Deep Yellow (29 page)

"Well, I'm dreaming of
sitting on one of the leisure planets on a beach by the sea with
personal services on tap. Looking forward to it ..."

"Will Brell win? No
chance. She is a weak substance abuser. Look at her in the Rome
world; first thing she did was get drunk. Doesn't stand a chance
against me. The nun, why does she bother to think about starting
the challenge? How did she get this far?"

"Thank you for your
insights. Well, that's Carac, everyone," Flip said to the
audience.

***

Brell got all her
answers during a debrief interview which had been anticipated for
the last three days by hundreds of millions of people. Buoyant by
the news that audience numbers had doubled during the second
challenge, Flip and Argenta started in an upbeat fashion.

"Well, Brell, you are
through into the final. You could be free soon."

The sessions took all
day, what with advertising breaks, refreshments and technical
breaks. Brell did her best, her emotions ranging from relief to
anger. Argenta paused before showing Ooma's last moments. After
being kicked by Carac, Ooma eventually got to his feet. The shock
and despair that his key had gone dawned on his dirt-covered face.
For the last four minutes of his life, he stumbled around, giving
Kellsa’s body a wide berth, as he visited the exit doors. As he
glanced continually at the countdown clock, he started saying
something about being sorry but sunk to the ground, his body
turning grey as it was consumed by the “furnace”.

She was fascinated by
watching the action in ultra-slow motion and how the axe had nearly
severed her neck. Just at the moment that Kellsa swung the axe,
Brell had quickened her pace a fraction on seeing the dwellings.
The axe glanced off the back of her head and sliced deeply into her
flesh and shoulder bones.

The actions of Meren
made her very humble. Here on a game show where winner takes all, a
fellow challenger saved her after another one tried killing her.
She tensed her fists when they replayed Carac's arrival into the
studio. He triumphantly smiled and waved at the studio audience,
then stood still, and bowed.

Flip asked about how
she had first met Carac.

"Is it right that
Carac was wrongfully arrested?"

"That's not quite
right. He was drunk in charge of a transporter, it was a
technicality."

"He sent you messages
of support when you were arrested, didn't he?"

"No, not really. They
were messages, but I threw them away."

"But he was someone
that you wanted to kill, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He is someone
who gets away with everything, but fortunately he got convicted of
the mining thing."

"He made straight for
you on the first challenge."

"Yes, that's the sort
of person he is. Has a thing about blue women, I think. I wouldn't
believe anything he says. He has a dark history."

"Your mother says
..."

And so it went on for
a few more body-squirming minutes. The presenters were clearly
trying to increase the aggravation factors between her and Carac.
She found that she didn’t want to talk about him, it only opened
old thoughts, none of which were positive. Thankfully, they changed
tack and asked her about Ooma.

***

"We hope to have the
locations soon, but can’t rely on the information. Williams being
stubborn. Concerned that attempts to assist Carac will be noticed
by Williams (and the audience). Options?"

On the evening before
the last challenge, Technician 22 would have raised his eyebrows if
he had any. He rotated his ankles and wrists a few times as he
tested an instruction routine. It was aimed at slowing Brell down,
but not fatally; that would be too much of a risk, the show could
be cancelled or delayed. The nun was not worth worrying about.

Since the production
meeting, the Twins re-considered the sniper and hunter options, now
believing it was too risky. Instead, they preferred the long game,
where opportunities could be created for Carac to be given some
hints, perhaps supported by the security bots. He was in the
process of making them more “independent” anyway.

The Twins were worried
that if Williams, let alone others, found out about any “security
breaches” or assistance given to a challenger, there would serious
problems.

Technician 22 could
voice what the Twins could not. If Williams became incapacitated
and out of the way, then no one in the studios could or would
interfere. Also, he was finalising methods of covertly sending
messages to Carac during the challenge.

“
All options
considered. Everything will be taken care of,”
he replied.

***

"Any regrets?" Brell
said.

