The Reality Bug (36 page)

“The grid cannot be shut down, Pendragon!” Aja shouted back.

Crash!

The huge bird leg was now kicking at the doorway into the Alpha Core, smashing it wider, opening the portal between fantasy and reality.

“Dr. Zetlin,” I screamed. “It's a machine! There's gotta be a way to shut it down.”

Zetlin didn't answer. He didn't even look at me. He was hiding something.

“Dr. Zetlin!” I screamed. “Can we shut this down?”

The beast kept kicking at the doorway, cracking it open. Chunks of material flew across the room. Zetlin was hit by a flying particle. It jolted him and made him look up at the horror that was fighting to get at us. To get at Veelox.

“My whole life has been about Lifelight,” he said in a daze. “If I shut it down, my life will have been worthless.”

“That means it
can
be shut down?” Aja asked with surprise.

“Dr. Zetlin,” Loor said calmly, “your life has not been worthless, and it is not yet over. But unless you do all you can to stop this horror, it
will
be over and you will forever be known as the man who let Veelox die.”

Zetlin winced. Loor's words had gotten through to him. But he continued to stare at the beast that was nearly on us.

“Doctor,” I said, trying to will him to listen to reason. “If you can do something, you have to do it now.”

Zetlin gave me a quick look, then spun back to the control console. He had made a decision. He was shutting down Lifelight.

“What can I do?” Aja asked.

“Nothing,” Zetlin said with sadness as he made some rapid-fire entries on the console.

“Will this cut off the data feeding the Reality Bug?” I asked.

“Theoretically,” Zetlin shrugged. “But I truly don't know. I've never encountered this situation before.”

Yeah, no kidding.

The Reality Bug began mutating again. The giant birdlike leg began to twist and mold until the foot transformed into a repulsive insect head. Most of the head was made up of a round mouth that was ringed with multiple rows of gnashing, pointed teeth. The leg itself grew into a snakelike body.

In this form, the hole from Lifelight was now big enough for the Reality Bug to slither into Veelox.

“Hurry!” I shouted at Zetlin.

Zetlin was calm. He reached around his neck and pulled out a red plastic card on a chain, like the green one Aja had used to suspend the grid.

The Reality Bug dropped farther into the jump chamber. Its snaky body made wet, squishing sounds as it hit the floor.

Aja, Loor, and I huddled together near the control console as the nasty-looking creature slithered into the Alpha Core, its teeth making a revolting sucking sound as it sought its prey. Us.

Zetlin stayed focused. He jammed the red card into the slot and made quick keystrokes on the control pad.

“Do you need verification?” Aja asked, without taking her eyes off the bug that was slipping closer.

“No,” he said sadly. “I have control.”

He then reached up to a clear plastic cover that protected a red toggle switch. He flipped the cover up to reveal the switch, and glanced back at the Reality Bug.

The bug opened its round, evil mouth, ready to descend on us.

Zetlin closed his eyes…and threw the switch.

The Reality Bug froze. In that single second, it went from a living entity to an immobile statue. It was like a freeze-frame in a movie.

Every light on the control console went dark. It was as simple as that. Lifelight had been turned off.

The four of us stared in wonder at the frozen Reality Bug, waiting for the next move. It stayed in that same, rock-solid position for a moment, then its skin began to change. The entire surface of the beast became a vast series of numbers. It was as if we were looking at the raw data that had been gathered to create the monster. The shape of the creature remained, but every bit of detail was replaced by numbers. Billions of green, glowing computer numbers.

The numbers then began to count down. Each set of digits sped on a freefall to zero. As each numeral reached zero, it disappeared, taking a small chunk of the monster with it. It was like the beast was decaying, bit by bit, number by number. The Reality Bug was being deleted before our eyes. The whole process took no more than thirty seconds. But when it was done, there was nothing left. The only sign that it had ever been there was the gaping hole left in the ceiling of the jump cubicle.

The Reality Bug had been starved to death.

And Lifelight was dead.

