Cragbridge Hall, Book 1: The Inventor's Secret Hardcover

by Chad Morris

  “Avatars,” he whispered, and quickened his pace.

  Derick walked between two large open doors, noticing what looked like a complicated locking mechanism on both of the doors. They were open now, but he could imagine they stayed locked up tight after hours. The avatar lab must have cost billions of dollars; of course the school took all possible precautions to keep it safe.

  As Derick filed into a line, he could tell he had to enter through another set of doors. Each person in line had to answer several questions before continuing on into the lab. Derick had to wait. When no one entered the line behind him, he figured he’d probably spent a little too much time entranced by the animals and avatars.

  “Hand up,” a boy said with a slight accent that Derick couldn’t place. The boy had olive skin and long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail. He was probably a few years older than Derick and was wearing a name badge that read “T.A.—Rafael.”

  Derick raised his hand, and a beam scanned it.

  “Looks like you’re clear,” the boy said. “Do you promise to follow all the lab rules?”

  Derick hadn’t expected such a greeting, but responded with, “Sure.”

  “If you break a rule, do you understand that you could be dismissed from this academy, and, depending on the nature of your behavior, even prosecuted by the law?”

  “Really?” Derick asked.

  “Yes,” the boy replied, not a hint of a smile or joke on his face. “Avatars can be weapons if used inappropriately. We have taken every precaution to keep them safe here. The glass you saw on your way in is several times stronger than brick, and it’s laced with alarms. You can only be allowed in if the professor or I let you in from the inside. Only those who are completely trusted have access.”

  “You have that kind of clearance?” Derick asked. “Aren’t you just a student?”

  “Yes and no,” the boy said. “I’m a ninth grader and the teacher’s assistant.”

  “Give me a year or two, and maybe I can be an assistant too.”

  The boy’s lips curled into a half-smile. “Vamos ver.”

  Derick couldn’t understand the words, but there was something about the boy’s expression that gave Derick the impression that he had no chance of being a teacher’s assistant. “Can I go in now?” Derick asked.

  “If you understand the seriousness of the responsibility,” the boy said, “you may enter. If you prefer not to, we can have a counselor transfer you to another class, like pottery or modern dance.” Derick thought the boy was just provoking him now.

  “No, thank you,” Derick said. “I’m in all the way.”

  The boy tilted his head to the side and let out a small huff. He flicked his finger across a screen, which made several clicks. The next set of doors opened, and Derick entered into a large classroom.

  “Take your seats. Take your seats,” a man in slacks and a blue button-up shirt said. Derick couldn’t tell if the man’s short hair was blond or white—likely a decent mixture of both. “Pick any seat. You won’t be in it long.” He waited for all the students to sit. Derick picked the closest one he could find, which was at the edge of a middle row. “I’m Dr. Mackleprank, your zoology teacher.” He spoke casually and sat on top of a desk at the front of the room. “And you’ve all met my assistant Rafael, or Rafa, for short.”

  He pointed to the boy who questioned Derick on the way in.He’s Brazilian, Derick thought.That would explain why the initial “R” is pronounced like an “H.” I wonder what part of Brazil he’s from? Derick had learned that pronunciation rule after watching Brazil play in the World Cup last year.

  “Rafa took roll and made you agree to follow the rules before you could even come this far. Thank you, Rafa.” The boy nodded back at the professor.

  “You’ll find that Rafa is somewhat of a prodigy in the subjects we’ll study in here. He can be of great use to you. I suggest you follow him very closely.” The teacher surveyed the room for a moment. “In this class, we will strive to make the world of animals come alive for you. To pass, you’ll need to know anatomies, behavior, habitat, and more for several species. You know, of course, that technology has given you a great advantage. You will have the chance to earn an opportunity to use the avatars and to interact with real animals. It is a scientist’s dream and your privilege here.”

