Contribute (Holo, #2)

by Kristy Acevedo

  I shrug. “That’s not true. The Umbra was already established by the government. They gave you a purpose.”

  “We wouldn’t have known the whole truth, never tried to get back to Earth. You gave us our real mission. And I wouldn’t have developed DOT if you hadn’t told me about SIDEKICK and the biohologram you saw. You had guts coming through that vertex.”

  “Sometimes I don’t know why I did it.” I go back to that moment in my mind. Was I being selfless or selfish?

  “Wow, your bravado is killer. Really. Take a compliment.”

  She doesn’t realize that I don’t feel proud of it. Not really. It’s not like I had a hero-complex moment. Like, was I so full of myself that I really thought little me was going to change the world. I wanted my friends back. I wanted to keep a promise to my boyfriend. A boyfriend that I put in danger. Another boy who has died.

  As I’m lost in thought, Katherine smiles at me and says, “Mississippi, it doesn’t matter why you did it. It only matters that you did it, and it made a difference to a lot of people.”

  I can’t let her think it was all me. She pushed me to come here. “You helped.” The words fly out of my mouth before I can clamp my teeth over them.

  “Me?”

  “You told me I could be a hero. Sort of.”

  “Mississippi, I have a good memory. I never said that.”

  “Trust me. You made the difference.” She doesn’t understand, and I will never explain it to her.

  I came because of her. She pushed me in with that note. It was the last piece to the puzzle, the only thing that let me know something was definitely waiting on the other side. I knew there was someone to rescue. Someone to tell. I wouldn’t have jumped through without that inkling of hope. I wasn’t looking for a suicide mission. I was looking for survival.

  “The only thing I was ever proud of before was my daughter. I also helped the driver during a minor rebellion on a prison bus on the way to the vertex,” she says. “The other prisoners were ready to kill the guard and run for it. Funny that I stopped a rebellion only to join a different one.”

  “Wait, that was you?” I flip through my journal. “I saw that report on the news. Look, I wrote about it. The guard said you saved her life. Called you a hero.”

  “Wow, you write down everything. Yeah, it’s all about perspective and context, isn’t it? One person’s felon is another person’s hero.”

  “Wow. Your bravado is killer. Take a compliment.”

  BENJI DEMANDS THAT Rita and I go with him in disguise to the Holospaces later that week. He doesn’t give details. It must be important if he wants to take the risk and put my life on the line. I’m still public enemy number one. Rita, of course, is more than willing to oblige. Dominick’s been cleared by Doctor A. but has been told to take it easy. He refuses to stay put and decides to come with us. I should be more anxious about leaving, but I’ve been couped up so long it will feel good to get out. Plus, and I’d never admit it to him, Benji makes me feel safe.

  Once our bandwidth’s activate in the forest, we alter our uniforms to include hoods. I miss hooded sweatshirts. As we enter the LU community, people walk past us, smiles on their faces, bellies full. Bandwidths glow once more. I take a deep breath and hope they don’t recognize me.

  Benji brings us to the next available Holospace, a large empty blank canvas waiting for programming.

  He stands with his chest out, his face stoic.

  “None of you have official clearance to do this. I’m going out on a limb here. You have to listen carefully to all my instructions and take this seriously.”

  We nod automatically and ask no questions. He can be intimidating when he pulls that military tone. I find myself caring about my posture, standing a little taller. He moves to a side panel and messes with the nanoholocom in the area.

  “Okay, the room isn’t being monitored, so we can talk freely. Give me a sec to start the program.”

  We stand idle as he activates his bandwidth and initiates a program titled BenTarg and then four participants into the filter. I close my eyes to avoid the bright flash as the program loads. When I open my eyes, we are in a field of grass. It looks like any scene from Earth, except that at each of our feet is a huge, double chambered object.

  “These are holographic versions of the DQDs that the Umbra have developed. Highly intense weapons. They look nothing like these blocks. Didn’t want to give the specs to the nanoholocom network when we made this program, but they will simulate the experience of shooting them. “

  The cubed chambers are stacked on top of each other, almost seven inches thick. It’s the boxiest, ugliest weapon I’ve ever seen. Dad would love it.

