by Nick Cook
I raised my eyebrows at Chloe. ‘You think you’re Michael Jackson making that seagull pull those dance moves?’
‘How did you know?’ she asked with an innocent expression.
‘Who else?’
She grinned. ‘Fair point.’
But I wasn’t going to complain really. It was great to see hints of her sense of humour again, which had pretty much disappeared since her dad had died.
Chloe’s core ability of controlling animals with her mind had improved rapidly since we’d been here. Now she grabbed every opportunity to practise it with Midnight, Kelly’s cat. I suspected it was why Midnight seemed to have abandoned her owner to make Chloe her new favourite human. She followed Chloe about almost everywhere.
I briefly took in the Shadowlands around us, but, as usual, there was no sign of the Shade – not even any dark energy spores.
‘How’s the interface holding up so far?’ Sentinel asked.
I returned my attention to the data still superimposed over my infrared view of the room. ‘Working brilliantly actually.’
‘In that case, try shifting into the Light Web, Jake,’ Sentinel said. ‘I’m intrigued to see how the interface works in conjunction with your unique gift.’
‘OK.’ I took another settling breath and everything that had been solid became sketched out in ghostly shapes of energy. From each of these, energy circles spread out like ripples across a lake. The house around us, even the landscape beyond, shimmered with the same dance of luminosity. This was what I’d christened the Light Web, a mysterious view that I’d first glimpsed as a dance of energy in the woods around the science park.
I fine-tuned my vision until the dance became superimposed over the normal version of the world. Now light pulsed all around me – through solid objects and shimmering over every surface. The room, the carpet and even the books all sparkled with luminance. But beneath those energy auras, the objects wavered in and out of focus like they couldn’t quite decide whether they wanted to exist or not. When I’d mentioned this to Dad, he’d been immediately intrigued and lectured me about waveforms and particles and how a photon could be in more than one place at once until observed. Despite doing an A level in physics, it had made my brain melt.
The whole room shimmered with energy, but the most striking thing in the room was one of Kelly’s sculptures hanging from a beam. A pair of bronze hands held a star globe that could be rotated within them. Whenever I looked at her artwork in the Light Web, it always fizzed and popped with energy, solid forms buzzing as though the sculptures themselves might change shape at any moment.
When I’d described to Kelly what I could see, she’d just given me a knowing smile and said, ‘Art has a life of its own…’
But that wasn’t the brightest thing in the room… … that was saved for Chloe and me.
Both of us glimmered with our own coloured light show. Normals, as we now sometimes referred to other people who weren’t Awoken – when out of their earshot – had white energy fields. But Chloe’s aura sparkled jade green and mine was a sapphire blue.
Chloe peered at me. ‘So how’s the HUD doing now?’
I focused on the overlaid display again but it remained rock solid.
‘Not so much as a glitch.’
‘Excellent news,’ Sentinel replied. ‘And you’re not getting any sort of headache or suffering discomfort of any sort?’
‘Nothing – it’s all good. But how are you managing to project this information into my brain?’
‘As I detect your cognitive shift in real time, I’m adjusting the augmented information. I then feed the combined information back into your brain to match what you’re seeing. The added bonus for me is that I can also witness what you are seeing, including what your ability reveals to you. Also, from now on, while you’re directly interfaced to DT3, all my data analysis and sim-modelling tools will be available for the Summoning.’
‘And all from the comfort of this tower,’ Chloe said with a smile.
‘Sounds very useful,’ I said.
‘It will be,’ Sentinel replied. ‘After doing extensive research, I discovered the technique for the Summoning that you’re about to try. It was first developed by the CIA for new trainees learning remote viewing.’
‘Remote what?’ I asked.
‘During the Cold War, the United States of America used psychics to spy on Russia in a secret programme called Stargate,’ Chloe said. ‘These agents used remote viewing, claiming they could see what was going on thousands of miles away – within top-secret facilities in Russia.’
‘Seriously?’
Chloe nodded. ‘I had a hard time believing it when Sentinel first told me, but I researched it and it’s true. With our Awoken psychic abilities, I hope we’ll be able to quickly master remote viewing too. And when used in conjunction with this new interface, it should enable us to reach out to any Awoken around the world.’
‘Sounds like this should be ideal for tracking down the frightened Awoken woman.’
‘I hope so, but we need to get to grips with this remote-viewing technique first,’ Chloe said. ‘That’s what I meant about us needing to learn a new skill. You try it first while I monitor your progress with Sentinel and then I’ll give it a go.’
‘You got it.’
‘Just remember that this test run is limited to the Channel Islands for now,’ Sentinel reminded me. ‘But if it turns out she isn’t here, I’ll prioritise incorporating the rest of the world data into Ember overnight.’
‘Right…’ I resisted the urge to scream at the two of them that we needed get moving before it was too late and simply said, ‘So can we please get started?’
‘Certainly. To begin with you need to stand up, but not literally – just in your mind,’ Sentinel said.
I screwed up my face in concentration and pictured myself looking down from a position slightly above my own body…
My brain started to itch and then the Sentinel magic kicked in.
