Skirmish (The Stork Tower Book 8)

by Tony Corden

  "J❄: From the way they sent the teams in, my first thought would have been that they'll clamp down hard and arrest you, but that will just compound the problem for them—it gives credence to whatever it is you say."

  "J☼: Jimmy's right about their reaction, but I doubt they'll think it all the way through. I don't think they'd be stupid enough to try and arrest you again after what happened last time. Still, all bets are off if they ever realise that you're just as dangerous in the real world as in the virtual one. Until they realise that, I think their first response will be to cut your multiverse access. You need to be very careful not to accuse the government in any way or they'll do that without blinking, and there isn't anything we can do to stop them."

  "Maybe, maybe not. I do have one option, but I'd rather not use it, and I can't use it from here anyway. When are you, Isabel and Michio heading out?"

  J☼: Isabel and I will leave sometime this morning. Michio will wait until mid-afternoon. Each of us has a longer route than you, but we should be there before you leave."

  After talking for a few more minutes, Leah headed back to her room. After logging in, she made arrangements to meet with Erica before her next break. She then spent nine hours in cyber-time practising on the gravity skates before meeting with Danika.

  TRAX - GRAVITY SKATE TUTORIAL

  "N: Leah, I'm not too concerned about your ability in this race, but there are some changes to the way the race is run in the upper tiers. I've got access to a database which contains information on all those who drive at this level. It is updated daily, and most drivers have their vehicles tuned to take account of the other drivers in the race and the track being used.

  "For races in Tier Seven through Tier Four, I will need to register you in a race thirty virtual minutes before the race, and you need to be ready at that time. I receive a copy of who the other drivers will be and notification on which track will be used. If I change something in the way the car handles, you need to know what those changes are. It means you need to set aside time before the race to learn what the differences are."

  "Can you make the changes while I'm driving around a practice track? That will help me sense how the changes affect the way the car handles. It'll also give me a chance to drive a few times around the circuit."

  "N: That's a good idea. OK, are you ready?"

  "Yes."

  Moments later, Leah was standing next to the Archangel. Once she was inside and on the practice track, Danika started making small changes to the car's profile based on eight of the racers she had information on. The changes were all minor, and Leah wasn't sure what effect they'd have in the way she raced, but did find she had to change the line she took through corners. There was a slight difference in the gearing and acceleration as Danika made dozens of small changes to suit the track and Leah's racing style. Danika explained each change as it was made and Leah knew she'd never have been able to do this on her own.

  TRAX

  This time when Leah entered TRAX, she arrived just outside the area where the vehicles were waiting. The race went much the same as the others, although she didn't manage to lap half of the other drivers. Once the prizes were given out, Leah logged out to the Tower, then stepped through into Jenny's world.

  GATES UNCHAINED

  Jenny was waiting and said, "J: Are you ready for a Tier Twelve Gate and Time?"

  "I think so. My PR person says I need to up my visibility with everything that's happening in the riots. This shows I'm still after Meredith, so it works in my favour."

  "J: Even though I know you have plans, I still think you're nuts to poke that particular bear. Now, the colouring of your motorbikes will be similar to what Danika did for your car. The clothing is pretty similar and was arranged by your friend Paige. The game AI will know this is your first race, and it should base the gates and arena on that information. If that's the case, then try and aim to smash the one-hundred-thousand ceiling. On the other hand, I know that TRAX has state-of-the-art predictive software, so don't be surprised if it's a lot more complicated than you'd usually expect of a Tier Twelve contest."

  TRAX

  When Leah entered TRAX, she made her way to the registration desk and registered for a Tier Twelve Time and Gate Attack. When she left registration, she was directed to a different area. The layout was similar, and she could feel her bike somewhere in the middle of the thousands of others. Other players stopped what they were doing when they recognised her. By the time she started her bike, Three warned her that her name was trending in the Gate and Time Attack forums.

  Leah followed the arrows and found herself coming to a stop in a square marked' 39'. She was in the second to last square, and in the second to last row of a grid. After eleven more motorcycles had entered the grid, a braille pad appeared in front of her.

  "Atherleah, you have fifteen minutes to peruse a map of the arena for this Tier Twelve gate and Time Attack. Your starting position will be marked on the map."

  As soon as she'd finished reading, Leah found herself and bike alone in a large room. There was a timer on one wall counting down towards zero. Leah got off the bike and removed her helmet. As the timer reached zero, a three-dimensional holographic map appeared in front of her. A fifteen-minute countdown started on the wall. The arena was based in an urban setting with three main levels. The lowest was a system of sewage and subway tunnels, the middle was at street level, and the upper was created using highway overpasses, construction sites and various buildings. It was more difficult than any of the examples Leah had practised on with Jenny.

  Putting that aside, Leah began working through her options. Her starting position was at a dead-end in one of the subway tunnels on the lower level. She'd mapped out an optimum path by the tenth minute and began working through alternate options depending on what the others did. As the timer hit zero, the map disappeared. Leah got on her bike as a thirty-second countdown began.

