Extropia

by Robin Bootle

  It was a dream come true and a nightmare all at once. They were alive, but trapped in their creation. He edged closer, his legs as unstable as the feelings threatening to tear him apart from the inside.

  In the rightmost port was his father. His grey hair was long and wild. His skin looked smooth and almost shining, as though life in the port had made him younger. No matter how Edward might have felt about him in the years after Mum died, he knew he loved him. A year on his own, able to think of little else, had made that abundantly clear. He stared at his father’s closed eyes, hoping that somehow he could will them open, that just by being there he could wake him up. Above his father’s port was a blank screen, and above that, an inscription carved into the port’s frame read, “In loving memory”.

  His eyes shifted to James. The state of his body was heart-wrenching. His unkempt black hair weaved through the thick blue gel. His skin was taut across his face and his cheeks were sunken with malnourishment. Above his port was a screen displaying an image of a wooden, hay-strewn floor. At the top, Edward could just make out a series of vertical metal bars. ‘They’re still inside Extropia?’

  ‘The screens are meant to display what each man can see,’ replied Elizabeth. ‘Your brother’s is the only one that works.’

  Edward’s sinuses welled up. He’d refused to let it be real until this moment. But now he could see what his brother could see. ‘Is there sound? I need to hear him.’

  Elizabeth pressed a button on the front of his brother’s port. Gentle rustling came from speakers on either side. The sound of James moving around, wherever he was. Edward leant in closer, and he could hear it – soft wheezing, in and out. James was breathing! Alive!

  He stepped closer still and placed his palm flat on the glass. All the sorrow and mourning of the past twelve months, the wishing that things could have been different, came flooding in a sob of happiness and relief.

  From the port’s speakers came the sound of a pair of footsteps on a wooden floor. On the screen, a pair of legs came into view, the skin on them dry and thick. A bowl was dropped on the far side of the bars, spilling its contents. Without a word, the figure disappeared again.

  ‘My father referred to it as some kind of game. Those bars… James is in prison, isn’t he?’

  ‘There are others in there, Edward. Computer-born characters who follow the logic of the code that governs them. They’re holding your brother captive, probably your father too.’

  He turned and glared. ‘And you think they can somehow be involved in what’s happened today? Look at them! How could they possibly be behind the attacks on the schools?’

  ‘I agree, it’s hard to imagine that what happened today was deliberate. But the fact remains that they’re the only people inside Extropia, and someone inside Extropia just caused some real damage. But while they’re in there, and we’re out here, we’re just guessing, aren’t we?’

  A strangling knot of anxiety tightened in his chest. ‘You think I can help, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘We need you to get us in.’

  * * *

  Elizabeth handed him a thin pile of papers, each page covered in three columns of words and phrases. ‘There’s some kind of password preventing us from gaining access.’

  ‘It must be something to do with the inscription, In loving memory,’ he suggested. Then he glanced over the first few words on the list – Cat, Kate, Catherine – and realised they’d already thought of that.

  ‘Nothing to do with anyone your father knew, dead or alive, has ever worked.’

  ‘Why can’t you just have a computer run through every possible combination of letters and numbers?’

  ‘The password needs to be delivered by human thought – someone has to be in one of the empty ports, submerged in SenseGel and ready to enter Extropia. Each time, we get three guesses, then the port kicks us out and we have to start all over again. And before you ask, we’ve tried to get more ports. Vanderboom has refused to give them to us until they’re fully released to the market.’

  ‘So you want me to help you bring them back? And then what? What guarantee do I have that you won’t just lock them up in a real prison cell?’

  ‘Would you rather they stayed in there for the rest of their lives?’

  He sighed through gritted teeth. ‘Just give me some time alone with them, will you?’

  And so she left, while he sat alone in front of Dad and James’s ports, cross-legged and searching through the passwords they’d already tried, hoping one of them might trigger some other memory or word. Most of them were names or words he’d never heard of, and nothing new came to him. The only thing that popped into his mind were images of the accident. The flickering lights. The knowing his life was over.

