Chapter 3:

(Posted: January 14)

The next morning Harrison first saw Rich in the bathroom. Harrison had put on another suit but Rich was simply dressed in khakis and a button-up shirt. “Kid, ditch the suit,” said Rich, looking him over. “It's California anyways, nobody cares.”

After a quick change, the two of them walked across the campus to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat. Once again, the large room was deserted. The food wasn't bad, though something wasn't right about the eggs. At least it wasn't terribly priced, though the cost ultimately didn't matter; Harrison and Rich would later bill it to the government anyways.

After a bit of sign-reading and searching down deserted hallways, they found the conference room for their morning meeting. It was pretty large, and by the time they got there a handful of people were milling around. Vanessa saw them enter and walked over. This morning she was wearing a bright blue dress that hinted at her figure while remaining tasteful and corporate.

“Good morning gentlemen,” she greeted them. “Sleep well?”

“Of course Ms. Bright,” Harrison lied. He'd slept awful. He didn't remember any of his dreams from last night but something inside him felt sick, a little off. He blamed it on the rush of yesterday, first flying across the country in the morning then having his consciousness dissected by a VR machine in the afternoon. Although he was curious to go back inside VERSA, the apprehension and nervousness wouldn't go away.

The meeting started about ten minutes later, everyone including Harrison and Rich sitting around a large conference table. Vanessa led the meeting but others took their turns too. It was partly a presentation to Harrison and Rich, but also an update of progress for the others present, who Harrison eventually surmised were project or division heads at the lab. Sujay was there too, sitting across the table from them in a green polo. He had greeted them when he arrived but said little else since then. Unfortunately, the meeting dragged on far longer than Harrison wanted it to. He found it difficult to focus, his mind kept drifting back to VERSA. One look over at Rich and Harrison could tell he was zoning out too.

Eventually mercy struck and the meeting adjourned after almost two hours. Some people immediately left the conference room but Harrison and Rich stuck around to see what Vanessa wanted them to do next.

She gestured for the two of them to come over to her and began introducing them to some of the folks from the meeting. Mostly corporate types like her with forgettable names and even more forgettable job titles. But they were big-wigs, that was for sure. No Leo Starr though. Apparently he really didn't come down the mountain for anything.

“Oh, and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to our lead computer engineer, Katherine Parlock,” Vanessa said somewhat reluctantly, catching the eye of someone behind them. Harrison turned around and looked down to see a young woman sitting in an electric wheelchair. She was dressed a simple blouse and jeans with a set of glasses perched on her nose, giving her a introverted and bookish appearance. Her face wore a sullen expression and she seemed just as bored as Harrison and Rich had been. Harrison had noticed her during the meeting but hadn't the faintest clue who she was.

“Call me Kat, nice to meet you both,” she said, shaking their hands. Harrison thought she looked about the same age as him, maybe late 20's or early 30's.

“You're lead computer engineer on VERSA, ma'am?” Rich asked her. “Wow you are not what I expected.”

Kat pursed her lips, maybe annoyed but clearly used to this type of reaction. “I've been on the project for the last seven years,” she explained. “Leo brought me on personally, we go way back. I've actually been living at the lab these last few months, doing mostly debugging and cleaning up some of the coding mess in VERSA that others have left behind.” She pushed a strand of black hair out of her face and turned her body towards Harrison. “You two went in yesterday, right?”

“Sure did,” Harrison said. “One hell of a program you're running here.”

“Glad you liked it,” Kat said with a smile. “Mr. Rajeev said your first time went well. I don't really get the chance to explore VERSA firsthand anymore. Maybe I'll visit you when you're in the sim later.”

Harrison pondered for a moment how Kat would be able to really navigate inside VERSA with her wheelchair. He furrowed his brow trying to think it out, and Kat read him easily.

“You're wondering how I go into VERSA if I can't walk? It's what everyone wonders,” she said, clearly annoyed. “Sure, I need help getting in the waterchair, but once the sim starts I've got my legs back.”

