‘The children are necessary because of the Game’s expansion. Designer Prime originally scanned the brains of children when designing it. The Game is stored on a living matrix of organic nanobots and the matrix has developed an affinity with childhood. It is, I suppose you could say, itself a child – growing, developing, maturing. After we began the expansion of the Game, we discovered that it was degrading. We needed a way to keep the degradation in check and the children have proven to be an effective way of doing that. I am assuming you don’t need me to go into the technical specifics – that would take a rather long time.’
She didn’t give Zyra a chance to respond. She quickly glanced down at her tablet and then continued talking.
‘Now it’s your turn. How did you and Tark get out of the Game?’
‘Well, it’s kind of hard to explain,’ said Zyra.
‘Try.’
‘Well, there was this cheat code with instructions – no, more like vague clues. Apparently the cheat code had been passed down through generations of Outers – those are Game characters who no longer actually play the Game.’
‘What, exactly, did the cheat code say?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Zyra. ‘Something about mother and daughter being able to travel across the environments.’
‘This is all well and good,’ said Designer Alpha. ‘But how did you actually use the cheat code to get out of the Game?’
‘We used it to find this other character who was able to let us out.’
‘Who?’ demanded the Designer. ‘Was it Designer Prime? Was it his Bobby avatar?’
‘It was a character known as the Ultimate Gamer,’ said Zyra, hoping that Designer Alpha would not realise that Bobby and the Ultimate Gamer were one and the same.
‘You are hiding something,’ said the Designer, again looking at her tablet.
‘No I’m not,’ said Zyra.
‘I’m monitoring your vital signs,’ said the Designer. ‘Your heart rate and blood pressure spiked. You’re not telling me everything.’
‘I am answering your questions.’
‘Well, answer this one. Were you released from the Game by Designer Prime?’
‘What difference does it make?’
‘If he has perfected a way out of the Game for constructed characters, then I need that process. It is necessary for my plans.’
‘I thought that your plans were about putting people into the Game, not the other way around.’
‘My plans? What could you possibly know of my plans? My plans, my ambitions, are far beyond anything that you could understand.’ She stood and leant on the table in front of her. ‘My ambition is to remove the barriers between the realities. It is all about the merging of worlds – this world, this reality, with that of the Game.
‘Merging our reality into that of the Game is simple enough. It can be achieved with nanobots in the water supply. Then we could put anyone we chose, into any of the environments. As for the other way around …’
‘What?’ Zyra looked shocked.
‘In addition to all the clones, we also have embryos – ready to download the characters we have created … ready to be implanted and to gestate and be born as the people we want … ready to do as we have programmed them to do.’
‘So this is just a case of wanting to rule the world? You’re just some sort of megalomaniac?’
‘It is not about ruling or dominating. It is about shaping, creating … designing. Designing the future.’
‘You know what?’ said Zyra, eyes steady and steely. ‘You’re nuts.’
Designer Prime stood up straight. The corner of her mouth twitched into an approximation of a smile. ‘Look at you. You are not real … and yet you are. You are a created and programmed character from a game … and yet you are in the real world. I need that! I want the power to bring my programmed creations into this world.’
‘I am not programmed!’ shouted Zyra. ‘At least, not any more. You do not control me! I do what I want.’
‘Yes,’ said the Designer. ‘You and Tark and the others. What do you call yourselves? Outers? You are aberrations. Even our anti-virus software failed to remove you. But now that you are out, we must make use of the opportunity … find out what went wrong. Find out how to make sure it never happens again. We can’t have program-defying Game entities with free will. That jumpsuit you’re wearing has been analysing everything you are. Feeding the information back to me.’
‘And that hasn’t helped?’ asked Zyra.
‘No,’ admitted the Designer. ‘But I have been working on some new nanobots that will be able to assist in the matter.’ She tapped her tablet. ‘These nanobots will analyse your brain patterns. They will pick apart your thoughts, your desires, your very reasoning. They will reveal how you came to overcome your programming. And they will reveal exactly how you got out of the Game.’