T
he next few days were spent in a blur of activity. Because Lifelight had been shut down, thousands of jumpers had no choice but to leave the pyramid and return to their lives in Rubic City. It was a strange thing to see.

People wandered out of the pyramid, hiding their eyes from the bright sun. Most seemed dazed, as if they weren't sure what they should be doing or where they should go. I saw a few people arguing with phaders, demanding to be put back into their jumps. But the phaders could only shrug helplessly. Lifelight was dead. Whether the people of Veelox liked it or not, they had to deal with real life once again.

While the jumpers had to come to grips with the reality of reality, there were big doings among the people who ran Lifelight. Bottom line was, Lifelight had been shut down and the directors wanted to know why. Most of what happened over the next few days I couldn't take part in, because, well, I didn't belong. But there was a major inquiry and poor Aja was at the center of it. Luckily for her, she had a pretty good ally… Dr. Zetlin. Together the two of them faced the directors to answer the tough questions about why Lifelight was no more.

There was nothing Loor or I could do to help, so we went to stay with Evangeline and wait for news. But rather than sit in the quiet old mansion, wondering what was going on at the pyramid, Loor and I took a pedal vehicle and toured Rubic City to watch it come back to life.

It was pretty cool.

The streets were now full of people. Stores reopened for business. Once-grimy windows were washed sparkling clean. People even began to change out of their green jumpsuits to wear normal clothes again.

As we rode through the streets we listened in on people's conversations. Of course the number one topic was Lifelight. People wanted to know what went wrong. But as the hours passed, we began hearing other conversations. People spoke about normal things like wanting to repaint their houses, or when they might expect fresh vegetables at the market, or about how much they missed seeing each other. I could only imagine that the same things were happening all over Veelox.

It was all good. The territory wouldn't be reborn overnight, but it was definitely on its way. As happy as I was for the people of Veelox, this news had much bigger meaning for Loor and me. It meant that Saint Dane had been turned back once again. He thought he was in a no-lose situation. He wasn't.

I have to admit, I was feeling pretty good about myself. Yeah, it was great and important to beat Saint Dane. That's the main thing. But after having been embarrassed on First Earth, I felt that on Veelox I was able to pull the Travelers together and get the best from all of us. Aja was certain she had beaten Saint Dane before I even showed up, and make no mistake, she played a huge part in our victory. Maybe the most important part. But without the help of Loor and myself, it would have been a disaster.

As Loor and I pedaled around the reawakening city, I was actually beginning to accept the idea that maybe I
was
the lead Traveler. I still had no idea why I was chosen for the job, or who did the choosing, but my confidence was starting to grow. I went so far as to think that if I could continue to lead the Travelers the way I did on Veelox, then the ultimate victory over Saint Dane was possible.

I had come a very long way from that night when Uncle Press first brought me to the flume.

Aja didn't return to her house for a couple of days. Evangeline was a wonderful host. She fed us gloid (we avoided the blue like the plague), and made up comfortable rooms for us. It was the first time I had spent with Loor when we weren't in the middle of some crisis.

I didn't hate it.

She told me about her life growing up as a warrior-in-training, and I told her about Stony Brook. Okay, my life wasn't exactly as exciting as hers, but she listened and pretended to be interested. It was a great time. Loor and I had been through some hairy adventures, but we were now connecting on a whole new level. I think they call it “normal.” I always had a ton of respect for her. Now I felt as if I had found a friend.

I could have gone on like this forever, but it wasn't meant to be. For on the afternoon of the third day, while the two of us pedaled through a new neighborhood, Loor made an announcement.

“There is nothing more for me to do here, Pendragon,” she said. “I need to return to Zadaa.”

This hit me out of left field and my thoughts were jumbled. “But, I thought…I was hoping…”

“What were you hoping?” Loor asked.

I took a breath to get my head together, then said, “I don't see why we should split up. Saint Dane is going to show up again, I guarantee it. It would be better if we were together to deal with whatever he throws at us. Right?”

