by Guy Morpuss
Vincent nodded and left.
‘So, Ms Summers,’ said Guskov. ‘Your first day in the park. I’m looking forward to an interesting – and profitable – week.’
‘Please, call me Sierra.’ She leaned in. ‘A handsome man like you – we ought to be on first-name terms.’
Guskov sat back, uncomfortable. ‘I’m going to stick with Ms Summers. We don’t get many schizos in the park, so it’s hard enough getting my head round what you are. The whole sex thing is a bit beyond me. Besides, even if I was so inclined, I try not to mix business and pleasure. Business is pleasure enough for me.’
‘Very well.’ She shrugged and sat back, sipping her drink. ‘Is everything arranged?’
‘As we agreed,’ said Guskov. ‘None of it is difficult. Expensive, but not difficult. You’ve given me long enough to organise it.’
‘So how is it going to work?’ she asked. ‘The others won’t realise that they’re being watched? I know you need to make your profit, but they aren’t stupid. They’ll be suspicious.’
‘Trust me. This isn’t the first time we’ve done this. It will be subtle. The show has around one hundred subscribers, all carefully vetted. No one is going to leak. There might be the occasional drone flashing overhead, but mostly we’ll be tapping into the ParkGov security feeds. The others won’t suspect a thing. My subscribers aren’t expecting twenty-four-hour surveillance. They know there will be gaps. What they’re mostly interested in are the games, and who wins. These people are gamblers. They want to bet on which of you survives the week.’
‘I can tell you that now. It’ll be me.’
‘I do hope you appreciate the risks, Ms Summers. I can skew things in your favour in some of the early games – try to make sure you don’t all get killed before the week is up. That would be a bit of an anticlimax. But I can’t guarantee it. The games are unpredictable. And as I told you before, the risks in the final games have to be real. I’ll have some pretty nasty characters wagering very large sums on the final outcome. Some of them are even nastier than me. If they think I’ve fixed the result there will be unpleasant consequences for all of us. So there’s no certainty that you’ll win.’
‘I realise that,’ she said. ‘You’ve told me already. But I know the others well enough that I’m confident.’ She took a drink and looked away. ‘Besides, the alternative is being stuck with these bastards for another hundred years. I’d rather be dead.’
Guskov raised an eyebrow. He was spared answering as the door opened. With Vincent was an andi. She was dressed in a brown coverall, her skin pale and shiny, her hair still wet. She stared straight ahead.
‘So,’ said Guskov. ‘Here’s your andi, Ms Summers. Amy Bird. I hope you like her.’
‘Absolutely. She looks perfect. How is this going to work? She’s going to need some better clothes, so she looks normal. And we’ll need to improve her AI, so Kate will think she’s real. You told me she could run a low-level AI with my instructions overlaid. How do we do that?’
‘That’s not my department,’ said Guskov. ‘Dr Bernard is the expert. You’ll be in touch with him later. He says that controlling dandis is the easy bit. Moving minds in and out of them is much harder. He’s going to need your access codes for that.’
‘I know. That’s all arranged.’ She paused. ‘You’ve set up a history for the andi, in case anyone checks? She needs to appear real.’
‘Of course,’ said Guskov. ‘It’s all sorted.’
She looked at the andi, and frowned. ‘I can’t scan her. Has she got the twenty years you promised? I’m going to need that to get Kate interested.’
‘We’ve given her just over twenty. A round number would look odd. I’ll be wanting that back. You’re getting enough out of me already without extra time.’
‘Fine. And what about the second andi? I’m going to need her in a few days.’
‘We’ll have her by then,’ said Guskov. ‘We’ve identified an andi player who fits your requirements and we’ve been letting her win every game she plays. She’s winning big, and starting to believe she can’t lose. Tomorrow she’ll discover just how wrong she is. Give me a day to liberate the body from ParkGov, clean her up, and you can have her. Two days maximum.’
‘Sounds good, Mr Guskov. Les said you were the man for the job. It seems he was right. One week and this will all be over.’
