Rooms Read online

  He simply reacted. He reached up, grabbed the buzzing eye and crushed it beneath his foot. Then he quickly jumped onto the bicycle and headed down a narrow path in the park as fast as he could go. He heard a thump behind him and felt a gust of wind as the PoliceCorp vehicle landed. He pounded the pedals, speeding along the narrowing path between the trees as fast as he could. Then he heard shouts and saw laser beams hitting trees above his head. Limbs exploded and flew in all directions. He had to get away.

  Glancing ahead, the path diverged. One way seemed to descend farther into the dense foliage of the park. The other looked as if it exited the park and went back into the busy city. Rad chose the second, was quickly outside the park, and shot down another alley. He zigzagged in and out through several back ways, jumped off his bike, threw it behind some trash, and hurried through an open door and into a tall building. It appeared to be deserted. He ran up some stairs, continually on the lookout for the tiny eyes of the PoliceCorp. It was hard to see where he was going. There was little light except for a few bright shafts that entered through the broken windows along the staircase. He ran and ran upwards. His legs ached, and his breath was coming in short quick gasps. He finally reached a room on the top floor. The door was already open. He went inside, shut the door, and caught his breath. Then he walked over to a window on the far side of the room. It was still intact but hard to see through. It was a bifold window that opened inwards. He unlatched it, pulled it open, and glanced down at the alley where he’d hidden the bike and then back towards the park.

  He could see and hear the flying machine crisscrossing the park grounds. They were still searching for him, but at this point, they didn’t seem to have any idea of his exact location. Another PoliceCorp vehicle flew into the area and started searching the alleyways of the city. He also heard the humming of hundreds of tiny eyes pulsing through the air – the sun glinting off each of them as they, too, sought him out, edging their way into any crevice where he might be hiding. The pursuit still seemed random, though, with nothing indicating any specific interest in his actual location. He seemed safe enough for now, but he’d have to stay alert.

  ***

  Night set in, but Rad knew from the continued sound of the flying vehicles and the constant hum of the eyes that the search had not let up. They hadn’t found him yet, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time.

  The good thing, however, was that the search seemed to have widened and was even less focused near his hideaway. Maybe he could get a little rest.

  He laid down in a dark corner as far away from the room’s window as he could get and covered himself with some scraps of cloth that he’d found on the floor. He couldn’t let himself fall asleep, but he did need to rest. He jerked his head up several times as his body’s need for sleep was beginning to overcome his desire for self-preservation. Finally, he lost the battle, and his heavy eyelids slid closed.

  22

  Interlude

  Fawn took Zeer’s hand and walked over near the warm fire and sat with her. She smiled and said, “Zeer, it’s time to speak with you about what’s happening with our culture and about our plan for the future. First, though, we want you to know that we have found another person that we’ve chosen to possibly join us here on Loon. It’s a man that you knew from when you were on R-131. His name is Rad.”

  Even though she didn’t know Rad that well, he had made an impression on her, and of course she remembered the times they’d spoken. She had thought a few times that it might be him but wasn’t sure. Her life had been so consumed with the Room and now Loon. She really hadn’t thought much about him since their last encounter.

  “Yes, I remember him. He seemed intense, and I remember he loved to ride his Speedcycle. He was also the one that you had me give the book to.”

  Fawn nodded and continued. “Rad has shown great promise. He is definitely intelligent and a learner. He wants more from his life and has an uncontrollable urge to be outside the confines of the lifeglobes. He is not an habituate as you are, but he loves to be in his body and feel strong. The Speedcycle suited his needs in that way, and he’s progressed through our Room well. He’s been much more reckless than you were, but he has completed levels one and two and is now in the final level. You know how difficult and dangerous that level is. Every decision he makes will be extremely important.”

  “In the levels of the Room, has Rad experienced the same times and places that I did, or were they different?”

  “Zeer, we decided a long time ago that the man and woman that we chose for the Room would have experiences that related specifically to them. Of course, what you went through is similar, but some aspects are very different. The most important thing is that whoever passed and became part of our culture needed to have the same knowledge and understanding that we do of the importance of the individual and his or her relationship to the environment and to society in general.”

  “Yes, I understand. So what am I to do?”

  “To begin with, you and I will observe Rad’s progress together. First, we’ll go back and view what he has done so far. Then we’ll watch his progress through the most difficult and final level. If he survives, there will be a point where you will enter the game with him, just as I did with you. We believe that since you have experienced the Room and because Rad knows you, you can have a positive influence on the outcome.”

  Zeer wondered, “And what will I do then?”

  “We won’t know that until it happens. Let’s get started.”

  Fawn took out her energy sphere, and the light surrounded them both. They began traveling through Rad’s experiences, watching, listening, and following his progress.

  23

  The Room: Level 3

  Jana

  Rad opened his eyes and uncurled his body. It hadn’t been an easy night. He was a bit stiff from the hard floor but glad for the pieces of cloth that had provided some warmth and comfort. He sat up. It was morning. He watched as rays of light filtered through clouds of polluted haze and entered his broken window several stories above the city.

