Dark Realm, The (8 page)

T
am couldn’t believe it. The clamor of the lunchroom faded as he blinked at Marny. “Really? You’ll watch the Bug this afternoon so I can go to Jennet’s? That’s the nicest—”

“Shut up, or I’ll take my offer back. And it’s only the once, clear?” She made a face. “If your little brother gets too crazy, I’m calling the cops.”

As if the police would come out to the Exe for anything less than murder. Maybe not even then.

“Ok.” Tam fished in his pack for the emergency cash he kept tucked away. He held the money out to Marny. “You’ll need this.”

“I’m not taking your money!” She sounded offended. “Do you think I look like a babysitter? I’m doing this out of friendship.”

“I know.” He waved the cash. “But you’re going to need to get some stuff at the store to keep the Bug occupied. Sugar Crunchies - the big box. And the new Manza-boy comic.”

“That had better work.” She took the money. “I have to be home by six, though. So whatever it is you and Miss Fancy-girl are up to, be done by then. And Tam,” her expression softened, “be careful, right?”

“Hey. It’s not like I’m going to go rob a bank or anything. She’s just showing me a new sim-system.”

“She says.”

“I don’t think she’s lying.” He didn’t think Jennet’s appreciation for his game-playing had been faked, either.

Marny narrowed her eyes at him. “Something else is going on, Tam. There’s something not normal about this.”

“What, that one of
them
would want to spend time with me?” That stung, though it wasn’t anything he hadn’t thought before. Jennet’s interest was hard to explain. Except that it had something to do with gaming, the one thing he was really good at. “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

“I know.” Her lips pulled into a frown. “Just - pay attention.”

“I always do.”

***

It was hard not to be overwhelmed as he slid into Jennet’s chauffeured grav-car after school. The interior smelled like status and money, and the seats were more comfortable than his own bed. Tam glanced over the divider as the chauffeur manipulated the shiny controls on the dash. How would it feel to drive this thing, to glide, frictionless, over the gridded roads?

“Here.” Jennet settled beside him and held out a shiny plastic card attached to a clip. “Your visitor’s badge. You’ll have to wear it in The View, so the sensors don’t go off.”

“Nice.” He took it, the holograph of VirtuMax’s company logo shimmering as it caught the light.

Of course, there had to be a system to let the peons in. Cleaning and maintenance people had to have controlled access to the rich people’s world, after all. He took a pinch of his shirt and attached the badge. It hung crooked, but he didn’t care.

He glanced at Jennet, who looked a bit embarrassed. Maybe it was the first time she’d had to provide one of her ‘friends’ with an access badge.

“It’s good for two weeks,” she said. “I got you a long pass, just in case. Although I need to be with you while you’re inside the walls, since it’s got a low security clearance.”

“Yeah. Wouldn’t want to set off any alarms.” He felt like a sheep. A criminal one.

She cleared her throat and went for an obvious change of subject. “Anyway, I’m glad you could come today. Marny is a pearl.”

“I wouldn’t call her that. But yeah.”

The car was moving so smoothly, Tam felt like they were standing still. He glanced out the window, just to check. The neighborhood they were going through was about a hundred times cleaner than the Exe. No falling-down buildings or trash lining the streets. People here even had green lawns with neatly-trimmed bushes instead of scrappy, bare dirt where not even weeds grew.

“Here we are,” Jennet said as the car whished under a gleaming plas-metal arch. The company logo gleamed under the words proudly etched in the arch.
The View
.

“Is there one?” Tam turned to look out the back window as they passed through.

The archway of the View framed the cloudy sky - nothing special. The buildings scrolling past were huge and pristine, but the neighborhood felt eerie. It took a moment for him to identify why. There was no one in sight. No little kids playing on the perfectly groomed lawns. No lanky teens shooting hoops or riding g-boards. Not a single person. It was emptier than a computer game, where at least the NPCs were always there, moving around and making the world look occupied.

“A view?” Jennet asked. “Yes. The houses in the back have one. You’ll see.” She picked up her satchel and looked out the window in an expectant way.

Tam grabbed his pack as the car slid to a perfect stop and the door hissed open. Even the air in The View seemed different. Cleaner. Fresher. He followed Jennet out of the car, then stuck his head back in.