The door behind Designer Alpha slid open and a man in a lab coat entered. He carried a small silver tray with needle and syringe. Designer Alpha picked up the syringe and came around the table to Zyra.
A look of horror crept over Zyra’s face.
‘Yes, you have every reason to be worried,’ said the Designer, holding up the syringe. ‘It won’t be a pleasant process. And I actually have no idea whether or not your mind will survive.’
Without further ado, she plunged the needle into Zyra’s eye.
20: Hidden
Tark was standing in a desolate landscape. Not the desert he had been in before, but complete desolation. No rolling dunes of sand. No twin suns staring down at him. Nothing. Flat featureless ground. Grey sky. There was not even a discernible horizon.
He slowly turned 360 degrees.
Nothing!
‘So, now what?’
Silence!
‘Yo, Josie,’ he called out. ‘Now what?’
‘What do you see?’ Josie’s voice was distant and unclear.
‘Nothing,’ answered Tark. ‘There isn’t anything here.’
‘What do you mean, nothing?’ asked Josie. ‘There must be something. And I can’t hear you properly. Can you speak up?’
‘I can’t hear you properly either,’ answered Tark. ‘And there isn’t anything here. I mean nothing. No buildings. No people. Nothing on the ground.’ He crouched down and ran a hand over the smooth ground. ‘The ground is kinda smooth and flat.’ He straightened up and looked to the sky. ‘No clouds or sun or anything in the sky. It kinda just looks like the ground.’
‘It might be an illusion,’ suggested Josie.
‘Isn’t everything in here?’
‘Well, yes, technically,’ agreed Josie. ‘But there might be a localised illusion. Something specific to the environment. Something to disguise what you’re not supposed to find.’
‘Great!’
‘Walk around,’ suggested Josie. ‘Explore a bit.’
‘Okay.’ Tark chose a direction randomly and started walking. ‘Hang on,’ he said, as a scurrying movement caught his attention. Looking down, he saw a tiny robotic spider dart across the ground and disappear into a little hole – which then closed up behind it.
‘What’s going on?’ asked Josie.
‘Nothing,’ said Tark. ‘Just a spider.’
‘Keep looking,’ Josie’s voice was fainter now.
‘I’m having trouble hearing you,’ said Tark.
‘Your signal is breaking up too.’
‘I’m going back to where I started.’ Tark retraced his steps. ‘Well … I think, anyway. It’s hard to tell.’
‘Okay,’ said Josie, her voice a little clearer.
‘Keep talking,’ said Tark.
‘Why do you want me to keep talking?’ asked Josie.
Tark stopped. ‘I can hear you better again.’
‘So?’
‘Wait a tick.’ Tark turned right and ran a few metres. ‘Talk to me.’
‘What are you up to?’ asked Josie.
‘Just testing a theory,’ answered Tark. ‘If there is some
thing here that’s hidden with an illusion, maybe it’s jamming more than my eyes.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Whatever is hidden here,’ explained Tark, ‘might be jamming our communication.’
‘Seems logical,’ Josie mused.
‘Well then,’ said Tark. ‘I need to go in the direction of the jamming.’
‘Oh, I see what you’re saying,’ said Josie, the penny dropping. ‘The worse our communications, the closer you get to the hidden area in this environment.’
‘Yup!’ Tark started walking again, in the direction he had first gone.
‘That might be dangerous,’ warned Josie.
‘Yup!’
‘If our communications nanos are being disrupted,’ continued Josie. ‘Then …’ Her voice faded out, then back again. ‘… possibly other nanos might be affected.’
‘Yup!’
‘Tark,’ Josie’s voice was urgent. ‘You … unable to exit …’ Again it faded out.
Tark stopped and looked around him as if expecting to see Josie.
Barely audible now, one more word from Josie floated through Tark’s mind. ‘… trapped …’
‘Yup!’
Tark continued walking. Another metal spider scuttled about in his wake.
21: Reunion
Eyes screwed tightly shut, Zyra was screaming. Her head felt like it was being pulled apart, pain coursing through every fibre of her being.