"In life, perhaps.
About the murder of the monk, no," Meren said.

"How so?"

"He deserved it. He
was a humble, charitable monk during the day and a sexual predator
at night. Attacking me and the other nuns, he needed stopping, so I
hit him on the head with a metal pole as he was assaulting one of
the younger nuns."

"You have a thing
about hitting people on the head," Brell said. "Do you think about
it much, now?"

"Not really."

"Don't you think about
what you could have done in life?"

"I had a normal life
until eighteen, when my parents sent me to the Guild. I was a bit
of a free spirit, creeping out from home to attend the local
dances." Meren's eyes became distant.

"Boys?" Brell said, a
slight grin on her face.

"Perhaps." Meren
smiled and raised a bald eyebrow back.

Brell took a sip of
water.

"Any regrets yourself,
Brell?" Meren said.

"Most things. Where do
I start? I destroyed a family and deserved prison. I cannot do or
say anything to undo what happened. The man who died was a
financier for a large criminal gang. Doesn't make it any better,
but he lived each day at a time apparently. I destroyed myself
years before that. I threw it all away, a family, everything."

"You have more
strength than you think," Meren said.

Brell drew comfort
from Meren's eye contact. A stillness was there, an understanding
deep inside those eyes. How could they compete against each
other?

A guard walked in.

"Well, see you
tomorrow, I suppose," Brell said finally.

***

As Brell walked into
her cell, she nearly tripped over the stationary cell tidy bot. It
came to life and slid underneath the bed, emitting a small beep.
Bending down, she saw a small flap opening in its side and a small
bottle clunked onto the floor. It then took itself off through a
small disengaged beam “hole” in the cell door and out into the
corridor.

Brell reached her arm
in and grasped the bottle. She immediately went and sat on the
privy and, hunching over, opened her hand.

It was a small bottle
of Deep Yellow.

"Elytia Holo Beamcasting Company, proudly
present, the final of Convict Challenge.” A deep voice announced
over programme highlights of the previous two challenges.

“Welcome, everyone, to
the final challenge. Do not go anywhere for the next six hours.
Where better to start than in one of Inhab-47’s most feared
prisons, Alcatraz. It housed some of the most dangerous and vile
prisoners on the planet."

An aerial view of San
Francisco appeared on screen. The camera swept over the city,
across the stretch of water, and around the prison. After a brief
fade, an image appeared of a long corridor with rows of cells on
each side and two upper levels.

Flip and Argenta stood
in the middle of the corridor, facing towards some cells, waiting
for their cue. Both were dressed in contrasting coloured suits,
without glitter this time, in an attempt to look more serious.
Carac, Meren, and Brell were sitting in separate cells, dressed in
black and white hooped patterned shirts and trousers. Guards and
doc bots hovered around the side of the cells. The other cells in
the wing were occupied by prisoners either sitting on a bed or
standing up, holding onto the bars looking outwards. They were a
mixture of ages and menace, all wearing the same black and white
uniform. The quiet background murmur of voices was set at a low
volume so that Flip and Argenta were audible.

"Only one key remains,
only one challenger can make it out alive." Flip and Argenta took
turns in speaking, each one trying to sound more dramatic than the
other.

"Being the final
challenge, we have changed things. There is one clue, but six
worlds, including the one we start in. Also gaol time has been
increased to thirty minutes."

"A Senior Assizes
Judge is in the studio ready to grant the winner their freedom." At
this, a live screen image appeared of an elderly man wearing a
black suit, sitting bolt upright in a private office, reading some
files.

"Now, don’t forget you
can experience Alcatraz for yourself as well as the other worlds
being used today. See if you can solve the clue. Visit Elytia
Beamcasting’s beam and stream sites for more details."

"Flip, you know I did
the Alcatraz surround experience, and I must say it was scary and
exciting at the same time. It really stayed with me. Well worth
doing."

