Now was the time to make a move. All of the planning, all of the risks previously taken were all in preparation for this moment. I had come here to find out what had happened ten years ago. If only I knew what I was getting myself into. I looked over the camp which was being brightly lit by the fireworks. The explosions felt like a distant fire fight, or bombing raid I had only witnessed in film. There was the feeling that they indicated some form of destruction, though the extent of which was unknown. I felt completely ill.
‘Brian’s here,’ Alice said, moving to the entrance. All of our eyes followed her to see this mysterious friend who had been helping us. In the sporadic lighting, the emergence of the shadowy figure did fill me with a sense of awe.
‘Sorry to keep you all waiting, just needed to organise the supply of these,’ Brian said, patting his backpack. Thanks to the sheer familiarity of his voice, the awe was shattered. I felt stupid for even feeling it in the first place. I think I’m getting too hyped up.
‘More technology?’ Chloe asked.
‘Just boring stuff I’m afraid,’ Brian replied, pulling out a few small cases. He opened one of them exposing its contents of two handguns and several clips of ammunition. My throat caught at the sight of the weapons, though I tried not to show it.
‘Just a basic kinetic weapon based on the rapid expansion of a small charge,’ I said, for Chloe’s benefit.
‘Thanks for that,’ she replied in a cool tone. I felt a little better.
‘Now, only Alice, Luck and Sean are permitted to use the firearms,’ Brian said strongly, presenting the guns for collection. ‘That means that no one else is to touch the firearms. Even if they are dropped, leave them on the ground, by order of the legal department.’ I had no problems with that order; I would never want to fire a gun anyway.
There were four guns in total; the last one, presumably for Jessie, was picked up by Brian.
‘Didn’t you just finish saying that only us three were permitted to have those,’ Luck said, gesturing to the weapon that was now in Brian’s pocket.
‘I can trust myself not to shoot anyone,’ he replied bluntly, picking up one of the other cases.
‘For this mission you will be divided into two teams,’ Brian commanded, whilst handing out what appeared to be short-wave radios. ‘Team one will consist of Luck, Maria and myself and we will to infiltrate the main control room for the virtual reality. Meanwhile, team two, consisting of Sean, Alice, Dylan and Chloe, will make their way to the super computer and plant charges which are currently located in this bag.’ He gestured to the bag he had brought. ‘The aim is to destroy it in the case of the system being used against us as there is a whole army out there that can be made to believe whatever the Head Councillor wishes. We will be in constant communication using the radios which are encrypted for your convenience. Probably pointless with most of your brains being tapped, but well, at least we try. Any questions?’
‘I request that Chloe comes with team one,’ Luck said, casually putting his arm around her back.
‘…Okay, it doesn’t really matter who she goes with, just don’t let her slow us down,’ he remarked.
‘Hey! I’m not dead weight!’ snapped Chloe.
‘ No you’re not, you’re the living kind which needs to be protected aren’t you. Just try not to distract anyone with your feminine charm alright? Good. Any real questions?’
‘I have to hold everyone’s hand to protect them right?’ Maria asked.
‘What?’ Brian said.
‘We believe physical contact with Mary can prevent the Head Councillor from having access to your mind,’ Luck informed.
‘That’s weird, do you know why? Does it completely block out the systems influence?’ Brian asked, excitement evident in his voice.
‘I don’t really know,’ she said, a little disappointed. ‘I only know that I can’t read people’s minds when the Head Councillor is touching them and Forrest and I had a conversation that wasn’t detected by the head councillor.’ The sound of Forrest’s name made my stomach turn.
‘Forrest?!? Did he give you a good reason for betraying us all?’ Chloe demanded coarsely.
‘He is just scared of the Head Councillor, I think he wants to help us now, though he is not sure how to go about it.’ Maria explained.
‘So he said he was sorry for handing us into the Head Councillor did he?’ Chloe retorted sarcastically.
‘How do you know that he is a friend now?’ I asked, attempting to avoid joining Chloe in her hate fest.
‘I can verify that Forrest has been acting respectably around Maria and that his activities whilst I was observing have been sporadic and suspicious,’ Brian interjected. ‘He may not be a trustworthy friend, but he appears less so as a scheming enemy.’
‘Don’t worry Chloe, you never have to trust him again, just trust me,’ Luck reassured.
‘I still want to hurt him,’ she said, calming slightly.
‘I know he is trustworthy,’ implored Maria. ‘I read his mind he won’t betray us again, I’m sure of it.’
