by Travis Borne
Lia stood and extended her arms and tilted her face to meet the warm glow of the massive planet. Her smile filled the universe with a pure and rapturous flow of contentment. And Amy focused on her, and could feel it. It was a feeling of goodness that was new to her. It made her tingle all over. She made a strong mental note of it, and its possible potential which her creativity so quickly began to ponder about.
Heading away from the bench, Lia walked to an open area beneath a fabulous structure made up of numerous elegantly styled arches and towers. Its gleaming white spikes extended high into space.
Amy followed but found herself distracted and veered off. If the ocean had the east, a canyon had the west. A wooden deck and a seemingly never-ending boardwalk bordered yet more magnificence. Lined with benches and telescopes, it flanked a canyon that literally dwarfed the one in the desert canyon map she’d been to with Myron weeks earlier.
Lia continued to the structure on the north end of the boardwalk while Amy found herself drawn to the spectacular canyon and roamed daze-like in the opposite direction. In the distance she could see waterfalls that pooled into icy blue rivers far below. They carved the silver and white striped canyon like slithering azure-blue snakes. And the low gravity magnified the fall’s splashes, ejecting mist high into the pellucid night sky. She touched the railing, mesmerized, and followed it, glued to the scene. And again, farther in the distance, she squinted to make out what looked like white snowy mountains. Curiosity popping like grey noodles galvanizing, she peered into one of the telescopes, and it was. A monumental dam structure made of massive blocks of ice held back a frozen world. Beyond the dam as far as could be seen was an arctic realm: meandering chasms resembled jagged cracks, and geysers spewed water high into space. Wow, wow—wow, she thought. And her mind juggled the wonders.
“Come on back!” Lia yelled from far away. “Get your skates on.”
Amy turned. She shook her head to break the trance and headed over. She skipped along the way, jumping ten feet between each and her smile widened exponentially until it looked painfully huge. From afar, the structure Lia stood below looked like some sort of exotic alien mega structure. Beneath it, lockers, skates, and benches circled a stairway that led high into the sky, spiraling around its largest central spike.
Lia said, “Just grab a pair and go. You do like to skate, don’t ya?”
Amy was looking toward the sky. “Um, I never tried it,” she said, a bit late. Her eyes had gotten lost once again, following the stairway up and beyond. After it reached the top, bridges spanned to other spikes that had even more lookout points. Returning her eyes to the ground, she glanced to the side. The black bag caught her eye, and she actually had to try to remember where she was. This map really affects me. I can’t keep my focus.
Lia noticed Amy looking at the bag and interrupted her gaze. “We don’t use that here. I have a…very special tactic, and I hate blood. Here put these on—should be your size. I’ll teach ya. If Abell can do it—” She snickered. “—anyone can.”
There was chatter in the distance. People began to arrive and a trickle quickly turned into a mob. Mostly youngsters poured through the gates, at least half ran toward the structure to pick up their skates. Many brought skateboards, one carried a scooter, others toted bicycles. In the distance, couples were walking on the dock, holding hands, and others were sitting on various benches that surrounded the park. Toward the beach, dozens strolled along the shoreline. A few started swimming.
“Wow, now that’s a lot of people. Abell and I never got near this many,” Lia said. “For sure, this will be interesting.” She glanced back to Amy, still fiddling with her skates. “No, not like that. Here, let me show you.” Lia scooted closer and showed her exactly how to lace up the neon-pink six-wheeled roller skates. “Nice and tight. There, you’re all set.”
“Cool,” Amy said. She stood up next to Lia and started wobbling slowly around the boardwalk, just trying to figure it out. But it wasn't long until she was whizzing around.
“Totally,” Lia said, watching her pick it up lickety-split. “When you're ready come on out here with me. It’s really easy once you get the hang of it, especially with the low gravity. You can go really high—” She dropped into one of the medium-sized bowls, then yelled as she came back up. “—but don’t go too high!”
“What happens if we go too high?” Amy yelled in return, peering over the drop.
