by Jack Vantage
A door approached, and it zipped up in an instant to reveal a modest-size conference room. A long oak table positioned centre room, glaring from polish. The surrounding room was pristine clean and the walls a comforting grey fabric.
“Get in there and stay quiet. Food and drink will be supplied. You will know more about what is going on shortly. Please, don’t try anything and all will be well.” He hesitated, then said, “Look, I’m sorry about your friends. I’m pretty sure they were dead anyway.” He turned and left.
“Dead anyway? What’s that supposed to mean, you sick bunch of fucks? Wait until I can call someone! Or are you going to kill me? Those families in there are terrified by this. They have the right to know what they’ve done!”
“Stay put,” he replied as the door lowered and locked with a beep.
She was captive of her own military. She began pacing. She needed to think. What is happening? What have I uncovered? And how many more media patrons have died from the discovery?
The whole situation hurt like a migraine. The answer kept slipping away. Every time a plausible scenario built in her head, it shattered. There were too many loose ends, and nothing made sense.
She collapsed down on a padded black office chair and wept for the friends she’d involved. Guilt, vengeance, and retribution all enraged in her tears. She sobbed harder and harder.
Only Vander escaped unhurt, and she knew deep down that she would never see him again.
Chapter 20
The Only Theme
A cool breeze refreshed Dylan high in the wakening sky. Leon was the only solution to their problem. It was all that made sense. The sky-way moved lethargically. Hundreds of vehicles skimmed it here and there, with dawn igniting the three moons around its horizon, which hazed Quazar with twilight ambience.
Eclipse, the western moon, hung in the sky with its fractured body. A quarter of its circumference was jagged and removed from an unknown impact of old. Its crumb like debris floated between the damaged areas, locked by gravity’s hold like a broken chocolate chip biscuit.
In another hour the sky-way would resume its furiously hectic pace with the surge of the morning rush hour traffic. Dylan hoped he’d reach Adrenaline before the rush came.
The Intake break had only just started. Dylan knew Leon would be at Adrenaline working, building his credits back up for the continuation of Intake next week. Intaker’s could still use Elysees should they wish—it never really closed—but Intake classes were on hold for a week to mark the New Year and millennium.
Central Capital 8 slid past passed below as they sped on the sky-bike in the central lane of a sky-way. “Lecodia, are you okay,” Dylan asked through the helmet speakers.
“Just let me hold tight, the height scares the death out of me. How far is left to go?”
“Not far. The edge of the city. We’re about half way over.”
The sky-bike glided, its aerodynamic body slicing the air like silk on razor blades. The sun had dawned and dominated the horizon with half of its circumference. Its photons washed the world with colour and warmth, and buildings began shining under its glow. Life was emerging, and the hug of Lecodia gave him the will to overcome this dire situation. He vowed to make the evil people responsible pay for their doings.
Looking over the world was always overpowering from this height, the sheer size and complexity of the world’s buildings induced inspirational awe, like the view from his apartment or monorail. His appreciation of the endless structures never stopped. He could see Central Park, a six-mile radius of brilliant lush green, that was surrounded by glossy tubed glass structures that reflected its natural Earthly green. The landscape of beauty was made up of thousands of tall, fulsome trees, which were footed by multi-coloured areas of flower beds. Three glimmering crystal lakes moistened the area.
The parks were the perfect place to relax, a place where a citizen could escape all the technology of the world and forget the fast-paced life that unfolded on Quazar. It was a place where humanity still existed of old, and one of the only places where you could view a large tree, smell flowers, or lie on grass.
“How are we going to get into the theme park without detection, Dylan?”
“I know an area where we can land over the boundary. Leon once said anyone could do it should they know about it. No cameras, no sensors. Let’s hope he’s right. When we’re in there, don’t wander. Stay away from all the kiosks, food and prize-winning stalls. They will clock your chip and try to sell to you through video and holo-projections. It will light you up to the bastards like a star. I can’t communicate with Leon. We’ll need to walk the park to reach him. Just stay close.”
