Chapter 54

Time: Friday, March 1, 2019 11:25 AM

Hannah and Alison from Fatima’s team-six were manning the observation room at the Hilton Complex, and Hannah was trying to shake off twin feelings of panic and despair. Things had been going so well just a short while ago, but then it was one bad piece of news after another.

First Fatima called on her Leophone about a half hour ago. She, Mark, and Kiyoko had taken off early this morning on an ad-hoc trip down the great stairwell of the white diamond complex. The primary mission was to test Mark’s ability to activate the elevator at the bottom of the well, given his new abilities to work the elevator at the Blue Mall sphere. Their mission was unsuccessful, and after dropping off an extra supply of flares in the elevator, the group said they would soon start returning to the surface.

Then Jada called and began her report about successfully landing on the island and walking towards a large hexagon. It sounded as if they were in a safe and peaceful situation, and then suddenly the line went dead. With growing alarm, Hannah and Alison tried reestablishing the connection but to no avail.

Then Lynn and Akiko entered the room looking bone tired. They had pulled an all-nighter trying to get a fourth Leophone up and running, and they had failed. They were just checking in before jumping home to Red Mall and collapsing. Alison told them about their failure with keeping an open line to Jada, and the two telecom specialists turned around and hurried back to their makeshift lab to see if they could help.

Earlier this morning, Aggie’s and Emily’s teams had joined together and taken the last remaining Leophone. As a group of eight, they were attempting a comprehensive exploration of the southernmost surface of the Green Mall area. Their last report stated that so far there was no sign of Aggie’s lost party. Hannah called them back and updated Aggie on the problem they were having communicating with Jada’s team.

And then for several minutes, Hannah and Alison silently watched their Black Mall monitors as Diego, Alfonso, and Jessica carried heavy backpacks into Jacob’s Bar and Grill. They were returning from far down the terminal end of Black Mall. This behavior had been going on for the last four days, and there was much speculation about what was hidden in the backpacks. The procurement teams were careful never to give a hint other than the packs were obviously heavy. The issue especially worried Amber. She was sure Ricardo was plotting something, but had no clue to the particulars.

And once again Diego seemed to be in charge of the procurement mission, though he didn’t flout his authority. And Jessica’s face! Alison shuddered and told Hannah she almost didn’t recognize her. Jessica’s face was a frozen mask of fear, so different from her earlier haughty demeanor. Alison had never known of anyone so constantly on the edge of panic. It made Alison wonder what sort of psychological games Ricardo was playing with the last female member of his group.

And finally, just a few minutes ago Hannah was horrified to see the census counter quickly drop from 010:090 to 009:089. Her mind jumped immediately to Jada’s team and their inability to communicate with them. She and Alison followed protocol and began verifying the safety of all their different parties, including asking Toshi to do a bed check on Holly and Paige who had done the nightshift monitoring. Hannah confirmed that everyone on Aggie’s team was okay, and she was just about to call Mark when an incoming call request appeared on her console. Hannah stared at the request in astonishment. It was coming from a completely unknown location.

Ten minutes previously...

Mark was resting and leaning up against the bottom corridor wall about ten meters from the one-way elevator. Fatima was sitting right beside him, so close their shoulders were touching, and across from them and at the foot of the stairs fifteen meters away Kiyoko was unabashedly using her break to lie down. A few minutes ago she had even curled into a sleeping position and hadn’t moved since.

Mark’s eyes were closed and he wondered for the nth time whether he had pushed the pace too fast in coming down the stairwell. He had asked Fatima and Kiyoko many times if they wanted more breaks, and they never said yes. Still, each one of them was carrying an extra dozen flare shells for Jada’s team. The load wasn’t too bulky, but damn, after a while on the climb down, Mark’s knees really noticed the weight.

He felt Fatima stir against his arm and then she give a soft laugh. “I don’t believe it! Take a look. I think Kiyoko actually fell asleep.”

Mark opened his eyes and after a moment nodded. “Not a bad idea actually. Let’s not rush things on the way back up.”

“Hmm. If it’s any consolation, all the other teams reported they’d rather be climbing up the stairs rather than down.”

“Ah, that’s nice to know...” After a moment of silence, Mark offered his hand to Fatima.

She accepted it and gave it a friendly squeeze. “So, how’s married life been?”

Mark sighed. “It’s been really wonderful. I miss Jada a lot, other than that life with Toshi and Frida has been idyllic. Toshi and Frida miss Jada too.”

Fatima nodded. “I’m very glad to hear it. There’s so much that can go wrong with what we’re trying to do.”

“You think of me as a guinea pig?”

Fatima chuckled and ruffled his hair playfully. “Well, maybe as a very handsome guinea pig.”

Mark thought for a while before replying, and finally decided to give Fatima a serious answer. “Inside a triple link, there’s no place to hide an emotion like jealousy, but on the plus side, it also shows us there’s no need for it. I guess in the end, it all comes down to free-will, and what we want to accept.”

“But what about Jada? Isn’t she intimidated?”

Mark looked uncertain for a moment, and then realized what Fatima was talking about. “You mean by being trapped in a dream?”

Fatima looked a bit sheepish. “Like Holly I guess, yeah. I’d be a bit worried. I’m curious about what it’s like, but I’d also be nervous about another mind taking over what I’m perceiving.”

Mark sighed. “I know. In Jada’s case, she’s running on pure faith and trust. It’s not a problem.”

“Ah...” Fatima sighed too, and then rested her head against his shoulder.

Mark turned and kissed the side of her head. “Fatima, may I ask? How are you doing?”

She gave a small laugh. “What do you mean? Are you asking me about my sex life?”

Mark blinked. “Wow, Fatima...”

“Wow what?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I was just thinking. When we first met a few months ago, I don’t think you would have been...”

“That direct?”

“Well, yeah.” Mark stared as his shoes for a while. “I guess I don’t know exactly what I was asking about. It just feels as if, this past month anyway, we’ve sort of drifted apart. Life has been so busy, we’ve haven’t shared anything personal.”

“I know. I’m still interested in becoming your wife someday, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Mark didn’t know how to reply. He gave Fatima’s hand a gentle squeeze and kept silent.

Fatima sighed. “I’m sorry, Mark. Somehow that sounded like a rebuke, and I didn’t mean that way. It’s just that...”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been the recipient of so many thoughtless comments. I know people don’t mean to be coarse, but a number of the women think that because of my cultural background, polygamy is going to be a lot easier for me to accept than it is for them. And that’s just not true.”