Stones: Theory (Stones #4) (60 page)

Miyazawa pushes on the implant with his own finger. “But isn’t that dangerous? He may be monitoring the entire Mesh right now.”

Deep furrows appear in Jessica’s brow. “Just like with Michiko.”

“Michiko was different,” Matt says. “She was known to be a freedom camp sympathizer and it was her first time on the Mesh. That fact may have brought her to Ryzaard’s attention. Once he had a look in her mind, he saw us.”

Miyazawa’s eyes grow wide. “But won’t he do the same with me?”

“He might, but I don’t think so,” Matt says. “You’re a well-known presence on the Mesh. He won’t be surprised to see you there. He knows you’re on this ship, and he can track its location. He thinks you’re alone and assumes the drugs are keeping you under control. Besides, he’ll probably be too busy to pay attention.”

“So what do you want me to do?” Miyazawa drops into a chair, looking exhausted.

“For starters, get some rest.” Matt helps Miyazawa to his feet. With Jessica’s help, they walk him through the glass doors to his room. “Lie down and close your eyes. Let us know when you’re ready to hop into the Mesh. If you don’t mind, Yarah and I will hitch a ride and have a look around.”

“H
e’s coming out of his third cycle of REM sleep.” Jessica looks down at the slate she found in Miyazawa’s room, and then turns to Matt next to her in the cockpit. “He should be waking up soon.”

“Good. We need to get started.” He rises from chair and stretches as he walks into the open room behind them. “Ready, Yarah?”

Yarah has her nose pressed against the window. Matt gets up from the cockpit chair and walks behind her to gaze down. With the cloud cover completely gone, the ocean is the color of the sky. Looking off into the horizon, they can see the curvature of the earth. The atmosphere is a faint white barrier between two infinite expanses of blue.

“He’s awake,” Jessica says.

Through the transparent panel, they watch as Miyazawa rises from bed and stretches his arms. He swings his feet around on the floor, stands and walks to the glass door. As it parts, he moves through and joins Matt and Yarah at the window.

“It’s so beautiful.” Yarah stretches out her arms. “If I could only float in it like a bird.”

Miyazawa puts his hand on her shoulder. “I requested a special upgrade to the ship for exactly that purpose. I think you’ll like it.” He turns to Matt and smiles. “You might want to hold onto something. It takes a minute to get used to it.” The priest pulls a jax from his pocket and swipes his thumb along its surface.

The floor and outer walls of the ship seem to fall away.

From the cockpit, they hear Jessica scream and grab the back of her chair.

“What do you think?” Miyazawa bends down to the level of Yarah.

She stares at the ocean between her feet and then looks up at the sun through the ceiling. In every direction, the ship is as transparent as fine crystal. Running to the center of the room, she twirls and dives like a hawk, laughing with delight.

“An incredible material.” Matt runs his fingers along the inner surface of the wall. As he moves his eyes closer and studies it, he notices hair-like lines of white running like a fine grid through the transparent steel.

The priest turns to the center of the room. “You get used to it after a while. Then it’s hard to go back to seeing the walls. I prefer to keep it this way, if you don’t mind.”

“Fine with me.” Matt looks over at Jessica as she slowly stands while keeping a death grip on the back of the chair. “Everyone OK?”

Making her way across the floor, she grabs Matt’s shoulder. “Next time, give me some warning.”

As they stand together in the center of main room, Miyazawa stares into his jax. “I’ve received some distressing news. Ryzaard is reacting to the destruction of the fabrication plants.” He looks up with trembling hands, his eyes glistening with moisture. “People are disappearing. Anyone connected to the fabrication plants. Workers. Engineers. Government representatives. I don’t understand.”

“I do.” Matt turns to Jessica, and then the priest. “When I fight against him, people always die.” He drops into a chair with his face in his hands. “I don’t think it’s over yet, unless we are willing to give up and concede that he’s won. Human life has little value for him, and if he thinks he can stop us by shedding the blood of others, he will.”

Miyazawa sits next to Matt. “It’s a fair question. How many lives is it worth to stop him?”

“I don’t know the answer,” Jessica says. “But I’ve seen what Ryzaard is capable of doing. I can’t imagine living in a world under his absolute control. I refuse to do it.” Her voice drops to a whisper as she slumps down on the other side of Matt. “As long as we have the power to resist him, we must. Whatever the cost.”

Yarah looks into the faces of each of the sitting adults. “I agree.” She works her hands into Jessica’s.

Matt rises from his seat. “There’s a question we need to answer. Right here, right now.” He walks to the opposite wall and leans against it on his elbow. “We’ve seen countless deaths. Michiko is the most recent, killed, no doubt, because she knew us. But she won’t be the last. There will be more.”

“What are you saying?” Jessica stands and walks to the middle of the room.

“It’s simple.” Matt takes Jessica by the shoulders. “I know you’re willing to die to defeat Ryzaard. But are you willing to see
me
die, if that’s what it takes?” He stares out the window and speaks in a whisper. “Am I willing to see you die?”

No one talks for a long time as they float inside the crystal transport over the Pacific Ocean in a sea of blue.

Suddenly, Yarah lunges, burying her head between Jessica and Matt. “No!”

Jessica looks at Matt, her eyes bloodshot and wet. Streaks glisten on her cheeks. Without speaking, she nods her head up and down.

The priest still sits in a chair staring at the floor. “I will follow your lead.”

“Let’s get started.” Without waiting to answer his own question, Matt wipes his eyes and walks into Miyazawa’s room. “We’ve already tried direct assaults on Ryzaard. It’s time we made a less predictable attack, and I think we ought to start with the blue jewel.” He turns and points behind Miyazawa’s ear.

