by Tony Corden
Leah had to search through the address list John had left but soon found Ivan’s address.
To: Ivan (Боевой_молот) **45 [AI **35]
From: Atherleah Carroll **78
Regarding: Cookies
Ivan, sorry you had to learn of my problems in the news cycle. I asked that only Thad, Wisp, Amy and Kate be told what had happened. I’m not quite as bad as they suggest, but it is close. Having said that, I’m reminded of one of my father’s favourite comedy sketches from the last century—‘Tis but a scratch.’ OK, it is true that I can’t see, hear, or speak, but other than that I seem to be recovering.
Sharon will be putting out a statement in an hour or two, but I wanted you to know beforehand that I’ve asked the Virtual World Today Studios to invite me and some others to do an interview during their Special Edition Christmas Eve Show. Can you let Yuè Fēi and Noah know that I plan to attend and would appreciate their moral support if they can make it?
Give my love to Gashka.
Leah
Leah then spent several hours reading the manual to the Neural Enhancement Chip. Every fifteen or so minutes, she stopped to check her messages and respond. She had some from Thad, Amy, Wisp, and Kate, as well as queries from most of the friends she’d made during the last month. She only responded to the people she’d already told but sent the rest through to Sharon, asking her to send them a short summary of what happened and ask them to keep it quiet, if possible. There were tens of thousands of other messages arriving in her inbox every few minutes. Usually, Gèng dealt with the people she didn’t know, and she just shuffled them into a large folder in the hope that Gèng might get to them at some time.
By the time Lin came to see if she needed anything, it was five in the morning. Leah had finished all the documentation on the Neural Enhancement Chip and was re-reading it in case she’d missed something. After breakfast, Leah was shown to the exercise area where she spent several hours meditating, stretching and working through the different moves she’d learned in the Switch. She also practiced all the additional moves she’d learned in the various worlds of the multiverse. Before finishing her exercises, Lacey came and sparred with Leah for almost an hour.
When Leah arrived back in the kitchen area all covered with sweat, Lin berated her before remembering Leah couldn’t hear anything. Instantly calming down, Lin led Leah to the bathroom for a shower and helped her dress for the day. At nine o’clock Jimmy dropped in to see Leah. He typed, “They finally let me back in. Lacey’s become a real pain since she started working for you.”
“Would you like me to have someone call her so you can tell her yourself?”
“No, but that’s only because she may have had a point. I forgot that regardless of what I think, you have the right to determine your own destiny, even as beat up as you are. I’ll give my opinions and suggestions, but I’ll try not to discount yours. She was right. I need to remember that you are more than capable. What you can’t do, you know you can count on us for. I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate that, Jimmy. How are the plans going with the Chief AI Installer?”
“He’s been scrubbed clean of everything he knows. John, not Welford, but our John, he, Johan and I have put together a plan that could work, but it has to be tomorrow evening, or we wait a week.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Almost everything in the Department of Neurology is automated. Additionally, there are secure entrances between all the separate departments at the hospital. Getting inside the restricted areas is impossible even during the day without the appropriate clearance, and even then each person is scanned to check their PAI. We’ve double-checked, and Welford’s clearance is flagged so he can’t get us in. Every night after the staff leave for the night, the different vacant areas of the hospital are cleaned and have maintenance done. All of this is almost entirely automated.
“Although the sequence in which the sections are cleaned using a security-driven randomness protocol, there must be some underlying order to help facilitate everything. Most maintenance and cleaning in the Neurology Department can be done at any time, but the cleaning of the bio-waste incinerator is only done on Saturday evenings after the staff have left. It can be done anytime between six and midnight.
“If someone is quick, they could enter the restricted area through the exhaust vent. They would have eight minutes to descend the chimney and exit into the Neurology Waste area before the self clean is finished. Once inside, they will insert a program into the hospital network. It was written by someone John and you know called Reed. Apparently this will give them access to the Neurology Department Security network. Once inside that, Reed says the program will reset the protocols and let John, you and Welford in. Once you’re inside, it’s over to you and Welford. You will both have full clearance, but that will disappear, along with all the records, at five o’clock Sunday morning.”
“Who have you planned to go down the chimney?”
“The Elliot boy.”
“No Jimmy, not on this job. No kids.”
“It has to be a kid, Leah. No one else who’s capable of the doing the descent and break-in is small enough except maybe Martin. I know he’d volunteer, but he’s just not quick enough anymore, not for that type of work.”
“I’m small enough.”
“Knowing full well I might get tossed out again, let me remind you that you are both blind and deaf.”
“True, but remember when I broke into that home over in Westlake?”
“Yes.”
“And, what did you make me do before you let me do it?”
“Seriously?”
“Fair enough, what did you make me do before you ‘made’ me do it?”
“I hardly ‘made’ you do anything, although I did require that you had to go through the mock-up blindfolded and in the dark.”
“And?”
“You also had headphones on.”
“I was eight at the time, Jimmy. Believe me, I can still do it. Get the plans and build a complete mock-up of the centre.”
“Where am I going to find somewhere that big?”
