“You’ve only told me a little about how the game works. Give me more details.”
“It starts off simple. Your character is always a visitor to earth, and your goal is to find a hidden spaceship and fly it to the center of the galaxy. You start with only your hands and feet to defend yourself, but you can pick up weapons along the way. You need them because, like most games, you’re attacked the further you go. You can form alliances with other characters the game creates, and they can help you in tight situations. But just when you begin to depend on them, you usually discover they’re Shadows.”
“Shadows?”
“People the game is secretly controlling. They’re the most dangerous part of the game. You need Shadows to get past certain areas—you can get killed if you don’t agree to work with them—but they’ll often stab you in the back at the worst times. Like when you’re eating or sleeping.”
“You eat and sleep in this game?”
“It’s very realistic. You even meet beautiful women that you’d swear are other people out there playing the game with you. And maybe they are real, it’s hard to tell. Remember, the game is tied into the Internet. I have no idea how many people are playing it.”
“So these characters seem to have a life of their own?” I ask.
“Yeah. That’s why it’s so upsetting when they betray you.”
“Have you been killed in your sleep?”
“I’ve been murdered sitting on the toilet. But dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen. If you die, you just start over. The worst thing is when a Shadow turns you into one of them.”
“How does it do that?”
“They get you to trust them.”
“Go on.”
Seymour hesitates. The question disturbs him more than it should. After, all, he’s just talking about a game. I have to wait for his answer.
“That’s pretty much it,” he says. “I never got close to finding the spaceship and leaving the earth. But Matt told me he’s closing in on it.”
“Does the game end then?”
“I don’t know. There are hints along the way that there are plenty of worlds out in the galaxy you have to get by before you can reach home.”
“Do you have any idea what home is like?”
“The game doesn’t say a lot about it, except you get the feeling, when you’re playing, that you want to reach it before it’s too late.”
“Too late for what?”
“I don’t know,” he says. He practically jumps out of his seat. He rubs his palms against his legs as he looks down at me. “I just thought I should warn you is all.”
“Thanks,” I say.
He leaves the pilot’s cabin in a hurry. Anyone else and I wouldn’t be concerned. But I know from experience that Seymour has remarkable radar. If he feels the game is dangerous, he’s probably right. Plus anything created by the Cradle can’t be too healthy. It’s not as if that group was worried about entertaining the teenagers of the world.
I have a secure cell that’s been designed by Matt. Paula has a similar device. After a moment’s hesitation, I dial her number. Seymour is right, there’s a part of me that fears to approach her. Paula knows things about my future I don’t know, and her advice is often brutal. It was Paula who warned me to stay away from Teri. Advice I chose to ignore, much to my dismay.
Paula takes her time answering. It makes me wonder if I’m disturbing her meditation. The woman spends a lot of time in silence.
“Hello?” she says. “Sita?”
“I suppose I’m the only one who would call you on this line.”
“You or Matt. How are you doing?”
“You read about the explosion in Malibu?”
“It’s on TV. They’re still carrying out the bodies of the children from the wreckage. They’re saying most of them were in some sort of basement.”
“I was the one who gave the order to blow up the building.”
“That must have been a tough decision.”
“That’s an understatement. Was it the right one?”
“Why do you ask? You’re not someone who looks to others for validation. Or are you looking for something else?”
“I’m not looking for absolution, if that’s what you mean,” I snap, annoyed at how easily she is able to get to me.
“Good. I have none to offer. What can I do for you?”
“How’s John?”
“Great.”
“Can I speak to him when we’re finished?”
“Not now. Tell me what’s on your mind.”
I recount how we were able to destroy the Telar and the Cradle. If I’m expecting praise, I don’t get it. I move onto Seymour’s concerns about the game, going so far as to say that Matt appears addicted to it. She listens silently; the woman has the patience of an Easter Island stone head.
“John warned Seymour and Matt to stay away from the game,” Paula says when I’m finished.
“Did he speak to Matt directly?”
“Yes. I was there. Why does Matt keep playing it?”
“What can I say? He’s determined to beat it.”
“Matt can’t beat the game. Nobody can.”
“John acts like he can. Your son plays it half the day.”
“You know John has his own reasons for doing what he does. I don’t even ask him to explain what they are. But I know he sees something in that game that the rest of us should avoid.”
“The damn thing’s on the Internet. Millions of kids could be playing it for all we know.”
“John says the number, worldwide, is over ten million.”
“There you go. Are we going to have millions of zombies on our hands soon?”
“You assume it’s targeted at all those people. It might be that only a few are susceptible to its influence.”
“Would you care to elaborate?” I ask.
“I’ve never played it. John has said to stay away from it and that’s good enough for me.” She pauses. “Did we lose Umara?”
“How did you know?”
“I sensed her leaving. A pity.”
“She sacrificed her life so I could get to the Telar.”
“I’m not surprised. She was a great woman.”