  “What does DQD stand for?” Rita asks.

  “Dual Quantum Detangler.”

  “Sounds like something I’d use in my hair,” Rita says.

  Rita and I laugh. Benji and Dominick don’t find it funny.

  “I want the three of you to practice hitting moving objects. Alex, I know you’ve practiced with Dad, but those were stationary targets and different ammo. The two of you ever shoot?”

  Rita and Dominick shake their heads no.

  “Why do we need to practice?” I ask. “We aren’t in the Umbra fighting forces. We can’t go into battle.”

  “No, I wouldn’t ever send you into battle,” Benji says. “However, the three of you are clearly targets, as recent events proved. Not only did Earth refugees and some of our own allies get involved, but the meritocracy put a hit out on you. We can only keep you safe for so long. I don’t want what happened to Nolan to happen to any of you. The best thing I can do is prepare you to defend yourself just in case. Not everyone in the Umbra agrees with me since these weapons are highly dangerous. Rita, I know using technology is against Geotroupes’ rules. If you want out, say the word.”

  “I’m down,” Rita picks up the weapon to her waist, then lowers it back on the ground. “Damn, that thing weighs a ton.”

  “Exactly. There’s a lot to get used to. Put the strap around your head and across your body for support. The DQD is a heavy weapon, and it’s not easy to aim and time. Dominick, I’m not sure if your body can handle this yet, so you can sit and watch for now.”

  I put the strap around my head, feel the weight around my neck, and remember that night in the attic when Dad choked me during one of his flashbacks. I immediately take it back off.

  “Alex, please,” Benji says.

  “I’ll just hold it.”

  “It’s gonna mess you up.”

  He picks up a weapon, throws the strap over his body, and demonstrates. “You hold it with two hands, one in the front here near the first trigger, and one back here near the second. Keep the gun at waist level on the side of your body. It’s the only way you’ll be able to handle the weight and fire properly. It’ll be harder to aim, but you’ll adjust.

  “The DQDs are designed to destroy holograms in case they turn on us. You pull the first trigger, count to three, then pull the second trigger in the back. The first shot is a cryowave. It basically forces a hologram to freeze in a solid, intransitive state so it can’t convert back into a transitive state. Takes three seconds to work. The second trigger is a wave particle beam that will blow the suckers up on a quantum level where they will be unable to rematerialize. You have to time the three seconds yourself. Too soon and the wave particle beam will pass through them. It’s the best we could do.”

  “What happens if it hits a person?” I ask.

  “You don’t want to know.” He shakes his head. “It will be highly effective.”

  I hold the DQD in my hands. I am enamored by its weight and petrified by its potential.

  “Let’s practice.” He swipes on his bandwidth, and deer pop out of the grass and charge toward us from a distance, unafraid.

  “No humanoid holograms?” Dominick asks.

  “Don’t want the nanoholocom network to catch on. Take it seriously even though it’s a simulation. It’s designed to help with wi
elding the gun, targeting, and reaction time.”

  Benji takes the first shot from his hip, one foot in front of the other to brace himself, hitting a deer. The sound is remarkably soothing, like the hum of microwave. The deer freezes in place. “One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi.” It’s weird to hear Katherine’s nickname for me being used by Benji as a counting device. He pulls the second trigger, and a booming crack like a lightning strike physically startles the three of us. The deer vanishes.

  “I can’t sit out. I have to try this,” Dominick says. When he lifts the heavy strap onto his body, he winces. He misses the deer at first, aims again, and after a successfully first hit, pulls the second trigger and misses again.

  “You need to put more weight on your back leg before you release the second trigger, and lean forward a little. Once you get used to the weight of the weapon, you’ll get it.”

  My turn. On the second pull, the gun’s vibrations surprise me, and I let go. Without the strap on my shoulder, it drops out of my hands, and the dying beam hits me as it falls.

