Singing the Dogstar Blues by Alison Goodman Read Free Book Online Page A

he’d join one of my games. Hartpury was frowning again. She edged me towards the back wall.
    â€˜Your quarters are up the corridor,’ she said.
    All I saw was a black marble wall.
    â€˜What corridor?’ I asked.
    â€˜Wait.’
    The wall shimmered then broke up, dropping away to show a corridor. It was imaginatively decorated in black marble.
    â€˜Outrageous,’ I said. ‘How does it work?’
    â€˜The black marble is really a virtual wall that hides an energy grid,’ Hartpury said. ‘If you try and walk though it without clearance, it’ll give you an electric shock. That band you’re wearing turns off any energy grid that you’re cleared to access.’
    â€˜That’s comforting.’
    â€˜It’s kind of like one of those mazes they used to use in psychology experiments,’ she said.
    Yeah, and I’m the rat.
    We walked down the corridor. A red line of light stretched along the floor next to each wall. I stopped to look.
    â€˜Don’t go over the line,’ Hartpury warned.
    I jumped back.
    â€˜That’s the safety limit for the energy grid,’ she said. ‘Remember, those walls aren’t real. There’re corridors and suites behind them.’
    I stared at the wall. Was that the faint outline of a door or was I just imagining it? Lenny says you should never take anyone’s word for anything. They could be bluffing. I reached across the line. An alarm beeped, but nothing else happened. Then my hand touched the wall.
    I woke up flat on my back with my head in Hartpury’s lap. Vaughn was leaning over me saying it served me right.
    â€˜It’s all right, Joss, you were only out for about a minute. Do you need a medic?’ Hartpury asked.
    I shook my head. All I felt was a slight zinging in my fingertips and toes.
    â€˜That was a stupid thing to do,’ she said. ‘You could have been seriously hurt.’
    â€˜No, it can’t do any serious damage. It’s a low voltage,’ Vaughn said.
    Hartpury glared at him. ‘Next time you might try believing me,’ she said, brushing my hair out of my eyes.
    Vaughn offered me a hand up and hauled me to my feet. He must have had some kind of a master-band because all of the virtual walls in the corridor had dropped away. I could now see doors and other corridor openings, all safari-suit beige.
    â€˜Since you’re okay, I’ll go back to my post. Try and stay away from the walls,’ Vaughn said, his face carefully bland. The man was definitely on my poker list.
    He walked towards the foyer, punching keys on his wrist pad. The black virtual walls re-formed.
    I picked up my duffel and followed Hartpury in the opposite direction, keeping well away from the red lines. A second corridor opened up and we obediently turned into it like good little rats. A part of the left wall disappeared and the door to the Ledbetter suite became visible.
    â€˜Your wrist-band unlocks it,’ Hartpury said.
    I waved my wrist across the lighted panel. The door slid back.
    â€˜Well?’ Hartpury said.
    â€˜Aren’t you going to carry me over the threshold or something?’ I asked.
    Hartpury snorted and pushed me through the dark doorway.

Organic Hardware
    The Ledbetter suite stank of new plastic, that acidic smell that coats the back of your throat. It was mixed with a pinch of earthy cabling and a peculiar muskiness that I couldn’t quite place. Then the lights came on. We were standing in a large hexagonal shaped lounge room.
    â€˜Welcome Cadet Joss Aaronson. Welcome Dr Janeen Hartpury,’ a smooth female computer voice said. ‘This unit is coded to the voices of Cadet Joss Aaronson and Cadet Mavkel. Environmental controls have been set at twenty-two degrees with a humidity level of fifty-three. Lighting is set to the equivalent of current levels of daylight.’ The voice rabbited on about lighting preferences and program changes.
    â€˜Is this