PART II
MAZE
PROLOGUE
Things were not going the way he plays and he has to find a way to distract them all from what was coming. Of course, the other side was already making moves to let their followers know that the end is coming near. Humans are fickle and should the present situation of things get revealed they would panic and things would turn south so quickly that he would be left hanging in the year.
“What do you plan to do master,” One of his several minions asked.
For the moment, he has no idea what he would do exactly. For the first time in many years, he was coming up entirely blank on what to do and considering how things are this is not something good.
“I have not yet thought of that but something would come to me soon.”
“Things are not looking, good master.”
Now the nagging was starting to get on his mind and he needs to find a suitable distraction from all the problems he has found himself in. He has to find something that would distract him from the problems at his hand. Then suddenly he had an epiphany and he knew exactly what to do. The best solution to the current problem was none other than a distraction and that is exactly what humans need.
“Let’s find a distraction that the other side could never have thought of,” he said his voice echoing down the gloomy halls.
The end might be coming indeed after all these years but he also has an endgame to play and things would turn out just the way he wants and no one would be able to do anything about it.
CHAPTER ONE
Getting back into the Maze is the only thing that had kept him going for the past two months but finding a pod where he can connect back into the Maze is not as easy as he had thought it would be.
Several of his lead had burned up and he has no idea exactly what to do now. There is nothing as great as being betrayed by the person you care most about though in this case, it was the country he had dedicated his life to before he moved into the Maze. Lt. James Baker had served in the United States Army for fifteen years after he enlisted just as he clocked sixteen. He had retired thirty years ago before he moved into the Maze which was the advanced virtual reality that the famous Carl Largun had developed. At first, everyone had thought that the Maze was going to be a failure like the other virtual reality but it had proven to be different and had been a success. In the year 2079, the Maze had been launched and it offered immortality in a virtual world before the body finally succumbs but that would take a long while. The method which Carl Largun had suggested was more like a merger of two different fields which was something that a lot of people in the scientific world were quick to point out to him.
Despite how wild the idea had seemed at the time, there were a few numbers of people who were willing to go along with Carl Largun’s plan and they are the ones who shaped the Maze to become what it was now after sixty years.
“Come on James you can’t be wanting to go back to that unreal world,” Raymond said.
The problem, however, was that those living in the virtual world need to have their physical body being tended to. This was where the robots and AI had played the roles of caretakers, taking care of the human race who lives in a pod which was the opening to the virtual world. Though the human race had moved into the virtual world, there were still a few humans that lived in the real world though not by their choice exactly.
Punishment for crimes of great gravity was rewarded with expulsion from the virtual world into the cruel reality. This had been the custom and it was the reason why Lt. James Baker was in the human world away from the virtual reality where everyone he has come to care about existing. Getting back into the Maze and proving that he is innocent is the only way that he would be able to return to where he truly belongs.
“There are reasons why I have to go there, Raymond.
Reasons that you might not understand.”
If Raymond was offended by what James said, he did not act it and he simply shrugged before moving forward. Life, in reality, was not all that favorable with how things were and humans being scarce with most of them in the virtual worlds. There were a few human beings here also who were living in the real world because they believe the Maze to be corrupted but most people think of them as extremists.
“Okay then, I have something to show you,” Raymond said as he brought out a hologram which showed the map of the entire area.
They were a few things moving out there and none of them was human anyway and James wondered why Raymond was showing him something he does not have interest in.
“Why are you showing me this?”
The reason why Raymond was sent out here was not known to James but he knew that the boy was not evil like it would seem at first.
“This facility here on the map,” Raymond pointed at a building that was about a hundred yards away. “I learned that a couple would be depending on others to procreate before the male is returned into the pod.
“I am sure that I am not interested in how you know that.”
A smile lit Raymond’s face and he continued to tell James how they plan was for James to get into the female pod and use that to get into the Maze though he only has thirty-six hours you do whatever it is he wanted before he would have to leave the pod before the rightful owner of the pod is brought back to be placed in her pod.
“How do you know about this Raymond?” James asked in surprise.
In the four months that James had been here, he had seen and met a lot of people and he realized soon enough that this was not the world for him. There were a few remarkable people he had met of which one of them is Raymond but he does not want to stay here in this world. This is not the place meant for him and he has to get back into the Maze and prove that he is innocent of the treason he was accused of.
“It is top secret James but I have a question for you,” Raymond said as he closed the hologram.
“Ask away then.”
“What was the offense you were charged with James?”
There was a set of unwritten rules by which the people living on Earth lived by and one of the few important ones was not to disclose the reason why you were exiled from the Maze. James had caught to that quickly and he has never told anyone why he wanted to go to the Maze. A lot of people had told him that it was impossible since he would be discovered in no time and set back to Earth.
