Arena Ch. 08

"We had over one hundred thousand people ask to be considered as extras on this capture. You are the lucky fifteen hundred who have advanced to the next round," Giselle says, taking up the narrative. "Unfortunately, we only have space for five hundred." She waits while the crowd murmurs again. "I know, it's disappointing, but we were overwhelmed by the positive response. As a consolation, all those not selected here today will be kept on file and will be given right of first refusal should we ever need extras in the future. What that means is, if we like you but simply don't have space to include you, you may receive a ping at some time in the future asking if you're still interested in being an extra."

"There are four of us here today," Rick says, taking over the introductions once more. "Giselle, myself, Todd, Head of Operations at Immersion Playground, and Charlie, Head of Talent. Each of you will sit down for with one of us for a few minutes and we'll ask a few questions and perform a quick appraisal. Things we're looking for will be hair styles, body art, anything that will give away the fact that the immersion isn't, in fact, during the period we are trying to portray. We will also look into how you present yourself. Some of you may have been in vids, either as actors or as background characters, but immersion are not vids. We have one shot, literally, at getting the capture, so we're looking for those that can take direction well and won't cause problems. Of course, since each of you is an Immersion Playground customer, that pretty much eliminates any trouble makers, wouldn't you agree?" Once again the crowd rumbles its agreement, with a few claps added in for good measure. "Any questions?"

"Can you tell us what the immersion is going to be about?" calls a voice from the back of the room.

"Not at this time," Rick says. "Those chosen as extras will have to sign a nondisclosure agreement. We'll include details when we notify you that you've been chosen."

"Will we get paid?" asks a man up front.

"Immersion Playground will provide transportation and lunch, you will be allowed to keep your costume if you choose, and you'll be given a free copy of the immersion when it's released. Other than that, no, there is no monetary compensation."

"Will we be seen in the immersion?" a woman asks.

"Maybe. Depends on if one of the participants looks at you or not. I'd suggest that you plan on being seen. If that makes you uncomfortable, I completely understand. You wouldn't believe how much of Giselle's arm twisting it took before I'd agree to release the immersion that became The Proposal," he says. Giselle gives him a look, which in turn makes the crowd laugh. "Anyway, if you don't want to be seen, it might be better if you didn't participate." He looks at Giselle, then leans down and kisses her, causing the crowd to issue hoots and catcalls. "Just kidding, dear."

"You're going to pay for that tonight," she says, playing to the crowd, causing more hoots, catcalls, and laughter.

"Out of those here, how will the extras be chosen?" asks a voice in the middle of the crowd.

"If I understand your question, you're assuming that most of you will qualify to be extras. Is that correct?" he asks. The woman nods in agreement. "Random drawing. Simple as that, but as Giselle said, those that are not selected from the drawing will be kept on file in case we need extra's again for some future project. And no, there are no plans at the moment that would include the need for extras," he adds with a smile.

There were several more questions, some a rewording of those previously asked, a few about the logistics of being an extra, but when the crowd started acting restless, Rick begins wrapping it up.

"Okay, if there are no more questions, make yourselves comfortable and we will work through this as quickly as we can. There's no order to this, so if I could have the first four couples? Okay, good. The rest of you, as someone comes out, if you would begin to queue up here by this door," Rick says, motioning to a door. "Through here will be four cubicles. If you see a flag above one of the cubes, that's where one of us will be waiting. Good luck everyone," Rick says, escorting the first four couples through the door.

Not quite six hours later, the last of the potential extras have been seen and their score cards filled out. The score card is a study in simplicity: the word ADDRESS is across the top of the card and NAME slightly below, along with two unlabeled boxes, the top one for YES and the bottom one for NO. The applicant fills in their ping address and name, then gives the card to the interviewer. After the interview, a mark is made in one of the two boxes. Those cards with a YES mark go into a hopper for the drawing; the NO cards are tossed. As one of the crowd suggested, there were only a handful of NO cards, dismissed either because of unique hairstyles or body art. Todd had done a good job weeding out things that would cause an automatic rejection, leaving the cream of the crop for the personal interview.

As the four friends placed their YES cards in a box, it's obvious that Charlie and Todd had interviewed considerably more people than either Rick or Giselle, Giselle the least of all.

"How many autographs did you sign?" Todd asks, teasing them over their lower performance.

