WITH THE DOOR closed and no light to speak of, it took Trevor a few moments before his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Soon he could make out the outline of Devin, Nika, and Cameron standing close by.
“That woman’s going to jail!” Devin barked. “You can’t chase kids with a hatchet. Wait until my dad finds out about it.”
Trevor could hear the fumbling sounds of someone unfamiliar with the layout of the room searching for a light switch. “It’s gotta be around here somewhere,” the man grumbled through uneven breaths. He slapped the wall, expelling oofs and grunts as he stumbled over unseen obstacles. “Found it!” He tugged on a string, and a single bulb flickered on overhead.
Suddenly, Nika unleashed an earsplitting shriek. She covered her mouth with her hand, but it barely muffled the sound. A creature like the one that had chased them through the Globe stood a few feet away, towering above the heavyset man at the center of the room.
“It’s okay!” The man stepped in front of the creature. “He’s not going to hurt you.”
“Yeah, right! Just like he didn’t hurt Mr. Castleton, huh?” Devin pressed his back against the far wall, but there was no place for him to hide. The room wasn’t much bigger than a large walk-in closet. A single computer monitor sat atop a thin desk, and five leather chairs on rolling casters rested in front of the monitor.
“Please, do not be alarmed,” the creature said.
“It talks?” Devin dragged his hands down the sides of his helmet.
“Typically, they have their own form of communication. That’s how I programmed them,” the man said.
“Who are you?” Nika asked.
“Oh, sorry.” The man wiped his hands on his lab coat. “My name’s Harold Dippetts. I’m the head architect for the Adventure Machine. I wanted to be introduced to the four of you prior to your launch, but that didn’t work out, so…here I am.”
“Okay,” Devin said. “Why are you hanging out with that thing?”
“Who? One here?” Harold glanced over his shoulder and pointed at the creature. “That’s just how this worked out. I couldn’t control every detail. Had to work rapidly to upload the glitch into the system.”
Great! Trevor thought. Just what they needed. Another Cameron. Why couldn’t these types realize how impossible it was for others to understand them? “Wait a minute. You’re One?” Trevor asked.
The creature nodded, and a thin smile, hardly noticeable, broke across his face. “Yes, and we’ve met twice before, Trevor Isaacs. You might consider us as old friends.”
Cameron removed his glasses and breathed on the lenses. “Old friends? I highly doubt that. You tried to kill us!”
One closed his eyes and bowed apologetically. “Oh no. I had nothing to do with the attack. That was Three and Five. They were unfortunate mishaps and had to be decommissioned.”
“Decommissioned?” Cameron scoffed. “You mean destroyed.” Then he brightened. “Thanks to me.”
“Right. We get it,” Trevor groaned. Enough was enough already.
“So why did your buddies attack us?” Devin asked. “We didn’t do anything to them.”
“They are creatures bound by very particular coding,” One explained, his voice rhythmic and smooth, like the gentle hum of an oscillating fan. “You can’t blame them for what they’ve been programmed to do.”
“Er…excuse me, kids,” Harold interrupted. “This is just a glitch, and we don’t have much time. There are things we need to discuss before I let you back at it. I tried to tell you when you first exited the cart, but my hack failed, and Igrot’s message was cut short and probably didn’t make any sense.”
Trevor stared at the others and then scrunched his forehead. “Who?”
“Igrot,” Harold said, scanning the room of confused faces. “Igrot the Slime? You don’t know who I’m talking about? Seriously? It was a really popular television show back in the eighties. Well, popular for about three or four episodes. They cancelled it after only one season. Such a shame. Brilliant story.”
“Mr….Harold, was it?” Cameron chimed in. “We’ve had a very long day.”
Harold flipped his hand dismissively. “Igrot and his gang were a breed of advanced troglodyte warriors.” He bobbed his head up and down, as if that would clarify everything. “You know. Lizard men.”
“Lizard men?” A light suddenly went on in Trevor’s mind. “You sent that lizard guy back in the cave?”
