by Paul Teague
The men had argued about what they’d found and had heated discussions on what action to take. There had been many hushed conversations in their homes, much to the interest of their wives. They kept the information to themselves, not knowing what to do with it. In the end, they’d decided that Hunter should not be allowed to stay hidden. They had no capacity to expose the truth, they’d probably be killed if they did, but they were going to make sure the evidence was safely stored. If ever there was a time when the information could be leaked in a safe way, or even used in judicial proceedings if it ever came to that, they would be ready. Until then, they’d watch and wait, gathering up the evidence against Damien Hunter and biding their time.
One thing had led to another. In watching Damien Hunter’s activities more closely, they’d noticed that he, in turn, was watching President Josh Delman. Like everybody in The Grid, Tom and Matt knew all the rumours about Delman. A little bit of digging revealed there was no love lost between Hunter and Delman, and that’s what started the checks on the conversations between them. They weren’t ever able to listen in, but they were both privy to basic communications logs. It became apparent that Delman was making calls elsewhere, not within Fortrillium. The data trail showed a call initiation and a call duration, but there was no identifiable destination.
Tom put it down as a technical issue at first, but the President was making a lot of these calls. Who was he talking to? There was no way of telling since they were unable to listen in or intercept, but they thought the calls must be being routed somewhere else, outside The City. With Delman’s mysterious past, that seemed to make sense.
Tom had been right to have an uneasy feeling on that day. He knew something was amiss, but he couldn’t work out what it was. Matt had succeeded in transferring the data securely and undetected by Fortrillium. Tom was certainly relieved that had been accomplished. He was also keen for Matt to get the files erased from his personal data card, but he’d have to do that at home. It was to be that delay which allowed Matt to hand the card to Joe before he was detained later that evening.
Just as Tom and Matt had been monitoring his actions, Hunter too had seen that something was awry. He’d noticed that deleted data was being accessed and it didn’t take him long to figure out which of Fortrillium’s employees was doing it. He made his plans to apprehend both men later that day. He wanted them taken in front of their families. It always created more of a stir on Silk Road when homes were raided. It would serve as a warning to all of the other residents.
Matt Parsons was arrested and detained as Hunter had planned. However, he never completed the arrest of Tom Slater because he met with a mysterious accident that very evening in The Climbs.
Unknown to Damien Hunter, Tom Slater had been approached by President Josh Delman earlier that day. Not even Matt knew about the meeting. Tom decided to keep it to himself until he knew what it was about. He didn’t want Matt involved if it might help to steer him clear of any trouble.
Delman wanted a meeting in The Climbs that evening before Tom returned home. Tom wasn’t accustomed to entering The Climbs. He admired his wife for her pro bono work, but he’d always thought the place to be dangerous and full of hazards. There was nothing he could say to Talya to prevent her from going there, but he chose to avoid it. However, when President Josh Delman gave a summons it was best not to disappoint.
Tom crossed over at 19:00. It was precariously close to Segregation. He hoped the President knew what he was asking. Delman had instructed Tom to meet him at a location deep into The Climbs and Tom grew more and more concerned that he would miss Segregation. Would the President’s request protect him? He wasn’t so sure about that.
Tom entered a quiet and dark square. He waited underneath the screen there. Nothing was being broadcast, so there were no crowds and very little light to enable him to see what was going on. If the request for a meeting had come any other way, he’d have ignored it and gone home. But it had been sent via confidential internal memo from the President’s office. It was authenticated, this was definitely the President who was making the request.
Tom waited and waited, glancing at his WristCom to monitor the time. He peeled it off his arm, playing with the device nervously. He ran his fingers over the initials TS. It was a touch of vanity having initials marked on a WristCom, but one which Lucy had wanted to indulge on his last birthday. Birthdays were still celebrated on Silk Road, they’d long since become superfluous in The Climbs.
Half an hour until Segregation, twenty minutes to walk back to the gates, Delman was cutting it fine.
Then the black car drew up. A well-built man stepped out. He wore a smart black suit and he was armed. He didn’t acknowledge Tom, just moved over to the far door and let President Delman out.
‘Thank you for coming, Tom. I appreciate it.’
‘That’s no problem, sir, but can I ask, you are aware how close we are to Segregation? We’re quite some way from the nearest security gate here, I will need to set off shortly.’
‘It’s no problem, Tom, don’t worry. I can assure you that Segregation will not be a problem for you tonight. Troy, get the equipment please.’
Without a word, Troy took a case from the front of the car. In silence he took out some medical equipment.
‘Hold out your arm please,’ Delman instructed. ‘We need to take a small sample of blood.’
Tom was about to protest but did as he was told. It was the President after all, how could he protest?
A sample of blood was taken, Troy ran it through a console and then nodded at Delman.
‘You’re sure, Troy? It’s complete compatibility? We get this wrong and it’s all messed up.’
Troy nodded again, this time speaking. He was a man of few words. ‘It’s a complete match, sir.’
