Silver Shark

Chapter Five

"One blue pepper, cut into strips," the Artificial Intelligence announced.

Claire surveyed the small heap of ingredients on her kitchen island. "Define blue pepper."

"Blue pepper: pungent fruit of a Moloccy species rich in lycopene and Vitamin C. Flavor: sweet, slightly bitter. Appearance: dark blue, cylindrical shape tapering toward the tip."

The picture of a blue pepper ignited on the kitchen's digital screen. Claire plucked the pepper from the bunch and placed it on her cutting board. "Demonstrate."

The AI opened a frame showing a woman deftly chopping the pepper into five millimeter wide rings.

Claire watched it for a few seconds, picked up the knife, and chopped the pepper.

It was Saturday morning and she had woken up with a sudden need to prove to herself that she could cook. Immigration had fully stocked her refrigerator with raw ingredients, so she set them out on the counter and had the AI run a comprehensive analysis finding a combination that would result in a beginner-level recipe.

"One peeled compa, cut into strips."

"Define compa."

"Compa: fleshy fruit of Karlovskaya species, rich in Vitamin A. Flavor: sour, with sweet aftertaste. Appearance: red tetrahedron with rounded corners."

Claire picked out a rough pyramid-looking red fruit. "Demonstrate peeling."

The woman on the screen scraped the compa with some sort of implement that did not look like a knife. Claire pulled open the kitchen drawers, rummaging through until she found a similar looking tool.

A soft chime rang through her apartment.

"You have visitors," the AI announced dutifully.

Venturo. Her heart hammered. Her mouth went dry.

"Visual," she said.

The screen ignited. Claire's heart sank. Tonya stood at the door, accompanied by an old man and another that looked in his early forties.

She clenched her teeth, furious with herself. This obsession with Ven had to end. It was turning her into an nervous wreck, catapulting her from one emotional extreme to the next. Enough was enough. Claire exhaled, finding calm.

"Open," she said.

The door swung open, and Tonya and the man in his forties bowed, letting the older one through the door first. Claire wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and walked up to greet them.

The older man examined her, taking her measure. Age whitened his hair, and he walked leaning on a cane, by the eyes that looked at her from under the thick eyebrows remained sharp. He was carrying a satchel. The other man hovered protectively over him. She didn't recognize either of them.

Tonya approached. "Retainer Shannon, we are sorry to call on you so early in the morning, but our need is great. This is Doreem Nagi, our Building Elder, and Charles Monn."

Claire inclined her head, touching her forehead in a sign of respect. "Thank you for looking after my mother."

Doreem nodded to her.

"We seek your help," Tonya said.

"Please sit down." Claire led them to the couches. Everyone took a seat.

Charles reached into his shirt and pulled out a small tablet. On it an image of a blond teenage boy glowed. The boy's face wore the familiar Uley expression: a flat mask, betraying nothing.

"This is Edu," Charles said. "He's fourteen."

The image slid, turning into a portrait of a teenage girl. "Lada."

Another image, another child. "Karim."

"They are children from our building, refugees like us," Tonya said.

"They got into a fight at school," Charles said. "With some local kids. One of the local boys involved claimed that his dagger was stolen in the commotion. The dagger was found on the boy's desk the next day with a broken blade. The dagger is a family heirloom. The school is willing to overlook the fight, but the child's family is upset."

"The security forces took the dagger," Tonya added. "For trace testing."

"The children were questioned," Charles said. "None of the three is admitting to theft and neither are they denying it. They aren't speaking to authorities."

It was a familiar tactic: when in trouble, say nothing. "I see."

"If traces of their DNA are found on the dagger, they will be charged with theft and destruction of property. The charge violates their probation. The children will be taken from their families and deported," Charles said.

"Did they steal the dagger?" Claire asked.

"Yes," Doreem said. "Edu took it to punish the other child. Edu is my grandson. Karim and Lada helped."

"I see."

"We've offered to make reparation to the boy's family," Charles said. "In exchange for dropping the inquest. They declined."

"We ask you to..." Tonya fell silent and glanced at Charles. They looked at their hands, uncomfortable.

"We need your help," he said. "The results of the testing must be negative."

"You want me to log into the bionet and alter the trace analysis?"