“How... how does that work?” asked Rich, confused.

“My brain remembers how to use my legs,” Kat said, a little annoyed, “so when I get into the sim they work just fine. It's simple, really.” She sighed. Harrison could tell she'd explained the same thing dozens of times in the past. This computer engineer definitely didn't have the patience Sujay had in dealing with outsiders. “When do you leave?” Kat asked them.

Harrison looked at Rich. “Tomorrow? Friday right? Or after that?” he guessed, unsure. He brushed it off as a simple slip of the mind.

“Yeah we were planning to head back to D.C. eventually,” Rich said, equally as vague. “Today's Thursday right? And this weekend is President's Day?” He looked at Vanessa.

“Yes, that's correct,” Vanessa informed them. “I believe the government has arranged for a non-commercial return for the two of you. We can charter you to Moffett Field in a helicopter when it's time for the two of you to go back.”

“Do you close up the lab on weekends?” asked Harrison.

“Not usually,” she replied, sounding timid. “We usually work with a reduced staff to keep a few tests going. But because of the holiday, this whole week we're on reduced staff. You've might have noticed, but nearly everyone is gone.”

From the corner of his eye, Harrison noticed Kat give Vanessa a strange, confused look.

“So what's next on the schedule today?” Harrison asked.

“Well, follow me gentlemen, I have a few more people I want you to meet and offices I want to visit, and then we can get lunch.”

Rich turned to Kat before they left the room. “Pleasure to meet you Ms. Parlock.”

“Good to meet you both. But you can call me Kat. No need for formalities.” She gave a half-hearted wave as they left.

When they slipped out of the room Vanessa said quietly, “Ms. Parlock is quite the character. Leo absolutely adores her, she's... much more friendly once you get to know her.” It was clear to Harrison that Vanessa did not like her.

After meeting some more people and engaging in more mundane banter, Vanessa led Harrison and Rich to another conference room where SunCorp's unseen waitstaff had prepared lunch. The food was better quality than the stuff in the cafeteria that Harrison and Rich were getting used to. The three of them talked more about VERSA and eventually Harrison and Rich found themselves sharing a little bit about their personal lives with Vanessa. She remained attentive and polite, as always. Harrison wondered how she kept herself so “on” all the time. The woman never seemed to let her foot off the professional pedal.

At the conclusion of lunch, Vanessa walked them over to the building housing the VERSA control room. Even though it was February, the temperature was pleasant and the sun shone proudly above them. Vanessa looked at a message on her phone and proclaimed, “Oh, the staff member from the committee will be here at Dreamland in just a few minutes! Perfect timing.”

Harrison had no idea what to expect from this staffer. He remembered Rich admitting he didn't know why the Armed Services Committee not only wanted to get in on this, but did get in on this. Somewhere, Harrison mused, much more powerful government forces than himself were pulling strings and getting things done.

Vanessa insisted they wait outside for the arrival. About ten minutes later a car pulled up and Harrison's driver from yesterday stepped out to open the rear door. Neither Harrison nor Rich were prepared for who came out.

Out of the car stepped a beautiful young blonde, dressed in a lavender blouse, tight black blazer, and a matching black skirt. She was lean and fit, and her uncovered legs down to her high heeled shoes gleaned in the winter sun. Though her face was mostly covered by large designer sunglasses, it was obvious by the way she carried herself that she was incredibly attractive. Harrison, stunned, caught Rich's eye, who was doing a double-take himself. Who the hell was this girl?

Vanessa greeted her, “Welcome to Dreamland, my name is Vanessa Bright, head of development.” The new arrival removed her sunglasses, smiled, and shook Vanessa's hand.

“Pleased to meet you Ms. Bright, I'm Jessica Hampton, Senate Armed Services Committee.” she turned to look at Harrison and Rich. “Are you two the other liaisons?”

The two men introduced themselves to the staffer, both with bewildered but polite looks plastered upon their faces. Vanessa and Jessica began talking as Vanessa introduced her to the lab and began explaining VERSA. Rich took a step out of earshot and started whispering to Harrison.

