One Dark Future

by Michael Anderle

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Erik and Jia mingled with the tourist crowds as they wandered through one of the main market areas in the resort hub.

  He felt naked without his gun or duster, but they were supposed to be on a romantic trip in a luxury resort, not traveling the Shadow Zone looking for trouble.

  Though not omnipresent, he spotted the occasional security guard with a stun pistol. They undoubtedly had bots to aid as well. It’d be a simple matter of grabbing his weapon from the hidden compartment of Jia’s purse.

  He wasn’t sure if he hoped for something. Despite what his partner seemed to believe, he wasn’t that much of a danger junkie, but it wasn’t like he could just relax and appreciate a fake honeymoon either.

  An on-foot survey of the resort wasn’t necessary, but should they lose contact with Emma for whatever reason, they didn’t want to waste valuable time trying to figure out where to go.

  He’d become dependent on the AI.

  That used to bother him more, but he’d long since stopped seeing her as a piece of equipment. She was a friend and ally, and without her help, he wouldn’t have gotten as far with wounding the conspiracy.

  Jia’s careful gaze took in everything. She wasn’t saying much, but the occasional smile to Erik made it clear she wasn’t ignoring him. That made sense. She seemed eager to pretend they were on their honeymoon.

  Erik didn’t believe that changed explanation was an accident, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. They couldn’t be distracted, not while on a mission. He’d already made the mistake of letting Jia get under his skin.

  When he’d originally agreed to fake dating, he’d thought when they got together, a lot of the tension would resolve.

  Now, even though they were sleeping together, a lingering discomfort weighed on him. His damned feelings. He wasn’t supposed to have those sorts of feelings, but it was hard to spend his days in bed with a beautiful, intelligent woman and not let something grow.

  Was it so bad to have something to look forward to after his bloody vengeance? No, but he wasn’t ready to admit that to her.

  Once he did, he wouldn’t be able to take it back.

  Erik stopped and craned his neck upward. Four massive sperm whales swam over the resort at a leisurely pace, majestic in their size and their apparent lack of care about the humans intruding in their waters.

  For all his travels throughout the UTC, there was something about the glories of Earth that couldn’t be topped.

  “It’s not one-way, right?” Erik gestured to the whales. “I’d think they’d care a lot more about thousands of people being right below them.”

  Jia shook her head. “They can see us just fine, and the resort’s counting on it. Remember the intro video?”

  He chewed the inside of his cheek. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

  She nodded, not surprised. “Because predators are kept out by sub bots and patrols, there are a large number of whales around here, but they use a combination of sonic transmitters and modified grav fields to keep them from getting too close. I’ve read the resort also seeds food in the area because tourists like the idea of being surrounded by whales. It really sells the whole undersea thing, and being able to say there are real whales and not just holograms is great for advertising.”

  “Wait.” Erik lowered his head and then looked up and down several times. He pointed to another pair of whales swimming above them. “You said we have spaceship-sized animals swimming overhead, but I don’t see any shadows. That seems like holograms to me.”

  “They use filters,” Jia explained. “They talked about that in the introduction video, too.”

  “Like I said, I didn’t pay attention.” Erik shrugged. “Didn’t figure it’d be that helpful.”

  “Good thing one of us did.” Jia slowly turned her head, focusing on a cluster of restaurants in the distance, all elegant one-story buildings. “They eat outside, and we eat inside.”

  “Humans make monsters, and nature makes impressive animals,” Erik murmured. He frowned. “How big a hit can one of these domes take before we’re all swimming in the Pacific? I wonder if a whale could damage them? It’s one thing to bounce off a couple of sharks, but those things are damned heavy.”

  “I doubt they could hurt the dome unless terrorists supply torpedoes or bombs to the whales. You could even ram a decent-sized submarine into the resort without damage. These domes are as tough as anything they put in space, if not tougher. Otherwise, the first time there was a major accident, every undersea facility closes down because people are afraid.”

  “I’ve spent a lot more time in the other kinds of domes,” Erik replied, “so I trust them more, but it doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t?” Jia smiled. “You’ve finally accepted we aren’t going to get crushed and drowned by the Pacific?”

  Erik lowered his voice. “I’ve accepted that I don’t think a handful of corp suits are going to come here to cause trouble. These guys would probably wet themselves if we got in a fight. That guy we dealt with on Venus is more what I expect from the conspiracy when they’re making real trouble and waves.”

  “Well, we’ve got two days to kill while we’re familiarizing ourselves with this place.” Jia’s gaze drifted to an ornate sixty-foot jet fountain. Streams and arcs of water danced around a hologram of a thin, snake-like wingless yellow dragon. “But that’ll help deepen our cover,” she whispered before raising her voice. “We might as well do a couple of touristy things. If our friends arrive early, Emma will let us know. And tonight, we can…have a little fun. We don’t know if it’ll be a while before we can afford to rest again.”

  “I’m always willing to give up a little rest for nighttime dessert.”

  Jia smiled and patted him on the arm. “Well, it is our honeymoon.”

