The Netscher Connection

by Estelle Ryan

  Lila hadn’t given us any other useful information. Francine had asked Colin a few questions to relay to Lila, but her answer had been the same: None of the traps could be removed. And if they attempted to touch the virus, it would be set off prematurely. Nothing could be removed from the program.

  I shuddered to think of the immediate and long-term consequences of all these people’s private messages being published. Francine had told us about a dating site whose data had been published after the site had been hacked. It had been a dating site for people who’d wanted to cheat on their spouses. When all the names, credit card and other details had been made public, it had resulted in many divorces, criminal charges and even a few suicides.

  We were surrounded by young people. The average age of a male gamer was thirty-five and female gamers were on average forty-three years old, but it seemed to me that the majority of the audience here were in their early twenties. Too early to have a fully developed cerebral cortex. And too early to have all their personal thoughts, their private emails, their photos and anything else on their devices made public. I feared for the psychological impact it would have.

  But my biggest fear was Nikki’s data being made public. Her father had protected her from his unscrupulous and often brutal business dealings by sending her to the US to finish her secondary education. She was such a loving and bubbly young woman who’d turned out to be a responsible and fun young mother. If her father’s old enemies found out where she was and, even worse, that she had Eric, her life would be in incredible danger. It would change her and I didn’t want that. It would also have the possible outcome of her having to move away. That thought caused my heart rate to increase exponentially.

  I focused on the back of Vinnie’s gray wig and followed him through the crowds. At first the organisers had been resistant to adding any more players to the main event. But when they’d found out the players were OMM and RHood, they’d been most pleased. Vinnie and Colin apparently both had fans. Their presence was not only going to please the fans, but also heighten the excitement and tension in the main event. The organisers were hoping for record online attendance.

  Colin had looked embarrassed at his avatar’s name, but Vinnie had looked straight at Manny when he’d explained OMM stood for Old Man Millard. Manny hadn’t been amused.

  We reached the other side of the arena and I took a shuddering breath. I was already in a constant battle to remain calm and keep the looming shutdown at bay. Walking through that arena had brought the blackness much closer than I felt comfortable with.

  Captain Palya walked around us and spoke to the police officer guarding the heavy-looking steel door. The officer nodded and stepped aside. We followed the captain into the well-lit hallway and the door closed behind us. Immediately my muscles relaxed as the chaos was muted to bearable levels.

  The security room was at the end of the hallway. It was smaller than I’d hoped. Even though the room could easily hold all of us, combined with the equipment, I hesitated to enter. Colin’s hand on my forearm helped me focus on my breathing and the Trio of Mozart’s Minuet. A few seconds later, I followed Manny and the captain into the room.

  On the wall to the left of the room were more monitors than I had in my viewing room. It made me feel simultaneously at home and homesick. I would be watching the game being played on some monitors, looking for Három’s logo—the same as I’d done yesterday. Nikki would be online as well, helping me. Even though Olivia had been helpful the day before, Nikki had been playing the game and, as Colin had rightly pointed out, was very observant when it came to art. She’d developed that skill through her studies as well as spending a lot of time with Colin. And she’d begged to help. She wanted to do something to help keep herself and Eric, as well as millions of others, safe.

  “Doc, will this do?” Manny pointed to a simple desk at the back of the room.

  “Yes.” I relaxed a bit. I would be facing the three monitors set up against the wall and not seeing the room or how crowded it was.

  I walked to the desk and sat down. It was spotless. As was the keyboard and the mouse. I glanced at the other desks and saw that every piece of furniture and all the equipment were without dust and clutter. My muscles relaxed even more.

  “Okey-dokey.” Francine put her bag with three laptops and her tablet on an empty desk against the wall to my right. She looked at the man who’d watched us enter. “I’ll set up here. That okay?”

  It was the first time I’d given the head of security my full attention. He was nondescript. Average height, average build, average looks, brown hair, glasses. There was nothing that would demand attention about him. Yet now that I was studying him, I noticed the alertness in his eyes. He’d already assessed all of us and had come to his own conclusions. He nodded at Francine. “You have full access to whatever equipment you need.”

