She'd had time for a quick Zoom call with her husband and kids, giving them a quick summary of what had happened and warning them she could be out of touch for a couple of days.

Melanie was glad to get inside the bunker; out in the desert, the sun was fierce. But once inside, she was momentarily transported back to her teens. The room reminded her of Bernie so much, it looked just like his old basement. The couch looked cleaner, though.

A communal bedroom, though? That was going to be embarrassing. The bunker had clearly been for Bernie alone, which was kind of sad. Melanie wouldn't swap her family for anything. She went through the beaded curtain and left her suitcase on one of the cots. Even an entire suitcase was extravagant: back when she traveled more, she lived out of an over-stuffed cabin bag.

Leaving the living area, she made a bee-line for the cart, curious to see what was on it.

"Ohhhhmigod!" Rita says with a giggle when she sees the game room. "Well, it smells better anyway." She has to stop and touch the couch. It sure looks like the original.

When the lawyer mentions the communal sleeping area, she catches Melanie's eye and gives a head shake. They'll need to work out some other arrangements.

The locked away collection is disappointing, but the lawyer will set it right. She returns to the van to get her bag and her jacket that she'd left in the back seat, glad she'd changed to shorts back at her motel, considering the baking heat.

David had finished his phone call with his wife and kids pretty quickly. He'd already planned to stay a bit here, it was just going to take a bit longer. A part of him wondered if she was excited to have him out of the house for the weekend, but he decided not to dwell on it for the moment. After all, he had other things to worry about.

Inside the Clubhouse, David glanced around in confusion. It was scary how exactly Bernie had replicated his basement back home. Well, he supposed Bernie had managed to be successful enough to afford something this absurdly expensive, so he couldn't have been doing that badly.

"Seems like we'll need to work out some kind of sleeping arrangement," he said, stating the blatantly obvious. "Shelled out for a one-for-one recreation of his basement growing up, but couldn't spring for an extra bed or two."

"The bunker was intended for his own personal use," Mr. West said. "And I don't think he intended it for long-term occupancy when he had it constructed. If the idea of mixed lodging is distressing, however, I can bring some partitions back with me when I return, and the cots are portable enough to haul out to the living room if you prefer."

The lawyer handed David the slip of paper with the main bunker door code. "Before I go I'd like to thank you all for humoring Mr. Cartwright's last request, even if you ultimately decide to divest yourself of his collection - I can imagine that flying to and from New Mexico just to have a movie night with some old friends isn't something you're really interested in doing more than once or twice. I was Bernard's lawyer for some years, and I grew to be quite fond of the man." He stopped before heading back up the ramp. "I'll be back in an hour, two at the most, depending on traffic. Enjoy the trip back to your shared youth. Indulge. Remember. Perhaps raise a glass to your missing companion. And… have fun."

With that, he departed, leaving you alone.

Melanie, meanwhile, was examining the media on the table. There was a VHS copy of Jurassic Park, a Mario Kart 64 cartridge, an Akira laserdisc, and the first season X-Files boxed set of Blueray DVDs.

ooc: Choose your destiny.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:44, Wed 06 Oct 2021.

"I don't mind sleeping on the couch, and I think there's enough room for two cots our here."

Jon thanks Mr. West for everything he's done, before turning his focus to the cart. "Oh wow, an Akira laserdisc? I know what I'd like to watch! But..." He picks up one of the controllers. "How about a race? Whoever wins picks what we watch first?"

"I don't mind sleeping out here. I'd prefer it, actually. Rita and Melanie, would you prefer the bedroom?" Setting down the bags he had grabbed from the van, he joined Melanie and Jonathan at the table. The four items reminded him of how all-encompassing Bernie's tastes had been. Had there been any kind of pop culture that the man did not like?

"Great suggestion, Jon. I'm honestly not a huge fan of The X-Files, Jurassic Park, or Akira, but I've been jonesing for some Mario Kart."

Wondering what kind of handheld options are available, Caleb checked out the different video game consoles Bernie left out. He wondered what Bernie had in way of portable games. Playing on an emulator just wasn't the same as playing on the original hardware.

OOC: Caleb would have grabbed his bag and anyone else's who wanted theirs before West left. Like Jonathan, Caleb traveled light, with some toiletries, a couple of changes of clothes, and pajamas.

"What, we've barely just gotten together and you want to ruin our friendships already?" David joked, remembering the intense rage that Mario Kart could induce. "Besides, when's the last time any of you watched something on a damn laserdisc?" he asked. "The fact that he's even got a functional laserdisc player is a miracle in itself."