“Jesus Christ this woman is a committee staffer?” he whispered. “She looks like a fucking intern! There's no way she's over twenty-five!”

Harrison shared Rich's surprise. How was this young woman selected for this secret assignment? He knew some meddling senator wanted to know what SunCorp was up to, but he couldn't fathom how someone so young-- and beautiful-- would have gotten the call.

“Do you think her dad knows someone on the committee?” Harrison conjectured, careful to keep his voice low.

“Either that or she's banging someone,” Rich said casually. “I guess we'll know soon if she's just another bimbo airhead from the Hill.”

The two men followed the women into the building and through the guarded door towards the dark room. When they entered VERSA's control room, it looked just the same as it had the day before, dim and quiet. The skeleton crew working inside hardly noticed them, except for Kevin, who bounded over.

“Ms. Bright,” he greeted her nervously, “what brings you here today?” Noticing Harrison and Rich behind her, he gave a quick nod of recognition.

Vanessa introduced him to Jessica and began explaining that she wanted him to lead the demonstration in VERSA this afternoon. “I've got Mr. Rajeev tied up in meetings the rest of the day,” she simply explained. “But this will be Ms. Hampton's first time, obviously, so make sure you give her adequate introduction before she goes in.”

As Vanessa left, Kevin began educating Jessica much the same way as he'd taught Harrison and Rich about VERSA the day before. Meanwhile, Harrison used the bathroom and Rich preoccupied himself by casually looking around the room.

“Hey Ernie,” Kevin said. Ernie looked up from a monitor. “I'm going in with these three here in a couple minutes, can you Tower us this afternoon?”

Ernie took a bite of a his sandwich and replied “Yeah no problem man, just lemme know which stalls you're using and I'll get it set up.”

“I'll take Stall Four, as usual, put them in One, Two, and Three,” said Kevin as he opened the door to his stall. “I'll put myself in and see you guys in there. Let's do Spoke Eighty-five like Sujay did yesterday.”

Ernie put down his sandwich. “Dammit right now?” he complained, but Kevin was already getting himself ready in his stall.

Rich and Harrison looked at Jessica, who seemed intrigued but very ignorant as to what was going on. Rich tried reassuring her, “Trust us, we did this yesterday and it's weird, but you get used to it.” He looked over at Ernie who was beginning to turn on the equipment in one of the stalls. “Just do what he says and it'll be fine,” Rich added, gesturing to the tech.

“Thanks for letting me crash your trip,” said Jessica finally, sounding apologetic. “I didn't know about this until just a few days ago, and Senator Holmgren really wanted someone to let him know firsthand what was going on. Thanks to your boss at the DoD, the senator is getting his wish.” She gave him a little smile.

Ernie came out of a stall. “Ok Rich, you're in Three, and Harrison, you're in Two. I'll put you guys in right now and then I'll set up...” he looked at Jessica, realizing he didn't know her name.

“I'm Jessica, Jessica Hampton,” she said with another nervous smile.

“Ok... Miss Jessica,” Ernie replied, getting his bearings. “I'm going to put you in Stall Six actually, Turns out Stall One needs to run some diagnostics for the next hour or two. Got uncalibrated somehow. So just wait here.”

Harrison went into Stall 2, took off his shoes, and lay on the waterchair like he had yesterday. After Ernie put Rich in, he came over to his stall, hooked up the monitor, started the timer, and brought the helmet down over Harrison's head. Harrison started thinking how he was slightly less nervous this time around, and his mind danced over trivial thoughts as his consciousness slowly faded away.

It was the same fish tank and the same room. The shadow of his reflection in the glass stared back at himself. Before they went in, Harrison guessed that Kevin would take them to the same room Sujay did. He still felt like he was waking up from something, a little groggy mostly, but he couldn't tell if he'd been asleep a minute or half a day. He looked around and saw Kevin casually sitting on one of the waiting room couches. Across the room, Rich was coming around too, except instead of wearing his shirt and pants he sported a full on costume, like he was embarking on a safari.

