A Rift in Space and Crime

by R E McLean

  She heard footsteps recede then return. The woman reappeared. She wasn’t alone.

  “Pip?”

  “Is that his name? He wouldn’t tell me.”

  The woman gave Pip a light clap around the ear. He winced and ducked.

  “Ow.”

  “Oh come on, that’s nothing compared to the things you’ve suffered since your family abandoned you. Nice people.”

  Pip stared at her. “Who are you? How you know my family?”

  The woman shrugged. “I don’t. Not personally. Anyway, enough of this small talk.”

  She brought an object out of her pocket. It was an earpiece, like the one the doctor had been wearing. This one was smaller, and white. She clamped it to her ear and lowered her eyelashes. She touched the bars of Lacey’s cell.

  A door appeared in the bars and swung open. Lacey gasped. She stepped toward it.

  The woman widened her eyes. “Uh-uh. You’re not coming out. He’s going in.”

  She grabbed Pip’s arm and steered him in. His eyes were lowered and he was muttering under his breath.

  The woman touched the bars again and the door disappeared, sealed up like it had a zipper.

  Lacey ran her hand along the line were it had opened. There was nothing there, no gap, no imperfection.

  Pip shuffled past her and sat on the bench at the back. He sighed as it molded to his shape.

  “So.” The woman touched her earpiece. “You’ve got thirty-two minutes. During which I expect you to come to a joint decision.”

  She threw them a smile and walked away, her footsteps echoing into the distance.

  61

  Stick

  Sarita put her hand to her earpiece. She frowned for a moment then smiled.

  “Another Hansom’s on its way.”

  The Hansom glided down and they bundled inside. Alex tried to suppress her delight at its comfort. She was an out-of-towner, and couldn’t help behaving like one.

  She watched the buildings sail past. Jagged shards of purple gave way to more traditional brownstones, followed by mercurial blobs.

  After five minutes, they were at the MOO. The Prof was waiting in the lobby.

  “We’ve found them.”

  Alex resisted the urge to hug him. “Where?”

  “They were arrested.”

  “Arrested?”

  “Hive Deniers.”

  “Just what is a Hive Denier anyway?”

  “Someone that refuses to engage with modern life,” said Sarita.

  “But it can’t be a crime to be offline.”

  “You can’t function without the Hive. Government records, employment. Everything. People who don’t engage are subversives.”

  Alex thought of her dad and his struggles with the PC she’d helped him buy. Every time it did something unexpected he would either phone her, or thump it with a stick.

  “It’s oppressive,” she said. “You can’t force people to—”

  Mike interrupted. “Things are different here. Best not to say that sort of thing out loud.”

  “And Madonna invented it?”

  “You know that,” said Sarita. “She’s a genius.”

  “How much money does she make from it all?”

  “It doesn’t work like that. The Hive is a common resource.”

  “Hmm.” She turned to the Prof. “So have they been released?”

  “It’s not as simple as that.”

  “They’re not from this world. Nor am I, to think of it. Could I be arrested?”

  The Prof shook his head. “You’re under our protection.”

  She eyed him, suddenly unsure how she felt about that. She turned to Mike.

  “Let’s go get them.”

  Sarita’s gaze was focused away from them during this conversation; she was in the Hive. “It’s OK. Madonna’s already there.”

  “Madonna? Why?”

  “Why not?”

  “Still, I think we should go.”

  “You really don’t need to,” said Sarita.

  “Lacey knows me.”

  Nemesis smiled at her. “Come up to the office first. We can hook into Madonna’s earpiece, find out what’s happening.”

  Alex looked at Mike and raised her shoulders in a question.

  “Let’s do as the Prof says,” he said.

  She looked around the group. The foyer was quiet now and the light from outside was mixed with artificial illumination. What time was it? How long had Lacey been here?

  “She needs to see a friendly face.”

  “No, Alex,” said the Prof. His tone was kindly but she tensed, nonetheless. “Come upstairs. You’ll be more use to her if you know what’s been happening.”

  Mike headed for the elevator. Sarita was ahead of him.

  She looked outside. She had no idea where Lacey was being held. No way of using the transport in this world.

  And besides, without the MOO’s protection, she could be arrested herself.

  “Very well. Lead the way.”

  62

  Pop Star

  Lacey looked at Pip. He was out of breath, as if he’d been running.

  “You OK?” she asked.

  He looked up and nodded. “Fine.”

  “What’s she on about?”

  “She needs us to decide. Both of us.”

  “Decide what?”

  “Where to go.”

  Lacey advanced on him, then recoiled. He smelled of sweat mixed with glue.

  “What do you mean, where to go? They’re letting us out?”

  She heard shuffling behind her; the custody officer was returning to his desk. He frowned at them then sat down, his eyes glazing over as he plugged himself into the hive, as they’d called it.

  “Who was she?” she asked. “What did she tell you?”

  “Madonna Ciccone.”

  “I know that. It’s not her real name.”

  “Why not?”

  “Don’t you… oh, I guess you wouldn’t. In my world, that’s an old pop singer. Someone my mom used to like. That wasn’t her.”