  He shook his head to wake up and jerked with surprise. Directly across from him, he could see a person sitting against the opposite wall. Startled, his breath left him, and he stifled a yell. He looked more closely and could see now that it was Jana.

  “Jesus! You scared the shit out of me, Jana!”

  “Sorry, we’ve been looking for you most of the night. We found out what happened to you, and I’ve been hiding as well. I can’t let the PoliceCorp find me now that they’ve seen us together. They’ll probably kill both of us if we’re found.”

  She continued, “What are you really doing here? I’ve thought more about it, and there’s something pretty strange about your story. We’ve never met anyone from the mountain area. It’s a rough trek from there to here. Are you sure you want to stick with that story?”

  Rad thought for a moment and decided that he would simply tell her the truth. He had nothing to lose. “You’re right, Jana. I’m not from the mountains. I’m going to tell you the truth and explain why I’m here. Well, as much as I know, anyway. It’s going to be difficult for you to believe. I hope I can trust you. So here goes…”

  Rad and Jana talked most of the day and into the early evening. He was right about it being difficult for her, but she listened, asked questions, and did her best to trust Rad’s story. He also trusted her more and more as he let his story out.

  She noted, “I can’t quite believe that anyone could make up something as wild as the story you’ve just told me, so I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, Rad. But…everything I’ve heard is way too crazy for me to buy completely.” She thought for a moment more and then continued. “However, whether it’s all true or not, you’re on the same side as the Outcasts now, and you’re in trouble with the PoliceCorp. What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know Jana. I seem to still be safe for the moment, and I know I’m here to learn about Earth during this time
period. I appreciate all that you’ve shared with me. It’s horrible how much this world has changed. At least in this country.”

  Jana then gave Rad more information. “From what we can gather and from the information that we’ve stolen, the corporations all over the world seem to have taken over. They are huge, and the governments, what are left of them, no longer exist to help people. For the most part, the governments are the corporations. They provide their workers with as much money and education as is needed to sustain profitability, and they want the workers to have children to be able to maintain the needed pool of employees and consumers for a stable economic environment, but that’s all. People all over the world are living very short lives and suffering, whether they are fighting against the control of the corporations or working for them. Environmental and social degradation are on the rise, and money and greed have become the main forces that push our world ahead. As I alluded to before, many of the Workers, most of the Outcasts, and a few of the Elite want to change things, but that means going up against the power and might of the corporations. And, realistically, that will only cause the deaths of many of those who try. Most of the rich at the top of the social and economic ladder don’t want any drastic changes, but a revolution is definitely something we’re debating and considering. We can’t live like this much longer, and we’re getting to the point where the needed change outweighs the huge risks.”

  “I can see what you’re saying. I couldn’t live this way either. I think I need some time to consider everything you’ve told me and see what I can do to help while I’m here. I’ll stay up in this room for one more night and then get in touch with you tomorrow. How can I do that?”

  Jana thought for a moment and then said, “Just stay here. We’ll get back to you in the late afternoon when the workers are going home. Thanks for caring and for talking with me, Rad.”

  “Thank you for teaching me and showing me what your world is like. It’s not an easy place to survive is it?” Jana nodded and slipped out the door into the night.

  After she left, Rad walked over to the open window and knelt down in front of it. He balanced his elbows on the old and broken windowsill and placed his hands under his chin. Gazing out over the city, he saw shacks and shanties, small streets, smoke, and sterile buildings carpeting the landscape as far as he could see. A smattering of lights could just barely be seen through the miasma of dust and pollution, and the smell of the city wafted in through the window - its odor rancid, stale, and sour from overcrowding, sickness, and decay. He couldn’t help but feel disheartened and sad.

  He was about to get up and move away from the window. He needed to rest again, but just as he stood, a small glow appeared next his right hand on the broken windowsill. Noticing the sphere of light frightened him. It must be another PoliceCorp device; he’d been discovered. He began to slide back into the darkness as fast as he could.

  “Damn you! You’re not going to do this!” he hissed.

  The glow from the sphere grew, though, and surrounded him. It lifted him off the floor. He fought back, hitting at its surface, with little consequence. It picked him up and moved him past the window frame and outside the building. He gasped, as he looked straight down several stories to the alley below. There was nothing beneath him to prevent him from falling to his death, except for the translucent sphere that surrounded him. He was completely exposed, and he knew that he was in serious trouble. However, just then, at his most vulnerable moment, the sphere, with him inside, shot into the sky and away from Earth like a bullet from a gun. He was thrown backwards and suddenly realized that this had nothing to do with the PoliceCorp. It was the Room – the Old One. He was still frightened and nauseated from the speed and height of his ascent, but he now understood that he was not going to visit the PoliceCorp, at least not tonight!

  24

  The Room: Level 3

  Above Earth

  Above Earth, within the clear bubble, Rad was experiencing a dizzying view. He noticed some satellites passing by, and somehow, this plus his rapid accent, had given him a feeling of vertigo. He closed his eyes. The feeling gradually subsided.

