Claustrum Chap. 5
Mathew Hamm

 

Learning to eat

The sun rose, and the room brightened. Yet the grayness of the stone gave a depressing feeling to the room. The room was small, but big enough to hold the single bed a table and a chair. Near the top of the room was a glassless window of about six inches in height and about six feet in length. This was done so that light came in the room during the day, and it also prevented anyone from leaving the room.
John was awakened by the loud convulsive laughter of a man. He raised his head, and remembered that he was in Claustrum, slowly he began to sit up on his bed and listened to the chatter that could be herd through the window of his room. As a matter of fact he could hear much noise coming through the window. Curiosity got a hold of him, after all, he still had not seen what the outside looked like.
He then tried to stand with out success, he fell, but this time he managed to fall on top of his bed, instead of the floor like the night before. He sat there a couple of minutes doing different movements getting his coordinations right, by this time he was hoping that he would not have to do this every morning of his life.
He finally stood and walked over to the table, moved the chair back and sat on it. The chair was a little closer to the window, this allowed him to hear a little better, what was going on outside. He looked up to the window to see if he could reach and look out of it, but first glances confirmed his suspicions, even if he stood on top of the table, he could not reached the window. So he leaned the back of his head against the wall, closed his eyes and listened.
�keep moving, keep moving!� a man shouted out.
The laughter of a woman caught his attention focusing on what she was saying. �I hear that Ezra is going to be fighting in the arena in a week?� she said.
John squinted his eyes harder trying to focused on the conversation.
�so I hear, but it should not concern you� another woman replied.
�Oh, and why not?�
�because all you will get out of it, is violence, and that is always bad, for girls your age�
�Oh, but, she�s so beautiful� the younger woman cried out.
�Beautiful or not, your not going, plus, anyone here can be beautiful, if they wanted to, that is�
The conversation was over, John tried to focus on another conversation but with out success. After a little while, his stomach started acting in a way he had never felt before, to him it was obvious that it may be side effects of the whole jacking into Claustrum process. He sat up and graved his boots and put them on, then he stood, stretched his legs and walked out his room into the hall.
As he had said, Arelis was waiting for him, an as before with a smile on his face.
�Good morning, John� Exclaimed the guide.
�Good morning�
�Breakfast is ready� Arelis said, as he began to walk expecting John to follow him.
�Breakfast?�
�Yes, you need to eat, to get nutrients into your body�
�Well I know that I am supposed to eat, but I just expected something different, this being a virtual world and all� John exclaimed.
�Different, how?�
�well I�m not sure, but I was just expecting something different� John said.
He kept quiet the rest of the way, soon the were in a great dining hall, there were many tables in the hall. Each table had a Bench of equal length on both sides of the table, but with out something for one to lean back on. Every table in the place was full, John followed his guide, they reached a table where someone was getting up and Arelis asked for John to sit. At the south end of the dining hall a long table all by its self, about twenty feet in length, this table however had individual chairs with backs on them, it gave the feeling of of chairs where royalty sat, a total of ten chairs could be seen.
In the center of the hall was a space large enough for a group of people to perform, but nothing was going on at the moment.
People came and went as they finished eating and drinking or as they pleased. John looked about the room, man and woman were laughing and joking, to him it seemed to be more like a family reunion than a virtual prison.
On the center of the table was all kind of foods. Apples, oranges, fried meats, and all kind juices and drinks.
John looked for utensils, but could find nothing to eat with, he looked towards Arelis and asked him for utensils. Arelis raised his hand and a young lady showed up with a plate that looked ceramic made, a cup and some utensils.
�Is she a CCC?� John asked.
�Actually, no, shes an inmate, she is a servant to the House of Resting, as I said before, we must choose a profession to keep our selves busy�
�What if you don�t want to do anything?�
�Well you will more than likely go insane, as time passes by very slowly, you will see later, the madmen of the city�
John picked up a jug full of what he thought was orange juice and and tried to smell to confirm his theory, but without success, at first he thought that there was no sense of smell, but then he picked up and apple and could smell it.
�I guess not everything has smell here?� he asked.
�No, not yet anyways, not everything smells, they keep adding more and more with each patch�
