Chapter 2

Chapter II

Herbert Maxwell had gone by the name ‘Wells’ ever since he could remember.  Most people didn’t know it came from Maxwell.  He had been handed Project Treadmill six months earlier when Johnson, the original programmer, had disappeared.  ‘Took his money and run’ they had told him.  Wells was enjoying the study, though he felt there was more cloak and dagger attached to it than normal protection against industrial spies.  That was the company’s business; he learned to keep his mouth shut and get the input from Wilson.

A buzzer announced the arrival of George Wilson.  Wells’s secretary had been told to let him in and keep everyone else out. 

“Wilson, have a seat.”

Wilson nodded.  He sat in the stuffed chair and seemed to pull toward Wells.

“You say they met.  Was there a scene?” Wells asked.

“Ralph said they just stared for a moment, then had lunch together.  This might be a good thing.  We can get some feedback.”

“How were they put together?  What made you choose these two people?  I wasn’t in the project yet when they were first put together.  Johnson stuck around to be sure the program worked.”

“We sent out questionnaires.  Those who showed an interest in exercise and were twenty-five to forty pounds over weight, in good health were given the opportunity to win a treadmill.” Wilson explained, “They had to go to a gym near them and ride twenty minutes in the morning and the same in the afternoon for two weeks.  Men assigned one gym, women another.  They had to guarantee, if they won a treadmill, they would keep up the routine, at least, until they were in shape.  We set a goal for each.”

“So you figure they would run the same hours and that gave you a framework?” Wells asked.

“We told them it was a promotional weight loss program.  We didn’t want flakes, who ran on a whim, and couldn’t stick to a schedule.  That two weeks eliminated eighty percent of the contestants.”” Wilson explained, “We did interviews and personality questions.  In the end Jeffry Peterson and Ruby Vickers were the two people we most wanted as a trail buddy,” Wilson went on, “They were the kind of people who would encourage their partner.  They laughed at the same things and were attractive, if they got in shape.”

“How did you get them together?” Wells asked.

“We set-up the treadmills at the same time.  They were thrilled wanted to try them out right away.  We basically put them on the trail together and left.  We put her fifteen seconds ahead of him figuring he would be a little faster.” Wilson thought a second then added, “We watched on our monitor, so we could leave them alone to get acquainted.”

“You do still monitor them?” Wells asked.  Receiving a nod he added, “Do you think they’ll keep their appointed run tonight?”

“Could you not if you were them?  They encountered a body in the park this morning.  They agreed to meet on trail seven and see if it was still there.” Wilson shifted in his chair.  “He called the police; she didn’t.  I really want to know why.  It left me thinking she knew Peterson was real, before they met.”

“And then they met.  I think we do have to talk to them.  They’re bound to have too many questions,” Wells said.

“Another thing, they were holding hands on the trail today.  How?  And why did they disappear off the monitor?”

“When do they run?  I want to be on the monitor with you,” Wells said, feeling Wilson should have been reporting the number of incidents.

“They start about five-fifteen.”

“Wilson, is the program changing?”

“I think we have to talk to them to find out.”

“Call and make an appointment to check on their progress.  See each alone, then bring them together.”  Wells made his decision.

Ruby and Pete were both early on the trail in the afternoon.

“I could hardly wait to get home and see if you’d be here,” Ruby said in greeting.

“Me too!  It’s great to know you’re real.  Maybe we can get together off of the treadmill.  Have you seen the paper?”

“No, I came straight to the treadmill,” she said, as Pete took her hand to hold.

“I take the bus home so I read the paper on the way,” Pete said, “The body we found was – I forget her name, but she worked for Fitness Opts.  The company that makes programs for the treadmill.”

“That’s kind of scary.”  Ruby thought for a moment, then said, “If they put us together – do you think they’re watching us?”

Pete looked around.  He laughed, “Suddenly this free treadmill is not so free.”

“What are we into?”

He squeezed her hand.  “At least we’re in it together.  Say, can we exchange phone numbers?  If the treadmills get disconnected I don’t want to lose you.”

They stopped walking to write their phone numbers.  She noticed Pete fading, so she started to walk and he came back.

“I almost lost you,” she said.

“I guess we have to keep moving.  I hope the phone numbers don’t disappear.”

They glanced at the papers to try to commit the numbers to memory.

“Do they send you a monthly questionnaire?” Ruby asked.

“I told them they better not take my Rumble away.”

“Me too!  Oh, we’re here.”

“I’ll call you, if I still have your number,” Pete called. 

Ruby was already fading.

He got off the treadmill and went to the phone.

“Rumble?” He asked, thumbing through the mail he had placed on the telephone table.  He couldn’t see her doing the same thing at her apartment.

“I’m glad we have a more tangible way to communicate,” she said.

They both opened letters from Fitness Opts.

“Say, Rumble, Fitness Opts wants me to come in for an orientation and progress interview.”

“Mine was just stuck in the box, no postage.  They want to know what could make our workout better.” She said.

“Does it get any better?  I have never spent so much time on a treadmill and looked forward to it so much.”

After Pete and Ruby left their treadmills, Wilson and Wells continued sitting where they had viewed the small monitor used to see the trails.

“Who was the corpse?  They said she was from here?” Wells asked.

“Hope Styles, she was in accounts.  She was seeing Johnson, at least, while he was here,” Wilson replied.

“Odd she came up on their trail.”

“There are too many coincidences occurring.  I don’t like it.  If they show for the appointments maybe we can get things straightened out.”

“Do you think their phone numbers were transferred?” Wells asked.

Wilson laughed.  “I don’t see how, but they move so smoothly the picture part of the program is perfect.  I wonder if Johnson worked with a picture, or if he made videos and installed them.”

“You said they went off the trail to examine the body,” Wells asked, “How is that possible?”

Wilson could just stare.  He had no answers.

The appointments for Ruby and Pete were set for seven o’clock the next evening.  They rushed home from work to their treadmill and made plans to meet for a quick dinner and go to the meeting together.

When they arrived at the Fitness Opts offices they were separated weighed and congratulated on their progress.  They were each asked a series of questions about their relationship, then they were brought together.

Wells and Wilson were with them so both could take notes.

“Tell us how you happened to find the body,” Wells said.

“We saw something that didn’t look right by the bush so we went over to look,” Pete said.

“On that little monitor all you can see is the trail and each other,” Wilson prodded.

Ruby looked puzzled.

“Is something wrong, Ms Vickers?” Wells asked.

“We start on the monitor, but when we approach each other it becomes life size. We walk into the monitor.”  When Ruby answered, she looked to Pete for confirmation.

Pete was nodding.

“Did the phone numbers leave the treadmill with you?” Wilson asked.

“You do watch us,” Pete said.

“We have a monitor the size of yours that we look in occasionally, to be sure things are going smoothly,” Wilson said, “We see what we thought you were seeing.  When the police asked us, about your connection to the murder, we knew something was changed.  Why didn’t you report it Ms Vickers?  Did you know Mr. Peterson would?”

“He said he would.  I thought he was part of the program, so I figured it was going to turn into an adventure.”

“The human reasoning enters,” Wells said, “But didn’t it frighten you when you met with a strange man and were transferred to a real trail?”

“We have both said a lot of ‘Wows’ since we started this, six months ago,” Pete said, “Each of us thought we were walking with a virtual, as long as we were together, we just enjoyed.  If you lost my Rumble, I would have been very upset.”

“We had our virtual incentive,” Ruby said, “We kept each other going.  We thought it was you.  I always got off the treadmill saying I love this program.”

“Me too.” Pete agreed.                         1527