Contest (The Stork Tower Book 6)

by Tony Corden

  “I-I don’t know?”

  “I see. Well Ron, sorry without a plan is just words. It’s just a breath in the wind. It’s of no use to either of us, and it changes nothing. I want you to come up with a plan. I want you to sit here and come up with a plan. Don’t move for twenty minutes. I’m going to come looking for you, Ron. When I find you, I expect to hear a plan, a plan that shows me you’re sorry. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, yes Ma’am.”

  “Good.”

  Leah increased her speed of perception and left the room and headed back to the reception area. With all the time she’d been at the normal virtual-speed added to the time at full cyber-speed, she was almost out of time. Once she was back in the reception area, she worked her way under the entrance, ignoring with great difficulty the flow of customers, and into a large hollowed area labelled ‘Cambria Pleasure Palace Secure Local Area Network. One of the open doorways was Labelled Mozzi’s Local Area Network.

  Leah had to use her screwdriver to unlatch a grill to get into the Pleasure House’s Secure Lan. She then stepped toward the door to Mozzi’s and spent some time looking for a hidden access point. When she couldn’t find one, she looked over the entrance way with care and saw a spider web across the top of the doorway. This was Alan Hopper’s security and what Reed had warned her about. She checked her clock, and if everything had proceeded as planned, then the Major and his friend should be causing a diversion at that very moment. Leah stepped through the doorway, evading the web and killing the spider before she stepped into Mozzi’s.

  58

  Chapter 58

  December 17, 2073 - Evening - Part 3

  CYBERVERSE

  As she stepped into Mozzi’s Tavern, the AI Biker had its back to Leah. It was facing Major White’s friend who’d taken hold of the jacket and pulled the AI close. Major White was standing to the side but stepping toward the biker. He was between the AI and the doorway to the Pleasure House. Leah placed a paper with Jennifer’s name and ID in his hand and jumping over the bar, she slid along the floor to come to rest at Alan’s feet. Leah slowed the rate at which she processed data and waited for Alan to notice her at his feet.

  The noise of the bar crashed over her. The Major and his friend were yelling at each other, and the AI was trying to calm everything down. Leah heard Major White say, “Look, I know you are Virtual Security. I was worried about my friend, possibly going into a dangerous and illegal world. If you don’t believe me, then here is the name and ID of someone caught up in the world that can be accessed from this establishment. Check with her, and you’ll see I’m telling the truth.”

  “What’s the name of the illegal world?”

  Leah hadn’t written that so she punched Alan on the leg. When he looked down in shock, she mouthed, “Cambria Pleasure Palace World.”

  She had to mouth it three times before he said, “Excuse me, gentlemen. I heard someone say it was possible to access the Cambria Pleasure Palace World from these premises, but I’m new here.”

  It was eight virtual-minutes before everything was sorted out and the agent said, “Major White, your tip was accurate. There was access between here and the Cambria Pleasure Palace World. The world is now being investigated, and several irregularities have already been uncovered. I appreciate the help, but in the future, please direct your suspicions directly to Virtual Security. I have given your PAI my contact details. All connections between this establishment and the Cambria Pleasure Palace World have been isolated or disconnected. Neither you nor your associate are wanted for further questioning. Please tell Ms Carroll she failed to completely destroy one of the data recording modules. There is insufficient data to know what she did, or how she did it, but there is enough to identify her presence with seventy-eight per cent accuracy. This is insufficient for me to use against her in any way, but she should be more careful. Good day.”

  Sixty seconds later, Alan looked down and said, “He’s gone. Your friends are still here though. I assume you’re Ms Carroll, and that you’re the one who sent me a message.”

  Leah stood up from where she was crouched behind the bar and after stretching her neck said, “Yep, that’s me. Most people call me Atherleah. I know you’re not the real barkeep Alan, but could you get me a beer?”

  “How old are you?”

  “What difference does that make?”

  “In the multiverse, the age of adulthood is sixteen. Mozzi’s is one of the first ever virtual bars and its primary license is in the State of California. As such, it cannot serve you alcohol, either real or virtual, until you reach the age of 21. Every other virtual bar that I know of is licensed under the International Multiverse Protocols and can serve to anyone sixteen or over.”

  “What can you serve me?”

  “Soda, milkshake or water.

  “May I please have a chocolate shake?”

  “One chocolate shake coming up. Gentlemen, what would you like?”

  Major White said, “My name is White, and I’ll have a Guinness. “

  Major White’s friend was as tall as Thad but much thicker around the chest and arms. He had long wiry hair which was tied in a ponytail and a long thick beard which reached the centre of his chest. He said, “Name’s Archie. I’ll join the baby girl and have a milkshake. Make mine a strawberry.”

  Nobody spoke until the drinks arrived, although Leah ignored Archie completely. She knew he was teasing her, and she had no idea how to respond. She wasn’t used to being slow with a comeback and it annoyed her. When the drinks appeared, Alan said, “They’re on the house. Now, Atherleah, what was so important that you went to such lengths to get my attention?”

