SA E04: Adventures in Production

I replied: “No need to be sorry Annie. Now tell me, how did you enjoy flying?”

She smiled and said: “I was the most extreme experience I have ever had.” She was giggling and looked really happy.

Vicky spoke to her next: “Annie, Sean has given me permission to give you something in his name,” she opened her hand I reached into my jacket then handed her the shades and headset for Annie.

Vicky looked at the yellow frames and said: “Hope you like them.”

Annie grabbed them and said: “Neat, these are in my favourite colour too.”

Vicky looked at me and said: “That’s two for two Sean.”

Annie looked at us puzzled and said: “Two for two of what?”

I replied: “I got three sets of these, one for you, one for Vicky and one for Alicia. Right now both you and Vicky got a set in your favourite colour.”

Annie replied: “So only Alicia’s set remains?” I nodded. Annie continued: “So why did you each get us a set and what is special about them?”

I replied: “Put them on and I will show you.” Vicky also put hers on.

I turned on the system and said: “Activate remote interlink, interface with HQ, link to Mansion,” in two seconds my connection was up, I continued: “Activate Vicky and Annie, link to me, bring us to the garden.” The two girls appeared in front of me in a virtual garden.

Both the girls looked a little surprised, Annie spoke first: “Sean exactly what are these?”

Vicky replied: “These are Display goggles linked to the computer in the mansion; they feed sound and images to us.”

I looked at them both and said: “It’s interactive, Alicia will get her set, and then all three of you can learn how to use them at the same time.”

Annie had a smile on her face and said: “Cool, now end this so I can properly thank you for this gift.”

I said: “Disconnect from network and deactivate.”

All of the headsets turned off simultaneously. Annie moved close to me and hugged me, Vicky joined her. They hugged me for a few seconds then I said: “Ok girls we have to go and get Alicia, we have a gift to make, then you need to learn how to use your new toys.”

Annie and Vicky said Good bye to Guido and followed me to the car. I told Annie that she would have just about enough time to acclimate the system to her voice before we reach Alicia. Vicky activated the interface for her and she started her lessons. Vicky and I continued our earlier conversation; I finished my story just as we reached the parking lot for Alpha Production. As I pulled in Annie finished her session. We parked and the girls followed me in. I of course did not even have to explain their presence to the guards.

We took the elevator up and reached Alicia office quickly, Alicia was a little surprised to see all of us, but was happy to see us none the less. She said: “Hi guys, what brings you all here, else than Sean that is.”

I replied: “Well two things, one a business is Susan, two a question about gifts, two of them.”

Alicia replied: “Which of these two know about their promotion?”

I replied: “Vicky knows, Annie is about to find out.” I looked at Annie and said: “Sit down Annie, you too Vicky.” I closed the door and gave Alicia her cue.

She explained the future plans to the girls, adding the details I may have missed while telling Vicky. They both gave us a hug after agreeing to their new positions, more on that later. I had taken the time to call Vince during the explanation and found out they were done setting up. I asked him to remain there till our arrival but to send his crew home.

After the presentation by Alicia and the hug, Vicky and Annie told Alicia about their gifts and asked me to give her hers. I handed her a pair of black mirror shades, she replied: “Nice, I always wanted a pair of black mirrored shades, thanks Sean. Are like the ones you have Sean?”

I replied: “Yes indeed they are.”

She smiled and said: “Cool, can I use the commands I have already learned using the voice interface on my system,” the two girls were a little surprised;

I replied: “The voice print you have is usable, but the commands are not identical using the interface, it will take a little while to show you the differences, but yes most will still work.”

She smiled and put them on. She said: “A perfect fit.” Annie and Vicky also put theirs on and we made our way out of the building.

On the way Vicky walked by my side and said: “You’re good, three perfect matches.” Annie and Alicia were walking together and talking about Annie’s new job.

When we reached the parking lot the girls started to talk about their new gear, they all seemed quite happy. I was glad they liked their new toys. We got into the Hummer. The girls all sat in the large rear seating area. I sat in the driver’s seat and told them the set was finished, they all replied: “Cool, now get us there, no rush we have to talk.”

