herself, wondering if 'macros' worked with inactive gloves.
Suddenly, the stars of an extraordinarily clear night appeared all around her.
'Hello?' she asked.
'Yes, I'm here,' the answer came.
Laura calmed enough to survey the strange new world. It was like a show at a planetarium — blackness everywhere but in the sky.
Billions of stars formed a canopy over her head, only these stars weren't twinkling. They were fixed pixels of light. She turned slow circles in the chamber. 'This is very interesting,' she said to humor her host, 'but I think I've probably had enough for one day.'
'Do you really think it interesting?' the computer asked.
'Yes. Fascinating.' She felt as if she were standing in a pool of black ink. 'It's too dark, though.'
A beam of brilliant light lit a patch of rock just in front of her. Black swirls gave the dark surface its only texture. It looked like molten glass, but it shone dully under the beam. When Laura turned her head, the light moved as if she wore a miner's helmet.
She raised her chin to send the beam into the distance. Smooth ridges rose to head-height from the surface. Laura turned slowly in a circle, holding the beam leveled on the horizon.
'What is this?' Laura asked. 'Some sort of simulation?'
'I can't tell yo-o-u,' the computer said playfully. 'It's a secret. You'll have to guess.'
Laura froze, fixing her spotlight on a distinctly man-made object. It was a squat, flat-paneled vehicle that stood on four wide pads. A satellite dish atop it all was aimed into the sky. 'Is that a spaceship?' Laura asked.
'I can't tell you, I said,' the computer replied again.
Laura was struck by the difference between a half-joking 'I can't tell you' and the uncompromising ACCESS RESTRICTED.
Both protected Gray's secrets, but there was no comparison in the tone and tenor of the two.
This dark and alien world, however, was no place to unravel such mysteries. Laura started to walk toward what looked like a lander.
The spotlight bounced up and down no matter how hard she tried to keep it level. When she was about twenty yards from the craft, she stopped and ran the light all over it. Metal brackets lay open, making the vehicle appear incomplete. Something had lain in empty restraints.
Laura searched the horizon with her light. She could see nothing.
Nothing but thick, black cables.
Running in nearly straight lines, the wires snaked their way into the distance. She shone her spotlight on one and followed it back to its source — the lander. Dozens, maybe hundreds of cables descended to the ground from the bottom of the craft and disappeared into the darkness to all sides. Great reels were suspended underneath the fuselage but had been spooled out and now were empty.
'So you're not going to tell me what these wires are?' Laura asked.
'I can't,' the computer replied. 'It's a secret.'
With a sigh Laura began to follow the nearest cable away from the lander. It wasn't a single, thick cable, she realized, but a mass of bundled wires. A single wire split off from the rest every so often, and she took one of the branches off to the right.
'Not that one,' the computer whispered. 'Go a little farther and take the cable to your left.'
Laura did as the computer suggested and followed the cable that split off to the left. It snaked its way around the obstacles that periodically blocked their way.
'This isn't my idea of fun,' Laura muttered, laboring across the uneven surface. The computer either didn't hear her or chose not to reply.
She walked on for quite some time.
Laura almost tripped over a small silver canister. The cylinder was shiny under her bright light. It looked to be made of stainless steel and was roughly shaped like a keg of beer. There were grips at the cylinder's head, and the black cable was clamped at the top.
'What's this?' Laura asked, but there was no reply.
She reached down to touch the canister. A metal claw appeared in the light. Laura twisted her hand and spread her fingers, and the metal tongs turned and parted in unison.
She screamed and frantically made the 'cutting' motion. The screens went blank with a sudden crackle, and the thick chamber door hissed and slowly swung open.
18
Laura hurried through the foyer of Gray's house toward the dining room to which Janet directed her. 'Mr. Gray…!' Laura began excitedly.
But when she saw Hoblenz seated by Gray's side, she swallowed the rest of the sentence. Her multiple questions would have to wait a while longer.
The two men rose. Gray helped Laura into the chair opposite Hoblenz.
Their three place settings were at the end of the long table, far away from the spectacular views.
'Where are all the others?' Laura asked as she draped her napkin across her lap.
'Oh… working through dinner,' Gray said, not looking Laura in the eye.
Hoblenz, however, stared straight at her.
The service as always was prompt. No one said a word as white-jacketed waiters served the diners with choreographed motions.
Laura glanced up at Gray repeatedly, but he studiously avoided her gaze.
'What's going on?' Laura finally asked.
'I'm sorry, Dr. Aldridge,' Hoblenz said, 'but it's a fairly sensitive security matter.'
'Go ahead and tell her,' Gray intervened, shoveling the shrimp remoulade into his mouth and not looking at Laura.
Hoblenz put his fork down and wiped his lips with a napkin. 'Well, all right.' He hesitated. 'This afternoon we had a penetration of a secure zone.'
Laura was instantly on guard. 'What secure zone?'
Hoblenz looked at Gray, who nodded.
'It was a VR workstation, we're pretty sure,' Hoblenz said. 'The log showed that a bunch of VR drivers got loaded.'
'It was me,' Laura said immediately.
Gray looked up — not at her, but at Hoblenz.
Hoblenz threw his napkin down on the table, returning Gray's stare. 'That don't prove a goddamn thing, sir!'
Gray turned to Laura. 'How did you get in?' he asked, looking now directly into her eyes.
'The computer told me to go there, and I did.'
'Where did you go when you were in cyberspace?' Gray asked. He chose each word with care.
Laura glanced back and forth between the two men. 'I… I went to your facility in Germany, and then to a shopping mall.'
'Tyson's Corner outside Washington?' Gray asked, and Laura nodded.
Hoblenz looked over at his boss. He wore a confused look on his face.
'Anywhere… else?' Gray probed. Laura held his gaze for a moment, then nodded again — just once. Gray stared back at her through eyes that narrowed to mere slits, then abruptly said, 'Mr. Hoblenz, would you leave us, please.'
Hoblenz arched his eyebrows in shock. 'Sir?'
'I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave us alone. I apologize about dinner. I'll give you a rain
