Gamers' Challenge by George Ivanoff Read Free Book Online Page B

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    ‘Ya thinks ya is so clever,’ said Tark, glaring at
    Hope. ‘Ya is nuthin’ but -’
    ‘Would everyone please calm down?’ Tee did not shout, but he injected his voice with authority. ‘We don’t have time for bickering.’ He stepped forward and snatched the screen from Zyra.
    ‘It’s binary language,’ he explained, tucking it away into his pouch. ‘Translated, it says: “Parent and offspring, separated by generation but connected by gender, a gamer no longer and one who was never, together can traverse the worlds of the Designers’ multiverse. The parent decides, the offspring initiates”. I think this is why the VIs have gone on the attack. They are trying to keep Hope and Zyra from using the cheat code. Zyra is the parent, the one who is no longer a gamer, the one who can decide on a destination. Hope is the offspring, the one who never was a gamer, the one who initiates the jump from one environment to another.’
    ‘So wots do we do?’ asked Zyra.
    ‘You and Hope need to figure that out.’
    Zyra looked over at Hope, who glared back at her.
    ‘Hangs on a tick,’ Tark interjected. ‘I still don’t gets wot’s so special about these two. Couldn’t some others motha/ daughta team do this jumpin’?’
    ‘There are no other children.’ Tee’s voice was quiet and low. ‘No Outer has ever had children before. And Zyra - my Zyra - died during childbirth.’ He turned away. ‘There is no other parent and offspring that can be teamed. We’ve waited a long time for a new Zyra to join us.’
    ‘Oh,’ Tark whispered.
    ‘I was assuming we’d have plenty of time to work it all out.’ Tee rubbed a hand across his tired face as he turned back to the others. ‘But it seems that the VIs are determined to stop you.’
    At that moment, the monks stopped chanting andraised their hooded heads.
    ‘Look!’ Tarkjumped up and pointed towards the vestry door.
    A pinprick of light emanated from the centre of the drape that hung in front of the door.
    ‘Looks like we’re not safe in here, either,’ said
    Hope.
    ‘So we better figure out how to get the two of you to jump,’ said Tee.
    The light from the drape intensified. Slowly, thefabric was being eaten away. The red-robed monk behind the altar rose to his feet.
    ‘The safety of the Oracle is threatened.’ His voiceboomed through the Temple. He nodded to his monks and two of them got to their feet, approaching the door. The first of the monks drew a sword from beneath his robes, the second a loaded crossbow.
    ‘They know what’s going on?’ said Hope to her father.
    ‘The VIs are absorbing the door,’ explained Tee.
    ‘I was hoping the monks would perceive the threat.’ The first of the monks flung aside the drapeto reveal the VI, larger than it had been before, practically filling the doorway. The second monk shot two bolts from his crossbow in quick succession. Both bolts were wiped from existence within seconds. The mass of static moved forward a few centimetres, but stopped just inside the doorway, unable to move further. It pushed forward, something forming deep within the undulating greyness - something with claws and teeth. The first monk stepped forward and lunged with his sword, plunging the blade into the heart of the writhing