“Ha it worked!” Rich said, looking at himself. “It fucking worked!”

“Glad to see you're becoming more familiar with VERSA,” Kevin said, watching him from his couch. Kevin had his feet up on a table and looked relaxed, but impatient. “Once the girl gets here I'll take you into a couple worlds and demonstrate some more things. I think today I'll show you the mighty physics engine VERSA comes equipped with, and I'll also show you some new environs too.”

“Uh, sounds good,” Harrison said, walking over. He didn't feel dizzy anymore from his initial entry. “Where's Jessica?”

“Probably lagging behind a few minutes,” Kevin said. “If Ernie put her in last, it might only be a minute behind in the real world but that could be longer in here.” He pointed at one of the couches. “Take a seat in the meantime, can't start without her anyways.”

Harrison sat down and looked at Rich, who looked pleased with himself. Rich even sported a brimmed safari hat too. “You look like a clown,” Harrison made fun of him.

“Don't be jealous,” Rich scolded him playfully. Harrison could hardly take him seriously though, as Rich looked like he'd just walked out of Africa. At least the mood was light and less sobering than yesterday.

“You learn that from Sujay?” Kevin asked. “He likes doing those kind of silly things with VERSA.”

The three men sat and talked for about ten minutes until Jessica suddenly appeared in the room, looking confused, scared, and incredibly disoriented. She nearly stumbled and fell, her high heeled shoes doing her no favors. Harrison and Rich instinctually jumped up to catch her, but she steadied herself.

“Welcome to VERSA,” Kevin said non-nonchalantly. “Now that you're here let's get started.” He opened the brown door that led to the bookcase and took out the red book.

“You ok?” Harrison asked Jessica, who was coming out of her shock.

“Is this it?” she stammered, her blue eyes wide with disbelief. “Holy shit...”

Kevin found the page he was looking for in the book. He looked up and said to Jessica, “It gets even crazier, watch this.” He started to read from the book before Harrison could mentally prepare himself. “ Spoke Eighty-five, grant access to Pilot One, Pilot Two, Pilot Three, and Pilot Four. Execute.”

Harrison's vision ballooned and the room exploded around him. He felt himself dropping down the roller coaster again as his body reduced and plunged to the floor. Even though he knew the shrinking was coming, he still lost his footing and slammed against the linoleum, just like yesterday. But when he finally got his breath back and looked up, he saw something very terribly wrong.

In front of him, about a hundred feet away from his perspective, stood the two largest high heeled shoes he'd ever seen. Even from his distance, he could tell the black pumps towered over his reduced stature. The straps that encased the bare white ankles were high enough that he wouldn't be able to reach either with a jump. As his gaze wandered up, his mind became gripped with awe and horror. Jessica had not shrunk.

Her smooth, pale legs climbed high into the sky like porcelain towers, disappearing under her black skirt into a dark shadow. Above that he noticed her breasts behind the lavender blouse and black jacket she wore, which even higher yielded to strands of blond hair. Being so near to her, he could hardly make out her head. And then it hit him: he needed to hide.

Her giant feet could easily crush him if she took a step to her right. She probably wouldn't even feel a thing. His animal instincts immediately kicked in as he got to his feet and looked for a safe place to run. It didn't even occur to him yet that he was in a simulation. He only knew that this massive woman could accidentally snuff his life out without even a thought.

Next to him the giant couch rose up in a sheer wall of gray fabric. At his height of only an inch or two, there was plenty of space to hide under it where the legs kept it off the floor. He started running, but at his size the linoleum was not smooth and he had to be careful not to trip on the dimpled surface.

“Where did you guys go?” he heard Jessica's voice boom above him. She seemed scared. At his inconsequential size, he could do nothing to respond to her or get her attention.

