by Mark New
‘Yeah, if you were filthy rich and could avoid the poverty, disease and crime.’
‘Being happy hasn’t cured your cynicism, then?’
‘I hope not. Are we really here to see how I am?’
‘Partly. We can start with that, though. How have you been since I saw you? No insurmountable problems?’
‘No, it’s been OK. I seem to be settling down a bit. The emotional waves haven’t been as intense. I consigned some to the cloud but nothing overwhelming.’
‘And you’re dealing with the case in a sensible frame of mind?’ He waved a hand dismissively. ‘I’m not interested in what it is, just how you’re dealing with it.’
‘I think I’m doing OK. Apart from working with you-know-who, it’s mostly an intellectual exercise.’
‘Good to hear. Been spending much time with you-know-who?’ It was sensible not to name her in a public area but I was quite pleased to realise that when I substituted the phrase ‘you-know-who’ for ‘Becky’ in my head, it didn’t cause me any angst. I decided to wind him up a bit.
‘No, not really. Actually, last night I had dinner with a young vir-actress.’
Our avatars only had fake coffee on the table but, even so, I thought he was going to choke.
‘Seriously?’ he asked. I nodded happily. ‘Good for you. Wouldn’t kill you to have fun, Skipper. You do remember fun?’
‘I have a vague recollection,’ I assured him. Pleasant this may be and reminiscent of old times but I couldn’t stay here all day. Worlds to save etc. ‘I’m a bit pushed for time, I’m afraid Doc, so shall we get to the other reason?’
‘Of course. I thought you ought to know that I had a social visit from Peter first thing this morning.’
‘Oh?’ Interesting. It must have been late at night California time. ‘Doesn’t he see you quite often?’
‘Yes he does; but he doesn’t usually spend the time talking about you.’
‘Anything in particular?’
‘He mentioned that he had seen you and that you’re likely to work together. Then he asked me how you are as he thought the task at hand might be a bit difficult. He specifically told me he wasn’t looking for any breach of confidentiality on my part, just an indication if I thought you’d be OK to take part in some unspecified complicated task.’
‘What did you tell him?’
‘I said you’re swashbuckling around the world dating vir-actresses.’ We both laughed. ‘No, I said I hadn’t seen you in a while but I was under the impression that you were doing well.’
‘Doc,’ I was shocked, ‘You lied to him!’
‘I most certainly did not,’ he protested. ‘I am indeed under the impression that you’re doing well and in my book, twenty-four hours or so constitutes a “while”.’ Good old Doc.
‘On the face of it, I can understand why he might ask. Still, I’m glad you told me.’
‘Yes, it didn’t seem unreasonable but, at the same time, it didn’t seem like something I should keep to myself.’ He looked through me and looked a bit vague. I assumed that he was dipping into the real world. ‘Duty calls, sorry,’ he said, ‘my next appointment is here.’
‘No problem,’ I said, ‘thanks for the update.’
‘Take care of yourself and let me know if you need help with anything. And give my love to your vir-actress.’
I laughed. ‘I will. Seriously, thanks Doc, I really appreciate it.’ I really did. Everyone should have a Doc. He waved at me and vanished from the café. I left as well and briefly returned to the bed in the suite.
So, Peter was checking up on me. I really couldn’t blame him. Of everyone, he’d borne the greater burden of the guilt-ridden burned-out character I’d become so it wasn’t difficult to understand that he’d be anxious about working with me on such a potentially cataclysmic mission. On the other hand, it was possible that his enquiries were sanctioned by Argonaut and that he didn’t necessarily have my best interests at heart. Or again, that he thought I might be a threat to his burgeoning relationship with Becky. I would just have to file away the information from Doc until matters became clearer. Thinking of filing, there was something I needed to take care of in my portal. If the room AI had been a real butler he would have decided very quickly that his boss was a real slugabed. I went back Online.
