“Of course not.”
“Then how did you know I’d be coming?”
Jordan gave an odd smile but said nothing.
“Well, are you ready to go back down?”
“Let’s walk,” she said.
They strolled between the statues and out to the concourse, where they could see layered bands of clouds spread across the sky like ribbons. Whatever star shined down on them remained hidden behind an opaque curtain of silver atmosphere.
“Storm’s all done,” he said.
“The palace and the machine fixed themselves, you know. I’m not a computer guy like you, but it looks like the program that runs this place is back online.”
“But the Grey still locked us out with his password. I can take a look at it.”
“No, I’d prefer if you didn’t,” she said a little too hastily. “Sorry. I’ll check in with you if I need help. I’m going to see what actually needs to be done here and what can take care of itself. The fewer hands in the pot, the better.”
“So what, this is a new job for you? How would you even know what to do here? This place controls the weather. No offense, but this might need to be handed off to someone who has some expertise with this.”
Jordan laughed. “Like who? There’s no one in the city that even knows about this place. Are you going to assign some random meteorologist to the post? And Lady Capitoline passed something along that I can’t shake. I’m processing it, is all. Maybe there’s something I need to do. Maybe nothing, and then I’ll leave. But she invited me here, so that’s what I’m going to consider doing. You know, I’m having a hard time talking about this. Just thinking about her message makes me want to cry.”
“Come back down to the city. We’ll get Doctor Cochran to check you out.”
Jordan shook her head. “It’s not like that. I’m fine. I need to stay here for a little while.”
“How long? Is there even food here, a place to sleep? You know a, uh…”
“Bathroom? Yes, there’s a can. I finally found one. Lady Capitoline didn’t just dump a bucket over the side.”
They both laughed.
“You know you’re out of touch up here,” Jeff said. “This place is off the grid. Shannanon is going crazy bugging everyone trying to find you. She’s still looking after Fang.”
“Send them up. I think that might be part of what Lady Capitoline wanted. Let people come up here and see this place, a few at a time. Learn the history. The palace tells a story if you listen, you know.”
“You just got here, and you’re ready for tourists?”
“It’s a small elevator. If it gets too crazy I’ll make a sign and set hours.”
Jeff took in the view. Parts of the city could be made out, its hazy shapes looking like a partially disassembled jigsaw puzzle. Then he remembered that the palace hung in the air like a storybook castle. He put his hand on the parapet.
“We can go back to Earth anytime we want.”
She didn’t say anything for a minute. “Maybe one day. Maybe we bring some people here. I wouldn’t be the best person to make the decision of who gets to come. I can’t worry about that right now.”
He nodded. “You’re going to go crazy without your games.”
“We’ll see. But I don’t think so.”
***
When it was time to go, Jordan led Jeff along to see one more thing. They walked back into the inner chamber and past scores of statues on pedestals, busts, and even some abstract sculptures with plaques. Some of these last were nods to the achievements of entire species that wished to remain anonymous. They came to a round alcove with a dozen carved figurines set on delicate stands of yellow crystal. Each stood in its own pillar of light.
She pointed to one. It looked new. A delicate masculine hand held a worm in its palm. “Akimbo’s Bolt,” the inscription read.
Before Jeff could ask, Jordan said, “I had the palace do that. Tell Lord Akimbo.”
“Why would you honor him like this after all that he did? What’s next? Irving getting a bust?”
“If Lord Akimbo wants this so bad, let him have it. Maybe it will let him focus his mind on something else in his retirement.”
“What about Lady Capitoline? Where’s her statue?”
“She didn’t want one.”
“I’m worried about you,” he said.
“Don’t be. I’m fine.”
“And I’m serious.”
“So am I.”
***
Shannanon didn’t wait for Jeff to step out of the elevator. She grabbed him with one long arm and hauled him out. When they had last spoken, Shannanon had reluctantly given over the names of her associates who had first received the game invitations. It turned out that all of these names were handles, but after conducting some interviews, Jeff had enough ammunition to go forward with confronting the Jinong. He wondered whether Shannanon was her actual name.
Fang bobbed along behind her with one tentacle wrapped around her wrist.
“How do I get up there?” Shannanon asked.
“It’s already set,” Jeff said. “Just close the door and hit the red button.”
The door closed before Jeff finished speaking. The air hummed and the elevator vanished, leaving Jeff alone on the platform. Two security bots stood watch over the second elevator. Neither bot filled Jeff with much confidence as to the security of the station.
A message came in, not on his tablet but in his head.
“Thank You for trying out the Beta version of Jinong Industries’ gaming suite, featuring such games as…”
Jeff couldn’t delete the message quickly enough. A second message followed.
“Would you like to upgrade to the free premium edition?” Scores of colorful animated images of the games available appeared. Jeff recognized himself in some of the fleeting graphics. There were worlds to explore and aliens to blast and foods to eat. And way at the bottom a tiny box appeared, easily lost under the temptations above.
“Would you like to delete this program and all of its add-ons?”
“They did it,” Jeff said softly.
The choice to remove the software would now be readily apparent to all users. But the option had always been there, hidden under layers of obscure menus and twisted legal language. Jeff had finally found it after leaving the Jinong’s sovereign house, and it had taken effort to not immediately uninstall. It felt like not wiping a spiderweb away after it gets on your face. But now he didn’t need the program. It could be erased forever, and he wouldn’t ever allow anything, wet or otherwise, to be crammed inside his head.
Jeff hesitated. He let it be for now.
He walked out into the courtyard in front of the transportation terminal. The refugees had been checked and cleared. Very little traffic passed by here as the elevators still were officially off limits and would only take passengers to two destinations. A work crew of a dozen bots and citizens busied themselves fitting wire into conduits. Jeff watched them for a while. A hovering bot came along. The workers had just completed one fifty-foot length of conduit. The bot snatched the conduit and carried it up and over a nearby building toward one of the construction zones.
