by Terry Schott
“Maybe I can sell that.”
“As for special consideration for you, I am certain we can both come up with something. I’m counting on you to help me get this done, Senator. If you can, then we will offer our respected aging population the gift of another lifetime.”
The senator smiled. “That would be an outstanding gift, indeed, Trew.”
24
“Here you are, sir.” The cabbie came to a stop in front of the house.
Sparx looked out the window and shook his head. “This must be the wrong address.”
“No, sir.” The cabbie’s tone was more respectful than it had been when Kevin had entered the vehicle. “This is eleven twenty-four Escher Way.” He dipped his head apologetically. “Sorry for being so gruff earlier. I had no idea you were a Saxon, sir. I hope you won’t take any offense.”
This is a castle. Looks like Kevin is one rich boy. “Hey, no problem.” Sparx winked at the cabbie. “I don’t think I have enough money for the fare. If you can hold on for a minute I’ll run in and get some cash.”
“Oh no, sir, I wouldn’t hear of it.” The cabbie scrambled out of the cab and rushed to unlatch Kevin’s door. “Considering the rough start we had, and you being so forgiving and all, let’s just call this ride on the house, shall we?”
Sparx got out of the car and patted the man on the shoulder. “Well, that’s very generous of you . . .”
“Charlie, sir. Charlie Garbon.”
“Charlie, you are a gentleman. I will be certain to tell my parents about the wonderful treatment you have given me.”
Charlie beamed. “That would be much appreciated, sir. I can’t begin to thank you enough.”
Sparx walked towards the front door. Charlie called out from behind him. “If you ever need a driver, I would be happy to assist you, sir.”
Sparx waved without looking back. He waited until the car drove away and then pressed the doorbell.
A middle-aged woman answered the door. She looked surprised to see him.
“Mother!” He stepped forward and hugged her. I’ll shake a bit so she thinks I’m emotional, too.
The woman gasped, her arms remaining stiff by her sides.
Kind of a cold fish. Maybe we weren’t that close, or perhaps she’s overcome.
A woman’s voice called from the hallway. “Maxine, what in the world are you doing?”
“I’m sorry, Madame.” Maxine slipped out of the hug and straightened her white dress—a maid’s outfit. “I was so happy to see that Master Kevin has returned home that I couldn’t keep myself from hugging him.”
Nice cover, Maxine! Sparx silently mouthed ‘thank you’. Maxine smiled and nodded before moving to one side so that he could get a look at the other woman. “Hello, Mother.” He stepped towards her, arms wide.
His mother took an involuntary pace backward. Great. The rigid maid is the most affectionate one in the family. He stopped and dropped his arms. “I’m happy to see you too, Mother.”
“Welcome home, Kevin.” She raised one hand to her head and smoothed her tightly bound hair. “I’m glad to see that you did not perish during your time away.”
Sparx stared at her, unsure how to respond.
“Yes. Well.” She turned on her heel and walked away, her high heels clicking against the marble tiled floor. “Your father is in his computer lab. I am certain he will be pleased to see you.”
She disappeared around the corner. Sparx continued to watch the empty hallway until the sound of her heels faded. He looked at Maxine and raised his eyebrows. She shrugged and pointed down the hallway to the right. “Stairs going up at the end of that hall.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Kevin.” Her smile was warm and genuine. “Welcome home. I know that your father was worried about you.”
“I appreciate that, Maxine.”
Sparx found the stairs and climbed them, emerging into a large open room. The floors were honey-coloured hardwood. The walls were composed entirely of windows starting from the floor and going up to the ivory-coloured ceiling. Some of the windows were clear while others were tinted different amounts; the shading increased as it approached the sun so that the direct glare was blocked while still allowing a maximum amount of light to enter into the enormous room. Sparx touched one window and his fingers tingled. Nanobots inside the glass, no doubt changing the tinting as the outside light alters. Someone on this world knows about computers.
“Well, this day has just become a whole lot better!” Hands grabbed Sparx and turned him around. A fit, older-looking version of the body Sparx was inhabiting smiled at him and pulled him into a sincere hug. “Kevin, my boy! I am so glad you made it back! Welcome home.”
Sparx returned the hug, sensing from the body language that Kevin’s dad, Barret Saxon, loved his boy deeply.
When Barret finally released the hug, he held Sparx at arm’s length and inspected him, like a mother cat checking her cub for damage. “You look great. I was worried that you might have been moving about when the Sim took you.” He laughed and patted Sparx on the back. “So many people died because their bodies crumpled to the ground while doing things like driving or crossing the street.”
“Thank you, Dad.” I doubt Kevin called this guy ‘Father’. “I was lucky and I’m glad to be home.” He tapped his head. “I would have come home sooner but I seem to be having a little trouble with the memory.”
“That’s a common side effect for most people. I have a few things still fuzzy in my head, too.” His grin widened. “For example, I can’t believe I’m married to that woman prowling the corridors on the lower level. Oh well, I’m sure those fuzzy loving memories will return to me sooner or later.”
