by Paul Teague
Hunter had his play. By claiming Joe and Lucy were clones, it would make the problem of their reappearance go away. It would also enable him to broker a deal if one became necessary. He needed them to stay alive. He needed to speak to the Head Gridder again. He connected to 97TRaider.
‘What have you got planned next for the Justice Seekers?’
‘We’re going into a Psyche-Trial, sir. We’re going inside their heads to create scenarios based upon their worst fears and we’ll screen those nightmares as if they are really happening.’
‘How do you get inside their heads? What will happen?’
‘You’re aware, sir, what happens during Psyche-Eval before the trials begin? We place the implants in their brains so they can get in and out of The Grid, but also so we can access their vital signs and core memories.’
‘Okay, okay, I know all that. How much information can we get out of their brains? Can we tell what they’re thinking?’
‘No, sir, it only accesses key data, the sort of memories which are stored long term in the prefrontal cortex. Historically, Gridders have tried to access short-term memories, but it puts the devices under too much strain. They have a tendency to explode in the head, creating an embolism. It’s been deemed to waste Justice Seeker deaths and the most dramatic memories and fears are located in the long-term memory. It’s been protocol for a long time not to use that technique.’
‘But we could if we wanted to?’
‘Yes, sir, it’s possible. I could patch a feed through to you if you wanted.’
‘That would be good. Do it for Slater and Parsons. Make sure none of the other Gridders know about this. I may be calling on you later, don’t go off shift.’
Things were working out well for Damien Hunter. He’d covered up Lucy and Joe’s reappearance – it was fortunate that the Gridders had used the Schälen clones, the story looked plausible and convincing. Centuria were reporting more lively audiences in front of the screens, but the presence of armed officers on the streets was keeping things in check. Once the show reels began to play, it would calm down. If not, some random outbursts of fire into the crowds would soon sort it out.
He would try to access the memories of Slater and Parsons remotely. He might get all of the information he needed. He’d have to take care not to kill them, certainly not at first, that would be a huge inconvenience. However, if he could find the clues he was seeking in their short-term memory it might prevent him having to forge new alliances. Parsons and Slater could be killed or saved at a moment’s notice, depending on whether he needed them or not. If he could get to Delman without making any deals, so much the better.
Hunter felt as if he’d got the situation under control, so he moved onto the latest updates regarding the day’s explosions in The Climbs. They were troubling him, there hadn’t been any incidents like it for many years. He’d clamped down on everything when he became Head of Fortrillium, he’d left no room whatsoever for even peaceful protest.
The use of explosives was worrying. It suggested some form of organization, not just a group of people getting angry about something or other. This was much more than that, but he didn’t know what it was yet.
Things were coming to a head: Delman’s secret conversations, trouble in The Climbs, the reappearance of Slater and Parsons, and the plot to hack into Fortrillium’s servers via the sewers. Hunter’s instincts told him these events were linked in some way, but he couldn’t see the shape of it, it had yet to emerge. He was certain of one thing though, this was his chance to seize the initiative from Delman and be reunited with his family. Even if it meant striking a deal with the President, agreeing to suppress some key information, it could win him his wife and children back. If it was enough to take the President down, all the better.
Hunter checked in with the Centuria teams. The protesters had vanished into the ruins of The Climbs without trace. The explosives used had been stolen from Fortrillium – inventory checks were being run, and they’d know how they had been procured soon enough. The fugitives had escaped – alive – their whereabouts unknown.
The Head Centuria believed the unrest was connected to the three traitors, Bachus, Levett and Carn – Leo, Julia and Jody. That seemed highly likely to Hunter, it would explain where the explosives had come from. If they’d been on some misguided mission to rescue Shen Li – Wiz – and the younger Parsons boy, it would make a lot of sense. It was troubling that these fugitives were still at large, but they had no public profile. They were a non-story, insignificant residents of The Climbs. Easy come, easy go, they’d be caught soon enough.