One moment, I had a hazy mental image of the scene, the next it really was as though I’d stepped outside my own body. I found myself looking down at myself in ultra-high resolution.
I quickly found that I could orbit my own body, although it was weird seeing myself from every angle, rather than the straight-on mirror view that I was used to.
My hair was hanging down well past my jacket collar – I needed a haircut. I smiled and saw Jake do the same. Yep, this was definitely a live feed.
‘Holy crap, this is amazing,’ I said.
Chloe beamed at the Jake I was looking at, still sitting on the sofa. ‘It’s a rush, right? What you’re actually seeing is Sentinel augmenting your own imagination.’
‘All I know is that this is seriously cool,’ I replied.
Chloe waved around at the air. ‘So where are you right now?’
I saw my physical self point up to where the other me, cyber me, was hovering.
Chloe looked up over her shoulder and smiled at me. ‘Yes, I can see your blue Awoken marker there in my own HUD.’
‘So are you going to give this a spin too?’
‘I will now that everything seems to be OK. Meanwhile, see if you can push out a bit further. We’re going to need to do that to have a chance of tracking down this mystery woman.’
‘I’m on it.’ I said, and switched my attention back to the windows. With just a mental nudge, I glided towards them. I tensed as I was about to hit, but instead of shattering glass the air thickened around my non-existent body for a second. I felt a sensation, almost as if moving through treacle, as light shimmered across the window’s surface. Then I was through, floating free above the house, a regular Peter Pan out for a joyride.
I almost didn’t dare breathe in case it broke the spell and I plummeted towards the ground. But after a few more seconds passed and I was still airborne, my initial fear started to give way to a feeling of growing euphoria. I knew this was a sim, but every sense in my body was telling me I was outside floati
ng out over the garden.
I noticed a faint light-line tethering me to my physical body in the tower. I traced it back, drifting towards the windows.
‘Hey, guys, can you still hear me?’ I asked, seeing my physical self still in the tower voicing the question – the weirdest sensation.
‘Yes, loud and clear,’ Sentinel replied.
‘I can see this light-line linking me back to my body. Is that some sort of data feed line, Sentinel?’
‘I have no idea. I’m not modelling anything like that.’
Chloe’s forehead creased, the blue marker still sitting stubbornly above her body. It looked as if she were struggling to do this, although I shouldn’t have been surprised – we were each stronger at different abilities. ‘Could it be some sort of bug in our code, Sentinel?’
‘Possibly. I’ll need to analyse the data logs to check afterwards. Can you see how far you can reach out, Jake?’
I nodded and floated away again.
It felt a bit like dreaming of being able to fly. But unlike those dreams, I felt in complete control of this experience. I was sure I could go wherever I wanted, all by focusing my attention.
Outside, in the growing afternoon darkness of the approaching storm, the pulsing waveform patterns glowed across the landscape. Within the Light Web, Kelly’s sculptures sparkled like a firework display in the garden beneath me. What made them so special?
I drifted down for a closer look, and felt a slight tug on my stomach back in the tower as my light-line drew tighter. It really did feel like a physical connection, but how could that be possible?
I glided over towards the bronze falcon statue. Like the hands sculpture in the tower, it pulsed and shimmered as though it might actually take flight at any moment.
I concentrated harder and I could almost feel the atoms fizzing within the Light Web…and then the pattern started to shift beneath my mind’s touch. A silhouette moved across the lit windows of the garden studio, drawing my attention away.
How was Dad getting on with Waverider?
I smiled, or at least the physical me smiled, as an idea surfaced. The building was only another fifty metres out from the house. It would a good test to see how far I could get on this first try.
Like a swimmer kicking out across a pool, I propelled myself further away from the manor towards the wooden building. I’d only travelled another ten metres when my light-line heaved harder at my stomach and I started to slow. Yes, there was definitely some sort of physical tether. I saw a flash of light as a ball of green energy burst out of the tower, swooped past me and went straight into the studio.
Chloe?
I tried to go after her but my light-line slowed me to a complete stop as the sensation of something clawing at my stomach grew to a teeth-grinding level of pain.
The image of the house and gardens started to fade into darkness. The harder I tried to hang on to it, the faster it faded.
‘Wow, this is amazing,’ Chloe said.
In a rush of vertigo, I opened my eyes to find myself sitting back in the tower. It looked as if my light-line had hauled me straight back into my own body. Beside me, Chloe sat still, all signs of frustration gone from her face. She now looked completely blissed out.
‘I’m inside the studio, watching Martin working on Waverider,’ Chloe said as she gazed off into empty air.
I removed the headset and crossed to the windows to look down at the studio. So the cyberspace version of Chloe’s consciousness was in there right now.
‘The lights are fading in and out,’ she said. ‘I think that whatever he’s doing is affecting the power in there.’
Sure enough, the light coming through the skylight started to waver as she spoke.
‘There’s this amazing golden light-field everywhere. It’s stunning, but Martin is shaking his head… Shit – smoke is coming from Waverider!’
A distant crackle came from the building followed by a blinding flash that lit the studio’s windows.
DT3’s red light blinked out and the quantum computer hummed into silence. With a click, Sentinel vanished from the screen. It looked like we’d suffered yet another power cut.
