Journey to Ohmani (Across the Infinite Void Book 1)

by Ashley Grapes

  Levi was impressed that she had pointed it out. “Yes, I do need more practice on bigger waves. Any suggestions on getting my board down?”

  “Just get ahead of the wave a little bit more than you usually would by paddling a couple extra times. That will make it easier to counteract the water sucking up the face of the wave. Go practice for the next twenty minutes in the ocean before we try using the Extension. Use my board,” she said, offering Levi the nicest board he had ever seen.

  He was honored. “Thank you,” he said earnestly.

  “Thank me by taking my advice. Put this on first. It will let me talk to you,” she handed him an earpiece. Go on.” She nudged him gently towards the surf.

  Levi put in the earpiece and went out into the big waves, paddling with a whole new purpose. They were large today, up to six meters easy, and Levi fell several times trying to get used to them.

  “You’re letting your nerves get to you. Trust yourself,” Cathave coached into his ear after he had fallen for the fourth time.

  She was right. He had a lot riding on this competition, and he was letting the pressure of the situation affect his surfing. How many times had he coached others to become one with the ocean – to focus one’s thoughts solely on the moment? He saw a wave forming, and tried to remember her advice, paddling two extra strokes before popping up on his board in one graceful swoop. He put his weight forward, pushing his board down on the face of the wave and only pulled back when he reached the bottom. He leaned into a backhanded form, and rode the wave, popping up into the air several times as he played it out.

  “Excellent. Now that’s what I’m talking about. Do three more just like that but forego any fancy stuff. If you were competing in the flesh we could concentrate on them, but I don’t think we’ll have enough time to train you to use the Extension and catch some air in it.”

  “But I won’t win,” Levi observed, knowing it was tricks that separated the points in a surfing competition.

  She laughed. “We’re not trying to win, Levi, we’re trying to make history. We just want to keep you on the board. That in itself is a win.”

  He could understand her logic. He surfed a few more waves, perfecting the tweak in his technique. When he paddled back to the beach, the men who had been setting up the mat were standing in waiting, ready to get started. The mats were now about the size of bouncy castles, and almost as thick as he was tall.

  “Over here, Levi,” Brit said. “This is my staff. We are going to have you start using the Extension now.”

  “Okay. Is the Extension on earth?” Levi asked.

  “No, it is right here,” Brit pointed to one of the men standing behind him.

  Levi had just thought, in his brief panning of the bodies, that one installer just had dyed blue skin. Except it wasn’t a man. Levi stepped closer to look at the machine, astounded. It looked like him, but without hair. It’s ‘skin’ was a cobalt blue and it was wearing a set of board shirts with an ExCorp logo.

  “It looks like me,” Levi said, a little unnerved at the uncanny resemblance. “Do you do that on purpose?”

  “Welcome to our new technology. The suit you are wearing has been shaping the Extension for the past hour. It molds to its controller. There is the one that has been molding to Cathave.” He pointed out another Life5000 that had been standing behind the line of men. It was also cobalt blue, and except for the dreadlocks, looked like an exact replica of Cathave’s body; every curve, muscle, and line.

  “I’m definitely glad I came now,” Cathave said, standing next to her Extension. She looked just as amazed as he was.

  “We are going to practice with the Extensions here and then fly them down to Earth tonight. Let me introduce you to our state of the art equipment.” He walked over to one of the black mats. “With this new technology, anyone can extend from anywhere. These mats come in several sizes but they are more portable compared to the cubes. Go ahead and stand on top of your mats.”

  Cathave and Levi walked over to their mats, which looked like huge wrestling rings. They both had someone help them up, and he could feel a semi-solid floor beneath him. He walked to the middle and awaited further instruction. Brit picked up two tablets and began typing codes onto the screen. Suddenly, the Extensions came alive, and Levi watched his replica move in exact sync to his own body. Just for fun, he made it flex its muscles and do a little dance. Brit came over and handed each one of them a light helmet. Levi put it on, fascinated at how light it was compared to the first one he had worn at the Academy. The image inside of it was coming from the Extension, and it was strange seeing himself standing on the mat through the Extensions eyes. He waited for Brit to finish the instructions before moving. The last thing he wanted was to make himself look like a fool again.

  “The lasers that sync your movements are not surface driven, but internal. They are shooting into your body from the suit itself, so that every bone, muscle, and tendon are matched inside the Extension. Don’t worry, it is safe,” he added like a true marketer. “The mat itself will sync to the ground beneath the Extension, which is controlled by lasers built into the machine’s feet.”

  “How am I supposed to swim in this thing?” Levi asked.

  “The mat appears to be solid, because the ground the Extensions are standing on is solid. Reach down and feel the ground.” Brit said.

  Levi reached down and prodded the sand, his finger digging between the small grains.

  “Now take the helmet off with your free hand.” Brit instructed.

  Levi took off his helmet and saw his finger digging into the mat. The surface where his finger was touching had become little black dots, much like the sand over by his Extension.