Julia Levett was in The Grid, and Bachus and Carn would show themselves soon enough, they’d feel morally obliged to try to save their colleague. It was so predictable to Hunter, they’d all be apprehended and terminated soon enough. The situation was under control.
His attention was diverted to his console where the newly edited show reels had just begun to be screened. The editing was good, the voice-over work strong. He almost convinced himself that he was really looking at clones of Slater and Parsons. It was a good story, he was pleased he’d thought of it.
Two encrypted channel requests appeared on his console. It was 97TRaider sending through the Psyche feeds. He’d have direct access to the minds of Slater and Parsons, and he had the rest of the night to figure out what was going on. For the first time in a while, Damien Hunter felt things were beginning to go his way. He could almost hear his wife’s voice again and the laughter of his children. It wouldn’t be long now.
Hunter had a thought. His best ideas always came like that, out of the blue. He connected his WristCom to 97TRaider who was sounding jittery. It was fair enough, Hunter thought, he’d shaken them all up a bit with his earlier visit. He’d need to change his shirt, there was still blood on it.
‘I want the Centuria woman dead by the end of the night. I don’t care if it’s outside peak screen times, she has to be dead by 06:00. Slater and Parsons stay alive for now. Anybody else is fair game, do as you please with them.’
There was no more conversation. The WristCom connection was terminated. He’d given his instructions, there was nothing more discuss. Killing the Centuria, Julia Levett, would flush out the other two fugitives. That would lead him to Wiz and Dillon Parsons, as her death would inspire the predictable revenge attack. He’d get it nipped in the bud as soon as possible.
Damien Hunter was feeling smug, he’d got it all worked out. He’d spend the night working through the Psyche information feeds and by morning he’d know exactly what to do with Lucy Slater and Joe Parsons. He’d also have a good idea what Delman was up to. He’d be ready to make his move, Delman wouldn’t see him coming.
Then his eye was caught by something on his screen. The feed from The Grid had been interrupted. It went to black then there was just interference. It was coming back, it seemed to have been a temporary technical fault. He was wrong. His screen was no longer filled with the feed from The Grid. Instead, he was looking at Talya Slater’s face. And behind her, on a screen, a photograph of him holding a gun to a woman’s head while she was still clutching her crying baby.
Chapter Ten
Sector 1
Matt felt completely useless. He’d felt useless for six years. After the sheer exhilaration of escaping from The Grid and saving his life, the implications had become slowly clearer.
When he’d first descended in that elevator six years previously, he hadn’t had a clue what he would find. He didn’t know if he’d survived The Grid and if it was The Justice Walk he was experiencing. Neither could he tell if something extraordinary had happened, something that was not supposed to have taken place. When the elevator doors opened on The TriPlex, he didn’t know what, if anything, would be there to meet him. As he later discovered, there was no way he could have even got into the elevator if he wasn’t an Immune. He’d have been terminated immediately. No warning, no alerts, just an instant violent death. When the Sectors had been created, it had been deemed e
ssential for the survival of humanity that no plague carrier could ever enter The TriPlex. If the plague or a mutated version of the disease got in, the pandemic could begin all over again. If Centrum fell, the population was on its own.
It was equally impossible for those in The TriPlex to enter the Sectors. They were to remain sealed off zones, nobody was to enter or leave. The population in Centrum had been carefully balanced. It was made up of Immunes, of course. That was an extra level of protection in case any strains of the virus should get through, but also there was a balanced ecology of society in there: scientists, engineers, horticulturists, doctors, mechanics, teachers and political leaders were carefully blended to ensure Centrum would continue to thrive for the hundred years needed for humanity to increase its chances of survival. They did not know what their role was, only to maintain the systems of Centrum to ensure the system continued to operate correctly and to safeguard the disease-free integrity of the establishment at all costs.
Matt Parsons was the second person to make the crossing from the Sector to Centrum. As the elevator had worked its way below ground to its destination, he’d braced himself for a violent reception. He was familiar with working elevators, having lived and worked on Silk Road all of his life, so he understood there would be a momentary delay before the door opened.