“Jimmy, as you’ve just reminded me, I’m blind, deaf and dumb. Knowing that, you still want me to help solve everything?”
“I’m going to be really happy when you’re better. These daily talks have reminded me just how sassy you’d gotten.”
“I miss you too, Jimmy. Can you have it ready for the morning?”
“I’ll organise it somehow and have some parts ready for later tonight. I want the Elliot boy there as backup, just in case. You don’t have to agree with me because you won’t be able to tell one way or the other.”
“Goodbye, Jimmy.”
“Bye, kid.”
When Jimmy had gone, Leah asked to be taken to her room for a rest. Even with everything she’d done that morning, she was surprised when she dropped into a troubled sleep almost immediately.
10
December 22 2073
REAL WORLD
Although it felt like it had only been a moment, it was two hours before Leah sat upright and waited for someone to come to help her. She wondered which was worse, the absolute realism of her dreams or the blank nothingness when she was awake. She sped up her perceptions and thought she could sense some movement just before someone took hold of her hand. This time it was Lin. After helping Leah use the bathroom, Lin led her to the kitchen for some food, then sat her down at the computer.
Aker arrived soon after Leah woke and typed, “Leah, I have no idea how he did it, but a guy called Leon arranged to have some of the tactile-enhancing fabric implants shipped here already. He said small drone shipments will be arriving throughout the day. There were twenty-five in the first shipment, and I want to get started. Can you stand and let me measure you again? I want to make sure the suit I’ve been working on still fits like it’s supposed to before I finish sealing the edges. After that, we need to discuss how to program the s
ensors to give you the clearest picture of what’s happening around you.”
Leah agreed, and Lin led her to an empty room where Aker made her remove almost all her clothing. Aker then measured Leah as her mum moved her into various positions. When they’d finished, Aker sat with Leah to discuss the sensor specifications. Each circle had a variety of miniature inbuilt sensors that could measure a range of inputs including movement, light intensity, temperature, heat, pressure, humidity, current, magnetism, proximity, IR, and UV. The work Leah and Gèng had done in helping Leah navigate cyberspace came in helpful. Over the next several hours, Leah and Aker devised a range of approaches to help increase the information Leah was able to receive and understand.
One option that they’d discussed, Leah asked Aker to work on immediately. It involved programming the interface to manipulate sound waves and export any speech via pressure signals at the tips of Leah’s fingers using braille patterns. Aker agreed and suggested an additional subroutine to input signals from a digital communications network for use during operations.
Leah also asked Aker to construct, or buy, a plug-in to create a virtual keyboard with tactile cues so Leah could ‘speak’ by engaging the keyboard and typing. The text would be converted to speech which could be broadcast either from tiny speakers or over the network.
Once Aker left, Kevin came and checked Leah’s wounds. Leah then spent some more time reviewing the Neural Enhancement chip and sending additional questions through to Dr Roberts. Next, Leah ran her fingers over the list of messages and read the ones from Amy, Thad, Wisp, Kate, Peter, Leon, Ivan and Noah. Thad wanted to head to Brisbane but would stay in Sydney at least until Christmas because Leah had asked him to wait. He shared some of the research he’d done on Suzluk. He then shared with unconcealed glee that somehow Suzluk’s hatred of Atherleah had become a target of players’ anger at what was happening. Throughout Dunyanin, Suzluk’s followers were being hunted, and some of his temples had been destroyed.
Wisp and Amy’s messages brought Leah to tears as they described the difference Leah had made in their lives. The tears came when she realised the immense amount of anger that was being held within her two gentle, sweet, friends. Leah wrote to both asking them to put the anger aside. She explained that she needed their steady and constant goodness to help her stay sane. Amy must have been in her personal space because Leah received an immediate reply.
To: Atherleah Carroll **78
From: Amelia Walker **35 [AI **E2]
Regarding: Anger
Leah, I’m sorry my anger came through, but I’m not sorry for being angry. You mentioned my kindness and goodness, and I want you to know that for all your deadly skills, and your enormous capacity for violence, I consider you the kindest, sweetest, nicest person I’ve ever met. Wisp is up there, but neither of us would have asked Namos to take Hubert back. I rewatched your interaction with N’ den the other day. I saw not only an intensity of anger I’m not sure I’ve felt even with what’s happened to you, but I also saw a depth of kindness I know I haven’t yet shown.
Accept our anger on your behalf. What these people have done to you is beyond cruel, it is evil, and it offends me to the deepest parts of my heart. When Jen contacted me, I had no idea what had happened to you. I was expecting to hear how they’d killed you, and I wanted to scream my anger into the multiverse, but then she described what had happened. She discussed how you’d been hurt, what they’d done, how you escaped, and how you’d been found.
That anger I’d been holding in and which I’d been prepared to accept was washed away in an instant by two overwhelming emotions that still compete for my attention. The first was a wave of joy that I can still feel bubbling inside me. My friend was alive. She thought of me and made sure her friends had support when they heard the news. The second emotion was a rage beyond anything I’ve ever known. It is palpable, and it also stays with me. It isn’t displacing the kindness and love but instead it is being fuelled by them. They did this to my friend. I know you want people left alone until you can do something, but make it quick. We all have an idea who did this, and we’re finding it hard to hold back.