Sparx laughed. I like this guy.
“Tell me what you’ve been up to since you got back.” Barret led his son to a comfortable-looking couch and the two sat down.
“Nothing. Wandering around the city and trying to remember who I am and where I lived. What about you?”
“There have been some big things happening here.” Barret’s tone was excited. “Before everyone was taken into the Sim, we did well in the computer market. Since the Return, though, Saxon Systems has become one of the top businesses in the world.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Barret smiled. “General Donovan, is running this country now, and I have worked hard over the years to be a valuable resource to him when it comes to computer programming and security. As a result, our company is getting the lion’s share of the business. Of course, that idiot, Bill McIlroy, managed to return as well and the General trusts him just a little bit more than me. McIlroy’s corporation is our biggest threat, but I’m putting things in place to deal with him.”
“Good stuff.” Sparx glanced at the bank of monitors and computers which occupied one entire wall of the room. “Need help?” Please let Kevin be handy with a computer like his father.
“I sure do, son.”
Thank you, Sylvia.
“I need your help more than ever. The country needs a new Net system.” Barret told him about the impossibility of restarting the old one. “The company that can build and take a new network live first will own this country, perhaps the world. The old systems were your specialty, and I remember the new network you had talked about building in the past.” Barret’s look was hopeful. “Do you think your memory is good enough to remember what you wanted to cook up?”
Sparx smiled. I could build ten different worldwide networks in a week. I’m a supercomputer myself! “I remember all of it.”
Barret smiled. “I’m so glad you’re home, Kevin.”
“Me too, Dad.”
25
Trew stretched and opened his eyes, feeling more rested than he had in some time. He reached for Danielle, but she wasn’t there. He looked at the bathroom door and saw there was a light on.
A purple light.
“Ah.”
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His feet touched the
ground and he found himself fully dressed in comfortable clothes. He was no longer standing in his bedroom.
“Would you care to join me for a drink, Trew?”
“Always.” Trew walked through the soft purple light and picked up a small cup filled with steaming liquid before sitting down. “Danni visited with you a few days ago. I was hoping to see you soon.”
“Yes.” He took a sip from His drink. “Your wife is a lovely woman. I enjoy our visits together. Visiting with both of you is always a treat for me.”
“That is kind of you to say.”
“I do my best to be a kind creature.”
“What shall we discuss?”
He shrugged. “You decide this time.”
Trew traced a finger across his eyebrow and closed his eyes. Then he took a deep breath. “I am changing the Game.”
“Yes. How does that make you feel?”
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“Could it be true that you are no deity at all, but merely a very skilled psychologist who makes wonderful drinks and prefers purple lighting?”
He laughed, a sound that sent tingling sensations and waves of pleasure through Trew. “When a psychologist is required, I am able to fill that role.”
“Changing the Game is frightening,” Trew admitted.
“Change is good.”
“Yes.”
“Being frightened is also healthy.” He smiled.
“This change could destroy the world. My reality, at least.”
“You already know that Tygon’s current path no longer serves a healthy purpose. For better or worse, change is required.”
“What if I fail?”
“Uncertainty and caution are rare things to hear from your mouth.”
“I know, but if I can’t be vulnerable with my creator . . .”
He chuckled. “There is that.”
There was a pause in the conversation. Both drank from their cups and enjoyed each other’s presence.
“I believe in you, Trew.”
The golden glow washed over Trew, enveloping him in spiritual energy and filling him with calm. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Regardless of how your new venture turns out, the important thing is that you make the attempts. Without action, there can be no results. This is the key to the universe, the power which flows across and into all realities.”
“Where do we go when we die?” Trew asked.
“Each of us travel to different destinations.”
“Each of us?” Trew frowned. “I had not considered that you, God, might die.”
“It depends on your definition of death.”
“How many realities exist?”
“You are full of bold questions today, my son.” He waved his hand and the ceiling disappeared to show a night sky filled with millions of stars. Another sweeping motion towards the ground caused the carpet to dissolve and beach sand appeared. “How many stars float above us?” He asked. “How many grains of sand lie at our feet? For each of us, there are questions that will never be answered.”
“Even for God?”
“Even for a god.”
“Are you lonely?”
He laughed again and shook His head. “I wish that you could experience what it is like to be me. Unfortunately, even a glimpse would destroy you. I am as far from being alone as the cold is from being warmth. But I thank you for your concern. You are such a precious gift.”
“I want to leave Tygon”
“Yes.”
Trew looked up. “That makes me a bad father. A terrible husband.”
“It does not.”
“I believe that it does.” He nodded. “Addisyn is young and I cherish every moment I spend with her. Danielle is my, well, she’s my everything. They both are. When I think of not seeing them every day, I feel unbearable pain.”
He paused to drink from his cup, closing his eyes and sighing as He savoured its flavour. “But?”
“But the compulsion to go is so strong that I control it only by continual attention. I fear that if I become distracted for more than a few minutes, I will suddenly be on a table and entering the Game before I realize what is happening.”