She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder.
The pain was gone. Tentatively she opened one eye.
She saw Robbie looking at her.
Zyra opened her other eye.
They were standing in the field of golden flowers.
‘What?’ Zyra gazed around in confusion. ‘How?’
She looked at Robbie, with his wavy hair and his slightly arched eyebrows and lashes. Zyra noticed for the first time how long his lashes were. They framed his eyes rather beautifully.
‘I exchanged the nanobots,’ said Robbie, smiling.
‘You did what?’
‘I monitor as much of what goes on in the Design Institute as I can,’ he explained. ‘The Designers manage to shield some of their activities. But I did discover what Designer Alpha had planned for you.’
‘Oh,’ said Zyra. ‘Thanks.’
‘You are welcome.’ Robbie smiled again.
‘So …’ Zyra looked around. ‘What happens when Burrows discovers what you’ve done?’
‘I am hoping she doesn’t work things out too quickly,’ said Robbie. ‘You losing consciousness is a reasonable response to the injection. And I have used some stealth nanobots, of my own design, to shield our location.’
‘Your design?’
‘Yes,’ said Robbie. ‘I engage in research and design on behalf of Designer Prime.’
‘You are more than just a robot,’ said Zyra.
‘Perhaps.’ A wide grin spread across Robbie’s face.
‘Okay,’ said Zyra, looking around again. ‘So now what do we do?’
‘We need to act quickly before Designer Alpha works out what is going on. I have noticed that she has developed some rather unique encryption and security programs. They are being used to conceal an environment within an environment. It may be connected to the children, but I cannot be sure without more information.’
‘So we need to get more info?’ asked Zyra.
‘Yes,’ said Robbie. ‘The rebels have put Tark back into the Game.’
Zyra’s eyes lit up.
For a moment, Robbie looked away. ‘And they have sent him to investigate this hidden environment.’
‘How do they know about this place?’ asked Zyra.
‘That does not matter,’ snapped Robbie, turning to face Zyra again. ‘What matters is that you need to help him.’
‘What about you?’ she asked.
‘I’ve got other things to do,’ said Robbie.
‘So how do I find Tark?’
‘Take my hand,’ said Robbie. ‘I’ll take you to him.’
‘Wait,’ said Zyra. ‘One more thing. How do I collect more points to access weapons?’
‘It differs from environment to environment,’ answered Robbie. ‘Sometimes you have to catch things or kill things or win battles. Sometimes there are logic tests and puzzles. Sometimes it is just a matter of staying alive.’
Zyra sighed and held out her hand. Robbie gently took it. He smiled at her and everything around her changed.
Zyra was standing in a desolate landscape, her red coat standing out brightly against the drab environment. Robbie was not with her. She blinked and looked around.
In the distance she saw a figure walking. He was quite far away, but there was no mistaking who it was. She would recognise that gangly gait anywhere.
‘Tark,’ she whispered. Then louder: ‘Tark!’
She ran towards him. ‘TARK!’
Tark turned around just in time for her to wrap her arms around him.
‘Zyra,’ he said. ‘What is ya doing here?’
‘I is here to helps ya,’ she said.
‘Buts …’
‘No buts,’ said Zyra. ‘Robbie has filled me in on everything. Hidden place. Rebels sending you here.’
‘How?’
‘Robbie just kinda seems to know everything,’ said Zyra.
‘Really?’ Tark pulled back. ‘I don’t trust him.’
‘Yeah, well I do!’ Zyra put her hands on her hips. ‘He just saved my life. And he brought me to you.’
‘Oh.’ Tark relaxed a little.
‘So,’ said Zyra, surveying the landscape. ‘Where is it, this great hidden place?’
‘Dunno,’ answered Tark. ‘It’s camouflaged.’
‘Lucky I’m here, then,’ said Zyra.
‘Oi,’ Tark protested. ‘I know which direction it’s at. And I figured that out myself.’ He pointed in the direction he was walking in. ‘It’s over thataway … somewhere. It was jamming my communications with Josie — she’s the rebel leader.’