"Yes." Tonya exhaled.

Claire leaned back. The Security Forces Database would be under a layered protection protocol of at least level three or higher. Cutting into it would be a nightmare.

"You are asking me to break into a security installation. It will be very well protected. There are defenses to be overcome. The precise manipulation of data will require time. It's a lot harder to alter data than to erase it."

"We've collected credits," Charles said. "From the families. We will gladly pay -"

He saw the look on her face and clamped his mouth shut.

"We have insulted you," Doreem said. His sharp eyes stabbed at her. "We ask forgiveness."

"Apologies," Charles bowed his head.

They thought that because she had left the building, she wouldn't understand. They thought she only cared about money. She understood. Every refugee from the building had conspired to save the children. That's what a community did in times of trouble.

"Please continue," Charles asked.

"Think of the data as being guarded by a pack of dogs," Claire said. "The AI defenses. If the pack sees me, they will attack and bark all together, making a lot of noise. This noise will bring men with guns, the actual psychers. To be able to do what you ask me to do, I will need help. I will need decoys that will draw the pack away from me."

"We have people," Charles said. "They are not combat-grade, but they can move through the bionet."

"They are utility repair people." Tonya said. "They used to check the bionet installations for the failing sectors."

Low-level psychers, with the mental talent too slight to be affected by the PPP. She'd encountered their type on the bionet before: they could move through it but they had never fought on it.

Claire sighed. "If we're discovered, every person involved will be deported. The children may survive. We will not. Melko will murder all of us."

"We understand," Charles said. "I'm one of those who will be going in with you. We can't do anything more than run, but we'll risk ourselves for the children. We will do everything we can to help you. If you choose to do this."

In her mind Claire was back in her mother's apartment, sitting by the bed, holding her mother's hand. The medic had given her less than twenty-four hours, and Intelligence permitted her this last visitation. She remembered everything in crystal clear detail. The dark spray of black marks on her mother's face. The smile on her mother's lips. Her mother's hair, clean and braided away from her face. Her mother's voice. "I'm content, sweetheart. I'm tired, and it's time to go. Don't cry. I didn't suffer. They say the passing will be peaceful."

Logging into bionet meant risking everything. Her job. Her life. Other lives she took with her.

The debt had to be repaid. If she succeeded, she would give three children another chance at life. If she failed...

She had to succeed.

"When was the dagger taken for testing?"

"Last night," Charles answered.

"What time last night?"

"At the end of the school day," Tonya said.

"Take the credits you gathered and rent a large hotel room in the largest hotel you can find," she said. "If asked, tell them you are having a meeting to welcome new refugees in the community. If not asked, say nothing. Pick someone who can pass for a native and have them purchase a portable liquid interface hub, Grade Five or higher. We will need the bionet cognizance units as well. If asked why, say that you are planning a game party on the bionet. We will need a medic and we will need protection for our bodies while we're logged in. Don't involve anyone who can't be trusted to stay quiet. This needs to be done tonight, before the lab personnel return to work on Monday."

Claire walked down the polished tile of Hotel Aldebaran's sixteenth floor hallway. Charles had chosen well — the three towers of Aldebaran catered to businessmen and families. People strolled back and forth, parents with children heading toward the hotel's pools, tourists going out to explore the city. Nobody paid her any mind.

She approached the door marked 1672 and rapped her knuckles on the plasti-steel. It swung open and Charles let her inside. The suite's main room was wide and devoid of furniture. A three-foot tall hub sat in the middle of the room, an ornate metal pedestal in a shape of three nude women, each supporting the container of dark-grey liquid interface with her left hand and fondling herself with the right.

Claire raised her eyebrows.

"It was on sale," Charles said.

Doreem sat in the lone chair in the corner. He nodded to her. To the left of him stood a young man with a strong resemblance to Karim, one of the children in trouble.

"Kosta," Charles said. "He's Karim's brother and one of your team."

Kosta looked barely eighteen.

"This is Zinaida," Charles said, bowing slightly to an older woman with startling blue eyes. She nodded back.

"Nonna." A young nervous woman with pale brown hair.

"Saim." Charles pointed at a thin dark-skinned man in his early twenties.

"Mittali." A young woman with very dark hair and light olive skin.