He wandered the streets, eyeing muted newsfeeds displaying the rebuilding efforts underway, portraits of the suspects involved, reports of a possible Bunnie sighting in one of the outlying parks, and bold-type headlines that the elevators were working (almost).
His tablet buzzed. He got it out of his pocket and answered.
“Will you be working today, or will you be taking more time off?” Captain Lily asked.
“I’ll be in this afternoon. We should up our security at the transportation terminal. Right now we have two bots sitting on the doorway to this planet’s weather controls and unrestricted access to my homeworld.”
“Handle it,” she said and hung up.
Jeff considered his tablet before putting it away. He called Toggs.
***
He met Toggs and Doctor Coc
hran on the observation platform of a mile-high spire. The platform appeared to be open air. An invisible curtain kept anyone from falling. The doctor stood at the edge looking down. As opposed to the view from the weather palace, this view laid out the skyline of the many structures still standing. Buildings both narrow and wide, simple and ornate, stood side by side, like a forest of metal and stone. Broad avenues appeared like rivers of multicolored foliage. Even the above-ground transportation streaming past looked peaceful from this vantage point. Jeff couldn’t even see any of the damaged parts of the city.
“It’s so beautiful,” Doctor Cochran said.
She no longer wore the shower cap. She now had a functional jumpsuit similar to the one Jeff usually wore. No doubt a newly acquired null-space pouch held her translator.
“That’s the eighteenth time she’s said that,” Toggs said. “Each time she says it differently.”
“There’s a lot to take in,” Jeff said.
Toggs let out a single chuff. “Your people need to get out more. You should think about having visitors come see us for a change.”
“First day back, and you’re playing tour guide?”
“It’s good for all of us to take a look at the big picture. It’s quite a city we have. I keep listening to the individual parts, and sometimes don’t get a chance to hear what the whole of it is saying.”
Jeff just nodded. They both watched the doctor ogle the city.
“Good to see you, too, Doc,” Jeff said.
She didn’t answer. She worked her hands in the air. Looked down with renewed intensity. Magnification app, maybe? She was certainly jumping in with both feet.
“It will all be here for a long time,” Jeff said. “Take it in measured doses. Maybe we need to invite the Director here.”
“He can suck it,” she said softly.
Before leaving, Jeff passed contact information for a visitor’s dorm to Toggs so the doctor would have a place to stay. He took a platform elevator down and stepped out into the crowded street alone.
***
The green walls of the hospital hadn’t changed. Jeff walked the corridor down to the rec room where he heard the gallip-gallop of a ping-pong game. The kid was there playing one of the other patients. Other residents sat listless and bored, their attention divided between the television bwaaahing at them with an ad for a new blockbuster, the ball transiting between paddles, or the green walls. At one table, a threesome were poring over spread-out playing cards.
“One’s missing,” a patient said. “Who took it?”
Zachary stood out in the hallway, leaning on a wall, arms crossed. He gave Jeff a look but remained silent. Big Al was talking to Doctor Carol. They consulted a chart. A nurse was making her rounds, handing out cups of juice.
Jeff walked past them all. From behind, he heard a whisper from Zachary.
“Why’d you do it, buddy?”
Jeff didn’t turn but continued his soft shuffle down towards the visiting room. He could see the white fluorescent lights were on through the wire-imbedded glass window on the door. One person sat in the room.
She wasn’t wearing pink this time, or the university sweatshirt. She had on an olive blouse with loose sleeves and dark business slacks. A thin gold watch dangled on one wrist. She crossed her legs and checked the time.
Jeff touched the cool metal of the door handle. Three mental finger presses and he’d be out of here. A single command and this world disappeared forever. He opened the door and went inside.
Author’s Note
This is the part where I say thank you to all for the help and support I received in writing this book. The first installment of this series got picked up by publisher Booktrope and released January 2015. House of the Galactic Elevator was green-lit and scheduled for summer 2016. Then Booktrope went out of business with short notice in May.
First, a big thanks to Cassandra Metcalfe for editing the story and helping me cut, cut, cut. I appreciate her ability to plainly say when a line or entire story arc needs to go. She was essential in developing the structure of the narrative and patient in working with my nutty sci-fi world. Hopefully my application of her suggestions resulted in a better novel. You can find her editing services here: https://veritasauthorservices.wordpress.com
I also received help from several beta readers, including Paula Matsumoto, Dorothy Ross, Paul, Corey, Damien, and Tiffany, as well as two who wish to remain anonymous. I appreciate the helpful suggestions as to clarity and the keen eyes that discovered several typos before the manuscript went to the proofreader. It made me look good, and I appreciate it.
My proofreader Brittany Dory has been wonderful and helped me even after Booktrope’s fall. Her editing and proofreading services are available here: http://www.blue-minerva.com/
The cover design is by Mark Hardman. He has been a pleasure to work with and is a true professional. See more of his covers here: http://www.secretagentart.com/
Finally, my wife Abby has always been supportive and ready with suggestions. She’s happy as long as I don’t hurt a hair on Oliop’s head. He lives to burgle his way through another adventure, honey.
My new publishing home is with Lucas Ross Publishing. I look forward to working with them on my future projects.
Copyright 2016 Gerhard Gehrke
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
Noncommercial — You may not use this work for commercial purposes.
No Derivative Works — You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to similarly named places or to persons living or deceased is unintentional.
Table of Contents
House of the Galactic Elevator
The Story So Far…
PART ONE – MISPLACED EARTHLINGS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
PART TWO – DARKER PLACES TO PLAY
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
PART THREE – THE PENTHOUSE THAT WASN’T THERE
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
Author’s Note
House of the Galactic Elevator Page 39