‘So we’re on our own,’ said Zyra.
‘Guess so,’ said Tark.
‘Just the way I like it.’ Zyra smiled.
‘Me too.’ Tark smiled back. ‘Let’s go.’
After a few minutes, Zyra noticed that she was sweating. She wiped an arm over her forehead.
‘Is it getting harder?’
‘Yeah,’ agreed Tark. ‘I think so.’
‘Must be getting closer,’ said Zyra.
They continued on, each step getting more and more difficult. Until they finally came to a halt. The sweat was now dripping from both of them and they were panting with the strain.
‘Some sort … of security …’ panted Zyra. ‘Must be… trying to stop us.’
Tark nodded his agreement.
‘Got to … keep going.’ Zyra took hold of Tark’s hand.
He looked into her eyes and smiled. The two of them struggled on for a few more minutes.
‘Still don’t … see anything,’ said Zyra.
‘Me neither.’
And so they kept on walking. Zyra put on an extra burst of effort, increasing her pace. Tark matched it.
‘Something’s wrong,’ said Tark.
‘What?’ asked Zyra. ‘I’m okay.’
‘Me too,’ said Tark. ‘That’s the problem. I’m finding it easier.’
‘Oh.’ Zyra stopped walking. ‘You’re right.’
‘We’ve missed it,’ said Tark. ‘If it’s getting easier, we must be going away from it.’
‘How?’ Zyra looked around in frustration.
‘Dunno,’ said Tark. ‘But we better go back.’
Zyra groaned, but followed him.
Again, her steps became more and more difficult, as if someone were pushing against her, trying to keep her back.
‘Stop!’ she suddenly called.
‘What?’
‘This is it,’ announced Zyra, turning and taking two steps back. ‘This must be it.’
‘Wha
t?’ asked Tark again.
‘This spot,’ said Zyra, pointing down at the ground. ‘This is it. This is where it is hardest. From here it starts to get easier again.’
She turned to the left and took a few steps, nodded to herself and came back. Then did the same to the right.
‘Yep,’ she said. ‘This is it.’
‘There isn’t anything here,’ complained Tark. ‘Except those spiders.’
‘Spiders?’ Zyra looked down to see two robotic spiders darting around her feet. She promptly stepped on one and then the other. They made a satisfying crunching sound as they crumbled.
‘There must be something here,’ said Zyra, looking up.
‘There isn’t,’ insisted Tark, arms spread wide.
Zyra looked down at her feet and then up at Tark. ‘You don’t suppose?’
Tark looked down. ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me.’
Zyra got down onto her hands and knees and banged on the ground. There was a dull thud.
‘Well, if it is down there, how do we get to it?’ asked Tark.
‘We need something to dig with,’ said Zyra.
‘I left my shovel at home,’ quipped Tark.
‘Ha, ha,’ said Zyra. ‘You’re such a comedian.’ She stood up. ‘If we can select weapons, maybe we can also get digging equipment.’
‘Fair call,’ agreed Tark.
‘Access digging equipment,’ called Zyra.
A selection of images appeared, ranging from trowels and spades through to heavy-duty mining drills.
‘This should do the trick,’ said Zyra, choosing a hand-held laser drill.
The image flashed red and text appeared: Access denied. Insufficient game points.
Zyra noticed a points tally above the images. She was five hundred points short.
A spider popped up out of a hole in the ground beside Zyra’s foot.
‘Oh, it couldn’t be that easy,’ said Zyra, looking down at it. Quickly she crushed it under the heel of her boot. Her points tally jumped up … by five. ‘At five points a pop, it’ll take ages.’
‘Well, we better get to it then,’ said Tark, crushing a passing creature. He scoured the ground, jumping here and there, attempting to gather points.
Zyra shook her head at the ridiculousness of the situation. ‘Maybe we could combine points,’ she mused. ‘Tark! Come here. Let’s select the drill together.’
Gamers' Rebellion Page 8