"This is our medic." A blond man in his mid-thirties raised his hand from the portable medi-bot. "Tonya will be assisting him."

Tonya inclined her head.

"Thomas, Sergei, and Helen will watch over us while we're under."

The two men and a woman raised their hands.

They had brought everything she'd asked for. Claire took the bag off her shoulder, removed her sandals, and sat on the rug before the hub. "Join me."

The five members of her team sat in a circle around the hub.

"How many times have you connected?" she asked.

"Seventeen," Charles said.

"Twenty-two," Zinaida said.

"Eight," Saim said.

"Eight also," Mittali added.

"Four," Nonna said.

"Twice," Kosta said.

"Any connections in the hostile environment?"

No answer. She had expected as much.

"Bionet can be overwhelming," Claire said. "However, our minds do their best to cope by transforming it into a familiar environment. Our mind interprets things for us and you must listen to your instincts. If something gives you a bad feeling, it's likely a trap. If you see a monster, it's likely an AI defense or an enemy psycher. You will see strange things on the bionet. Creatures that grow blades. Plants that shoot lightning. You must remember to trust your instincts. If something feels dangerous, it is. Be afraid and be cautious, and you will survive."

"But how do we fight?" Kosta asked.

"You don't. I will take care of the fighting." Claire smiled gently. "Your mission is different. There are two types of threats on bionet: passive and active. Passive threats are the AI defenses. They remain dormant until an intruder appears. Active threats are psychers like us, humans who patrol the bionet. They are the greatest danger. You will know them because they may look very frightening or appear out of place. For example, if you perceive bionet as a grassy plain and you see a medium-size predator running at you, it's likely an AI defense. If you see a bovine the size of a house that's sprouting tentacles and tusks, it's likely an psycher."

Claire paused to make sure she had their attention. "If you see a psycher, do not engage. He will kill you. If you see one, and he gives chase, you must run away as fast as you can and disconnect as soon as you are able. Remember, you can only disconnect within a short distance of the hub. Don't be afraid to lead a psycher to the hub. We will destroy it after the mission. Do you understand?"

Heads nodded.

"It's highly likely that you may see me as something terrifying as well. During the mission, I may change my shape in reaction to threats. Don't be alarmed."

"Will you grow tentacles and tusks?" Saim asked, with a hint of humor in his eyes.

"If I have to. We will be going into a secure sector; however, a security forces laboratory is unlikely to have an active defense. It doesn't contain any of the financial or valuable data hacker psychers usually want, so there is no need for a psycher to actively control it. The laboratory will have passive defenses instead. There are three types. First, the loop traps. These are bionet connections designed to lock a mind into a loop in an effort to keep it from reaching its destination. People typically see these as quick sand, swamp, iced over water, and so on. If you are caught in a loop, do not panic. Clear your mind and imagine yourself escaping. If that doesn't work, picture falling through the trap and landing by the hub. That usually initiates the expelling protocol. You will land by the hub and will have to log off.

"The second type of trap is the damage events. Falling rocks, geysers of molten lava, mud slides, and so on. These are the coded defenses. They will activate when triggered but they have a limited range. If you are caught in one of these, you will take damage. Sometimes severe damage. Your mind may develop lesions or become 'bruised.' You may see something that looks like a glowing worm or a tangle of luminescent threads. Sometimes the world will abruptly darken or become too bright to see the objects. If you experience visual anomalies after a damage event, you must tell me immediately. Remember that your range is shorter than mine. I can broadcast my thoughts from a large distance, which means you will hear me but I may not hear you. If you take damage and I do not respond, you must log off as soon as possible."

She waited for everyone to nod.

"The third type of traps are the chasers. The chasers are the defense entities produced by the AI. They are usually perceived as something alive: dogs, insects, sharks. The chasers will actively pursue you. If a large number of the chasers are destroyed, the AI will sound the perimeter alarm, which will bring a living psycher responsible for the security of the sector on our heads. This is something we want to avoid at all costs."

"Why?" Saim asked. "I mean can't you just fight him or her off?"

"Right now all of us are guilty of conspiring to alter data. It is a non-violent offense," Claire said. "If we confront a psycher, I may have to kill her. Terminating a human mind of a Rada citizen is a death sentence for everyone in this room."