Guskov smiled. ‘Indeed, Ms Summers. One week. My audience is waiting. Let’s get the show started.’
ALEX
DAY FIVE
06:00–06:05
The bed was empty. Kate was gone.
Sierra had sent me a message, copied to Kate.
Alex, 9:00. Accept my challenge or I start cutting bits off her. S. xxx
Attached was an image clip. Kate, hands tied above her head, hanging from a giant hook, feet kicking inches off the ground. She looked a mess. She was gagged. Her eyes were wide with fear. Sierra was standing next to her stroking Kate’s cheek with a knife.
A message from Kate appeared.
Alex, please, come quickly. Sierra is crazy. Kate.
I smiled. It was time to end this.
I accepted the challenge.
KATE
DAY FIVE
08:35–13:30
‘He’s on his way,’ said Sierra. ‘Punctual as ever. Soon we’ll be done with this and I can get out of here.’
We were in a small featureless room with grey walls and no windows. Sierra was sitting cross-legged on the floor, her back to the door. I was slumped in a corner. I didn’t know where we were as Sierra had brought me here blindfolded and was blocking me. If this was a legitimate arena I didn’t know how she had got me in without questions being asked. Then again, this was a death park. Time could buy you pretty much anything.
I was tired and bruised, my clothes were torn, and I was still dripping with a mixture of slime and rainwater. It stank, a horrible sweet odour that I didn’t think would ever leave me. God knows what I looked like.
‘You don’t need to do this, Sierra,’ I said. ‘We can find a way of getting you out of the death park. Then Alex and I can sort out the mess that’s left.’
‘I told you that’s no use,’ she said. ‘I need to leave here in our body, with all the time that we have earned, and with four more lives to come. Besides, I made promises. We have no choice but to play this game.’
I heard footsteps approaching the door, then it opened and Alex stepped through. Followed by Guskov.
Alex rushed over to me and knelt down, brushing a hand through my slimy hair. ‘Kate, are you all right?’
‘I’ve been better. And I stink. I wouldn’t get too close. What’s he doing here?’ I asked, nodding to Guskov, who stood in the doorway, watching us.
He stepped forward. ‘As Ms Summers knows, I have an interest in the game that you are about to play. It is through me that the two of you have your new bodies. The time has come for you to repay your benefactor.’
I didn’t follow. Why should I be paying for a body that I didn’t want?
Alex turned to Sierra. ‘How could you do this? Mike, Ben. And now Kate.’ He shook his head.
Sierra shrugged. ‘If I’d wanted to talk about my motivation I’d have called my psychologist. He did such a great job last time round. Let’s just get on with it.’
‘What’s the game?’ Alex asked. ‘Are you actually going to play fair this time? I think you conned Ben into killing himself.’
‘I didn’t kill Ben,’ she said. ‘Kate did. Besides, this is one game I can’t change. I’m in just as much danger as the two of you.’ She looked at Guskov. ‘That was part of our deal. The only difference is that we aren’t playing for time. If I win, I get my body back and you two are gone for good. If you win you stay alive and you’ll have to decide what to do with her.’ She pointed to me.
‘What do you mean?’ I protested. ‘If we win I want my body back.’
‘Look at yourself, Kate,’ said Sierra. ‘You aren’t in any position to de
mand anything. You’re lucky you’re still alive.’ She turned to Guskov. ‘Let’s get this done.’
He nodded. ‘Come with me.’
We followed him out of the room and down a corridor which, to my surprise, opened out into the bar in the club where I had met Godfried. This time, despite the early hour, around twenty of the armchairs were occupied. Heads turned towards us as Guskov led us up to the bar. He coughed and looked around, pausing for a moment to acknowledge several of the seated patrons with a nod. A camera drone drifted to a stop just in front of us.
