Ed. note: Welcome to an experiment we’re calling First Person. As opposed to a review, what follows is the perspective of one participant in an immersive experience. Told from that liminal space between our world and that of the fiction, where immersive really thrives. This time up: ‘The Path of Beatrice,’ the extension of the Paradiso: Chapter 1 escape room.

“You’re going to have to make a choice,” he says.

I’m standing on a street corner in New York City with a stranger: a man who I barely know who says he “has something for me.” I don’t know if I can trust him. I don’t know who else might be watching.

He looks sweaty and out of breath. It’s so humid it feels like I’m walking straight through the devil’s mouth.

A few days ago, this man emailed me asking to meet for coffee. He said his name was Simon and he had some questions about the Virgil Corp, an organization I was in the process of of applying to join. It’s a global mega-corporation who run escape room simulations to identity those extraordinary individuals from the masses. They say they are finding the future elite this way.

Simon said he was a journalist in contact with an ex-member of the Virgil Corporation. And my name was given to him by a contact, one whose name he couldn’t disclose.

He asked me about a long list of names — did any of these people ring a bell? No, but who were they? Were they even alive? I know others have died during this quest to identify the Escape Gene.

Simon told me about the book he’s writing. He wants to expose the Virgil Corporation. That the Virgil Corporation are not just a group of behavioral scientists looking for a shared gene amongst the top 1% of humanity, in order to find the best, the brightest, the smartest.

He won’t tell me whose side he’s on — just that he’s looking for the truth.

Is the woman fiddling with her phone a few feet away listening? Can she hear us over the music?

Simon hands me a USB drive with a small key attached. He tells me that on the drive is a document labeled with my name, but it’s locked. He says he can’t open it.

Maybe I can.

“There’s going to come a point where you’re going to have to choose.”

I’m confused.

He repeats himself.

“You’re going to need to make a choice.”

I rush home, fingers wrapped around the USB drive, my heart pounding.

Where’s my laptop? What’s on this drive? Can I break the password in time? And who is this number that keeps texting me?

It was pretty much standard procedure up until this point or so I thought.

Liability waivers and non-disclosure agreements and reams of paperwork as I began my application to join the Virgil Corporation. They said they were very interested in me. I had promise. It was flattering.

So I signed my name. I answered all their questions and I dotted my i’s and crossed my t’s. I accepted the risks involved with seeking enlightenment. (No pain, no gain, right?) I knew they would be testing me for the Escape Gene. It was mysterious and thrilling. I hoped I would be able to pass the tests.

I was surprised to be contacted by a Level 5 recruitment officer. She asked to meet me at a popular tourist destination. Broad daylight, in public, late afternoon. I was nervous but I thought I did well. I answered her questions truthfully and I made sure that when she looked at me, I looked right back. She seemed satisfied.

What does she know?

I’ve been told that the Virgil Corporation is everywhere, controlling everything. Finance, entertainment, sports, you name it. They run the world without us knowing. They seek order from the chaos. Not control, but order. They only want us to be our best selves. Maximize our human potential. Isn’t that a noble cause?

But there’s an opposition group, Stop Virgil Corp. They’re kind of like Anonymous, but hackers without the masks. Vigilantes trying to take the Virgil Corp down from the inside. And I think they’re trying to contact me.

I’ve been getting text messages from unknown numbers. Emails that don’t make any sense. Questions are only met with more questions. My mind is racing.

Do you ever question the nature of your reality?

Then there’s this one message. It could be from Stop Virgil or the actual Virgil Corporation or even someone else, maybe a mole. But he wants to meet me tonight. Says it’s urgent. I think he’s trying to get me to do something. Something that I might not want to do. Something that would make the Virgil Corporation very unhappy.

But Simon was right. I know I’m going to have to choose.

One way or the other.

The Path of Beatrice is an add-on experience occurring before or after Paradiso: Chapter 1's Escape Room. The author’s multi-day experience included meetups with additional characters, as well as text messages, emails, and physical objects & clues. All tickets include admission to Paradiso: Chapter 1. Experiences start at $300 for 1 player.

Paradiso: Chapter 2 opens late July 2017.