‘Excellent. Tom, it’s probably best that you’re not conscious for the next bit …’
Before Tom could move, Troy had injected him in the neck. It was the same serum that would be used on his wife six years into the future. Just like his wife, the serum was used to temporarily kill him. This would be required to allow him to pass through the security gates undetected. He’d have an implant embedded in his brain too, to give him safe passage into The Grid alongside Delman.
Tom’s WristCom fell to the ground. Delman picked it up and placed it in a shielding container. The last recorded data from that device would indicate that Tom Slater disappeared somewhere in The Climbs. His WristCom was assumed stolen, no body was recovered.
In the few seconds that passed between Delman’s last words to him and Troy injecting him from behind, Tom thought back to his family, Lucy and Talya. He considered what a lovely morning they’d had and how pleased he was to have spent some time with them before setting off for work. That would be his last memory of them for six years.
The Return
Joe wasn’t sure if the presence of the countdown clocks was a good idea. Every digit that changed, it felt as if time was burning up in front of their eyes. They’d got less than seven hours to re-enter The Grid and get to Delman, and then what? Ask him nicely not to destroy The City?
He’d just returned from his first shower for six years. He’d forgotten how good it felt and for a moment, as the hot, clean water had cascaded over his sore, cut and bruised body, he’d just wanted to walk away from the problems and leave them to somebody else. As he stepped into that shower and felt the delicious warmth of the water, it had taken him back to his simpler life on Silk Road. Before the death of his father.
It was his father’s disappearance that had torn that life away from him. His father was alive, it was unbelievable. But his mother and brother were in a city destined to be destroyed by Catharsis. Now his father was asking him to return to that city and seize its President. This was terrorist activity, but apparently it was the only thing that would bring Delman to the negotiating table.
Joe longed for the comfort and peace of the shower again. Something so simple, yet it represented so muc
h to him. He’d had his wounds patched up, he’d got new clothing and he was sitting in the Med-Centre with Lucy, awaiting final checks.
‘We’re just going to run a BioScan on both of you,’ the medic had explained. ‘We need to be certain of a couple of things before you re-enter. It’s for your own safety.’
It seemed crazy to Joe that so much care was being taken over their wellbeing when they were about to be thrown back into The Grid.
‘Stand here please,’ the medic indicated to Joe. Joe stood at the centre of a black circle on the floor. A blue light formed around its perimeter and scanned him up and down. A 3D rendering of his body appeared on a large console screen in front of him. The medic pressed a few buttons and two specific areas became highlighted on the screen.
‘You’ll see that your implant is currently inactive in your brain, but when you re-enter The Grid it will activate immediately. You need to understand that Fortrillium can track you online the minute you go back. They’ll know you’re there. You can’t get in or out of The Grid without that implant.’
Joe finally saw what had caused so much pain during Psyche-Eval. It was a tiny unit placed in his brain via his nostrils.
‘What can they do with that? Do I need to know anything else?’
‘It’s a key in and out of The Grid. No living being can enter that area unless they have one of these fitted. It has to be removed surgically or with a special device, it’s why your father can’t come with you, his was taken away.’
‘Well, at least we know they can be extracted,’ said Joe, but it didn’t seem to be reassuring Lucy.
‘What’s that showing up in Joe’s arm?’ she asked.
‘That’s what powers your Gen-ID. We all have them in the Sectors, they’re implanted at birth. It links to the markings on your skin. It contains a small chip – that’s how Fortrillium keeps an eye on you.’
‘You’re very calm for a man who may well be dead within the next eight hours,’ Joe commented.
‘We just have to keep working and moving ahead. We’ve known about Catharsis for many years. It all hinged on Delman coming back. Your arrival here has given us the single best chance we’ve had. We had no chance before you two arrived. As far as I’m concerned, my life expectancy has just improved dramatically.’
Joe understood what the medic was saying, but it meant that everything was now riding on his shoulders. He wasn’t sure he was up to it, though he was going to try his hardest to do as he’d been asked. They were all going to die anyway, so what did he have to lose? And if there was a chance to dish out some justice to Damien Hunter, that would be a revenge he would savour.
Lucy stepped into the black circle and a scan was run on her body.
‘As you see, you’re exactly the same, Lucy. You’re an Immune, like Joe. We knew that – you wouldn’t have got down here if you weren’t. You have the implant too and the full Gen-ID insertion. I’m afraid to say that you’re both good to go, you’re the only ones who can help now.’
Matt entered the room. He was waiting for Joe and Lucy to be dismissed so he could take them onto their next stop.
‘They’re both cleared to go,’ said the medic. ‘Be aware, Joe, that your heart has taken quite a shock somewhere along the line. I’m not sure what you can do about it, but you’ve sustained a big hit physically. If you can, take care.’
‘That will be in the cells, Joe, when you were calling out to get help for Chris. That electronic device knocked you right back,’ said Lucy.
Joe nodded.
‘It hurt a lot whatever it was that they used on me. I’m not sure what I can do about it, but thanks for letting me know.’
Matt escorted them out of the room and rushed them over to a new area. Neither of them had seen this section so they were interested to discover what Matt had planned for them next.
