by Kate Moretti
“What?”
“It’s time to dive into cyberspace.”
It takes a hacker to catch a hacker. Jane picked up the virtual reality visor, which looked like a big metal blindfold. Vieve, meanwhile, was sitting at her desk and tapping her slate. Her dorm looked the same as Jane’s—rectangular with a view of the stars through the giant window at the back.
They needed to get into Reyes’s computer to prove that someone else had been there earlier to erase Vieve’s entry. But the judge didn’t use an ordinary system; hers ran on a new-fangled virtual reality platform. Vieve had spent most of the day figuring out how the thing worked while Jane got her hands on the VR visor, which she’d bought from a gaming company and had super-rush shipped—using her dad’s name and bank account, of course.
Once it arrived, she’d rigged it to record anything her avatar heard. It had been a horrendous hatchet job of a program, since she’d force-fed the visor’s code with bits from her A-Comp entry, which had a sound-recording element. She’d wanted to record everything she’d witness, but that had proved too difficult to accomplish in the few hours she’d had. If anyone ever looked at the results of her cut-and-paste hacking, they would have laughed at the mess. Well, it works.
She wasn’t sure how much good a sound recording would do when she was looking for evidence, but it was better than nothing.
The time had come to put the plan into action. Everyone else was asleep, so surely, the judge would have left her computer already.
Vieve glanced at Jane. “Ready?”
VR visors, which read and manipulated brain waves, wouldn’t work with Vieve’s implants, so Jane would be the one entering cyberspace. That made her nervous, since Jane had never used virtual reality before, but she wasn’t about to let that hold her back. She plopped down on the bed next to Vieve’s fluffy Klistosian gold-cat, whose tiny gilded horns glinted between its pointed ears.
Jane slipped the device over her eyes. “Let’s do this.”
The visor closed around the back of her head. For several seconds, all she saw was blackness while Vieve tapped audibly at her slate, connecting the visor to the Net and routing it to Reyes’s computer.
Suddenly, gray lines streaked Jane’s vision. The next thing she knew, she was standing before an enormous green wall, which glowed in an otherwise featureless black expanse. Looking down, she saw her feet but nothing beneath them. Yet she felt as if she were standing on something solid.
So this is cyberspace. She glanced around. Freaky.
“Jane, can you hear me?” Vieve’s voice broke the silence.
“Yup.” Jane knew her response, which she was actually saying in her mind even though she was moving her virtual mouth, would be transposed into typed text on Vieve’s slate. “All I see is a giant wall. This must be Reyes’s security barrier.” She walked forward, surveying the surface. “How do I get in?”
“You should see a door with a keypad. I couldn’t get Reyes’s passcode, but—”
“We don’t need it.” Jane stopped, staring in astonishment. There was indeed a door a few steps ahead—and it was already open. Though she couldn’t see what lay on the other side of the rectangular entryway, the uncanny sensation of another presence swept over her.
Someone was already inside the judge’s computer.
“Jane?” Vieve sounded confused. “What—”
“Sh!” She didn’t know if anyone other than her could hear Vieve, but she wasn’t about to take any chances. “Someone’s here.”
Was it the judge? Had she not left her office after all? Or was it another hacker?
Jane flattened herself against the wall so whoever was inside wouldn’t see her. Electric tingles ran through her when she touched the surface. Was hiding any use? What if the other could see everything going on in the virtu-world, like a cyber goddess?
Her body tensed, and she found it both funny and annoying that such physical feelings occurred when really, she was just an avatar—a figment of her own imagination. Her real body was sitting on Vieve’s bed. Still, the nervous sensations gripped her as tightly as they would have in the physical world. She reminded herself that she was sneaking up on either an upstanding dean or a cheating fellow contestant, not a crime boss or anything.
She inched closer to the opening. If it turned out to be Reyes, she would eject herself right away. If it turned out to be—
George. His haughty face came into view before she could finish the thought. He stood before an array of floating blue boxes, each translucent and glowing. They were large enough for her to make out the labels written across each in white block letters—the names of fellow contestants.
As she watched, George grabbed a box labeled “Quinn Borah” and opened it. Writing appeared before him, stating Quinn’s name, school, and the purpose of his A-Comp entry.
George sneered. “Another matching algorithm, Quinn? How plebeian. But Reyes is a sucker for that kind of crap, so sorry, dude.” He reached into the box, and when he pulled out his hand, a string of holographic code floated up after it.
He’s gonna sabotage Quinn’s entry! Jane scowled. She’d been right—he wouldn’t stop at taking Vieve out of the contest. The dirty, lying cheat! But it didn’t matter what her eyes witnessed; she had to hear him confess.
“George Blumenthal.” She strode toward him, articulating his name clearly so no one she gave the recording to later would have any doubt. “I knew you’d be here.”
George spun. “Jane? How did—?”
“What’re you doing to Quinn Borah’s A-Comp entry?” C’mon, you jerk. ’Fess up.
He glowered. “Get outta here.”
That doesn’t help. “Are you gonna delete it from Reyes’s computer? Like you deleted Vieve Hua’s?”
“I said, get outta here.” He punched his hands forward. An invisible blow landed on her stomach, knocking her to the ground.