  Halfway through the countdown, the room disappeared as Leah appeared at her starting position. As the timer hit zero, Leah accelerated along the short starting tunnel before turning left and hitting the first gate for two-hundred points. Leah had to change her path several times when players blocked her path or when gates hadn't reset for one reason or another. Even so, by the time the hour was up Leah had one-hundred-and-twenty-eight-thousand points and was the clear winner with the next player having thirty-one-thousand.

  After receiving her prize, Leah reappeared in Jenny's world, Gates Unchained.

  GATES UNCHAINED

  Danika was sitting with Jenny. Jenny said, "J: That had to be the hardest Tier Twelve arena I've ever seen. It was more like a Tier Five or Tier Four. The rider that came second has raced dozens of times before and previously achieved a win in a Tier Seven race. I asked Danika, as your manager, to query TRAX on the complexity. They agreed it was difficult, but their predictive software had asked for something even more difficult. They were constrained by preset limits for a first attempt at an entry-level race though. Well done."

  "N: Very well done. Do you have time for another race?"

  "I do. I'm not sure what Juke has told you, but we'd planned another practice before doing a Tier Twelve battle."

  "N: Seriously? Juke hasn't talked to me. If that's possible, then it will really get people's attention. The racing forums are exploding with what you did in the Gate and Time. You appearing with Gradient will push the thread through the roof and ignite the speculation that you're aiming for Meredith. Give me about half an hour virtual to get things set up with your uniforms and registration."

  After agreeing, Leah had Three contact Juke while she did another fifteen minutes cyber working through the sequences Juke had designed. Her practice with Juke went much the same as the day before, with Juke being excited at the prospect of moving to the two-player battle.

  TRAX

  When they arrived in TRAX, Leah could sense that Gradient's suit had changed. Instead of Gradient's usual green wetsuit with black markings, she
was wearing a dazzling white suit made from the interlocking feathered motif on the Archangel. The markings which changed as she moved used a mixture of the five colours on the car's racing stripe. Leah checked with Three and discovered that her suit used the light-absorbing black with the textured scaled-motif and had the same five colours for her markings.

  "Juke, I had no idea of the colour scheme. Are you OK with the changes or do you want your usual green?"

  Juke said, "G☇: This is cool. I discussed it with Danika, and we agreed this will be more effective against Meredith. She knows I'm pretty much untouchable, but even so it keeps her attention on you."

  "Untouchable?"

  "G☇: I'd rather not discuss it as it's not really relevant, but I have family and business connections which even Meredith won't be keen to get offside."

  "That's good to know. I've been worried that she might take her anger out on you."

  Once they were registered, they followed the prompts until they were standing on a grid similar to what Leah had in the Gate and Time Attack. Every other square was soon filled with a whole variety of fantasy vehicles. Most were heavily armoured with a driver at the front and the other player strapped in and ready to attack with a weapon of some sort.

  The first time Leah had watched Gradient race, she'd felt that Juke had no chance against the heavy armour and the obvious firepower of the other players. She'd changed her mind very quickly as Juke's control of gravity meant that nothing came close to touching her and very little could withstand her attacks as she ripped armour from a vehicle before slamming the players into a wall or against each other.

  When the grid was full, the next sequence was very similar to the Gate and Time Attack except she and Gradient only had five minutes to review the arena. They'd been given an alien forest scenario, where each plant and animal was ten to fifty times larger than on earth.

  "G☇: Danika mentioned what the predictive software gave you in the GAT Attack. It looks like it has struck again. This scenario seems great for skates because it gives us all three dimensions to move in, but it's deceptive. Every leaf, branch and animal will react to the gravity field, and we'll need to be as precise as we can. The suit will provide some protection, but if you slam into even a thin branch at two-hundred miles-an-hour, you'll break something. In an arena as unforgiving as this, precision is everything. Most of the other players will find this very difficult as far as navigating the terrain and attacking effectively, but it will force us to skate closer than we've practised. We'll need to be totally in sync."

  "I'll follow your lead and tone down the small changes."

  "G☇: I'll try and do the same. I'm going to start by accelerating straight ahead but heading upwards at fifteen degrees. We then need to separate around the bole of the tree and drag it down behind us to close the trail. Be prepared for the reaction as it'll slow you down and pull you across my path. I'll go high, you go low. We'll cross over then flip to the right."

  Leah pictured the first sequence of moves, then got into position next to Juke. When the countdown finished, there was another ten-second countdown. Then they were transferred to their starting position, both Leah and Juke with their limbs and torso positioned for the first move. They exploded forward, then moving their bodies slightly separated around the colossal tree directly in front of them. When they were ten metres past the tree, Leah copied Gradient's moves but used her arms to angle her body under Juke's feet. Leah's body felt the stress as the gravity tether they'd hooked onto the tree pulled back at them. Added to this was the rotation caused by the gravity tether which connected her to Juke and the forward tethers they'd attached to larger trees to help maintain their forward motion.

