She went into character and found herself on one of the League’s cruisers. A number of messages pinged her attention. There was the weekly community update, the results of the last war, and messages from her friends wanting to trade, or just asking why she hadn’t been around.
She ignored the messages and checked whether Zender, Bibi, Ivano, Wonaic, and Arcelia were online. They all were. She checked the time; for a moment she thought she was late, but quickly realised they’d have an hour or so.
Before she could connect with anyone, Zender was already pinging her. ‘On screen,’ she said.
Zender’s face appeared, wearing his usual grin. It raised Evie’s spirits, but only slightly. Zender didn’t know what the real stakes were; he and the others were still under the impression that they’d get a reward inside the game—unimaginable riches to which only Santa5k had access. The others didn’t know that after their mission there would be no Momentum 6.
‘XaonJoie! Thought you’d never come,’ Zender said. ‘I’m just about to take the final pinch to Hyure-A1.’
‘Whoa!’ Evie said. He was already almost at his designated spot, one of the furthest reaches of the Momentum 6 universe. Evie wasn’t too far from hers, but had to use green gemstones to get there via a shortcut.
‘Yeah, wanted to be there on time. Don’t want to fail Santa5k.’
‘That’s good thinking. How about the others?’
‘Arcelia is already in the GG-5 system, Bibi was mining a pinch from her target, Ivano and Wonaic should be on their way. We’re gonna make it happen.’
‘That’s great to hear,’ Evie said, and she meant it. ‘Is he around?’
‘Santa5k? No, haven’t seen him.’
Gus didn’t say he’d join them, but somehow Evie had expected—perhaps wished—that he would. ‘There’s still time.’
‘You know, if it weren’t for him, I’d never have built the ships and the station I have today. Maybe I wouldn’t even be in the game anymore.’
Evie laughed. ‘So, you’ve got him to blame for wasting your life.’
‘No, not at all,’ Zender said, with an uncharacteristically sombre expression. ‘Quite the opposite. For me, this is living.’
Evie realised she knew next to nothing about the person behind Zender. It wasn’t a thing they talked about. Nobody talked about their real lives, and everyone respected that. Momentum 6 was its own community, where you could do everything, and everyone had equal opportunity. Unlike the real world, where the best players of Momentum 6 were most likely disadvantaged, one way or another. And Evie wasn’t going to ask.
‘You see, in real life, my body is disabled, like with so many born in Eura that time. My parents tried, but none of the mechanical extensions worked, so ever since I got presence access, I’ve spent close to all my waking hours in the system; sometimes I’ve even slept here—’ He stopped abruptly and stared at Evie. ‘I’m sorry.’
’No need, it’s all right,’ she said. It was the only humane thing to say, even if she didn’t mean it. Soon, she was going to let the darkness take over, and override everything there was in Momentum 6’s universe. She knew people would be angry, but she hadn’t prepared for this. For her best friend, Momentum 6 was everything, and she was going to destroy it.
‘So, what do you suppose Santa5k is planning to accomplish with this?’
Evie gulped. ‘No idea, but knowing him, it will all be good.’
‘Word,’ Zender said with a solid nod. ‘By the way, once we’re done, we’re meeting in the Fabramine ledge bar before sunset; see you there?’
‘Absolutely,’ Evie said, and bit her tongue.
‘I’m off with the box. See you then!’
‘See you.’ She closed the connection. The instant the picture vanished from view, a tear fell down her cheek. She sobbed and paused everyone around her. Zender was too nice. How could she destroy his world?
She wondered if there was another way, but if Gus hadn’t figured it out, it probably didn’t exist. He, too, was invested in this world, but was prepared to let it go. She wiped the tears from her eyes.
An NPC officer, a short, bald Andron man, walked up to her with a concerned look on his face, and said, ‘Are you all right, ma’am?’
‘I am, thank you. Please set the course to Ukuphela.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ the officer replied, and went back to the navigation terminal. He said, ‘Estimated time of arrival 15:42 hours.’