Sudden silence claimed the room.

Claire was the first to break it. "This is why I need you. Your purpose is to follow me until we encounter chasers. As soon as chasers find us, each of you must engage one of them and lead them away. You must scatter and take them with you to keep the AI from sounding the alarm. You don't have to fight. You just have to run and keep them occupied to let me accomplish my task without having to destroy them. Even if all you do is make circles around the hub, as long as they are following you, I will be able to do everything I need to do."

"How will we know when you're done and it's safe to log off?" Charles asked.

"You will hear a signal. If you don't hear anything or if you become lost, don't worry, I will come and get you. One more thing: don't get bitten. We'll be facing Security Force chasers. Their bite will leave a mark on your mind. Eventually it will dissipate — usually in a few weeks — but until then if you log into the bionet, anyone there with you will instantly know that you've tried to break the law. If you are unsure, now is the time to take a step back."

Nonna swallowed and got up. "I'm sorry. I can't. I just can't."

"It's alright," Claire told her. "Nobody here will judge you. It's fine."

The young woman backed out of the circle and went into the other room.

"Anyone else?"

Nobody moved.

"We're ready," Charles said.

Claire took a deep breath and began to dismantle the shell over her mind.

Five minutes later the last vestiges of the shell crumbled in her mind. It felt unbelievable. It felt as if she had been carrying a heavy burden, and chained to it for so long, she had forgotten it was there. Now it was gone. Claire felt light, so indescribably light.... Her mind soared like a bird, stretching, touching her team's minds, establishing a link.

The five stared at her.

"Wow," Kosta whispered.

Claire sent a focused thought. "Lay down and try to relax."

"I've heard that before," Mittali murmured.

Saim laughed nervously.

They lay on their backs, their heads toward the hub. Tonya approached, carrying bionet cognizance units, half-bands of ornate, inert plastic, each sealed in its own transparent wrapper. Claire rose and approached Charles. "Are you ready?"

He swallowed. "Yes."

Claire took the first unit, tore the plastic sleeve, and pulled it out. The steel-colored half-band had three holes: a large oval space on the left and two oblong narrow openings on the right. A thin sheet of disposable plastic sheathed the inner side of the unit. Claire peeled it off, revealing adhesive underneath, carefully positioned the unit over the right half of Charles's forehead, just above the eye, and pressed it down. The plastic adhered to the skin. Charles clenched his teeth.

"Relax." Claire dipped her fingers into the basin of liquid interface in the hub. The mix of metal and synthetic neurons nipped at her skin with sharp electric teeth.

"Once you are in, don't move. Wait for me."

She pulled the interface away from the hub. It stretched in spider-thin strands from her hand. Claire touched Charles's skin, letting the interface drip into the first opening of the unit. The dark-grey liquid filled the hole in the plastic, forging connections through the skin. Claire touched the left opening, letting it fill, then the right. Charles blinked. The band ensured that connections were made to the right areas of the brain. The filaments of the interface thickened, as more liquid flowed from the hub, reinforcing the connection.

Charles closed his eyes. His body straightened, aligning, and relaxed. He was in.

Claire moved on to Zinaida.

"Am I doing it right?" Tonya murmured.

"You're fine," Claire said, feeling the prickling of the liquid interface at it filled the last opening in the cognizance unit. "Thank you."

She closed her eyes. Darkness flowed over her, as the synthetic neurons made connections with her mind. She lunged down a dark circular tunnel, faster and faster. She had done this thousands of times over the years and she knew what awaited her on the other end — sometimes it was a bleak cliff or severe steppe, but in the past two years it had been the dark forest, uniform tree trunks and pale green leaves.

She welcomed it. She yearned for it. She missed the chase, the thrill of the battle, the infinite possibilities the bionet offered. It probably said volumes about the hypocrisy of her morals, but in this moment Claire didn't care.

Light exploded and she landed, falling into a practiced crouch.

The ground under her was intense, shocking green. Bright yellow flowers, their petals thin and long, all but glowed in the silky grass. Claire raised her head.

