The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale Read Free Book Online Page B

been hundreds of thousands of doors just like it. Each door had a small round, white light next to it. Most were lit. Aja stopped at a door marked 124-70. The light over the door was out so I guessed that meant nobody was home. Aja touched the door and it instantly slid back into the wall like we were about to step onto the bridge of the starship Enterprise .
    The room inside was pretty bland. It reminded me of a doctor’s exam room because it looked simple and sterile. There was no furniture or anything, just a round, silver disk on the back wall about three feet wide. Next to it on the wall was a square silver panel that looked like a bigger version of the control bracelet Aja wore. On the panel were several rows of flat, silver buttons, none of which were marked. Above the rows of buttons was a narrow black section that I guessed was some kind of computer screen that gave readouts of … whatever. Aja went right to this silver panel and began hitting buttons. The narrow computer screen flashed with green numbers.
    â€œThis pyramid is operating at about eighty-seven percent capacity,” she explained.
    She touched one button and, with a slight hum, the round silver disk slid sideways into the wall to reveal a circular tube that stretched back into the wall space for about seven feet. Another touch of a button and a white table slowly emerged from the tube.
    â€œLie down,” Aja ordered.
    Yeah, right. If she thought I was going to lie on that table and get sucked back into this sci-fi-looking tube without an explanation, she was dreaming.
    â€œTell me what’s going to happen first.”
    â€œDon’t you trust me?” she asked with a sly smile.
    â€œIt’s not that I don’t trust you,” I said quickly. “It’s just that this is all … I mean, I’ve never seen … I don’t understand … uh, no, I don’t trust you.”
    â€œEven though I’m a Traveler?”
    â€œLook,” I said. “I don’t know why you have an ick against me, but if you want me to trust you, you gotta start acting a little more human.”
    It bugged me that Aja had such disdain for me. I had no idea why. Yeah, she was a Traveler, but I didn’t see her out there fighting quigs or getting shot at or jumping out of airplanes or doing any of the scary things I’d had to do. What made her so special?
    â€œSorry,” she said. “Lifelight is such a normal part of life that it’s hard for me to understand how someone doesn’t know all about it.”
    â€œFine. Start explaining or I’m not lying down on that thing.”
    â€œIt’s totally safe,” Aja began. “Nothing happens to you physically. It’s all about expanding your mind into areas of your own choosing. You lie on the table, the table slides back into the tube and I close the round disk. To be honest, some people get a little nervous because it’s dark and the space is closed. But the sensation doesn’t last long. I promise.”
    â€œThen what do I do? Lie there and watch a movie?”
    â€œYou focus your thoughts. Think about a place you’d like to be. Or a person you’d want to see. That’s all it takes.”
    â€œAnd it reads my mind? Like when my dog appeared?”
    â€œExactly.”
    It seemed impossible, but Marley sure as heck looked real. It may have been a holographic illusion, but it was a good one.
    â€œWhat if something goes wrong? Like if I get claustrophobia or something?”
    â€œYou won’t,” she assured me. “But if it makes you feel better, the vedders and phaders monitor all the jumps from the core. If something goes wrong, they’ll stop the event. Believe me, they know what they’re doing.”
    I lifted my arm and touched the silver bracelet on my wrist with the three buttons. “What’s this for?”
    â€œIt’s your ultimate control over the jump. If you want to talk