  Erik turned to stare at a holographic image of a slender white sub rotating in the distance. He wanted to have fun with Jia that night, but he also saw an opportunity for some less steamy entertainment in the meantime.

  “I’ve got an idea. How about we combine tourist crap with training?”

  Erik shifted his shoulders as he got used to the harness.

  The seat of the tiny one-man sub was more comfortable than he expected, given the cramped space. The primary yoke and secondary controls weren’t all that different from what he was used to in a flitter, other than the separate throttle lever.

  He, along with Jia, had opted for the shortest intro session of thirty minutes, though their trainer, a bored-looking man, made it clear that he’d be monitoring their session and would take remote control if necessary to stop them from hurting themselves during their chosen activity: a race.

  “Can you hear me, Jia?” Erik asked.

  Her bright green submarine floated several meters away, clearly visible on the sonar and the cameras. Lights ran along the bottom and sides of the tank, pushing away the darkness.

  Erik had thought he’d hate being in a small submarine. He hadn’t minded the shuttle to the resort, but he’d figured the thought of all the water being around his individual vehicle would bother him. Instead, it’d had the opposite effect.

  He felt more in control and less vulnerable.

  “I can hear you,” Jia replied. “You sure you want to do this? I’d hate to embarrass you in front of the whales. They’ll sing songs of my victory and spread it around the entire Pacific.”

  Erik laughed. “Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself? No wonder you requested the higher-difficulty course.”

  “I’m a natural when it comes to vehicles, remember? But at least there’s no danger. It’d be more embarrassing to wreck the sub after all the antics we’ve survived.”

  A three-dimensional diagram of the course floated off to his right. The exercise was simple: they would proceed along the course, gaining points for flying through holographic rings. Holographic rocks would cost them points if they hit.

  It was just like with the whales. Everything about the activi
ty could be simulated, but people didn’t come all the way to the Mizuchi Undersea Resort for virtual reality. A person could always tell on some level that VR and AR were fake. Advancements in the future might change that, but for now, the real world and true adventures continued to call to people.

  A chime sounded from their PNIUs.

  “Prepare to advance from the tank,” announced their trainer, sounding as bored as ever. Not everyone loved their jobs. “Remember to keep it slow until you’re outside.”

  The silver gate separating the tank from the tube leading to the outside slowly rose with a slight shimmer. Erik pushed the throttle forward to gently accelerate, still trying to get a feel for the sub.

  He understood every rumble and rattle in the MX 60 so he compensated for anomalies unconsciously, but he didn’t understand the language of this sub.

  Erik ignored the forward visual wraparound camera display that made the ocean feel like it might spill in at any moment. He didn’t care about the glories of the ocean.

  He was there to win a race.

  There were too many distractions—bright lights, fish, or whales in the distance—and they weren’t important. He would focus on their readouts and his course progress. During the competition, the submarine would treat the holographic rings and rocks as solid objects and react accordingly. This wasn’t a battle.

  He didn’t need to dodge attacks or position himself for a devastating reprisal.

  He wasn’t too arrogant to admit Jia’s earlier taunt spoke to a truth. She’d demonstrated a natural talent for anything that involved hurling metal through a three-dimensional environment, but he wasn’t sure if that natural talent would extend underwater.

  He’d used personal diving vehicles and suits in his time in the Army, but they were focused less on speed and more on direct entry. Fortunately, terrorists and insurrectionists didn’t tend to hide underwater more than any other humans.

  Even they got that people didn’t belong there.

  Erik’s submarine cleared the external gate. Jia matched his speed and kept an even distance.

  The sensor display lit up with the locations of the rings and danger zones. Their twinkling forms decorated the forward wraparound camera feed. He wasn’t sure if they were true projections or simply added to his camera feed, blurring the line between simulation and reality.

  “Prepare to begin the race,” their trainer announced. “Remember to stay on your separate courses. Any significant safety violations or a departure from the designated course will result in us taking remote control of your sub and banning you from any other external activities for your safety and that of our other guests.”

  Erik would have preferred a side-by-side challenge with Jia, but they couldn’t risk anything that would draw unnecessary attention or restrictions unless it was necessary to save people’s lives.

  “Five, four,” began the trainer, “three, two, one. Go!”

  Erik shoved the throttle forward and the sub accelerated, pressing him against the seat. He wondered if they’d purposely decided against grav compensation.

  He would have loved to have tried out a true high-end super-cavitating sub fighter, but he was getting surprising speed from his tiny racer. Jia zoomed off in a different direction, heading toward her own course.

  He approached the first ring.

  Avoiding the rings would help him complete the course sooner, but the scoring system would ensure his loss. Many times, he had made Jia go through a training scenario that was more complicated than a basic goal of eliminating all targets.

  Jia passed through her first ring at the same time as Erik. If either of them had an advantage, it wasn’t clear. He turned the sub and lifted the bow to angle it toward the next set of rings. The first danger zone was coming up.

  His heart rate kicked up, along with his grin. There was something about a good challenge against Jia.

  Harsh proximity alarms sounded, and the cameras filled with falling rocks. Erik wove back and forth, avoiding the bulk of the obstacle, but his vehicle shook, and his score and speed dropped. The added effects almost tricked him into believing he’d actually struck something.