He’d stood there, tired, wounded and weary, not sure if he had much fight left in him. He’d almost given himself up for dead in The Grid, then from nowhere the exit had appeared.
The doors slid open. A young man was there, unarmed.
‘Come with me,’ he’d instructed. ‘This way!’
Matt followed his lead. Alarms were going off in the vast glass-domed area, and this man seemed to offer the chance of help.
They ran across to another elevator marked ‘Sector 1’. The young man activated the door and they stepped inside. Matt saw guards appearing on a circular transportation area in the centre of the atrium as the elevator door closed.
‘Where are we heading?’ he asked, alert to the fact he might be about to step back out into The Grid.
‘Don’t worry, it’s safe up here. It’s very different to what you came from.’
The elevator door opened. They were standing in a vast hangar crisscrossed with blue lines. They were at its centre, they’d walked out into an empty arena.
‘This is The Grid in Sector 1,’ the man began. ‘It’s deactivated now, it’s safe to come though. They’re all dead here anyway.’
‘What?’ asked Matt, ‘Who are dead?’
‘The entire Sector,’ the man replied. ‘They’ve all been dead for years, looking at the decomposition levels. I never go out there, I can see it on the cameras though. Not sure if it’s safe. It’s much nicer out there than in Sector 2, but the bodies tend to spoil the view.’
Matt was stunned.
‘There’s another city? How can there be?’
‘There are three cities actually, but two of them are dead.’
‘But we were told we were the only survivors. It’s not possible.’
‘You’re in Sector 1 right now. This is the first city. We’re not in Fortrillium, they called it Sympozia: it was the same tech, same sort of set-up, but a different social structure and another group of people making the rules. I don’t actually know that, I’ve just figured it out from what’s left here.’
‘Who the hell are you anyway?’ Matt asked. He felt he was asking the right questions but in the wrong order.
‘Jacob Carley,’ he said, reaching to shake Matt’s hand. Silk Road, Matt thought immediately.
‘Matt Parsons.’
‘What’s happening, Jacob? None of this makes any sense to me.’
‘I’m only slightly ahead of you, Matt, so don’t worry. I was brought here by President Delman. As far as I can tell, I’m the only one alive in this Sector. He hasn’t told me much, but as far as I know there are three Sectors. Two of them are dead, only Sector 2 has survived. I don’t know what killed them, plague I assume, but who knows? Delman has me up here to stop anyone else coming down into The TriPlex.’
Jacob clocked Matt’s expression. He saw that more explanation was needed.
‘The TriPlex is where you just came from. Nobody is supposed to be there. It’s the last point at which the plague can be stopped. Nobody enters The TriPlex and nobody leaves Centrum. Only it hasn’t worked out that way. I’m here and you’re here. And President Delman seems to have his own key.’
‘This is incredible, Jacob. How can it have happened?’
‘I don’t know. I’m piecing a lot of this together myself. I think they created three cities when the plague came. They call them Sectors. We’re in Sector 1, you’ve come from Sector 2. I haven’t been to Sector 3, Delman told me not to even think about it. You never know what you’re walking out into. I’m a Gridder, Matt. He moved me over here. I didn’t have a choice really. He stuck one of those things in my head. Damn, that hurts – have you got one?’
Matt nodded, and yes, it hurt.
‘Those implants are what got us through The Grid in the first place. Without them, we’d have died on entry. They’re dangerous things. He took mine out, he needed to use it on somebody else, I think. I’m an Immune apparently. I didn’t know, but Delman seems to understand it. You must be an Immune too or you never would have made it into that elevator. You’d have been terminated. It’s Immunes only here. The plague has to be kept out of The TriPlex. We’ve been specially chosen.’
Matt was struggling to take it all in. He was being presented with a lot of information – what Jacob was telling him challenged his entire world view.