‘Okay, we will trust no one.’ Brian stated clearly. ‘Even if they wish to help, they will be restrained. That includes Forrest. If anyone resists, use reasonable force. If they run away, ignore them. We know our objective and we will accomplish them quickly and effectively. Everyone understand?’ No one had any more questions and so the order was finally given to move out.
It felt surreal running through the camp towards the admin building. We were actively running towards an open confrontation with the staff of the camp and two of us were armed for it. I was sure that someone would jump out from the shifting shadows at any moment. The fireworks didn’t help as I couldn’t see or hear the inevitable attacker, not to mention how unnatural the fireworks looked as many of them were black and white when viewed through the glasses.
The Head Councillor’s motive for making a virtual fireworks display was beyond me but the sheer realism of them with the glasses removed was astounding. If I somehow got through this night I would love to have a play around to see what this set up could do. Hopefully we didn’t have to blow it up. I tried to picture what I could be doing with it in the near future. If I didn’t die. The kilo or so of high explosives currently residing in my backpack did little to inspire confidence.
Despite all my fears, we managed to make our way to the admin building without any interruption, or spontaneous detonations. All the other campers just seemed too distracted to notice us. To be honest I was expecting mind controlled zombies, not that that made any sense.
Alice tried the door but found it to be locked. Without hesitation she stepped aside, allowing Sean to deliver a powerful kick just below the door handle. With a crack the door flew open, bits of it thrown across the room. Alice and Sean rushed in guns drawn, I followed less enthusiastically, afraid of being left behind.
‘Drop the weapon!’ Sean shouted at a shocked guard. My eyes instantly snapped to the man’s pistol which was currently aimed directly at Alice.
‘Don’t shoot!’Alice yelled. ‘I can’t see it, must be virtual.’ Virtual guns can’t kill right. That should comfort me right!
‘Listen to what they say Darren,’ Leila spoke in a measured manner, seated behind her desk. ‘Their guns are real. You have no choice. ‘ Despite this, the guard remained frozen, his gun at the ready. His virtual gun.
‘We aren’t going to harm you,’ Alice said calmly, slowly walking towards him. ‘Just put the gun down.’ I wonder when the last time I breathed was. I should probably start doing that again at some point. Though maybe after Alice stops walking towards a crazed man with a gun. And then it happened.
Without any warning, two shots rang out. I saw it so clearly. The white muzzle flash, the deafening bang. I felt like I was going to be sick. But Alice didn’t fall. She didn’t even seem to notice. It was Sean who reacted.
‘DROP THE GUN!’ he yelled again. The guard wasn’t listening, his face disfigured by fear as he stared at Alice who now appeared to have blood running down her top. This was freaky. He fired two more shots to similar effect. His efforts failing he turned the gun on the next person in the room and fired. It felt like a sickening thud in my side.
I think there were a few more shots fired, but all I could hear was my heart. I touched where I felt the contact and looked at my hand. It was covered with a dark black liquid. Confused I lifted my glasses to get a better look. What greeted me was the bright red of fresh blood. My vision swam and I fell to the floor, a dull burning was beginning to grow around the wound but I tried to apply pressure to it. I think that’s what you are meant to do. Though passing out seemed like the best option at this moment.
‘Come on Dylan, stay with us.’ Alice said, suddenly at my side. ‘It’s not real, you are just reacting to shock. Can you show me where the wound is?’ I glanced towards my hand which was stained red. I think the answer to her question was pretty obvious. Though, she didn’t seem to notice the fact that her torso was also heavily blood stained. I couldn’t understand what was happening.
‘Dylan,’ Sean said firmly. ‘You know the wound is fake, Alice can’t see it because it doesn’t exist, just put your glasses on.’ With a little help I did as he instructed. The blood turned black again. ‘Even if it was real, it is not serious enough to stop you walking,’ he informed. ‘We are going to try standing you up.’ I was aware that we didn’t have much time so I nodded my approval. He knelt down beside me, allowing me to put my arm around his neck for support. Each movement resulted in a stab of pain but with great care I managed to stand up. Sure enough, I was not dying.
Looking around, Leila was nowhere to be seen and the guard was lying in a pool of red blood. I wretched, causing the pain to flare up and me to buckle, though Sean caught me this time.
‘Heh, let’s get going before I realize that I just killed a guy,’ he said. A small quiver now in his voice. I nodded, my eyes fixed on the body. We slowly hobbled to the hallway and I was a bit relieved when I lost sight of him. I tried focus on what was coming next. It was the door I had broken into earlier.