“What would you have me do?” the priest says.

Motioning in the direction of the bed, Matt pulls a couple of chairs close to it. “Please lie down and go to your Mesh-point as you normally would.” He takes the cloaking box out of his pocket. “Yarah and I will be joining you.”

“I don’t understand,” Miyazawa says. “If Ryzaard sees you with me, he will instantly try to kill us all.”

Matt pats the priest on the shoulder. “He won’t see us. We’ll be inside your mind.”

“Very well.” Miyazawa walks to a drawer, opens it and takes out a green cube of derms. “I’ve never gone into the Mesh without one of these.” He strips off a thin square and moves to apply it to his wrist.

But Matt gently grabs Miyazawa’s wrist. “You’ll need a clear head for this. I think it’s better if you don’t.”

Yarah looks at the green square with its wet, gelatinous surface. She has an immediate reaction, her face turning pale. Matt thinks about the favela in Rio de Janeiro where he first rescued her from a father that beat her. He must have been a heavy user.

With the green square in his hand, the priest licks thin lips. “I need it. When you’re in the Mesh with the implant, you can speak to people, mind to mind. Thought becomes an open book.” A tiny drop of sweat beads up on his forehead, and he begins to breathe hard. “Without these molecules floating around in my body, I’ll be naked, no mask. Ryzaard will see through me. He’ll see all of you.”

Yarah jerks on Matt’s sleeve. “I have an idea.” Reaching up with both hands, she pulls Matt down to eye level. “If Ryzaard comes, I’ll jump out and tell Jessica. Then she can put it on him.”

“The little one is wise.” Miyazawa’s head drops down, a slight trembling in his body. “I defer to your judgment. But when I face the people at the shrine, what do I say to them? Without the drugs in my brain, my words will sound hollow.”

“Nothing has changed. They gather at your shrine because you speak truth to them. Let the truth flow through you, and the words will come.” Matt pulls Yarah over to a chair and sits. “Are you sure you can do this?”

Yarah jumps up and down. “It’ll be easy. Just like with Michiko.”

“What do you think?” Matt’s gaze goes up to Jessica.

“What am I supposed to do while all of you are in the Mesh?” she says.

Reaching behind him, Matt grabs the pulse rifle and hands it to her. “Keep us safe.”

“Don’t be long,” Jessica walks to the wall as Matt and Yarah drop into chairs near the bed. Miyazawa lies down and closes his eyes. “And don’t bring Ryzaard back with you.”

“C
ongratulations.” Jing-wei’s head floats just beyond Ryzaard’s eyes. “No new attacks on manufacturing facilities in the last twenty-four hours. Primary fabrication of the implants is complete. We’ve reached our target. All inventory is shipped for delivery. A little mopping up is all that remains.”

Ryzaard says nothing.

Jing-wei stares forward. “Something wrong?”

Ryzaard’s face is devoid of emotion. “It was nothing more than a message. He’s still out there.”

“I don’t understand.” Jing-wei says. “What—”

“The boy!” Ryzaard steps off the meditation platform. “The destruction of the factories was nothing more than a message. To tell me he’s still out there. To let me know he’s coming.”

The smile drains from Jing-wei’s face. “In two days, over 98% of the planet’s population will have an implant. We’ve come a long way to get to this point. Isn’t that reason for celebration?”

Ryzaard shakes his head. “After all this time, he still has his Stone! And the little girl.” His eyes brush pass the shimmering Stones floating above his chest. “How can I rest while they’re both alive?”

“You know what I think?” Jing-wei sinks back into her chair in a slouchy position uncharacteristic of her. “I think you’re working too hard. We all are. You need to go somewhere for a couple of days and get away. Clear your mind. Have a rest. When you come back, all the implants will be distributed and we’ll be ready for the final step.”

He forces a smile. “You’re young and naïve. Now is exactly the time when I can’t leave.”

“Then what are you going to do for the next two days?”

“Search for him.” Ryzaard moves his hand to kill the holo, and then stops. “Get me Diego.”

Jing-wei nods. As her face fades, the Brooklyn Bridge is a black bar penetrating the middle of her forehead in the background. Diego’s eyes come into view.

For a fleeting instant, her pupils line up perfectly with his.

“I understand you want to talk.” Diego turns to the side, displaying the profile of a large nose.

“I want you to restart your location algorithm.”

Diego moves fingers across a blue screen on his side. “I can’t, not without the full complement of satellites.”

“We’ve reached our target for implant fabrication, so we no longer need them for factory security.” Ryzaard walks past the holo to the window. “Tell Jerek to give them all back.”

“I’ll be more than happy to,” Diego says. “But it will take three hours to take down the old algorithm and configure the new one. Until then, we’ll be blind.”

Ryzaard turns and glares at the disembodied head. “No location capability whatsoever?”

“That’s right. It’s complicated to bring the network of new sats online.”

“Jump on it immediately.” Ryzaard slams his hand down on the jax, and Diego’s face fades away. The old man walks out into the middle of the room and paces from one side to the other, across its length, hands hanging down in fists at his side.

In two days, it will finally be time. Time to put the human race out of its misery. Time to strip them of their burdens and bring them the peace and tranquility they crave. But until Matt is removed from the picture, there will be no peace or tranquility for Ryzaard.

What would Ryzaard do if he were Matt? Where would he hide? What would his next move be? It’s a question he rarely entertains, mostly because of his visceral reaction to the weak who fail to understand power, who are afraid of success.