  “Might be her name.”

  “It’s not exactly a common name.”

  “She told me that her name.”

  “Hmm. So what’s this decision?”

  He took a deep breath.

  “She got tech. A—” he frowned in concentration—“quant-summat energy transthing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Dunno.”

  “Sorry.”

  “She said Pip get powers back.”

  Lacey stiffened. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You wanna stay here f’rever?”

  “No.”

  “She says give me enough energy for one time. One rift. Pip and Lacey choose where rift go to.”

  “That’s the decision. And you can only make one?”

  “Uh-huh. Your world, or mine.”

  “Right.”

  “Have to decide together. Pip can’t force Lacey.”

  Lacey looked up at the ceiling. There was no sign of a camera. “Are you sure she’s watching?”

  “Dunno.”

  She continued scanning the ceiling. She moved on to the walls, then the bars, then the space outside their cell. Nothing. But then, this place was pretty advanced.

  “Why should we believe her? Some woman from another world pretending to be a pop star.”

  “Not pretending to be pop star.”

  “I know that. I’m just trying to make myself feel better.”

  “Don’t.” Pip’s voice was breaking.

  “I guess you’re going to want to go back to your world,” Lacey said, her voice low.

  He shrugged. “Maybe don’t want create a portal. Maybe want to create storm, tear place down.”

  She shivered. “You’d tear us down, too.”

  He looked at her. “Maybe.”

  Lacey turned away from him, sifting through options. If they went back to his world, he could create another portal there
and send her home. But only if he still had his powers after all this.

  But even if he did, he might decide to keep her with him. He wanted company, and his family were hardly about to welcome him back after what he did to Fred.

  She stared at the wall, trying to imagine what he was thinking. She’d worked hard to gain his trust, in the hope that he’d let her go. But now he seemed angry again. If he could tear this place down, would he?

  She turned. He was slumped on the bench, loose like a rag doll. He looked like a child that had lost his family.

  He was a child that had lost his family, or at least he had been once.

  She put a hand on his knee.

  “They say they want us to make a joint decision?”

  He sniffed and looked up at her. His cheeks were wet.

  “Is that because they don’t trust you to decide alone? They want to know I’m in agreement with whatever we do?”

  He shrugged. “Guess so.”

  “In that case, I think we should call her back. I’ve made a decision for both of us.”

  63

  Stamp

  The Prof’s office was dark. Alex followed the others in, waiting for someone to turn on a light.

  “Where are the light switches?”

  The Prof smiled. “We don’t have anything as antiquated as light switches here. Malcolm, lights to fifty per cent.”

  “Fifty percent,” said a male voice. The room lit up with a soft yellow glow.

  “What now?” she asked.

  The Prof held out his hand. In it were two earpieces. “Take these. Both of you.”

  “You’re letting us use them?”

  He nodded. “Easier than rushing all the way over there.”

  She twisted the device into her ear. There was a whooshing sensation and shapes began to appear. Another room, brighter than this one, was overlaid on top of it. White walls, benches, bars. A cell.

  In the center were Lacey and Pip.

  She gasped.

  “Where is this?”

  “County jail,” replied the Prof.

  “How long have they been there?”

  “Only a couple of hours. Madonna has already spoken to them.”

  “Can she get them released?”

  “Yes. But there are… well, there are restrictions.”

  “Why? She’s Madonna Ciccone. The most famous woman in your world. Surely she can tell the cops what happened?”

  “It’s not as easy as that.”

  Mike walked in front of her, almost colliding with the virtual Lacey. He looked unsteady on his feet, which were hovering a foot above the floor of the cell. She looked down to find she, too, was hovering.

  “Can you adjust it?” she asked. “This is odd.”

  “It’s deliberate,” said Sarita. “Ensures you don’t forget where you really are.”

  She thought of the time she had gone into the Hive before. She had no recollection of floating.

  “How do you get used to this?”

  “We’re on the floor,” said Sarita. “We’re used to it. No risk of disassociation.”

  “But you’re level with me.”

  “In real life, yes. And in the Hive. It’s just the floor that’s in a different place.”

  Alex blinked. This was making her head spin.

  “Don’t do that,” said the Prof.

  “Do what?”

  “Rub your eyes.”

  “Why not?”

  “Not sure. But whenever I rub my eyes in the Hive, I fall over.”

  “So why can’t Madonna get them out?”

  Madonna shimmered into existence outside Lacey’s cell. “They’re off-worlders. You think I can just throw my weight around and make them disappear? I’m not the President, you know.”

  “Who is the President?”

  “You don’t need to know that. She’s a bungling idiot, though.”

  Alex contemplated diving further into the Hive and finding out the name of the president in this world. Maybe it was the doppelgänger of a politician from her own world.

  “Don’t,” said Madonna. “There isn’t time.”

  “Who are you talking to?” asked Lacey.

  “Lacey! It’s me, Alex!”

  Lacey ignored her.

  “Just a colleague. Nothing for you to concern yourself with,” said Madonna.

  “How come Madonna can hear me and Lacey can’t?”