This gave her plenty of time. She had to prepare, so she left the bridge and went down to the supply storage.
There, in a simple room, she stood in front of an indentation on the wall. ‘I want the box I got from Santa5k.’
An orange-and-yellow striped box appeared in the indentation. Evie picked it up. It was surprisingly light. She wondered what was inside, if anything—perhaps it was just code—and turned it around in her hands. It was amazing that five small things like that could instigate such a massive reaction.
She stepped into the indentation in the wall. ‘I want my e-suit.’
Immediately, the environment suit appeared on her. It was a perfect fit in a fancy black and gold. Light, powerful and feature-packed, she had paid big creds for it, but it was worth every one of them. She took the box from the floor. Once they arrived in Ukuphela, she’d be ready to go.
It wasn’t long until she was streaming towards the red planet. Out in the fringe of Momentum 6, space looked the same as everywhere; a seemingly infinite number of stars littered the view in every direction. But in one direction, they were just placeholders without content. She could fly to those, and once she did, the system would randomise things so that they seemed real, but there never was anything of significance. It was all a facade. The game content was in another direction.
Evie wondered if the same was true of the real universe. What if the distant stars were just placeholders, never rendered in detail unless you went there, and even then, lacked content? What if the Shades were hackers like Gus, and moved across universes just as she would switch a game? It was a thought that had been there as long as there were humans, and for someone in the system it was still as impossible to prove it either way as it had been for thousands of years. Still, sending a real parallel universe to the most massive simulation in the world was an intriguing prospect.
Entering the atmosphere, she slowed her descent. While this system was considered one of the farthest places with content, there wasn’t much. A red rock with shrivelled mountains and endless sand blowing in winds that could reach speeds of up to two hundred metres per second.
The suit’s display indicated that the atmosphere was seventy-nine percent nitrogen and twenty percent oxygen with nothing too poisonous, and, behind the numbers, was the mountain that was her target: a lonely giant with a rounded top in the middle of flat plains. She slowed down to twenty metres per second—
The planet disappeared and she staggered and fell.
The suit was gone. She was wearing nothing but a tank top.
Around her was a grey room, with light grey lines criss-crossing the walls, floor and the ceiling, and a dim red light. She was back in the presence room in the Megaplex. The screen by the door was also dimmed, which told her the reason. The whole room had gone offline.
First, she cursed, this shouldn’t happen! then realised she was in trouble.
She opened the door onto a dim corridor where people peered out from other presence rooms. No way was this coincidental.
A Baar woman said. ‘What’s going on?’
A Dresnean man shouted, ‘They’ll have to refund this!”
Somebody ran through the corridor towards her. Reina—and right behind her, Naido. ‘They’ve shut this place down,’ he said. ‘The whole damned Megaplex is running on auxiliary power.’
‘I don’t have much time,’ Evie said.
‘I see,’ Reina said, ‘but you must come with us now, before this place is flooded with law enforcement controlled by Nenetl.’
Reina
grabbed Evie’s hand.
The group ran to the end of the corridor, and through an unmarked door into a stairwell.
They descended several flights until Reina kicked open a door. They stepped out of the stairwell and into a corridor.
At the other end of the corridor shone the bright lights of the sport stadium. A big man stomped forward, a massive shadow. Evie stopped and stepped backwards, away from the man.
Reina put a hand on Evie’s shoulder. ‘It’s all right…’
From behind the big man stepped another, shorter one. As they came closer, she recognised them, unable to believe her eyes. ‘Berossus? Gus?’
Gus smiled warmly, but Berossus looked serious.
‘Gus!’ she said, jumping up to give him a big hug. ‘How did you get here?’
‘Same as you; used one of their portals. Had to take his father to the hospital,’ Gus said, nodding towards Berossus.
‘Great to see you both,’ Evie said, and found herself searching for someone else. ‘What about Shosana?’
