Digital Heretic (21 page)

Chapter 45

 
It feels lik
e
a dream, but I know it isn’t.

 
Too vivid, this feels more real than when I’m actually awake. It only takes a moment of crystal clear clarity of sound, vision, and every other aspect of where I stand, to understand where I am.

 
I smile and bow my head, which is always how the communication begins.

  “
How are you doing, Trew?” the masculine voice surrounds me; not just a voice, but also a feeling of peace and calm.

  “I’m
busy, and worried, and…busy,” I say out loud.

  “
Ahh, yes, I can understand all of those feelings. Unfortunately, it requires much time and effort to influence two worlds. You are doing very well so far, my son. Subtle, which is key.”

  “I’m
frightened for Danni,” I say. “I think there are many factions hunting her, and all of them are invisible to us.”

  “
To you, perhaps. There is one who sees everything.”

  “
Brandon?” I ask.

 
Gentle, deep laughter dances around me, making me smile. “No, Trew. Despite what he would have you believe, Brandon misses the occasional detail. Not many, but some. I can tell you that there is nothing which occurs on Tygon that escapes my attention.”

  “
Sylvia,” I say.

  “
Indeed.”

  “
Then I will ask her for help.”

  “
Be prepared for her to deny you,” the voice says.

  “
Why would she do that?” I ask.

  “
Each of us plays an intricate game, Trew. After aeons of moves, it is possible to become less able to make changes. Even the smallest adjustment can bring everything tumbling towards failure. Sylvia may not help you in this regard, as much as I am certain she wants to.”

  “
Then what can I do?”

  “
The best that you can, Trew. That is all any of us can do…”

***

Carl

  I’ve been following her for too long.

  Numerous opportunities have presented themselves, yet still I hold back. This isn’t like me. Soon I won’t be able to tolerate my own presence, so thick is my self-disgust.

 
Never mind; no sense dwelling on the past. Today is the day.

 
She turns down a quiet alley, heading towards her favourite coffee shop. Most wouldn’t know it’s her favourite; she does an excellent job of keeping her routine random and unpredictable, but I’m a pro, and one visit every six to ten days is as routine as I’ve been able to observe. It’s enough to be a weakness for her; a strength for me.

 
She goes in and I wait on the other side of the street, leaning against a building as the world passes me by, each person scurrying past. For the thousandth time I debate whether I will say anything, or simply strike. I enjoy delivering something clever, but she’s become extremely competent over the years. My gut tells me to show her the proper respect and say nothing; my considerable ego encourages me to capture the moment with a quirky, smartass statement of some sort.

  “
Outta the way, Carl.” A body bumps into me then moves past.  I’m caught by surprise, damn it! I’ve been stalking Danielle so long I’m getting lazy. I catch a faint whiff of perfume as the figure quickly walks away; a beautiful woman glances at me and smiles. I immediately begin to follow. I don’t recognize her, but it will only take a moment to learn who’s interfering with my hunt. She turns the corner and I quicken my pace and follow.

 
The alley is dark, cramped, and filthy. I can feel the dangerous aura that surrounds it, warning normal people to stay out. I smile; it’s my kind of place. I see her vanish through a door and move to follow her.

 
Suddenly I hear a man’s voice behind me. “What the hell’s the matter with you, Carl?” Strong hands grab me from behind and prevent me from moving. “Slipping in your old age, it would seem. Nighty-night, Grandpa,” I feel a small needle prick my neck and consciousness begins to fade.

 
As blackness takes me, all I can think is,
A clever comment? They didn’t even respect me enough to strike
fast
and silent
…'

Chapter 46

 
“Good morning, Lisa. Wow, is it morning already? I didn’t sleep at all last night. No, that’s fine, come on in. I could use that coffee you’re holding in your hand.”

  “
Good morning, Trew. You look surprisingly awake and refreshed for someone who hasn’t slept. What’s your secret?”

  “
Excitement! No matter where I turn, exciting things are happening, Lisa. I don’t dare sleep and miss developments — inside the Game or out. Oh, my alarm is going off, I’ll have to leave in about five minutes. Do you have a question of two for me to answer before I go?”

  “
Just one question this morning, Trew.”

  “
Fire away.”

  “We’ve
been watching you speak on the video feeds. The masses are tuning in to listen in record numbers. You’ve alluded to something repeatedly, but haven’t come right out and said it. I was hoping to get a straight answer this morning, Trew.”

  “
I will if I can, Lisa. What is it you’d like to know?”

  “
Do you believe the people of Tygon are all living in an elaborate and complex reality simulation — that we are just players in a computer game as well?”

  “
Yes, Lisa, I do. It appears that millions of others share the same belief.”

  “
If that is true, then is it also possible the same is happening in the ‘next’ reality? And if so, when would it end? I don’t know what to

think about the idea that we might all be tens, hundreds, thousands of levels deep
within a game upon a game.”

  “I’m
sure it would end somewhere, Lisa. Maybe the next life truly is the real one. We will have to wait and see when we get there.”

  “I’m
dizzy at the thought of it, Trew.”

  “Don’t
worry, Lisa. I’m here to hold us all steady.”

- Morning interview with Trew, Lisa Rohansen reporting.

Danielle’s
Command Centre

 
“
What have w
e
been able to learn about this man named Jason?” Brandon asked.

