Dan was suffering a serious case of the nerves as he sat through the orientation meeting. When he'd filled out the application, all he was thinking about was the money. Work was hard to come by lately. Well, work you could live on. Back in the day, when this sort of technology was still in development, everyone was making a killing, but these days the execs and the hedge fund managers really did just have all the money, and there wasn't much of a choice than doing something horribly degrading to wring a little of it back out of their pockets. This seemed like one of the better options, before he'd really thought about it.
"... by now the little helpers in those pills you took this morning should have had a chance to work their way through your systems. Who wants to step on up and show off how the request system works?"
Some guy with a greasy mop of hair raised his hand, and was lead up to a mock-up of a break room on the stage.
Dan was already wondering if it was too late to back out. Technically, he'd signed the contract. He was an employee. He could quit, sure, but he'd still have to give two weeks notice, and it'd look damn weird on his employment history. Maybe it would be better to wait until things went south and there was a solid reason to quit, not just these day one jitters...
"When you aren't helping a guest with a scenario, find a break room. We've got everything you'd like. A fully stocked kitchen, games, even a sauna. Just remember though that as soon as a customer shows up with a valid day pass and a character request, you can be called out into the field at any time."
Another instructor held up a pass to demonstrate, swiping it across a scanner and waiting for the requester to assess his needs. That part was almost as creepy as the fulfillment, Dan thought. Someone had tried to explain it to him once at a party. It didn't actually read minds, not really. It was something with algorithms and life loggers, predictive models. In practice though yeah, it read the guests' minds.
Dan turned his attention to the volunteer. He didn't seem too distressed as the changes started, but they seemed to be going with something simple. His posture improved, his hair cleaned and shortened itself to a jaunty little swooping curl. Teeth became sparkling white, clear complexion. Guy suddenly looked like he was shooting a toothpaste commercial, ad his jumpsuit shifted to a grey one with overalls.
"When the system calls you in, you'll be reshaped to look the part, and get some helpful pointers on what's expected of you."
The volunteer immediately walked back out, grabbing up everyone's used water cups and such to throw in the trash. Dan still didn't get how this part was even legal. Yeah, you went back to normal at the end of the day but those 'helpful pointers' really messed with your brain. This guy was just being made to play janitor, but usually it was some elaborate roleplaying fantasy. If this was a real guest he might have been compelled to play the part of some mustache-twirling villain, grabbing some hot chick to tie to some railroad tracks. Hell, he could have become the hot chick for that matter. There were some limits. One actor to one character. The mass had to be right, but otherwise... ads for this place ended with a shot of a toddler dancing with a bunch of anthropomorphic ducks or something.
"While you're being outfitted for your task, you might suddenly find yourself feeling very hungry or queezy. Don't worry. Every break room has a number of receptacles and dispenses. Pig out or let loose, it's all part of the process."
So that was how they got around that. Just pump in more nanite-infused slurry or wretch it up if you're the wrong size? Dan wasn't looking forward to that one bit. Still probably not the worst part of the job though... and at least the pay was good.
The rest of the orientation was pretty standard stuff. Liability info, reassurances that nothing was permanent, and guests were carefully screened. Lots of reassurances that nobody was ever removed from the resort grounds. Dan had no reason to doubt that. The 'little helpers' he'd swallowed that morning and now distributed through his body were way too expensive to let people just walk out with them, and they were super easy to track. Dan suddenly found himself worried about how they'd clear those out when he eventually left the job.
Eventually everyone filed out, distributing themselves around the resort. Dan was planning to find a break room off the beaten trail, but that was the problem with this place. Half the guests wanted to play action hero. If he did set up shop by some barren looking access tunnels, someone would almost certainly come through, tapping him to play some villain or plucky sidekick. He did his best to just go against the flow of traffic, and made it a whole two hours before he was first volunteered. It was a weird feeling as the changes started. No pain, not even a tingle really, just... warm and a little disorienting.