Gus’s face suddenly looked older. ‘She didn’t make it.’
‘What? Are you serious?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ Gus said, softly.
Berossus laid his big palm on her shoulder. ‘I’m so sorry.’
Tears filled her eyes. She had known her for only a short while, but they had a deep connection, something extraordinary, and now she was gone. ‘What happened?’ she sobbed.
‘Nenetl,’ said Gus. ‘Wanted her for the second sight.’
Evie recalled the mysterious conversation when she had asked Shosana what she had witnessed. Perhaps she had seen this coming. ‘But why didn’t she do anything… why?’
She did have a message for you,’ Berossus said.
‘What is it?’
‘I’m not sure what it means. She just said, It’s aconitum; you must tell Evie. Does it make sense to you?’
Evie had never even heard the word. ‘Aconitum? What was the context?’
Berossus shrugged.
She typed the word into her terminal. ‘It’s a purple flower. Did she say anything else?’
‘No, I thought it meant something to you, but I guess it didn’t.’
Evie shook her head. It is aconitum. What is?
‘What Nenetl did to Shosana,’ said Gus, ‘is one more reason for us to stop her evil plans. She’s getting stronger, so we have to move quickly.’
Everything came to her at once. ‘I was just going down on Ukuphela… There’s no time… We have to… where do… why did you…’ As if the floodgates had been opened, she found herself asking Gus all the things on her mind.
‘Hush,’ Gus said. ‘I’ll have to explain later. Do you have the Starbearer?’
Evie pulled out the grey chip from her pants pocket. ‘I hope it’s worth all the trouble I’ve been through with it.’
With a warm smile, Gus said, ‘It’s worth more than you can imagine, but now we must get going.’
‘Go where?’
‘To the backroom of an old Shuttler-shop,’ Gus said, and glanced past Evie.
She turned and pushed the chip back into her pocket. Somebody hurried towards them.
It was Henning. ‘They’re coming!’
Their eyes met. ‘Oh, you’re here! Berossus, Gus, you too.’
Upon seeing Henning, Berossus looked awkward.
‘Who’s coming?’ Evie asked.
‘The police, and I can’t find Sofia.’
‘Ah, blast,’ Reina said.
‘What?’
‘She’s in the cleaning closet upstairs. I stunned her.’
‘Good,’ Henning said. ‘But I’m not leaving without her.’
‘I’ll join you.’
‘I’ll go with Evie,’ Naido said, Berossus shot him a look.
‘All right. Let’s get moving then,’ said Gus.
Henning and Reina went in the other direction, and Evie followed Gus and Berossus. Going down the clanking steps, Gus kept up a fast pace. It seemed that the time he had spent in Runcor had not affected him at all—quite the contrary, in fact. He seemed stronger and healthier than ever.
‘How’ve you been?’ Berossus asked.
‘Yeah, good.’ Evie didn’t know what else to say. ‘You were supposed to be in Gemma Central. And I thought your father was dead.’
‘Long story. He almost died for real.’
He didn’t say much. But it was his style.
No surprise there.
A number of winged creatures flapped up towards them, blocking the way. The group stopped in their tracks.
‘We have to get through!’ said Gus.
Naido grabbed his rifle. ‘Come on!’
Evie stopped, and let the men continue their show of testosterone, muscles tightening and guns thumping: tock-tock-tock… She grabbed the light Reina had given her, and raised it over her head. And just as before, the Ver retreated.
Gus covered his eyes. ‘What kind of weapon is that?’
Evie shrugged. ‘A lamp. You didn’t know?’
‘Really? Well, it does make sense—I’ve only seen them in dark places. But a simple light… man!’
Evie gasped. As the Ver flew below in the staircase, something else appeared: a slim creature of purple and black. Everyone turned.
‘That Ver is immune to the light,’ Naido said.
‘It’s no Ver,’ Gus said. ‘It’s a Thaqaran—and it’s coming for me.’
