The Game

By Terence J Henley

THE GAME happens inside a very large Hadron Collider which is built by
the Utopians Godisious and Luciferious to fi nd the answer to a problem
their people have. Th e Cycloves are a very dangerous species, intent on
killing everyone and destroying every planet they come into contact with.
Having destroyed one galaxy, they are now on route to the Utopians galaxy.
Needing an answer as soon as possible how they can accomplish this, they
make a new multiverse inside the Hadron Collider that is in orbit above
their moon.
Th e Hadron Collider holds a number of universes, thousands of galaxies
and millions of stars and planets. Everything within the Collider is very
small, but the species that live inside it have no idea. Th e Cycloves are put
at the top of the Collider and the humans lower down. Th e people from
Utopia Prime enter Th e Game to take control of the units within it and get
them to fi ght the Cycloves.
Th e main two characters Darrent and Chrymella who are inside Th e Game,
have to work together to fi nd the answer before the Cycloves return and
destroy the Utopians and everyone else in their galaxy. When Darrent fi nds
himself occupying Chrymellas body, he is not happy and wonders how he
can do his job

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jun 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496982919

Terence J Henley

The author, Terry to his friends, is disabled. He was formerly an electrical engineer and educated to degree level in electrical engineering, physics, and math. He has completed a FutureLearn course on climate change and published a paper on climate change. He had to retire in 1993 after he developed an epidermoid cyst inside his spinal column and needed multiple operations to keep him alive. Terry is an amateur astronomer, a member of the BIS (British Interplanetary Society), and follows the space program with keen interest. He hopes he will see the first people set foot on Mars and start a new life there. His other interests are films (sci-fi and thrillers), photography, model building, and reading. His favorite author is Steven King. Terry has written a sci-fi trilogy, a teen romance, and a large number of novelettes. He now also edits the online magazine Odyssey for the BIS.

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© 2014 Terence J Henley. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/06/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8289-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8290-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-8291-9 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my wife, Angela.

For being by my side constantly and helping me

through the good and bad times of illness.

Thank you for everything. All my love to you.

CHAPTER 1

A s I opened my eyes I couldn’t see a thing, I was cold and felt wet all over. Someone was rubbing my chest and back getting the blood and wet sticky liquid off my naked body. Something hard was poked into my mouth and I felt it sucking liquid from my throat. The person holding me was shouting at other people I could barely see as I tried to force my eyes open and looked up into the bright white lights. They were so bright I had to close them again and when the item was removed from my mouth I let out a loud scream. I was in considerable pain and panicking for a reason I didn’t understand. I was fine about an hour about ago then I was drugged and… what had happened to me?

I tried my hardest to recall what I had been doing or where I was, but the memories wouldn’t come. I knew I must have been given a drug of some sort, but I didn’t know why, who did it or how much time had passed. I felt numb, awkward and then I realised I couldn’t feel my arms and legs, well not properly, what was going on with me, why weren’t my hands working?

I opened my eyes again but everything was blurred and I guessed that was from the drug I was given. I closed my eyes and felt someone going over my body with delicate hands, my legs were being lifted and examined and once again I had the feeling that something was not right with me. Someone had done something to me which was obvious as I was not my usual self. As soon as my eyes could focus, I would get up and find out where I was and what was happening.

My head started to ache and I felt tired then I was picked up as if I was light as a feather and I couldn’t understand how this was happening. I felt something warm go around me and then my arms and legs were crushed into a warm… what I could only call… blanket. But that shouldn’t and couldn’t be happening. In God’s name what was happening to me I thought to myself. I was now getting frightened; I had no idea where I was, what happened or why I was being held this way. I started to breathe fast, almost hyperventilating despite being held in a giant’s hands.

My mind was in a turmoil and I hadn’t had a drink in I didn’t know how long. Then I thought a drink, yes, it must have been a drug that was put into my drink and now I was where? Where was I and why was I here?

I suddenly realised I was being carried across the brightly lit room and as I opened my eyes again, all I could see was the blurred face of a woman who was smiling at me as she looked down into my eyes. Was she trying to help me or tell me something, I realised I was on a planet that had very big people and I couldn’t recall what planet that could be. Another thought entered my head; I was searching for an answer to questions that I had no idea was right or wrong. Was I in intensive care? Had I been in an accident? I tried to think but the memories wouldn’t come; I was still in denial of what had happened to me. I closed my eyes and felt myself being lowered then more thoughts entered my head. The woman, who was very tall and had brown skin and wore ultra-white clothes, must be a nurse. The problem was, in what department?