  “Widespread corruption, conspiracy and suffering. You have the key to unravelling it, and I need your help. Major White has another piece of the puzzle and Archie here is one of his minions.”

  Major White went very still for a moment until Archie snorted with laughter. Alan looked bemused and waited for a moment before saying, “And?”

  Leah said, “And nothing. I need your help. Obviously, I can’t talk about it here, and I’d hoped to talk with you kinda incognito. But then you had to leave tracer programmes everywhere, and Major White brought V-Sec on board. I suppose that is my fault because I let it slip that I was meeting you. Even so, you both are supposed to be good at the covert stuff, and now everyone can connect us if they look hard enough. So I suggest we retire to somewhere private and discuss the situation.”

  Archie said, “You can come to my place if you like. It’s secure. I’ll send the information to your PAIs.”

  He must have done something and received feedback because he went still and looked hard at Leah. He said, “My PAI can’t connect with yours. It only senses Mr Hopper’s and Khukuri’s. It’s as if you aren’t here.”

  Leah said, “If you are comfortable, you can give me the address or Major White can send it to my PAI.”

  Archie said, “How is it possible?”

  Purposefully misunderstanding, Leah said, “Well, you send it to Major White’s PAI, and he asks it to forward it to my PAI. Modern technology is a wonderful thing Archie. To be honest, if that is something difficult to understand, are you sure your place is secure?”

  Archie’s eyes hardened a little, and he said, “Lass, are you sure you want to start something with me? If I understand things, you need us more than we need you.”

  Leah smirked and said, “You make a good point, Archie.”

  Turning to Alan, she said, “I’ll send you my contact details if you want to catch up.”

  She then turned to Major White and said, “It was nice meeting you, Major. Thank you for your assistance. You helped me understand what’s happening better. Goodbye.”

  Leah increased her rate of perception and stepped out the door and into the Cambria Regional Area Network then into the American Union Wide Area Network. She was stepping toward the Virtual Multiverse Network to get to the Australian Area Network when she saw several clouds of coloured mist
flowing across her path. She stepped to the side of the network and watched the way the mist swirled and moved. She watched as streams of data passed through it without noticing. Leah could almost recognise which data streams belonged to PAI and which were AI. Most, though, were data of different sorts being transferred around the world. None of the streams noticed the mist.

  Leah noticed that the streamers of different coloured mist never touched. Occasionally two streams of the same colour would come together, then they would either become one longer, thicker streamer or they would separate. Leah noticed several times when a cloud of the mist would split into several patches to cover a larger area. After watching for several minutes, she could see a patch of mist approaching her. She worked out the angles and stepped to the Virtual Multiverse Network, taking three smaller steps rather than a single step. She noticed more of the vaporous clouds in the larger network hub but only needed two steps to avoid it. Leah remained watchful as she hurried back to her Pod.

  STORK TOWER

  Once she was sitting on her favourite chair, she said, “Well, that was interesting. I can’t believe I let that man rile me so much.”

  Gèng said, “I viewed the interaction and have identified ‘Archie’ as Brigadier Sir Archibald Matthews. He used to be Major White’s commanding officer. His bio says he was instrumental in setting up the SAS’s cyber warfare division. He commands a very successful group of mercenaries in Warrior.”

  “Even more reason, I suppose, that I shouldn’t have responded like that.”

  “Your hormone levels are slightly elevated, and on review, there was some inconsistent neural activity in the amygdala. A preliminary analysis suggests the amygdala is unable at this stage to process the signals effectively during times of rapid repeated intermittent changes in perceptual speed. When you are fully immersed in cyberspace at a constant time dilation, then it manages to provide appropriate responses to stimuli. The movement back and forth may have caused dissonance in the signals it received and the resultant responses. If I plot the various events, it is possible you responded to Archie because of biochemical changes brought about by your interaction with Ron. Research suggests that as you are aware of the situation, your prefrontal cortex may make appropriate adjustments to better control your response in future.”

  “Once I realised I was being irrational, the anger did quickly subside, but I hope I’ll be more aware in future. If Major White contacts you, then please let him know I am willing to continue discussing the situation. I best take the break and have something to eat.”

  “On the advice of Dr Roberts I’ve increased the dose of supplements you are taking. She suggested the increase when we discussed the amount of time you were spending with your neural activity at its current maximum.”

  “Current maximum?”

  “There has been some slight increase over the last few times of full cyber immersion. It is possible these are simply the effect of the newer pathways becoming mature, but I’m also open to the possibility of additional changes within your neural architecture.”

  HOME - REAL WORLD

  Leah only nodded in response and then logged out. During the break, Leah was able to reassure herself that her mother was not suffering any complications from Kevin’s revelation. Kevin came to change the bandages, and he was pleased to see the swelling in Leah’s shoulder had reduced. After a shower, Leah once more entered the Pod. She was hoping for almost an hour-and-three-quarters real-time moving toward her mother in Survival.

  59

  Chapter 59

  December 17, 2073 - Evening - Part 4

  STORK TOWER

  Back in the Tower, Leah spent ten minutes reviewing the updates on Survival and working through the simulation Gèng had updated. From her perspective, this seemed like six hours. When she’d finished, she sat down to take a breather before heading into the actual world itself.

