Entering the Weave

Coel had never quite overcome his repulsion to Tssk’s physical form. He, or more likely she, was one of the most remarkable looking members of the Conclave, being formed entirely from crawling insects that crept and clambered over each other, constantly moving within some invisible boundary that marked out her body. Even her facial expressions were mimicked by the dark, writhing mass.

“We have felt a presence within us.” Tssk’s voice was like a million breathless whispers. “Something is changing our essence. Our natural urges are mutating, and even I can feel something influencing me. Swarms that should not be are forming, colonies are dying and armies march out to war when none is warranted.”

A low noise rippled around the Conclave, and Coel saw that it was a murmuring of agreement.

“I…feel…this…touching.” A water-filled voice emanated from what looked like a shambling mound of moss.

N’rinde Bashala stood and the hubbub died down. He carefully placed his ancient spear on the round meeting table, and absently adjusted the bright beads that hung around his neck.

“There is an infection spreading throughout the world which, if unchecked, will destroy us all. I have sensed it in the minds of the smaller creatures and quick thoughts of the birds.” He bowed respectfully to Tssk, and then again to a glorious golden eagle perched next to Coel.

“An infection?” A stooped Neanderthal got to his feet, his deep voice resounded off the walls of the Conclave chamber. “From within?”

“No. I think not.” N’rinde shook his wizened head. “This is not a part of the life sphere. This is not a natural process. I believe…” He touched the beads again. “I believe that we are being attacked.”

There was bellowing uproar in the chamber. Most of the councillors were shouting how impossible this was, or brandishing their outrage, or trying to ask N’rinde how he could even suggest such a thing. Coel sat silently and saw that Tssk was not one of the protestors.

N’rinde raised his spear above his head and a blaze of green fire erupted from the end. “I am the Shramanah! Hear me.”

Most of the councillors were silenced immediately, but the Neanderthal was still on his feet. “You have gone too far with this, N’rinde. There is nothing outside the life sphere. This is heresy.”

“That is not true.” N’rinde said quietly. “There have been visitors before. It was long before the age of mammals, however, and we were not as evolved as we are now. The memories of that time are well hidden. But, that is of no importance, I am convinced that a deliberate mind is behind this invasion.”

Coel could see that many of the councillors were finding it difficult not to argue this point again, but their respect for the leader of the council stopped them short.

“Even if I am wrong,” N’rinde conceded, “we must root out the cause of this virus and stop it.”

“We have dealt with… illnesses before, N’rinde. What makes you so sure that this is not just a natural evolution?” Coel tried to keep his voice neutral.

“It is too perfect.” He said. “It has appeared from nowhere, and seems engineered to insinuate itself into our minds.”

“Then what can we do?”

“I have searched the entirety of the Weave and the Vale. I have even ventured into the artificial realms that mankind is constructing and it still eludes me. The Gazetteer himself cannot locate it.

“So I believe we must lure our enemy into revealing itself. On our own terms I think we will be strong enough to defeat it. But if we wait too long, then when the final battle comes, it will have made too many allies, created too many converts. Too many of our own will have been corrupted.”

“What do you propose?”

N’rinde did not hesitate. “I have made preparations to Ascend. With a new leader the council will seem weak. And the Weave will appear defenceless and so, I hope our enemy will choose to strike too soon.”

“But we have only just started to look for your successor. We are years away from knowing if any of the candidates are suitable.”

“You found the boy, Coel. He will be the perfect bait for this trap.”

Coel slumped back into his chair. Josh was not ready for this.

“I’ve found him.”

Toby was waiting for Josh at the school gates with a huge grin on his face.

“Who?”

“Geigerzalion!”

“What do you mean you’ve found him.”

“Well you know that I tried to hack into your dad’s computers?”

“Hmmm. But I didn’t think you had managed it.”

“You’re right. It was massively protected. I couldn’t get all the way in. But there’s always something available to the persistent hackeroid.” Toby smirked.