He shrugged. "Still, if you want to start things out with a bit of Mario Kart, I guess there's worse ways to start off this mini-vacation, or whatever you want to call it."

Rita emerges through the beaded curtain. She's amazed at not feeling shilly in her shorts, Bernie's HVAC was really good.

"Last time I watched something on laserdisc? Probably in Bernie's basement," she grins ruefully, "I'd be down for some Mario Kart: round robin, double elimination?

"But maybe some snacks first?"

Beyond the curtain, for those who chose to explore, was a well-appointed kitchenette - very modern in appearance compared to the entrance room. There was no nostalgia here, only sleek lines and clean surfaces, a free-standing freezer unit, pantry, and fridge stocked with high-end equivalents of the snacks Bernie liked.

Gourmet "lunchables", boxes of sugary cereals, small-batch sodas, microwavable treats of every description, all packed by brands beyond the reach of middle-class teenagers, some of it imported from far overseas. Loaves of artisinal multigrain bread, high quality cold cuts, exotic and expensive cheeses no doubt used to make a rich man's versions of Bernie's old favorite sandwiches. There was even a climate controlled alcove containing bottles of wine.

It was all old, but at the same time new. High quality, but not something an adult would make a habit of making a meal of. Like the rest of the bunker, good fun for the short term, but you wouldn't want to live that way.

Beyond the kitchen was the sleeping quarters - a suite, really. In addition to the spacious bedroom containing a king-sized bed, wardrobe, and enough floor space for the five cots to not feel cramped, there was a sitting room with a comfortable couch and recliner - both of far higher quality than the one in the main room.

The bathroom had amenities of similarly high quality, complete with hurricane shower, though lacking a bathtub.

ooc: Kitchen contains whatever snacks you think it should. Just keep everything expensive and high-end.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:29, Thu 07 Oct 2021.

Rita assesses the cots and finds that high end, expensive cots are still, when all is said and done, cots. She eyes the king-size bed and wonders if Leslie will share. They were never that close, but it's a huge bed. She stows her bag in a corner and makes a pit stop in the bathroom, then goes into the kitchen.

"Ohhhh," Rita moans, looking at the freezer, "I hope there's Pizza Rolls in there. Pepperoni!" Eating a little junk for one weekend won't be so bad, will it?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:51, Fri 08 Oct 2021.

"Good idea..." Jon looks through pantry, surprised at the foreign snacks mixed in with some of the familiar brands. "Wow... I see Bernie spared no expenses..."

Pouring some BBQ chips in a bowl, he brings it into the main room, before sitting on the couch's armrest, an old habit he never got out of.

David got out what appeared to be a high-end version of a frozen pepperoni pizza, using gourmet ingredients and cheeses he'd never even heard of. "It's almost a crime to take something this high quality and freeze it," he says. "But Bernie wanted to enjoy this stuff, so I guess this is going in the oven," he said, turning it on and popping it inside.

David got what appeared to be a box of strawberry-flavored pocky and opened it. "You know, he used to rave about this stuff, but I never tried it. Might as well now, though, right?"

"Mountain Dew. I haven't had one of these in years." The can was odd, though. Was that - Japanese? And it was purple. "Mountain Dew Violet. I wonder what's in it." He turns the label over, but the ingredient list is all in what appears to be Japanese. "Looks like this was bottled in Osaka." Caleb helps himself to some gourmet water biscuits and slices of rich, creamy blue cheese.

"Oh? What's this?" Caleb picks up a small red box and reads the label. The Peninsula. Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes. In the middle and on the sides are some Chinese characters. He lifts the lid off of the box and sees four small round cakes with the same characters baked on the top. Interesting. He picks one up and puts it on the plate next to the cheese and crackers.

He looks over at the box of Pocky with interest. "Pocky, eh? Never tried it." Caleb takes an exploratory nibble out of the mooncake. Very interesting. "Hey, you should try some of this, too, David." He leaves the box on the counter and returns to the basement area and sits cross-legged on the floor.

Melanie grinned.

"We've only just got here, and you're raiding the fridge already?"

Still, she picked up a Mountain Dew Real Sugar for herself.

"Might want to check the dates on anything in the fridge. We don't know how long it's been there."

She follows Caleb back.

"I'll take Yoshi."

While Rita and David preheat ovens and toaster ovens, Melanie, Jonathan, and Caleb set up some Mario Kart, locating the N64 console and its... unique... controllers. Dim memories surface - while the console has four ports, the game only supports four players in 'Battle Mode' - the primary races are two-player affairs.

Perhaps some kind of rotating tournament structure can be employed?

Caleb puts the cart into the slot on the top of the machine, while Melanie hits the power button...

