Fragmented (The Game is Life Book 6), page 3
“Yes.” Skylar raised one eyebrow.
“There’s another close by, isn’t there?”
Skylar pointed to the right and Courtney laughed.
“How many?”
“That I can sense?”
Stephanie nodded.
“Three.”
“Damn.” Stephanie shook her head. “Are they harmless?”
“Why do we even care?” Courtney asked. “It’s not like they are popping up all over the place.”
“Um”—Skylar nodded—“that’s exactly what it’s like.”
Stephanie walked to the curb and raised her hand. A black limousine pulled up and they got in. Stephanie sat on one side, and the sisters the other. “I wonder if the other side senses them as well.”
“My guess is they don’t.” Courtney looked out the window.
“Why you say that?”
“Because if they did,” Skylar spoke, “they would have panicked and called a meeting by now.”
Stephanie laughed and shook her head. “That’s not necessarily true.”
“Okay.”
“What do you think it is?” Courtney asked.
Stephanie rubbed her forehead. “It started when they added the other games, right?”
“Yeah.” Skylar confirmed.
“Three games placed on the same framework.” Stephanie shook her head. “I think that’s what’s causing the hiccup.”
“What you want to do about it, boss?”
“I’d love to turn it into some kind of advantage.”
Skylar groaned.
“You think that’s a bad idea?”
“No, but I know it means I’m going to have to spend more time feeling nails dragged down a chalkboard since I seem to be the only one able to find them.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Ha!”
“I am.”
“I know. It feels strange to have the Devil say sorry.”
Stephanie smiled. “I don’t say it often, but you girls have wormed your way into my heart.”
“Weakness.” Skylar winked.
“Strength,” Courtney replied.
Skylar sighed. “I will help with the shimmers.”
“Thanks, Sky. You’re a saint.”
The three women laughed.
8
Trew sat in the main area of the Game Central cafeteria, a steaming mug of coffee sitting beside the tablet he was reading from. He looked up as Thirteen and Danni arrived holding trays of food and drink. “Morning.” He smiled.
“There he is.” Danielle set her tray on the table and sat down beside him, one hand moving to touch his back.
Trew leaned forward and she offered her cheek which he pecked before glancing at the two plates on her tray. “One of those for me?”
Danni nodded. “Unless you’ve already eaten.” His brows furrowed and she laughed. “You don’t remember if you have or not, do you?”
“I would if I had, wouldn’t I?”
“Depends on the day.” She set a plate in front of her husband. “Here you go.”
“You’re the best.”
“As long as you remember that, your life will continue to be pleasant.”
He smiled at Thirteen as he reached for a fork. “Morning, Thirteen. How are things?
“Good, thanks.” The man dipped his head and took a bite of food. “I think we’ve managed to completely isolate the signal from the Dream.”
“That’s outstanding. How long before we can communicate with them?”
Thirteen frowned and shook his head. “I don’t think it’s going to happen, Trew.”
“Aw. You and Sylvia were so sure we could use the signal to talk back and forth with the other reality. What happened to change your minds?”
“Couple things.” Thirteen shook his head. “Want the technical explanation?”
Trew laughed. “I barely follow the conversation when you cover the simple stuff like quantum mechanics. Let’s wait until we’re with Sylvia. She’s always able to translate so that I can understand what you’re talking about.”
Danni laughed. “I said the same thing. After breakfast, we can go talk with her.”
“Fair enough.” Trew took a bite of food. “Have you looked in on Addisyn, Hun?”
Danielle nodded. “Nothing too interesting so far.”
“It’s a strange thing.” Trew reached for his coffee. “I know she learns from making mistakes during her plays.” He took a sip and shook his head. “Still, I don’t want her to go through the pain that comes with the lessons. Is it too much to pray for a boring life for our baby at least once?”
Danielle smiled. “It’s nice to be able to pray with confidence that it can make a difference.”
“I find it fascinating that religion is so new to everyone on Tygon,” Thirteen said. “I wish I had been able to visit Tygon when no one believed in a God.”
Trew raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“On Earth, religion has caused tremendous problems on every level.”
“And what about the Dream?”
Thirteen smiled and took another bite of food.
Danni laughed. “Nice try, Trew.”
“Come on, man.” Trew let the half-eaten piece of toast fall onto the plate and pushed his tray away. “I don’t know why you insist on being so secretive about your home reality. What harm can come from sharing a bit of information with us?”
Thirteen raised one eyebrow. “My gut says it’s not a good idea.”
Trew sighed. “Talk like that makes me think that the Dream is not a very fun reality.”
Thirteen shrugged.
Trew reached for a napkin and wiped his mouth. “When we open a line of communication with them I intend to ask whoever picks up the phone a ton of questions.”
“The phone.” Danielle’s tone made Trew look at her.
“What about it?”
“Isn’t that how Thorn talks to us from the Dream? By phone.”
“I never really thought about it, but yeah, I think it’s by phone.”