Jungle breathed at her. Tall grasses with blade-shaped silvery leaves surrounded dark bushes, their foliage splaying out in wide rosettes. A patch of hair-thin stalks tipped by lavender crests of petals thrust through the spaces between wide oyster-shell plants, the inside of their leaves a blinding turquoise. Massive trees, a dozen meters wide, thrust to the sky, spreading their crown so high above, looking at them made her dizzy. Vines dripped from their branches in thick ropes, bearing large blossoms with triangular petals of deepest crimson. Ferns coiled by the thick roots. Emerald green moss cushioned the bark, interrupted by bubbles of some orange-red plants and ridges of lemon-yellow mushrooms.

Claire stared, shocked.

Creatures crouched around her, a pale blue bull with six horns; a gazelle with golden hooves and wide antlers; a fox with three tails, her bright orange fur rippling with flashes of yellow; a flightless bird on two sturdy legs with blue and green plumage; a slick lupine beast with black fur and six legs; and a bearded ape, fast and agile, his chocolate fur stained by rings of beige.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," the ape whispered and she recognized Kosta's voice.

Behind her the sound of falling water marked the hub: what was once a three-foot-tall metal sculpture turned into a ten-foot-tall stone fountain. Water spilled from the top in clear sheets and fell into a mirrored basin at the feet of the three women.

Claire looked into the basin and saw herself in its depths. A giant panther stared at her. Her fur was blood-red, striped with slashes of silver. Her eyes glowed with brilliant gold. A mane of pale red streamed from the back of her head, flaring around two pairs of her long black horns that thrust up and to the sides behind the bright tuffs of her ears. Her wide paws bore black claws the size of swords. She flicked her tail and saw it was tipped with long tuft of pale red fur, hiding a wicked black spike. Claire smiled and saw the sabers of silver fangs in her powerful mouth.

Sensory overload. She had suffered a culture shock after the planetfall. The province of Dahlia bloomed in her mind with all its colors, scents, and flavors and it reshaped the bionet. What once was a grim forest evolved into a lush jungle.

Claire bowed her head. "Is everyone with me?"

Voices chorused back in agreement.

"We go," she said.

They began their run through the jungle, leaping over the fallen trees and dashing past exotic flowers. She kept the pace brisk, but not tiring. They'd have to save their strength for later.

The path curled and they shot out onto a cliff. Far to the right an enormous tree rose, its branches glowing with bright purple lanterns.

"A castle," Saim-Wolf whispered.

Mittali-Bird laughed. "A spaceport!"

"That's where we're going," Claire said. "Follow closely, and remember the way. You will be retracing your steps on your way back."

They followed the path down the side of the mountain.

Half-way down a low rumble under her paws told Claire a trap had been set off. She felt the terrestrial shock rush upward, above them.

"Run!"

They dashed left and down, angling away from the slope. Above them enormous rocks shot out, spinning, and chased them down the slope. The boulders slammed into the side of the mountain with loud thuds.

"Faster!"

They galloped ahead off her.

A boulder landed inches from her tail.

Zinaida-Fox stumbled and fell. A rock tumbled from above, threatening to crush her. There was no way to avoid it. Claire lunged, shielding the Fox with her shoulder and snarled. The jungle shook. The blast of sound slammed into the boulder, knocking it aside, but not far enough. It slammed into her. The impact resonated through her powerful frame. Claire turned, scooped Zinaida into her mouth, and ran.

Five seconds later the animals collapsed on the grass on the side of the mountain, while the rocks continued to roll behind them. Claire carefully set Zinaida-Fox onto the ground.

"Thank you," the older woman whispered.

Kosta-Ape rolled on his back and laughed in labored heavy gasps. "Let's do that again!"

"Why are we so tired?" Charles-Bull breathed. "All this, it doesn't exist. We didn't really run..."

"You've forced your brain to make connections at maximum speed," Claire said. "The mind can't do this indefinitely. It becomes fatigued just as your bodies do. Come, we have to keep moving."

They continued through the jungle. Carnivorous plants snapped at their feet. Nooses disguised as vines reached for their necks. Leaves hid pits with spikes. Saim had fallen into a fissure filled with angry bees and Claire had to jump in after him and fry the insects with a focused mental blast.