James sighed deeply not sure if he should tell Raymond or not but Raymond has been a friend the past few weeks and he deserves to know.
“Treason was the offense they said I committed,” James said simply. “They said I tried to kill the president of the United States.”
The look on Raymond’s face was that of pure shock that it made James wonder if he should have told him the truth.
“They said or you did?”
“They said because I have no reason to kill the president.”
Raymond looked at James and nodded before he turned to look at the building. The robots were already on the move heading towards the section where the pod James would use to return to the Maze is located.
“Come on then James, it is time we get moving.”
CHAPTER TWO
Being on the run is not something fun in an interconnected world like the Maze something that he was just realizing. Logan Talon sat in a hotel room in the Maze thinking about what he had stumbled on. He worked as a reporter for a small newspaper and he had been contacted by a source two weeks ago about strange things that were going on in the Maze. Things that the US government was trying all their possible best to hide from the public.
He had not paid much attention to it before he had been attacked by strange men something quite rare in the Maze. Then agents had come searching for him and that was when he knew that trouble had found him. Immediately, Logan had vanished from New Kansas city and went to Seattle to gather more information about the anomalies that his source had told him.
“I still don’t see what the connection is with all this,” Logan said frustrated.
The first had been reports by people saying that they were seeing dead relatives in the virtual world. A lot of explanation had been offered but later the people were believed to be delusional but Logan’s finding made it pretty obvious that they were in no way delusional. The second anomaly was still a bit normal but also weird.
The sound of footsteps on Logan’s door made him pause to listen if anyone was out there. He had managed to evade those after him but he knew that he could not do that for long. A few minutes passed before the footsteps moved on and Logan was relieved. He turned back to the things he had pasted on the wall when there was suddenly a flash and before Logan could move, he was on the floor his consciousness slipping. He saw two figures enter the room cloaked in some sort of wear that he had never seen before. He knew that the end had come for him.
When Logan woke up his face was covered and that was in no way a good sign. He tried to listen but he could not pick any sound apart from the blowing fan. It is surprising how crime can be easily planned right here in the Maze.
“How did you get yourself in this mess Logan?” Logan muttered to himself.
He heard footsteps outside and he wondered if his captors were aware that he was awake. The door opened and two people stepped in and whispered for a few minutes before the cloth placed over his head was removed.
“I apologize friend but we had to bring you here the way we did.”
Logan was staring at the man who had spoken to him the second person who he guessed was a female kept herself in the dark corners of the room which prevented him from seeing her.
“Who are you and what do you want with me?” Logan asked.
“Not much Logan. I can call you Logan right?” The man asked.
Logan nodded and the man smiled before he continued. “You have stumbled upon something big and we have to protect you from unnecessary harm.”
Logan could feel a lump form in his throat instantly. The ones after him had caught up to him and now he has no idea what it is they plan to do with him.
“What do you want from me?”
“Let’s start with you telling us what you have discovered,” the man replied silently.
Knowing that they know everything, Logan began to talk telling them about the two things he had observed in Seattle. The man listened patiently till Logan was through before he spoke.
“Guess he is no harm then Mia?”
“For now he does not seem to be so,” The girl in the shadows said.
The man smiled and flicked his hand to Mia who freed Logan who still had no idea what was going on.
“The name is Pike and that is Mia,” Pike said pointing to Mia who stepped out from the shadows.
“Nice to meet you I guess,” Logan managed to say.
Pike laughed and slapped Logan on the shoulder telling Mia that he likes him.
“You might be wondering why you are here and you will understand soon enough.”
Everything was still confusing to Logan but the idea of getting more information as to what was going on. Pike walked out of the room and Logan followed him. The place they stepped into looked like a call center and he wondered where he was exactly.
“Welcome to our base Logan and pardon how cramped we look but this is the best we can afford.”
It took a few minutes for any word to come to Logan’s mouth as he tried to make sense of what it was he was looking out.
“You would just confuse him like that Pike,” Mia said in a tone that barely showed any emotion.
“Oh forgive me then Logan but let’s move to see the boss.”
The fact that these two were not in charge of whatever it was that was going on worried Logan a bit but he knew there was nothing he could do now. Pike moved in front and Mia was at Logan’s back not that he had any chance of escape anyway. They soon came to a door and Pike knocked then opened the door asking Logan to enter.
“You want me to enter?” Logan asked Pike who nodded. There was no reassurance from Mia and Logan entered wondering what or who was in the room. The door closed and Logan could feel his fear start to rise slowly.
