Wormhole Pirates on Orbis

by P. J. Haarsma

  “Dop’s not gonna win,” I insisted.

  “We should practice, though,” Max said. “It has been a while.”

  “That’s why we need to join the Citizens’ League,” I told her. “So we can practice.”

  Theodore dropped his shoulders, threw his head back, and groaned.

  “Out of the question,” Charlie said, standing near the chow synth.

  “But —”

  “No, JT. It’s not up for debate. You can play all you want in the school league.”

  “Why won’t you let me play in the Citizens’ League?” I protested. I hadn’t expected his response. I had assumed Charlie would let us play.

  “Because,” Charlie said.

  “Because why?”

  I stared at him incredulously, but the resolve on his face did not wane. “Because I said so.”

  And that quickly, I had lost. I didn’t get it. What was he protecting me from in the Citizens’ League? I sulked my way to the sleepers, where Max was waiting with Theodore.

  “What did he say?” she asked anxiously.

  “He said no,” I told them. “You can start breathing again.”

  Theodore let out a deep breath. His face was warning-light red. Probably from holding his breath since I went to ask Charlie.

  “How will we practice?” Max asked, shaking her head.

  “We’ll ask Vairocina,” I said. “She’ll help.”

  Within a few moments, Vairocina displayed holographs of the arena and all procedures for starting a school game. It was almost identical to the one we played on the Renaissance.

  “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?” Max muttered.

  Theodore looked at Max but didn’t say anything. It was as if they knew something but didn’t want to say it.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” they both said.

  But I could guess what they were thinking. I was thinking about it, too, but I wouldn’t dare say it out loud. If my father was who they said he was, if he really was a Space Jumper, maybe he programmed the game into Mother — but why? Were there more Space Jumpers among the adults on the Renaissance? Were they playing Quest-Nest to pass the time? But most of their time would have been spent in their own cryogenic sleepers. Then why would they program an elaborate game into the ship’s computer?

  “Vairocina, show us the sort. There was no sort in our game. Show us how that works,” I told her.

  “That’s probably because the Citizens added the sort when they began betting on the outcome. It was never part of the original design. The sort is a simple random generator, and each screen offers three selections. There are four screens, two for each tracker,” she said.

  “That’s eighty-one possible game scenarios,” Theodore said.

  “Not exactly,” Vairocina said. “The central computer has its own random generators to decide what to play in each stage. There are 2,554,675,200 game scenarios, to be exact.”

  “We can’t possibly learn every one of those,” Max exclaimed.

  “You’re not supposed to. That’s what makes the game so random,” I explained. “We only need to learn the strategy of the sort.”

  “It would help if you knew your opponents’ strengths and weaknesses,” Vairocina added.

  “But we don’t have time,” Max complained.

  “But we do know our own strengths and weaknesses,” I pointed out.

  “That would help you because I believe, as humans, there are some aspects of the game you may want to avoid. For example, if the final outcome of the sort is SOLID, MECHANIC, TECHNOLOGICAL, and BIOLOGICAL, you might search for your bait in a building using plasma rifles to destroy a group of holographic Neewalkers poised to stop you. But if the sort comes out GAS, PSIONIC, MAGICAL, and MENTAL, you might wind up in space collecting cosmic energy streams to unlock a multidimensional puzzle. I would avoid this, especially if your opponent can survive in outer space and slip through dimensions at will.”

  “JT, this is a lot different than the Renaissance,” Theodore whispered.

  He was right. Dop was going to have the advantage after all. Suddenly I felt nauseous. My head was swimming with possible outcomes, but I couldn’t just give up.

  “How can I ever win if my opponent first selects AIR?” I asked Vairocina.

  “You must select MECHANIC every time. This will force the central computer to provide you some sort of flying device. Then the playing field is equaled again. That’s the purpose of the sort. But be careful. If you do not select properly, the game will be over before you even step into the arena. That’s a common amateur’s mistake.”