“Then it is possible.” Danielle smiled.
“Must be.”
“Why does Sylvia think we won’t be able to do it, then?”
Danielle shrugged and looked at Thirteen, who mimicked the gesture.
***
They entered the office. Thirteen offered the seat behind the computer to Trew, but he waved one hand and motioned for the other man to take the spot. “She might ask you to look stuff up.”
“Thanks.” Thirteen waved his hand over the keyboard and the monitor lit up. He highlighted an icon and clicked it. There was a beep followed by a pleasant-sounding fanfare. “Good morning, Sylvia.”
There was no reply.
Trew frowned. “Sylvia?”
Nothing.
“That’s odd.” Danni sat in one of the empty chairs and crossed her arms.
“Maybe it didn’t open correctly. Happens sometimes.” Thirteen typed on the keyboard and looked at the screen. Then he frowned. “Hmm.”
“What is it?” Trew sat in the chair beside Danni.
“There’s a new message on the desktop. From Sylvia.”
Trew and Danni waited while Thirteen read.
“You don’t look happy,” Danni said.
“She says there’s a potential issue caused by all three games overlapping on the same platform.”
“What kind of issue?”
Thirteen shook his head. “That’s all it says.”
“You and Sylvia have a different relationship than Sylvia and I.” Trew ran a hand through his hair. “We always spoke.”
Thirteen frowned. “This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a written message.”
“Oh.”
“Sylvia?” Danni said. “Are you there?”
Silence.
“Try the program again,” Trew said.
“I have. It’s not working.”
“We can’t speak to her?”
Thirteen shook his head.
9
Brandon knocked and entered the penthouse suite. “Hello, beautiful people. How are things in your world today?” He removed his shoes and hung up his jacket, then joined Trew and Danni in the living room. He plopped into a leather chair with a sigh, then noticed Trew’s expression. “What’s up?”
“We’ve got a problem.”
Brandon laughed. “Of course we do. I’m sitting in problem central. Life at the top is never hassle-free.” Danni opened her mouth and he raised a hand. “I know, I know. There are many moments over the years where we get together and everything is fine.”
“That’s right.”
“But I expect an issue of some sort when I come to visit.” He grinned. “Can I go first?”
“Sure.”
“Really?”
Danni shrugged.
Brandon smiled and sat up. “I found Lohkam.”
“Excellent.” Trew smiled. “Lohkam dead is one less pain in our side.”
“He’s still alive.”
Trew paused. “You need a hand taking care of him?”
“No. We crossed paths but I wasn’t allowed to deal with him.”
Trew and Danni exchanged a look. “The old man was there to stop you.”
“Close. Singing man.”
“Ah.” Trew nodded.
“His name’s Cormac, by the way.” Brandon filled them in on the rest of the details of his meeting at the restaurant.
Trew chuckled. “I would like to have seen Lohkam’s face when he returned.”
Brandon laughed. “He was a mess. I’ve never seen the guy so shaken up.”
“If the Dream is dead then how are we still here?” Danni frowned. Months earlier, Trew had finally shared with her that Tygon was a virtual reality simulation created by Thorn in the Dream. “Wouldn’t the power that allows us to exist have shut off if the Dream was destroyed?”
“Not necessarily,” Brandon said. “I can think of a few ways that the Dream could end yet allow us to continue on.”
Danni shrugged. “If you say so. Either way, we’re definitely still here.”
“Do you believe that the Dream is dead?” Trew asked.
Brandon pursed his lips. “Yeah.”
Trew lay down and rested his head on Danni’s lap. “This is a big deal.”
“How ‘bout the two of you?” Brandon asked. “What bad news did you have?”
Danni stroked her husband’s hair. “Sylvia has disappeared.”
Brandon laughed. “What do you mean?”
“We tried to speak with her today and she didn’t answer.”
“Pfft. You likely made her angry. I can’t tell you how many times she’s refused to speak with me over the years.”
“This is different. When she is quiet, we can still sense her presence, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“This time was different.”
“I see.”
“You ever get a sense that she wasn’t present, even when she refused to talk to you?”
“No.” Brandon stroked his chin. “Is the Game still functioning?”
“Yes.”
“All three of them?”
Danni nodded.
“Then Sylvia is in there somewhere. Without her presence, the entire thing would fall apart. She’s the computer that runs the simulations.”
“You told us that the personality in the office was only a part of her.”
“That’s correct. For all intents and purposes, she is a god, able to be in many places at once. There’s no computer more advanced than her. At least, that I know of.”
“Maybe we are wrong and she’s there. You should come check, Brandon.”
The young man stood. “Okay, let’s go take a look.”
***
“You’re right.” Brandon turned the monitor off and rested his elbows on the desk. “She isn’t here. It feels strange.”
Trew and Danni exchanged glances. “That’s bad, right?” she asked.
Brandon closed his eyes and rubbed them. “I can’t think of a scenario where it would be good.”
10
Eyes closed, arms straight out, and palms facing down, Cooper tended to his flock.