  Captain Palya walked over to the man and talked to him in Hungarian. I wasn’t interested in what they were saying and turned back to the monitors. The one in the centre displayed the welcome screen of Drestia. The monitor to the left was an overview of the whole arena and the one to the right was focused on the empty seats on the stage. That was where Colin and Vinnie would be in another twenty minutes.

  “I got Pink,” Francine called from her desk. I got up and joined Colin and Vinnie standing behind her seat. Pink was on Francine’s tablet screen, his face in total concentration.

  He glanced at the camera and smiled. “Hey, everyone. I think I have a plan, Genevieve.”

  “What plan?” Manny walked over from where he’d been watching the head of security speaking to Captain Palya.

  “Well, Genevieve gave me an idea when she asked Lila whether the only limitation was not tweaking or removing anything from the coding of the programming.” He turned away from the camera and typed something on his laptop. “I’m thinking that we could add something.”

  “Genius!” Francine worked on her laptop for a few seconds. “Okay, I’m seeing what you’re seeing... huh... are you... I think this might work.”

  “Full sentences and normal English.” Manny issued the order through clenched teeth.

  Francine swivelled in her chair to face us. “We’re going to blow the whole place up.”

  “What?” Captain Palya’s voice was louder than I’d heard it before—even when he’d shouted at Andor. “You’re not blowing anything up. Not in my town.”

  “No, honey.” Francine’s tone was husky. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and lowered her gaze at the captain. “We’re going to blow up the game.”

  “Explain.” Manny’s lips were in a thin line.

  “I don’t know how yet,” Pink said. “Francine and I will try to build a bomb that you guys can use to destroy everything.”

  “How long will this take you?” Colin asked.

  “Don’t know.” Francine turned back to her laptop. “Hopefully before anyone enters the final room and lifts the scroll.”

  “You’d better win this bloody game, Frey.” Manny pushed his hands into his trouser pockets. “We can’t have this virus go to thousands of computers and publish all their private stuff.”

  “Millions.” The head of security’s quiet word got us all to turn around and face him. “We already have six point seven million viewers online watching at the moment. The organisers just announced online that RHood and OMM will take part in the final game. We reckon that will push the numbers up to about ten million.”

  “Bloody hell.” Manny took a step closer to Colin. “Can you do this?”

  “With help.” Colin looked at Francine’s tablet. “Pink, is Daniel there?”

  “I’m here.” His answer sounded a moment before his face came into view.

  “Can you help Millard look for traps?”

  “No problem. We’ll keep you and OMM safe.”

  Vinnie snorted. “Punk?”

  Nikki’s hand entered the tablet screen. She wiggled her fingers. “I’m here. And ready to kick butt.”
/>   “Where’s Eric?” It was an hour after his bedtime and I didn’t want Nikki to be distracted with the game if he needed her.

  “With his dad.” She pushed Daniel away, her face filling the screen. “Martin is in your living room with Eric at the moment. He was very understanding when I said I needed a babysitter, but that he can’t leave.”

  I exhaled in relief.

  “Ten minutes!” The call came from the hallway and the head of security reacted immediately. He moved back to his desk with the bank of monitors. “Get your people in place, Captain. The show is about to start.”

  “Win this thing, Frey.” Manny stared at Colin for a few seconds, then nodded once.

  “See you when it’s done, love.” Colin kissed me softly on my lips and followed Vinnie into the hallway.

  I glanced once more at Nikki, then returned to the desk with the three monitors and sat down. Manny took a chair and sat down next to me. He noticed my expression and grumbled when he moved a few centimetres away. “You and your bloody fifty-centimetre rule.”

  “It’s not a rule.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen!” The dramatic voice of the master of ceremonies drew my attention to the screen. “It is with great pleasure tonight that I welcome you to the fifth international World-E games.”