  The three of us sat with Vairocina while she illustrated as many examples as we could digest. It seemed that the first pick in the sort was the most important. My opponent could force me into a water game if he chose LIQUID. So unless I learned to swim before next phase, I had no choice but to select MECHANIC in the second stage. A selection of PSIONIC could not guarantee that I would be above the water. PSIONIC selections were instruments or weapons that forced you to play in stealth mode — invisibility, sound waves, stuff like that. Only a selection of MECHANIC would give me a tool to keep from drowning.

  Theodore fell asleep on the floor long before I was finished. Most of the other kids went to bed after watching for a while, but Max stayed with me the whole time.

  “It’s all in the sort, JT,” she said. “Play the sort properly and we have a chance.”

  “Vairocina, how can I make sure I get to choose the first stage?” I asked.

  “You can’t. It’s random. Your chance is fifty-fifty, but you may pass.”

  “Pass! Why would I ever pass on the first stage?”

  “It’s all strategy,” Vairocina instructed. “Some opponents, with certain abilities, may not care where they play, only that they select KINETIC in the second stage of the sort. That is why it’s very important to know your opponent. For each professional conclave, volumes of information are published on the players to assist those who wager on the outcome of the game.”

  This was definitely not the Quest-Nest I knew. There were too many unknowns. I liked the challenge when Mother randomly generated the playing field, but we never had fliers or water or games in space. Dop was going to win after all. I panicked. And how would I live up to my end of the bargain? Theodore would never speak to me again.

  “What are you thinking about?” Max whispered.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled.

  “We can still beat him. Just direct the sort to a game we know.”

  “What if I don’t get the sort in the first stage?”

  “Vairocina, can you show us as many types of flying devices and water devices the central computer has stored in its game drives?”

  “This will take some time,” she informed us.

  “We’ll wait,” Max said.

  And that’s how we lived life for a while, at least Max and I. We avoided most of the Citizens at school and came home to work with Vairocina every single spoke. She demonstrated to us how most of the mechanical devices worked, as well as the alien weapons we didn’t know. Theodore and some of the other kids sat for a couple of the training sessions, but none of the others were as determined as I was, except for Max. She was there every cycle, and if I ever glanced her way, she was either watching Vairocina or looking at me.

  The rumor that I had cheated on the placement exam spread quickly throughout the Illuminate. “Cheating’s typical for a knudnik,” I overheard more than one kid mutter. During one spoke, some of the worst kids held a mock ceremony in the plaza where they presented the highest-placing Citizen with Theodore’s award. I refused to let their lies bother me anymore. I buried my anger, saving it for the match. That was all that mattered.

  On top of it all, Riis was acting strange as well. When she finally showed up at the Illuminate again, she no longer waited for us at the entry. She seemed to make a point of avoiding me and the other kids, usually coming late and leaving early. I tried to stop her once
as she slipped into a pod, but all she did was wave, smiling weakly. Her blank eyes told me nothing about her feelings. Did she think I cheated, too? I wanted to know. She was the one Citizen whose opinion I cared about.

  When Vairocina finally finished showing us everything she could, I knew there was one thing left for me to do. I went looking for Charlie and found him in the garden.

  “Can you teach me to swim?” I asked him.

  Charlie looked surprised. “You don’t know how to swim?”

  I shrugged. “Not a lot of opportunity on the Renaissance.”

  “Well, there’s a pool at the Labyrinth. I could show you there. Then we can take in some games. Brush up before your match.”

  “You know about my match with Dop?”

  “Wasn’t hard to figure out with all the studying you’re doing. I assume the match is in the school league?” It was really more of a question.

  I hesitated, dropping my eyes. “Yes, but I still don’t know why —”

  Charlie cut me off. “That discussion’s over, JT.” He stood up. “Why don’t we go now? Are you ready?”

  “Just you and me?”

  “Max and Grace make excellent babysitters.”