�A patch?� John asked.
�Yes, a patch, are updates into the computer system that controls Claustrum�
�Humph, I see, thats how they change different things within the world, right?� John asked.
�In a way, yes�
John picked up another jug, this was hot to the touch and resembled coffee, he poured some into the cup and began to drink.
�Coffee?!� he exclaimed.
�Yes, about a year ago, they updated the world and inmates could actually taste what they ate, there are still some errors and mishaps but, this gave Claustrum Inmates something to rejoice for� Arelis explained.
He began drinking a little more coffee than he began having stomach pains, he crouched and bit his lip, he looked over towards Arelis, he just sat there looking unconcerned.
�What you are feeling is normal, this happens the first time you get liquids into your body, the pain will go away shortly� Arelis explained.
Sure enough, the pain was already ceasing, but John looked at that cup of coffee with a new respect. He then glanced at the apples in front of him and picked one up.
�Is this going to do the same for me?� He said as he held the apple.
�No for that it will be much worse, the first time its always the worse�
As he finish saying this, a woman on the opposite side of the table, gave out a loud cry, she stood grasping her throat and fell to the ground, turning and gasping and kicking. Not a single person stood from where they sat to aid the woman, Johnathan looked about the room, stood and ran to aid the woman. He picked her up and sat her up, her face was her natural color and was beginning to breath a little normally.
�Are you OK?� John asked.
She looked over to him, her eyes red and her face looked a little pale John thought this to be a little strange, he nodded towards the woman in respect than walked back to his chair. To his amazement, not a single person in the room seemed to even noticed them. He sat back down next to Arelis.
�Why didn�t anyone help?� he asked.
�Well, some don't care about things like that here, others seen this happen to often and others choose not to get involved in others lives�
�Amazing� John said with disgust.
He then glanced at the apple, and wondered what had happened to the woman �Why did she act that way?� he asked.
�Well your body is not used to the solids and liquids that you are feed while in the real world. When this happens, you will get stomach pains and sometimes vomit. As in her case�
�But I didn't see any vomit� Johnathan was puzzled at the explanation.
�She vomited in her cocoon, if you remember, the tube down your mouth feeds you but it also has to clear your throat in case of vomit, this usually takes a few seconds, but long enough to feel as if you are dying from lack of air�
�So am I going to vomit?� John asked, the whole feeling of vomiting while having a pipe down his throat did not please him.
�About eighty percent of new inmates vomit, even do before you were jacked in, you were induced into vomiting, this was done so that your stomach is empty or any large pieces that may clog the feeding tube� Arelis explained.
�How come her guide did not help her out?� John asked.
�There is nothing to do, its something that will pass, there is no sense in helping her, her guide new this and more than likely is explaining it to her now� Arelis answered.
John stared at the woman and her guide, then picked up and apple and held it close to his face, he turned it in his palm looking for the best place to bite into it, then he took it to his mouth and bit into it. He slowly chewed the apple, then swallowed, he could feel the apple within his mouth, and even taste it, but what came after wards was the choking part of it all. As he swallowed the apple a gagging sensation came from his throat, the apple he had just eaten, no longer tasted like an apple, his face turned red and he felt the need to hold his breath. Again he looked over to Arelis, but he just sat there staring unconcerned.
John used his hands as if to blow air into his face, he held his breath for a better part of a minute, or so he thought, then took small short breaths. Finally the feeling was passing, and his nausea began to leave him.
He buried his face in his hands and sat there for a couple of minutes. Then he sat up, and shook his head. �Phew� he exclaimed.
�Well you have just become part of that twenty percent of those who do not vomit� Said Arelis with a straight face.
�That is something that I do not want to go through again� John explained.
�It usually only happens the first time you eat, then your stomach gets used to the solids. When you swallow, you will get the after taste of the real solid that you are being feed, but this will wear off after a couple of weeks, then you can actually enjoy the virtual food, that it�s served�
Johnathan looked at the apple hesitating, then he once again bit into it, chewed and chewed a little more, by the time he swallowed the apple was more of a liquid than solid he thought, but this time it was not so bad, the nausea did not come, however the after taste did, but he managed to control it. He finished his whole apple, then began to eat other foods.
�You have learned to eat� Exclaimed Arelis.
