Interlude- Brandon (16 page)

Chapter 44

One recreational program that a player could buy was a simple, solo flying program.

The player paid the required amount of points — an extremely large number of points — stepped through a doorway and immediately began to fall thousands of feet towards the blue ocean surface below.

Brandon smiled and enjoyed the free fall. When he was just a few hundred feet away from the water’s surface, he tapped a spot behind his shoulder and a pair of beautiful golden wings sprang from his back, catching the air smoothly and lifting him upwards. Letting out a shout of joy, he sailed through the air, spiraling lazily for a few moments before banking right to catch a warm thermal current which would lift him higher.

Time seemed to melt away.

After what seemed like hours of relaxing flight and peaceful exploration, Brandon summoned the glow and visualized a small island. Within minutes he spotted the island off in the distance, surrounded by water in every other direction as far as his eyes could see. When he got close enough he saw a small white cabin with two chairs and a table in front of it. There was a figure sitting in one of the chairs, lifting a glass of cold drink to his mouth. This simulation was supposed to be private, but for Brandon it was an excellent place to meet with one of his favourite people.

Brandon sped towards the table, fully extending his wings to grab as much air as he could at the last instant, causing him to flare slightly upwards. At that exact moment he tapped his shoulder and deactivated his wings, dropping from a height of seven feet to land softly on the ground. He smiled as he walked the last few paces to join his visitor.

“Impressive flying,” Thorn said. He smiled and raised his glass in a salute to Brandon before taking another sip.

“Thank you,” Brandon poured his own drink from the pitcher and sat down. The two spent a few quiet moments enjoying the perfect weather as the soothing sounds of the ocean washed over them.

Thorn was first to break the silence. “I see you let the little boy in the cage kill you again.”

Brandon sipped his drink and looked towards the horizon.

Thorn chuckled. “How many times is that, now? Ten?”

“Eleven.”

“You’re supposed to leave him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Thorn looked at Brandon with amusement in his eyes. “Want any hints?”

Brandon’s head didn’t move, but his eyes shifted to gaze in Thorn’s direction. “Has anyone ever saved him?” he asked.

Thorn shook his head.

“Then no thanks, I’ll see what I can come up with on my own.”

“Your father added that to the game,” Thorn said. “He wanted to make sure that everyone understands there are times when orders must be followed, regardless of the cost.”

Brandon laughed harshly. “My father?” he asked.

“The General,” Thorn said. “That’s how you all refer to him, isn’t it?”

“Not me,” Brandon said. “He’s not my father. He’s just an old man who has everyone else fooled into believing that he cares about them, when really he uses us all like game pieces on a board.”

“Perhaps.”

“There’s no perhaps about it. He’s never even entered the Sim. For the last five years, we hear from him every once in a while on the vid screen, but he’s pretty much useless,” Brandon shook his head. “The General hasn’t been a father to any of us. If I had to pick a father, someone who cares about me, and helps me, and looks out for me… well, there’s only one man I can think of who fits that description.”

“Who?” Thorn asked.

“It would be you,” Brandon said.

Thorn looked at Brandon to gauge his sincerity. This was the first time the boy had uttered such a thought out loud. He had alluded to it with Cooper, but he’d never told Thorn that he considered him to be like a father. 

Thorn smiled and clapped Brandon on the back. In his mind he felt a rush of triumph. It had taken years of carefully calculated planning and nurturing to get to this point. Brandon was almost ten years old, and Thorn had painstakingly given the boy his time and attention ever since they’d first met. The law of imprinting was simply too strong with the others, but Brandon had been very receptive at his young age. The special treatment and extensive periods of personal one-on-one time with Thorn had been the perfect mix.

“It would be dangerous for you to think of me in that way,” Thorn said.

“Maybe.” Brandon thought about the implications. Not quite ten years old, but he’d always been very mature. “It’s the truth, though. Is it okay…? If I call you Father?”

Thorn felt a warm tear form in his eye, and as it trickled down his cheek, he wondered if it was genuine. It was too difficult to tell after playing games for all these years. He allowed himself to pretend the extraordinary young man sitting beside him was the kind of son he would be destined to have, if he’d ever decided to have children.

“Brandon,” Thorn said, “when we’re alone, I would be honoured to have you call me Father.”

Chapter 45

The lights turn on in the dorm but my eyes are already open. I wasn’t sleeping anyway.

I lay in my bunk and look around. The other kids are sitting up in their bunks; some of them stretching and yawning, others getting up and walking towards the bathroom. Many form tiny groups and begin to talk with each other, joking or asking questions. They group up and start to get ready for the day.  No one bothers to talk to me; I guess that’s how they deal with new kids here, or maybe they’ve decided not to like me already. I get that a lot.

It doesn’t matter, this is my first day at the Game Facility and I can’t wait to get playing.