  Charlie and I got to the arena before anyone arrived for league play. The air lacked the electricity of the other cycle even though a few aliens were already playing Quest-Nest. Charlie said it was mostly for practice. In the vacant stands he pointed out the most serious gamblers, who sat watching the players’ every move. I saw Athooyi sitting high above the glass.

  “There’s that alien I saw from the other night. He was sitting in our section,” I said, pointing.

  “That guy? He’s a big-time gambler. Bad reputation. Stay away from his kind,” Charlie warned, and pushed my hand down. “Come on, the pool is this way.”

  I walked next to Charlie along the concrete corridors of the arena and down toward the pool. With my other Guarantors, I probably would have walked a few steps behind them, but this was Charlie. Looking at him out of the corner of my eye made me think of the children who were separated from us the first cycle we arrived on the Rings of Orbis. I hadn’t thought about the other kids from the Renaissance in a long time. What are they doing right now? I wondered. Are they working in factories? I doubted that any of them were learning how to swim. It was hard to believe life could be this easy, even with Dop’s challenge biting at my neck.

  The smell of sweat and chlorine grew stronger as we walked deeper under the Labyrinth. “That’s where you’ll go for your match when you play,” Charlie said, pointing at an opening in the dank stone walls splashed with yellow crystal lights. It was not very fancy.

  “Citizen players don’t go there,” I said. “Do they?”

  “No, you’re right. There’s another area for them.”

  The circular pool where I was going to learn how to swim was lit from below with an enormous blue crystal. The rippled light escaping the water bounced off the low, mirrored ceiling and bathed the whole area in a cool glow. I saw two other aliens in the pool when we arrived. One alien swam the entire perimeter of the pool while remaining underwater. I made a mental note to avoid LIQUID in the sort if he were ever my opponent.

  “Go in there and put these on,” Charlie said, handing me a pair of short pants. “It’s a swimsuit.” I took the clothing. “I don’t think you want to go naked.”

  It didn’t matter to me. I just wanted to learn how to swim.

  “Will these help me?” I said.

  “No, you have to do all the swimming yourself. But go ahead and put them on anyway. I already have mine on. I’ll wait here.”

  “Charlie?”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Why are you our Guarantor?”

  Charlie glanced over his shoulder at the others in the pool. “This is not the time.” The other alien stepped out of the pool and was watching us. “Now, get changed. Do as you’re told.” His voice was low and rough.

  I changed quickly. Charlie had never used that tone with me before, but I couldn’t blame him. If Charlie did have a secret, he certainly wasn’t going to spill it here, not around other Citizens. I felt stupid and embarrassed by my sudden question. I’m such a split-screen, I thought.

  When I returned to the pool, Charlie was already in the water near the edge. I had never seen Charlie with his shirt off before. He was strong-looking. He didn’t have big defined muscles, but his chest and arms looked like they could do some damage. He also had several scars on his body. Where did he get those? I wondered.

  “C’mon, it’s not that deep. You can touch the bottom,” he called out.

  I waited until the alien, still underwater, swam past me. I stuck my foot in. The water was warm, and I remembered the bio-bots in the crystal-cooling tank on Orbis 2. I also remembered almost drowning.

  “Be patient, now. I’m not going to make you an avid swimmer in one cycle, but I can get you started with a dog paddle.”

  “No tools,” I objected. “I need to learn this without any tools.”

  Charlie laughed; it was more of a snort, really. “It’s a swimming style. It’s the way dogs swim, very easy.”

  “I’ve never seen a dog, so I’ve never seen one swim.”

  Charlie laughed again and dipped into the water. “It’s like this.”

  Charlie dug at the water with his hands and kicked his feet. His chin was thrust forward and his lips pursed as he forced his head above the waterline. He was actually moving forward! I can do that, I thought, and jumped in. I started to sink, and the water entered my mouth, my eyes — everywhere. I swallowed a mouthful and frantically clawed at the water. I must have been doing a lousy impression of a dog, with or without the paddle.

