Cyberdrome (41 page)

Her body was
completely out of oxygen then, and she almost decided to take a breath and join
him. Then she remembered his final words to her. “You’re job is to get me to
the Watchport opening and revive me.”

With a burst of
raw energy, she grabbed his arm and began to swim toward the Watchport opening,
scissor-kicking as hard as she could with her legs. In her peripheral vision,
she saw that the Soldiers were very close— perhaps only a dozen meters behind
her—but they were no longer of any concern. She had only one thought—reach the
Watchport and save Alek.

She almost lost
the fight against her lower brain’s imperative to breathe water, just as she
reached the wall. It looked solid, and she was afraid that maybe she had chosen
the wrong spot. With no time to spare, she swam directly at the wall and passed
through.

When the blue
light surrounded them, she could no longer take it. She breathed in deeply and
then began to cough hard. It was air that filled her lungs, but it was pure and
cold, and burned going down her throat.

When she finally
stopped coughing, she crawled over to Alek and put her ear against his chest.
There was no sound. She placed her fingers against the carotid artery in his
neck, but felt no pulse.

She looked up at
the blue light that surrounded them. “Fix him!” she yelled. She looked back
down at Alek, but could see that nothing was changing. “You said this would
work!” she yelled at him.

She quickly fell
into her old swimmer’s training and began to perform cardio-pulmonary
resuscitation. She cocked his head backward and pinched his nose closed with
her right hand. She then opened his mouth, placed her lips against his, and
blew hard.

When she had
emptied her lungs into his, she released her mouth and turned her head to watch
his chest fall. She felt his breath exhale against her ear, but knew that it
was simply his diaphragm relaxing.

She repeated
this cycle two more times, then placed her left palm against his chest just to
the side of his solar plexus, and then pressed her right hand on top of her
left. She pumped his chest repeatedly, putting her full weight into it. He was
much larger than she was, so she wasn’t worried about breaking a rib.

After six quick
pumps, she repeated the cycle: three breaths, six presses on the heart. Tears began
to well up in her eyes, but she didn’t stop to wipe them. “Wake up, damn it!”
she yelled. She repeated the cycle again and again, but even after several
minutes, he showed no signs of life.

Finally,
exhaustion overtook her and she collapsed in a heap across his chest. Unable to
hold back the tears any longer, she cried long and hard. She had failed him,
and in doing so, lost the love of her life—again
.

TWENTY

A
lek saw the
glowing blue fog around him just starting to dissipate as he opened his eyes.
For a moment, he pondered the idea that he had died, and that this was some
strange form of afterlife. Then he noticed a heavy weight against his chest and
looked down to see Maya’s head resting on top of him.

“Are you all
right?” he asked.

 She turned her
head to face him. “Alek!” she whispered, her voice hoarse and barely audible.
“You’re alive.”

He sat up and
looked into her eyes. She was completely dry—the Watchport beam had replaced
her wet hair and clothing with pre-transport versions—but her face was soaked.
She had been crying, he realized. Why?

Then he
remembered. “Oh my God,” he said as he pulled her close and hugged her tightly.
“You did it,” he whispered in her ear.

She pulled back
slightly and looked him in the eyes. “How do you feel?” she asked.

He smiled at
her. “I’m fine,” he said as he looked around. The blue fog had lifted completely
and he saw that the Watchport was now empty. They were alone, lying in the
center of the room, underneath the huge holographic image of the planet from
which they had just escaped.

“I mean, did it
work?” she asked. “I mean, are you…
changed?
”

He looked down
at his hands. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I don’t feel any different.”

She glared at
him. “You mean that you almost killed us both for nothing?”

“Maybe you
revived me too quickly,” he said without thinking.

“What?” she
almost yelled. “This is my fault now?”

“Shh,” he
whispered, holding her shoulders to calm her down. “I’m sorry. I appreciate
what you did—I really do.” He looked around the room again. “I guess we’ll have
to think of something else.”

Her resolve
broke at that moment and more tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh, Alek,” she said.
“I can’t take much more of this.” She began to look frantic. “I thought I was
strong, but this is too much. This is all too much.”

Before she could
say any more, he pulled her close and kissed her. “Don’t give up,” he
whispered. “After all that we’ve been through, we’re still alive and that has
to count for something.” He looked around the room. “Somebody must be on our
side.”

She wiped the
tears from her cheeks. “Don’t tell me you’re getting religious on me,” she said
with a half smile.

“You’re my religion,”
he whispered, and then kissed her again.

A few moments
later, they helped each other stand up and surveyed the inside of the
Watchport. The door leading out of the building was blocked by what looked like
the backside of one of the Soldiers. Something was going on outside, and he
realized that it couldn’t be good.

“Let’s see
what’s happening,” he whispered as they both crept silently toward the door.
When they were within five meters, he dropped to the ground pulling her down
with him. When she shook her head, silently asking what they were doing, he
pointed out the door.