  “She’s wearing a prototype earpiece,” said the Prof. “Allows two-way conversation with output-only observers.”

  “I’m not going to bother asking what that means,” said Mike.

  “Good. Because I’m not all that sure myself.”

  Madonna turned back to Lacey. “You’re sure about this?”

  Alex stepped forward, colliding with the sleek white bench. She winced.

  “See what I mean?” said Sarita.

  “What’s she sure about?” asked Alex. “What’s going on?”

  She looked between Sarita, Mike and the Prof. They were all engrossed in the Hive, ignoring her.

  “This is useless.” She ripped out her earpiece. Her ear exploded in a thousand tiny shards of pain. She stifled a shriek and clapped her hand to it.

  “What are you doing?” asked Mike, still wearing his earpiece. He was looking at her, but in the way her Auntie Morag did when in reality she was concentrating on a knitting pattern.

  “I’m going over there,” she said. “I can’t do anything from here.”

  Mike blinked. His pupils dilated and his focus solidified. “There isn’t time.”

  “Why not?”

  “Put that thing back in, and you’ll see. I think they’re about to jump.”

  “What?”

  She squeezed the earpiece between her fingers and slid it back into her ear. She was ready for the sensation this time and it felt familiar, even pleasant.

  She pulled her shoulders back and tried to orient herself. She was no longer in a prison cell. Instead she was elsewhere in the police station. A woman in a bright green uniform with two stripes on her shoulder sat at a tall desk. She wore an earpiece and had that half-concentrating look on her face.

  In front of the desk stood Madonna. Next to her were Lacey and Pip.

  “What’s going on? Is she getting them bailed?”

  “I think she’s making it look like she is,” replied Mike.

  Madonna was smiling at the policewoman. “Thank you very much,” she said. “I appreciate it.”

  The woman shrugged. “Just doin’ my job.”

  She handed over a manila file. Alex stared at it, surprised they used something so archaic here.

  “What’s the paperwork?”

  “It’s not real,” said the Prof. “It represents the paperwork that the policewoman has just given Madonna in the Hive. We didn’t have that sort of thing when the Hive started up but found that it added an extra edge to people’s experience, made it more pleasing.”

  “Hmm. Very nice. What now?”

  “Watch.”

  Madonna took the file and opened it. She slid out a sheet of paper and replaced it with another one which she unfolded from her pocket.

  “She’s fabricating evidence,” said Alex.

  “Shush.”

  Alex stared at Madonna, wondering if the woman could hear her. Madonna had bent the rules to help her on her last case. It hadn’t occurred to her that she’d do the same thing working against her.

  The policewoman took the file back.

  “How did she not see that?”

  “It’s the Hive. Perception is twisty,” said the Prof.

  “Twisty? More like corrupt.”

  “Do you want Lacey to be released, or don’t you?” snapped Sarita. Alex clenched her fists.

  The officer stamped the file with the largest, most stampy-sounding stamp Alex had ever seen. Madonna nodded at her and guided Lacey and Pip to the door.

  They left the building and a breeze hit Alex’s face. She looked around her, re
assuring herself that she was still in the MOO.

  “Now,” said Madonna. “You’ve made your decision.” She looked at Lacey. “You’re sure about it?”

  Alex stepped forward, wondering what this decision was.

  Lacey looked at Pip nervously. “Yes. We’re sure.”

  Pip gave her an uncertain look in return and grabbed her hand. Lacey stiffened but didn’t retract it.

  “Good,” said Madonna. She drew a small object from her pocket. It was wooden, with two dials on the top. It looked like something from a museum.

  Alex felt her blood run cold. She could feel iciness emanating from the device, even on this chilly evening. It was like it was sucking all the warmth out of the world.

  Madonna grasped one of the dials lightly. She nodded at Pip. He tightened his grip on Lacey’s hand.

  A blue glow appeared in front of him. He raised his arm and started moving his fingers, playing with the light, twisting it and bending it.

  “No!” cried Alex.

  The glow grew. Lacey watched it, her chest rising and falling, her wide eyes reflecting the light.

  “It’s a portal!” Alex cried. “We have to stop him!”

  She stepped forward and walked right through Pip. She turned back to see the glow had lightened in the center. It was flashing, zinging.

  She looked round at Sarita, Mike and the Prof. The Prof and Mike were glassy-eyed. Watching. Sarita was looking at Alex, shaking her head.

  The circle of light brightened. Pip was a shadow against it. Lacey stood closer to him, staring into the rift.

  Alex reached out her hand as they stepped forward. Pip then Lacey went into the disc. Madonna was on the other side, her face twisted in concentration.

  The disc flashed once then collapsed in on itself.

  Lacey and Pip were gone.

  64

  Milky Way

  Everything turned dark. Lacey could feel nothing but Pip’s hand in her own and a roaring wind circling around them. She closed her eyes, hoping she’d made the right choice.

  When the wind stilled, she opened her eyes. Pip was next to her, crouching on the ground, panting. He looked spent.

  It was dark, a darkness that felt solid after the brightness of the world where they’d just been. Lacey had no idea if it had been another parallel universe or maybe a future version of her own world.