"Five or six," Rick says before looking at Giselle.

Giselle begins to blush. "I don't know. A lot," she says with a small smile.

"Guess," Todd prompts with a bigger smile. "Though I think we already know who's the bigger star here."

"I don't know, Todd," she says shyly. "Two, three hundred? Nearly everyone asked for one."

Rick grabs at the imaginary knife in his chest, staggering around as if stabbed. "Right in the heart!" he exclaims dramatically.

"What are you complaining about?" Charlie asks with a wicked smile. "You're sleeping with a star. Giselle is sleeping with a nobody!"

Todd tries not to laugh, he really does, but he can't help it, bursting into laughter, joined moments later by the other three.

"Damn Charlie," Todd says, drawing out the first word. "That's harsh!"

"But true," Rick says, still laughing lightly, letting Charlie know he isn't offended.

The four friends change from their street clothes into their tennis outfits in the suite's bathroom and then pile into Todd's Honda for the trip to the tennis courts. They play only one match, Rick and Giselle easily taking the win 2-0.

After tennis they get together for kabob's on the grill at the Chamfers', the skewers prepared in advance to go on the grill the moment it's ready. While Rick tends the grill, Todd, Charlie, and Giselle draw two-hundred fifty cards out of the box and begin to systematically work their way through the notification process using the ping address on the card. Rick has prepared a canned response to the winners, so it's simply a matter of adding the ping address to the letter, the system adding the name, and the response is sent. Only one entry of those chosen has an invalid ping address, which Rick looks up by name to correct the problem so the response can be sent.

By 9:45 the kitchen is clean, the responses sent, and the four are sitting by the pool with an adult beverage of their personal choice. The only light comes from the underwater spots in the pool. They've been sitting in companionable silence for some time when Todd finally speaks.

"Rick, I know I've said this before, but I think it needs to be said again. Thank you for all you've done. You too, Giselle. I think we have another winner of an immersion on our hands, and I just want to thank you for allowing me to be part of something... well... great."

"Same here," Charlie pipes up.

Rick and Giselle look to one another before Rick answers. "I, we couldn't have done it without you. Don't forget, that immersion would still be sitting on our server, collecting dust, if you hadn't had the vision, Charlie, to know what it represented. And you, Todd, there's no way I could have brought the company to where it is without you."

Todd tips his beer bottle to Rick in acknowledgment and thanks.

"I've been thinking," he continues, "that it is time to make a change to the way the company is structured. I haven't talked to Giselle about this, but I've been thinking that Immersion Playground should issue more stock. Another three hundred shares, in fact. Right now, Giselle and I own seventy-five shares, while you and Charlie own twenty-five shares between you," he says, looking at Todd. "Considering that each of you," Rick motions to the other three with his own beer bottle, "are, to my mind, more valuable assets to the company than I am, I'm thinking a more equitable split of one hundred shares each is more reasonable." He looks to Giselle. "What do you think?"

Giselle stares back at him, her face unreadable. "I agree with everything you said, with the exception of you not being a valuable asset. Both of these immersions came from you. The next immersion is probably going to be your idea, and you are the technical support that makes everything work. You annoy the hell out of me when you sell yourself short like that," she says firmly, but without harshness.

"Rick," Todd interjects, "We are perfectly content with the current arrangement. There's no need to do this."

"Todd, there is," Rick says. "It's important that the work you and Charlie do is acknowledged. If someone were to swoop in and dump piles of cash on the table for the company, it's important that you get your fair share. It might not be important to you, but it's important to me."

Charlie looks from Rick to Giselle and back again. "Excuse me, Giselle, but I have to do this," she says, rising from her chair. She walks to Rick, takes his hand, and pulls him from his chair into her embrace. "You are the dearest, most thoughtful man I know. Giselle is lucky to have you. I'm lucky to know you," she whispers into his ear before pulling back and kissing him on the cheek. She looks into his eyes for a long moment before patting him on the cheek and turning to Giselle. "And you," she says, crouching down in front of her. "You're a wonderful friend. I'm so glad I've had the chance to know you." She then rises and returns to her seat, leaving Rick standing awkwardly, staring at Giselle.

"Uhhh... thanks, I guess," he says, unsure of what to say as he returns to his seat.