Between the legs
of the Soldiers, he saw Javid lying on the ground next to the green woman he
called Elsala. For some reason, she was no longer transparent, and neither of
them was moving. Then he heard Ceejer’s voice shout, “Finish them off.”

“No!” Alek
yelled without thinking.

Instantly, the
Soldier blocking the door spun around to face them. Maya was glaring at him as
they both rose to their feet.

“I’m sorry,” he
whispered as he gripped Maya’s hand and walked cautiously toward the Soldier.
It moved aside just as they reached the door and he saw the ring of Soldiers
and the carnage in the center. Ceejer was on one side, standing near what
looked like a makeshift throne.

“The prodigal
son returns,” Ceejer said.

“You idiot!” his
father yelled as he and Maya were brought into the circle. “Why on Earth would
you come back here?”

“He came back
because he is human,” Ceejer said as he approached. “Humans are emotional.
Humans are imperfect. Humans are weak.”

“If we are so
weak,” Alek said, “then why do you want to become one of us?”

Ceejer took a
step closer to them. “Like everything else that has happened thus far,” he
said, “it is only a step in my evolution. A step that is long overdue.”

“What do you
mean?” Maya asked.

Ceejer looked
Alek in the eyes. “The time has come for you to join your father.”

The words rang
in Alek’s ears. “Maybe I already have,” he said as he closed his eyes and held
out his hand.
Picture it
, he said to himself.
Deletion gun. I’m
holding it in my hands.
He began to feel a tingling sensation in his hand
as he tried to visualize the code in his head.
I’m seeing it appear. I’m
using it against Ceejer
. When he opened his eyes, his outstretched hand was
empty.

Ceejer had
backed up a few steps, but when he saw that Alek had failed, he turned to
Alek’s father. “He is as powerless and impotent as you are, Mathew.”

Alek glanced
over and saw his father standing there, looking down at the ground, looking defeated.
He turned back to face Ceejer but his short-lived confidence was shattered.
“You won’t get away with this,” he said as he took a step backwards.

Ceejer turned
and looked at Maya. “Where is your hero now? Where is your powerful
code-maker?”

“Alek can write
programs in his sleep,” she yelled.

Alek started to
take another step backward but then stopped and looked back at Maya. “Thank
you,” he said. He then turned to face Ceejer and held out his hand again.
Instantly, a large gun-shaped object appeared in his open hand. It was heavier
than he expected, and grabbed it with both hands before it dropped.

“What is this?”
Ceejer yelled.

“The end of
you,” Alek said. He sensed movement behind him and aimed the gun right at Ceejer’s
face. “Anyone so much as flinches in my direction,” he called out, “and you die
right now.” With a slight nod from Ceejer, the Soldier behind him stopped
advancing.

“If you delete
me, you will be trapped here forever,” Ceejer said.

Alek shook his
head. “On the contrary. We are all trapped in here because the system thinks a
THI is developing inside HomeSpace,” he said. “You are that program. Deleting
you will release everyone trapped in Cyberdrome.”

Ceejer nodded.
“Everyone except for you and your father,” he said.

It took him a
moment to realize that Ceejer was correct; he was separated from his body, just
like his father. He had proven that fact by creating the weapon he held in his
hands.

He straightened
his back and his resolve. “I’m willing to die here if doing so will save my
friends.”

“What about your
father?” Ceejer said. “You are as weak as he is,” he added, “and I am willing
to bet that you will not destroy what little is left of him.”

Alek glanced
over at his father. He was standing tall, a look of defiance on his face.

“He’s not like
me at all,” his father said. “My son is better than I ever was.” He glanced
over at Alek. “He is a stronger man than I could ever hope to be.”

“We will see
just how strong he really is,” Ceejer said. With a nod, one of the Soldiers
wrapped its long metallic arms around his father’s chest and lifted him off the
ground. “Your choice is a simple one, Alek. Give me the weapon right now, or
your father dies.”

 Alek stood
there for a moment, unable to grasp the turn of events. He bit his lip.
Keep
the poker face
, he said to himself.
He’s bluffing too
.

“Time’s up,”
Ceejer said.

“Wait!” Alek
yelled, but it was too late. The Soldier holding his father suddenly tightened
its grip, crushing his father’s chest with an audible crack. His body fell
lifelessly to the ground.

Alek stood
there, unable to process what had just happened.

“Again you have
a choice,” Ceejer said glancing over Alek’s shoulder.

He looked back
to see another Soldier grab Maya and lift her off the ground. He immediately
threw the gun at Ceejer’s feet and dropped to his knees. “I surrender,” he
yelled as he raised his hands high in the air. “Don’t hurt her. You win.”

“Don’t do it,”
Maya yelled from behind him, but it was too late.

Ceejer picked up
the weapon and studied it carefully. Then he aimed it right at Alek’s face, the
barrel pressing against his forehead. “Stand up, Alek. It is time for you to
complete your journey.”