Interphase (49 page)

A faint chiming held the deafening silence at bay as information continued to scroll down the display. David's mind staggered away from the brink of the impossibility before him. Phoenix and Analath
were
the same planet.

At the same time, they couldn't be. He recalled idle days spent watching the video feeds from observer satellites scattered across Phoenix. Even though VERA had been seeding the surface of the world with Earth based vegetation for hundreds of years, there was nothing like the lush landscapes he had seen on Analath. No green skies, no feranals, roanan trees, none of that. People on his world couldn't shape reality with their thoughts. They couldn't be the same, could they?

The globe flickered and letters appeared above it. David stared at them while the translator deciphered their meaning.
Realsphere Activity Record
. A time indicator advanced in the corner of the image as the green blanket covering the planet slowly receded. The last traces of green disappeared from the world, and red letters flashed across the display.
Total Cessation of Biological Life - 3473 AF
.
Total Atmospheric Destabilization - 3477 AF.

What had he just witnessed? Was that the death of Analath?

"Clyde," David called. He looked up and saw his friend watching the display, a look of rapture on his face. "Clyde!"

Clyde jumped and tore his gaze away. "What? You don't have to yell, Dave."

David frowned. "You were a little preoccupied. Can you access any of the information being displayed here, or is this terminal locked down as well?"

Studying the image, Clyde tentatively tapped a portion of the interface, and the display shifted to a new set of data. "Looks like this is a separate part of the system."

"See if you can pull up anything relating to the planet's decay that Siath mentioned."

Clyde's gaze roamed around the display until he found what he was looking for. He accessed the command, and a new picture flared to life.

The image looked like the molecular structure of a pair of compounds. David scanned the text underneath, hoping that it would be something understandable. Forced pollutant shift? Thought field overload? Atmospheric degeneration?

"Correct me if I'm wrong with any of this," Thomas said. "But this seems to show that the presence of some sort of energy generators, combined with aerial pollution, caused their atmosphere to break down."

Clyde grunted. "This isn't my field of expertise, but that sounds plausible. How the hell do you know stuff like that, Lancelot? Special ed courses for jocks?"

Thomas smiled pensively. "My father worked at an atmospheric stabilizer before he got promoted. He taught me a lot of what he learned to help broaden my horizons." Thomas shook his head and focused on the display. "I'm not sure what the original compound is, but this second one is very similar to Phoenix's atmosphere. Large amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, a few trace elements. The sort of stuff we need to live."

…
free from the poison that consumes our world…

David stared at the formula in horror as he grappled with understanding. Was this a past or future calamity for Analath? "Clyde, can you access any information on the data transfer Siath referred to?"

Clyde tapped another portion of the display, and a new set of data appeared. It looked like personnel listings. Names, ages, physical information, personal data. Row after row of records scrolled by.

"How many files are there?" David asked.

"Unless the translation program is messing these numbers up, it looks like several million."

"Why would they be moving records on that many people?"

Clyde accessed one of the records individually. Suddenly the imager filled with layers of detail. It was as if someone had recorded every aspect of a life, down to their DNA coding. "Uh, Dave. I'm not so sure this is a record
on
someone…"

David took another look, and his face paled. Bio-rhythm patterns, neural interface traces. It looked like a medical report from someone inside V-Net. Why would they have this information on so many people?

"Clyde, access the Salvation Program."

A new display opened, and again Siath was standing before them. "I address this to the Crisis Council, regarding a potential solution to the cataclysm befalling our planet. May it please your wisdom, I offer the details of the Salvation Program. Given that our best atmospheric scientists have concluded that the damage to our world is irreparable, my division has developed a model for a fully functional and automated Mindsphere, which would encompass the whole of Analath. This sphere represents the pinnacle of the advancement in our Thoughtlink network. The sphere would be capable of reproducing life in every aspect, a perfect recreation of our planet, its populace, and our entire existence. Given the recent breakthroughs in Thought relocation, we would be able to transfer the consciousness of the entire world into the sphere, where our people would survive, safe from the ravages of our planet's atmosphere. Analath in its physical form is lost to us, but if we act quickly, we can save the lives of all of our people, and ensure the continuation of our race. I await your response to our proposal. Observer Siath of the 3rd Division of Sciences."

A planet in its death throes. Escape to a virtual world. Massive data transference.

The display returned to the globe, and green letters flashed across the screen.
Present Time - 6812 AF.
The blinking lights of the Nine Cities showed clearly from the surface of the planet.

The last piece of the puzzle slid into place.

"
Oh hell
," David exclaimed. "I can't believe something like this is even possible."

Everyone turned to look at him, a mixture of wonder and fear spread across their faces.

"Don't you see? Analath isn't a real world. It's a computer program. A module. The greatest module ever created."

In a frightening way, it all made sense. David hadn't realized just how many questions about the nature of Analath had been left unanswered during the last two months.

The physicality of his interactions within Analath, his injuries and sensations… all of that realism had been part of the design. The language of the Anrathian people… he had always wondered how his translator could work if Analath was a different planet. Virtual objects being projected into a physical existence… the gateways had been the bridge between the two computer systems, not two worlds.

And the Anrathian race—

"Wait a minute," Lucas blurted, "does this mean that Annie isn't real?"