I started to drive back to the set in the warehouse. Annie and Vicky were now asking more details about their new jobs and Alicia was happy to fill in the details. I took my time and we reached the set 45 minutes later. We all got out then the girls asked where it was, I buzzed Vince and told him we were here and to come and show us where the set was. He arrived in less than a minute. I greeted him and all the girls gave him a peck on the cheek as a greeting.

He asked: “Do I get to film this little event?”

They replied: “Ask Sean.”

He looked at me and said: “Ok boss what is my job.”

I replied: “I tell you once we get in, but you will get to watch.”

He replied enthusiastically: “Let’s go.”

Vince showed us into the building where they had built the sets, there were four of them. First was the courtroom where James was going to be tried, he was in for one hell of a trial. Second was the stage where he was going to be punished, again he was in for one hell of a ride. Third was set where the girls were going to give him his present and where the party would be held, he was in for a treat. Last was a simple set where the girls were going to make him a little gift.

Ok let’s get to the details, the courtroom was based on a central point, the Arbitrators chair was in the middle with an ornate table in front of it, you could clearly see under it, but the legs were heavily decorated and sizable. The chair and table were of course on an elevated platform, thus making the Arbitrator the most prominent sight. The stage on which the arbitrator was located had an oval shape with larger ovals placed below it forming stairs at the front and to the sides. A deep pearl colour was used on the steps, where they ended a black circle started, a stark contrast. The chair and table where the arbiter sat were dark oak; a regal appearance was thus created.

The floor continued in a black and white foot wide tile design, like a chess board, the walls were finished limestone, very nice; the ceiling was arched, like that of an old cathedral, the room had a Victorian feel, but the absence of a jury box, and the relative placement of the accused table and the chair for the magistrate, were out of character, the audience was also in bleachers, layered seats that climbed the further back you went. This was more in style with the Dark Ages courts. Added to this was the fact that the bleachers were stone stairs, granite this time, it really did not belong together, but it looked natural. The room also only had three ways in, a door at the back, behind the arbitrator chair, a set of double doors to the left and a door for the prisoners on the right.

The accused had a table to stand behind, no chair and no obvious place for the person defending him, on the other side the magistrate had a royal blue throne, and a table beside the chair where he could put his files, behind the table was a lanky chair where his page sat. The chair was just simple wood, but the table was fine oak with a purple cloth wrapped around the legs, so it was impossible to see under it. Really medieval, the defence was optional, and the state was represented by a royal advisor, justice was truly one sided, and this was quite obvious by the room’s layout. Poor James was not going to have much of a chance. The room was lit only by the windows, artificial sunlight was used, and it looked absolutely breathtaking. James was going to be impressed and scared at the same time, I could not wait to see his face when he first saw this room. I was impressed.

Next Vince showed us the punishment stage. A stark contrast, a plane twisted pine board stage on logs, covered with the occasional blood stain, the wood was grey from water damage and age, it was set on a dirt floor in a dungeon like room, with rough finished stone walls, truly medieval in appearance, small barred windows with no light entering at all, all illumination was provided by a set of 4 pot lamps set in the corners. There were only two ways into the room, a double door on the left of the stage, set at stage level, the door was lowered, acting as a drawbridge, and a heavy prison door at the front, with a barred window so the guards could look in, and a wooden panel to cover it so the prisoners did not have the freedom of looking when they desired.

Now is where the theme is broken, a table of torture tools lay on the stage, on the table were several whips, black leather, not common in that time frame, dyes were very expensive. An assortment of stainless steel, latex and vinyl toys and torture devices was also there, not at all possible, and some chrome handcuffs and shackles, truly modern items. Topped off with a red silk sheet, to hide the content of the table, completely out of place, but fitting none the less.

Next was a much more pleasant set, a roman hall, white stone pillars, a marble floor, and all the makings of a roman orgy, quite elegant, a truly blissful set. Brightly illuminated from above and outside, using fake sunlight, classical roman architecture and lighting scheme. Large amounts of wine and food are the only thing not yet on the set to complete the preparations. This was to be a nice party, James was not going to forget this birthday.