‘Good morning all, and welcome. It’s good to see so many familiar faces. A particular welcome to those who have travelled from outside the park. Welcome also to those who are watching us remotely.’ He turned to us. ‘Mr White was puzzled as to why your feeds were being viewed by over one hundred people while you were in the park. This is why. You have, for the past week, been stars of a highly exclusive pay-per-view show. Since you stepped into the park your lives, both inside and outside the game booths, have been broadcast to a carefully selected audience chosen for their discretion and interest in exotic entertainment. That was the deal I made with Ms Summers when she called me several months ago and explained her predicament.’ He turned back to his audience.
‘Today we have the culmination of our week-long show. I hope you enjoy it. No one is safe. Anyone can die. Real death. Let me start by reminding you who has got this far. Until recently part of a communal body they have suffered some … difficulties since entering the park.’ He sighed deeply. ‘People have taken advantage of them.’
Yes – mostly him. It seemed that he had screwed us out of twenty years while pretending he didn’t know what was going on, and drip-feeding us information.
‘Having started in one body our remaining protagonists now find themselves in three. This fine specimen of rippling muscle is Alex Du Bois. Sadly, not one that I created. He was the original host. The other two are mine. First, Kate Weston, although currently going by the name Amy Bird. And second, Sierra Summers.
‘As I said, some months ago Ms Summers approached me with a proposition. She had a scheme by which to rid herself of the other four, but needed andi bodies. Given my speciality in that area she was put in touch with me by a mutual friend.
‘As we worked through the complexities of the scheme it turned out that she needed a lot more than just dandis. Fortunately our good friend Dr Bernard was able to assist in that regard. His interest and expertise in the workings of the human body are unrivalled. He is particularly adept at moving minds. I understand that he has thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of the mind swaps involved in Ms Summers’ scheme.’
I hadn’t spotted the doctor sitting on his own near the front of the group. His three-piece suit was at least a size too large, the jacket hanging off him like a sack. On his lap was a battered black leather case, which he clutched tightly. He twitched at the mention of his name, looked around, and raised a hand nervously in the air.
‘It is many years now since the good doctor first came to the park. I think that he would agree that he was not well-suited to combat in the arenas. So he came to me for a new body. One of my very first clients. As an android he is always particularly interested in the difference between human and android physiology. He tells me that by far the best way of conducting his studies is live dissection.’
Guskov turned back to us.
‘Which brings us to today’s game. In return for my assistance, and Dr Bernard’s expertise, Ms Summers agreed to make you all stars of this secret show. Sadly Mr Ganzorig and Mr White are no longer with us. If you bet on their survival, commiserations. To those who have complained that they both died in games that were manipulated by Ms Summers, or her andi, I did warn you that this was a contest that was going to take place outside the arenas as well as within. It shouldn’t have surprised you that everyone was fighting for an advantage to take into the games.’ His smile vanished for a moment. ‘Let me make it clear that there will be no refunds.’ He looked around the room, and then back at the camera.
‘But of course you have the chance today to recoup your losses. I agreed with Ms Summers that the final game would be played here. The winner, or winners, will walk away free from any debt, their body and time intact. They will be free to leave the park. The loser, or losers, will be given over to the good doctor for his medical research. It won’t be pleasant.’ He sighed theatrically. ‘But sadly there comes a time when you have to pay your debts.’
Guskov turned back to Bernard. ‘Doctor, come up here. Don’t be shy. Perhaps it will sharpen their minds if you show our players what you have planned.’
The doctor was tall, taller even than Mike. He seemed to uncoil from his seat as he stood, and walked over to us in jerky movements. He paused before each of us, looking us up and down with piercing blue eyes and a thin smile. Despite his shoddy attire there was something awful about him. He had the look of a predator setting eyes on his prey for the first time. And enjoying what he saw. Even Sierra seemed frightened. She stepped back.
He walked over to the bar and carefully placed his black leather case down. He undid a buckle and opened it out. There was a glint of light reflecting off metal. Despite myself I leaned forward to look. And wished I hadn’t. Neatly arranged and held in place by leather loops were knives, scalpels, tongs, hammers and other instruments that I couldn’t identify.