David caught Analara as she collapsed. She trembled in his arms, and her breath came in short gasps. Horror radiated through the tears building in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and scrambled desperately for
something
to say.

Analath was no longer real. It had been, thousands of years ago, before the self-destruction of the planet had forced its populace to flee to the only safe haven they had. Their world had been rebuilt as a computer simulation, their entire race transferred unknowingly into digital form.

Analara sobbed against his chest. As gently as he could, David drew back, trying to see her face, but she turned away. No matter her origins, her pain was real, and it cut him like a knife. "Analara, look at me."

She opened her eyes but refused to meet his gaze. David caught a glimpse of emotion in her eyes.

Analara was ashamed.

"No." The thought of her being ashamed of her own existence tore David's heart open. He stroked her face and buried his fingers in her hair. "Don't. Don't even think it."

"How can I not, David?" she whispered. "I shouldn't even
be
here. I don't exist!"

"That is
not
true!" His vision blurred with restrained tears. "I know that you are hurting right now. How could you feel something like that if you weren't real?"

"Dave's right, Analara."

Clyde knelt down beside them, his expression the gentlest that David had ever seen. He touched Analara's shoulder and gave a faint smile. "Life exists in many forms. Believe me, I've spent the last couple weeks learning about it. Mierva can't trace her ancestry back to biological organisms, yet she's more real to me than most of the people on Phoenix. In the end, none of this changes anything. You're still an alien… just not quite the same as before."

David gave Clyde a blank stare. Analara sniffed, but she seemed less withdrawn.

"Most importantly…" Thomas leaned down and wrapped an arm around Analara's shoulders. "You are our friend."

Lucas knelt down with the rest of them. "You belong with us, Annie. We're not giving you back."

Analara's bottom lip trembled and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She hugged each of them in turn.

David helped her to her feet, and her arms curled around him, her head resting on his shoulder. A few tears soaked into his shirt, and he could feel her heartbeat against his chest. She was real, by every sense he possessed.

He stole a glance up at the rows of consoles. Thousands of years of knowledge stood before them, along with the true history of humanity's new homeworld. He could spend years in this place, studying the data Siath had left behind.

David wanted to know
everything
.

But, there were more important things right now. He nuzzled Analara's neck as he pulled the string of beads she had given him from his pocket. "This is just as real to me now as it was when you gave it to me," he whispered. "The same as my feelings. I love you, and nothing about that has changed."

Analara wiped her tears and nodded. David leaned in and kissed her, then stood back and smiled. She looked up at him with a question in her eyes. "So. What happens now?"

David's reply was interrupted by a harsh clanging. Lights flashed from all of the surrounding terminals. "Clyde, what the hell is going on?"

Clyde's fingers danced across the interface, and screen after screen flew by on the imager. "I'm not sure yet, but whatever it is, it's major. The event has temporarily overwritten the security lockdowns. I'm trying to get into the core systems to find out what's happened."

A topographical map flashed onto the display, showing a red pulsing dot moving slowly across the landscape.

"Damn it," Clyde growled. "This is a whole lot more complicated than anything I've seen. As near as I can tell, there's an infection spreading into their system. The internal protections are holding, but whatever is attacking the simulation is starting to overwhelm its defenses. If something isn't done soon, Analath is going to collapse."

Chapter 41

"Do you have any idea what's launching the attack?" David shouted over the chiming alarms.

Clyde glared at the screen as his fingers darted from one display to another. "The density of their code system is exponentially greater than V-Net, but from a high level it looks like some sort of viral infection." He paused, and his gaze locked with David's.

David nodded slowly. "It has to be Totarakh. He must know by now that the war mechs failed to wipe us out. What could he be looking for in Analath?"

Thomas interrupted Clyde before he could respond. "More important than the question of
what
is the question of
where
." He pointed at a collection of buildings on the overhead map. "Analara, do you recognize those?"

Approaching the display, Analara peered at the tiny structures, studying them intently. "It's a little hard to tell from above, but I think this is Ilinar." She pointed to one building in particular. "That looks like Varlath's house."

"Totarakh must have come through a portal near the city," Thomas said. "Otherwise the system would have warned us earlier."

David's gaze roamed from Analara's face to Thomas's, and then back to the display. "Clyde, is there any sort of security log for Analath? Any record of intrusions into the system?"

Several displays rushed by as Clyde cycled through the system. Finally the image settled on a fairly standard looking report. "I think I've got it here. The data from the current incursion is really garbled. Totarakh's virus is doing a serious number on the system! Before that, it looks like there were several breaches into the system in a short time frame," Clyde said.

"Those have to be the original portals."

"I'm reading three occurrences in relatively close proximity. All of them register in the same geographic landblock. The first would have been your hover-bike breach, the second was my portal. Which must mean the third—"

"Is Totarakh's."

"Lancelot's right, the portal is coming out near Ilinar. I'm trying to narrow down some precise coordinates." Clyde tapped several commands, but his attention was drawn to the bottom entry on the display. "What the…"

David waited for Clyde to finish. A long moment passed. "Um, what the what?"

"But… how can that be?" Clyde shook himself. "Dave, I'm reading an incursion into the system nearly twenty years ago."

Eyes wide, David studied the entry intently. "It doesn't look like a complete portal formation. A small data transfer was recorded before the gap closed." Could this be the event that started the Crash Storms?