Be honest. If someone had done to me what was done to you, would they be able to step into the multiverse without fear and trembling? I heard what happened to the people who were harassing that Chinese girl who helped you. That was you acting for a stranger. I can’t imagine what you’d do for a friend. Kate explained how you lost your eye in Pneumatica. That was for someone you didn’t know. What would you have done for one of us? I do know the answer to that. You destroyed one of the most influential people in the game, and you destroyed the most important social event in the multiverse just for Thad. Why would you think we’d do any less for you?
All that to say, please accept our anger as a legitimate part of our response. It burns so bright only because we love you so much.
Love Amy
Leah read the message twice and then responded.
To: Amelia Walker **35 [AI **E2]
From: Atherleah Carroll **78
Regarding: Anger
Dear Amy,
Thank you for the message. You are right. I would have raged through the multiverse if anyone had done this to you. When you mentioned N’ den, I realise now that I wasn’t angry enough. I’m not sure what Jen said, but something like that was planned and attempted, and I can’t sleep without the nightmares coming every few minutes. I can’t be comforted because I lash out in my sleep. I have no idea how people manage to keep going after being raped. To keep finding a reason to get up and to live their lives takes courage beyond belief.
I don’t say that for any reason except to acknowledge just how right you are. Real, unsurmountable, hot, rage needs fuel. Often it’s fuelled by pride, by power, by greed, though usually by hatred. In those times, it is harmful, harmful to everyone. But when it’s fuelled by love, by respect, by justice then I agree, it isn’t wrong. I was so busy holding onto my own anger; I forgot that yours is also justified.
I believe you have a very good idea of who did this and I won’t deny you’re probably right. Unfortunately, there are truths about that situation which I haven’t shared, and now I cannot share them safely. I’m not holding back just because I want revenge myself, although, honestly, that is a factor. It’s because others, people I think are innocent, will be hurt in the process. Those people hold me back from letting loose. I promise that when I can, I will let you know what I know.
Please pass this message on to Wisp for me.
Love Leah
Leah sat without moving after sending Amy the message. When Lin noticed, she came and told Leah that lunch was ready.
After lunch, Leah spent half-an-hour chatting with Conner and then was led by Lin to the computer where Aker was waiting with a pair of gloves. When she arrived, Aker typed, “Your gloves are ready. I mentioned to Lacey what you’d asked me to do, and she arranged for someone called Reed to check and adapt the coding. I have no idea who they are, but their coding is some of the most elegant I’ve ever seen.
“Give me your right hand, and I’ll arrange the inner section of the sensors, so they are in exactly the right place. Once we have them in exactly the right spot, I’ll fix them in place. After that, we put the glove on, and the outer circles will automatically orient themselves to match the ones on your fingers. Each circle then uses nanites to bore through the suit before extruding a microfilament which attaches itself to the inner circle. The nanites then attach the circle to the inside of the suit and break the seal holding the inner layer to your fingers.”
Leah did as she was asked and Aker very carefully placed the circles on the tips of each finger and two on the thumb. The two on the thumb overlapped but the sensor’s programming noted the overlap and adjusted the way it sent signals. Leah only received information on the parts touching her skin. When Aker had applied sensors to the fingertips of both hands, she put Leah’s new glov
es on and finished the process. After that, Aker turned the sensors on and said, “Leah, if you can understand this, touch your nose.”
Leah felt the pressure on the tip of the first finger of her right hand. She’d been waiting and with her increased tactile awareness she understood Aker, and reached up and touched her nose. Aker said, “Good. To activate a two-handed keyboard, tap the ends of your two ring fingers together, then move your hands so they are beside each other. The keyboard isn’t visible but uses the finger movement from the starting position to recognise which keys you want to touch. As you press down, you will feel a slight pressure to show a keystroke has been recorded. The feedback will also be in braille so you can double-check it was the correct key. To stop typing, separate your hands or give them a different orientation.”
Leah did as she’d been instructed and typed, “Is it possible to also access a one-handed keyboard? I usually use a FrogPad.”
Leah’s voice came out of the small speaker Aker had placed on the table. Reed had used recorded samples of Leah’s conversations to program the device.
“That works great. I can hear you in the speaker. The AI in the device will fix simple typing errors and let you know if it isn’t certain of the word you want within point one of a per cent. Reed also programmed several one-handed input devices, including the FrogPad. To activate it, you can use either hand and tap the thumb and ring finger together. Whichever hand you use will activate the corresponding FrogPad keyboard. The one-handed keypads can be used at any orientation and are cancelled by clenching the hand.”
Leah tried with her right hand, and Aker confirmed it worked. Leah asked, “Can I wear these now and somehow have the speaker with me?”
“Yes. I think I’ll also make a less bulky pair of gloves for you to wear around as these are armoured and may become uncomfortable if you have to wear them all day. You keep them for now and ask someone to bring you down to my room in about half-an-hour. Four more shipments have arrived, and I think it’s best to start adding them to the suit. If I position them at key points on your body, I’ll be able to add others when they arrive without disturbing you.”