Extropia

by Robin Bootle

  Behind him, Elizabeth stood firm, one foot forward in a lunge, both hands on the hilt of the sword rammed through his back. Every muscle in Vanderboom’s face strained and twisted in agony. Elizabeth tugged to release the sword, and Vanderboom winced as the blade ripped against his flesh. Finally, as the sword was freed, he collapsed backwards.

  Edward stumbled towards him, his head dizzy. He reached Vanderboom’s feet and looked down on the scared, wounded monster who seemed so different from the powerful maniac of only moments before. Vanderboom’s head fell back, his eyes drifting towards the sword in Elizabeth’s hand. Her hands shuddered ever so slightly. Vanderboom was trying to take control of the blade.

  Elizabeth lifted her right leg, ready to stamp down on Vanderboom’s wound. Instead, realising Vanderboom was too weak, she placed her foot back on the terrace. ‘You’re pathetic, you know that?’

  ‘I felt sorry for you, you know,’ said Edward, ‘when I saw you in VirtuaCorp and I saw how sick you were.’

  ‘You don’t know what it’s like,’ Vanderboom said, spitting blood viciously from his mouth, ‘knowing you’re going to die. Just get on with it, will you?’

  Edward shook his head as he thought of all the suffering Vanderboom had inflicted on his family and on the people of Extropia. He knew part of him would rather Vanderboom suffered for all eternity than be given the gift of a swift death. But then wouldn’t that make him just as bad as Vanderboom?

  He reached for the sword in Elizabeth’s hand, but she pushed it away. ‘I’ll take care of him,’ she said. ‘You should go and see to James.’

  And so he turned towards his brother, still supporting himself on the bars of his cage. As he stepped away, he heard Vanderboom’s final breath gurgle from his lungs.

  * * *

  ‘I can’t believe it’s over.’ James finally dragged his eyes away from Vanderboom. ‘You did it, Edward. You actually did it.’

  ‘Come on, it’s time to go home.’ Delicately, he lifted James’s arm and draped it over his shoulder.

  ‘Where’s Dad?’ James asked without looking him in the eye, as if he expected to hear the worst.

  ‘He’s… he’s still stuck.’ Edward felt James’s hand tighten around his shoulder. ‘But he’s safe,’ he added quickly. ‘I promise. It’s a long story. I’ll fill you in when we get back.’

  Together with Elizabeth and the Tartarus Stone, they hobbled in silence towards Hound. They found him where they had left him, lying still on the wet stone, his eyes closed. A few yards further down, Hasgard’s body lay still. The sight of it filled Edward with sadness. Hasgard was his Dumbledore, his Gandalf. Surely his father had meant Hasgard to be on the side of good. But the injustice, the torment had been too much. Now he too was dead, killed by the son of his creator.

  Elizabeth knelt down beside Hound and put two fingers to the side of his neck, and her eyes lit up. ‘He’s still alive. We need to move fast.’

  ‘Thank God!’ Edward said, sighing with relief.

  ‘Of course I’m… still alive,’ Hound croaked through blood-soaked lips. ‘You actually did it then, did you?’ He coughed at the effort of speaking, and his eyelids crept open.

  Edward nodded. ‘Try not to speak. We’re going to get you out of here.’

  ‘I knew I could count on you.’ Hound’s lips curled up at the sides. ‘Never doubted it for a second.’

  Edward managed a smile as he dropped the Tartarus Stone onto the terrace beside Elizabeth’s feet. The door of orange light formed, spewing black into the air above it. The portal took shape, a whirling pool of darkness that encircled both Hound and Elizabeth.

  But now, with the real world in touching distance, he wasn’t sure he was ready to go back. There was something he still had to do. His final quest.

  He pictured himself grabbing Elizabeth by the shoulders and pulling her close, planting his lips on hers and letting go all the feelings that had been building inside. One of his feet stuttered forward on impulse, and stopped again. Why would she be interested in you? the voice inside asked.

  She smiled as she took hold of Hound’s hand. ‘I’ll see you soon, Edward.’

  His own hand jumped out to grab hers. ‘Wait,’ he said, not knowing what he would do next.

  ‘Edward? What is it?’

  If ever there was a chance to taste her lips against his own it was now. Things would be different back home. They’d no longer be wondering if they were going to make it from one minute to the next. She’d be surrounded by her colleagues and friends, too embarrassed to kiss someone so young. Like she’d even want to hang out with him at all. Now, here, was his only chance.

  ‘I have to get Hound back,’ she said.

  ‘Sure,’ he conceded, knowing the moment had passed. ‘It’s nothing that can’t wait.’

  Her gaze dropped to Hound. Then she leant forward, and he could scarcely believe it as her lips placed themselves firmly on his own. His eyes closed, and he wished there was some way to make the moment last forever. Too quickly her lips pulled away. A faint whoosh reached his ears, and by the time his eyes were open again, she was gone.

  ‘Now I really am impressed.’ Still hanging over his shoulder, James was smiling at him.