“Okay. I’ll be by your side the whole way. How big is the place?”
“Too big. There are six different worlds. It’s awesome. I’ll talk you through them. There’s Technoid Future, all things science fiction, like robots, animatronics, and slick fast rides. I’m talking G’s that’ll test you. Then there’s Water World. It’s where you go to get wet. Land of the Lost is all things fantasy, like pirates, monsters, and dinosaurs. It’s more for kids. The rides are a little slower, tamer. Aztec Past has Mayan and Inca temples and aliens. It’s really cool. The rides are hard and fast, and they don’t feel safe. You have World of Pain. It’s scary as hell. If you don’t scream, you’re not alive. The last is Snake Mountain, with harsh buildings, mountains, cowboys and Indians. It’s a pleasure-seekers paradise, a thrill-seekers heaven, one of the best days out you’ll have. Heck, you could spend a week there and still not see it all.”
“Maybe one day we could spend a day there. I’ll go with you if you get us out of this mess. That’s a promise.”
Dylan smiled. Beams of light entered his view like giant search lights sent into space, as the theme park marked its presence on Quazar. Green, red, and blue beams reached for the sky, swinging the air as dawn un-shadowed the world. Dylan viewed the temple peaks in Aztec Past. There, the dirty stone buildings were higher than any other structure as they stood on its mountainous green land.
The majestic theme park burrowed into Quazar, radiating colour like a crystal struck by photons, an array of magnificence. The bold arena fermented a vivid rainbow that cascaded the sky and moved with a sea of florescent glow.
“Hey Lecodia, I can see it in the distance. Check it out.”
She leaned to his side and looked. “Wow, that’s massive.”
Dylan manoeuvred the bike to the right and began his decent, heading for Aztec Past. He knew the park; hell had spent day after day with Leon there. From there he could sneak through too Technoid Future, reach Leon and begin their quest for freedom. Lecodia squeezed tight as they descended.
“I need to get low. We need to be careful. We can’t get seen.”
“Whatever it takes,” she replied, calmer than she’d been in hours.
The park walls neared ahead fast, the ground underneath scrolling by, and the helmet view lit the way with its blue trail. Dylan slowed and approached the derelict corner. Its white stone walls were high and solid like a fortress. He lifted the altitude up and over the wall, then lowered the bike behind and into a large spacious fenced storage area, where metal boxes were stacked neatly. He touched the bike down, and the safety mechanisms lifted from their feet. Their heads popped from their helmets and they breathed the natural air once again.
“Stay close.”
Lecodia swung her leg over the bike. Her body was still as perfect as the first time he’d laid eyes on it back in the classroom.
“Are you sure no one will catch us here?”
“Trust me. Leon and I have been over all the holes in the park. No one knows we’re here.”
“Hold on. Before we move I—” She reached into the top of her boots and pressed something. Her four-inch heels telescopically lowered which shrunk her height. She smiled at him like it was nothing. “Much more comfortable,” she said.
He took her arm and walked her towards the storage exit, a large ribbed red door. A
locking screen set to its left. Dylan punched in a code, and it clicked open.
“How did you know the code?”
“Like I said, Leon and I have had too many days here. This code will get us in anywhere.”
He pushed the bulky door open and stepped into Aztec Past. He smiled at Lecodia as she stopped.
Her breath was taken away by its design. She viewed the world up close and personal, the colour and creation reflecting in her big bright beautiful eyes.
Three enormous Mayan pyramids were positioned triangularly, standing tall across the Incan landscape. A green bed of inclining stepped grass surrounded the pyramid temples, which were elevated by rising mini mountains. Coaster rails entered and coiled the temples. Thrilled public screamed as coasters twisted, turned, and sped.
Atop the roof-combed temples, and around their steps, battled aliens and Inca warriors in a blaze of spears, arrows, and lasers. They attacked from one temple to another. The closest of the bold stone structures, pyramid like in its symmetry, held a battle between the two at its flat peak. The fighting Inca warriors were masked in gold and patterned in tribal markings. They hit with truncheons and spears, while the aliens were a horde of blaster holding greys.