I was certain now that I had been in some form of accident more than likely in space, because this nurse I was sure was from the planet Midas. These people were dedicated healers and helped everyone who was especially in a space accident. We had discovered the Midans two hundred years ago and they had been very good to us, but I couldn’t recall if they were tall; perhaps this was one of their people who were very strong and very tall. I recalled then that these people were also space farers and had ultra fast ships, hospital ships that were always on alert in case a ship struck an asteroid. That was it; I must have been in the Nyota star system which is crammed full of asteroids that are very rich in gold, uranium and thorum ores.

I must have been on a mining or survey ship; no, it must have been a survey ship as I knew I was not an asteroid minor. I recalled now that I had been on a ship, a large ship, the Spirit of Utopia, I was heading out to Uranus on a special mission, something must have happened and I was on the Midans fast response Hospital Ship, All Hope is Not Lost.

As I was being lowered, now so tight inside this blanket, I thought I must be very small or very light to accomplish this and if I was in a ship, then they had the artificial gravity down very low. Sounds entered my head, people around me were all taking at once; flashes of light suddenly filled the room as I was held upright in the nurse’s strong hands and faced a camera. The person holding the camera was still blurred and I cursed my eyes for not focussing correctly. What in hell had they given me?

A hand rose from below and gently stroked the side of my face; I knew it was a woman’s hand because her skin was very soft. I heard her voice as the words entered my head but they were subdued slightly by the tight covering around me. I tried to turn my head but found it impossible. It was held tight in the blanket or soft towelling and even if I could turn my head, my eyes were still letting me down. Then I was lowered to the woman in the bed below me and her eyes beheld me as if for the first time.

Her smile was ecstatic even through my blurred vision I knew I would remember it and her smell for the rest of my life. The smell was very important to me at the moment although I didn’t know why, but it was important and my basic instincts were now kicking in. I knew it meant something although I wasn’t sure what, but the woman’s smell kept wafting up my nostrils and impregnated itself into my memory, again I had no idea why this was so important. It was I knew, the only way I could tell who was who in the world for the present time, scent to me would be very important although I wasn’t sure why I knew this. It was if some primeval instinct had come into being, taking over every other instinct that I had. At this moment I had to survive and scent to me would be one of the prime sources of telling me who was who and where I had to be to get… what? Food? Help? Nutrition of any source.

I had no idea why would I need to use scent, why I couldn’t just ask for food or drink I had no idea, if the people didn’t speak my language I was sure I could make them understand with gestures. Surely someone could understand me? I had learned to speak Midan and a hundred other languages and most civilisations carried a translator on them. Some people swallowed a pill to help them speak some languages and we all got on, someone would help me I was sure.

The female who was looking into my eyes was smiling and cooing to me, then her lips pouched together and she kissed my face all over, smelling me at the same time and speaking a language I knew well, or thought I did. It was a slightly different dialect, but still American Midan. The nurse was speaking now and she was speaking Midan I was sure.

The female kissed my face then her arms reached up and took my body from the nurse. Now I was very confused, what in the hell had happened to me? Why was I so small and who on Midan was this person?

The female was speaking very fast, too fast for my mind which was still in severe shock to comprehend. I just couldn’t understand what she was saying and who she was speaking too. I was suddenly lifted to another set of large hands which were again a brownish colour; the person lifted me to its face and started to kiss me again. I thought for a moment that the only people you did this too was a new born baby but I was not a new born baby, I was over 3000 years old and had two major upgrades to my body to help me adjust to space travel. I would live well into my thousands and maybe reach three hundred thousand years old, thanks to the Utopian doctors.

The next person to hold me shouted at me and held me a little more awkwardly and I recognised a female voice, a young female voice. She was holding me tight, speaking fast and giggling, then something happened that made me wonder if I was dreaming.

We’ll call her Chrymella, I heard someone say.

Yes, it was your sister’s name and it will be good to remember her this way. Fancy having a girl when I was so certain I was going to have a boy, a woman said.