I went into the cave and sat down on the sofa, putting my feet up on the crate. It approximated my real world position in the bed except that the angle between torso and legs was slightly lesser in the cave. That could be rectified by repositioning the large fluffy pillows in the bed so I snuggled around a bit until the two positions were almost the same. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d just led around in bed. Normally I’d get up as soon as I awoke but I suppose that was easy in the Cooks when paradise awaited outside. Even when I’d been in the grip of a depressive episode I’d still got up after waking. Of course, at those times I’d just go and sit in my chair in the other room and brood.
On the other side of the cave there was the sound of a filing cabinet drawer closing. I knew I hadn’t done it. I’d arranged the cabinets in random order so, unfortunately, I couldn’t quite see what was happening over there. Nobody else had the portal code so the only way for anyone to be here was for them to have done the impossible and broken a TAG lock, a feat which reportedly required more computing power than the entire combined ability of AIs in the world. From behind a cabinet on the far side of the cave, a tall figure stood up. He reached down again and straightened up for a second time, this time holding a staff that was taller than he was himself. He started walking in my direction, dodging around the scattered cabinets. As he drew closer, I could see that he was wearing white druidic-type robes and had long white hair and a matching beard. The staff, which was made of an undetermined wood, was covered in rune symbols. A stereotype magician figure from any of the sword-and-sorcery vir-games.
I stayed where I was on the sofa. He came up to the other side of the crate and looked down at me. That’s when I noticed that underneath the vast quantities of beard, he was wearing the face of David ‘Merlin’ Winter; the man currently lying in a coma in Detroit on the other side of the continent to my hotel bed. I said nothing and tried to look unconcerned. After a moment, he addressed me in the kind of deep booming voice you’d expect from his character.
‘Colonel John Harvard. I decided that it’s time that I made your acquaintance.’ I just looked up at him, fresh out of witty rejoinders but feeling the kind of calm that I had always felt immediately before cybercombat. ‘Honestly,’ he boomed, ‘don’t you ever call your bank?’
Chapter Ten
I took my feet off the crate but remained seated with my feet now on the floor. Without waiting for a reply my guest waved his staff at the empty space on the other side of the crate from me. Instantly there appeared a large black armchair of the variety that no self-respecting vir-sports fan would be without. It had large padded arms with room for bottles of beer and a foot rest that was extended as far as it would go, presumably to accommodate his sizeable frame. He proceeded to make himself comfortable, first placing his staff vertically in a holder that must have been attached to the back of the chair then easing himself into the padded seat and stretching out happily. I looked at him across the crate without speaking and with what I hoped was a neutral expression. It was the height of rudeness for anyone fortunate enough to be invited into another’s personal portal to create anything without asking. I doubted that there was any established etiquette for an intruder in a portal so I made no immediate comment. The uniqueness of the crime seemed to put the lack of manners in perspective. He appeared unconcerned, as I suppose you would be if you had the power to break a TAG lock. Still, I concluded after a moment, it wouldn’t hurt to remind him that he was a guest here however much there may be an inequality in our respective positions.
‘Have a seat,’ I invited, mildly. A flicker of expression that I couldn’t define crossed his face.
‘Thank you,’ he said after
a pause. I got the impression that he knew he’d been slightly scolded but didn’t know why.
‘Is there something I can do for you?’ I asked, more to get the conversation flowing than anything else. I considered that it was beholden upon the burglar to explain himself to the portal owner if caught in the act and not the other way around. If anyone ever writes a book on the proper etiquette, I have some experience of the issues.
‘Well, obviously,’ he said in the same booming tone. This time I was sure he was confused. I decided to give him a prompt.
‘Would it have anything to do with you apologising?’
‘For what?’ This was going reasonably well, the tactical part of my brain suggested. He’s a little off balance as I’m not responding in the way he thought that I would.
‘Breaking and entering, maybe? Reading my files? Or perhaps a heartfelt apology for, oh I don’t know...fucking up my neurochemistry?’ The last part came out rather more forcefully than I intended. I hadn’t realised how annoyed I was about it.
‘Oh,’ was his first response. He went quiet for a moment. ‘Are you sure it was me?’