“Hello?!” she yelled out desperately. He heard and felt her shift her weight in her shoes. The leather pumps creaked slightly, holding her weight. “Guys where did you all go? What's happening?!”

Harrison made it under the couch and from his safety looked around. The first thing he saw was the red book that shrank them. It was still normal sized, and as Kevin dwindled away the book had fallen face down on the floor. Then he spotted Kevin next to it. He was too far away to see Kevin's face but his body looked frantic. Harrison started scanning for Rich but he knew he would have been on the other side of Jessica, which meant he was also totally out in the open.

“Guys this is really weird,” Jessica said from somewhere above him. Her voice trembled. From under the couch now her could only see her impossibly large heels. Then they started to move; she was taking steps. The floor shook with each footfall.

Harrison watched her feet slowly begin to walk around the room. He figured she was probably looking for another way out, or at least a clue to where her three companions went. He saw Kevin still by the red book; it looked like he was trying to lift the corner of it, a hopeless task at his tiny size. Harrison tried to think about what had gone so wrong.

A very long distance away he made out the small figure of Rich, still wearing the hat, running towards the red book. He must have spotted Kevin. Harrison likewise took a few steps out into the open, but then caught a glimpse of Jessica. After crossing the room she was walking back towards them, he eyes nervously looking everywhere except down. Her feet, both larger than an SUV, quickly caught up to them. Harrison was in awe of her size. One of her small steps covered an incredible distance. He couldn't even begin to estimate how tall she was to him.

Kevin, now standing next to the book, was looking up at the colossus, waving his arms trying to get her attention. Harrison could faintly hear his yells, so there was no way Jessica would ever hear his cries for attention. As Kevin used all his puny strength to get the attention of the giantess, Jessica stepped forward, her gaze inattentive to the commotion on the floor.

Harrison watched as her foot came down upon Kevin. It happened so fast Kevin hardly had time to react. In his last second the small man braced his arms, as if it would stop the massive high heel shoe from coming down on top of him. With a loud boom and without any resistance, her shoe came to rest on top of Kevin, covering him completely. Jessica shifted her weight thoughtlessly, twisting her shoe in place. Kevin was undoubtedly gone.

Harrison cursed loudly to no one but himself. He froze in place, just a few steps out from under the couch. She's just stepped on Kevin and hadn't even noticed! Harrison's mind snapped back to reality. This wasn't real, Kevin wasn't really dead. Ernie said that if you died in the sim it just spit you back out into the real world, albeit shaken. He wondered if Kevin had ever died in VERSA before. His heart pounded furiously in his chest, his shirt soaked in sweat.

Still oblivious to the little life she so easily snuffed out, Jessica began crouching down. She was looking at the floor, but it wasn't Harrison or Rich she noticed. It was the red book. Realizing that she was finally looking down, Harrison thought he might be able to get her notice him. He was tiny, but not microscopic.

He ran out from under the couch yelling and waving his arms. Maybe she'd notice his movement, though he was probably only in her peripheral vision.

Her feet still dwarfed him, but with her in a crouched position he got a much closer look at her enormous thighs tightly encased in her black skirt. Her arms, with the sleeves of her black blazer somewhat rolled up now, reached out for the book. Jessica tentatively inspected it, worried what it might do.

Suddenly Jessica let out a yelp. “Oh my God!” she cried, standing back up in shock. Harrison froze, wondering if she'd spotted him, but she stood transfixed by another part of the floor. She's seen Rich!

“Holy shit... what?!” she said to herself, taking a booming step back in fear. Her eyes betrayed confusion and horror as she looked at tiny Rich, trying to figure out what he was. Harrison could see Rich had stopped running and now stood in place, jumping up and down, waving his safari hat with one of his hands.

After a moment of shock, Jessica seemed to collect herself. She bent forward again, peering down at Rich. Harrison used this time to move a bit father away from her, lest she take another errant step. It was then he saw the bloody stain on the floor that had been Kevin. A pulverized lump of viscera, smashed into the floor next to her shoe, was all that remained of their guide. Harrison's stomach immediately tried to retch, but he did his best holding down anything that tried coming up.

