Digital Heretic (32 page)

Chapter 68

Miranda

 
“
My shoulder ache
s
.”

 
“Which one?” Stephanie asks.

 
“The one that holds Sparx,” I say.

 
“How painful is it?” I can see the concern in her eyes. We haven’t been able to get it out, or get it to respond to our repeated attempts at communication.

 
“Scale of one to ten, it’s only a three, but it’s a throbbing kind of pain.”

 
“I’ll go see if Samantha can come take a look.” She starts to walk out the door.

 
“Whoah, wait a minute,” I say.

 
“What?”

 
“It’s not constant. If I didn’t know better… yes, I swear it’s Morse code.”

 
“Really?” Steph runs to the nearby desk and grabs a pen and paper. She quickly hands it to me and I sit down on the bed. I start to scribble the signals down, nodding to her as I do. “Yeah, it’s definitely Morse code,” I say.

 
“What’s it spelling?” she asks.

 
“Shh. Let me focus.”

 
The pulsing doesn’t last long. I don’t focus on the entire message, just the letters. It’s important that I get them all down correctly. I can read the actual message when it stops.

 
As quickly as it began, the pain disappears; the pulsing stops. I slowly write the message down and read it. Then I begin to cry.

 
“What is it, Miranda?” Stephanie grabs a tissue and hands it to me. I dab my eyes and hand her the paper.

 
She reads it aloud. “Hi M, it’s me, Sparx. Captured, but found a way out. Will be with you again soon, don’t try to remove me. See you in a few days, if this works. Beware.”

 
Stephanie hands me back the note. “That sounds like very positive news, Miranda. In just a few days Sparx might be back with you. Why are you crying?”

 
“The last word,” I say. “Beware.”

 
“Yes, that sounds a bit weird. Maybe she’s trying to warn you that it might be dangerous, her trying to get back to you?”

 
I shake my head negatively, “That’s not it. Beware is a code word.”

 
“What’s it code for?” She asks.

 
I don’t know if anyone is Firsting me, but at this moment I have to assume someone is. I close my eyes and start humming to myself to drown out the self-narration. Then I write the explanation of the code word blindly on the piece of paper and hand it to Stephanie.

 
I open my eyes in time to see her read the paper. Her eyes widen and she turns pale as death. “Are you joking? Please tell me you’re joking!”

 
I shake my head.

  “Goddamn
it!” She crumples the paper and throws it in the trash. “We have to tell Danielle.”

 
“No!” My shout stops her in her tracks. “That’s not allowed.” I say.

 
“Says who?” she asks.

 
I point to the sheet in the garbage. Stephanie sits down heavily on the bed beside me. “This isn’t good,” she says.

 
“No,” I agree, “it isn’t.”

Chapter 69

 
The entire tea
m
was present in the middle office of Danielle’s command centre. Her 60
th
birthday would be occurring in less than an hour, and everyone was gathered to celebrate. Most fans on Tygon had taken a Game day so they could watch as much of her day as possible.

 
“Where’s Angelica?” Michelle asked.

 
“Not sure,” Trew said, watching Danielle sleep.

 
“Before we get to the magic moment, I would like to say a few words,” Brandon said. He stood at the head of the table; everyone took their seats. “Thank you,” he said. “I just want to say how incredible you are all doing. Although the last couple days have been easy, most of our time together hasn’t been simple at all. I can’t believe how well this group handles challenges. Who would have thought Danielle would get this far? A girl who was pulled from the camps, given a free play, and thrown into the Game with a paltry amount of credits. What she is accomplishing is nothing short of spectacular, and each of you is responsible for helping. In a few moments when we raise our glasses, be sure you nod to your fellow teammates. Every one of you should be proud. Now let’s sit back and spend the next hour watching our girl celebrate her special day.”

 
Everyone took their seats and watched the monitor feeds.

***

Shane

 
“Bring up her feed, Seven,” I say.

 
“Um, Boss?” Seven clicks away at his keyboard, bringing up a view of Danielle on the main 120 inch screen.

 
“What is it?” I ask.