‘I need to get you out of here quickly, we don’t have long. I’m not supposed to be talking with you and you’re definitely not supposed to know I’m here. I got you out of The Grid, it was me who opened the door for you. You must never talk about me when they take you into Centrum. You can’t visit me and you won’t be able to contact me. Forget that Sector 1 is even here and do not tell Centrum that this city is dead.’
‘Why did you contact me then? What are you doing here?’
‘Look, I got caught up in this by Delman, I don’t really have a choice. Same as you, I’m just protecting my family. But I think Delman is trying to save us, I don’t think he’s the bad guy here. Sector 1 is dead, our Sector is still alive, Sector 3 is gone. I’ve decided to trust him, I don’t have much choice anyway – he’ll kill my family if I betray him. You’re my insurance, Matt. I need someone to know I’m here in case I’m wrong. We’re going to wait for The TriPlex to clear, then you’re going down there again and you’re going to come out of the second elevator. Just like it should have happened all along. You’re going to tell them you went back up and thought better of it. Then you’re stepping out and you need to keep your mouth shut. Just remember I’m here and remember what I told you about Delman. I think he’s here to help us, but I may be wrong. If it all falls to pieces, remember me in Sector 1. The Grid here is activated at all times, don’t think of coming up unannounced. It’s for my own protection.’
‘What are they like in Centrum? Will I be a prisoner there?’
‘Unknown. They’re going to be pretty scared of you at first, but once they make sure you’re plague-free, they’ll relax. They’ll want to know what it’s like in The City, I’m sure.’
Matt nodded. He could see the sense of what Jacob was saying. Given that everything seemed completely mad, there did seem to be a grain of sanity in his proposal. He wasn’t at all sure about what would greet him in The TriPlex, it couldn’t be worse than what was in The Grid.
‘Remember, Matt, you can’t tell anybody about me, don’t even think about it. We’re allies, right? We’re pretty well the only people who know we’re still alive! We’re each other’s security if it all goes to hell.’
‘Won’t my family know I got out?’
‘No way. Fortrillium blacked it out. They won’t know what happened, but they can’t come in after you anyway. If they do, u
nless they’re Immunes, they’ll die when they enter the elevator. And that’s if the Gridders even let them get that far. Their instructions are to keep everyone away from the centre of The Grid. I’d always wondered what was there, now I know. The Grid is there to keep us all out of The TriPlex. It’s all a big plan. Delman knows what’s going on, I don’t. You can send a message to your family if you want, if you do it quickly.’
‘Can you get it to them?’
‘Well no, not exactly. I can access Fortrillium’s systems via the Sympozia network, it’s how Delman and I are talking. He figured it out, if he wasn’t so damn scary, we’d be admiring him as a genius. All the Sectors are linked by a central matrix. I never knew about it when I was working for Fortrillium, I don’t know anybody who knows about it in Sector 2. But it’s there. You worked for Fortrillium. Do you have a secure area I can drop the message into?’
‘I was hiding data in an encrypted folder. I gave it to my son, Joe, before the Centuria hauled me away. It shouldn’t take him long to figure it out, but we can leave it in there. Only Joe will find it.’
‘Okay, I’m recording now. Just speak, I’ll get it.’
Matt delivered the message which would be seen by Wiz six years later. It would lie hidden for too long to give Joe and his family any comfort, but it would prove essential to giving Talya Slater the confidence to press ahead with the rebellion.
‘Okay, got it. I cut you off a bit sharp at the end. Can you leave me your codes? It’ll take me some time to work out how to get that into your folders without leaving a trace. Hope you’re confident your son will be able to access it, he’ll have to be pretty good to get onto the Fortrillium servers.’
‘Don’t worry. I trust him, he’ll get there eventually. I left him enough clues, and he’s a resourceful kid.’
‘Okay, Matt. Much as I love having your company, you’ve got to go. I’m on my own up here, just the occasional message from Delman and an instruction not to let anybody out of The Grid. You’re lucky, Matt. You played well, you made it to the centre so I could get you out without a fuss. It won’t happen again. You’re my ally now, okay?’