Dangerous Reality (7 page)

VIMS did as it was told. The lift doors opened almost immediately. I pointed into the lift and VIMS entered it. I made VIMS press the button to go up to the ground floor. When the lift doors opened, I could see on the monitor a security guard I did not recognize. He was sitting at his desk in the reception area, reading his newspaper. It took me a moment to remember the appropriate command for what I wanted to do next. Keeping my hand level and parallel to the ground, I said, ‘VIMS, low mode, maximum stealth, silent running.’

Almost immediately, the monitor view changed so that we could only see a few centimetres off the ground. VIMS wheeled right past the security guard’s desk to the exit.

‘How’re you going to open the door?’ Liam asked.

‘Like this! VIMS, activate Desica main doors and exit. On exit, immediately seek cover and get out of sight.’

Before our eyes, one of the main exit doors opened and VIMS rolled out.

‘VIMS, rear view please.’

On the monitor we saw the security guard look up from his newspaper, surprise on his face. Mum must’ve
updated
the tape VIMS was currently playing back. That explained why I didn’t recognize this particular guard, but then I couldn’t know every single person who worked at Desica. With a deep frown, the guard stood up, looking at the exit door which was now swinging shut.

‘VIMS, normal view – and get out of sight. Now!’ I ordered.

I lost sight of the guard as VIMS rolled towards the bushes fringing the entrance to the building – but not for long. VIMS had only just managed to hide when the guard appeared at the door, looking severely puzzled and more than a little nervous. Through the sparse winter shrubbery in front of VIMS I saw the guard look out and around but there was no one to see and nothing to look at. My heart stopped when the guard looked in VIMS’ direction. I was so afraid he’d seen VIMS but the guard turned his head for another look around. Then he went back inside the Desica building. I wasn’t the only one who breathed a huge sigh of relief.

‘Are you sure he didn’t see VIMS?’ Liam asked.

‘I don’t think so. He would’ve come out or raised the alarm if he had seen him,’ I replied.

And only then did I remember the truth. VIMS was in simulation mode. This wasn’t real. It was astounding how every little detail looked so believable, right down to the expressions on the security guard’s face. He
looked
so amazing, so lifelike, that I’d forgotten I was just watching a simulation. No wonder Liam was so completely fooled. But I wasn’t going to tell him the truth – at least, not yet. I was going to have some fun first.

I pointed my finger forward and VIMS set off again. Whenever anyone approached VIMS, I made it hide out of sight. That was mainly for Liam’s benefit but I reckoned that even if it was just a simulation and all I was seeing were images being played back like playing a DVD on the TV, I should still make VIMS treat the whole thing like it was a serious exercise. I didn’t want to interfere with the way it’d already been programmed or anything.

‘Hang on … Why’re you turning into Ellisnore Road?’ Liam asked when ten minutes later we were finally reaching VIMS’ final destination.

I grinned at him. ‘I told you. We’re visiting Matt Vinyl. He lives in this road. At number forty-five.’

Liam suddenly became very still. ‘Dominic, what’re you going to do?’

Chuckling gleefully, I turned back to the monitor. I pointed forward until VIMS reached Matt’s house. I indicated that VIMS should go past the open gate and into the front garden, which was hidden from the rest of the street by a tall, untidy hedge. I made VIMS look around. Stupidly, I hadn’t made VIMS take anything
with
it so we were going to have to improvise. There were a number of plant pots lined up behind the hedge, and in the corner of the garden, a large wheelie dustbin sat self-consciously.

‘VIMS, pick up that dustbin and empty it on the ground,’ I said.

‘Dominic – no! You can’t do that,’ Liam protested at once.

‘Oh no? Watch this then.’

We all watched the monitor as VIMS lifted the huge wheelie bin and flipped it over as if it were a jar of coffee. Boxes, tins, papers, old flowers – they all came tumbling out.

‘Dominic, that’s enough,’ Liam told me sternly.

‘Oh no, it isn’t,’ I argued. ‘VIMS, pick up one of the potted plants and throw it through the window in front of you, then head back to the testing room at Desica with all possible speed.’

And that’s just what VIMS did. It picked up the nearest potted plant and hurled it through the downstairs window. Then it wheeled out of the front garden moving like a bat out of hell.

I turned triumphantly to Liam. ‘Ta-da!’

He wasn’t smiling. In fact, he was looking at me like he’d never seen me before.