  “And you’re dead.” Benji grabs my weapon from the ground and hands it back to me. That’s what the strap is for.”

  “I can’t use it.”

  “At least put it around your body. I know you can do this.”

  “My turn,” Rita says. She aims, shoots, and freezes a deer immediately. “One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi.” She fires, and the deer vanishes. “Oh yeah! Did you see that? In your faces!”

  “Nice work,” Benji says.

  “Oh, it’s on,” Dominick says. “Best out of ten.”

  “You can’t beat me. I’m a natural.”

  I hold the strap of the weapon in my hands and realize that the past can affect our future in so many small ways that add up over time. Dad would be disappointed in me for still being afraid and not protecting myself. I want to do it. I want them to be proud of me. I want to protect people I love.

  My hands shake. I wrap the strap around my waist. It’s the best I can do.

  “It’s a start,” Benji says and pats me on the shoulder. “Now let’s see what you can do.”

  CHAPTER 25

  DAY 55

  THE FIRST ROUND OF PRACTICE TESTS WILL BEGIN IN THE HOLOSPACES. PLEASE REGISTER ON YOUR BANDWIDTHS.

  A WEEK LATER, the meritocracy announces the existence of practice tests. Since they are using biosignatures to register and record testing results, anyone with an altered bandwidth signature, including me and the top leaders and scientists in the Umbra, cannot register. Dominick and his family are also staying put as well as all the Geotroupes.

  At dinner, we find out additional news from SN10 headquarters. The major Umbra plan is a go. All factions onboard. DOT has been sent orders to fly a spaceship and temporarily disable a space station that controls the environment where Beruk discovered the vances’ signal. Late tonight, facades should fall. Our alliances will hopefully infiltrate the exposed vance territory and take them hostage.

  We will finally meet these vances and demand answers. I should be excited. I lose my appetite.

  THE UMBRA AND Geotroupes position themselves in locations around the region, including the area where Beruk believes the vances are hiding. They are ready to attack and capture the vances as soon as DOT brings down the power.

  Dominick, Rita, and I beg Katherine to let us tag along with the last group to watch. There is no way I can sit in headquarters under guard, worrying about what’s happening.

  “Fine, but stay out of the way. Your brother will kill me if you get hurt.”

  We gather into various sized magpods and set travel to the vertex guidepost, three friends behind Katherine and Doctor A.

  Another magpod. What has happened to me? When did I decide that it would be a good idea for me to fly in a magpod following a convict who’s part of an alliance with my brother and a rogue hologram?

  “Is it bad that this is fun?” Dominick asks.

  “Yes,” I say, half-joking.

  “No, it’s true. It’s so exciting. I feel like Indiana Jones,” Rita says.

  Dominick and I laugh.

  “What?” Rita asks.

  “Nothing. I’d just go with a more high tech analogy,” I say.

  “Like we’re taking out the Death Star,” Dominick says.

  “You forget I live with the Geotroupes. I’m old school and proud of it.” Her eyes change, and I know she’s thinking about her parents. Then she smiles through the sadness. “Except I’m fashion forward. Well, only when I’m on the network.” She pulls up on the high, stiff peacock collar of her uniform, and the feather images align like cobalt eyeballs around her neck.

  Our magpod whooshes past other LU communities glowing in the darkness. I remember first hating the sensation of magpod travel, being driven instead of driving, floating with magnetic forces over paved nanoholocoms. Tonight, it’s slightly comforting to have something powerful lead the way.

  The last group of magpods to arrive, we gather near the closest vertex guidepost and exit the vehicles.

  “What are you doing here?” Benji shouts in the dark. “You three should be back at headquarters.”

  “I need to see it for myself. I want to see the meritocracy fall apart. If I started it, I want to see it end.”

  “You’re a liability.”

  “I let them come,” Katherine says. “She’s the face of the rebellion, for God’s sake.”

  “If she freaks out, she’s your problem.”

  “I’m not going to freak out,” I say, immediately worrying that I just might. Doctor A. nods at me, and I try to take in his confidence.