 
“I was wondering, since we aren’t below ground anymore — well, okay, we are below ground, but in a different part of the world — anyways, would it be possible for you to call me by my name instead of the number you gave me?”

 
“What
is
your name?” I ask.

 
Seven thinks intently for a few moments, then shakes his head. “I don’t remember, Boss.”

 
I look at him curiously.

  “Okay
, then. Seven is fine.”

 
“Excellent,” I say. “Is everything ready?”

 
“It is.”

 
“Then we shall begin when she finishes her run and opens the door to enter her house.”

 
“Are you excited, Boss?” Seven asks.

 
I give him my best smile. “You have no idea, Seven.”

***

Danielle

  That’s strange. When I went to bed last night, I couldn’t access the net or text on my smartphone. This morning, the system appears to still be down. This just doesn’t happen any more. Damned inconvenient, today of all days. I wonder how many birthday messages I’m missing.

 
I laugh out loud and get dressed, putting on running gear for a short jog.

 
I come down the stairs and immediately notice how quiet everything is. I love getting up and jogging early for just this reason. No noise, no one asking me for my thoughts or opinions, no televisions on. Just peace and quiet.

 
I open the front door and start my jog, a quick 5k run, be back in 40 minutes or so. As I start to run down the street I notice it’s quiet out here as well. Too quiet.

 
There is no humming from the power lines, the regular street sounds that are always there, humming and clicking and other subtle noises that you just take for granted… until they aren’t there anymore.

 
I pass people on the streets. All of them look confused. Many are looking angrily at their phones; some are frowning, others are in heated discussion with their brows furrowed in frustration.

 
As I return down the street on my way home, curiosity gets the better of me and I stop to talk with a neighbour that I recognize.

 
“Hi, Jen; everyone looks upset this morning. What’s happening?”

 
Jen looks at me with concern, “No one has any wireless signal,” she says. “Since last night, no one can access the Internet or any other news or communication channels.”

 
“That’s odd,” I frown. “Do you have power?”

 
“No,” she says. “Power’s out as well.”

 
“Well, I’m sure it will come back on soon,” I say. “I wonder how far the power outage has spread?”

 
“That’s the problem.” Jen looks worried. “With our phones not working, it’s impossible to know if it’s just our block, or the whole city.”

 
“We’ve come to rely on our technology too much,” I say.

 
“Yes,” she agrees. “I hope it comes back up soon.”

 
“I’m sure it will,” I say. “I’ll see you later, Jen.”

 
“Take care, Danielle.”

 
I reach the front of the mansion and do some stretches, warming down slowly before I go in and wake the house up. This is odd; if our systems are down for long, no one will die, but I bet the population will be very agitated… over an inconvenience. I have to admit I’m feeling agitated myself. I’ve come to rely on my smart devices so much that I can’t imagine them not working.

 
I wonder if Stephanie or Raphael are up yet. Well, time to head in and see.

***

Command Centre

  As soon as Danielle opens the door to enter her mansion, all the screens in the command centre go blank.

 
“Hey,” someone says loudly. “That’s not funny, turn them back on.”

 
Michelle stands up and walks to the front screen, flipping switches and pressing buttons. “I can’t get any of them to work,” she says. “Brandon, any idea what’s happening?”

 
Everyone in the room looks away from the monitor towards Brandon. Someone gasps in alarm, Brandon is slumped forward in his chair.

 
Trew crosses the room and gently shakes Brandon by the shoulder, which causes him to flop backwards like a rag doll.

 
“What’s wrong with him?” Lilith asks.

 
“I don’t know,” Trew says. “He was fine a second ago.” Trew feels for a pulse and frowns. “Back up!” he says loudly as he pushes tablets and glasses off the table in one quick motion and lifts Brandon onto the surface.

 
The room becomes completely silent as Trew places his hand on Brandon’s neck. He shakes his head, then loosens Brandon’s collar and listens closely for signs of breathing. Behind them, unseen by

Trew, A white light appears and Cooper steps through it into the room.

  “Someone get the paramedics here immediately!” Trew shouts as he begins to compress Brandon’s chest, manually forcing air into his unresponsive lungs.