“Thanks for the ride,” he told the chauffeur. The man looked mildly startled, and then gave him a nod.

“Yes, thanks, George,” Jennet said, an undertone of excitement in her voice. “Come on, Tam. I can hardly wait to show you the set-up. This way.”

As if there could be any other way than the wide stone path leading to the fanciest house Tam had ever seen. No, not a house. A mansion. The place was four stories high, with balconies that jutted out on the upper levels and dozens of windows. There was even a fountain in the front, a lit-up sparkle and cascade of water. It looked like something from a mall.

Jennet held her wrist up to the front door and it opened with a soft chime. She threw a glance over her shoulder, and Tam hurried to follow her.

“Welcome home, Jennet,”
a perfectly modulated female voice said as they stepped over the threshold.
“You have brought a visitor. Staff has been notified.”

“Right,” Jennet said. “Let Marie know we’ll be up in the game-room.”

“Confirmed.”

Tam looked around, trying to be nonchalant. The warmly-lit foyer was empty, except for the two of them. “Is that… your house computer?”

He’d heard of fully-wired houses, but never imagined what it might be like to actually live in one. It was interesting - and creepy. Jennet didn’t stand much chance of sneaking out at night, did she?

“Yes,” she said. “Dad calls the computer HANA - House Activated Network Assistant.” She set her satchel on the floor and started up the wide stairs.

“Who’s Marie?” Tam trailed after her. He was afraid to touch anything in this pristine, clean-smelling place. Half-turning, he checked to make sure he wasn’t leaving grimy footprints on the pale carpet.

“Marie’s the house manager. She makes sure that everything is working smoothly, meals are done on time, that kind of thing.”

“How big is your family?” He knew almost nothing about Jennet’s life. Then again, she knew almost nothing about his, either, and he was happy to keep it that way.

“It’s just me and my dad,” Jennet said. “My mom left when I was a kid.” Her words rang hollowly in the quiet corridor. All the doors were closed, except the tall double-doors at the end.

Really? A fully-wired house and a ‘manager’ just for Jennet and her Dad. Good thing she hadn’t seen his sorry house - the living room that doubled as bedroom for both him and the Bug, the scrappy furniture, the tiny kitchen. The distance between his house and Jennet’s felt like the distance between galaxies. And just as unbridgeable. The only thing that kept him from turning around and going back to the Exe was the enticing promise of the Full-D system.

She led him through, then shut the doors behind them. “Here we are - the gaming room. Complete with Full-D.”

Tam’s feet stopped moving. He was dimly aware of other sim systems in the room, a bank of screens against the far wall, but all he could do was blink at the simulator right in front of him. Wait - the
two
simulators.

The helmets gleamed silver. The chairs were wide and comfortable, upholstered in something that was probably real leather. The gloves were studded with LEDs that shone like jewels.

“Yeah.” The word escaped from between his lips.

“So.” Jennet’s voice dropped to a whisper and she pushed at the plush carpet with one foot. “Don’t tell anybody about this, okay?”

He pulled his gaze from the sim-systems, trying to ignore the stab of hurt lancing through him. Of course she wouldn’t want people to know that he’d been invited over. Trash from the Exe sullying her perfect house.

“What, that I came to your house?” The words left a sour taste in his mouth. “I hadn’t planned on it.”

“No, no. I mean, don’t tell anybody about the Full-D system. Nobody except corporate is supposed to see it. And…” she stepped closer to him, “
nobody
is supposed to know about Feyland. Not even me. All right?”

Her blue eyes stared into his, pleading, and his heartbeat was suddenly louder in his ears. “I won’t tell.”

“Not even Marny.”

“Ok. She’s not interested in simming anyway.”

Jennet nodded and the urgency in her eyes faded. “Then come take a look.”

Tam stepped up to the systems. He slid his fingers over the top of one helmet, the plas-metal cool and smooth under his touch. Excitement began shooting through his nerves like crazy firecrackers. He hoped Jennet couldn’t tell how sparked he was.

The Full-D system. Here, real, and within his reach.

“See this?” She flipped a switch beside the systems, and a low buzz filled the air.

“What is it?”

“The scrambler. To make sure no corporate spies - or hackbots - can tell what’s going on in here.”