Finally, scratched, bruised, and tired, they emerged from the jungle to the edge of another cliff, this time much lower. They lay down, hiding in the twilight behind the twisted network of roots clenching the mountain.

Directly in front of them the ground dropped down. Far, far below silvery waters of an ocean lay placid, tinted light pink and the yellow to the left, where a golden globe of the sun set, cushioned in soft clouds. Above the clouds, the cosmos spread, vast and glorious, with bright stars melting into the glow of nebulas and distant galaxies.

To the right, past the gulf of the ocean, another cliff rose, naked rock wall topped by a lush jungle. Twin rivers spilled from the cliff, wrapped in feathery mist. Between them the massive tree waited. The purple lanterns glowed, beckoning her.

Claire squinted. A narrow rock spire, like a finger of basalt about a hundred yards wide at the top, thrust from the water between them and the other cliff. A little to the left of their hiding place, a wide stone bridge led to the spire. On the other side of the spire, a thick rope woven of lianas, sturdy, woody vines, stretched to the other cliff. Thick enough for her to cross, if she used her claws and paid attention.

Kosta-Ape climbed the tree to her left and leaned to her ear. "There are mutants on the small mountain," he said.

She saw them too: lean, muscled beasts with the body of a fast hound and the jaws of a crocodile. One, two, three... seven. On Uley, the warning call to a psycher would occur if three or more were killed. Sometimes it only took two.

They could've used Nonna.

Well, no use regretting what she couldn't fix. She would have to take the chance.

"We should go now," Charles-Bull said. "Remember, we're here to save the children. We do this so they can have a life."

The beasts murmured.

"Thank you," she told them. "Stay safe. Don't fall into the water."

Charles bowed his head to her.

Claire bowed back.

One by one they disappeared into the jungle. She lay by the roots of the tree and waited.

A shrill screech announced Mittali. The bird ran onto the bridge, feathers fluffed out, and shook her butt at the dog beasts. The hounds snarled, showing sharp fangs. Yellow frothy spit bubbled up on their lips. They looked rabid.

The bird shook her feathers. "Come on! Come on!"

A single dog peeled off from the pack and charged after her. Mittali lingered on the bridge for a long moment and dashed away. The creature gave chase.

She watched the three others grab their AI beasts one by one. Kosta was last. He scooted midway up the bridge and bounced up and down, hooting. The three remaining creatures snarled in unison.

Kosta jumped, flipping in mid-air.

Showoff.

A dog padded forward.

Kosta jumped again, oblivious.

The AI hound stalked closer. Closer.

The wicked jaws opened.

Kosta jerked back and the dog's teeth snapped together. Kosta's hand snaked out, quick, and slapped the furry muzzle. He hooted and took off, the enraged AI dog at his heels.

Young fool. Claire smiled into her whiskers and slunk into the jungle.

A narrow path led to the bridge. Claire stepped onto it and padded forward on silent paws. A moment and she emerged onto the bridge. The grey stone seemed ancient, cracked and weathered. It was only a mind trick, indicating old frayed code. She pictured the stone fracturing under her weight and wished she hadn't.

The twin dogs raised their ears.

Falling into the water wasn't an option. She would survive the fall, but it would take her a while to climb back up. Every moment she delayed her team ran the risk of being bitten. Time was short.

Two hounds. The question was, could they swim?

The AI creatures charged together, furry bodies flexing with coiled muscle.

She waited.

The dogs leaped together, ruby eyes burning with bloodlust.

Claire jumped. She sailed above them, landed, and whipped her tail. It slammed into the hound on the right like a battering ram. The furry body flew into the air with a startled yelp and plummeted down into the water of the ocean below. If she was lucky, it wouldn't die.

The last dog attacked. She sent it over the side with a swipe of her paw and sprinted across the rocky spire. The liana bridge waited. Claire put one foot on it, sinking the claws into the woody vine.

So narrow.

Phantom wind pressed at her, pushing at her, trying to knock her off into the water below. Claire crouched, digging her claws into the knotted lianas. She needed to redistribute her mass to reduce angular acceleration. Her body flowed, obeying her mental command. Two sets of whiskers, wide like four stiff ribbons sprouted from her shoulders, stabilizing her the way a pole stabilized the tightrope walker. She could've sprouted wings, but they would do her no good. Bionet didn't support flying. Even the birds did little more than leap and glide.