“It is good to have you with us, Logan,” a deep voice said at the end of the room.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Logan asked.
A man stepped from the shadow and moved closer to Logan who had fixed his gaze on him the minute he stepped out.
“I am Father Michael and welcome to the Watchers.”
For a reason that Logan could not place certainly, he knew that the name was familiar but this was no government agency or anything but he has no way of knowing if it was any better.
Entering back into the Maze had gone smoothly and Raymond had told James that he does not have that much time to find whatever evidence it was that he needed to prove that he is innocent of the charges against him.
Getting to Arnold’s place had not been exactly as easy as James had thought it would be. He had to avoid several droids and patrolling drones and vehicles. After two hours of sticking to alleys and corners he was at the address Raymond gave him and he hoped that Arnold would be here. James climbed up the stairs and walked up to Room 304 which was Arnold’s apartment. He knocked on the door and waited for Arnold to answer. Raymond had explained that Arnold was a skeptical person who doesn’t trust strangers that easily which was why Raymond told him about the password Arnold would ask.
“Who goes there?” A voice asked.
“A man who is owed a pound of flesh,” James replied.
“Then he should cut it from the man who owes him,” the voice replied.
On a more sincere note, James felt that the words were stupid and made no sense but Raymond had told him that it was from The Merchant of Venice which he regarded as a classic though there was no way that James would know since he barely reads in his free time.
“Yes, but he can’t since he can only collect a pound of flesh and no blood which is impossible.”
There was no reply and James wondered if he had forgotten something but the door opened and a tattooed female stepped out strangely looking at James.
“You are not someone I know,” she said.
“I am new and a friend of Raymond from above.”
At the mention of Raymond, the girl’s nostrils flared and she looked into the hallway before pulling James by force into the room. James felt a bit embarrassed that she had dragged him easily but he remained silent wanting to get the meeting with Arnold done and over with.
“Well, how do you know that boy?”
“Met him back in reality and he told me to meet Arnold for some help.”
The girl looked at James as if she was trying to determine if he is who he says he is or not. She walked to the table and brought out an eye scanner and asked if James was willing to an eye scan.
“I have reasons that will prevent me from doing that,” James said.
“Either you get scanned or get out,” she replied in a firm tone.
Knowing that he had no option and not willing to tell her who he is since the scanner was going to tell his full story, James moved close to her and let her scan his eyes and soon she had his identity staring back at them.
“So you are James Baker the man who tried to kill the president,” she said in an accusing tone.
For the first time since he walked into the apartment, James wondered if he had not made a mistake coming to this place.
CHAPTER THREE
There was no way he could convince anyone that he did not try to kill the president and he had given up on trying to tell anyone his story but he knew that he had to come clean with her.
“Yes and no,” James replied.
“Don’t worry I’m not going to report you,” she said as she placed the eye scanner away. “I’m Arnold and I understand why Raymond would tell you to find me.”
James was not sure whether to be worried or relieved that she was not going to report him. Arnold sat down and asked what brought him to her place.
“I’m trying to prove my innocence and I need cash and other things.”
This was entirely new territory to James but it seemed that Arnold was not new to it as she listened to him before she said.
“How much do you have in your account?”
“Around eight hundred thousand dollars or so,” James replied.
It was clear that Arnold was giving him more of her interest now that she heard how much he had in his frozen account. She whistled as she went to.the next room and brought out a book and placed it in front of him.
“That is our subscription so decide on what you want and we would get started.”
The book had details about the services that Arnold offered most of which James could not believe truly existed. He had a hard time deciding on which to settle on but in the end, he decided that the premium package would be the one he would go for.
“Let me take the premium then,” James said.
At the mention of premium, Arnold’s eyes lit up and she licked her lips either out of amusement or greed but James was not interested in which.
“The premium would cost you at the start a grand then about half a grand later on.”
Getting help for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars was no small fit but then it was not like he had access to the money she was talking about. James nodded and Arnold asked for his bank details. Not sure what she plans to do though, James gave it to her and watched as she started working on her computer interface. She asked for his thumbprint which James did and then she told him that she had withdrawn three hundred thousand dollars from his account.
“How did you do that?” James asked.
“Trade secret you do not need to know that.”
The thought of how he was going to pay her had been on James’ mind but it seems like now it does not matter or at least that is what he likes to think.
“So tell me soldier boy what do you want?” Arnold said as she started to smoke.
The fact that the Maze was a virtual reality did not stop some things from existing and one of them were vices. James cleared his throat and told her that he would like to clear his name from the charge he was accused of. Arnold frowned and asked him if he did not co