  ‘This is hopeless.’ He flung the papers to the floor and looked despairingly at James’s sunken cheeks, at his hands and wrists that were little more than bone. He remembered how angry he had been at Vanderboom, at hearing that VirtuaPorts could harm their users, and his eyes flicked to his father’s port. ‘What the hell were you thinking?’ he whispered.

  Behind him the door buzzed slowly open again. He didn’t look to see who it was.

  ‘How are you getting on?’ asked Elizabeth.

  ‘I spent three years despising everything about Extropia. Every time they mentioned it I left the room.’ He shook his head. ‘Even if I did get you in, how do you know you’ll be able to get out?’

  ‘Vanderboom told us your father left some kind of portal in the area in which they were to arrive, something that would enable them to jump safely back to reality.’

  ‘If only it were that simple.’ Edward gazed at the image of his brother’s cell above his port. ‘Wait a minute …’ He sprang to his feet as an idea came to him. ‘We need to see Vanderboom.’

  ‘He was the first person we asked. He said he didn’t know it.’

  ‘Of course he denied it. If my family are rescued he stands to lose everything.’

  ‘Edward, he never jumped. What makes you so sure he knows the password?’

  ‘You’re right he never jumped. But he was meant to. He and James were meant to be the ones to enter.’

  ‘Come on, Edward.’ She shook her head. ‘Even if you’re right, what are you going to do? He didn’t give us the password, why would he give it to you?’

  Edward hadn’t thought that far ahead. Vanderboom clearly wouldn’t help out of choice. Somehow he’d have to force his hand. ‘How long has Vanderboom known my brother and father are still alive?’

  ‘About six months, we think. Around the time he first started testing VirtuaWorld. Why?’

  ‘Because for six months, he could have helped you rescue them. If he doesn’t help, I’ll tell the world that today’s attack really did come from VirtuaCorp technology. That it’s nothing do with a virus. That Vanderboom is refusing to help my brother and father.’ He could tell by the way her eyes flicked to the floor that she was far from convinced. And understandably so; Vanderboom had already once destroyed his credibility, why would anyone believe him now? ‘Please, Elizabeth. I don’t know what else to do.’

  Reluctantly, she went to make the call. As the inch-thick metal door hummed closed behind her, he realised that Vanderboom would have no interest in seeing him. After everything Vanderboom had done to ensure VirtuaWorld technology was his – attempted murder, cover ups – bad press would be nothing compared to freeing those he’d tried to kill.

  A short while later, the door buzzed slowly open and Elizabeth called him over. ‘The boss wants to talk to you.’

  In Control, the olive-skinned man from the interrogation was waiting on a foot-high platform in between the elevator and the bank of desks. On it, a large, touch-screen monitor was dotted with images and streams of information.

  ‘Edward, this is Oriel,’ said Elizabeth.<
br />
  Edward didn’t reach to shake the man’s extended hand.

  Oriel nodded. ‘I know today’s been tough, Edward. I can’t imagine what you’re going through. But are you sure threatening Vanderboom is a good idea? You remember what happened last time.’

  ‘I remember. But that was before I knew my brother and father were still alive. Chances are Vanderboom has the password. There has to be a way to get it out of him.’

  ‘Fine. But don’t say you haven’t been warned. The only reason I’m agreeing to this is because we need answers. The pressure from above is intense after what happened this morning. We need your family out of there as soon as possible.’ He stepped down from the platform and headed back towards the room that housed Dad and James.

  ‘We’re going to his office, right?’ asked Edward.

  Oriel turned as he reached the metal door. ‘Vanderboom gave one condition – if you want to see him, you have to see him in VirtuaWorld.’

  Edward shook his head, suddenly sick with alarm. ‘I’m not going in there. No way.’

  Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. ‘It’s okay to be nervous. It’ll be my first time in virtual reality too.’

