battery bank and communications, the gaming system is on a separate link from everything else. This was your choice, please remember.”
Kendra thought she was going to scream. She saw where this was headed, and didn’t like it at all.
“You’re telling me you think I have no authority to search the dome?”
“I’m telling you that the repercussions are huge. My family has made a large chunk of its name in the entertainment industry, which is why I’ve taken personal responsibility in this matter. What you propose to do now could risk its relationship with the IFGS, and gaming worldwide. Do you want to make that decision?”
“I do. My husband is in that dome,” she said.
“All the more reason to assume that things are secure,” Cowles said. “All we’re asking for is four hours.”
“Four hours,” she said. “A lot can happen in four hours.”
“I’m afraid that I insist on the right to appeal to my board of directors.”
“As on-site chief, I have the ability to make decisions-”
“And if the dome actually belonged to Cowles at this moment, that might make a difference,” Leonard Cowles said.
“Four hours.” Kendra drummed her fingers against the table. “In all good conscience, I cannot allow this.”
“It is not your decision to make.”
Kendra felt a burning sensation on the left side of her head, deep behind her ear. Dammit. The air in front of her rippled. “Ms. Griffin?” Stan Linberg said urgently. “There is a news bulletin that you might want to see. Now.”
Something was very very wrong, even worse than she currently dreamed, but she couldn’t detect the shape of it. It crawled her scalp. Bad times coming.
The air rippled, and a newsfeed appeared, an Asian newsman reading from a teleprompter as images of explosions in some tropical country played in the background.
“-death in the Republic of Kikaya, where rebel forces hold both international airports and the major communications facilities after a lightning raid in the early morning hours. King Abdul Kikaya, the last remaining monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, has responded swiftly. Paralysis among his troops suggests that there has been a deep penetration of his military chain of command, and-”
“Cut,” she said, and the image froze. “All right, Stan, this is bad news for someone. Why me?”
“Because… at least one of the gamers is playing under an assumed name, and his point of origin is the Republic of Kikaya. We have investment capital from the republic, and… we actually have two workers from the republic here at Heinlein.”
“Really?” That raised her eyebrows. She knew of several Central African workers among her people, but didn’t remember any from Kikaya.
“Yes. They’re naturalized American citizens, but I remember some conversation about them. They stand out because they’re twins.”
“Twins?” That raised a memory. “Thomas, maybe?”
“Yes, and Doug. They were supposed to cycle back to Earth, but both extended their tours. Anyway, because of those connections, when I was going through the gamer list I saw the red flag and looked closer. There was a secret of some kind there, and I admit I dug into it.”
She felt like a cold lump of rotten cottage cheese was sitting in the pit of her stomach. Something bad was coming. “And?”
“And the participant traveling as ‘Ali Shannar’ is actually Prince Ali of Kikaya, heir to the throne.”
“Shit,” she said. She looked up at Xavier and Cowles. “And what do you make of that?”
“Ms. Griffin. I am sorry to hear of instability in the Republic of Kikaya, but that is an unstable region, I believe. What possible connection can it have with events a quarter-million miles away?” Spreading his hands in supplication, Cowles seemed the very soul of reason.
“Xavier?” she asked. “You are Game Master, and if you gave permission, we could elongate the break time, and do a sweep of the dome-”
“Let’s not,” he said. “Most of the dome is already under observation. Patch in the security cameras to the gaming units, and create a full dome image. I’m sure our missing player will turn up.”
“And with a perfectly reasonable explanation,” she said. She sighed, and stood. “Well, I’m afraid that you’re right: The IFGS controls that dome for the next three days. But when I can get that board meeting, our lawyers are going to look at that contract.” Kendra placed her hands flat on the table and locked eyes first with Cowles, and then Xavier. “But you’d better pray that there’s nothing wrong in there.”
22
1056 hours
Asako Tabata’s capsule buzzed up to the edge of the abyss. A slender camera probe extended from the tip and bent down to peer into the darkness.
“What do we have?” Sharmela asked.
“A looong drop,” Asako said. They had finished their meal, and, after reiteration of their mission (to travel into the forbidden lunar depths to rescue Professor Cavor), had been ushered into a gloomy rock tunnel by an insectoid guardian and sent on their way.
The nine gamers and their guide proceeded with greater caution now. While Xavier would never have killed one of them off in the first hour of the game, now that they had been fed and rested, he might very well consider it all in good fun to slaughter a couple while they were digesting their food.
Ho ho ho.
Wayne watched Asako there at the edge of the drop, a four-foot fissure slicing the narrow tunnel in two. Perfectly easy for most of them to make a jump like that, especially on the Moon. But Asako, in her bubble?
Her withered hands manipulated several controls, and a little rail extrusion grew out of her front bumper, three feet long… and then four. It anchored to the far side, making its own bridge, and her pod began to hitch itself across. When she made it to the far side, they broke into appreciative applause. Then the others just jumped across one at a time. Only Mickey Abernathy had any difficulty at all, and that wasn’t from the length of the gap. He misjudged his angle and hit the wall a meter up, almost bouncing back into the gap. Maud grabbed his tunic and pulled him to safety.
More applause as Mickey pretended to be even more off balance than he really was, wheeling his arms and making a great show of being terrified.
The show must go on.
The bioluminescent fungus glowed just enough to make an effectively creepy passage. Somewhere up ahead of them, water dripped against rock. Angelique held up her hand, and they stopped, listening.
Somewhere up ahead of them, someone or something screamed. The sound was low, so full of echo it was barely discernible as anything originating in a living throat. But it was enough that swords and guns emerged from sheaths and holsters.
Angelique motioned Wayne up to the front, but as he passed Scotty he whispered, “Take the rear. Something’s coming and you move as if you recognize the sharp end of a sword.”
The big black guy grinned like a shark. “Kept me breathing a time or two.”
Why did he have the feeling that that extended outside the gaming world? And was he Ali’s friend? Relative? Lover? Something else? No time now. That echoing sound was closer… and then gone. Silence as they walked through the tunnel.
His skin started creeping again. Dammit! Why was he experiencing that? He’d heard that Dream Park had some trade secrets they refused to discuss publicly. A former DP tech had appeared on a vid special discussing something called “neutral scent” and various subliminal sound cues designed to freak players out.