  Dr. Mackleprank swung his feet off the desk and moved toward the center of the room. “If the concept of an avatar is unclear to some of you, I will explain. An avatar is almost like another body for you, another form, which you control. In this case, we have made intricate robots to perfectly replicate animals. They move like animals. They imitate breathing and eating like animals. They can even make the same animal sounds. You control them from a lab, but when you are hooked up to our system, you see what they see, feel what they feel. Yes, the program is that accurate—for all intents and purposes, you become the animal.”

  Derick had hoped the avatar rumors were true, but he felt shocked by the magnificence of it. He would even be able to feel what the robots felt—incredible.

  Dr. Mackleprank continued. “You must pass thorough exams before ever being allowed into the animal habitats. Not only will you need intellectual knowledge, but you will also have to prove competency with your particular avatar. Real monkeys can pick out a clumsy fake any day, and they will treat you as an outcast.” Dr. Mackleprank paused. “I’ve decided that to help you begin, and to motivate you with your studies, we will start with an avatar experience today.”

  This was going to be the best zoology class ever.

  “You have probably seen the variety of avatars we offer here,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “But don’t get overly excited. They are very difficult to control, so you must start off with the easiest to move. For example, it would be nearly impossible for one of you to learn to fly an eagle as a seventh grader. Which do you think would be the easiest to learn how to use?”

  Derick raised his hand, but Dr. Mackleprank called on a girl a few seats away. “The gorillas,” she guessed.

  “Yes,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “As primates, humans and gorillas have similar movements. Gorillas will be much easier to learn to control than lions or giraffes. However, because you could do serious damage with a gorilla before learning good body control, you will begin with squirrel monkeys.”

  A boy with red hair raised his hand. Dr. Mackleprank nodded, and the boy asked how fast they would likely be able to progress to using other animals.

  “Good question, and a good one to get out of the way. As seventh graders, you will probably only gain experience with the squirrel monkey. It takes time to get used to controlling an avatar, and once you’ve mastered one, learning others becomes easier. After the monkey, gorillas are the next step. Then the four-legged animals, then those that swim, and finally, if you are especially proficient, years from now, you may begin flight.”

  Derick imagined how amazing it would be to fly, even if it was through a robotic avatar. He didn’t care if it was with an eagle or a sparrow; he just wanted to fly. He vowed that he’d get there.

  “The majority of students who begin flying do so only by entering the accelerated high-school program here at Cragbridge.”

  Dr. Mackleprank clapped his hands. “Now before we get ready for your first experience in the lab, I must once again stress the importance of the rules. The mere invention of avatars is potentially dangerous. If the wrong forces could imitate our technology, they could work horror by stealth and disguise. A dog could be a spy, a bird an assassin. The main inventor of our avatar, the woman who worked with Oscar Cragbridge, is currently in a highly protected area because of her work. And Cragbridge Hall is well-secured for that reason. You all know of the heavy guard detail at every entrance and exit. The air space over the school is monitored and guarded. The government monitors our use of the avatars, which may be utilized only for educational purposes. For all of these reasons, you must obey completely. Understood?” Dr. Mackleprank waited for the students to nod. “G
ood. Now follow me.”

  He guided the students into the adjoining room. Hooks lined the wall, holding what looked like masks and dangling black strands of thick fabric. “These are your avatar guidance systems,” he said, gesturing to the items hanging from clasps on the wall. Not every clasp held gear. Perhaps they didn’t have enough, or perhaps some were being repaired. “I will show you how to put them on. Then we’ll issue one to each of you.”

  Dr. Mackleprank pressed his finger against a sensor, and the clasps opened, allowing him to pull the gear free. He stepped into a series of straps like he would into a pair of pants.

  Two slipper-like ends went on his feet. Several thin black strands wrapped around his legs. Thicker straps crossed his ankles, knees and waist. Dr. Mackleprank threaded his arms through another series of straps with gloves at the ends. He had straps over his wrists, above his elbows, and on his shoulders. He attached a series of thicker straps across his chest. Finally, he put on a mesh mask with a reflective visor.