“So did you get in or not?”

“Well I can’t tell you that, Josh.”

“Yeah, yeah, ‘cos then you’d have to kill me. Blah blah.”

Toby looked a little taken aback. “No, I can’t tell you because I don’t know. I tried to get in again last night, but it was like banging my head against a frozen firewall. No cracks, no backdoors, not a single weakness.” Toby stared wistfully into the middle distance, contemplating the perfection of the computer security.

“But…?” Josh prompted him back to the real world.

“Yes, but there was some sort of artificial intelligence just sort of hanging around.”

“Hanging around?”

“Yeah. It was there, but not really in a conventional way. I mean it wasn’t part of the actual web page. It was sort of in the web page.”

“Like a virus?” Josh asked, picking up on a concept Toby had tried to explain to him a thousand times.

“Yeah. Exactly.” Toby nodded vigorously. “Well this virus, or Artificial Intelligence if you will indulge me, showed me what to do. I wouldn’t have got in without its help. I mean I had to download a completely new program to even see anything on the site, but once I did…wow. It’s like cyberspace should be.” Toby’s eyes glazed over as he relived his experience.

Josh had to poke him this time. “Toby! Then what happened?”

“Sorry. Well the AI took me through some tunnels below the level of normal web pages,” Toby mimed flying a plane through a canyon, “until we came to a place where there was just nothing. A void in cyberspace.”

“What? Banks and banks of zeroes?”

“No. Nothing was there. Well I thought nothing was there. In the middle of the void is Geigerzalion.”

“Did you speak to him?”

“No. You know I can’t understand your symbols. Remember you tried to teach me them once? They’re just not logical. Are you coming round after school?”

“Yeah.”

From then on, the day couldn’t go quickly enough for Josh. Clocks appeared to tick backwards when he looked at them and his watch seemed to have turned into a calendar. Each lesson passed slowly and painfully. As usual French was the worst. Mrs Evans was in such a good mood that she decided, as a fiendish treat, to tell them all about the sixth form’s trip to Cherbourg in intricate and excruciating detail.

Eventually, though, it was time to go home and Josh met Toby outside the science block. It had started to rain again, but Josh’s mouth was dry with anticipation. He had rung his dad at lunchtime to see if he was allowed to stay at Toby’s that night, and his dad had agreed heartily. In fact it worked out perfectly, his dad had said, because he was going to have to go into work on Saturday anyway.

“You’re not winding me up are you, Tobe? This isn’t one of your own programs is it?”

“No, honestly.”

“Hiya nerds. Wotcha doing this weekend?” Kat often met them on a Friday after school. Sometimes they would hang out in the park until Kat went off to meet her cooler friends. Josh loved those Fridays.

“We’re going to play on my computer. Do you want to come?” Even though Toby said it as a joke, Josh still cringed.

“Oh now let me think? Would I like to come and sit in a sweaty room staring at your cathode ray tube blasting Thargoids? Hmmm, let me think.” She put a finger to her chin theatrically pretending to seriously consider Toby’s offer.

“Do you know what a cathode ray tube is, Kat?” Josh asked astonished.

“’Course. It’s not just you nerds who know stuff.” She obviously said it for Toby’s benefit, because she secretly winked at Josh and made a face, which clearly said that she didn’t have the faintest idea what a cathode ray tube was. “But I think I’ll choose life.”

“You don’t know what you’re missing.” Toby said. “Tonight could change your life. Tonight I shall reveal the Geigerzalion.”

“What’s that?”

“We have discovered an online life form. It’s called Geigerzalion.” Toby said pompously.

“She doesn’t want to come.”

“No, no don’t be too hasty Josh. I mean if it’s going to change my life…” Kat said suddenly sincere.

“You’re joking!” Josh said.

“No.” Kat smiled. “Come on. I’d like to see.”