“Uh-huh. It was a nightmare trying to sneak in that upload. As was this.” He held out his hand gesturing to the walls. “But like I said before, the message was cut short, as this one will be unless we hurry. Please, all of you, sit down.” Harold nodded to the row of chairs.
Once they were seated, One moved and stood, sentry-like, in front of the door, and Harold turned on the monitor. “By now, you’ve probably figured out there was no real contest. I mean, it was real, publicized, paid for, and all that. But the results were rigged.”
“To get us here because of our abilities,” Nika said.
“Bingo!” Harold snapped his fingers.
“But why?” Devin asked. “Why did they have to trick us and our parents into coming here? I would’ve come regardless.”
“What did Igrot tell you?” Harold asked.
“He said we were being stolen,” Trevor said. “Which really didn’t make any sense.”
“You? No. Your abilities, on the other hand, yes. Well, replicated is a better word for it.” Harold nodded at the creature standing at the door. “The Adventure Machine is siphoning your abilities and putting them into One.”
“Into One?” Trevor frowned. “What does that mean?”
Harold reclined in his seat and swiveled to face the creature. “One, how is it you’re able to talk? I didn’t initially program you to do that.”
One tilted his head to the side, studying Harold with interest, before pointing across the room. “I suppose he taught me.”
“Me?” Cameron’s voice cracked.
One nodded. “I’ve been designed to rapidly glean information from live human test subjects. My intellect has increased because of Cameron, thus my aptitude for speech and ingenuity.”
“And him.” Harold pointed at Devin. “What about him?”
“I gained superb anticipation abilities from Devin. I can now foresee events before they take place. I understand patterns and movement, and my mind clears when necessary to anticipate reaction.”
“Sound familiar?” Harold asked Devin.
Devin shrugged, staring at One apprehensively.
“Because of you, Trevor, I have no sensation of fear.” One pressed his hand against his chest and closed his eyes. “I find it invigorating.”
“I was given an assignment to create an entity to fulfill a purpose on the Adventure Machine,” Harold said, smearing the sweat from his cheek with his hand and wiping it on his already-filthy lab coat. “A final upload was required to complete the program, and we needed you four to finish our creation. One is now the most highly advanced artificially intelligent being in existence. Thanks to you.”
“You’re welcome,” Trevor said.
Harold shook his head vehemently. “That was just a figure of speech. What I should have said was, thanks to you, we’ve created the most highly advanced artificially intelligent weapon in existence.”
“Weapon?” Devin asked. “But it’s just a theme park attraction.”
“That’s what I thought,” Harold said. “I was hired under the impression that the creatures were to enhance the riders’ experience. Give them a true taste of fear and excitement. You’ve been hunted by them. Didn’t they scare you?”
Nika, Cameron, and Devin all nodded. Trevor just sat there listlessly.
“Well, not you, of course,” Harold said, swatting a hand at Trevor. “But it’s supposed to be fun, huh? An adventure. A thrill. Boy, was I ever wrong.” The black monitor screen fizzed as an image appeared, revealing a photograph. Trevor squinted as he stared at the picture of a
man with shiny, dark hair, and wearing a detestable grin.
“Recognize this man?” Harold asked.
“Yes, I do,” Nika said. “It’s the lawyer from earlier. Mr. Crones.”
Harold chuckled. “That’s just what he wants you to think, but that’s not his real name. And believe me, he’s no lawyer.”
“You mean he’s not a lawyer in the traditional sense,” Cameron said. “He’s more of a representative for the California Theme Park Approval Board.”
“Nope. I mean he’s no more a lawyer than I’m a hunky fitness model.” Harold jabbed a thumb at his jiggling belly. “Mr. Crones is actually Howard Dimwalls, and he is a sneaky, conniving man. Wealthy, powerful, and hungry for one thing and one thing only.”
“Which is?” Nika asked.
“Absolute wealth and absolute power!” Harold stamped his foot. “He’s like an evil weapons dealer, only instead of guns and missiles and ammo, Dimwalls deals in stolen information, and the Adventure Machine technology is the missing piece he needs.”