  “Now it’s your turn,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “Please, wait patiently until you receive yours.” Both Rafa and Dr. Mackleprank quickly went to work assigning each of the students their equipment and helping them put it on. Once he was outfitted, Derick felt like he was wearing some sort of Halloween costume.

  “I know they feel uncomfortable at first,” Dr. Mackleprank said, “but eventually you get used to the suits. There have been attempts to use visual sensors without a suit and have the avatar mirror your movements, much like the video game units that came out in the early 2000s, but they simply aren’t sensitive enough.” He surveyed the room. “Are we ready?”

  “Yes,” Derick said, several others echoing his enthusiasm.

  “Not likely,rapaz,” Rafa said quietly, standing close to Derick.

  Dr. Mackleprank led them into a long hall, segmented into small booths. It reminded Derick a bit of the Bridge.

  “Everyone line up so that you can see this one booth,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “Rafael, would you mind demonstrating in a moment?”

  “Not at all,” Rafa said. “Meu prazer.”

  “Let me explain how you control an avatar. First, we suspend you in the air.” He pulled a cord from the ceiling and hooked it to the back of Rafa’s harness. “The harness makes you lighter on your feet. In this case, we’ll rig it to tip you forward slightly to compensate for the squirrel monkey’s tail. You need to be free to move your appendages in every direction, but it is the fact that you can feel what the avatar feels that makes this successful. As you walk, it walks, but you will feel your feet hit the ground. Without that feeling, all of you would fall. If you reach up and grab a tree branch, the avatar will as well, and you will feel the branch in your hand. If this sensation did not happen, it would be nearly impossible to accurately control an avatar.

  “Once you’re ready, you initiate the system by pressing the button behind your neck. You will only have access to squirrel monkey avatars for now, so you don’t have to worry about choosing an animal. The avatar will be placed by our program into your private practice room, and then you can begin.”

  “But there are no windows. How do we see the avatar?” a girl, with what Derick thought was an Asian accent, asked. Derick had also noticed that the booths were solid walls.

  “You don’t have to see the avatar from the outside,” Dr. Mackleprank said. “You will be seeing the world through its eyes. Oh, and to end a session, simply press on the same button on the back of your neck.”

  After a few minutes, Derick was hooked up. He pressed the button at the back of his neck to log on. A quick pain behind his eyes forced them closed. His head ached. Derick recoiled for a moment, then slowly opened his eyes.

  It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

  The most massive tree Derick had ever seen stood in the middle of a space the size of a soccer field. It must have been ten stories tall. Derick turned his head, which made him lose his balance and nearly fall over. Pesky tail. Plus, his head felt off balance. Maybe it was larger in proportion to his body than he was used to. He looked down at his hands—furry. He rubbed them against his chest—furry. He rubbed them on the top of his head—furry. He felt like a walking rug. His nose, however, was cold and clammy. Derick was a squirrel monkey.

  “Students,” he heard Dr. Mackleprank’s voice saying, “I’m speaking through a sound system that your ears pick up in your booths, not the monkeys’. That will be important for when you want to join the real monkeys. We can’t have them hearing our instructions and being wary of new visitors.

  “You’ll notice that many things look very large to you. Squirrel monkeys are only twenty-five to thirty-five centimeters tall, so, as you can imagine, you’re looking at the world from a whole new perspective. Everything will seem much larger.”

  Derick began to take a few steps. It felt good—completely strange, awkward, and imbalanced, but also agile and light. He nearly fell to the left, but after spreading his arms as a counterbalance, he managed to stay upright. He was learning to walk all over again.

  Derick heard Mackleprank again. “Off to one side of the room are a series of bars you can use to practice climbing and swinging from branches. Squirrel monkeys live in the canopy of tropical forests in Central and South America. So obviously, much of their lives is among trees.