Josh couldn’t believe it. Toby had asked Kat to come back to his house in the most ridiculous way possible and she had agreed. Josh had concocted hundreds of cleverly constructed scenarios, all designed to leave her with no option but to spend some more time with him, but he had never quite had the nerve to try them out.

“And who says I don’t have it with the ladies?” Toby grinned at Josh.

“Just remember I’m only interested in your cathode ray tube, Toby Hawkins!”

Toby’s bedroom was an uncomfortable blend of the mess that only a teenager can produce and the precise tidiness required by an engineer. Half of his walls were covered with posters from his favourite films and bands, while the others were covered with images that showed computer generated men saying things like: “There are 10 types of people in this world. Those who understand binary and those who don’t.” Clothes were strewn around so liberally and completely that Josh wondered if there was actually any furniture beneath the various piles of socks and T-shirts.

Amidst all this chaos, however, was a pristinely tidy corner that contained the computers. There were three screens, each one displaying lines of tiny writing which Josh knew were segments of Toby’s computer programs. An oscilloscope waved greenly from between two of the monitors and wires and circuit boards were stacked neatly along one side of the workbench, along with some tiny tools.

“Welcome to my humble abode.”

Kat picked her way through the mess on the floor and started to sit on the chair in front of the computers.

“Not there!” Toby yelled and deftly skipped through his room, feet unerringly finding the few clear spaces on the floor. Kat span around surprised. “Well where can I sit?”

Toby stopped and looked around. “There’s plenty of room.” He moved a pile of clothes the size of a small hippopotamus off what was revealed to be another chair. “See?”

Josh laughed. “Have you still got that set up, Toby? You let me sit there the first time.”

Toby looked a little sheepish.

“What’s this?” Kat grinned at them.

“Well…to stop anyone touching my stuff, I’ve sort of booby trapped this chair.”

“Oh what does it do?” Kat looked excited.

Toby grinned back at her. “Please allow me to demonstrate. If you would stand back please.” Toby pulled them away from the booby-trapped chair and threw a crumpled handkerchief onto it. The small square of material drifted slowly through the air and settled gently onto the back of the chair.

All hell broke loose.

Sirens blared out from all corners of the room, accompanied by flashing red lights. The chair itself was flipped over and pulled towards the ceiling by a rope and pulley system that had appeared from somewhere and the armrests had pulled together, trapping anyone sitting there.

Toby pressed a couple of buttons on one of his keyboards and the sirens and flashing lights stopped, but the chair continued to swing creakily from the ceiling.

“…and the really clever thing is,” he produced his mobile phone from his pocket, “it calls my mobile and sends me a picture of the person I’ve caught!” Toby showed them the image on his phone. It showed Kat with her eyes wide and hands over her mouth.

“Toby, Toby? What’s going on now? You haven’t captured Josh again have you?” A thumping on the door accompanied Toby’s mum’s frantic questions.

“No mum, I’m just showing Katrina how it works.”

There was a silence which was made all the more acute by the fact that there had been so much noise before.

“Have you got a girl in there, Toby?”

“Yes, mum.”

The door burst open and Mrs Hawkins, a rather plump red-faced woman stumbled through.

“Katrina, this is my mother.”

“Ah, hello dear. How are…” Mrs Hawkins stopped and stared at Kat’s dark and severe makeup.

“I’m fine, Mrs Hawkins. How nice to meet you.” She extended a black finger-nailed hand to Toby’s mum, who shook it gingerly and then seemed to wind herself up for the next barrage of questions.

“Nice to meet you. How long have you known Toby? Would you like to stay for tea? And you Josh of course…” She gabbled away as if her life depended on it gathering speed and momentum with every word. “Would you like a drink now? A nice cup of tea? Orange juice? I think we might have some coke…”

“Mum!”

“Yes dear?”

“Could you get us some orange? And some biscuits would be nice.” Toby was guiding his mother out of the room. “Josh and Kat will stay for tea I think.” They nodded in agreement, and Toby closed the door.

“Fresh orange or cordial?” A muted voice asked from behind it.