  Edward’s cheeks flushed. ‘Come on, let’s go home.’ He glanced down to the battlefield as he stepped inside the portal. The battle was thinning, but there was no way to tell who was winning. And all he could imagine was his friend, Ivandell, down there somewhere. He didn’t even know if the man was still alive. ‘What are we going to do about them?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ James conceded. ‘Dēofol’s men need a leader. There’s a good chance they’ll run for the hills when they find out he’s dead.’

  ‘It’s not them I’m worried about. What happens when Dad is free?’

  James looked at him as if he didn’t understand. Of course he didn’t, thought Edward. His world had been Extropia for the past twelve months. He wouldn’t even know about the attack on the schools, any of it. Even where his real world body was being housed. ‘Let’s just say Extropia has attracted a lot of attention. There are plenty of people who will turn it off the first chance they get.’

  ‘But they mustn’t, Edward. They have to understand that what we’ve created here is more than just a game!’

  ‘I know, James. I know.’

  ‘What will we do?’

  ‘Ivandell told me once that all they wanted was a new home, a new life where no one would find them. Maybe we can help make that a reality.’

  James nodded his understanding. There was so far to go, but at least they had the outline of a plan: migrate Extropia to a new server, somewhere it could be kept hidden forever.

  He stepped into the portal, watching as his legs, then his waist, were for the last time surrounded by black. ‘Ready?’

  James nodded, and with one last glance at the dark, volcanic sky, Extropia disappeared from sight.

  30

  St Thomas’

  Edward arrived back in his port at the NCCU facility in Vauxhall. It only took a matter of seconds for the SenseGel to drain but it wasn’t fast enough. At last the door swished open and he leapt out. Two men dressed in white were waiting with a wheeled stretcher as Oriel and Elizabeth eased James from his port. James’s body was almost entirely limp, as if all his strength had finally abandoned him.

  ‘James!’ Edward rushed towards him but Oriel signalled for him to keep his distance. ‘What’s wrong with him?’ Neither Elizabeth nor Oriel responded, focusing instead on manoeuvring James onto the stretcher. And now clearly able to see James’s face, his eyes rolling back into his skull and his head writhing this way and that, Edward asked again, urgently, ‘What’s wrong with him?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ snapped Oriel. ‘No one’s ever spent so long in virtual reality before! His body is probably
in shock.’

  Edward went with them as they wheeled James’s trolley into the elevator. He remembered how dazed he’d felt when he’d first arrived in VirtuaWorld. It hadn’t occurred to him that James might encounter similar, but far stronger, side effects upon returning to the real world.

  The ambulance tore through south London, its siren blaring. A paramedic sat next to Edward, tending to the wound in James’s side. James had stopped writhing now. He was barely conscious, his mouth covered with an oxygen mask. Somewhere behind them, Elizabeth was following in her car. Edward hoped she was alone and that Oriel had had the decency not to come with her.

  The sign above the building read, St. Thomas’ Hospital. They bundled James through the open doors, then along several corridors that were nothing more to Edward than a haze of white, dizzying lights. Rounding a corner, he heard someone shout, ‘You can’t go in there!’ but it didn’t register. As the paramedics rolled James’s trolley through a pair of swinging doors, a firm hand gripped his shoulder. A young man in blue told him, ‘You can’t go in there. You have to wait outside.’

  Elizabeth arrived soon afterwards and waited with him. He barely noticed her presence, his mind so consumed with James’s condition. Only an hour later a doctor appeared to tell them that the wound in James’s side had been cleaned, and that although his body was in terrible shape, it should mend in time.

  It brought Edward no relief. ‘What about, you know, his…’ For some reason he wasn’t sure how to put it.

  ‘What about his mind?’ Elizabeth asked sensitively.

  ‘I can’t tell. He’s under at the moment. Quite possibly he’ll be fine when he wakes up.’

  ‘But you don’t know, do you?’ Edward asked.

  The doctor pursed his lips. ‘No one’s ever witnessed the effects of long term exposure to virtual reality before. Jesus, I didn’t even realise anyone could get into those things until a week ago. We’re taking him to a private ward now, to recover. You should go with him.’

  The doctors wheeled James out of the operating theatre. Edward tried to get close, and even called his name, but James was out cold. In the recovery room they sat with him for another hour, the only noise the sound of Edward shuffling around in his chair, or pacing up and down the small room, doing everything he could to keep his tears at bay.

  He did cry eventually, the moment James opened his eyes. At first, it was almost imperceptible. He rushed over and gripped his brother’s hand. James’s eyes opened wider, and locked on his own. ‘How are you feeling?’ Edward asked, trying to downplay his worry.

  James licked his lips. ‘Is there any water?’

  ‘Here.’ Edward held out a glass.

  ‘I’ll give you guys a moment.’ Elizabeth squeezed Edward’s shoulder before turning to the door.

  ‘Where am I?’ James asked.

  ‘St. Thomas’ Hospital, south London. You collapsed the moment you stepped out of your port. How’s your head?’