  ‘No,’ he said, trying to calm himself. ‘I don’t trust Vanderboom. I don’t trust VirtuaPorts. They’re not safe. I need to see him out here in the real world.’

  ‘Edward, there’ll be lots of other people there with us. Today is VirtuaWorld launch day.’

  ‘If you want to see Vanderboom,’ Oriel called from the next room, ‘this may be the only chance you get.’

  Immoral. Inhuman. Dangerous. All the words he associated with VirtuaWorld technology were now irrelevant – Dad and James needed his help. He stepped uneasily towards the next room. He could picture Vanderboom, smug with victory, not only having chosen the anniversary of the accident to open VirtuaWorld to public viewing, but now knowing that Edward would be forced to go and see it. ‘What do I have to do?’

  ‘Once submerged, close your eyes, and simply think the name of your destination –VirtuaWorld.’ Oriel opened his palm towards the port nearest him. ‘Until VirtuaPorts are released to the market, there is no password. The jump will start within seconds.’

  ‘You need to breathe in the SenseGel,’ explained Elizabeth.

  ‘I need to breathe it in?’

  ‘It’s okay, it doesn’t hurt. The first few times I tried to enter Extropia, it gave me a bit of a shock, but you get used to it pretty quickly. Just watch me go first. And remember – relax, and breathe. Relax, and breathe.’

  The fact that she needed to repeat herself only made things worse. His jeans were beginning to cling to his skin with sweat. He watched her climb into her port, pressing a small green button on the outside as she did so. The blue-tinted glass whizzed across to seal her in.

  ‘It’s okay, Edward. You can do it,’ she called through the glass. ‘Oriel will help you through.’

  Already blue liquid was pouring in from inch-wide holes that lined the sides. She stood smiling at him as the liquid rose to cover her mouth and nose. The whole process only took a few seconds. She moved her hands towards and away from her chest, highlighting the movement of her lungs. Then she closed her eyes. In that second, the light came on above her head, and with it, the SenseGel seemed to firm up, any bubbles slowing instantly to a crawl.

  She seemed lifeless, and all Edward could think was that she was dead. It was the night of the accident all over again. He tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, but his diaphragm no longer seemed to be taking orders. All he could manage were irregular, jittery breaths. He glanced back to Oriel, hopeful that his panic-stricken face would make the man call the whole thing off.

  ‘She’s fine, Edward. She’s arrived safely in VirtuaWorld.’ Oriel pointed to the screen above Elizabeth’s port. In it was Elizabeth’s view as her gaze lifted to study the blue sky inside VirtuaWorld. ‘Just take it easy and you’ll be fine.’ Oriel urged Edward forward and the next thing he knew, he was inside the port watching as Oriel stood on the other side of the clear screen mouthing the words, ‘Just breathe.’

  His eyes cast about his surroundings. His arms squeezed into his sides as though the white walls around him were made of poison. He felt moisture around his ankles. By the time he looked down, the clear blue liquid was already at his knees. He glanced back up, hoping that Oriel might be rushing to let him out. Instead, the man continued to motion with exaggerated movements for him to breathe.

  The liquid tickled his groin, then his stomach. He thumped once on the glass, calling for Oriel to let him out, but Oriel was no longer paying him any attention.

  Blue gel swamped his fist, then his upper arm. He’d already stopped breathing, his instincts readying himself to go under. He tried to push to the top of what was fast becoming his VirtuaCoffin, to get to the last bubble of air. The liquid splashed his eyes, and then that last bubble was washed away in a swirl of blue.

  He stared aghast at Oriel, eyes wide and cheeks full of air. Oriel walked over to the port, but only to continue his signal for Edward to breathe.

  Edward glanced down, left, right, desperate to find another way out, an abort button or anything. His lungs felt like they were going to explode. His head was spinning. Oriel started to blur on the other side of the glass.