“Are you a person?” Jessica asked Rich with her powerful voice, now fully crouched in front of him. Harrison realized Rich must have been getting quite the view up her skirt. “Rich is that you?!” she finally realized. “What's going on!”

Even from her closer distance to him she was unlikely to be able to make out any words of his voice. “Can I pick you up?” she asked him. “I can't hear you.”

After a signal from Rich, Harrison watched her giant hand lower down as she daintily plucked Rich up with her manicured fingers. He wasn't even taller than they were long, Harrison noticed in awe. Once she had him, she raised her hand up to her face, still in a crouched position. Harrison could hear her side of the conversation obviously, but couldn't hear Rich's tiny voice.

“Oh that was too fast? Sorry...

“Wait what? Kevin shrunk everyone? Why?...

“This is so weird. Hey are you ok?...

After hearing what Rich said next, the color drained from her face. She looked down and finally noticed what she'd done to Kevin. “Oh my God!” she cried out. “I stepped on him?!”

Harrison was sure that high above him Rich was frantically trying to explain to her what had really happened, and that Kevin wasn't dead in the real world. Her already unfortunate introduction to VERSA had just became much more unpleasant. The arm holding Rich trembled and it looked like Jessica was trying to hold in her emotions.

Although she didn't exactly calm down, she did finally gather the wherewithal to continue listening to Rich. After a moment Harrison heard her say, “Rich, let me set you on the table.” She rose to her full height and leaned over, depositing Rich on the plain of the coffee table somewhere high above Harrison. “You said you saw Harrison on the floor too?” she asked Rich.

Oh shit, Harrison thought. She was coming for him next. He stood near to her, out in the open. He looked up the impossible length of her legs, past her torso, hoping to finally catch her eye.

Jessica began scanning the floor, first near her to make sure she wouldn't step on Harrison. She carefully moved a step back from the coffee table, and after only a few seconds spotted the minuscule figure of Harrison. He was waving his arms too.

“There you are,” she said, stepping over him. For a moment Harrison had a clear view up her skirt between her tall legs, spotting a pair of crimson panties high above his head. He looked away, not wanting to keep looking. But when her hand plunged towards him he looked up again in fear, suddenly terrified by the prospect of being in the clutches of this giant woman. He knew she wasn't going to hurt him, but somewhere in the back of his mind a prey instinct kicked in. Harrison held up his arms pathetically as her thumb and index finger descended, the pretty French-manicured nails reaching for his body. Stopping her was futile as her grip crushed the air out of him.

And then like a freight elevator he quickly rose off the ground. It felt much like the shrinking sensation of earlier, but now he was rising into the sky, wind whipping past him. After a few seconds and another stomach-retching trial, he stopped, and his blurry vision faded. She had brought him up to her massive face. Her gaze was friendly but Harrison was too shook up to notice anything but the immense size of her countenance. From this close he could make out the imperceptible lines on her young face and even the subtle edges of her make-up.

“Harrison are you alright?” she asked him. Her voice, carried by her warm breath, overwhelmed him.

“You're holding me too tight!” Harrison yelled back, trying to pry her fingers apart.

“Oh, sorry,” she apologized. Harrison felt her grip relax and he gasped for a breath. “I'm going to put you down on the table with Rich now,” she informed him.

Just as rapidly, she brought Harrison down to the coffee table and released him when his feet touched the ground. He still lost his balance and crumpled to the table but rebounded in a second. Rich was right there. “You ok?” Rich asked.

“Yeah I'm fine,” Harrison replied, still catching his breath. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Something went wrong,” Rich said. “Not sure yet though. Not sure why Jessica didn't shrink.”

Jessica sat down on the couch next to the table and leaned forward so her massive face was near the two men. Her chin almost rested on the table. It was the only way she could hear them.

“Ok now that you're both safe, what do we do?” she asked them. Harrison couldn't help but still feel intimidated by her size. Looking at her face felt like trying to view a billboard up close and all at once.