‘This is our arms area,’ he announced, sensing their inquisitiveness. ‘When you go back into The Grid, you won’t be empty-handed.’
He hadn’t exaggerated. They were given new overalls with lightweight protective armouring on the legs and arms, offering much better protection than the ones they’d been handed by Fortrillium. Utility belts were placed around their waists.
‘You’ve got med supplies, ammunition, a knife, and food and water in there. You’ll also need to take these.’
Matt gave each of them a hand weapon. Neither Lucy or Joe had used one before. Matt gave them a quick lesson.
‘Point, aim and press the trigger. That’s it. And try to hit whoever is attacking you, okay?’
Joe wasn’t reassured, but it felt better to be entering The Grid with at least some defensive capability. He’d learned to use the primitive weaponry given to the Justice Seekers in The Grid. He’d been surprised at how fast you could learn when somebody was trying to kill you.
Disappearance
Jacob Carley gave a non-committal grunt as he left the house that morning. There was another Justice Trial and he was finding the secrecy involved to be overwhelming. His family knew something had changed, but he was unable to discuss it with them. He’d signed the contract, sworn the oath, and he would be putting all of their lives in danger if he disobeyed.
Like most keen gamers, Jacob had aspired to a win in the Gridder Games, Silk Road’s most prestigious gaming event. They all knew the games were based on real-life trials that had taken place in The Grid, but the event was about gameplay, strategy and skill. The games had little to do with death or slaughter.
There was some suspicion that the best gamers ended up working for Fortrillium and devising the new challenges for the real trials, but there was no proof or to support the theory. The reality was that once the contracts were signed there was no talking about life as a Gridder.
When Jacob had won the Gridder Games – not at the first time of trying, like so many players before him – he was immediately contacted by Fortrillium’s head, Damien Hunter. A short conversation and a lot of veiled threats later, and Jacob had signed the contract, like those before him and the many who would follow in the years ahead.
Things became tricky at home. His younger brother Linwood idolized his champion brother and wouldn’t stop talking about gaming. His parents wondered why he’d quit his job at City Management Services and continued to ask probing questions about his involvement with Fortrillium.
What was he supposed to say? ‘I can’t tell you anything because if I do you’ll be arrested by Fortrillium and never seen again?’
That wasn’t an option. Much as it had hurt him to behave in this way, he’d been evasive and dismissive of his family to protect them. When he disappeared for days on end, his family must have suspected that he was connected with the trials in some way. He’d leave the house on the day The Justice Trials started and get back home the day after. Questions would be asked, but in the end it became too difficult for everybody. The questions stopped and Jacob said nothing. It was better that way, it would keep his parents and brother alive.
Day by day, Jacob’s soul was dying. His only release from this prison would be to make his hundred kills. He wasn’t sure his conscience could take that burden. It wore him down, he wasn’t fooled or distracted by the pixelated images that were supposed to make the killing more palatable, he wanted out. There was no escape. His family would pay the penalty if he tried to walk away. He was stuck.
Promoted to Head Gridder, Jacob quickly began to learn more of The Grid’s secrets. He was particularly interested in what was based at its centre. Whenever a new environment was rendered in the arena, it would first be created at the heart of The Grid. If there was a problem, the centre would always be protected first. To begin with, Jacob figured that it made sense. The technical process had to begin somewhere – it was logical that it started at the centre then spread outwards. But there was more to it than that.
When he got access to higher level information as Head Gridder, it became clear to him that one of his primary responsibilities was to keep Justice Seekers away f
rom The Core. No reason was given as to why, but it was to be given a protected perimeter within any trial scenario. This fascinated Jacob. What was it that made the centre so special?
There was no way that he could see The Grid on camera without an environment being rendered, it was technically impossible. He knew that bots entered the zone remotely, but no human had ever seen what went on in there away from the trials. Somebody must have built it, of course. There must at one time have been someone who knew all of The Grid’s secrets. But that was pre-plague. A hundred years later, that information had vanished or was being kept well-hidden.
He’d been working as a Gridder for just over a year when he was approached by President Josh Delman. It came out of the blue – he’d always dealt with Damien Hunter on issues relating to The Grid. He had a particular distaste for Hunter. It seemed the man was unable to have a conversation without making some sort of threat. So when Delman got in contact, it was a surprise and it offered the prospect of change.
Like everything at Fortrillium, Delman’s approach was shrouded in mystery. Jacob had become aware of being followed by a car on his way home one night. It had unnerved him at first. The vehicle drew up alongside him in a quiet spot where there was nobody to observe. A man beckoned him to enter the car. He approached cautiously, peering into the vehicle beforehand. The President was in the back seat and he indicated that Jacob should join him. The driver and the President’s minder were instructed to make themselves scarce.
Jacob thought it highly unusual that he should be left alone with the President, but the reason for his secrecy soon became clear.
‘I’ve followed your progress at Fortrillium with some interest. You’re a highly competent player. I’m going to ask you to work with me. There will be no contract to sign, but you need to understand that if you do not keep our conversations confidential or if you attempt to betray me, I will have you killed.’