 
“You’ve got to stop that now, Trew,” Cooper says.

 
Trew looks over his shoulder, still performing CPR. “Cooper, perfect timing. Get over here and help me! He’s not breathing.”

 
“I know,” Cooper says softly. “You’re not helping him. Stop the CPR, now.”

 
“I’m not going to let him die, Cooper!” Trew looks around the room frantically, wondering if he looks as terrified as everyone else does.

 
Cooper places his hand on Trew’s shoulders.

 
“This was the price that he agreed to earlier, Trew; he admitted it when we spoke in the courtyard. His life for another’s. The deal has been struck and accepted. There’s nothing to be done.”

 
Trew stops pushing on Brandon’s chest, tears forming in his eyes. “It was for me, wasn’t it?”

 
Cooper nods and looks away.

 
Trew wipes away hot tears and looks down at Brandon. “That wasn’t a good deal, Brandon. Not a good deal at all!” He stands up and places one hand on Brandon’s chest, the other on his head. Then he closes his eyes and his face becomes very calm.

 
“You’re wasting your time,” Cooper says.

 
Trew ignores him.

  “Okay
,” Cooper snaps, speaking to the others in the room. “Everyone out. Quickly, out of the room.”

 
The team quickly moves out of the office, leaving only Trew and Cooper.

 
“You’re wasting your time,” Cooper says again.

 
The medical team arrives, entering the room carrying a stretcher between them.

 
“You are to do nothing to revive him,” Cooper instructs the paramedics as he hands them a letter.

 
The lead paramedic quickly reads the letter, then makes a grim face and nods. “Instructions from Mr. Strayne himself, clearly telling us not to revive him.”

 
“Trew,” Cooper says. “They need to take him now.”

 
Trew opens his eyes and lifts his hands, then slowly moves away from Brandon’s body.

 
The paramedics lift Brandon and put him gently on the stretcher. “Hey, wait a minute,” one of them says. “He’s breathing.”

 
“What? That’s impossible.” Cooper walks over and leans in close to Brandon. He looks up at Trew, fury and rage in his gaze. “Take him to a hospital room, gentlemen. When he stops breathing again, you don’t touch him, do you understand?”

 
“Yes, sir,” the paramedic says. They wheel Brandon out of the office  and into the elevator.

 
Cooper looks at Trew silently. Trew returns his gaze calmly.

 
“That was cruel,” Cooper says, tapping his head forcefully, “In his head he’s gone, boy. You’re wasting your time.”

 
“He’s breathing again,” Trew says.

 
“He was supposed to die. None of us are happy about it, but that was how things were set up.”

 
“It’s a stupid arrangement,” Trew says.

 
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with here!” Cooper shouts. “Everything is riding on this, and you might have just ruined it all!”

 
“You said he agreed to die, as payment for something,” Trew says. “Well, he paid it. He was dead, and now he’s not.”

 
“He will be, Trew. You don’t buy a car and then get to take the money back and keep the car.”

 
“Maybe your analogy isn’t a good one,” Trew says.

 
Cooper just looks at him.

 
“I’m going to see how he’s doing.” Trew walks towards the door.

 
“You don’t have time for that, Lobato.” Cooper says.

 
Trew stops. “How do you know that name? Stephanie used to call me that inside the Game.”

 
Cooper ignores the question and points to the blank screens. “You see those?” he asks.

 
“Yes,”

 
“That’s your most important problem at the moment.”

 
“Some screens that lost power?”

 
“No,” Cooper walks over to a screen and presses a button, the viewer makes a sound as it powers off.

 
“They have no signal,” Trew whispers.

 
“That’s right. Loss of signal.”

 
“Danielle,” Trew says.

 
“Not just Danielle,” Cooper says.

 
“Who else?”

 
“Every single player in the Game, Trew,” Cooper says.

 
Trew sits down heavily into a chair, not realizing it’s Brandon’s. He looks around numbly, the news hitting him like a bullet to the brain. Finally he says what Cooper has just confirmed.

 
“No one on Tygon can view the Game.”