The lights in the Clubhouse dim, while the screen before them seems to grow brighter, until that rectangle is the only thing they can see. Despite Melanie and David's occupation with the kitchen - timers have just been set - they, too, can somehow see the screen through the darkness, oriented as if shifted to face them.

Strange, though - it's a pure white, not static, not the title screen/DVD menu you were expecting - and stranger yet, impossibly, the screen expands, stretching in all directions to fill your field of vision. Even if you turn your head, all you see is that field of white - not the room, not your friends, not even you body.

And then it fades… or rather, another reality fades into being, and you feel seated in yourself once more.

ooc: New Thread Incoming.

“Oh, shit, we’ve been Tronned.”

ooc: Read the end of the Mario Kart thread first!

Fade to black.

No, not to black. To dim. The dimness of Bernie's basement clubhouse, the television the bright blue of a dead channel, the N64 now off. Caleb, Daniel, Rita, Jonathan, and Melanie find themselves standing in front of the couch, just as they were at the track. The silver second place cup is still in Jonathan's hands. Melanie's skin still feels raw, her blouse yet damp and slightly torn.

"That was the part I couldn't just tell you about," West said, standing in the doorway. "That was the part that had to be experienced to be... well, if not understood, then believed."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:20, Fri 29 Oct 2021.

Jon jumps as Mr. West speaks up, dropping his trophy as he does. It metallic clang draws his attention back to it. That... that was a real, tangible proof that what they experienced wasn't just a dream... "That just... that really happened..."

"How?" Caleb manages to say. This was all so fantastical, firmly in the realm of science fiction. Sci fi frequently predicts or shapes the future, like Star Trek's communicators, PADDs, and tricorders, and VR exists now, though holodecks are likely centuries away. But this? "It seemed so real," he says. "And honestly, not entirely safe."

The idea sends a thrill through him. Had he not always longed for a life beyond what he experienced? Hadn't he entertained daydreams of being able to step into books? He remembers reading Woody Allan's "The Kugelmass Episode" about a man being able to do just that. Star Trek, the Lord of the Rings - it was all possible. Could he actually live in Skyrim?

"Have you tried this out?" Caleb asks West. "And how did Bernie see all of this? How did he use it?" They couldn't sell this. No doubt it is worth several Jeff Bezos, but adventures like this? Bernie's creation is priceless.

"I don't know much about it," West shook his head. "I haven't... experienced it... and I have no desire to." He unfolded his arms, a universal remote in hand. "I can show you this, however."

He pointed the remote towards the television and clicked.

The blue screen was replaced by Bernie's smiling face, obviously filmed in an office somewhere. He was older than you remembered him - in his forties, like all of you - maybe a little more distinguished, a little worn, and very balding, but still definitely Bernie. "Hey guys. If you're watching this, it means I'm dead. And you're in the clubhouse, and you've just taken your first trip."

"Let me start off by saying that what just happened is real. You were really there, wherever there was. I won't confuse you with the technicalities behind it, but the entertainment system is just a front for a powerful computer system built into the bunker that opens portals to other realities that look and feel like movies, cartoons, video games - visual media. The copies I have in my collection are like network addresses to transport you to these other worlds."

There was excitement in Bernie's voice, a sort of barely restrained enthusiasm that was very familiar from your youth.

Melanie sat down abruptly, as if her legs couldn't hold her any longer.

"This is... insane."

Who hadn't fantasized about actually being in a game they were playing? Or in a movie they were watching? But actually experiencing it, that was something else.

She fingered her ruined blouse.

"This isn't a hallucination. We were really there. We could have been killed."

Rita takes some deep breaths, trying to center herself, trying to keep calm. This was beyond strange, but--unless they were all tripping--undeniably happening.

She sits beside Melanie, "Yep, it was real somehow. Weird, huh?"

She puts a hand on Melanie's arm, "Mel, we should get you cleaned up and put some antibiotic cream on any scrapes, just to be safe. I've got some in my suitcase. Come on."

She stands to take Melanie to the bedroom for clean clothes.

"There's only so much I can say." Bernie's voice continues from the entertainment center as the girls head to the bedroom. "And technically I'm breaking a ton of NDAs and security clearance protocol by even HINTING this exists, but I'm dead so I don't really care. The setup down here is my life's work... offshoots of programs I'm NOT going to get into. I may be dead but I'm not totally stupid!"

"It's all off the books. Nobody but Mr. West - and now you - know it's down here. I'm sure that if you spend a few seconds considering the implications you'll know why it's important that this be kept out of the wrong hands... and what those wrong hands would do to someone else who knew the secret. So, uh... don't tell anybody."