“Well, let’s just say—” Lia leaned forward and thrust herself out of the bowl and into the air. “—you’ll spend the rest of the day spinning around—way up here.” She descended fast enough to become a blur, back into the bowl then up onto its edge. Catching the rail with a groove in her skates, she rail-slid to Amy before hopping onto the boardwalk and skidding to a stop. Breathing a little harder, she said, “And you won’t be able to get back. But don’t worry about it too much, it actually takes quite a bit of thrust to blast into space.”
“Oh,” Amy replied, with a slightly nervous smile. “And without the bag? How are we to—”
“Watch this!” Lia dropped in again, leaning her skinny body forward as she sped down, then she went over a smooth cement hill and descended into a larger, deeper pool. Amy could no longer see her.
It must be really deep, Amy thought. She waited. Gee, a bottomless pit or something?
Lia finally ascended the other side, flying twice as high and spinning. She managed a 1080° while holding one leg outward then straightened out and dove back in, doubling her velocity. Amy skated along the rim to get a better look.
On the second leap Lia ascended higher still, surpassing her last leap by more than double. She paused at the precipice with arms and legs splayed. Backlit by Jupiter, with a full-blown smile, she screamed, “Watermelon!” She soared so extremely high her body hovered for a good ten seconds, taunting the boundary of the weak gravity. But eventually she fell back to the park, skidding into the bowl. Her velocity slowed and she maneuvered around DCs as if they were orange cones, coming to a perfect stop near the lip she had first dropped into. “Try it! It’s exhilarating,” she said. “But don’t go that high. I’ve got loads of practice—that’s how I know just how much I can push it.”
Amy timidly dropped into the bowl, wobbled a little, leaning backwards, went on one foot, then caught her balance. But she caught on fast, like lightning, blazingly so. She and Lia practiced enjoyably for over an hour. Amy realized why Jim said she was fast. She was incomparably so, enough to leave a tracer and did fancy tricks after potent launches, flashing around the park so quickly it made the DCs twitch with double-takes. A few, expertly-attired, tried to follow her but hastily gave up. There really was no catching her. Even Amy, with her newly learned tricks—couldn't quite come close. And there were hundreds of DCs, which Lia owned like an obstacle course.
She really loves being up on her feet and running around, especially skating. Nice to see. If there ever could be a skating competition one day, Amy thought, but realized, remembered, it was only a dream world, and the real Lia could never do any of that. But Amy was happy for her now. She took advantage of her position in the program. Liberated, she could do what she loved.
Amy skidded to a stop. She felt depleted by all the exertion and hungry for lunch. Yes, it was just a map but she could still enjoy a meal. Somehow it worked; perhaps a mental thing. She’d pondered over it numerous times. Eating somehow provided an energizing feel, like a reset. She wasn’t sure how it worked but didn’t dwell on it. Food was food after all, one of her all-time favorite things.
Lia sped over and did a long power skid, ending up at her side. “Looks like you’re ready.”
“Ready for what?” Amy asked, then remembered, and glanced at the black bag. It wasn’t far from the rail they occupied. Before Lia had a chance to reply, she said, “Oh right, work.”
“Yep, but I actually thought you might want to get a bite first,” Lia said. “I’m starved.”
“You read my mind,” Amy replied. She wondered
why Lia kept procrastinating about work but figured, she’s a pro, and who am I to argue at the chance for lunch. There’s plenty of time.
“Follow me!” Lia bolted toward the beach. At the far end of the skate park was a ramp. She sped toward it, pushing with her strong leg muscles, faster, faster, then dipped into its deep trough and shot up the ramp, launching into the air. She must’ve flown over fifty yards then landed skates first in the sand. The touchdown wasn’t a hard crash; she slid like a baseball player scorching home, digging a professional groove deep into the glistening white.
“Cool, I can do that!” Amy said. She tensed up and took off, and did it, marvelously, almost the same but landed a good twenty feet before Lia’s mark. She had to trudge the rest of the way through the thick sand.
“One day you might beat my record. Not!” Lia joked.
Amy laughed it off with a bit of jest and insinuatingly mumbled, “We’ll see about that.”
And they headed to the quaint little joint. Skates off, socks too. Now gleefully barefooted, they tossed their skates to the side wall of the driftwood shack where a few others had been thrown.