"Yes, thank you, Charlie. I feel the same about you," Giselle adds.

"I know that you both have had some rocky times in your past. Yet despite that, you are both such caring, wonderful people. The world would be a better place if more people were like you two," Charlie says with conviction.

"Okay, now it is becoming embarrassing," Rick says with a smile, blushing at Charlie's words. He doesn't think he's any better or worse than most other people, and he doesn't understand why she's acting this way.

"Well, don't let go to your head," she says, her sarcastic wit returning. "I just thought it important to acknowledge how generous you are. You're making Todd and me millionaires. You do realize that, right?"

"Hardly," Rick says dryly.

"Don't fool yourself, Rick," Charlie says. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But someday, probably sooner than you think, that pile of cash is going to materialize, and I think it's going to be a considerably bigger pile than you think."

Rick looks at Todd, who is nodding in agreement. "I don't think you realize the gold mine that you've created here," Todd says. "With a little help, of course," he adds with a smile. "Are you sure you want to give away the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

Rick looks between Charlie and Todd, then to Giselle. "Well?" he asks Giselle.

"It's the right thing to do. We certainly couldn't have done it without them."

Rick turns back to Todd. "Yes, then, I'm sure. Giselle, can you draw up the papers for another three hundred shares of stock, at the original price, divided up so that we all end up with one hundred shares each?"

"Now?" she asks blandly.

Rick laughs. "Anytime in the next hour will be fine," he says, then laughs again at the look he receives from her. "No, any time before we release Arena will be fine I think."

"We'll have to sell the Porsche," Charlie says.

"No! Don't sell the Porsche. We'll do them as options so you don't have to come up with the money right away," Giselle interjects. "In fact, I think they all should be options. And, thinking about it some more, Rick, you need at least one hundred and one shares, because what you proposed could end in a stalemate. I don't see that happening, but why go looking for trouble? Why don't you take one hundred and three shares and the rest of us take ninety-nine? The difference in any money at this stage, or if or when we sell, is nominal."

His first instinct is to object, as he wants this to be an equal partnership. But after thinking about it a moment, he realizes that it's an equal partnership in all but name.

"If that's what you three want to do, I guess I'm fine with that."

"That's what we will do, then. I'll set up options so that you can buy twenty-eight more shares, Charlie and Todd can purchase one hundred seventy-three shares, and I can purchase ninety-nine shares," she explains. "If no one objects, I'll get that set up in the next couple of days." When no one speaks up, she nods once. "Okay, that's what I'll do."

"Rick, Giselle, thank you so much. This is incredibly generous of you. I don't know how to thank you," Todd says sincerely.

"I second that," Charlie chimes in. "I almost feel guilty for taking it... almost," she says with a smile.

"Well, I may have helped come up with the technology, and Giselle has kept us from being sued out of existence or being thrown in jail, but you two are the glue that's holding Immersion Playground together. You deserve it," Rick says. "It's I that should be thanking you. I fear haven't done that as often as I should, but I hope you know how much I appreciate and depend on what you two do."

"We do," Todd says, "But if we didn't know it before, we certainly know it now."

"Are we still on to capture in two weeks?" Rick asks, more to break the lengthening, and uncomfortable, silence than anything else.

"We are," Todd replies. "Getting the extras was the last major thing to do. The arena will be ready a week early. I got the blood-work back from Sierra and Coy, there's no problems there, and I'll pick up the hero costumes and extras tunics early next week. Short of a weather issue, I don't see any reason we can't capture right on time."

"Is there any reason we couldn't capture in the rain?" Giselle asks. "Who wouldn't like making love in the rain?"

"The arena would be a muddy mess," Todd points out.

"And?" Charlie asks.

"And... I guess that would fine," Todd responds sheepishly, "other than trying to get the extras down the road to the arena. It's just a dirt road and I guarantee you the buses will get stuck if the road is wet."

"Well, this is California in the summer. That's fire season, not rainy season. I think we'll be fine," Rick says. "And if it does rain, we'll just reschedule. Another week or two isn't going to make a difference at this point."

"To a successful capture and epic sales," Todd says, holding his beer bottle into the center of the group.

Charlie, Rick, and Giselle all murmur their agreement, clinking glasses and bottles together. In less than a month they'd all know if lightning will strike twice.