  The audience responded such that I could only describe it as a roar. I shuddered.

  “As you all know, this year we chose the game that has been taking the world by storm. Drestia.” Again he had to wait for the crowd to quieten down before he could continue. “Few players ever get to the third-last level. Even fewer players have ever reached that elusive tower room.”

  Shouts went up and he smiled. “No, my friends. You are wrong. There have indeed been players who reached the last level. But a bit about that later. Let me first introduce our players tonight.”

  It took a full five minutes of him dramatically introducing each person, citing their numerous scores in different games as well as their score on Drestia. Then he paused. “Tonight we have a special bonus for you! At the very last minute, we got these guys to agree to take part in tonight’s epic tournament. These are the guys who have reached the tower room. These are the guys you have all begged us to get here tonight. And here they are. Please welcome RHood and OMM!”

  People jumped up from their seats, screaming and cheering as Colin and Vinnie walked to the stage. Vinnie tried to walk like an old man, but it looked comical. Colin hadn’t attempted to create real-to-life identities, but rather recreate their avatars as closely as possible. And the audience was responding to that.

  It took almost three minutes before the audience calmed down enough for the master of ceremonies to list the rules. “A quick recap. Five teams, two members per team, each team playing their own game. The goal is to reach the last room first and get that elusive scroll. So without any further ado... let the games begin!”

  I looked at the monitor that showed Vinnie’s and Colin’s faces. They both appeared calm, but focused.

  “To your left, Frey,” Manny said the moment Colin’s avatar entered the first room. A groan went up in the arena as a few of the other players set off the trap in their rooms, causing the ceiling to come down on them. I wasn’t interested in their games and turned my attention back to the monitor in the centre. Colin and Vinnie needed my full attention if we were to give Francine and Pink the time they needed to find a way to prevent an online tragedy that would destroy many young lives. Including Nikki’s.

  The first level was more difficult than it had been when we’d played it in Émile’s villa. There were more traps and in two rooms I had to look really hard to find the Három logo. Colin’s Robin Hood and Vinnie’s old man finished the first level with seconds to spare ahead of the only two Hungarians taking part in the tournament. The next few levels increased with difficulty.

  “Carpet under the little coffee table.” Daniel’s measured tone came through the speakers.

  “Bloody hell. There’s no reprieve.” Manny had lost all pretence—his shoulders were straight, he was leaning slightly forward as his eyes took in every detail on the monitors.

  “On it, guys.” Colin sounded calm. I studied his profile on the monitor to the right and blinked at the relaxed smile around his mouth. He was enjoying this challenge. Vinnie too, but his enjoyment came from the many battles his avatar entered into while protecting Colin’s avatar and giving him time to find the bonus points, weapons and, ultimately, the key to the next room.

  I searched the Baroque-era room for the Három logo. It was an era of great decorative arts. The walls, the ceiling, even the door frames were painted with swirls, wreaths, flowers and chubby angels. Looking for a triangle with one open corner was not easy. But my brain had registered something above the decorative mantelpiece.

  I moved closer to the monitor, inspecting every centimetre until I saw it. “The mantelpiece. One third from the left are two angels playing musical instruments.”

  “The second one’s got the triangle.” Colin’s avatar nocked an arrow and immediately shot an oversized soldier dressed in a colourful uniform. The arrow entered the eye socket of the warrior, but Colin was already on the move.

  Vinnie’s old man threw daggers and axes at the men trying to stop Colin from reaching the mantelpiece while using his sword to fight off the warriors trying to kill him. “Motherfuckers! Dude, get that key.”

  “Got it!” Colin’s avatar put his open palm over the triangle on the mantelpiece and all the soldiers dropped to the ground.

  The wall behind the mantelpiece fell away to reveal a room with furniture and art from the nineteenth century. I counted three paintings from Cézanne. Colin and Vinnie fought the soldiers as Colin’s avatar made his way around the room.

  “Floor!” Manny spoke only that one word and Colin reacted immediately.

