Chapter 36 THE START PART 1
The hallway was bright and industrial, with polished concrete floors and pipes running along the ceiling. They walked past several doors with technical names like “Rendering Suite,” “Audio Booth,” and “Equipment Storage.” At the very end was a set of double doors labeled “Studio 3.”
Alexander pushed them open, and Vivienne stepped into a kind of organized mess.
The space was huge, easily as big as a basketball court. The ceilings were high, and the walls were painted a dull green. Cameras hung from complex rig systems that ran along the ceiling and walls. One side of the room was lined with computers and monitors, their screens already filled with graphs and wireframe images. Colored tape covered the floor, forming a rough grid.
And there were people everywhere.
Eliza noticed them right away and hurried over.
“Mr. Hunt, Ms. Cross, perfect timing.” She shook both their hands quickly. “We’re just finishing the final adjustments. We should be ready to start in about fifteen minutes.”
“Great,” Alexander said.
Vivienne managed a smile, even though she could feel her nerves building. “Good to see you again, Eliza.”
“Likewise.” Eliza smiled warmly. “Let me introduce you to the rest of the team. You’ll be working with all of them pretty closely over the next few months.”
She guided them farther into the studio, pointing people out as they walked.
“That’s Victor, our lead camera operator. He’s been doing motion capture for over fifteen years and has worked on some of the biggest games in the industry.”
Victor, a man in his forties with graying hair and friendly eyes, glanced up from his monitor and waved. “Welcome aboard, Ms. Cross.”
“Thank you,” Vivienne said, smiling back.
“Over there is Priya, our technical director,” Eliza continued. “If something breaks, she fixes it. If it doesn’t exist yet, she builds it.”
Priya looked to be in her early thirties, with purple streaks in her hair and several piercings. She looked up from her tablet and nodded at Vivienne. “Hey. Just a heads-up, you’re going to be covered in sensors today. It feels strange at first, but you get used to it.”
“Noted,” Vivienne said softly.
Eliza kept going. “That’s Marcus—no relation to the security guard downstairs—he’s our animation lead. Jamie handles audio. And the twins over there are Sam and Alex. They take care of data processing.”
Vivienne’s head was already spinning trying to remember everyone. The team was bigger than she’d expected, and they all seemed confident and focused, which only made her feel more out of place.
“And last but not least,” Eliza said, pointing to a young woman with bright red hair pulled into a messy bun, “that’s Riley, our production assistant. She’ll be your lifeline. Need water? Riley. Need a break? Riley. Need someone to hold your hand during a stressful scene? Also Riley.”
Riley grinned and gave an exaggerated bow. “I’m basically a professional babysitter, but for adults. And I’m very good at my job.”
Despite her nerves, Vivienne smiled. “Good to know I’m in capable hands.”
“The best hands,” Riley said confidently. Then she glanced at Alexander. “No offense, Mr. Hunt, but your hands are terrifying. All that perfectionist energy. Riley’s hands are much better.”
For a moment, the room went quiet as everyone waited to see how Alexander would react.
Then he laughed. “Fair enough, Riley. I’ll try to keep my terrifying perfectionist energy under control today.”
“Please do,” Riley said cheerfully. “We don’t need another Great Breakdown of 2024.”
“The what?” Vivienne asked before she could stop herself.
“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Riley’s eyes lit up with obvious excitement. “Last year, Mr. Hunt made an animator redo the same scene so many times that the guy quit halfway through the session. Just stood up, said he couldn’t do it anymore, and walked out.”
“Riley,” Eliza said sharply.
“What? It’s true! Marcus was there. He saw everything.”
Marcus looked up from his screen. “She’s not wrong. Though, to be fair, the guy’s work wasn’t very good. He probably should’ve quit sooner.”
“Anyway,” Eliza said loudly, giving Riley a look that clearly meant enough, “we’re all very excited to work with you, Ms. Cross. This is going to be a great project.”
Alexander stepped forward, and the mood shifted right away. People straightened and focused on him.
“For those of you who haven’t met her yet, this is Vivienne Cross,” he said. “She’s the face of Tyranny, and over the next few months, she’ll be bringing Athena to life in ways we’ve only imagined so far.”
There was a small round of applause, and Vivienne felt her face warm.
“I know this is new territory for many of you,” Alexander continued. “Motion capture is different from traditional animation. It takes patience, precision, and a lot of trial and error. But I have complete confidence in this team, and I have complete confidence in Vivienne.”
He looked at her as he said it, and something about it made her chest ache.
“Now,” he added, turning back to the group, “let’s make something great.”
The team drifted back to their stations. Eliza pulled Vivienne aside and brought up the schedule on her tablet.
“We’ll start with basic movements,” she explained. “Walking, running, sitting, standing. We need to record how you move naturally so we can build Athena’s baseline.”
“That doesn’t sound too hard,” Vivienne said, though she wasn’t fully convinced.
“It won’t be, at first. But we’ll be doing a lot of repetitions. Different speeds, different moods, different situations. By the end of the day, you’ll probably be tired of walking.”
“Great,” Vivienne said quietly.
“But,” Eliza added with a reassuring smile, “at least you’ll be really good at it.”
Vivienne laughed. “I guess that’s the upside.”
“That’s the attitude. Now let’s get you into your mocap suit and start some tests.”
As Eliza led her toward the changing area, Vivienne glanced back and caught Alexander watching her. He gave her a small nod of encouragement.
She returned it, took a deep breath, and followed Eliza.