‘Not even Matt would stoop so low as to pull a stunt like that,’ he said.

‘Of course he would – and worse.’

‘I’m going home now.’

I creased up laughing. ‘You should see the look on your face!’ I was laughing so much, I started to sneeze. ‘Don’t worry. It’s not real. None of it was real.’

‘What’re you talking about?’

‘It’s just a simulation. A film crew spent months filming all around this town for Mum and the VIMS project. Mum’s team wanted to test VIMS’ responses to various different situations without really exposing him to the world outside.’

‘But we just saw VIMS go into Matt’s garden,’ Liam protested. ‘I saw him empty the bin and throw the potted plant through the window.’

‘It wasn’t real. VIMS uses the stock footage of the town and then reprograms the images based on what you ask him to do.’

Liam still looked sceptical.

‘I’m telling you that none of it was real,’ I said, exasperated. ‘That’s why it’s called
virtual
reality, not actual reality. I’m not too sure how all the ins and outs of it work, but believe me, when VIMS is in simulation mode he can do anything without moving outside the testing area at Mum’s work place. Besides, is it likely that I’d really do that to Matt’s house? Would I really get VIMS to throw things through the window? Someone could get hurt.’

Liam scrutinized me. He was trying to decide whether or not I was on another of my wind-ups! But not this time. This time I was totally serious. I think it was my last argument that finally won Liam over. His expression cleared and he turned back to the screen.

‘Can VIMS really do all that – in a simulation?’ Liam whistled.

I nodded.

‘So it wasn’t real?’

‘None of it. Although I must admit, part of me would like to see Matt get what’s coming to him,’ I couldn’t help adding.

‘It’s quite good,’ Liam stated.

Which, coming from him, was high praise indeed.

‘Honestly! As if I’d do a thing like that.’ My smile faded.

In fact, the more I thought about what he’d just believed, the more annoyed I got. When I came to think about it, it wasn’t very flattering. Did Liam really believe that I’d do something so destructive, so
vindictive
? Matt had provoked me enough but I wasn’t about to retaliate like that.

‘I think you should pack the whole thing up now, before your mum comes home or we get caught, or break something,’ Liam said at last. ‘It’s very good, but let’s call it a day.’

‘OK.’ I shut down the system and pulled off the VR
glove
. ‘You must admit though, it
was
fun. I mean, imagining that it was all for real – it was fun.’

Liam gave a slow smile. ‘I guess so.’

‘As they say, revenge is sweet but revenge with VIMS’ help is pure strawberries and ice cream!’

The phone rang.

Liam left the room first, with me bringing up the rear. I think to be honest that Liam was glad to leave the room. It was a lot to take in all at once. He kept glancing back over his shoulder as if he still couldn’t
quite
believe that what he’d just seen wasn’t in the slightest bit real. When we got downstairs, I picked up the phone.

‘Dominic, is that you?’

‘Hi, Pops.’ I grinned at the phone in my hand. Strange how just hearing my granddad’s voice always made me smile. ‘How’re you? When are we going to see you next?’

‘Where have you been? Jack and I have been phoning all afternoon.’ There was no answering smile in Granddad’s voice. In fact it was just the opposite.

My heart lurched in my chest. Something was wrong. ‘What’s the matter, Pops?’

‘It’s your mum,’ Pops replied grimly. ‘There’s been an accident.’

Chapter Eleven

Out of Control

LIAM INSISTED ON
staying with me until Pops came to pick me up and take me to the hospital. I sat on the second-to-last stair, staring at the front door and willing Pops to arrive.

‘You don’t have to do this. I’m OK,’ I told Liam, more than once.

‘I know that,’ he replied. ‘But I want to do it. Didn’t your granddad give you any clue about what happened to your mum?’

‘I’ve already told you everything he said,’ I snapped. ‘Mum was giving a demo of VIMS this morning and there was an accident and she was knocked unconscious.’

‘But what kind of accident?’

I opened my mouth to rant at him, only to snap it shut a moment later without saying a word. He was just concerned about Mum and it would be really out of order to take out my anxiety on him.

‘Liam,’ I began when I could trust myself to speak without biting his head clean off, ‘I’ve played you the phone messages Jack and Pops left on the answering machine and I’ve told you what Pops said to me over the phone. You know as much as I do now.’