“How do you know all this?” Devin asked.
“Because I used to work for him,” Harold said. “Years ago, when I was just a young programmer. I was a lot thinner then, and more naive. Dimwalls has been trying to manipulate artificially intelligent software for decades. He wants to use it to steal information and ideas and whatever else he can get his grubby hands on.”
“Maybe you’ve got the wrong guy,” Trevor suggested. “The Castletons think he’s legit.”
Harold raised an eyebrow. “Do they?” He pointed at the screen as the image of Mr. Dimwalls changed into one of a typed message. “This is an email I intercepted that was sent to Mr. Dimwalls from this facility, promising to sell the Adventure Machine technology to him for an undisclosed amount of money. I don’t know exactly who sent it either, because they did a good job encrypting that part of the email, despite all my efforts to decode it. But I do know that it came from the tenth floor.”
“So?” Trevor asked.
Harold blinked. “Well, that’s where all the important people meet. The executives. And at the time I intercepted it, there were only two individuals on that floor. Doug and Terry Castleton. I know because Terry drives a Volvo and Doug drives some freakishly fast monstrosity that might as well have wings.”
“How is it you were able to intercept this email?” Cameron asked. “With something that secret, you would think they would have been more cautious.”
Harold sighed. “Howard Dimwalls. Harold Dippetts. My guess is they were so nervous at the time trying to set up the deal, they didn’t even think to double-check the email address.”
“Okay, hold on,” Trevor said. “Even if this Dimwalls guy is some no-good criminal, what good would a roller coaster do to someone dealing with information?”
“The technology we’ve created collects your ideas, and feeds on your intellect.”
“That’s how the ride knew to produce the moose. My worst fear!”
“Exactly!” Harold glanced down at his wristwatch for the tenth time. “Can you imagine what would happen if that technology fell into the wrong hands? Someone could pioneer a way to steal everyone’s ideas. They could discover dangerous secrets. A program like that could wipe out any company from just pirating their information. It could cripple entire countries!”
Nika rubbed her eyes. “Why are you telling us this?”
“Because I need your help to put a stop to it,” Harold explained.
“Us?” Cameron straightened in his seat. “If you knew all along about this secret dealing between the Castletons and Mr. Dimwalls, why didn’t you go to the police?”
Harold’s shoulders slumped. “What am I supposed to do? March up to the tenth floor, without an appointment, knock on Doug’s door and say, ‘Hey, chuckles, someone’s trying to sell dangerous technology to a well-known criminal, and by golly, I think it’s you’?”
Trevor laughed. “I would pay to watch you do that.”
“And I can’t stop this from happening from the outside,” Harold continued. “The technology is too deeply rooted. What are the police going to do with something no one has ever encountered? I would just end up unemployed or maybe dead.”
Devin sneered. “Now I know you’ve lost it.”
“No, he’s right,” Nika said. “They might try to silence him. When my grandfather was young, he worked for a very bad man in Russia who operated with secrets and forbidden information. That man would do absolutely anything to keep those secrets from finding their way to the wrong people. If Harold is telling the truth, these types of people won’t put up with someone who shares their secret. They would find a way to shut him up forever.”
“Exactly,” Harold said, puffing out his cheeks. “And Howard Dimwalls is that type of guy.”
“Can’t you just unplug it or plant a virus?” Cameron asked.
“I did plant a virus,” Harold said. “But it’s not that simple. This thing is designed to eliminate threats. Any normal virus I write will be sought out and destroyed almost immediately. But that all changes with you four in the equation.” Harold crossed the room and knelt on the ground, his stomach pressing against Trevor’s knees. “Your minds and abilities, if combined with the right virus, could access the central mainframe and destroy the data.”
“But we’re not computer hackers!” Cameron exploded, leaping up from his seat. “My intellect is sufficient to try, but the others are hardly capable. Even with years of study, we would never be equipped to gain access to the Adventure Machine’s central mainframe!”