  Gèng interrupted her and said, “Major White, Alan Hopper and Archie would like to see you at your convenience.”

  “Where?”

  “Here, at Alan’s or at Archie’s. They will work around you.”

  “OK. I don’t want to alienate any of them, so please arrange for them to visit here. Please stagger the start times. Alan first, then after five minutes add Major White and then Archie. Will we meet before or after I meet with Dr Ellis?”

  “I suggest you see them before you go to Survival.”

  “What? Now? Are they free at such short notice?”

  “They said they would make the time to suit you.”

  “OK then, I’ll meet them down in the gazebo.”

  Leah wandered down to the gazebo and was just sitting down when Gèng arrived with Alan. After the usual comments on her world, Leah said, “Alan, the other two will be arriving soon. Let me discuss what the situation is and why I wanted to talk. After that, you can tell me if you’re prepared for me to share the same information with Major White and Archie.

  Alan nodded, so Leah continued, “OK, here is the short version. Millions of people have their PAIs infected with malware which can force their owners to behave in ways against their will. The pleasure house attached to Mozzi’s had an underground area where the men and women could not give or withdraw consent on their involvement. One of the Virtual Security AI helped release me from the malware’s control and instigated the recent security update. The update was voluntary, and most of those infected were commanded not to install it. The AI who helped me was archived because of her actions. The malware is controlled and promulgated by some very rich and very powerful people.

  “I broke into V-Sec’s secure Vault and released the AI. To escape detection, I left the Vault using the backdoor you’d made but rather than following it to your end, I used the branch which leads into the World Bank. There I discovered three highly secure containers which I believe hold the archived consciousness of three people whose identities have been taken over by someone else. I’m not sure why they are still alive, but whoever has taken over their identities are now three of the most influential people in the multiverse. I want to use your backdoor into the World Bank to make contact with the people in the containers and discover a way to release them, or if necessary, expose what is happening. If I expose the situation directly, I am convinced I will disappear and nothing would change. Major White was a person I contacted concerning one of the people who is imprisoned. I’m almost certain Archie is the one with more authority in their relationship. Major White is arriving momentarily, so I don’t have time right now to discuss or prove this. Do I have your permission to reveal that you may know a way to investigate the locked containers without alerting the World Bank of my presence?”

  Alan looked at Leah in silence as he processed the information. As Leah waited, Gèng arrived with Major White. As the major sat down, Alan gave Leah a minute nod.

  Leah said, “Major, before I say anything, I need to know if Archie is less of a minion and more of a boss as far as you’re concerned?”

  “Archie was my commanding officer, and in many ways he still is. I met you in Ascendent because he asked me to.”

  “Will you tell him whatever I tell you?”

  “Probably.”

  Leah turned to Gèng and said, “See if Archie can come now. I don’t want to explain this more than once.”

  As they waited, Major White tried several times to start a discussion, but each time Leah just sat there without speaking. After several minutes of silence, Gèng appeared with Archie. Leah said, “Thank you, Gèng. Welcome Brigadier, I apologise for my snit earlier. You were being a condescending prat, but I should have had better control of my temper. Unfortunately, you received the tail end of my anger at the behaviour of a Mr Ron Lourdes. Please forgive me.”

  Archie smiled and said, “That isn’t necessary. I read the report of what was going on in the Pleasure Palace. Sixty-eight people were being controlled in two shifts at the Palace. The two women you helped explained what happened but were unable to provide a descri
ption. Your Mr Lourdes is being admitted to the Cambrian Psychiatric Hospital. He just sits there saying, ‘I need a plan’ over and over. I will admit that I was condescending, but I am not, and have never been a prat. Now, can you explain what is going on?”

  Leah repeated what she’d told Alan but left out the location where the three archival boxes were being held. She finished by saying, “I need to find out who the third person is and then use Alan’s backdoor to see if I can discover what is really going on.”

  Archie said, “Where are the people being kept?”

  Leah shook her head and said, “Not so fast. You guys jumped the gun scoping out Mozzi’s and almost ruined everything I’d set up. I don’t trust you not to screw things up. You’ll rush ahead, and that’ll be all the bad guys need to disappear.”

  Archie turned to Alan and said, “Will you tell me?”

  Alan shook his head and replied, “Nope. Atherleah seems to have the technological edge at the moment. While I’m tempted to just close down the backdoors, they were put in place to keep an eye on corruption and abuses. It sounds like they’ve done their job. You guys sound official to me, and I’ve never found officials to care much for the little people. Atherleah here at least seems concerned enough to go slowly. If I help anyone, then at the moment, it’s going to be her.”

  Archie took a deep breath before saying, “I don’t like being kept in the dark. It’s a long time since I was subject to the ignorant end of a ‘need to know’ decision.”

  Leah smiled and said, “That’s OK, it’ll be good for you. It’ll be like reliving your glory days as a junior officer. Now, are you in, or out? Note, by you, I mean you and the major, not the authorities, and not your friends in cybersecurity.”