Thousands of citizens walked the cobbled paths that lead to the rides, all enticed by the next thrill.
Lecodia gazed and viewed a high hydraulic arm, which was supported by two tree bark covered pistons, near right. A large stone carriage, bottom arm, was crammed with screaming passengers as they swung fast like a pendulum from near ground to a vertical hundred feet. The piston supports released pressure with a steam like sound at every whooshing swing.
Colourful Inca characters beckoned kids in for photographs. The Incas stood dressed in purples and reds, their golden crowns were feathered at the tip. Woollen like topacu patterned gowns, poncho like in their appearance, covered their bodies. They held spears and shields in their hands. The children picked off their crowns and placed it on their own heads for the photographs. All were oblivious to anything but their imagination that had been bombarded with the most immersive level of creativity on Quazar. Seeing Lecodia taking the park in reminded Dylan of his first time. The parks visuals were carefully constructed to suck the public into the most epic of fantasies. Like a novel that had come alive and jumped from the pages, then played out before your eyes, the theme park was always a place where dreams happened before you, engaged you and involved you in a world of make believe that became more and more believable as the day passed on. Whether you were a science buff, horror buff, water buff, or just a kid that had walked in and sunk into its reality, the theme park would always be the greatest of experiences, a place where dreams walked, imagination ruled, escapism trapped, and the child re-appeared in all through the ever-influenced trip of fantasy. It was one of the reasons Dylan had become so close to Leon, and always did envy after his job.
“Cool or what?” Dylan said, as he led her into the buzzing moving public. “We’ll see it all sometime, I promise. But for now, we’re here for a reason.”
Both moved forward along a cobbled walk-way, which headed them up toward the first elevated temple. Overhead, a twisting coaster cork screwed past, thundering close, startling Lecodia. It continued forward and flew into the nearest temple, after Incas and aliens had attacked from both sides, and showered the carriages with arson.
We need to keep a look out, too. They might have picked up our chips from the chase. If you see anyone move suspiciously, say something, and stay away from the kiosk and sales counters. Don’t get clicked.”
“I will. Just get us there quick. I hope your friend can help.”
A kid ran, catching the corner of Dylan’s eye, chasing a bouncy ball. He moved forward with growing paranoia. They could be anywhere, could come from anywhere like a ghost from the closet. The paranoia unnerved him.
He held Lecodia tight as they passed the first temple where the screams were loud and clear as another coaster spiralled into its structure. The alien lasers whizzed at the riding passengers. The bug-eyed greys stood and moved with tall, thin bodies. Their skin was rubber in texture and absorbed the natural light like a sponge would absorb water.
Lecodia tugged Dylan’s arm. “Look,” she said.
Dylan turned.
Six Authoritarian vehicles were dropping from the sky back where they’d landed. He grabbed Lecodia firmly and turned the brisk walk into a trot. “Don’t worry. Stay close and don’t get our chips read. They must have tracked the bike.”
They moved past the first temple, and the landscape opened ahead as the hill continued its incline. To their right a large frothy waterfall cascaded. Suddenly a coaster burst through it above its lagoon. Its passengers screamed hard, as they banked right above pebble like dodgems, before heading out of sight behind the hillside.
Dylan stayed sharp. The moving masses of people were buzzing with the day’s adrenaline. Everyone was happy, smiling, and experiencing the inspiring park.
Lecodia and Dylan passed the second temple and their breath began to weigh. Looking back, he no longer saw the Authoritarians. The drop point was hidden behind the temples. Looking forward he viewed the hillsides top peaking at its brow, which revealed the next area a short drop below: Technion Future.