Crap! He had control over the virtu-world, and she was just a player. But she’d come too far to leave without what she came for. Gotta make him repeat what he said before…
She started to stand, but George flung his arm toward her. She rolled out of the way just in time, and the ground exploded. Shards flew into her, stinging her skin. A scream escaped her lips. He’d tried to blow her up. “You psycho!”
George laughed. “You know, nothing happens to your actual body when you’re hit in the virtu-world. But that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt. Oh, and did you know that if you’re forced out, you’ll end up brain dead? Get out, before I make a vegetable out of you.”
“Freaking scumbag!” Jane jumped up. His words only fueled her rage. Make him confess, she reminded herself. Otherwise, she would’ve lunged at his throat. “What did Vieve ever do to you?”
“You don’t take a hint, do you?” He punched his hands forward again, and she dove out of the way.
She ran toward the blue boxes representing the A-Comp entries; they were the only cover around. But before she could make it, he shot a forceful gust at her, flinging her into the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and her head spun.
She leaned against the tingling surface, determined to remain upright. Since he wouldn’t state what he’d done, she’d have to try another approach. “You’re pathetic. Too stupid to win the A-Comp, so you decide to cheat?”
George stalked toward her, hatred in his eyes. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He raised his hands.
She leaped into the floating boxes, ducking behind one just in time to avoid his blast. That’s right, get mad…
“Well, obviously, you were scared of Vieve.” She peered around the box and met his scowling eyes. “Terrified, actually, since you went through so much trouble to set her up. She’s a million times smarter than you.”
He made a derisive noise. “As if. But judge
s love rewarding charity cases like her. Disadvantaged and disabled? You can’t beat that. So I leveled the playing field.”
“By spying on her, making a false report to the authorities, and then deleting her entry from Reyes’s computer so she couldn’t prove her innocence?” Maybe listing his crimes was overkill, but she wanted this confession to be airtight.
“You’re a real ditz, aren’t you?” He swept his arm.
The box hurled into her, shoving her backward. She tried stepping out of the way but couldn’t find her balance. Then she recalled that the box was floating, and she dropped. It passed over her head and smashed into the wall.
She bristled but, instead of retorting, just feigned stupidity. “That’s what you did, isn’t it? Or was it Zared?”
George scoffed. “Like he’d get his hands dirty. He just turned in what I gave him.”
“So it was all you? Including the slate connecting Vieve to cybercriminals?” She stayed close to the ground, watching his hands.
“Yeah, okay? Now, get out!” He threw another blast at her, and she rolled out of the way.
Gotcha! But though she had his confession, she couldn’t just leave. Anger burned in her veins, demanding that she take action, and she sprang up.
A powerful gust sent her flying back. Pain exploded in her body as she crashed into the ground. A force tugged at her stomach from within. For a moment, she thought it was some new trick of George’s, but then she heard Vieve’s voice.
“Jane!”
Jane realized the tugging was from Vieve trying to eject her from the virtu-world, which would only work if the VR user wanted to leave. Something soft brushed against her ankles, but she didn’t see anything. Confused, she glanced around.
George, who was marching toward her, didn’t show any sign of having heard Vieve.
At the sight of his sneering face, renewed fury coursed through her. Too incensed to think about anything but forcing him out, she lunged at him. “You almost destroyed Vieve!”
He threw up his fist, but she blocked it with her arm and punched him in the gut.
“She could’ve been locked up for life because of you!”
George’s hand shot toward her. Before she could stop him, he gripped her throat. “Who cares? She shouldn’t be alive in the first place. She’s nothing but computer chips and metal plating—not even a real person.”
Jane struggled to free herself, but his grasp was too tight. Pain shot through her neck, and white spots filled her vision. That soft something rubbed against her ankles again, and she wondered if she were losing her mind. “Let me go!” she managed.
His face twisted. “You’re a real troublemaker, Jane Colt. But you’ll be too brain-dead to bother me again. Sucks for you. I’ll send my condolences to Zared. I’m sure he’ll find himself another trophy soon enough.”
Sudden heat flared through her entire body. Every muscle, every bone, every fiber of her being screamed with pain. She flailed, trying to tear George’s hand away, or twist her way free, or hit him hard enough to make him let go. Whiteness filled her vision. Her blows met nothing but empty air; it was as if he’d turned into a ghost. Though she felt his fingers pressing into her neck, she couldn’t find anything when she clawed at them.
The tugging force yanked at her insides again. “Jane!” Vieve yelled. “Time to go!”
Jane kept fighting. George’s cackles rang in her ears. She wouldn’t let him win. If it cost her the last breath in her body, she would defeat him. “Not until I take down this jerk!”
“You can take him down in the real world!”
The tugging grew stronger, but she ignored it. She couldn’t see anything; the wash of white was too bright. But her ears worked fine—and all she heard was George’s laughter.
“Jane!” Vieve yelled. “Please! Come back!”
Come back? Jane suddenly realized that in her frenzy, she’d forgotten that nothing she experienced at present was real. Vieve was right—there was an actual world beyond cyberspace, and what happened there was what counted.