Claire ran along the liana bridge, one paw after another, claws over claws. The vines trembled under her weight. The other end of the bridge was affixed to a point slightly higher than the spire. She was crawling across and up. Coming back would be hell.

Just keep moving.

Keep moving.

The cliff was almost there. She stretched her left front paw and touched it. Solid ground. One leap... and she'd plummet down into the ocean.

Claire forced herself to slow down, carefully sliding her weight onto the damp soil of the cliff. One paw, two paws, three... and she landed. The enormous tree rose before her. She sat, studying the lanterns, her ribbons-whiskers snaking out to lick one.

"Search: Alacasto Middle Academy."

The lanterns spun, sliding along the branches, as if riding an invisible carousel. A brightly shaped lantern stopped before her, the lavender flame inside glowing brightly. Claire's whiskers touched it, forging a link.

"Laboratory traces analysis: Romulus Rekanta, 99.9959% match; Edu Nagi, 99.97890% match; Lada Miller, 98.87682% match; Karim Jahar, 96.48991% match."

She reshaped the data. New set of figures flowed into the lantern: Edu Nagi, 29.97890% match; Lada Miller, 28.87682% match; Karim Jahar, 16.48991% match."

Wiping the molecular analysis to zero would have set off the red flags, but all people swam in the same genetic pool. Anything below 70% would be marked as inconclusive.

The lantern looked exactly the same. She'd altered the data with a psycher's precision.

Claire spun the lanterns, pulling up searches at random, confusing the access protocol until the children's lantern was safely mixed with the others. Her job was done.

Claire spun and dashed back to the vine bridge. Once again the lianas shuddered under her weight, only this time she was crawling head down. She wished there was another way back.

She was ten meters from the rock spire when she heard the bushes rustle near the base of the stone bridge.

Claire conquered the last few meters and moved onto the solid ground of the spire.

A beast shot out of the jungle and landed midway on the stone bridge. Huge paws hit the ancient stones, each as big as her head and tipped with thick triangular claws, razor sharp and glowing like backlit amber. A bronze beast rose, towering over her by at least a meter. Thick muscle slabbed his monstrous forelegs and colossal chest. His hind quarters dipped lower than his shoulders, his back legs bent slightly and bulging with steel-hard muscle. His fur was bronze, painted with faint rosettes of russet, same as the mane that trailed his spine and slid over his shoulder and down each leg almost to the paws.

The beast opened his giant mouth, snarling, showing her brilliant white fangs. His torso resembled an enormous dog, but his head was almost feline. The jaws looked powerful enough to bite through her bones like they were soft candy.

A psycher. A Grade A psycher.

Damn it all.

The beast roared, whipping his triple tail. The blast of sound hit her and Claire snarled back. Her roar rolled, promising pain and blood.

The beast dipped his head to stare at her. She looked into his eyes and saw the familiar intellect glaring back.

Venturo.

No. No, this couldn't be.

The beast leaped.

Claire ducked left, her instincts taking over. A clawed paw came down a hair from her shoulder and she struck with her talons , slicing the bronze fur. The triple tail whipped around, catching her flank. Pain stung her, followed by sharp spike of heat. Poison. Nice.

Claire shot to the side, rolling out of the claws' way, and strained. Bloody spray shot out of wounds on her side, expelling the poison with it. She sealed the wound.

The beast turned his head and stalked after her, the huge paws raising tiny puffs of dust from the rocky surface of the spire.

They leaped at once, flying at each other. His claws raked her side in a searing rush of pain. She bit his neck, ripping through the coils of tight muscle, but his flesh was too thick to reach bone and she withdrew.

Venturo's blood burned on her tongue.

She had to make it to the bridge. It was her only chance. She couldn't bring herself to kill him.

Dark blood poured from the wound on Venturo's neck, wetting the bronze fur. He took a precious second to seal the gash.

Claire concentrated. She shuddered and split herself, throwing four copies of herself three to the right and one to the left. Five identical scarlet cats snarled in unison.

Venturo took a step back.

Her copies rushed him and Claire jumped over him, throwing all her speed into a desperate leap.

The triple tail whipped around her, squeezing her like a noose. He'd seen through the phantoms.