The studio door flew open and Dad stumbled out bent double, snatching in lungfuls of fresh air as smoke billowed around him.
Chloe opened her eyes, her expression filled with wonder as she pulled off her headset. ‘I could see everything, Jake.’
‘Which is fantastic, but we’re still no closer to finding that woman.’
Chloe nodded. ‘I know. I did try pushing out even further, but the studio was far as I could get.’
‘God, this is so frustrating.’
‘Tell me about it, although at least we’re a step closer to mastering this remote viewing.’ She stood up and crossed to the window to join me. ‘Hey, what’s happened to Kelly’s eagle sculpture?’
‘What do you mean?’ I glanced over and saw the eagle’s wings were bending down towards the grass – almost as though they had taken a half-beat.
I grimaced. ‘I think that may have been my bad. When I concentrated on that sculpture, I did feel something move for a moment.’
‘So now you can bend metal with your TK? Cool.’
‘I just hope Kelly sees it that way. It does kind of make up for me being barely able to levitate so much as a pebble.’
With a howl, huge raindrops started to hammer into the windows. The view of the other Channel Islands had already disappeared behind swirling sheets of rain as the room darkened.
‘Looks as if the leading edge of the storm has finally reached us,’ I said.
Chloe pointed at the sea that now looked more like a rolling landscape of hills and valleys. ‘Hope no boats are out in that.’
‘If they have any sense they won’t be. There’s been more than enough warning.’
‘True. Anyway, let’s go and grab some dinner. I’m starving, although shouldn’t we check in with your dad first to see he’s OK?’
‘No, not to worry. It will just be another power surge. And you know what he’s like right now with not wanting to be disturbed.’
‘Yeah, I do. So let’s go eat.’
But I hung back for moment as Chloe headed off downstairs. I gazed down at Kelly’s eagle, half expecting it to start flapping its wings and take off into the storm. Now that really would be something.
Forked lightning crackled and drew my attention to the cloud bank in the distance. I gripped the window ledge as I peered out. Somewhere out there was a fellow Awoken in trouble and we were no closer to finding her.
Chapter Four
Although my immediate priority was finding the Awoken woman who was in trouble, there wasn’t a lot I could currently do. Sentinel was still compiling the files to extend the coverage of the Ember sim from the Channel Islands area to the rest of the world. So while we waited, Chloe and I had been forced to take a break. Now, with the notable exception of Dad who was still at work in the studio, and not counting Sentinel who could be in several places at once, everyone else had gathered round the kitchen table.
Getting together for dinner had become part of our daily routine at Eaglehurst, a chance to catch up with each other’s news and maybe have a laugh or two. But for me at least, it was times like this where we most felt like one big family – a family who’d drawn more tightly together to hold off a world filled with shadows.
With the power restored, a jazz track was playing on the radio. Kelly hummed along as she checked the batteries on an emergency lantern, all part of her preparing the house for the storm.
Across the kitchen, Allan was checking on his apple pie in the oven. He’d quickly taken over cooking duties from Kelly, even though she’d offered to do all of it. She might have been a gifted artist, but with the first taste of her food, a green sludgy dish, we’d all realised that her talents didn’t quite stretch to cooking.
Midnight wound her way round Chloe’s legs, who was feeding the black cat small bits of meat from her plate. I felt a li
ttle twist inside whenever I saw them together. It was a reminder of how Chloe’s cat Toby had been killed by Archios back at our old cottage.
The music from the radio stopped and a guy started to speak.
‘We have an urgent news flash. Hurricane Jane has slowed to a stop over central London. Despite the city being spared further damage due to it now sitting in the enormous eye of the storm, the hurricane itself is increasing rapidly in size. Beyond the capital, many roads are already impassable, with all rail and flight services cancelled across the country. There is also widespread disruption to phone, TV and internet services. Police have advised people to stay at home for anything but an emergency. We will keep you updated as long as we have power…’ The man stopped talking and the mellow tones of the jazz restarted.
‘Sounds like this hurricane is getting serious,’ I said.
‘And before the night is out,’ Kelly replied.
‘In that case, I’m going to go and connect the UPS to DT3 in case we lose power,’ Chloe said to me, finishing off another serving of Allan’s lamb casserole. I didn’t blame her for taking a second helping – it was the food equivalent of a warm hug on this surprisingly cold summer’s day.
‘A UPS?’ I asked.
‘Uninterruptible power supply,’ Sentinel’s voice said through the radio, cutting in over the jazz music.
‘Oh right, good idea.’
‘But don’t forget I do have my back-up generator,’ Kelly said.
‘True, but that’s not instantly available to stop DT3 crashing during a power cut,’ Chloe replied. ‘Besides, I don’t want to give Sentinel any excuses for delaying loading the data for the rest of the world into Ember.’
‘I promise you, it’s my number-one priority,’ Sentinel said.
‘What, like making sure you released the Zoom virus, whatever the cost?’
Kelly, Allan and I winced.
‘OK, maybe now is the time and place to discuss this, Chloe. If you think I don’t deeply regret every single human death caused by my genetic virus, you’re completely wrong. However, there was no alternative.’