  ‘Okay, I guess. Pretty dazed.’

  For a moment nothing was said. But silence was just fine, thought Edward. They had all the time in the world for talking later. When James did at last speak, it made Edward’s body tense up. ‘I’m sorry, Edward, for everything.’

  ‘Don’t be. I’m sorry too. We’ve both done things we regret. Let’s just think about the future now.’

  James shook his head, and then started to cry. ‘We left you, my baby brother, left you behind while Dad and I got caught up in some stupid adventure!’

  ‘Please, James,’ he said, smiling, ‘I’ve barely been able to stop myself from crying since the moment I got here.’

  James lifted a weak arm to wipe away his tears. ‘What did you mean about Dad? You said he was still stuck.’

  And so Edward told him all he knew, that thanks to Vanderboom, Dad’s jump didn’t complete and now he was stuck somewhere between the two worlds. ‘They call it the Great Black. It reminds me of the Tartarus Portal.’

  James nodded as if it made sense. ‘And you say you saw him? Was he okay?’

  ‘I think so. His body in his port is in great shape. He just… he doesn’t know how to get out.’

  ‘We need to go back.’

  ‘Back? I thought you’d be able to do something by working directly with Extropia’s code?’

  ‘I will, if I need to. But that could take months, or longer. The first thing we need to do is try using the Tartarus Stone inside the Great Black. Dad’s mind will have the chance to continue its jump. And at the very least, I need to speak to Dad to see what ideas he has.’

  Edward sighed. ‘The thing is, James, the government are still in control of Dad’s ports. I really don’t think they’ll let us anywhere near them.’

  James became suddenly agitated. ‘But they have to. I can help him!’ On the monitor, his heartbeat accelerated quickly from eighty to one hundred and twenty.

  ‘Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this now,’ said Edward, on the verge of pulling the alarm to call the nurse. ‘Dad’s safe where he is. The main thing now is that you recover.’

  ‘Are you sure he’s okay?’

  ‘He is, I promise. Try not to worry, you have to take it easy.’ He watched as James lay back and breathed deeply time and again. Gradually, his heartbeat slowed, allowing Edward’s to do the same. ‘Maybe you should try to get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.’

  As James drifted off, he reminded himself to take solace in the fact that his brother was now speaking coherently and that it had still only been a matter of hours since James had escaped virtual reality. Surely it was just a matter of time before both his body and mind recovered fully.

  At some point, Elizabeth returned, and he sat back in his chair, his worry easing off. Dad might have been trapped in the Great Black, but at least no one could hurt him there. And he presumed he no longer needed to worry about Oriel turning off Extropia, not with Dēofol dead and any threat to the real world contained. Before too long, his body seemed to grow so accustomed to the chair that he couldn’t even feel it beneath him and for the first time since it had all began, he slept for hours without waking.

  * * *

  His dream was vivid, no doubt another side effect of a week inside virtual reality. But most of all it was horrid, forcing him to relive the worst moments of his time in Extropia. The death of the general played over in his mind. For a time he imagined himself as one of the people of Hawkshead, chased, slaughtered and burnt. All night the only thing in his mind was death. Over and over he watched himself killing Hasgard, and Vanderboom gurgling his final breath.

  At some stage, he somehow managed to break through the panic of his sleep to remind himself that it was all over. He reassured himself he was safe at the hospital and that James was by his side. Lucidly, he let himself drift back to Extropia, to those final moments of holding James for the first time. To the moment he’d kissed Elizabeth. He could now let that moment last just like he’d wanted it to at the time. Then after that, he bade one last goodbye to Extropia.

  His leg kicked in his sleep and he woke, realising their terrible mistake. He covered his mouth with his hands, jumping to his feet. How could they have been so stupid? The idea was so terrible he had to check it over and over in his mind.

  He recalled them leaving. Elizabeth and Hound first. Then Edward together with James. But what then? The portal presumably closed after some time of inactivity, its black light drawn down into its source: the Tartarus Stone.

  A stone that now lay exposed and unprotected on the platform on Skelton Tower.

  To be continued…

  Thank you so much for reading Extropia: Mind Game. I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please visit www.robinbootle.com and sign up for alerts on the forthcoming release:

  Extropia: The Dead Shall Rise

  Ready for more now?

 
Why not visit my website: www.robinbootle.com to download your free bonus chapter, Extropia: Mage of Darkness, that hints at what is to follow in the sequel, Extropia: The Dead Shall Rise.

  With thanks to

  Jack, Jonny, Alex, Rich, Lala, Mike, Amy, Laura, Paul, Diane, Mum, Dad, Brian Keaney, Patricia Elliot, June Colbert, David Savill, Sam Mills, Philip Womack and all those who have provided feedback along the way.

  With special thanks to

  Philip Wooderson for his tireless and creative advice.

  But most of all to

  My brother Olly who once said to me, “Why don’t you try writing something? It’s fun.”

  Images

  Petar Denkov (Петар Денков)

  James Guppy