The keypad which I had previously hacked was removed, a sheet of metal covering its setting. Would we have to find another door? Then again, I’m sure they hadn’t made this door completely unusable.
‘Excuse me,’ Alice said as she began rummaging through my back pack. She pulled out a black case which contained several different shaped electrical devices. She selected three thin ones before moving to the door and placing them near the hinges.
‘Stand clear,’ she said, ushering us back around the corner. Glancing down the hall, I knew that there was a dead body in the room at the end. Another wave of sickness hit me, but that was soon interrupted by a dull bang.
The door was still standing mostly upright, but with three mangled holes where the explosives had been placed. Leaving me to support myself, Sean moved to the door and gave it a strong kick. Its hinges gave, the door swinging awkwardly in, held only by the lock which quickly broke. Sean came back to me to help me down the stairs. I declined the offer as I felt that I should be able to make it down myself. It was fake pain after all; I should be able to overcome it. Plus the challenge removed unwanted thoughts; though I stayed close to the wall in case I needed support.
The stairs led to the super computer. The towers were making a lot more noise than the last time I was there. I guess they were working hard.
‘We’ve reached the computer, no sign of Leila, over,’ Alice said over the radio.
‘We’re having a bit more trouble,’ Brian replied. ‘Quite a bit of resistance with some virtual weapons. We have managed to subdue them without casualties. You’re clear to set up. Over.’
‘Roger. Out.’
Alice came over to me and removed the bag from my back and pulled out the black cases again. She grabbed a rectangular looking device up to me which had two red guarded switches on it.
‘This is C-4 with a wireless detonator. I need you to set some up on those three towers,’ she said, gesturing to the towers on the left side of the room. ‘To arm, flick switch 1, then switch 2, in that order. Got it?’ She flicked the switches as she showed me and a little red light turned on indicating it was armed. I nodded and she handed the now armed explosive device to me be for grabbing more and moving to another tower. I hesitantly picked up two more, being ever so careful to not drop the one with the shining red light. Though they all were probably as dangerous as each other and I probably should not drop any. I carefully slid the armed device into one of the towers before hobbling to the next. It was then that I was interrupted.
‘What are you doing?’ a familiar voice asked. I turned to see Tyler who had entered through another door. I looked to Sean and Alice for guidance on what to do as they moved into strategic positions. Sean shrugged.
‘We are creating a failsafe to prevent the misuse of the virtual reality,’ I replied.
‘You’re not trying to destroy them are you? You can’t just destroy them like that.’ He seemed a little desperate.
‘What are you doing here?’ I asked. ‘You’re not working for the Head Councillor are you?’
‘No,’ he replied strongly. ‘He just showed me what can happen to people if the system is shutdown without following the proper procedure. It wrecks them mentally.’
‘Did he tell you to say that?’ Alice asked.
‘I have seen it,’ he said. ‘He did tell me to warn you about what will happen, and I know this will work to his benefit, but I have seen it. Destroying it is too dangerous, even if it is to your benefit.’
‘You do realize that he could have used VR to show you that,’ Alice explained.
‘I admit that that is a possibility, but isn’t this an experimental technology? Doesn’t it mess directly with people’s minds? Surely this is a real risk,’ he pleaded. I didn’t like this. It annoyed me that our objective was being undermined, but it did sound like a risk.
‘Look I know this sounds suspicious but I think that the Head Councillor is telling the truth. He has held nothing back from me. He showed me what will happen tonight, he has showed me the effects of the system on me and other people. He is so open with the details because he knows that he is in a position where he has the advantage. He is confident in his set up and knows that you cannot act conventionally without loss. The only way to win is to directly confront him, and even then he has the advantage.’ Tyler was left a little breathless after his tirade.
There was a short silence before Sean made a move and advanced on Tyler, pulling out some plastic handcuffs. Tyler backed away alarmed.
‘You have to listen to me. People are in danger,’ he pleaded.
‘I assure you we will take your information into account, but we will also restrain you as you present a risk,’ Sean said firmly. Tyler didn’t resist but instead focused on my eyes, pleading to support him. I still had one charge left. Alice was already on the radio.
‘We have a problem. Tyler showed up and is saying that destroying the system may cause psychological damage. Over.’
‘You can’t trust him. Leave the charges set and restrain him. Over.’ Brian replied.
‘Already done. Just keep his warning in mind, Over.’
‘Don’t worry; I have no intention of wrecking this thing. Out.’
‘Out.’
Mouthing an apology to Tyler I armed the last device and placed it in the final tower. I had to trust Brian to make the right decision. Otherwise everything will fall apart.