She shot her back whiskers into his ribcage, turning them into hard spears in mid-strike. He snarled in pain and she slapped her own tail to slice at his face, trying to skewer him with the spike. He hurled her back. She flew through the air and smashed into the jutting rock wall. Her ribs cracked. The impact shook her vision into a haze.

Claire jumped to her feet and leaped right, left, jumping like a lunatic rabbit to avoid being hit. Her vision cleared and she saw his gaping maw diving down. Claire slapped his face with her paw, her claws raking four deep gouges on his cheek. The blow knocked him aside. He jerked back and they snarled at each other, face to face.

Fire shot from Venturo's eyes, dashed down his fur, and he stood before her engulfed in flames.

The Element Weaponry. The pinnacle of the psycher bionet training. If she had time, she would have bowed in appreciation.

He advanced toward her, menacing, flames swirling around him. She feigned fear and backed away.

A step.

Another.

She would not get another chance. This was her very last one.

Her hind paw found air. She was to the edge of the spire.

Venturo leaned forward, the fire roaring around him.

If he was fire, she would be ice.

Glacial mist shot from her. Claire charged into the depth of the inferno. His fire licked her ice barrier.

They collided.

Claire let go, emptying every last reserve. Spears of ice shot from her, locking him into blocks of ice. She saw his enraged eyes before the ice swallowed him whole.

Claire ran. She ran like she had never before ran in her life, swallowing distance in hungry gulps. She tore through jungle, ignoring branches and thorns tearing at her hide. Her mind fired brisk, calm commands, sending the signals down the established links to her team.

"Disconnect. Mission complete. Disconnect now."

A roar of pure rage shook the jungle. Ven had broken through the ice. Mere five seconds, maybe less. It had to be some sort of a record.

She had no way of knowing if her team made the hub, so she just kept broadcasting. "Mission complete. Incoming threat. Disconnect."

Her mind shuddered under the strain. Her legs began to cramp. Every breath was a fire exploding in her lungs. Up the mountain, up, up, up.

She whirled at the mountain top and dared a single look back. A fiery glow was making its way through the canopy below. He was close. Claire ran.

The world began to fade. Darkness encroached. She was running too fast.

Venturo's furious growl shook the leaves behind her.

Claire burst into the hub clearing. Charles-Bull ran in a circle around the hub fountain, chased by an AI dog.

"I'm the last!" he cried out.

"Disconnect," she commanded.

The AI beast leaped at her, and she crushed its spine with one impatient snap of her teeth.

The bull vanished, exploding into dark ribbons.

Venturo shot into the clearing.

She let go of the bionet, hurling up the tunnel into the hotel room. A long shuddering moan ripped from her lips, and Claire took her first breath.

The reality of the hotel room slammed into her. She sat up and pulled the unit off her head.

Mittali lay on her back next to her, wincing as Tonya rubbed her feet. Charles was breathing hard, as if he'd carried a sack of rocks up a mountain. Zinaida smiled at her. Saim waved. In the corner Kosta sat in a clump, dark head hung down.

Everyone got out alive.

The medic stood by the hub, a glass vial in his hand. Acid, she guessed. "Dump it."

The medic poured the acid into the liquid interface. The liquid hissed as synthetic neurons boiled into nothing.

"Are you alright, Kosta?" she asked him.

"He got careless," Saim said. "He was bitten."

"May I?"

Kosta nodded.

Claire swept over his mind. The lesion was small, but his mind glowed with the imprint of the AI's teeth.

"It will be alright," she said. "Just stay off the bionet for about a month."

He nodded.

"I saw him," Charles said, his voice filled with wonder. "I saw him. Was that a psycher?"

"Yes," she told him.

"It's a miracle we're alive," he said. "You are that miracle."

She shook her head. "You've had no experience and no weapons. You've made it possible."

"We should drink," Saim said.

"Yes. Yes, that's a great idea," Mittali rolled to her feet. "Ow. As soon as I can walk."

"Don't worry," Saim told her. "Tell me what you want, and I'll bring it to you."

Doreem Nagi rose off his chair and walked over to Claire.

"It is done," she told him softly. "Your grandson should be safe."

The old man bowed to her.