“Try it again.” As Dr. Tao spoke, a paper target appeared, hanging in midair over the apple shards.

Jack took aim and fired three shots in quick succession. Three holes punched dead center; the paper target shook and the gun jumped in his hand. But instead of three gun blasts, he heard three squeaks from a rubber-ducky toy. Jack laughed.

“Cute, Doc.”

“It’s all about options.”

Jack holstered his pistol as he turned around.

“Not bad shooting for a guy who doesn’t really like guns,” Lian said in his headset.

“You’re watching this?”

“Of course.”

“I’ve got to admit, this is really cool technology,” Jack said. “The couch potato brigade’s gonna love it.”

“VR has more important applications than games.”

Jack suddenly stood in an abandoned surgical ward.

“What’s this?”

“Could be a combat assault, or a police hostage rescue operation.”

A metallic sound crashed on the far side of a swinging door.

Jack stepped past a surgical table and pushed against the swinging door, his right hand reaching for his pistol. He felt the weight of the virtual door press against his glove as it gave way. He went into a tiled washing area with stainless-steel sinks, his pulse racing. He started to clear the room but caught himself. This wasn’t the time to tip his hand.

“Interesting, but don’t military guys just build themselves practice rooms like this?” Jack asked, holstering his pistol.

“They do, but they can’t do it as fast as this.”

Jack didn’t move, but the venues changed in rapid succession, one after another: a hotel lobby, an Afghan village, a department store, an elementary school classroom.

“A training coordinator can lock or open doors, move walls, cause weapons to fail, change up opponents, change the time of day, weather, season—you name it. Complete control and customization of any training scenario at the touch of a button.”

“I can see where that would be handy,” Jack said, hiding his shock. Any special operations team would love a training system like this. John Clark would go nuts. “But still not as good as the real thing, I’d imagine.”

“It’s a supplement to physical training, not a substitute. Ready for something else?”

“Sure.”

Suddenly Jack was standing on the edge of a windswept mountaintop, a deep chasm falling away at his booted feet. His stomach tingled at the thought of falling off, which he knew he couldn’t, since he was actually standing on the floor of the Dalfan building.

Right?

An eight-inch-wide board spanned the twenty-foot chasm. On the other side stood Dr. Tao’s avatar. She waved to him.

“What do you think, Mr. Ryan?”

Jack spun around 360 degrees, taking in the rugged, snowcapped mountain range. A stiff breeze whistled in his ears.