From this point in the park, its landscape was spectacular. Light lined each building, which dressed the arena in an ambience that tantalised the eye with symmetric clarity. Another worldly glow trimmed the structures with soft indigo lines. A current of darker, ultra violet light followed the light stencilled structures, drawing the mind into a world beyond the world, and drawing the landscape like an architect would his design. The lined light cemented each angle, corner, and shape of the buildings. The rimmed light travelled, like an electromagnetic current, around the buildings of Technoid Future.
The infamous tripod stood at the far side of the arena, its two giant thin arms swinging, locking, and zapping lasers over the public. It stood tall above the main promenade that moved with a sea of life.
Leon’s ride, Viper, laid to the right of the tripod and was out of sight. It was the only coaster on Quazar that run entirely underground.
Dylan and Lecodia descend the hillside, and the cobbled walk-way turned into pristine cut paving stones that lit upon touch with a soft sky-blue glow. The first building they neared was a sales shop named Gadgets & Gizmos. Hundreds of families and kids bustled around the large open entrance as beeps, blasters, and android vocals sounded from within.
Surrounding the shop, gathering the public in for pictures and fun, were gangs of AIs. They stood six feet tall with white rubber faces. Their internal animatronics were exposed back head, and their bodies were a naked white rubbery texture. A variety of colours glowed softly from within, lit under their skin. Usually the AI’s mood triggered the colour change.
Dylan and Lecodia jogged past the area lightly. Toward the end of the promenade, Leon’s ride, Viper, advertised on a huge digital screen. Its moving emblem stretched out from the screen, which was a coiling snake wrapped around an outline of a human body, trapped in a constricting crush.
A monorail slipped by above, its silver bullet-front carriage sliding along with a Doppler whistle. It drew Dylan’s attention, who looked up and viewed chrome coaster tracks corkscrewing together overhead, entwining and snaking along the promenade length. Two coasters neared from somewhere as screams closed in. They whizzed above like missiles, with their red carriages dancing with coloured light, and feet dangling free. The coasters twisted and corkscrewed with each other, entwined like they were lovers, then reared upward and tipped in a tight u bend. Then they aimed the screaming riders vertically downward from a hundred feet. Centre of the promenade, the coasters flew with thunderous speed into the ground. Clusters of the public watched them disappear from around an indigo fenced safety guard.
As they passed a moon cratered food hall on the left, Dylan slowed to a walk again. He looked at Lecodia, out of breath. “Let’s take five minutes and
just walk.”
“How far is Leon?”
“End of the promenade, just behind the right building. Man, I need to jog more.”
An AI approached, walking the promenade, looking to engage with another person. Its strides were smooth, happy, and precise. The AI pointed at a passing child with a joyous smile and straight postured back. The child beamed back up at it.
Dylan didn’t see it coming. He was looking for signs of trouble from the Authoritarians. He only knew the AI was there when it grabbed his wrist.
It said, “A photograph, sir, with your lovely lady?” Its innocence stared through its very real eyes, and it looked at him like it was the greatest day of its life, as joy spilled from its mechanics. It was dressed in the usual naked white rubber. A soft violet glowed beneath its skin.
Dylan yanked his hand free and startled the AI, who stepped back.
“Not now sorry,” Dylan said. He tried to avoid eye contact. The AI’s program would command it to persist and deliver joy should he make contact with its eyes.
Lecodia looked it straight in the eye and triggered the program.
“I can see you truly want to experience the fun and memory of a picture, ma’am.” It held Lecodia’s hand and placed its free arm around her shoulder.
“I can’t, not at this—”
But it clicked her chip reader with a beep. Its hand lit white under the rubber skin as it clocked her details.
Dylan shoved it firmly, and its mechanical legs moved rigidly in an attempt to remain standing. “I beg your pardon, sir. I think you are confused,” it said as it balanced. Its internal glow reddened from inside. With a tone that said Don’t worry about it. I forgive you, it said, “There is no charge at this time for the photograph. You may pick it up at the exit should you wish.”
“Leave us alone. We’re in a hurry.” He grabbed Lecodia and pulled her away.
“Okay sir, but please do ask one of my colleagues should you wish to—” It turned and continued along the promenade.