"Thank you, Argenta, I
will certainly check it out. Here is our director Williams to tell
us a little bit about the worlds."

Williams appeared on
the main screen, standing inside the Living Room, wearing one of
his by now, signature short sleeved shirts, grey trousers, and red
shoes.

"Well, here is the
key, the one and only key that will give the finder their freedom.
Which world will it be in?"

Standing by one of the
doors, he pressed a floating holo button, and a menu option
appeared.

"Unlike the previous
two challenges where we only needed one door, today there is a
selection of holo worlds. They are Washington, Paris, Las Vegas,
Bangkok and Moscow. Once they have entered one of those worlds, the
door shuts behind them; they cannot return to the Living Room. One
decision, one door." He motioned around the room with his arms.
"However, San Francisco is a free world, meaning that if anyone
enters the Living Room, hesitates, they can return back inside to
continue any research. But the clue could also apply to San
Francisco.” He tapped on the door marked San Francisco.

“Technically, before
anyone asks, we have the five worlds ready and waiting. After
making a selection, there is a brief pause whilst the world is
enlivened. There are three doors available, one for each
challenger. What if they pick the same world? Simple; a narrow
corridor is created which takes the challenger around and into
their selected world."

He walked back into
the centre of the Living Room.

"We have added some
hotel-style rooms with door locks in all of the worlds, so that the
challengers can be safe from each other for a while. We don't want
them to kill each other straight away." He pause and smiled, his
face showing signs of weariness. "Watch for the transporters and
vehicles; some of them are genuinely from Inhab-47, by the way, we
just changed the engines. Everything you see is based on the alien
world. You may not even realise what is 'real' or a made-up
re-enactment."

He stood over by the
image with yellow flowers.

"But which world will
hold the real key?" He held a key up towards a camera.

"Thanks Williams. The
holo worlds are waiting. Now everyone knows what time it is?" Flip
looked up at the screen showing the audience.

"Well?"

"It’s time to start
the countdown to termination!" The audience all chanted “countdown
to termination” together.

Flip waved his hand,
and a guard standing at the end of the line of cells pulled a lever
up and down and the three cell doors slid open. The doc bots
slipped inside to set the timer implants. A large countdown clock
appeared on a screen: six hours.

"The clock has
started, it’s time for the clue, everyone ready?” He paused for a
moment.

“
The Obelisk and
the King are here. Look under the Tower, then for une
chemise
.”

He repeated the clue
and then gave each convict a copy of the clue with a list of the
holo world locations.

"That’s the clue.
There are no research facilities within this prison; the
challengers will need to find an Inhab-47 image device, many of
which have been placed around San Francisco city. For ease, we have
provided a short bridge for them to walk onto the mainland. If you
look at our original recordings, you will see that a boat trip is
required."

"We will tell you one
thing," Flip said, leaning over towards the challengers, "the door
back to the Living Room is at the end of this cell block. It's
marked ‘Recreational Area.’” He pointed to one end of the
corridor.

***

Brell yawned as the
countdown started, but realising she needed to get her body and
mind moving, she immediately left the cell and looked around for a
weapon, but nothing came into reach. Flip and Argenta took a large
step backwards, towards the guards, in readiness for their return
to the safety of the studio. Best to get away from the prison, into
the city and disappear. San Francisco was where they had previously
walked around during their acclimatisation, so should not be too
much of a shock.

As Brell went along
the corridor, she heard Carac say, “See you later.” She didn’t
speak to Meren. As she headed towards the end of the cellblock,
some of the cell occupants were glaring at her whilst grasping the
cell bars. Creepy. This must be a hell of place for a prisoner;
made Wing 90 seem like luxury apartments.

Working her way
through various doors and offices whilst checking behind her for
Carac, she made it outside. There were craggy rocks on each side of
the island and a narrow bridge at the end of a paved area. The city
of San Francisco appeared on the horizon, with its mild slopes and
variety of buildings. She stepped onto the bridge.