Last we went to the simple set were the girls where going to make James his birthday gift. A simple set, a mat black wall configuration, three sided, 15 feet wide, a black floor, with a foot high stage finished in gloss black plastic. Soft white lighting from above, and black lights on the walls, also a full set of spot lights in many colours, this was definitely a set designed to showcase the performers rather than the set. Annie, Alicia and Vicky had decided to make an explicit movie for James; I was also going to be a star in this production. I thus had a vested interest in preparing Vince was to operate the cameras and mics by himself. I had decided to make this a DVD since I had just acquired a new production machine and the mansion surveillance was also going to be moved to DVD.

I knew James was going to like his gift and that Vince was going to want a copy of this little endeavour, so I had the equipment linked to the mainframe at the mansion. I had a few upgrades installed since last time I described the set-up, I will tell you more about it later. Back to the story at hand. Alicia was quite happy with how the sets had turned out. Vince was glad to see that everything was to our satisfaction, we showed the girls to the wardrobe storage area, than he offered to show me to the control room. He also said the cast was going to be in for a rehearsal in four hours, so we had that much time to make James gift. We left and headed to the control centre.

This was a simple room with two chair and two virtual helmets, linked to the mainframe and able to control everything in the studio. Vince said: “Ok Sean I know that William designed the controls and that he is good at what he does but there are no controls in this room, how are we going to control four sets worth of equipment with only a pair of helmets?”

I smiled and said: “Remember the controls at the mansion, the VR ones that is.”

Vince nodded and said: “Yeah what about,” he did not finish his sentence, a look of understanding filled his eyes, he continued: “You mean the interactive VR session, don’t you?” I nodded. He continued: “I remember, but my sound board only had 60 controls, and they were tangible ones at that, you would need 100 or more per set for the sound and about the same for the lights, where are you going to get that many virtual buttons, and more so you have no real counter parts.”

I sighed and said: “Let’s go into the virtual environment and I will show you how it’s done. And real is such a subjective term Vince.”

Vince and I both sat down and put on the VR units, I said: “Activate full interlink mode, both production units at current site, bring us to VR lounge, modern setting.”

In an instant me and Vince where sitting in a modern lounge Vince was again quite impressed. He said: “Nice but this does not tell how I am going to control the mics and speakers in the four sets.”

I looked at him and said: “Patience little one,” I know corny but I Vince did laugh at the comment. I said: “Command bring us to the VR control room, all set controls active.”

In a moment Vince and I were surrounded by 20 consoles and 100 monitors, Vince’s jaw dropped at the sight of this. He said: “There must but 500 plus controls here.”

I replied: “Actually there over 1500 different dials, and over a hundred cameras, looks impressive does it not.”

He nodded and said: “How are only two of us going to manage this many options.”

I replied: “Actually you’re going to be solo tomorrow, I am part of the story line, so you have to control all this by yourself.”

Vince almost passed out. With a weak voice he said: “You have to be kidding Sean, I can’t do this alone.”

I smiled and said: “What would you say if I told you that after one hour of me helping you set things up, you will be able to control and 4 sets at once and you will find that it is easy?”

Vince said: “Your dreaming, but if manage that feat of magic, you can use me as a technician in all your future productions, no questions asked.”

I smiled and said: “It’s a deal.”

He replied: “Hey what do I get if you can’t?”

I replied: “Not going to happen, but you can have anything you want, and you can even think about it before you decide.”

He said: “Deal.”

I smiled and said: “Now that you have seen everything you have to control, let’s get these useless consoles and controls out of the way,” Vince had a look of surprise on his face. I said: “Command remove all controls, bring interactive environment maps up and activate tracker controls and focus lock on, enable VR cameras and dynamic follow for lights and mics.” The massive consoles went away and four 3d recreations of the sets came up, and a consol was placed under each of our hands.

Vince looked at me and said: “Now I know that these,” pointing to four 3D models, “they are the sets but what are these,” pointing to the blank consol, “and how am I going to control anything with just these controls?”