  Finally, he gave up and opened his lungs.

  5

  VirtuaWorld

  The SenseGel rushed past his cheeks and gums. He thought he felt it creep up his sinuses, but he couldn’t be certain; everything was already numb. The warm liquid against his skin was gone. He could no longer feel his arms or legs, or his teeth that a moment ago had been clamped together. Everything was perfect pitch black, because his eyes too were gone. It was as if he’d been reduced to nothing more than the voice in his head.

  VirtuaWorld! The voice screamed so frantically that he worried the port wouldn’t be able to process it. VirtuaWorld!

  With a flash of light, he could feel himself standing, shaking, breathing. The sound of a soft wind ruffled about his ears, then the three-note tweet of a bird. He lifted his eyelids gradually, letting them adjust from the dark to the light of day.

  Elizabeth’s hand touched his forearm. ‘So this is it then. VirtuaWorld.’

  He barely heard her. He tilted back his head, following the pristine white wall of a palace as it rose into the sky. Or at least, a perfect replica of the sky. So perfect that it even hurt his eyes. Little fluffy clouds floated by before disappearing above the tip of the palace walls. He spun around. A series of fountains erupted in rhythm in the centre of a long esplanade. Beyond, a field stretched on indefinitely, its short cut grass interspersed with lonely trees.

  A smartly dressed man and woman walked past his shoulder, smiling as they held hands. A few steps later they vanished with a faint whoosh.

  ‘What…?’ He didn’t know what he’d meant to ask. His brain felt sluggish. It was probably in a state of shock. He reached out and dabbed the soft cotton of his t-shirt. His fingers ran down his upper arm and tugged at the scrunched up flesh on the back of his elbow. The skin was exactly as it should be – rough, wrinkled and playfully elastic.

  Just ahead of him, towards the palace, a red line ran ten yards across his path. Stamped in red on the other side of the line were the upside down words, “CROSS TO EXIT”. The palace walls stretched from one corner of his view to the other. Three levels of tall windows ran all the way down. Every twenty yards or so, a flagged tower rose two levels higher than the rest of the building, with the towers at either end and in the centre a level higher again. The flag was a holographic, three-dimensional blue globe bursting free from its plain white background.

  They crossed the smooth stone paving towards two huge golden doors in the centre of the building. Two men dressed in black jackets stood on either side. Holstered to their hips were pistols. And like tha
t, the dreamlike serenity of VirtuaWorld was given a sharp pinch of reality. ‘What’s with the guns?’

  ‘Vanderboom warned us there’d be extra security after what happened this morning,’ Elizabeth replied.

  ‘That’s not what I meant – the guns actually work?’ he asked, although he already knew the answer. Why else would the guards be carrying them?

  ‘The SenseGel keeps you alive, feeding you the nutrients and water that you ingest while inside VirtuaWorld, but it also has the power to… well, let’s just say it has the power to do quite the opposite. It’s hard to imagine how he thinks he’ll get away with it. When we asked Vanderboom about the fact that you can get hurt, he just refused to explain himself. We’re trying to force him to change it before it’s fully released to market —’

  ‘Can’t you just use that to shut the whole thing down?’

  ‘There are no laws about this kind of thing. Not yet anyway – the government claim to be reviewing our proposals, but —’

  ‘But what?’

  She sighed. ‘Vanderboom’s a powerful man. He has friends in high places. At the moment I don’t have a lot of confidence in the outcome. So for now, whatever happens to your body in here happens in the real world. Hopefully, people will be smart enough to stay away once they realise it’s not safe.’ She reached into her back pocket as they approached the leftmost guard and flicked open her wallet.

  The guard stood with his feet apart and his arms folded across his chest. He glanced down at her ID and back up. ‘Weapon?’

  ‘I work for the NCCU. I’m allowed to carry one, surely?’

  ‘After the attack on the schools, the only people licensed to carry guns in VirtuaWorld are VirtuaCorp security.’