letting his words sink in.

As Trent looked around the room, his eyes landed on a silver case in the corner. Inside the case was a necklace, shaped like the letter "X". 

He spoke up, asking John Wales, "Is the Naerse Technology ready?" But John seemed to intentionally ignore him, continuing on with his explanation of the Norman 3.0 machine.

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As the men followed the nurse into room 149, they closed the door behind them and pulled out a gun, pointing it at the nurse. "Don't make a sound," one of the men said, his voice low and threatening. The nurse's eyes widened in fear, and she sank to her knees, trembling. She knew she had to do what they said, or they would harm her.