  “Problem?” Jia transmitted, the taunting tone not subtle in the least.

  Erik frowned. Jia’s craft had gained a full sub-length lead on her course.

  “You missed the rocks, huh?” Erik asked. “Don’t get too cocky. This isn’t over yet.”

  He barreled toward the next ring and ignored Jia. There was no collision risk, so there was no reason to waste mental resources worrying about her position. All he needed to do was win.

  Letting her psych him out would be a rookie mistake.

  The sub rushed through the ring. Erik was ready for the rock shower, weaving and diving and turning like he’d been born in the submarine. He let out a whoop of triumph. The next sets of rings and obstacles were just as easy.

  Jia growled in frustration, stealing Erik’s attention. He smiled after checking the sensors. She’d lost her lead and now lagged behind him timewise but with the same ring score. It wouldn’t do her any good to hit all the rings if he did the same and she finished behind him.

  They were closing on the halfway point of the course, where they would be forced to turn completely around while hitting a rising spiral of rings. The back end of the course would present more colorful ring challenges and a denser group of danger zones.

  All he needed to do was keep his lead.

  “Problem, Jia?” Erik asked, injecting a faint hint of pity into his voice.

  “Like a wise man said a couple of minutes ago, this isn’t over!” she ground out.

  Erik angled up the bow before hitting the switchback point and the spiral. His sub passed through the first couple of rings with ease. He cursed as he missed the next couple, but his pride returned as he twirled the sub through the rest of the spiral. After a wide turn, he pointed it down toward a series of rings that crossed back and forth. He might not be a natural when it came to every type of vehicle, but the Lady’s underwater system had a crush on him.

  He didn’t bother to check the score or on Jia until he’d passed through the rings. She’d cut into Erik’s lead, but her score now matched his.

  “Looks like you missed some rings.” Erik snickered. “Getting slow in your old age?”

  “So did you,” Jia replied.

  “But I’m still in the lead.”

  “I’ll catch up in the S rings. There’s no way I’m letting you beat me.”

  Erik tightened his grip on the yoke before ramping up the throttle. He hadn’t kept the lead by being timid. There might be nothing more than pride on the line, but sometimes that was all a man needed.

  He couldn’t imagine he’d end up needing to take a racing sub against an enemy, but he was confident he could if necessary now.

  After dodging a storm of rocks, his sub slipped into the first ring of the S formation. He turned hard into the next ring, almost missing it, but his white-knuckled correction kept him flowing through one ring after another. Piles of virtual rocks descended as he pulled out of the back of the obstacle. His dodge continued unabated.

  Up, over, side to side, whatever it took.

  He entered a plunging line of rings, followed by a steep rise. The exit rocks formed a dense, obscuring maze. Escaping without a single hit was a near-impossibility. The sub shook violently, turning. An alarm sounded.

  The staff was close to taking over.

  That pissed him off. The sub might be losing control, but he hadn’t hit any rocks. A small collision with the seafloor wasn’t going to seriously damage the vehicle.

  Erik gritted his teeth and retarded the throttle. He ignored the loud alarm and the blips on his sensor displays, caring only about regaining control of the vehicle.

  With the sub straightened out, Erik pushed the throttle forward to make his run for the finish line and the last section of rings, these a gentler slope down than most during the race. He passed through the final rings and p
ulled back on the throttle to slow down, his breathing ragged.

  Jia didn’t finish for several more seconds.

  “Congratulations,” she offered between her huffs and puffs. “For a guy who hates being underwater, it might be where you perform best. You should have been living under the sea all this time.”

  Erik leaned back as far as possible, blowing out a lung full of air. “Yeah, no thanks. I think I’ll stick to dry land.”

  Erik opened the door to their room and stepped inside with a smile. He hadn’t gloated, but he also hadn’t minded proving to Jia that she wasn’t the master of all vehicles. After she entered, the door closed and Emma appeared, this time in a loose-fitting black ninja outfit, her red hair in a ponytail.

  “What’s with the getup?” Erik pointed a finger at her hologram. “You invent time travel while we were racing and figure you’re going to go back and change Japanese history?”

  “I was trying to get into the spirit of intrusion while in a Japanese facility,” Emma responded. “I wanted to make you aware of the progress on the system exploration. I anticipate it’ll take until tomorrow for everything to be set up in such a way that I can do what’ll need to be done without any risk of detection. Keep in mind this won’t be total system control, especially with the security systems, but I can gain access to those quickly if needed. The only issue is that doing so risks them learning something is going on.”

  Jia nodded, then scratched her ear. “Cameras?”

  “Those are a much easier matter. As you might have noticed, there is minimum drone usage in the main resort, other than in the docks.”

  “I overheard a staff member saying they thought it ruined the aesthetics.”

  “That simplifies matters,” Emma replied.

  Erik looked at Jia and back to Emma. “We’ve done a good sweep of the facility, our little race excursion aside. It sounds like we’ll be ready to keep an eye on our guys when they show up.”

  “Busy honeymoon.” Emma winked, then disappeared.