‘You can add an extra apology for insulting my intelligence.’
He grimaced. ‘Point taken. Feel free to thank me for the upgrades, though.’ He tapped the side of his head with his index finger.
‘Rarotonga is a really nice place to live,’ I advised. ‘Staying there wouldn’t have been an ordeal.’
‘I would have let you alone if it hadn’t been for our current difficulty.’
‘”Our”?’ I saw him inwardly digesting the tone of the conversation. There was an almost imperceptible change of expression which I only caught with full resolution on the ocular implant. He now looked much more determined and I waited for him to try to re-establish control of the encounter. He duly obliged but I wasn’t having any of it.
‘Yes. Like it or not, you’re involved now. I’ll explain everything but it’s easier to show you than tell you. Come on!’ He stood up and retrieved his staff. He was clearly expecting me to jump to my feet and follow. I stayed where I was but he didn’t seem to notice. Robes flowing, he hefted the staff in his right hand and took two great strides towards the cave door before halting abruptly. He was facing away from me by now so I was deprived of the expression on his face. It didn’t stop me savouring the moment. He stayed still for a few seconds then - still without looking at me - he grasped his staff in both hands and tilted it forward so that the head was facing towards the cave door at an angle of about forty-five degrees. He pulled it up to full vertical and snapped it back down to the previous angle. Nothing happened. An ember of smug satisfaction flared briefly within me. He was very, very dangerous and I had just done the equivalent of walking unarmed up to a fire-breathing dragon and giving it a bitch-slapping. It was suicidal but, dear god, it felt good. He stayed where he was for several seconds before he finally turned to face me. His expression was inscrutable.
‘You may find that getting out is rather more difficult than getting in,’ I said nastily.
‘That’s... impressive,’ he admitted, looking at the door and then back at me while frowning. ‘But you know it isn’t going to hold me. I broke a TAG lock to get in.’
‘I noticed,’ I said. ‘I also noticed that it took you fourteen hours.’ I waved at the door. ‘Have fun.’
He returned slowly to his chair and stood in front of it. I switched view in my implant and saw the data streaming around him. Significantly, it wasn’t leaving the cave. I wasn’t sure if this was the full entity or just a satellite agent but, whatever it was, it was locked in. Not only had I bitch-slapped the dragon, I’d followed up by locking it in the basement with me. Possibly not a great idea but the difference between us was that I could get out in microseconds and not the hours it would take him.
‘Nonetheless,’ he countered, ‘it won’t hold me for longer than that so I don’t see what you think it will accomplish.’
It was time to up the stakes. ‘After thirteen hours and fifty-nine minutes, I’ll replace it with a different TAG lock.’ That was what I had done already. I’d been in the meeting at Argonaut when the burglar alarm had gone off and I was alerted to someone trying to access my portal. Most people would trust the integrity of the TAG. Not me, not a former special cyberforces operative. I’d gone Online in the meeting, when I’d been pleased that George’s board hadn’t registered my activities, and set up the portal to change the lock as soon as the intruder gained entry. He’d tried to lead me out of here thinking he had broken the lock only to discover that I’d already changed it.
‘You can’t maintain that forever. Eventually I’ll get out.’
‘Infinite supply of TAGs, baby.’ I said it with a grin. He looked disbelieving. Belief was irrelevant because I was telling the truth. It was one of the many things on my list granted by Sir Edward.
He slowly replaced the staff in its holder in the chair and sat down, deep in thought.
‘You won’t want to leave me in here,’ he said at last, in a decisive tone.
‘Why’s that?’
He made a slow but extravagant gesture with his right arm to indicate the cave. ‘You can’t stay in here with me indefinitely and you won’t want to leave me alone with all of your innermost electronic thoughts. I’ve seen lots already. Very illuminating.’ He’d been here for hours in all probability. I hoped he’d enjoyed himself.
It was time to play the trump card. I said nothing but raised my left arm and made a mirror copy of his own gesture. As I did so, the cabinets disappeared one by one followed by the light bulbs and even the packing crate until all that was left was me and my sofa and him and his chair on a stone floor in a stone cave with a locked door. Fortunately, the bulbs had never actually lit the cave so the lighting remained unchanged.