  His avatar jumped into the air, landed on the beautiful upholstery of a French walnut armchair and stilled. “Thanks, Millard.”

  The floor was a mosaic of encaustic and geometric tiles that was typical of the Gothic Revival in the nineteenth century. Framing the floor about half a metre from the walls was a line of dark blue tiles that formed a square. The thin rope pulled tightly across the floor was almost invisible, a mere two centimetres above that dark blue line. Colin’s avatar had been heading straight for it.

  “The Pissarro landscape.” Nikki’s voice was clear, but excitement and stress was evident in her words. I’d become used to the feeling in my chest when it came to her. It was pride. I’d known she would find the logos. “The triangle is bottom left on the frame.”

  “On your six, Colin.” Daniel’s warning caused Colin and Vinnie to react. Colin fell to the floor and swung around in a move he’d done a few times, immediately pulling a bow from his quiver and shooting at the soldiers streaming into the room. Vinnie pulled another sword off his back and ran towards Colin, both swords raised in the air. This time their avatars had to fight a lot harder than before to get enough time for Colin’s avatar to run to the painting and slam his hand on the triangle.

  My mind was no longer separating reality from the game. My breathing shallowed and my muscles tensed as I feared for the lives of the avatars as if they were real. I gripped the narrow arms of my chair, trying to push the darkness away so I could help Colin and Vinnie survive this room and get to King’s office.

  Colin’s avatar stood ready for attack when the walls fell away to reveal a room from the Neoclassicism era. Again it looked the same as in the game they’d played yesterday, but there were a few more details.

  “Only two teams left, guys.” Nikki’s voice interrupted my inspection of the room. “The others have all died.”

  Adrenaline rushed through my system at her words. I didn’t waste time rationalising with myself that it had been their avatars who’d died. There wasn’t time. I looked for the triangle in the same place as it had been before, but it wasn’t on the marble statue in the corner.

  Soldiers rushed into th
e room, attacking Colin and Vinnie. They were at least fifty percent larger and more powerful than before. Within the first minute, Vinnie’s hand was severed and Colin was bleeding from a long, but shallow cut to his torso.

  I still couldn’t find the triangle. Or the key.

  And the temptation to hide in the safety of a shutdown was becoming stronger by the second. I couldn’t stand the stress of watching these avatars. Knowing that Nikki and Eric’s safety depended on Vinnie and Colin winning held me together. Then I saw it. “The key is on the floor, next to the large table’s leg. The triangle is on the lower part of each leg.”

  “Watch out for the trap next to it, Frey.”

  Colin shot an arrow at a soldier who was swinging a curved sword at him and jumped on the table in the centre of the room. He jumped again just in time to save his legs being severed by the sword of another soldier and ran to the end of the table. Another arrow and another dead soldier later, he landed just left of the trap and fell onto the key.

  The walls fell away to reveal the anteroom.

  “The other team is already here.” Nikki’s voice sounded strained. “And it looks like they’re fighting towards the painting on the left.”

  My eyes immediately went to the door Colin had closed. I inspected the handle, but couldn’t find the triangle or key where it had been before. Then I looked at the painting Nikki had mentioned and didn’t see the logo—not anywhere on the painting or the frame.

  “Got it!” Francine’s shout startled me. I hadn’t known she was also looking for the triangle.

  “Where?” Manny didn’t take his eyes off the monitor. “Frey, left corner of the carpet.”

  “Colin, Vin, we have a bomb.” Francine’s excited statement sent more adrenaline through my system. I glanced back to see Pink’s triumphant expression on the tablet. It wasn’t a real bomb. Francine was still typing on her laptop. She hadn’t found the triangle. She’d found a solution to having the audience’s data published, a way to protect Nikki and Eric. “It will blow everything to high heavens, but you need to grab it before you enter King’s room. I put it on the second bench against the wall. It is the Robin Hood statue. It will blow eight seconds after you lift it off the table, so you’d better get to the scroll as soon as possible.”