The doctor turned to us. ‘I would particularly like to have her,’ he said, pointing at me with a long finger, ‘and him,’ pointing at Alex. ‘It is always good to be able to see how human and artificial bodies react to the same pain stimuli. Despite appearances, the nerve networks are very different.’
I shuddered. He was vile. What had Sierra got us into? This was madness. Was she so sure that she would survive that she would risk his butchery? She had said that this was one game that she couldn’t manipulate. Was that just another lie?
I looked at the doctor’s knives and calculated what the chances were of grabbing one and fighting my way out. Not high. For the first time I noticed that Vincent and Stas were standing next to the corridor that led to the stairs down to the street. Then Godfried caught my eye. He was seated near them, in the shadows. He met my gaze and pulled a face, nodding in what seemed like an apology for being there.
Guskov stepped forward. ‘Thank you, Doctor. So, to the game. You will be able to watch our players’ progress here.’ He gestured to a large screen over the bar. ‘Once it is over, those of you who have an interest may, at no extra cost, stay to watch the doctor’s work. No offence, Doctor, but I won’t be staying.’ He grimaced. ‘I must confess to having no stomach for that sort of thing.’
Dr Bernard smiled thinly and returned to his seat, leaving his medical instruments on the bar. Waiting for us.
Guskov continued. ‘Our players are in two teams. Mr Du Bois and Ms Weston in one team. Ms Summers in the other. There are two stages to today’s game. In the first stage the teams must – separately – escape from a burning ship in the historic New York East River. The first to set foot on North Brother Island wins that stage, and gains a one-minute head start. The second game is set on the island, where the teams will compete against one another. It is a straight race. Whoever wins walks free. Whoever loses …’ He gestured to the doctor.
Bernard looked across at us, smiling. My skin crawled.
‘Given the nature of the games players will have no remote access to information for their duration. Otherwise they might be too easy.’ Guskov paused, as though considering whether he had covered everything.
‘One final matter. I know that most of you have some time wagered on the outcome of this week’s events. It is not too late to back your judgment further, or hedge your bets. Or, for those who lost out on Mr Ganzorig and Mr White, to win something back. I have brought in my associate Mr Godfried to run a book on the final outcome. You will have the chance to place bets until the end of the first game. From then the book will be closed.’ I was disappointed. D
id that mean Godfried had been part of this all along? That he had strung me along? Had I been naïve to trust him?
‘I have said before, and I will say it again. There are no foregone conclusions in any of the games. Just because Ms Summers instigated this does not mean that she has any advantage. One of the conditions I imposed from the outset – for the integrity of the contest – was that both teams are equally at risk.’
I wasn’t sure I believed that. How desperate had Sierra been to get away from us to agree to that? Or was she so confident she could beat us?
‘So, enough talk. Let’s get started,’ said Guskov. He summoned Vincent and Stas with a wave of his hand, then turned to us. ‘You will be escorted to the game booths. I wish you all the best of luck.’
•
I am standing in the centre of a wood-panelled room. It is sparsely furnished. There is a wooden bed with sheets in disarray, a small chest of drawers, and a writing desk with a fold-down lid.
Alex is standing next to me. There is a mirror on one wall. I glance at it and see an older version of seventeen-year-old Kate looking back at me. I realise that the room is moving, swaying gently from side to side. I look for a window, but there is none – only paintings on the walls.
You are on board the General Slocum, a passenger steamboat sailing up the East River, New York. It is Wednesday, 15 June 1904. A Lutheran Church group has chartered the vessel to carry members to a church picnic on Long Island. Twelve minutes ago a discarded cigarette caused a fire to start in the Lamp Room in the forward section of the vessel. The fire hoses are rotten and the life preservers filled with iron and substandard cork. Most of the passengers cannot swim, and most will die. You cannot change events or save anyone. You have fifteen minutes to escape this room and save yourselves by reaching dry land.
I sniff the air, but can’t smell any smoke, so the fire can’t be too close.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ I say.