Alarmed that she’d gotten her realities mixed up, Jane stopped struggling and focused on the tugging. She allowed it to pull her out, and swaths of darkness consumed the virtu-world.
Pure black filled her vision, and for a moment, she was confused. Then something loosened around her head. The blackness lifted—literally—as Vieve pulled the visor off her face.
Jane looked around, disoriented. She was sitting on Vieve’s bed again, but her whole body still burned from whatever George had done to her. Something soft brushed up against her leg. Looking down, she spotted Vieve’s gold-cat circling her ankles—that must have been what she’d felt in the virtu-world, too.
“Whoa.” She blinked. “George is insane!”
“Are you okay?” Vieve’s eyes were wide with worry.
“Yeah.” Jane stood, her head still reeling. None of that was real, she reminded herself—except the part where George had admitted to everything he’d done. “Think we’ve got enough to nail that dirtball?”
Vieve nodded. “Definitely.”
“Good. Because I’m never messing with VR again.” Jane approached the door. “Meet you at Reyes’s office in the morning.”
“Sounds good. Oh, and Jane?”
“Yeah?”
Vieve smiled. “Thanks.”
Jane smiled back. “You got it.”
Jane watched Reyes’s face as the judge listened to the recording from the VR visor for the third time. She twisted her hands behind her back, hoping her anxiety didn’t show. Confessing to having hacked into the judge’s computer wasn’t her top choice for proving George’s guilt, but there was no point in sending the evidence anonymously when Jane’s voice and name were clearly heard in the exchange. Beside her, Vieve shifted her weight, apparently edgy, as well.
Reyes, having finished listening, leaned back in her chair with her eyes narrowed. “You broke into my computer.”
“Technically, we didn’t.” Jane gave a nervous smile. “The door was already open.”
“But you were going to.”
“Um…” Jane bit her lip.
Reyes shook her head. “Luckily for you, I’m not in the habit of punishing students for things they were going to do, especially when it was to bring more serious matters to my attention. Like cheating and intimidation.”
“You believe us?” Vieve’s voice was tense.
“I’m considering it.” Reyes pinched her lips. “I’ll have to ensure your evidence isn’t doctored before I can make any definite statements.”
“Seriously?” Jane exclaimed. “Why would—”
“Sounds good.” Vieve shot Jane a warning look, and, as irritated as she was, Jane swallowed her words.
“For now, you’re both on probation pending the investigation.” Reyes eyed Jane, who had opened her mouth to protest again, and added, “As is George Blumenthal. This means that none of you may leave Kozen Float until this matter is resolved. Do you understand?”
Jane huffed. “Yeah.” Don’t have anywhere to go anyway.
“Good. You’re dismissed.”
“Thank you,” Vieve said. She grabbed Jane’s arm and pulled her toward the door. “Pipe down,” she muttered.
“I wasn’t gonna say anything!” Jane followed Vieve out of the office.
Vieve raised her eyebrow. “Yeah, you were.”
Jane started to reply then spotted a familiar—and despicable—face. George was approaching the office. She had to applaud Reyes for her quickness.
He threw Jane a nasty look. “If you think you can soil my good name with your false—”
“Shut up.” Jane strode up to him. “Your crap won’t save you this time. I recorded everything you did and said in the virtu-world. And in case you were conside
ring deleting it, I already sent copies to a dozen people, including my dad. You’ve heard of him, yes? Victor Colt, head exec of Quasar Bank Corporation? Oh, he’ll be mad when finds out his little girl was attacked. Mad enough to pull all his bank’s investments from your father’s company and pour it into your chief rival. And Quasar owns—what? Forty percent of Ocean Sky? Ouch.”
A mix of anger and panic flashed through George’s eyes. “You can’t pull that.”
“Try me. I have a recording of you threatening to put me in a coma.” Jane smirked. “Which do you think would make your dad madder—getting kicked out of the A-Comp for cheating or destroying his company? And trust me, I’ll make sure your father knows whose fault it was when Ocean Sky goes under. So I’d tell Reyes the truth if I were you.”
George’s face reddened, but he didn’t respond. He marched away, his temples visibly pulsing.
Jane snickered. “C’mon, Vieve.”
Vieve stared after George. “I’ll never understand you elite types.”
“Ugh, me neither.”
“Could you really get your dad to destroy Ocean Sky?”
“Of course not. I was just messing with George’s head. Figured if he’s scared, Reyes will have a better time getting him to ’fess up.” She stopped in front of the elevator. “Well, I’d better get working on my entry.”
Vieve smiled and held out her hand. “Good luck.”
Jane clasped it. “May the best girl win.”
The time had come for the moment of truth. Sitting in the auditorium’s front row, which had been reserved for contestants, Jane surveyed her fellow competitors to see if they were as nervous as she was. They’d been assigned seats in alphabetical order, and “Blumenthal” was right next to “Colt.” She smirked with satisfaction at the sight of George’s empty chair. He’d been disqualified. From what she’d heard, Reyes had agreed not to press criminal charges if he confessed. Which was unfair, since he deserved to go to jail, but at least the judge had dropped all accusations against Vieve and cleared things up with the authorities.