  Derick turned toward the bars and toppled onto his side. Getting up was a bit of a chore.

  “I’m sure you’ve now felt the imbalance a tail causes. I’ve seen several of you already fall over. Don’t worry; the tail takes getting used to. Squirrel monkeys don’t use their tail for climbing, so you won’t have to worry about learning to control an entirely new appendage that way. Just use it for balance. Once you are in a tree, you’ll find it to be quite an asset. Balance is everything in a tree. When you become more advanced in your skills, you may learn to use the tail as a sort of tool, but that won’t come for a while.”

  Derick walked forward again. After a few moments, he began to increase his speed, leaning forward a little farther than he was used to. He turned to the left and had to compensate for the tail, but continued his jog.

  “Practice, practice, practice. We isolate you for now, but you’ll need to be good enough that you can move fast. Squirrel monkeys are prey for falcons, snakes, and felids. They also live in large groups of up to five hundred, which means you must be able to keep control of the avatar despite the chaos of the other monkeys.

  Derick reached the bars. He jumped and sailed higher than he expected. He wasn’t sure if a squirrel monkey’s muscles were stronger, or if his body was lighter, or a combination of both, but soaring through the air was a pleasant surprise. Until he caught the bar in the belly, which nearly knocked the wind out of him. He managed to hold himself there while he regained his breath, and then pulled himself up and jumped to the next bar.

  “Start with major movements now, and we’ll gradually work our way to fine motor skills, which squirrel monkeys use to eat fruits, insects, seeds, leaves, and nuts, among other things.”

  Derick leapt for the bar above him, and then the next. He felt limber, quick. Being a little monkey was addictive. He could feel the air through his fur, which he thought might make him feel like he was going faster than he really was. He jumped higher and higher. Then, one bar from the top, he lost his grip. He flailed his limbs in a panic as his avatar fell toward the ground.

  9

  Gym

  Abby’s father walked down a hall of the ship with doors on both sides, his wife a few steps behind. He tried every door handle. He needed just one to be unlocked. He had found one earlier, but discovered someone else inside.

  “Sorry,” he’d apologized. “Wrong cabin.” He hoped they didn’t realize he didn’t belong there at all.

  Wrong cabin. Wrong floor. Wrong ship. Wrong everything.

  It had taken the two of them a few hours to realize how bad it truly was—to figure out where they were. And when they did ... he could still feel the p
aralyzing fear. He couldn’t think about it. He had to do what he could.

  Now in a different hall, he twisted another knob. It didn’t give, but when he pushed, the door swung open. Whoever’s cabin this was, they’d locked the door, but they hadn’t pulled it completely closed. He quickly stepped in and looked around. No one. He motioned for his wife, Hailey, to follow him in.

  “I don’t want to be a criminal,” she said.

  “Me, neither,” Jefferson Cragbridge responded. “But we can’t walk on the decks dressed like this. People will ask questions we can’t answer.”

  They still wore their pajamas from last night, when a group of men somehow got through all the security in their house and took them hostage. Jefferson had fought with everything he had, and so had his wife. A few of the men would have a couple of dark bruises and deep scratches for the next couple of weeks.

  But in the end, both of Abby’s parents were tranquilized. They woke up on this ship—one of the very worst places to be.

  “Even speaking with someone could have terrible repercussions,” Jefferson said. “We have to blend in.” He opened a suitcase and carefully rifled through the clothes.

  “Are you sure it wouldn’t be better just to hide in the boiler room?” Hailey asked. “We only have to avoid a few maintenance men there.”

  “We’ve stewed over this enough,” he answered, pulling out a shirt and then a pair of khaki pants. “I don’t know how they trapped us here, but I know this is dangerous—not just for us, but for everyone, everywhere. Our only hope is that those with the lockets will discover us, and for that to happen, we have to get up on the deck where they are most likely to search for us.” He changed into the shirt from the suitcase.