I didn’t know who was talking but I knew it was not about me, because I’m a man, well the last time I looked anyway. I was suddenly thrust against the woman lying in the bed and what in…

The next second my head was on her naked breast and my mouth was sucking her nipple. I then felt the wet, warm liquid flowing into me, hot and nutritious. I instinctively knew I needed this to stay alive and my mouth wouldn’t stop sucking on her nipple. The white liquid was flowing into my mouth and I was swallowing it as fast as I could. It was sweet and tasted lovely to me. How I knew it was white I didn’t know, but as I knew the liquid was white, it came to me what it was called, milk… and I needed it to stay alive. It was something my body needed desperately at the moment to compensate for the trauma my body had gone through for the past four and half hours. I of course didn’t need it and why was that? Because I am not this person, I’m from another place and sent here…

It suddenly came to me like a lightning bolt; I was on the other side, in The Game Complex and this shouldn’t be happening, at least not yet, what had gone wrong? I started to panic as my mind went into overdrive. No, there had to be a way out of this, something was wrong, very wrong and I shouldn’t be here yet, not only that, I was the wrong sex, my wife who was coming in a few moments after me, would be looking for a man and we would now never meet up and spend…

Come on Chrymella, latch on properly, you need this, the woman was telling me.

I had other things on my mind but the body was hungry and still in a state of shock. I recalled instantly what happens to new born babies. They need nutrition and the body will do what it needs to get it, letting the consciousness sleep away the hours until the body wakes it when the first initial days have passed and the body is ready for the conscience to take over and fulfil its duty.

The body moved forward, pushing its head towards the nipple where it could smell the milk and goodness that it desperately needed. I thought quickly at how I was going to get out of this unit, there was supposed to be an emergency stop within the first twelve hours if the host didn’t want to go through with The Game, but where was it and what did I have to do? I asked myself.

The unit heaved as it moved into a different position making it easier for the mouth to suck on the nipple. The woman’s hand came down between the baby’s face and her breast making it more comfortable for her. She gently touched my head and her long, slender finger caressed the side of my face.

My eyes were still not focussing properly but my conscience was listening to what was going on around me. The people in the room were all talking at once and they were all talking about me. I was okay and not in any danger and had all my fingers and toes. What they didn’t know was that I was trapped in this unit and I didn’t want to be here. Then I had an idea, I would allow the unit to drink and get it to relax a little then I would start to talk, that would accomplish two things, first scare the hell out of them, second, get the doctors to listen to me and help me out of this situation. The unit was still drinking and it had moved from the right to the left breast and was now drinking quite happily. I continued to try and think how I could get out of this situation. The body was still eating, or drinking, taking on substance to stay alive and get through the first few hours which were the hardest and most dangerous. If the unit refused or couldn’t get any sustenance, then it would cease to exist and host soul would leave it to perish.

As I thought about my situation, I recalled what we had been told when we went into the Transitional Meeting. The unit will support the consciousness which in effect was me and the unit will do more or less what it has to do to keep itself alive. The body has a brain and the brain has two hemispheres, the right and left. The right side of the body is wired to the left side of the brain and vice versa. According to the tutors, the inner structure of the brain is used to run the unit, keep the unit or body alive and order any repairs that have to be carried out to the exterior of the body. Interior problems can be repaired, but it usually needs a person called a doctor or surgeon to assess what is wrong with the interior organs.

However, in earlier units, there were a number of different repair systems inside the body that could repair the heart, lungs and kidneys. These all used rich oxygen where the unit could create large repair droids and send them into the heart, lung and kidneys and destroy any infection. If the body was penetrated by a sharp object, the rich oxygen could help heal the internal damage within a few hours and then repair the outer layers of flesh and finally skin. That was in earlier models, now the oxygen levels were different and the unit had to operate in a different manner.

The Conscious would enter the body and usually stay inside the brain, the deeper it could get, the safer it would feel and when the time came for it to return home, it was close to the exit. The exit, then I recalled there was a way for me to get out, to leave and stop The Game; I had to get into the correct section of the brain and shut it down.

I knew I didn’t have long and time was ticking away very fast. The trouble was; I wasn’t sure how I was going to move myself. I now recalled I was in the brain, but where in the brain I didn’t know for sure. I couldn’t recall where I had to get to so that I could switch off the brain and shut the unit down. Once that was achieved, I would be able to leave the unit and return to The Game exit room. I had to try and recall my training which was not happening at the moment because my soul was still in severe shock from the transfer. I then knew I should be asleep, waiting for the unit to wake me up to take over once it had got over the first fifty hours, or the danger hours.

‘Now,’ I thought to myself, ‘where in the brain was I and where did I need to get too to switch this unit off?’

At last the unit stopped feeding and I was held again by the proud father while the mother was finally cleaned up and made to look beautiful again. I was trapped inside this unit and I had to get out, get back to where I was and I couldn’t do a thing for myself, well not yet, but as soon as I could see properly… I would be too old to shut this unit down.