He could feel the glow—the golden energy he had become so familiar with over the years—connecting his palms to the living globes resting in the depression of sand in front of him.
First, he monitored the energy contained in the flow, observing the aura and strength of energy as Aleph had taught him to do. He squinted his eyes tighter and drew a breath through his nose. “I think it’s good.”
“Good?” He could hear the amusement in Aleph’s voice.
“Within functioning parameters.”
“Is the frequency perfect?”
He considered her question and compared it to his memory of the last time he had inspected the globe. “I think that it’s buzzing a bit high.”
“You’re right. Can you help it to regain the proper tone?”
He searched his memory, comparing the current sounds from what he recalled. Then he hummed softly.
“That’s how it sounds now.”
“Is it?”
“Try this.” She was so close that Cooper felt her breath against his ear. She hummed softly, holding a single tone, pure and steady. He listened for a heartbeat, then hummed himself, adjusting the pitch until the two sounds became one. She tapped him on the shoulder and he visualized sending the frequency into his palms where it swirled with his glow and then flowed down into the globe. After a few moments, he felt the ball of light respond, changing its hum to match the new one.
“Hold it until you have run out of breath, and then stop singing while continuing to exert your will. Do that for five breath cycles and then break contact.”
Cooper followed Aleph’s instructions, winding down his energy after the fifth breath. He leaned back, placed both hands on his lap with palms facing up, took a final cleansing breath, and opened his eyes.
Aleph sat across the small pit, her lips pursed, making her appear solemn. She blinked once, grinned, and nodded. “Well done.”
“Thank you.”
“I agree.” A man’s voice sounded from behind Cooper.
The two stood and turned to face the man approaching them. He bowed, first to Aleph and then to Cooper. “He responds to your cues well, Aleph.”
“There is sufficient emptiness inside him that he may be taught.”
The man grinned. He was dressed in the same style of robe that everyone here wore. His skin was tanned and he had light blond hair, cut short, with a tousled look to it. An oval-shaped green stone with swirling flecks of gold in it hung from a gold chain around his neck. He appeared to be totally surrounded by an aura. Cooper frowned. “Are you glowing?”
The man raised one eyebrow and Aleph coughed. When Cooper looked at her, she shook her head. “Cooper, I am honoured to introduce you to our leader, Gimel.”
Gimel bowed his head and Cooper smiled as he did the same. “What is it that you find funny, Cooper?”
“Not funny. Odd. Your names are different, yet I feel as if I’ve heard them before.”
“Ah. That is memory tugging deep inside of you. How interesting.” Gimel smiled. “In another realm, I am known as the Light, if you would rather call me that.”
“Um, no, that’s okay. Gimel is fine.”
“As you wish.” He raised one eyebrow at Aleph. “I was not aware that a wielder was staying with us.”
Aleph placed her hands together and held them in front of her chest. “I apologize. I assumed that you knew.”
Gimel laughed. “Vav must be responsible.”
“Yes.”
“I would say that I will take it up with him next time we cross paths, but we know that I won’t.”
Aleph grinned. “He gets away with much.”
“We owe him more than can ever be repaid.” Gimel and Aleph both bowed low.
“What’s a wielder?” Cooper asked.
Gimel frowned and looked closely at Cooper’s gloves. “He has only one?”
Aleph shrugged. “Yes, and he did not have it for very long before Vav brought him to me.”
“Curious.” Gimel’s eyes softened as he pointed at the bottle cap. “Those who wear the red bottle caps are called wielders.”
“I see. And it’s not common for wielders to spend time in this reality?”
“Exactly.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
Cooper shook his head. “It seems that wherever I go, I stumble upon questions which have no answers.”
“I would hope so.” Gimel frowned. “If there is a reality where no questions exist, it must be a terrible place.”
“I wouldn’t mind visiting it,” Cooper mumbled. “At least for a few minutes.”
Gimel smiled. “You have him tending, sister?”
“The flock he delivered to us, yes.”
“Excellent.”
“One did not survive impact.”
The corners of Gimel’s eyes tightened. “The primary globe?”
“Correct.”
“That is most likely why Vav brought him to us so soon. How many subsets?”
“Four.”
Gimel raised his eyebrows in what Cooper took for surprise. Then he smiled again and nodded. “Four is an impressive number. I will let you return to your work. It was good to meet you, Cooper.”
“Nice to meet you as well.”
“Aleph, please bring him to me when it is over.”
Aleph bowed as the man walked a few steps away and made a doorway of light, stepping through and disappearing.
“What did he mean, ‘when it is over?’” Cooper asked.
“It is rare, for subsets to survive when their primary has extinguished.”
“How rare?”
“The odds of success are slim. Still, there is a chance that you can be the exception. You are a wielder, after all.”
Cooper looked down at the pulsing globes. “I don’t want them to die.”
Aleph came to stand beside him, resting one hand on his shoulder. “Then be the exception.”
Cooper nodded.