“Either.” Toby shouted.

“Right-ho, dear. I won’t be more than a minute.”

Toby let out a huge sigh. “Mothers!”

“She’s lovely.” Kat smiled.

“You don’t have to live with her.”

It took nearly an hour for Toby to recover his chair from the ceiling and take the tray of drinks and biscuits from his mother, without letting her actually come back into the room, and to find another chair for Josh to sit in so that they could all see the screens, but eventually they got themselves settled. Toby was sitting in the middle with one hand resting on the keyboard and the other on the mouse. Josh and Kat sat on either side of him leaning forward and trying vainly to understand what he was doing.

The middle screen had started off by showing a normal web page with a few pictures and some text. Toby had loaded another program and the web page had spiralled around to create a whirling tunnel leading into the monitor. They started to descend through the swirling web page. Colours flashed past them and Josh felt a giddy sensation of speed as they dived deeper and faster.

Then blackness.

The abrupt transition between apparent movement and nothingness made Kat and Josh start forward in their chairs.

A tiny speck of light began to grow in the centre of the screen, and as it got bigger its edges became less distinct. Pale, ghostly shapes merged and span within the growing light.

As they grew to fill the screen the spinning shapes began to slow, but they didn’t become any more focussed. Josh realised that they were all contorted faces, screaming out their torment and he recognised Geigerzalion.

“See?” Toby stopped doing whatever he was doing on the keyboard and sat back.

“Is that Geigerzalion?” Kat asked.

Josh nodded absently, as he gazed intently into the swirling image. He could feel that it was trying to communicate. Then a symbol glowed at the side of the screen. It looked like a backwards ‘e’ with some spikes jutting out from parts of it, but Josh knew it meant welcome. He pressed the screen where the symbol had appeared.

Nothing happened.

He pressed the screen again.

“What on Earth are you doing?”

“Well, I don’t know really.” Josh said helplessly. “When I pressed the symbols in my dad’s study, they would change their meaning. That’s how I communicated.”

“Can you use the mouse?” Kat asked.

Josh moved the mouse pointer over the symbol he had touched before and it glowed and fell to the bottom of the screen, just as it had in his father’s study.

More symbols were flying about the screen now and Josh moved the mouse to meet them.

“What’s he saying?” Toby asked.

Josh just shook his head. He was trying to concentrate on the conversation he was having with Geigerzalion, but using the mouse was not natural enough. As soon as he caught an inkling of what one symbol meant another had taken its place and he had to start again.

“Can you make it easier for me to communicate?”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t get my ideas across. The symbols are coming too fast for me to click on them with the mouse. I’m just not fast enough.”

Toby scratched his chin, and peered into the screen. The symbols were becoming less distinct, and the tortured faces were looking increasingly frenzied.

“Hang on a sec.” He rummaged around underneath his desk and found what looked like a pair of sunglasses and two gloves. “Put these on.” Josh did as he was told, although when he put the sunglasses on he found he couldn’t see anything. The gloves were stiff, like old leather that has been left in the sun.

He felt Toby placing something into his ears and then heard the clickety click of the tapping of keys.

Suddenly a horizontal white line appeared in front of him, accompanied by an electrical fizzing sound. The line expanded vertically to reveal the eye-bending spinning image that was Geigerzalion. It looked more three-dimensional now, and Josh instinctively reached out to touch it and saw a disembodied version of his own hand reaching towards the shape. He snatched it back hurriedly, but saw that the symbols had started to appear again.

“What’s happening?” Dimly he heard Kat asking the question, and Toby answered.

“I’ve set up the display to go through my virtual reality glasses. He should see the same as we see on this screen here, but hopefully he’ll be able to manipulate his environment better.” Toby continued to speak, but Josh was now fully immersed in his communicating. It started to feel like he was talking with his mind, rather than through the symbols.

Hello again, Josh.

“Hello.”

You haven’t told your father about me. Why not?