“That’s…” totally insane. But apparently not, since here it was.

Tam picked up one of the gloves. It felt heavy and expensive in his hand. He could hardly wait to see what the game was like. Feyland. The syllables rolled silently down his tongue.

“Miss Jennet?” There was a knock, and then the door to the hallway swung open to reveal a dark-haired woman in a suit. She was holding a tray of food. “I brought you some sandwiches.”

“Oh, hi, Marie. Thanks,” Jennet said, her voice pitched higher than usual. She gave Tam a look he couldn’t decipher.

He put the glove down, and silence settled awkwardly in the spaces between them as Marie put the tray on a nearby table.

She turned and raised her eyebrows at Jennet. “You have brought home a guest?”

“Um, yes,” Jennet said. “This is Tam. From school. He likes to game, so I thought I’d give him a peek at the Full-D.”

The woman pinned Tam with her gaze. She looked down at his battered boots, then back up, taking in every rip and fray in his secondhand clothing. The suspicion in her eyes only deepened, like she expected him to pull a tab of spray out of his back pocket and start tagging the nearest wall.

“I see.” Her voice was clipped, with an accent he couldn’t identify. “If he is going to be a regular visitor, we’ll need to run a thorough security clearance.”

Jennet turned wide eyes to him, as if she feared he had a criminal record just waiting to be discovered. “Oh! Well, I’m sure—”

“No problem.” Tam stepped forward. “Do you need fingerprints or something?”

He knew he was clean. Taking care of Mom and the Bug didn’t leave much time for getting wild, even if he leaned that way. And yeah, he’d broken the law before, out of necessity - but in the Exe the rules didn’t matter. Only survival. And not getting caught. He was good at both.

The house manager flicked her gaze up to his face. “That would be best. Fingerprints.”

“How about later,” Jennet said, with a too-bright smile. “It can wait til next time, right?”

Marie’s eyebrows gathered into a frown, but she nodded. “Very well. I will be downstairs. Tell HANA if there is anything more you need.” She stepped into the hallway and gave Tam one last, skeptical look before closing the door behind her.

“Whew.” Jennet rolled her eyes. “I didn’t expect Marie herself. Usually one of the maids brings up snacks.”

One of the maids? He couldn’t imagine. “Obviously she wanted to see what kind of spoilage you’re bringing home.”

As if it wasn’t obvious. The Exe clung to him, a grungy cloud there was no escaping. Even if his boots had been clean and his hair neatly cut, he couldn’t get away from it, from who he was.

Except in-game. He shot a glance at the Full-D systems, anticipation curling and uncurling through him again.

“You’re not spoilage,” Jennet said. Then she tilted her head, giving him a long, level look. “I think you’re fine how you are.”

A tiny flame of a smile warmed him inside, though he tried not to let it show. “Ok, then. Let’s play.”

She went to the door and turned the lock with a decisive click, then grabbed a couple sandwiches off the tray. “Here. Marie gets mad if her food isn’t eaten.”

“I’d hate to see what she’s like mad.” Regular Marie had been bad enough.

He took a big bite of sandwich - real meat, and crisp, fresh lettuce instead of Vegipro. It tasted great, and he never turned down free food.

“Finish that up and grab a brownie,” Jennet said. “I’ll get us ready. There’s a sink in the corner when you’re done snacking.”

The quiet hum of the Full-D systems vibrated the air. Tam bolted down a brownie, taking a second to savor the rich chocolate on his tongue, then went to wipe his hands. He didn’t want to get smears on the shiny equipment, after all.

“Ready.” So ready.

He felt like a kid on his birthday, with a million presents waiting, all wrapped in glittery paper. In one minute he was going to tear into them, and each one would be exactly what he’d wanted.

“Come on, then.” Jennet settled into one of the chairs. She gave him a smile that trembled at the edges, then slid on her gloves. “Gear up. When you get to the main screen, it’s the
F
icon from the menu. I’ll see you in there!” The helmet’s visor covered her smile, dimming it from bright noon to moonlight.

Tam eased into the chair. It welcomed him with a soft and comfortable embrace. He pulled on the helmet and slipped his hands into the gloves. Excitement filled his lungs, thick and sweet, like honey.

Game time.

CHAPTER TEN