Chapter Forty-Two
Henning ran with Reina up the stairs. He wasn’t going to leave without Sofia, whether she had nanobots or not. He was responsible; it was because of him that Belinda Killock had turned Sofia into an unwilling puppet. With the right equipment, he could fix her.
At the same time, he couldn’t stop worrying about Aino. When Jill had threatened to kill Aino, she wasn’t acting like herself. Something had happened with her and Belinda Killock, and it made the threat all too real. As soon as he found Sofia, he would leave Spit City and go back for Aino in Dawn Central. Until then, there was nothing he could do.
‘She’s on the next floor,’ said Reina.
Henning hoped they were in time, before the police found her.
There was nobody around. All the presence rooms had been emptied already. ‘This is where I left her,’ Reina said, opening a door.
Inside was dark, and Henning couldn’t see much before Reina provided light. The room had screens, benches, and nothing else.
‘She’s not here.’
‘It can’t be,’ Reina said, and searched between the benches. ‘I left her right here.’
There was only one implication. ‘The police got her.’
Reina grimaced. ‘Perhaps we should just go. We’d be more useful with Evie.’
‘Go if you want to, but I’m not leaving her.’
‘And how do you plan to get her out?’
‘Don’t know,’ Henning said. The room was empty, and the sounds had quieted. If the police had taken Sofia, she’d be in custody. Megaplex, like the Space Station, was big enough to have its own police precinct.
‘What can you do? You can’t just walk there. You’re a wanted fugitive.’
‘That’s true, but maybe you could do it?’
She laughed. ‘You know she’s still under the navy’s control. Once this is done, then we can get her back.’
‘No. Once she’s out, I’m going to leave this place. I’ll give you ten thousand for the trouble.’
‘Twenty thousand and it’s a deal.’
‘Done,’ Henning said and extended his arm. His read had been right. She was a contractor and they worked for money.
They shook hands. ‘All right, I’ll get her out.’
‘Thanks,’ Henning said and pointed at the coffee shop behind them. ‘I’ll wait for you there. Good luck.’
‘She’ll be out in five minutes,’ Reina said, and started towards the station.
Meanwhile, Henning ambled into the coffee shop, ordered a short black coffee, and sat o
n a high stool with a view to the police station. He downed his coffee in a few sips while observing the people outside the window.
Then he saw her. Sofia came into the coffee shop, alone. Her jacket was gone, but she was wearing the same outfit as the last time he had seen her. She eyed around.
He turned on his stool and got to his feet.
She made her way to him, smiling as their eyes met.
‘How did you—’
‘It’s all right,’ she said.
‘Reina went looking for you in the precinct. She’ll be back shortly, and we can go then.’
‘No time. Reina can take care of herself.’
‘I bet she can, but what’s the rush?’
‘Do you trust me?’
‘Not before you tell me what’s going on,’ Henning said. ‘I thought you were taken in by the cops after Reina stopped you, or Jill, from interfering with Evie.’
‘Fair enough,’ she said, checking behind her. ‘I awoke from the stun and was able to sneak out from the Endee Centre just before the police arrived. Also, I got my nanobots turned off.’
‘And how’s that possible?
‘I called a colleague, Pike Shen, back in the lab.’
‘Shen, the back office help I met at Killock’s briefing?’
She nodded.
‘And he was just able to turn your nanobots off without Killock knowing about it?’
‘That’s right.’
Henning found it hard to believe, though Sofia seemed to be herself again. Even so, Belinda Killock could just as easily make Sofia her puppet again, and though he healed fast, he didn’t want to get kicked in the crotch, or worse… Bottom line: he couldn’t fully trust her.
‘There is a reason I have the nanobots,’ she said, and paused, as if waiting for Henning’s reply. ‘I’m an experiment. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You know how the navy has been systematically getting data about you, and people like you?’
‘Of course,’ said Henning. The research aimed to equip normal people with the ability to store and use E. ‘OK, I see. But we never got approval for testing it on humans.’
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