The utter shock on his face was delightful.
I held out my hands, palms upwards. ‘Portal A.’ I briefly lifted my left hand. ‘Portal B.’ I did the same with my right hand. I dropped my hands into my lap and sat back, temporarily triumphant. ‘Now, you can tell me the whole plot right now or you can stay here and fucking rot.’
There was complete silence. He stared at me and I stared back. Who knew that dragon-baiting was such good fun? Somewhere deep in my psyche I knew I was playing with fire which was presumably where the dragon metaphor had originated. A thought for the cloud if I ever left here alive.
‘You know,’ he said conversationally, ‘you’re not at all what I expected.’
‘I get that a lot.’
‘Oh, yes, Jason.’ This was new and disturbing intelligence. I managed to stop my hand lifting to my head but he caught the ghost gesture. ‘Don’t worry. I haven’t bugged your implants.’
‘You must have bugged something or you wouldn’t have known that.’
‘No prizes for stating the obvious, Colonel.’ He smiled. ‘I’ve bugged the corporate AI.’
I was astounded. I knew that it was probable that Argonaut’s systems were compromised - after all, George and Becky had admitted as much - but actually bugging a mainframe corporate seneschal was a whole different level. I knew I couldn’t have done it - and I’m brilliant.
‘Seriously?’ I was sceptical.
‘I can break TAG locks,’ he reminded me. ‘The seneschal was child’s play.’ Some child. Some play. ‘I didn’t realise what you were doing when you went Online in the meeting. The room was dark so I couldn’t follow you out without breaking cover. George had only activated the internal comms.’ He sat back in his chair and looked at the cave roof. ‘When I gave you the upgrades I didn’t realise how...creative...you would be with them.’
‘I’m glad I surpassed expectations.’
‘Your bravado is commendable considering that forty-eight hours ago you were a burned-out bartender.’
‘Didn’t you hear me tell Jason it was all an act?’
‘I heard you lie to him about it, yes.’ Oh well, it had been worth a try. Jason had been just a little mor
e credulous, apparently. It wasn’t getting me much further with understanding what was going on so maybe it was time to press the point.
‘Well, it’s been fun but I’m not getting any younger so how about you explain the whole plot now?’
‘Aren’t you afraid that while I keep you talking I’ll arrange for someone to murder you in your hotel suite?’
I thought about it. ‘Honestly? No, not really. If anyone tries that they’ll find that I’m not Jan Peters.’ I was convinced that he would understand the reference. I assumed he would also know that there were elementary precautions anyone would take in anticipation of cybercombat. Mostly, in my experience, they’d involved locking yourself in a military stronghold with guards on the door but I wasn’t lying to him; there were certain security protocols I had implemented.
‘You’ve taken precautionary measures?’ He was teasing now, I knew.
‘Take a look and find out. Oh, wait, you can’t because you’re locked in here.’
‘True.’ He pursed his lips. ‘It’s been quite entertaining and everything but I shouldn’t spend too much time isolated here.’ That implied that the actual AI was right here and though any agent bots he might have running elsewhere would continue their appointed tasks, he would want to connect and supervise them on a regular basis. Unless, of course, he was attempting to deceive me. Don’t forget how dangerous he is, Harvard. It sounds like a fun and civilised conversation but you’re repeatedly kicking the dragon around in the basement.
I kicked him again. ‘The sooner you tell me what I want to know, the sooner you get out.’
He looked serious. ‘Rather than me apologise for screwing up your brain chemistry, I think you should consider thanking me for giving you your life back. Tell me honestly, Colonel. Do you feel even remotely depressed?’ I decided to give him an honest answer.
‘No. I’m fed up with the whole case, I didn’t want to see Becky again, I’m enjoying giving you a hard time and I really like the trans-orbital jet trips. A wide range of emotions involved in all that but depression?’ I shook my head. ‘Nope, not at all.’