  With a quick thrust, I was above the water coughing and kicking. Charlie had me by the hair. “You’ve got to hold your breath, kid!”

  “You didn’t tell me that!” I choked.

  “You’re gonna drown if you don’t.”

  “I figured that part out,” I snapped. “I can’t do this, Charlie.”

  “Yes, you can. I’ll help. I’ll hold you up while you practice the paddling part.”

  Charlie held me up in the water and told me to kick my legs, cup my hands, and pull on the water. After a moment he let go, and I sank to the bottom again.

  He yanked me back out and ordered, “Faster and harder, c’mon. I know you can do this.”

  Three more times I sank to the bottom, but at least I didn’t swallow any of the water. I can do this, I thought. I have to do this.

  “Let’s save some more for another cycle,” Charlie offered.

  “No, a little more,” I pleaded.

  I kicked harder and I kicked faster, but I was still sinking.

  “One more time,” I said. “And this time don’t grab me.”

  When Charlie let go, I sank like piece of iron, but this time I didn’t touch the bottom. I kicked and I clawed and I was still underwater, but I was moving forward now. I heard nothing except my own voice screaming in my head for oxygen, but I kept kicking. I opened my eyes and saw the underwater alien swimming toward me. He was so graceful, so confident. Why was this so hard for me? I wanted to swim like that. I reached forward again, hands cupped, and I thrust my legs at the same time. I gave it everything I could, and then I did it again. I broke the surface and heard the shouts and cheers of Charlie.

  “That’s it! You’re swimming, Johnny. Keep going!”

  Clumsily, I found a rhythm and paddled my way around the pool. I was snorting through my nose like an animal as I kicked and clawed. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty, but at least it wasn’t drowning. I did it. I was swimming!

  Charlie was still cheering loudly as I lapped the pool. That’s when I noticed the one alien frowning at Charlie. Then the alien whispered something to the underwater alien when he surfaced. Charlie caught them staring at him and stopped cheering. I guess his enthusiasm over a knudnik seemed odd for a Citizen.

  My match with Dop was only cycles
away now. I was confident in my skills using any stage-two MECHANIC from the sort, and I was also swimming pretty well. Charlie decided to teach the other kids how to swim, and soon the lessons were a regular event after school. Charlie began ignoring the reactions of the other Citizens, and for once I had to believe everything was on the up and up. If Charlie was keeping a secret, if he had become a Citizen in some underhanded manner, he certainly wasn’t afraid of losing his status. I pushed any further suspicions out of my mind and braced myself for the one final thing I had to do before I faced Dop. I was going to play a match in the Citizens’ League.

  “You can’t, JT,” Theodore argued, sitting next to me in the garden.

  “I’ll remove the registration after I’m done, I promise.”

  Max stared at the ground. Then she bounced up and announced, “All right, I’m in.”

  “I’m not going,” Theodore protested.

  “I’ll go,” Ketheria said.

  Theodore was outnumbered and he knew it. “Fine. I’ll go, then, but I’ll only watch.”

  I needed their support. I felt bad for betraying Charlie, especially after the care he took with the swimming lessons, but what would one game hurt? Besides, I desperately needed the experience. I called up Vairocina.

  “Wait!” Max hissed. “Maybe you should put the forged registration for the pro league in the computer yourself.”

  But Vairocina was my friend. “I trust her.”

  “It’s better to be safe,” Theodore agreed.

  Vairocina was already here. “Hello, everyone,” she greeted us.

  “Vairocina, how does a Citizen register a player for Quest-Nest, for the pro conclave?” I asked her.

  “It’s a simple form filed in the arena’s archives.”

  “Thanks, that’s great.”

  Vairocina was looking elsewhere as she spoke to us, probably multitasking some event for the Keepers. “Is that all?”

  I looked at Max; the warning was in her eyes. I could do it myself, I thought. It would be cleaner. “Yes, thank you,” I said, smiling, and Vairocina disappeared. “At least I know where to start now.”