 
Nadine stepped forward and brought up a video feed. “Everything checks out so far. He’s a low ranked player named Mark Aunders on Tygon, age 14. This is his second human incarnation. Inside the Game he

has led a fairly unremarkable life. He has no family, works at a local
bookshop… we can see that he does spend quite a bit of time on the Internet and watching movies. He’s very

good with computers
; we can’t find a reliable trail of usage or history of browsing, which is rare but not unheard of.”

  “
Are we concerned that he’s a threat to Danni?” Trew asked.

  “
From what we’ve been able to learn, Danielle can handle herself with him, no problem,” Nadine said.

 
Brandon nodded. “Okay. There’s news to share with you all on another front. Reports from reliable sources indicate that Carl is in the wind.”

 
Michelle looked concerned. “What do you mean, in the wind? From our perspective he’s been more in the wind than out of it over the years.”

  “
From the Infernals’ perspective. He was supposed to meet with Daniel some time ago, but hasn’t shown up. There is a faction-wide alert to report his whereabouts as soon as anyone spots him. My

source assures me the Devil is insane with anger over
Carl’s lack of communication. Carl’s in a mess, even for him, if he doesn’t soon make an appearance before his boss.”

  “
What do we do with this knowledge?” Trew asked.

  “
We spread the word to everyone we can,” Brandon said. “This could be another elaborate trick; they often use disinformation to keep us off our game. If it’s accurate, then if we see Carl anywhere near our players, we deal with him before he gets too close. The instructions are to bring him down and deliver him to the Infernals. As little damage as possible; the regular courtesies we extend to Timeless. No one is calling for his removal from the universe at this time. We are bound to help; they’ve done the same for Eternals when asked.”

  “
Where was he last seen?” Michelle asked.

  “
By us?” Brandon asked. “When he brought the group into the warehouse trap Danielle set up for him.   “On another note," Brandon said. "What are we doing?”

  “
In what respect?” Trew asked.

  “
I don’t feel Danni is really playing much lately. Yeah, she can fly. Yes, she’s learning some incredible skills with energy and Reiki based practices. Yes, she’s killing and hunting down those trying to wipe out Gamers. And sure, her Clean Mark has been lifted, and we’re concerned about that, but other than that, what is she really doing?”

 
The Command Centre erupted in laughter. After a few moments, people started to realize that neither Brandon nor Trew were laughing, and the room slowly became quiet.

  “
Her rank is not number one,” Brandon said.

  “
It fluctuates, but that’s normal,” Nadine said. “She still has a lot of play time, Brandon, and she’s doing incredible things that the average player only dreams of doing.”

  “
I had a lot of play time left too,” Trew said. “The Game didn’t care; I was kicked anyway.”

 
“Do we even have a concern?” Michelle asked. “When she went into the Game, Alex didn’t have a goal plan. Her limited points allowed her to spend them on the basic things, so from our perspective she is doing incredibly well. A finish in the top one million players would make her a superstar, and she’s never lower than the top 500 rank.”

  “
This type of team,” Brandon indicated the group in the room, “Doesn’t thrive on lack of goals; we need to be working towards something. I agree that she’s doing incredibly well. I also agree that we have no direction from her game plan. I want us to come up with a list of accomplishments that

we can help her work towards, to keep us busy. We have the skills to keep her number one when she exits the Game. To endeavor towards any other outcome is a waste of all our time
.”

 
Michelle nodded, “Of course, you’re right. We’ll think about what has been accomplished so far and come up with some goals based on our knowledge of Danni and her growing skill set.”

  “
I want you all to keep this thought in the back of your minds as you plan,” Trew said. “Danni has proven to be one of the most gifted players we’ve ever seen. If you think of something for her to accomplish and your brain tells you such a thing would be impossible to do… then you know you’re on the right track. Danielle seems to be particularly adept at achieving the impossible, and we want to see as much of that as we can.”

 
The team looked from Trew to Brandon, who nodded in agreement.

  “
I also want to find a way to get her protectors back with her,” Brandon said. “Someone come up with a way for Stephanie and Raphael to be by her side without attracting the attention of every Timeless in the world. Make that a top priority.”

  “She’s
in danger,” Trew said.

  “
More than ever,” Brandon agreed. “Put someone on this Jason fellow. I want him fully checked out. Our info might say he’s clean,

but I want to make absolutely certain. Get an Infernal on him ASAP
.”

  “
I mean, she’s in danger right now
,
” Trew said, pointing to the monitor behind them.

Danielle was shaking hands with Jason in the street across from a large building. Another camera feed showed Raphael watching her from across the street.

  “
Something doesn’t feel right,” Brandon said. “I wanted Raphael by Danni’s side when she went to meet him. He’s too far away from her!”

 
On the screen, Danni and Jason walked into the apartment building and got onto the elevator.

  “We’ll
make certain Raphael or Stephanie is by her side next time she meets with him,” Michelle assured him.

 
On the viewer, the signal from Danielle started to crackle and become fuzzy. The two got off the elevator and began to walk towards an apartment. The viewer flashed a few times then went dark. The team looked at each other silently.

  “
Her feed’s being scrambled,” Trew said.

  “
Damn it!” Brandon exclaimed.

 
Raphael stood outside the building, patiently waiting.

 
The team watched the blank screen helplessly, hoping that it was just a glitch and would come back on.

 
It didn’t.

 
Inside the Game, Raphael waited for three hours. Then he made a call and entered the building.

 
Three hours later, everyone’s worst fears were confirmed.

 
Danielle was gone.