Bizarre. Amy’s smile was a stoner’s, one walking into Santa’s workshop. And each step made it bigger. Plus, the smell of burgers, fries, and something sweet, and cool sand between her toes. It was almost incongruous; it was—magical. The entire world was so pristine, yet here this was, this little rundown-looking thing labeled Jupiter Jack’s Burger Shack. Wonderful. And the sign was colorful but flickered, while underneath it read: Little Moon, Colossal Burgers!
Huh, that settles it. It really is a moon. I’m really on a freakin’ moon. With burgers!
Behind the counter was a hefty big-bellied chef. He was at least seven feet tall and stood flipping burgers with one hand, dropping a basket of fries in hot grease with the other. Yep, that must be Jupiter Jack, and so his name tag read. Following the theme, he was supported by a large round woman tagged Meteor Martha, and a lean and likewise tall son, Royd Rocket. In silvery futuristic uniforms the three worked like cogs: flipping burgers, tossing ingredients, and filling sodas; a real show in itself. Gobs of sauce splattered onto Jack’s uniform as he adroitly but nonchalantly assembled burgers; without staining, the red sauce slid down his seemingly magical sheen. And those hats! Wedge type, with a red and yellow, bulbous rocket ship lining its ridge—they matched the grandiose, exaggerated sign outside.
It was near lunchtime and people from the skate park and beach began to migrate in droves, toward the smell. Billowing from the shack’s roof, the smoking grill teamed up with the exhaust fan, working like an alarm clock, pumping an alluring smell of greasy smoke into the otherwise pristine atmosphere.
“Bet it’s been a looong time since you’ve had a reeeal burger,” Lia said, hopping onto a stool. “Jupiter Jack makes ’em the best!”
“How goes it Lia?” Jupiter Jack greeted in his jolly ho-ho-ho tone. “And a big welcome to your new friend.”
“But, this isn’t real,” Amy said. Lia frowned, her shoulders loosened, obviously plucked from her momentary escape. Amy quickly knew why she felt sad. Again, this map, I keep losing my focus here, she thought. Everything is so real and wondrous that it twists reality. This is her chance to live, she reminded herself. She’s able to escape her real body with imagination and live again, vibrantly.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay, Amy. Let’s just enjoy it and our four days. I’ll never ever forget our time together. This is the best part of my life. For me—this is the real world—and the outside is…”
“I understand,” Amy replied. “Let’s get ourselves a huge burger, the biggest one we can, ten patties!”
“Let’s!” Lia rejoiced.
“So, what’ll it be girls,” Meteor Martha said, tapping a digital pad.
The girls ordered two of the biggest most colossal burgers on the menu, aptly named: THE BIG BANG. Luckily they got there early, for a line of hungry people had formed. Jupiter Jack was about to have his busiest day ever—thanks to Amy.
One at a time Jupiter Jack impaled the cheesy balancing feat with a musical drumstick then passed to Martha. She masterfully transferred the twelve-inch-tall tower to a tray then filled a gallon-sized fizzy drink. Royd shoveled a pile of sizzling fries around the steamy and beauteous abhoration and launched tray after tray along the counter. Many onlooking DCs ooohhhed and aaahhhed as the massive meat and cheese abnormality jetted by.
Before long, the girls were laughing uncontrollably as they tried to overstuff their mouths. And they packed and packed it in, stuffing their faces, turning it into a competition. The counter became an apocalypse of ketchup, mustard, plus cheesy boogers of meat. Behind them DCs rallied and cheered. Amy, Amy, Amy! Lia, Lia, Lia! Jupiter Jack and Mama Meteor joined in on the laugh; the burger joint with the greatest atmosphere in the solar system!
Stuffed to overload, they walked out to the dock, bucket-sized sodas cradled in their arms. It was quiet. For the most part DCs were either lined up at the restaurant or back at the skate park. The dock expanded into a hundred-foot-diameter eyelet circle with reclining beach chairs lining its edges. They took a load off and marveled at the spectacular view.
“Ah…I never get sick of this view,” Lia said. “I could sit here forever.”