Liam nodded slowly. ‘I know, it’s just that …’

He didn’t say any more. Nor did he have to. I knew what he meant. Jack and Pops had both been deliberately unspecific when they phoned. Jack had only said that Mum was in hospital and I was to phone him on his mobile the moment I got his messages. Pops had said pretty much the same thing – except to add at the end of each of his messages how much he hated talking to bloomin’ answering machines!

After what seemed like years, the door bell finally rang. I flew up and flung the door open. I gave a start of surprise. It wasn’t Pops. It was Julie Resnick, Mum’s boss. I stood blinking at her like a stunned owl.

‘Hello, Dominic. Can I come in?’

‘D’you know what’s happened to Mum?’ I asked. ‘Can I come in?’ Julie repeated.

‘Yes, of course.’ I stepped aside, allowing her to enter the hall.

‘So what happened?’ I said impatiently.

‘D’you want to sit down?’ Julie asked me.

No, I didn’t want to sit down, or dance around, or stand on my head. I just wished she’d get on with it.

‘I want you to prepare yourself,’ Julie said grimly. ‘Your mum’s invention, the VIMS unit, went haywire again, only this time it knocked your mum off the stage she was on.’

‘The stage?’

‘The demonstration to the board of directors was taking place in a conference hall with a small stage. Your mum wanted to demonstrate VIMS’ capabilities and to show the board a film of what she and her team have been up to over the last year.’

‘And VIMS knocked her off the stage?’ I couldn’t take it all in.

‘It went haywire and started lashing out in all directions. Your mum moved in to stop it and it hit her across the chest, knocking her off the stage,’ Julie told me straight.

The door bell rang again. I opened it. This time it was Pops.

‘I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,’ Pops apologized at once. ‘The traffic was a nightmare. Come on, let’s go to the hospital.’

‘Is Jack still with her?’ I asked.

‘As far as I know,’ Pops replied.

Liam trooped out of the house ahead of us.

‘Dominic, phone me first thing tomorrow and let me know how your mum is doing, OK?’ Liam said.

I nodded.

I grabbed my coat and was about to make my way out the door after Liam when I realized that Julie was still in the house.

‘Can I help you?’ Pops asked politely.

‘I’m Julie Resnick, Carol’s boss,’ Julie explained to Pops.

‘Ah yes. You phoned me earlier,’ Pops nodded.

‘That’s right. I hope you don’t mind but I just came to make sure that Dominic was all right.’

‘He’s fine.’ Pops frowned. ‘We’re both going to the hospital now.’

‘Oh … er … I thought I might check through some of your daughter’s programs and documents on VIMS whilst I was here …’ said Julie.

Pops’ look of astonishment rapidly turned to icy anger. He drew himself up to his full height and looked Julie straight in the eye.

‘My daughter is in hospital and she’s injured, not dead. There’s no need to collect up all her belongings quite yet.’

‘Oh, I didn’t mean to … Of course not,’ Julie stammered in her effort to placate Pops. ‘I’ll go. This is the wrong time to … I’ll go.’

‘I’d appreciate it,’ Pops told her, frost dripping from every word.

Julie glanced behind her and up our stairs, before she sidled past Pops to leave the house.

Liam stepped aside on the garden path to let her get past. No one spoke until Julie was in her car and driving away. I took a glance at Pops then. A muscle in his cheek just under his eye was doing the samba. I’d only ever seen that particular muscle dance like that once before – when, ages ago, Pops took me to the park and some other boys had made fun of my limp.

‘Let’s go,’ Pops said gruffly.

‘Let me know how she is – OK?’ Liam said.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

All the way to the hospital, neither Pops nor I spoke. Pops doesn’t like to talk and drive at the same time and I wasn’t in the mood to speak anyway. It took ages to get to the hospital. Pops drives at least ten miles below the speed limit. He calls it ‘safe driving’, but judging by the dirty looks we kept getting I don’t think the drivers around us would’ve agreed.

At last we reached the hospital. After a lot of wandering about, trying to find out where Mum was, we at last reached her ward. Mum was in a side room and we’d barely been told the number before I was running towards it and flinging open the door. And I got the shock of my life. Mum’s head was swathed in bandages and she was linked up to a monitor beside her bed. And yet with all this stuff around her, Mum’s eyes were closed, as if she was sleeping. That’s the part that really scared me. She looked so peaceful, as if she was above
and
beyond everything going on around her. I stood in the doorway, watching her. My throat started to hurt and I had to swallow quite a few times before it stopped.