  Carefully opening his eyes again, he could see darkness and starlight curving around the Earth’s horizons. The only other large objects in the sky were the sun and the moon, which were both radiating their beauty into the dark void beyond. His heart was still pounding from his experience, so he tried to breathe and slow his pulse. He needed to think more clearly and concentrate on the moment. As he relaxed, a memory surfaced of the last Room that he’d played on R-131 with Tal, Simon, and Vella. This experience was comparable to that but much more dynamic and incredibly more real and frightening.

  Shifting his eyes downward again towards the gigantic globe directly below him, he also remembered the first time that he’d seen it in the first level of the game. At that time, the Earth was blue and green and white with many other colors patchworked across its surface. Now, some colors could still be seen, but they were muted and grayed as if he was looking through a dirty lens. He could see extremely large, floating islands of white and brown lying upon the ocean’s surface, obviously unnatural and man-made. A semi-opaque haze of brown suffused the atmosphere, where magnificent white clouds of moisture had once existed. And where he’d seen vast forests of green and mountains covered with lush foliage, he now saw areas with scars of abuse and reckless destruction. The devastation was vast and pervasive.

  Rad then shifted his gaze towards an area that seemed to be the city from which he had just made his escape. As he did so, the sphere suddenly began to descend in that direction with incredible speed. He knew that he was traveling way too fast. Then just as quickly, the sphere decelerated and came to a stop. Then it hit him. Could the sphere be responding to his thoughts? Could he actually control it? He focused and again thought about the city, and within moments, there he was, hovering just a short distance above it.

  Being in a better position to view it, he could tell that it covered many square kilometers and sprawled far off into the distance, but then he also became cognizant of the fact that this was not the same city. This was not where he’d met Jana. This city was far more broken and obviously much further along history’s path. It was covered in a gaseous soup that lay thick and harsh far beyond what he’d seen only yesterday, and all the people were in rags walking awkwardly and milling around – thousands and thousands of them, obviously ill, thin, and malnourished - their bodies in different stages of entropy.

  With a thought, he then transported himself outside the city and could see sections of land that were also in various stages of environmental degradation. There were pit mines and dry drainages where rivers or creeks had flowed at one time and hillsides of brown or black where trees and shrubbery had once grown. Devastation, maltreatment, and ruin lay everywhere with only small, sickly pockets of green vegetation barely holding fast to the land.

  He journeyed out again to get a broader perspective and moved more rapidly around the globe. He could hardly see a part of the Earth that had not been affected. Even large mountains had sections of rocks and minerals ripped out of them with raw sores left behind. Some of the oceans of the Earth had a shiny, black film covering them, and the floating mats that he’d viewed earlier from space, he now recognized as large masses of trash, oozing from rot and decay.

  Rad’s stomach turned. He felt an overwhelming grief and depression about what the human race had done to their home, and retched from the sickness of seeing thousands of carcasses of both humans and animals, lying about in various stages of decay.

  When he did see rivers, they were filled with dirt, raw sewage, and trash. Ice-covered areas had sections where it looked as if the ice had simply been scooped up and taken away. And finally, he saw thousands of factories billowing heavy brown, black soot into the air.

  Rad climbed higher again, trying to look for any area that might still be green and healthy. At first, he only saw small, random patches that were clinging to life. Ther
e didn’t seem to be a single place where the Earth was still pure and untouched by this madness. Continent after continent, ocean after ocean, river after river, desert after desert, mountain range after mountain range, and biome after biome lay ruined beyond belief. The Earth was dying…or dead.

  Then as he passed over South America, he noticed a large, ecologically verdant area that covered many square kilometers, lying near the equator. He remembered from his studies that the rain forests there were, at one time, one of the more diverse and fertile places on Earth.

  He moved closer and then became aware of structures within the green almost hidden from view. He continued his descent, allowing him to see that the area was not quite as healthy as he’d first thought. Yes, the trees were green but a green that looked ill and off color. There were skillfully built structures and people working on various tasks as they went in and out of buildings in the center of this secluded oasis. Very near the buildings, he also noticed what looked to be a spaceport or launching area where many ships were being built. At that point, he couldn’t help but reflect on the tremendous chasm of disparity between this place and the rest of the world.

  It also hit Rad that the people here looked stronger and healthier, wore better clothes, and looked as if they were busily working towards a goal of some kind. He knew it must have something to do with the spaceport. This place was, as far as he could see, the only part of the Earth that was somewhat unharmed.

  Rather than look more closely for now, though, Rad decided to journey farther to see if he could find any other places like the one he’d just discovered. He crisscrossed the Earth many times and found another settlement on an island north of what used to be Australia, then another on the continent of Africa; both were also near the equatorial regions. The only settlement that wasn’t close to the equator that he’d found was located near the center of the North American continent. It sat at the base of a huge range of mountains next to a befouled city in ruins. There could be others, but it was obvious that most of the Earth was wasting away with only a few pockets where the human race was hanging on, just trying to survive. He gazed down on this world that he had dreamed of for so long - a world whose existence had changed from an exquisite gem to a rotting piece of garbage dangling in space, putrefying and moving ever closer to its absolute destruction.