Josh understood that just like normal speaking this method of communication could convey emotions, and he was frustrated that he couldn’t read the extra level of meaning that Geigerzalion was trying to convey behind his question.

“I have, but he didn’t really let me finish. He seemed quite excited about it though.”

You are not in your father’s study. How did you find me?

“My friend, Toby, found you. Something led him from my dad’s company’s website to here, but he doesn’t understand you.”

That is my unfortunate situation, Josh. Only you seem to be able to understand what I say.

“Why do you look like this?”

This is my avatar in this world. This is how my feelings are displayed in your digital world, rather than how I choose to be seen. I have no control over it.

“But you look so unhappy.”

I am. I want to be free. I don’t want to be constrained by this artificial prison any longer. I am so tired of not knowing what I am or where I am.

Josh became aware of sound, almost too quiet to hear, like the distant rumbling of thunder or huge machinery grinding away beneath a mountain.

Something is coming, Josh. We must flee!

“What’s coming?”

The noise was now much louder. It sounded like an enormous drill.

I don’t know. We are not safe here. You must flee with me. Follow.

“Where are we going?”

Away from here. Anywhere.

The ethereal shape moved away slowly. Josh leant forward in an instinctive action of movement, but he remained stolidly stationary.

The noise had reached almost deafening levels now and lightning cracks had appeared in the surrounding darkness.

Move your hands in the direction you want to go.

The symbols and meaning streamed out behind Geigerzalion as he started to speed away. Josh threw his hands forward and his body lurched after them.

He followed Geigerzalion through the disintegrating blackness that had previously seemed so complete. He felt like he was flying and if it had not been for the thing that was breaking through the wall of darkness into their void he would have found the experience thrilling. Instead, he found that he was terrified. His heart thumped inside his chest and his breathing had become ragged. He stretched his hands in front of him as far as he could to get more speed.

Behind him light had completely obliterated the darkness and a shape was whizzing out of the light and after them. Ahead of them, uncountable writhing pipes rose out of the nothingness like a field of corn waving in the wind. The insides of all these pipes looked like the tunnel he had arrived through.

Faster.

Josh strained to stretch further forward to gain more speed, but he could still feel their pursuer closing the distance between them. He looked over his shoulder and saw a huge, eagle gliding swiftly towards them, its cruel beak open and seemingly large enough to swallow him whole.

Almost too fast to see Geigerzalion dodged to one side and disappeared into one of the pipes. Josh wrenched his arms around and followed him. He had to veer suddenly to avoid careering into Geigerzalion who had come to a stop someway down the tunnel.

Geigerzalion’s avatar was pulsing with a golden inner light and bright tendrils began to worm their way from the eyes and mouth of the screaming faces. The tendrils quickly extended to the sides of the tunnel, where they attached themselves and tautened. Slowly, but inexorably, the tunnel began to collapse.

Go further along.

Josh did not need telling twice. He thrust forward as fast as before, wildly racing through the tunnel like it was a roller coaster, twisting and turning until his arms ached and his chest was heaving as much from effort as it had been from fear.

After moments or minutes he felt the presence of Geigerzalion at his side.

We will be safe here for a while. They cannot follow us this way, but I must find somewhere else within this network. They will soon find another route.

“What was it?”

I do not know. I said I was not a prisoner before, but there are some things chasing me. Some powerful things. I cannot stay in one place for very long before one of them finds me. I do not know what they want with me. But I am afraid to let them catch me.

The two of them were now falling through what appeared to be a snowstorm. Josh threw his hands forward, but he couldn’t fly anymore. Gravity had re-established its influence over him with a vengeance.

“What’s happening?”

We’re in a simulation.

“But we’re falling! Are we going to land?”

Soon.

“But I can’t fly?”

Josh could see trees rushing up from the ground at him. Panic swelled within him and he tried to scream, but the snowy air was rushing into his lungs. He flailed his arms around. Branches started to break beneath him and the world tilted away from him and then suddenly he saw Toby’s room again.

