D. MacHale - The Reality Bug

“I must say, I’m impressed you two made it this far,” Zetlin said. “Usually phaders don’t make it past the jungle. What are your names?”

“I’m Pendragon,” I answered. “This is Loor.”

“Why are you hiding in this building?” Loor asked.

Uh-oh. I wasn’t sure if challenging the guy was a good idea. We needed him on our side. But since the question was pure Loor, I figured I didn’t have a choice.

“The Barbican is my refuge from a world I want nothing to do with,” Zetlin answered. He then stopped and faced us. “And I don’t like being disturbed. But you two were willing to play on my terms. You’ve earned the right to an audience. This way.”

Who did he think he was? Some kind of king? I figured it wasn’t my place to question him either, so I let it go. There were bigger problems to deal with.

Zetlin walked toward a wall of ice. I wasn’t exactly sure where he was going until I saw a small black disk sticking out of the wall at waist level. Zetlin pulled on the disk and opened a door made of ice. Beyond was a small room with light blue, metallic walls. He motioned for us to enter. I figured we had come this far, we couldn’t chicken out now. So Loor and I stepped inside. The room was no bigger than an elevator, and that’s what it turned out to be. An elevator. Zetlin joined us inside, closed the door, touched a control button on the wall and we started up.

“I’m confused,” I said. “I thought Lifelight had to follow the rules of reality. This Barbican thing is about as far from reality as I can imagine.”

“That’s because you don’t have my imagination,” Zetlin answered with a chuckle.

Good answer. Zetlin definitely had an exceptional mind. I suppose it followed that his fantasy could be just as exceptional.

“The people of Veelox haven’t even begun to tap Lifelight’s capabilities,” Zetlin continued. “But they will.”

“No, they won’t,” I countered. “Veelox is falling apart because everybody is living inside their own fantasy worlds.”

If this news bothered Zetlin, he didn’t show it. The elevator slowed to a stop and the door opened. Zetlin stepped out first, and we followed him into a space that I can best describe as the dream home for a fifteen-year-old guy. I should know. I’m a fifteen-year-old guy and I thought the place was awesome.

The space was huge, but divided up into smaller sections so it didn’t feel like an airplane hangar or anything. The ceiling was made of clear glass, so we could see the sky and the last of the storm clouds passing through. That meant we were now on the top floor of the Barbican.

We first walked through a wood-floored arena that reminded me of a basketball court. But this was Veelox. Their version of basketball had soccer-style nets on each of the four walls, and green balls that looked twice the size of a basketball.

Zetlin led us across the empty court, through a door, and into another space that had the Veelox version of a game I remembered playing as a kid. You know that game where you have to knock over wooden pegs set up on a table by swinging a ball on the end of a string? I think it was called Skittles.

Well, this was like Skittles, only life-size. There were five giant balls, all hanging from ropes in the center of a round court. Instead of pegs, the idea was to knock over people. I’m serious. There was a game under way with ten kids in the center of the big court, and another ten around the circle. The kids around the outside would grab the ball and swing it into the center to try and hit one of the kids inside. Some of the kids inside really got clocked, too. It was like nasty dodgeball. I wasn’t sure if it was fun or torture.

“Hey, guys,” Zetlin called out. “Game’s over. Let’s play tomorrow, okay?”

Zetlin even used kid slang that sounded like Second Earth, but I guess that was because my Traveler brain interpreted it from whatever was the kid slang version of the language they spoke on Veelox.

“Yeah. Okay! See ya later, Z!” the players all shouted as they jogged off the court, headed for the elevator.

“You enjoy playing child games,” Loor said.

“Indeed,” Zetlin answered. “It relaxes me to play simple games of skill and chance.”

He led us next into what looked more like living space. It was modern, with a lot of big, comfortable couches of all colors. There were giant screens on the wall that I’d bet anything were for video games. It looked like we had just missed a big party. Plates and cups were scattered everywhere. All had half eaten leftovers of I don’t know what. The only thing I knew for sure was that it wasn’t gloid. There were a couple of older guys wearing green jumpsuits who were cleaning the place up.

One of them saw us and said, “We’ll have the place tidy in no time, Z.”

D. J. MacHale

The Reality Bug

“Take your time,” Zetlin responded. “I don’t think we’ll have anybody over again today.”

Wow. He had servants cleaning up after him too. Could this place get any better? It could.

We stepped into a modern kitchen that was full of incredible smells. A dozen chefs were scurrying around, busily cooking and frying and baking and… man, my stomach rumbled. I had only been eating gloid for the last few days. The idea of real food sounded pretty good right about now.

A woman chef hurried up to Zetlin with a tray of freshly baked cookies. “Can I tempt you, Z?” she asked.

Zetlin nodded for us to try the cookies. I didn’t want to be rude, so I took one. Who am I kidding? They smelled great. I wanted ten. But I only took one and it was delicious. It was sweet and gooey and tasted like chocolate. Loor ate one too. I could tell by the look on her face that she liked it as much as I did. As if reading my mind, another chef appeared with two glasses that I really hoped had the Veelox version of milk. What is it about milk that tastes so good with chocolate? The liquid was creamy colored, and I’m not sure if it was milk, but it sure tasted great.

“Thank you,” I said to the chefs.

“Yes, thank you,” Loor added.

Zetlin smiled and led us on. As soon as we stepped through the door into the next section, I knew this was our ultimate destination. One whole wall was made of glass, which meant we could look out onto the strange city of black buildings. The opposite wall held a computer console that looked very much like the Alpha Core in the Lifelight pyramid. This place wasn’t about fun and games. This was where Dr. Zetlin worked. This was where we needed to be.

“First things first,” Zetlin said. He walked to the control chair and hit a few buttons on the arm controller. The building rumbled. It felt like an earthquake.

“What is happening?” Loor asked, crouching down and ready for trouble.

“Don’t worry,” Zetlin answered. “I’m returning the Barbican to position number one.”

The walls began to move. I realized that the massive building was turning back onto its side! We heard the grinding sound of metal wheels activating and straining under the massive load. Loor and I both looked around for something to grab on to for balance.

Zetlin laughed, “Please, don’t panic. The floors rotate inside the structure. We’ll remain level.”

Sure enough, as the wall moved, what had been the glass ceiling became the wall. A new glass ceiling appeared which was previously the far wall. Even though we weren’t actually moving, all this rotating made me dizzy. The only way I could keep from falling over was to look out at the city. The city didn’t move. That proved the building was rotating around us while the floor stayed level. Amazing. A few seconds later, the building shuddered and it was over. A quick look around told me that nothing seemed to have changed.