I smiled and said: “You remember this is a VR environment hosted by my mainframe,” he nodded, “so everything here is linked to an incredibly powerful central control system,” again he nodded, “So technically, if you tell the system what you want to do it can do it for you,” a glint of understanding entered his eyes, “so I have set up an interface where every scene is recorded from all angles and all people who enter the room are automatically tracked by the system, so all you have to do is make the focus adjustments so the right peoples are in the main shots. Mikes and cameras are auto tracking, the system can take cues too, so special affects can be linked to a consol and all you have to do is push a button, and you get to say where you want the button,”

Vince smiled and said: “Cool, you were right I am convinced I can handle this now.” He feigned disappointment and said: “Guess I am your permanent camera man now.”

He smiled and said: “I am glad you picked me, this looks like fun. I believe I am going to have fun doing this.”

I said: “You’d better; I had to pull some strings with the girls for you to get the job.”

He smiled and said: “You best get back to the girls, I will learn the controls, I assume all my old interface commands still work,” I nodded. I then left to go meet with the girls.

I knew Vince would like doing this, Alicia had already accepted him, Annie and Vicky had not yet been completely convinced, I hoped that his reaction to them after this would make up their minds, Alicia had already made a strong case for him. She trusted him completely just like me. She only needed to talk to him for ten minutes after her show before she had made up her mind. Vince was very special.

He was able to keep a secret, and he had always been loyal to me. He, just like me had a very high sense of honour; he was a little more discreet than me however. Alicia really considered him like a brother just like me; he was very close to both of us now. Annie and Vicky still had not spent much time with him, but they both knew him and had started to trust him. That’s why they permitted him to be the camera man. Now let’s get back to James gift, Alicia, Annie and Vicky had created a scene for us, they had not yet told me what was to happen, but since they all had a part in the story, I knew it would be special. I was a little anxious as I made my way to the dressing rooms.

I heard the girls talking, I was still fifty feet from the door, so I could only barely hear them, and understanding the conversation was not yet a possibility. I kept walking, as I neared the door, I heard them laughing, they were obviously having fun. I noticed the door was open and let myself in; I was mildly surprised when I saw the girls. Annie was wearing a yellow bikini, Vicky was in a red one and Alicia was in a one piece black swimsuit, God they looked so sexy. They spotted me and said all together: “Hi Honey.”

This synchronism was starting to freak me out a little, I replied: “Are we going swimming girls?”

They all looked at me with their hands on their hips, there faces all scolding me. I said: “Just kidding, you girls look absolutely stunning.” They all smiled.

I looked at them closely and said: “So, what’s the plan girls?”

They huddled together and discussed then Vicky looked me straight in the eyes and said: “Well we’re not sure how much detail we should give you at this point. But we are sure you will like it, we are planning to put on a strip show and a little orgy for James. You will be of course the only guy there, mind you we have invited a few more girls, hope you don’t mind.”

I did not know what to say: “Do I know these girls?”

Alicia giggled and said: “Yes you do.”

This made me a little scared, I said: “Am I in a scene with them, or am just watching?”

Annie said: “Well that’s up to you, but before you make the final choice you may want to meet them first. We invited them as a solo act, but I am sure if you wanted to they’d let you join in, one of them has already strongly indicated her wish to make love to you, but I don’t know about her friends, they seemed a little more reserved.”

I was now thinking friends, just how many girls were going to be in this little production. I looked at them and said: “Ok, you have piqued my curiosity, what do I have to do to find out who they are?”

Vicky smiled and said: “You need to be patient and get ready for action, now let’s get you into your costume.” With that they began to remove my clothes. Then they dressed me in a pair of black silk briefs, a white silk shirt and a pair of baggy white silk shorts, followed by a three piece suit and a tie. I was curious now. Alicia also took this opportunity to hand me my opening script and told me to memorise it. I did so quickly.

The three girls added a few more layers to their outfit’s. I will describe them later, you will see why. I watched them get ready as I memorised my lines, half way through the memorisation I noticed that I was ad-lib the end, and asked what they want of me, they were giggling continuously, this was starting to seriously worry me, Alicia said I would see, I knew they were creative, so I knew I would have fun, but there was always a price, and I did not know what they had planned, but since they had planned together, I knew it was going to be unforgettable. I braced myself for the unknown.