Johnathan looked over to him and gave him a smile, his hunger now was almost uncontrollable, he was eating through everything, after a while he was satisfied, he sat straight and looked at Arelis.
�I�ve noticed that the after taste is always the same, is the solid always the same?� John asked.
Arelis nodded �the foods that you are being fed, is a paste made of nutrients, calories and everything that your body needs�
�So no matter what I eat, its always going to be the same solid food in real life, huh?�
�No, different foods, different purposes.� Arelis explained.
�Well one thing is for sure, I am glad that they added taste to the food, I could not imagine what it would be like to eat something with out taste� He exclaimed.
�At one time there was only one item that everyone ate, it was soupy and they ate it three times a day; and it was a must for inmates to eat, other wise they would have starved� Arelis explained.
�How about you. Do you not eat?� John asked.
�I don�t need to eat, as you know I am a programmed character. I do have the knowledge on how to eat if its required of me�
�Of course, I forgot that you are nothing more than a solid illusion� muttered John.
The laughter in the room was ceasing, and most inmates began to leave their benches. Johnathan began too look about the room, he noticed that none sat in the smaller table and this puzzled him.
�Why are those chairs empty, who sits there?� he asked.
 �Lord Gillium, Lord of the house sits upon those chairs�
�The lord of the House?� John asked.
�Yes, he is the man that runs this building, him and his wife sit upon those chairs�
�Why are they not here?� John asked.
�They are in a City called Cumara, at a friends weeding feast, they will be back in about two weeks�
�Is he a CCC?� Asked John.
�No, is he is not, he is an inmate�
�And he is your Lord?�
�yes� Arelis Nodded.
�But how, can he be a Lord if he is a prisoner?� John asked.
�In this world anything is possible, if one works hard and has connections and money, one can do much�
Johnathan twisted his lips thoughtfully, then glanced around the room, how wonderful this whole world was, how much creativeness was put into it, and here he was. All of the sudden he felt the urge to use the restroom, and glanced about the room looking for a place that resembled a restroom. Spotting what he thought was the wash room he excused him self from Arelis and walked towards that room.
He walked in the room and found him self in the kitchen of the place. He walked over to a heavy set man and asked.
�Excuse sir, where can I find a restroom�
The man looked at him in disbelief then looked at one of his helpers and said �his looking for a restroom� at this both men busted out in laughter.
Johnathan�s angrily turned to him and said, �I am sorry that you find it amusing, but I need to use the restroom� but this only made the man laugh harder then what they were already doing.
Johnathan turned around and walked back to the table, sat back down and looked at Arelis.
�I don�t understand� he said.
Arelis face looked at John expecting a little more explanation.
�I went in search of a restroom and could not find one, but when I asked the cook about it, all he could do was laugh, and loud at that�
Arelis face did not change in mood, nor did he laugh �You see John, in this world there is no necessity to use a restroom� he explained.
�Oh, you are wrong, see I know I have to use the restroom� John explained.
�Yes you have the feelings, but you just do it, there is not a program within the prison that you have to use to go to the restroom, once feel the need to go, you just do, nothing happens in this world when you do�
Now John had this whole dilemma before him, Arelis had told him to just go to the restroom, that it did not affect, anything in this world, he remembered that when he looked at the cocoons there were tubes going in and out of the body, after a while a doubts he decided to take a chance. He stood and walked out of the room, this time he avoided the cook and passed to another room, he wanted a little privacy for this first time experience in this world.
Sure enough Arelis was right, John thought about pulling his pants down, but after some thought he decided against this, he then tested a little to see if he would pee through his pants, and after realizing that it was safe he let loose and did his business.
He was a new man after this. He came back to the table and sat back down next to Arelis.
�It�s like in a dream where you dream that you get up and go pee, then after a while you are not sure if you are dreaming or not and have to check your self to make sure you did not pee on the bed, thats the feeling I got out of this whole experience� he explained to Arelis, but the man just sat dubious to his explanation.
�Humph, forget it, you will probably never understand� cried out John, as he gave out a small laugh.
�Now we must go into the library and I must teach you the rules and regulations of Claustrom� Said Arelis.
With this, both man stood and walked away from the table and out of the hall.

 

 

Copyright © 2009 Mathew Hamm
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