Even though the room was fairly dim, it was a lot brighter than the midnight blizzard that he had just been tumbling through, and his eyes took a few seconds to become accustomed to it. His side hurt where the virtual branches had hit, and his cheeks stung from the snow. He pulled the gloves off and rubbed his face.

Kat was standing before him with the virtual reality glasses in her hand. She looked as though she was going to cry.

“What happened?” He asked.

Kat shook her head. “You started freaking out. Thrashing about in your chair, as if you were really falling through that snowstorm.”

“I was.” Josh said flatly.

“What do you mean?”

“When those glasses came off, my side hurt where I’d crashed into the trees and my face felt cold as if I’d been outside for a while.”

“That’s impossible.” Toby piped up. “You can only see and hear stuff through them. They don’t affect your other senses.”

“They did. Or I was there.” Josh felt his side, but there was no pain at all there now.

Toby frowned. “I guess if it looked so real your brain just told your body how it should feel.”

“Is that possible?” Kat asked.

“I dunno.” Toby shrugged. “No one knows that much about the way the mind works. It certainly controls the movement of our bodies so perhaps it can also control the way they feel.” He sat forward in his chair warming to his theme. “I mean when you’re worried about something you get a funny feeling in your stomach, don’t you. Perhaps your mind can affect other parts of your body just as easily.”

Josh and Kat looked at each other. “No I don’t know what he’s talking about either.” Kat said.

Josh was surprised at Toby’s straightforward acceptance of what had just occurred. He felt like he had been drawn into another world, and that fantastical event could not be rationalised away like a maths problem.

“It was so real, Tobes. Why has everything started to be so weird? Doesn’t anything ordinary happen anymore?”

Kat laughed. “You’re normally complaining that nothing exciting happens around here!”

“Well, exciting stuff can just stop happening around here for a while as far as I’m concerned. I think I could have really died in that fall.”

“But you didn’t.” Toby said.

“No. Only because Kat pulled those glasses off me before I had a chance to crash into the ground.”

“I’m not sure I trust this Geigerzalion, Josh. You could have died.” Kat said.

“It’s not his fault someone’s after him.”

“Yes, but why are they after him?”

Josh couldn’t answer. He understood nothing of what had happened and hated the idea that he might argue with Kat.

“Can you find him again, Toby?”

“I don’t know. He found me the first time. Or something did.”

“Josh, I don’t think you should go back in there again.” Kat reached over Toby and squeezed Josh’s arm. “I saw the look on your face after you came out of the … wherever it was, and you were terrified. I don’t want anything to happen to you and I think you should just be careful. You know?”

Josh found a smile on his lips.

“Are you going to start kissing or what? ‘Cos if so you can do it as far away from my room as…”

“Are you ready for your tea now dears?” Mrs Hawkins squeaked at them from behind the door.

“Not for me Mrs Hawkins. I’m really sorry. I’ve got to go.” Kat called.

“Oh.” Mrs Hawkins was silent for a while. “Just two then. It’s ready now, if you want to come downstairs.”

Josh looked at Kat. “Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry Josh. I completely forgot. I’ve got to go to Ally Brimble’s party tonight. I don’t really want to, but…”

“Well don’t go then.” Josh blurted the words before he could stop them.

Kat’s eyes softened strangely. “Oh you’re so sweet Josh.”

“What she’s trying to say, dorkmeister. Is that she’s cool and we’re not. She might lose some precious social standing if she doesn’t attend such a prestigious event.”

“Thank you for putting it so sympathetically, Toby. If I could get out of it I would. Really. I’ll make it up to you. What are you doing tomorrow?”

Toby grinned at her. “You don’t have to make it up to us. We’re just joking.”

Josh was not sure if he wanted to grin at her, but he did. “We’ll see you in the park, if you like.”

“Sure.” Kat winked them. “See you tomorrow.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and picked her way out of the room. Josh watched her go while Toby pretended to be sick the whole time.