  One by one we step through green vertexes and walk to the established Umbra meeting point.

  Beruk announces to the group, “This is the lookout and medical team location area. Troops head to the signal spot and wait for the holographic cloak to drop to attack.”

  Benji points to us. “You three stay here. Katherine, they’re all yours.” We watch from a shadowy field outside the city as our special forces creep in the darkness toward a cliff.

  What if DOT turns on us and warns the meritocracy that we’re coming? What if Katherine is secretly a double agent sent by the meritocracy to infiltrate the Umbra and lead us to our demise? What if Beruk is a double agent and plans to push Benji off the cliff?

  Don’t get tricked by a thought. Don’t get tricked by a thought. Don’t prove Benji right.

  Oh, that one worked. New mantra. Highly effective.

  “This is a letdown,” Rita says and sits on the ground. “I can barely see anything from here.”

  I join her side. Dominick stands behind us.

  “I want to fight with them,” he says.

  “Over my dead body,” I say.

  “That’s not funny,” Dominick says. “But Rita’s right. This sucks.”

  Katherine joins us. “You heard your brother.”

  We wait in the stillness. Endless time passes.

  “Anyone else need to pee?” Rita asks.

  “Me,” I say. “We’ll be right back.”

  Rita and I find a private spot in nature and take turns. “Benji would hate me if he knew this is what I was doing while waiting for a battle to begin.”

  “Nature calls,” Rita jokes. “Especially in girl world.”

  By the time we return to the lookout area, Katherine’s pacing back and forth. Doctor A. talks with a group of medical trainees. I notice Dominick is with them.

  “Is something wrong?” I ask Katherine.

  “DOT should’ve executed by now, and we lost verbal contact with the troops.”

  I squint my eyes to will them to see through the darkness. In the far distance human shadows huddle and move near the signal area.

  “They seem okay,” I say.

  “Maybe you miscalculated,” Rita says.

  Our outfits revert to basic uniform mode, and our bandwidth go dormant. DOT must’ve reached the target. We wait for the holographic cloak to
fall. I want to look the captured vances in the eye, shake out the whole truth.

  A screech pierces the night sky, an instant blaze and thunderous sound.

  “Run!” someone from the medical team screams.

  From the sky above, the fireball grows in intensity. Rita, Katherine, and I flee the area along with other lookouts.

  We can barely get traction and distance before a ship barrels toward us and crashes, pieces scattering in all directions.

  The ground shakes and knocks me off my feet. Rita helps me up as we scramble to escape the cloud of debris and smoke.

  “Are you two okay?” Katherine asks.

  Rita and I nod. I cough as the dust surrounds us. “Do you see Dominick?”

  “No,” Rita says. “I can’t see anything near the crash site.”

  The Umbra troops move out of the shadows and pulls people to safety. Benji races toward us.

  “Are you hurt?” Benji asks.

  “No. I—my ankle’s sore, but I can walk on it.”

  “Move,” he commands. “This place could blow. Get back to the vertex guidepost. Now. Katherine, Jackson wants answers.”

  Katherine’s eyes go wide and intense. She follows orders and herds people away from the area.

  “Wait,” I grab Benji’s arm. “Doctor A.’s medical team was sitting where the ship crashed.”

  “I’ll have the team look for them. Go.”

  “I can’t just go. Dominick was with them.” I remember Nolan’s body being carried toward us. “I can’t lose him.”

  He grimaces. “Alex, I promise to find him for you, but I need to know you are safe. Deal?”

  I nod, tears on the brink. Rita and I join Katherine and race as far from the crash site as possible. Out of breath, we regroup with others and look back at the disaster.

  Where are they? I search for them in the shadows and the chaos of bodies. I can’t even fathom the possibilities.

  Rita hugs me, and I lay my head on her shoulder. She’s crying. I can’t cry yet. I’m still waiting.

  Waiting for the inevitable. There are always casualties.

  “Alex!” Dominick comes running forward and hugs me and Rita. Doctor A. is behind him. Their faces and clothes covered with ash.