  “It is a mimetic material where the particles in the ground around the Extension are quantum mechanically entangled with the particles in the mat, allowing for syncing a hundred times faster than the speed of light. The same technology is used in the Extension itself. That is why it looks so much like you, inside and out.”

  Levi didn’t understand most of what he had just said.

  “When we put the Extension into the water, the mimetic material will transform to a material that will have the same properties of water, salt and all,” Brit explained. “There is no end to the materials it mimics.”

  “And the waves? How will it mimic that?” Levi asked curiously.

  “The mats we provided are the best available. There is enough material to create the slope you will need…but remember, height is relative. It just needs to feel real. Shall we get started? You can put your headpieces back on now.”

  Levi did as he was instructed, seeing out through the Extension’s eyes once more. He walked his Extension over to the surfboard laid out several feet in front of it, the sand crunching and rolling underneath his feet the way real beach terrain would. He picked up the board and started walking towards the ocean. When he stepped into the water he could feel the temperature change through his suit and smiled.

  “This is going to be epic,” he heard Cathave say to his left. Obviously, the reality of their opportunity had hit her too. Levi watched her Extension throw down the board and then climb on top of it. “It feels so real.”

  Levi imitated her, and they both began paddling into the ocean. When a wave crashed over him, Levi could finally feel a real difference. Instead of the lingering wetness he would feel in real life, his face felt dry. He wondered if it would be okay to swallow this strange material, and then remembered he had a helmet on. This whole experience was trippy.

  When Levi made it out past the break he peered towards the beach to look at his real body. He watched in awe as the mat moved up and down in the exact same way he was. Then he caught site of the real Cathave, paddling fast and catching a wave. Her mat rose up like it was alive, and she stood up on her invisible board for a few seconds, riding the slope that continued to mold and change. Finally she fell, disappearing into the darkness of the particles that it was composed off. Levi looked to her Extension whic
h was climbing back up on the board. His turn.

  He concentrated on the fake reality, trying to forget that he was in an Extension. Soon after that thought a wave began to swell behind him. He paddled fast, and in the same fashion as before, paddled a couple extra strokes before pushing onto the board with his hands and swinging his feet into perfect position. He pressed into his toes and closed the air between the board and the wave face. He turned, following the natural ride of the wave, pumping several times to keep his momentum. He rode it all the way to the end and sat down on what felt like smooth fiberglass and began laughing from sheer excitement.

  “History!” he heard Brit call next to him.

  What he had just experienced felt so real that hearing Brit’s voice flashed Levi back to the reality that his real ears were back on the beach. He rode waves for the next hour until he was confident in using the avatar, surprised that there actually wasn’t a lot he had to adjust for. Now, he was itching to do this in front of millions in a couple of days. When he saw Cathave’s Extension swimming back to the beach he followed her.

  “That was incredible,” Cathave sang.

  “Yeah, it was,” he agreed, taking his helmet off and walking off the mat.

  “Great job, guys. We will send both these Extensions to Earth on the first available flight. We are going to have to have you all practice one more time before the competition because there will be a one and a quarter second time delay in the signal transmission, caused by the distance between Earth and Ohmani. On the day of the tournament, they will come get you both,” he said, pointing at the serious body guards. “I think we’re going to set up the mats in the mall plaza so people can watch you from this end. Will that be okay?”

  Levi internally groaned. Normally, that would bother him, but he knew the publicity of this event would be important. “That’s fine, but can I get some earplugs or something so that I can’t hear anything outside the helmet?”

  “Done. They will escort you back to your apartment now. Good luck,” he extended his hand.

  “Thank you.”

  Levi was in great spirits on the way back to the front of the massive arena via the counter-clockwise conveyer belt. It was strange to think that he had just surfed for hours, but stood bone-dry. Once in the locker room, he took off the black bodysuit and put on less-restricting clothes. The body guards were waiting for him outside the locker room, but he found himself sitting. His body ached. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the cold tile of the wall, ecstatic to have a moment of rest and peace.

  “Sir?” a voice called to him.

  Levi jumped, opening his eyes. He knew immediately that he had been sleeping, but for how long, he did not know. “I’m coming,” he called, gathering his belongings. When he walked outside the locker room, the group of intimidating body guards were huddled, talking fervently with bowed heads. Levi knew from their stressed tones and flickering hand motions that something was wrong.

  “Let’s get you back to your apartment.” Brit walked up from Levi’s left.

  “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Mantys.”

  “Mantys?” Energy and adrenaline raced back into Levi’s body.

  “I’m not even sure exactly what’s going on. Let’s hurry back into the ship and we’ll turn on the holotelevision,” Brit said, scuffling away towards the group of body guards. He said something and waved a hand at the team to start moving. They walked briskly to the VIP ship practically docked on the steps of the Waterdrome and turned on the HoloTV as they lifted off the ground.

  “…all hope of negotiations have failed. Riots and protests are breaking out around the world…”

  A shot of Tokyo, Japan was displayed, where people were angrily waving signs and yelling in the streets by the thousands. There were similar scenes in other cities including Dubai, Berlin, Rio and Miami.

  “…It appears that our relationship with the midaki is temporarily tarnished after Mantys Ti’s statement at today’s conference.”