I walk to the bathroom and get looks. Then I hear whispers.

“He’s a tank if I ever saw one.”

The other kid laughs. “Too soon to say that. Maybe he plays his first day in the Sim and goes back crying to his old Centre. He’s too young to even be here.”

I pretend not to hear them and walk over to a sink. I splash water on my face and brush my teeth. Kids come in and stand at the sink beside me, and they still haven’t shut up about me. “That’s not so young,” the kid says. “Brandon was a lot younger when he came here, and look at him.”

“Oh, please,” the other kid laughs. “You saying this one’s another Brandon?” He addresses me directly. “Hey, kid.”

I keep looking into the mirror and continue to brush my teeth.

“Kid,” the boy says. “Okay, fine then, don’t answer me.” He goes back to talking to his friend. “I doubt the kid’s another Brandon, and he’s not that much younger. I think he’s nine.”

Yeah, I’m nine. I was so excited to get here early, start playing games in the Sim like my hero. All of us know the name Brandon. The little kid who came to the Sim early and is one of the best players they have. Whenever there was a whisper about him, we’d all get together and listen to the stories. It made us play our games harder. We all wanted to get to the Sim early and be like him. Maybe even meet him. I was so excited when they told me I’d be coming here early. Was.

I spit into the sink, turn away from the other two, and walk quickly out of the bathroom. Everyone wants to ignore me? That’s fine. I’ll get into the Sim and show them what I can do. I’m excited to be here. When they see how well I do — when I start beating them at their own games — then I bet they’ll want to talk to me. That’s how it was for Brandon. That’s how it’s gonna be for me.

I follow a couple of kids, hoping that they’re going to the mess hall. I don’t get many looks on the way. No one is very friendly, but that’s nothing new living in the Centres. New kids get ignored until someone is interested enough to say hi. I walk behind the kids as if I own the place. The kids who look like they belong get talked to sooner than quiet scared ones. I’m not a scared kid.

“You going to the birthday party today?” the girl ahead of me asks her friend.

“Wasn’t invited.”

She laughs at him. “It’s gonna be a huge event. I don’t think you need to be invited. I'm going.”

“I guess I might go, then.” The boy tries to sound like he doesn’t care, but it’s obvious that he does. I wonder who’s having a birthday party? In the regular Centres we don’t get birthday parties. A small chocolate and a taped message from the General is what most of us get. If you’ve done something special, then you might get a message where the General says your name, or a little note from him.

“Will the General be there?” the boy asks. That gets my attention. The General being at a birthday party must mean it’s someone important.

The girl laughs. “Are you nuts? The General never goes inside the Sim.”

That’s interesting information. I’ll tuck that into my memory in case I ever need it.

“Cooper will be there, and maybe Thorn,” the girl says.

We enter the mess hall and the two walk towards a table filled with other kids. There’s no way I can stay close to them and hear any more, so I look around for an empty table to sit at.

I see one table far from the other kids. There’s one boy sitting at it, but no one else is at any of the tables nearby. Maybe I’ve found someone even more alone than me. I walk over and he looks up at me.

“Mind if I join you?” I ask.

He smiles at me and nods. “I don’t mind at all.” He spreads his hand to show the emptiness all around him. “Lots of room here; grab a seat.”

“Thanks,” I say and sit down a couple seats away from him. I look around and watch what’s going on. That’s how I like to work; look around first before I make any moves.

“Not hungry?” I look over at the boy and he’s watching me as he takes a bite of his food.

“Yeah,” I say. “Just getting an idea of how things work around here. First day.”

The boy smiles and keeps eating. “Welcome to the Game Centre,” he says. “Go get something to eat, and if you want, I’d be happy to show you around.”

“Really?” I ask.

“Sure,” he shrugs. “I don’t have anything to do until this afternoon. Might as well show a Bagger around the place.” He grins, “Maybe someday I’ll need a favour in the Sim and you’ll remember how kind I was to you.”

“Likely,” I say. “Can’t wait to get in the Sim.”

“They used to make us wait before they put us in,” the boy says. “Now they throw you right in, don’t they?”

“Yeah, I go in this afternoon. They gave me a couple of hours of free time to check the place out and try to meet some friends.”

“How’s that working out so far?”

“About as good as it ever does for a new kid coming into a group of orphans.”

He laughs and I stand up to go get some food. “Be right back,” I say and he nods.

I come back with a tray of food, and as we sit, he shares the basics about the Game Facility while I eat. When I finish eating, he stands. “Okay, let’s take the quick tour and I’ll show you the places you’ll need to know.”

We spend the next hour and a half exploring the different areas of the Centre. Turns out my life here will be about eating, sleeping, and playing in the Sim. When I ask him about books or videos to watch, he just smiles and tells me that’s all inside the Sim. There’s a big exercise room with kids working out. We stop and watch them from the hallway outside.