Loor gave this some thought, then answered, “You are right. We do not know where Saint Dane will surface. But I do know there is trouble on Zadaa. I want to be there and ready.” “Okay, I get that,” I said. “But Saint Dane went to a territory called Eelong and Gunny followed him. I think we should go to Eelong.”

“I agree,” Loor said. “But we do not know for certain where Saint Dane plans to strike next. Yes, he went to Eelong, but Zadaa is on the verge of a civil war. How are we to know which he plans to attack first?”

I couldn't argue with that.

“Go to Eelong,” she continued. “I will return to Zadaa. When events come clear, we can always find each other.”

I racked my brain trying to come up with reasons for us to stay together, but couldn't undo her logic. What I had to admit to myself was that the real reason I wanted us together was because I didn't want to be alone. Uncle Press was gone, Spader had issues, and Gunny was on Eelong. Even Aja had her hands full here on Veelox. The truth was that if Loor went back to Zadaa, I would be on my own. That scared me.

“Maybe I should go to Zadaa with you,” I offered.

“Then what of Eelong?” Loor asked. “Gunny has not returned. I believe you should find him.”

Gunny was only supposed to be on Eelong a short time. The plan was for him to get a quick look around and then return to Veelox. He didn't. I got so caught up in Lifelight that I couldn't go looking for him. Loor was right. What had to happen now was obvious. Saint Dane went to Eelong. Gunny followed him. Gunny didn't come back.

I had to go to Eelong.

Without another word of argument, I turned the pedal vehicle and headed for the flume. It was a little trickier dropping into the manhole this time because the street was no longer deserted. We had to wait until nobody was watching, then quickly lift the metal lid and drop into the derelict subway below. A few minutes later the two of us stood at the mouth of the flume. This day had not turned out the way I had expected.

“Say good-bye to Aja for me,” Loor said. “And Evangeline.”

I nodded. I didn't want to say good-bye to anybody. Especially Loor.

“Thank you for coming to Veelox,” I said.

“Gratitude is unnecessary,” she declared. “I am a Traveler.”

“But I threw you into a pretty nasty situation without a whole lot of warning and…you are an amazing person, Loor.”

I wanted to hug her, but she wasn't the sentimental type. So I was surprised when she reached forward and touched my cheek. It was a tender gesture. Something I never thought she was capable of.

“I feel the same about you, Pendragon,” she said sincerely. “I am glad you are our leader…and my friend.”

I felt a swell of pride and emotion. I hate to admit this, but my eyes started to tear up. There was no way I was going to let her see that, so I willed myself to get a grip. She backed away and stepped into the flume.

“Zadaa!”
she called into the dark tunnel. The flume came alive with light and sound. The far off musical notes were on their way to grab her and take her home. I had to fight the urge to jump in after her. That wouldn't have been cool.

“Find me,” was all I said.

“I will,” Loor answered.

The gray stone walls melted into crystal as the light grew so bright I had to squint. The last image I saw of Loor was her silhouette. A moment later she was gone.

And I was alone.

I didn't leave for Eelong right away. I needed to know how the Lifelight investigation went. Our mission on Veelox wouldn't be over until all the loose ends were tied up. So rather than jump into the flume, I went back to Evangeline's house.

When I arrived, I was surprised to find Aja sitting at the kitchen table with Evangeline, eating gloid.

“Where's Loor?” was the first thing she asked.

“She went back to Zadaa,” I answered. “She asked me to say good-bye to both of you.”

Aja nodded and continued eating. She looked tired as she sat there enjoying her gloid, not saying a word. I was dying to know what had happened, but I didn't jump all over her. I knew she would tell me when she was ready.

Evangeline said, “I'll leave you two to talk,” and left the room. Uh-oh. I had the feeling that Aja had news, and it wasn't necessarily good.

“There's a public meeting tomorrow,” Aja finally said. “The directors are going to announce the findings of their investigation to all of Veelox.”

“What did you tell them?” I asked.

“Basically, I lied,” Aja admitted. “I said there was a software problem that corrupted the jump data and threatened the safety of the jumpers.”