  The newscasters continued to talk about the riots and the angry protesters, but did not give specifics about what led to the riots in the first place. Before the footage at the conference could be looped again, the ship arrived at Bale’s apartment. Levi thanked the body guards and ran into the building as fast as possible, bypassing several people asking for autographs. When he finally finished the long elevator ride he ran down the hall and threw open the door to Bale’s condo. Talon and Fletch were inside already having a heated conversation in the kitchen.

  “Hey. What’s going on?” Levi breathed heavily.

  Talon looked relieved to see him, but both of them had a worried look on their face.

  “It’s Mantys.”

  “He made another statement at the conference today…but it was not friendly. He created quite the stir. They are talking about cancelling the conference all together,” Fletch added.

  “What did he say?”

  “He accused humans of being violent, arrogant, and lesser of a species. He said they did not deserve to be independent and that any revolt would lead to shutting down of the wormholes. If that happened it would cut off all travel, trade, and communications between Earth and Dedrake.” Fletch had true panic in his voice.

  “That’s not going to happen. He was probably just bluffing. He said he was going to negotiate the treaty,” Levi offered the explanation, but was still confused by the news.

  “That’s what I thought, but then he said the bombings were just another reason why humans could not be trusted and that he changed his mind.”

  “This is so strange. What did everyone else do?” Levi asked.

  “Well, everyone was in Extensions so it was hard to judge their reactions exactly…but there was a little bit of an uproar. People were freaking out, even the other sect leaders.”

  “It’s not like he’s the president of your home planet, right? I mean, one man cannot change the course of the whole conference, can he?” Levi asked.

  “That’s a good point. He cannot solely decide to cut off communications and close wormholes, no…but,” Fletch emphasized, “he can certainly halt negotiations and tarnish relations further than they already are. All three sect leaders must agree for any DSO law to pass. I doubt that will happen, but it’s scary to even consider.”

  “This doesn’t sound like him. I wonder what changed his mind,” Levi pondered, picturing Bockie and Mantys having some sort of domestic dispute. Mantys was far too level-headed to allow Bockie to come between him and his job…but, maybe she knew what was going on. Levi picked up the phone and dialed Bockie’s number. No answer, so he left a text.

  What’s going on with Mantys? I want to come talk to him.

  Fletch was shaking his head mournfully. “I have no idea what happened. I tried to go talk to him afterwards but he totally brushed me off. He couldn’t even be bothered to say hello. It’s like it wasn’t even him in that Extension.”

  The three of them snapped their heads up and looked at each other in shock.

  “No,” Talon retorted, “it was his voice though. I’ve heard him speak a million times on television.”

  “But think about it…what better way to create chaos then through a sect leader himself.” Levi said.

  “The bombs were just a cover,” Talon interjected thoughtfully.

  “What do you mean?” Fletch asked.

  “The bombs…they were never meant to start a war…yet. That doesn’t even make sense anyways with the more advanced technology the midaki have on the humans. No, the whole time they wanted the conference members to use Extensions,” she explained.

  “That explains the bomb not going off yesterday. I was supposed to see the man in the floor,” Levi saw with more clarity. “It was never meant to be detonated.”

  “There was no faulty timer.” Talon added.

  “But it did scare everyone into using Extensions. They knew Mantys would never use one if he wasn’t required to,” Fletch pointed out. “So what is their g
oal? If they really want independence, couldn’t they put a gun to Mantys’ head and tell him to re-write the contract, which includes complete sharing of technology. What Mantys said was doing the opposite.”

  He had a good point. “Unless this is all part of some bigger plan…and about Mantys himself,” Levi said. “Maybe someone has a personal vendetta against him and wants to ruin the thing that is most important to him…his career.”

  “But who?” Fletch asked. They all fell silent in thought but came up with nothing.

  “We have to tell someone,” Fletch said. “Mantys is probably locked up in some room right now with a knife being held to his throat.”

  “No. Mantys would rather die than see his reputation and human-midaki relations ruined. Whoever is doing this has some sort of leverage,” Levi stuttered, knowing who Mantys loved more than his career.

  Bockie.

  The three of them called the police station to report their concerns, and were put on hold. The pleasant music playing in his ears was insulting. He tapped his foot restlessly for several minutes.

  “Mantys Ti is in a secured location with a team of people around him from two different bureaus. I have called and confirmed that he is in perfect health. He even got on the phone with me and said hello. No need to worry, kids.” Click.

  Levi called his mother. No answer. Then he called the hotel.

  “No, I have not seen Axella. Bockie requested the next couple of days off so I haven’t seen her either. She put in a formal request yesterday,” the woman said into the phone.

  “She requested days off in person?” Levi asked.

  “No, digitally on our website. It says here ‘I need a few days off to have hot dreamy love-sex with my Manty-poo. Since I will be distracted, please send the Grand Angus Burger up to my room tomorrow evening.’ That is all it says. The manager couldn’t read past dreamy, so he just confirmed her request. I was there,” she said giggling. “We love her. She’s so cool.”