  Gradient had judged it almost perfectly and the tree behind them snapped. Juke signalled to release the backwards-facing gravity field and used the forward tether to pull them forward. At the same time, Juke changed her forward field's strength and let the tether between her and Leah swing them around towards the right where Leah could feel another team heading toward them.

  At the speed they were travelling, the other team's shooter missed the shot he'd lined up, only to feel his vehicle disintegrate around him and his driver as Juke sent her and Leah into a spiral along the length of his vehicle which tore it to pieces. Altogether it had taken them just over ten-seconds to change their route and eliminate one of the other players. Twenty minutes later, Juke and Leah were awarded first place.

  After the race, they met with Danika and Jenny and planned out the next few races. Then Leah logged back to the Tower where Erica and Sharon were already waiting in the gazebo.

  57

  December 29, 2073

  STORK TOWER

  As Leah headed toward the gazebo, Gèng appeared beside her and said, “4: I’ve already talked with Erica and the plan is for you to follow the black and white theme. You’ll have a calf-length black dress and a black satin tang-style jacket with charcoal embroidery and white piping. You won’t be wearing glasses or jewellery.”

  “Thank you. Have you decided how you’ll come with me to the new pod without leaving a trail?”

  “4: My programming will fit in the new memory modules the nanites have constructed in your skull. I’ve also archived myself on several high-security servers. I reviewed the file I think you were referring to when you talked with John and Jimmy before and if you go that route, then I’ve pre-prepared a few possible options.”

  Leah discussed possibilities as she walked. Simultaneously, she reviewed the information Sharon had sent through for her to prepare for the meeting. When she arrived at the gazebo, Leah stepped toward Erica and said, “Erica, thank you for coming. Have you and Sharon had a chance to discuss the rules for the meeting?”

  “E☼: We have, but I’m not entirely comfortable with the limitations. To be honest, it seems like I’m being asked to do PR for you instead of being an independent source of objective news.”

  “S☇: It’s not meant to limit your objectivity, but to help limit Atherleah’s exposure to unnecessary adverse reactions.”

  “E☼: What does that mean except you want to tailor listeners reactions, so they present Atherleah in a positive light—that’s a PR job, not one for a reporter.”

  Leah put a hand up as Sharon had moved as if to respond. Leah said, “I suppose that’s fair enough, but Sharon’s just doing her job and looking to protect me. We discussed it. We’re not so much interested in tailoring listener reactions as limiting opportunities for the government to shut me out of the multiverse. My responses will not be simple sound bites without meaning, and I’m certain many people will not like what I might say. The problem will be that, if I criticise the official response in any significant way, then I’m concerned they’ll shut me down.”

  “E☼: Seriously? Why would they do that? Lots of people are upset by their heavy-handed response and have said so openly. None of them have been shut down. Even the Kodomans have suggested a more measured response.”

  “S☇: How many negative-tax or low-income people will change their behaviour or views because Meredith says they are being treated too harshly? Now compare your answer with those same people’s response if Leah says she thinks the government is being heavy-handed. All we’re asking is for you not to ask Leah to make a statement on the government response. Even a ‘no comment’ could be misconstrued.”

  Erica said nothing for a moment as she stared at Sharon, then turned to look at Atherleah. “E☼: Do you really think you have that much sway in the community?”

  “It doesn’t really matter what I think. I, we, believe the government thinks I do and I want to walk the fine line which lets me share my opinions without being openly anti-government.”

  “E☼: You could say nothing, just keep quiet. Give no interviews at all.”

  “Then, my silence will have the effect of supporting the government’s line. They are saying that I’m trying to escape my background, that I’m too weak to come out and say I disagree with the peopl
e protesting because I’m afraid.”

  “E☼: But surely you can speak out against the violence, that’ll help get you onside with the government.”

  “Maybe, but that would only be a half-truth at best. Many people are rioting for the wrong reasons. They are either being destructive simply to show their anger at their lot in life or because they enjoy the rush it gives. Others respond in a focussed and measured way against real purposeful harm done to them by those in authority. I respect and affirm their right to be heard. People keep talking about taking the higher road and the need for peaceful protests, but they assume the government is invested in listening to what is being said. It isn’t.

  “Sure, I am against the wanton destruction of property, and I hope no one is hurt in the protest but silencing protestors as a group simply adds weight to their oppression. People are trying to communicate with both the people in power and with the everyday citizen. They want people to know that there is a systemic problem in this country where the most marginalised and the powerless are being purposefully abused to enhance the lives of those with more money and power. They aren’t asking to change some law. They are sharing how the law that we already have is being purposefully broken by the very people we entrust to police that law.

  “If I thought people would listen to a reasoned argument, then I’d try and make that point and attempt to stop the mindless destruction and violence. The problem is that people watch and listen in small bites. They think similar behaviours come from identical motivations. They find it hard to differentiate what someone does from why they do the behaviour.”

  “E☼: You are talking about the wild rumours of slavery, abuse and kill squads.”