“You are an explorer, Trew.” He placed a hand on Trew’s shoulder. “You were never meant to spend a lifetime sitting at a desk while the world passes you by.”
“There is much to occupy me on Tygon. I have no reason for this feeling.”
He spread his hands and smiled. “Yet the feeling exists anyway.”
“It does.”
He stood, looked down at Trew, and embraced him. After a moment He held Trew at arm’s length and smiled. “Your life is yours and yours alone. The same is true for Addisyn, Danielle, and every other child of the universe. Know that whatever decision you make, it is neither good nor bad. It simply is. All of us experience love, loss, gain, hope, despair, and all the other feelings and emotions. These are the gifts of the universe, although many of them are not perceived as such until time has passed.”
Trew nodded.
“There will come a time that you do let your attention wander, and you will find yourself exploring once more. When that time comes, my son, do so with no regrets. If someone demands that you be miserable in order for them to be happy, they do not truly love you.”
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome. Now. I have a message that I need you to share with Elliot when you see him next.”
“Who is Elliot?”
26
A loud rapping on the Toad’s office door startled him awake from his morning nap.
“Just a minute.” His feet clunked against the desk as he sat up and ran a hand through his thin, greasy hair in a subconscious attempt to cover his bald spot. “Okay, enter.”
The door opened. “Principal Williams?” The secretary’s head appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide. “There is a very special guest here to see you, sir.”
He frowned. Special guests always lead to extra work or trouble. “Who is it, Shawna?”
The door opened fully and his visitor entered, smiling as she slipped the purple hood of her robes back to rest on her shoulders.
“Oh my goodness.” The Toad sprang to his feet, tripping against the chair as he scrambled around his desk to close the distance between them. “Prophet, what an incredible honour it is to see you.” He reached up again to smooth his hair, then blushed as he realized what he had done. What are you doing approaching her like she is a long-lost friend. He looked down at the ground. You tormented the poor girl when she was here. She must hate you for that. Compose yourself, idiot!
She pulled the tiny man into a hug. “Principal Williams. It is so very good to see you again.”
Loneliness and shame bubbled to the surface. Love flowed from the Prophet into the Toad, seeping into the dark corners of his soul, areas that had been empty for so long. Tears welled up in his eyes. No, no, no! You stupid little toad! Do not start crying.
He couldn’t stop himself from sobbing. “I’m so sorry.” His breath heaved as he fought to hold back the tears.
The Prophet rested her head against the top of his, gently stroking his hair. “It’s okay. Let all that horrible stuff out.”
The Toad continued to cry as she held him.
Eventually, he regained his composure. He took a step backwards, looking down at the floor as he wiped the tears from his face with the stained sleeve of his yellowed dress shirt. “I’m so sorry, Prophet. I did not mean to lose control like that. I have ruined your robes. I’m embarrassed.”
“You should not be.” The Prophet’s voice remained calm and soothing. “Do you feel better? Than you did before I got here?”
A choking laugh escaped his throat. Tears threatened to flow again, tears of relief. “I feel better than I have in longer than I can remember. Thank you.”
“Excellent.” She nodded and sat in the visitor’s seat.
“Can I offer you something to drink?” I have some decent wh
iskey.”
“Water would be wonderful, if you have some.”
The Toad turned his nose up. “It’s not the cleanest. I have a couple bottles, but not safe for you to drink.”
“You drink them?”
“Yeah, but we get used to the toxins. You remember—” He stopped himself from continuing.
“I do remember. Water will be fine, thank you.”
He handed her a bottle. She closed her eyes and held a hand over the water briefly, then opened her eyes and removed the cap before taking a drink and smiling.
“What did you just do to it?”
“Purified it.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“Faith.”
The Toad shook his head. “You are much different from that young girl I remember.”
“Thank you.”
“I—”
“Go ahead.”
“I just wanted to tell you that I watched your last play. Subscribed to your channel.”
“You did more than that, Cecil.”
“How do . . . I wasn’t aware that you knew my first name.”
She ignored the interruption. “You started a Danielle Radfield fan club, the largest one in existence. At least, it was by the time I finished my play.”
The Toad blushed. “Um, well, yeah.”
“I know that you are a good man trapped in difficult circumstances, Cecil.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not a good person, Prophet.”
“Danni.”
“Uh, okay.” His head had not stopped shaking. “Well . . . Danni, I’m a bad person.” He began to tear up once more. “I’m a mean little man who treats poor kids badly just because they had the bad luck of failing out of the Game.” He raised his hand but stopped before it touched his head. Grimacing, he placed it back onto his lap. “The orders that come in here, I have to get the work done, or it is worse for everyone. Still, that’s no excuse. I have to make decisions every day, and they aren’t good ones.”
“We all do the best we can with the hand we are dealt.” Danni looked at him. “You are tired.”
His shoulders were slumped, his eyes downcast. “So tired.”
