Cyberdrome Read Free Page A

Dr.
Mathew Grey, was still hard at work finding a cure for the plague, and
therefore unavailable for comment.”
    Alek flicked off the
sound. He didn’t need to hear any more about the sins of his father. He had
enough problems of his own to deal with. He was about to leave when something
on the screen grabbed his attention. He fished the Piggyback module from his
backpack and stared at it numbly. Etched into the side of the device he saw an
oval containing a stylized bird whose wings enclosed a small globe. The image
of his father on the television bore the exact same symbol below his name. It
was the logo for his company—Cyberdrome.

 

    TWO

     
    A n intense,
pure-white flash hit Maya without warning and she felt every cell in her body
explode. Just as abruptly, the pain ended and she found herself floating in a
black void. I’m dead , she murmured to herself.
    Finally, light
and substance returned as some sort of door opened before her. Staring through
someone else’s eyes, she saw a brown-skinned woman in a white uniform looking
down at her.
    “Rise and shine,
sweetie,” the woman said as she helped Maya to a sitting position. “Do you know
who I am?” she asked.
    For a moment,
Maya didn’t know the answer, although the woman’s face looked familiar. When
she looked down and saw her blue, circuit-laced bodysuit, the fog in her head
began to clear. “Angela, right?” she said. At the woman’s nod, she added, “I’m
fine, Doctor.” She tried to stand up but fell backward onto the interface chamber.
    “Give yourself a
minute,” Angela said, holding her arm. “You were scheduled for eight hours, but
came out after only two. Is anything wrong?”
    “I was only
there for two hours?” Maya asked. She remembered being in the simulation for
most of a day and night.
    Angela patted
her on the shoulder as she looked at a display on the wall. “I keep telling you
people to slow down, but do any of you listen to me?”
    Maya’s memories
began to flow back into her consciousness, like water pouring into a bowl. She
had been connected to an Earth-based simulation where virtual time passed
ten-times faster than normal. That’s why she remembered spending a whole day on
the planet after just two hours. She felt a bit more in control and even managed
to stand on her own. “I think I’m all right now.”
    “Are you sure?”
The doctor looked at the readings on the bio-display above her chamber. “Perhaps
the upload didn’t have time to complete—”
    “The upload
worked,” Maya interrupted. “I remember everything now. Twenty hours of memories—they’re
all there.” When Angela looked at her suspiciously, she added. “Really, Angela,
I’m fine.”
    “I’ll be the
judge of that, young lady. So, why did you come out early?”
    “The investors’
tour,” Maya said as she tried to edge herself toward the door. The last thing
she needed was for the doctor to confine her there for observation. “Dr. Grey
asked me to handle it for him.”
    “I thought they
cancelled that,” Angela said as she escorted Maya to the exit, holding her elbow
as they walked. Suddenly, the door slid open and a middle-aged man came running
through, almost crashing right into them.
    “Apologies,” he
said. “I saw that a chamber had become available and I didn’t want someone else
to beat me to it.”
    Angela sighed.
“It’s ready to go, Dr. Lyman.” When the man stepped past them and climbed into
Maya’s chamber, she whispered, “It’s been like this all week. People literally
fighting for more time in the simulations.”
    Maya nodded.
“Well, that’s why they’re building the new chambers, right? I bet you can’t
wait for those to be finished?”
    “If they think
I’m going to supervise another 42 people…” Angela’s voice drifted off as she
looked down at her datapad. “Wait a minute. Did you say that Grey asked you to
come back?”
     “Yes. Why?”
    “You’re telling
me that you spoke to Mathew Grey