“It is beautiful, Lia. I’ve never seen anything so. Mesmerizing, hypnotizing, tranquilizing…”
They fell asleep. Dreams within dreams, side by side, they slept, bellies bulging.
Hours later…
The sun was a sliver on the horizon, contrarily Jupiter had partly descended. “Oh no!” Lia panicked. It’s almost time to log out and we haven’t done anything. “Amy! Amy wake up!”
“What is it? Oh, we fell asleep.” Amy groggily giggled. She sat up and looked at the skate park. It was teaming with skaters. Jupiter Jack and family were kicking it in beach chairs, completely exhausted from an insane lunch-hour rush.
“Let’s go. I’ll show you,” Lia urged. “We gotta knock ’em out, and fast!” She got up and plodded through the sand. Amy followed.
Knock ’em out? Amy thought.
At the top, Lia frantically laced up her skates and knocked off the sand, then turned to Amy before jumping in. “You’re good, the best I’ve seen. Watch me. You can do this.” With that Lia dropped into the skate-park’s largest and deepest pool. She built up speed and focused on her target: a young teenage dude flauntin’ some moves. After her second dip into the bowl she had all the speed she needed. She shot up right under the boy as he ascended for his trick, and booted him into outer space.
Amy followed the screaming boy with her eyes. “So that’s how she does it.” She let out a tiny giggle as the boy disappeared into the black abyss of outer space. Lia did it again, then again, then Amy dropped in.
Amy matched the speed of a little girl on a scooter; an easy first target. The little girl barely bounced up out of the bowl to do a fa-dizzle of a trick and Amy sped in behind at just the right moment, bumping her into space.
It wasn’t long until they had bumped a quarter of the park into space when suddenly an older teenage boy shot up behind Amy and bumped her out when she wasn’t looking. Amy flew off into outer space and the boy laughed and laughed then resumed skating. Amy got smaller and smaller, then disappeared.
Lia witnessed the whole thing. She screamed, “Oh no. Amy!” And it made her furious. Eyes squinting like a ninja and teeth clenched, she let her muscles explode. She easily matched the boy’s speed. He was still laughing and skating loosely and obliviously. Timed better than a pro’s tour de force, flawlessly and swift, in no time at all Lia shadowed him. At the climax of his trick—surprise! She delivered a swift boot to his ass.
“Whoa, aaahh!” The screams faded rapidly as the spike-haired punk headed into deep space.
Lia calmed and prepared to log out. “Well, Ted’s not gonna like this. A whole day’s work, wasted.” Lia knew well the disruption unexpected logouts could ca
use. Death and trauma likewise destabilized the system, negating the whole day, possibly sending the status plunging to red. She tossed her skates and leaned back. Then, just before closing her eyes… Could it be?
Amy came flying back, with a blinding smile nonetheless. She caught gravity and dove into the pool, skates first. Emerging onto the other side where Lia sat, she caught the rail at a close tangent, rail-slid twenty feet around the curved edge of the pool, then somersaulted onto the wooden deck.
“Da-daaah!” Amy declared. “I’m back.”
Lia gasped in amazement, not only at her speed and control but mostly, her unique ability to alter the rules of the system. She’d fought gravity—and won! No one had ever done anything like that.
Amy smiled and sat next to Lia, who didn’t know what to think. They relaxed and twelve minutes later the sun rose. A successful logout.
Amy awoke in the broadcast room, lying across from Lia. She turned her head. Lia was back in her crippled body. They both glanced into each other's groggy eyes and smiled. Lia had new hope and wonder and a very special new friend. Amy had more determination than ever. Status: 100% green.
58. The Search
She’d finally finished spending time with everyone from the night shifts and all of the lower-level lenders. Everything was going as exactly as planned. More and more lenders were approaching high-level status, and consequently operations had become relaxed in the broadcast room.
Next on the list was Jessie, then George. Amy didn’t particularly like them, but not because she didn’t want to. She really tried but they put her down multiple times. Jessie frequently gave her dirty looks when they met eyes. George went as far as to tell her that he wished she had never come to their town and his long disdainful stares were hurtful. And they would bump into her—accidentally—one time knocking her down. Amy never told anyone, she just kept everything to herself. Her bounce-back attitude kept her spirits high.