Rich started talking, speculating out loud, but projecting his voice enough that it would carry to Jessica's ears. “Ok so I think once Kevin got ejected from the sim, they'll pull us out too! Sujay said yesterday the Tower had the ability to take us out, so I'm sure once they see our guide is gone they'll terminate the whole thing!”

“Well, when's that going to happen? “Jessica asked. “Shouldn't they have gotten us out by now?”

“Um, maybe not,” Rich yelled up at her. “Time passes much faster in here than out there! Sometimes an hour in here is only a minute out there. We might have to wait a while!” Jessica's face switched to annoyance. She was already fed up with VERSA and wanted to get out.

“Why didn't I shrink?” she asked Rich. “Do you know?”

“No idea!” Rich admitted.

Harrison had been thinking about that though. “I think I have a guess,” he said. Jessica's large eyes shifted to him. “Ok hear this out! Kevin, when he shrunk us with the book, called our stall numbers out, one through four. But Jessica, you weren't in Stall One were you?”

She sat up slightly to think. “No, that guy moved me to a different one, Six. Yeah, he moved me to Six.”

“See Kevin didn't know that,” Harrison explained, “because he was already in VERSA when Ernie switched her! So he accidentally shrunk the three of us but not you!”

“Can I shrink myself with the book then?” Jessica asked. Harrison and Rich stayed silent. They had no idea.

“Maybe it's worth a try?” Harrison said.

“Wait but they're going to de-sim us any minute now,” Rich said. “Why not just wait?”

“But Rich, you said it could be hours,” Harrison argued with him. “We're all fine in VERSA right now. We could explore, as long as we can shrink Jessica down.” He stepped right up to Rich. “Think about it... we can explore VERSA without a SunCorp chaperone. Who knows what we might see.”

Rich smiled. “Good fucking point kid. I like the way you're thinking now.”

“What?” Jessica said, leaning a bit closer. She hadn't heard them talking to each other.

After a few moments of trying to convince her of their plan, Jessica seemed to come around to it. They told her to grab the red book and try finding the right page to shrink her down. None of them had ever looked into the book before so they didn't know what to expect.

“It's blank,” Jessica said, standing over them. She showed them the open page. There was no text.

“What the fuck?” Rich said. Overhead Jessica flipped through the book. The two men on the low table were just below the height of her knees.

“Wait I found something,” she proclaimed. Jessica showed them an open page that contained two simple words: “ENTER COMMAND”

“That's probably it!' Rich yelled at her. “So say the phrase 'Spoke 85, grant access to Pilot Six! Enter!”

Jessica nervously said the phrase, but nothing happened. “Damn I though that would work,” Rich muttered.

“Wait,” Harrison corrected him, “I think she's supposed to say execute, not enter.” He waved his arms to get her attention, then told her the new word to say.

“WAAIITT!!” Rich suddenly called out to her as she straightened up again. She looked down, then bent over. “Jessica put us on the floor! If you shrink we're stuck up on this table!”

“Oh ok,” she said. “Um, how about you jump onto this book?” She held the open book out under the edge of the table. Harrison and Rich hustled over and took a short hop down to land on the pages of the book. Jessica lowered them down to the floor and the two slid off the book and landed under the table.

“Ok here I go,” Jessica said out loud. “Spoke Eighty-five, grant access to Pilot Six, execute.”

As Harrison turned to look at her giant feet he instead saw the red book slam into the floor, causing the ground around him to shake. And next to the giant book he saw a small figure, shell-shocked, prying herself upright. The two men ran over to her.

“Oh my God everything is huge!” she said, marveling at the world around her.

“Welcome to our world,” Rich said, grabbing her arm and helping her up. Harrison couldn't help but think again how silly and strange Rich looked in his safari garb. Everything seemed twisted and strange in this simulated world, almost like a backwards reflection of reality.

“Don't worry it gets better,” Rich added. “At least, we hope it does.”