Harold blinked and a queer expression formed on his lips. “You don’t get it, do you? You’re already on the inside. You’re already connected with the central mainframe. All I need you to do is initiate the virus.”
Trevor paused, waiting for the punchline. “Do we just push some button?”
Harold grinned and then laughed. “That’s exactly it! Just push the button. The same one you all started to push earlier.” He once more glanced apprehensively at his wristwatch and gasped. “Oh no! We’ve gone way past the amount of time my hacking was supposed to buy us.”
“There you go again,” Cameron said. “Hacking. You said it earlier. You also used the word glitch. I may be brilliant, but you’re not making sense, even to me.”
“Look, I gotta go.” Harold grunted as he grabbed Trevor’s armrest and pulled himself up. One moved aside, and Harold pulled the door open. He wiggled sideways through the exit, sucking in his breath to squeeze out, and then he was gone.
“Are the Castletons really creating a weapon?” Devin asked.
“I don’t know,” Trevor said. “But it kind of made sense.”
Cameron gasped. “It did? You understood that incessant babbling?”
Trevor smiled. “Well, not all of it, but I do think it’s strange how the four of us were chosen to ride the Adventure Machine. It’s not by accident. You know that.”
“Yes, fine, I was the one who initially suggested that theory, but how are we supposed to put a stop to it?” Cameron stared at the floor. “Just push a button? Absurd!”
Nika slowly rose out of her chair, her arms wobbly as she steadied her balance with the armrests. She stretched and flexed her fingers, staring down at them as if inspecting for fractures. “Whatever we decide to do, I feel I must remind you that I’ve been injured. I need to see a doctor and my grandfather immediately.”
“I can help you with that,” One said, his voice as smooth as a purring cat.
The monitor chirped on the desk, and the image of the intercepted email vanished from the screen. In its place a new live-action video feed appeared. Trevor noticed a man seated at a long table who looked strikingly similar to Doug Castleton, only he wasn’t moving, and it didn’t take more than a moment to realize why. Doug was bound to his seat by some sort of straps. Standing stoically like soldiers against the wall were the three remaining creatures, who appeared to be holding Doug as their prisoner.
“Why do t
hey have him tied…” Nika caught herself before finishing, as the camera began slowly panning out. Several other adults sat next to Doug, also tied to their chairs.
“That’s my mom!” Cameron leapt out of his seat.
“And my dad!” Devin gripped the sides of the monitor, squinting his eyes.
“Dedushka?” Nika’s lips trembled as she noticed her grandfather in line with the others.
Trevor recognized the final prisoner as his own mom. He whirled around, staring at One in disbelief. “What are they doing?”
One closed his glowing yellow eyes and sighed. “Our whole purpose of existence is one of survival.”
“Yeah, we get that,” Devin growled. “But what’s that have to do with our parents? Tell your goons to let my dad go!”
One solemnly bowed his head. “I have no means of communication from this office.”
“Fine. We’ll do it, then.” Trevor stood and started heading for the door, but One stepped in front of him.
“I’m sorry, Trevor, but I can’t let you do that,” One said, looking down at his hand and stroking a single clawed finger with his thumb. “We are designed to eliminate all threats. It is clear now to me that you four are our greatest threat.”
“Gibberish!” Cameron shouted. “Everyone and everything at the Adventure Machine facility must speak gibberish. Nothing lines up. The past few hours have been a blurry mess of nonsense.”
Trevor couldn’t have said it better. How could One flip-flop so rapidly, when just moments before he had stood by Harold’s side and helped them escape from Shrill?
One gestured to the chairs. “Please, be seated and calm your minds. It is easier for me to siphon what I need from you when you’re at peace.”
“Then let my grandfather go free,” Nika demanded. “I will never be at peace as long as you’re holding him hostage.”
“Perhaps I should remove the distraction,” One said. “Would it be better if I turned this off?” He moved toward the desk and reached for the monitor.
The World's Greatest Adventure Machine Page 16