“You gotta make sure your body stays fit and healthy out here,” he says. “The better you get at playing in the Sim, the longer you stay in it. Your body out here will lose muscle and so they kick you out to make sure you don’t get all weak and sick in the Dream.”

“The Dream?” I ask.

He points to the ground. “Yeah, we call this place — reality — ‘the Dream’.”

“Why?”

“Because after a while, the Sim seems more real than being here,” he says. “Before long, you’re gonna be spending so much time in there that this will seem more like what you call dreaming.”

I nod, “So they make us work out here?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “We all get that done as quickly as possible and get back inside. If you get really good, they will assign medical people to help kind of exercise your muscles a bit while you’re out, which lets you stay in there longer.”

“Are you any good?” I ask.

He shrugs. “I’m not horrible.” I can tell he’s better than that, but I let it go. I’m sure I’ll see him sometime in the Sim.

I tell him it’s time for me to get into the Sim, and he walks me to the ready room.

At the entrance, I shake his hand again and he smiles. “I’ll be going in a bit later. Maybe we’ll run into each other.”

“That would be great,” I say.

He starts to walk away and I call out to him. He turns around and looks at me.

“I never got your name,” I say.

“That’s okay,” he says as he turns around and walks away. “I didn’t get yours, either.”

===

“Three… two… one…” I open my eyes and look around. I’m in the same white room, but the doctor and nurse are gone.

I stand and walk to the door. I walk down the hallway like they told me to do and I see the big door at the end. There’s a boy standing there. His name is Alan and I met him just before they put me in.

“How ya feeling?” he asks.

“The same as I always do,” I answer. “You sure we’re inside the Sim?”

He laughs and nods his head. “Yeah, but don’t worry. Everyone doubts it when they first come in here. Over the next few weeks you’ll play some cool games that’ll prove we aren’t in the Dream any more.”

He pauses, likely waiting for me to ask him what he means by ‘the Dream’ but I just nod because I’ve already heard it.

He shrugs his shoulders and faces the door. “I’ll take you on the big tour, don’t worry, but first we have to make a stop somewhere.”

He closes his eyes and suddenly a bright white light appears behind the doorway. This must be the ‘travelling’ I learned about from the prep info they gave me to read. Alan’s eyes open and he grabs the door handle, turning it and swinging the door open. “After you,” he says.

We walk through the doorway and find ourselves in a large, open field of green grass with big oak trees all around. Birds fly through the sky and the clouds are white and fluffy. It’s a bit scary — I don’t think I’ve been outside like this for quite a long time. It also feels very comfortable, though. Strange. There are a lot of people standing around and there’s a big table in the middle of the area with wrapped gift boxes and streamers everywhere. A big banner that read, ‘Happy Birthday!’ is strung up in big colourful letters. I look back at Alan and he smiles.

“There’s a birthday party today that I won’t miss,” he said. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this day, and it’s time to celebrate.”

I follow him as he walks towards the crowd, which parts as people recognize him and let him through. We work our way to the front table where there are three others standing there who wave and call him over.

“Thought you weren’t gonna make it,” the girl smiles.

Alan laughs and shakes his head. “You know there’s no way any of us would miss this, Kay.” Then he turns to me. “Guys, let me introduce you to the Bagger I had to show around today.” He points to each of the people and introduces them. “This is Kay, and that’s Tony, and Easton.”

I nod and shake hands with each of them. Before I can tell them my name there’s a commotion off to our right. A bright white light in the shape of a doorway appears, and three people walk through. I gasp in surprise as the last person comes through and the whole crowd screams, “Happy Birthday!”

I recognize them all. The first man is Mr. Thorn. The second is Cooper! I can’t believe I’m standing so close to him! The third person I’ve seen before… I just spent the whole morning with him. I guess he’s the birthday boy everyone’s been talking about.

I stand to the side as the kids I’m with walk over and greet the boy with handshakes and hugs. He laughs and smiles as he returns their hugs warmly. A few moments pass and he waves at the cheering group, then he sees me and winks. After he hugs Kay, he walks over and pats me on the back.

“I’m surprised to see you so soon. How did you get here?” he asks me.

“
He’s my Bagger for the day,” Alan says. “You know him?”

The boy grins and nods. “
Met him this morning when you all exiled me to a lonely table. Obviously, you were planning this party!”

I stand there a little confused as everyone laughs. The boy is still looking at me. He extends his hand again.

“Looks like we should formally meet, Bagger. I’m Brandon.”

I can’t believe my luck! On my first day I get to meet my hero! I’m a little nervous but I grin back and shake his hand.

“Great to meet you, Brandon,” I say. “My name’s Carl.”