The consciousness of Darrent Kolesckie concentrated very hard and moved itself within the brain of the human unit now named Chrymella Chord. Using its neural pathways, the minute consciousness traversed up, down, across and down deeper into the brain. The problem was; it was taking a long time because the brain was new and there were very few channels wide enough for the small consciousness to get where it needed to be to close the unit down, hence some time had passed when Darrent concentrated again on what was happening around his unit.

He knew the unit would continue to operate as it should; it was programmed to accomplish the basic things as soon as it was born because if he remembered correctly, the consciousness usually didn’t wake for the first week, which was why he was sure something had gone wrong and he had to shut this unit down as fast as possible.

As Darrent concentrated on what was happening in the room, he heard the nurse talking to another nurse who had entered the room. Apparently the mother was doing fine, which was a good thing because any time soon, she would be in tears when she heard that the unit had shut down; or properly named, died. He knew she would get over it and if she wanted another unit bad enough, she would have another very soon.

The father, he couldn’t recall his name, was standing over the unit taking photos for his family to see with a small square unit which appeared to be silver, or it could have been white or any other colour for that matter as the unit could not make out colours properly yet.

His hand came down and gently caressed my face and then he bent forward kissing my head. He spoke to his daughter. Hello there Chrymella, I hope you have a very long and happy life my love. I promise right now to protect you with my life if I have to, I’ll be there for you on that you can depend, he said with tears forming in his eyes.

One tear slipped from his face and fell onto the mouth of the new baby and automatically the unit slipped its tongue from its mouth and licked its lips, tasting the single tear, analysing its substance and determined it was wet, at body temperature and contained various body salts and chemicals. In short it was oaky to swallow and would do the unit no harm.

He looked at the baby with disbelief and called a nurse to him asking if babies could do what it had just done when they were less than an hour old.

I expect you imagined it, the nurse replied.

Hold on, let me see if I recorded it, he answered and touched two buttons on his camera. He showed the small screen to the nurse who looked at it with wonder, then looked at the baby and again at the man.

I have never seen anything like this before, I’ll ask the doctor a little later and get back to you, the nurse replied and left the room as if on a mission.

The father stroked the new baby again before returning to his wife. Meanwhile, Darrent was moving deeper inside the units’ brain, getting closer and closer to the emergency shutdown switch, which was in fact a very fine blood vessel deep inside the brain that the conscious could dock with and force it to burst. Once there, it would use Dark Matter of the Cerebral Cortex and the White Matter of the insulated neurons and with its own substance, join the two together and short out the brain, killing the unit instantly and as far as the inquest would know, it would have suffered a massive brain haemorrhage and the unit would have felt nothing, but it would open the door to the exit and take the soul back to reality. The two elements would be absorbed back into the blood stream after twenty minutes and the emergency exit would then be closed. He had been here a little over an hour, with luck; he should return and stop his wife from entering The Game as barely a second would have passed on the other side.

The unit Chrymella was picked up and placed in a cot which had a heat pad and numerous sensors that could detect a minute drop in temperature, blood pressure or organ failure. Caring for new born babies had come a long way since Darrent had last entered The Game and had remained in it for 95 long years, accomplishing a great deal and leading The Game into the future.

This time however, things had gone wrong and he had to get out, the unit was acting normally as it should do while Darrent made his way deeper into the brain and bringing about a short ending for this unit’s life. He was moving very slow and finding it difficult to get to where he needed to be, but he knew with determination he would get there soon.

The cot was pushed next to the mother who was now looking at the baby with love and tenderness on her face. She could see it moving, not much, but she didn’t expect her to move. At last the birth was over, now they could get down to the real thing, cherishing their baby, watching it grow and loving her with everything they had.

A doctor entered the room with the nurse who the father had spoken to and showed the short film earlier. The Paediatrician walked around the hospital bed and looked at the baby in the cot. He smiled at the mother in silence and touched the baby on its cheek. He pressed his finger hard just beneath the baby’s right ear and leaving his finger there, increased the pressure by pushing harder into the skin. He made it appear that he was feeling for a pulse, as the unit fell into a deep sleep.

He left the baby and walked around the bed to the father, speaking to him as he approached him.

Mr Chord, could you please show me the film of what happened earlier?

Please, call me Kylan, sure here it is. I thought I would get it ready for you, just in case.

The doctor took the camera and watched the short film before handing it back.

What do you think? Kylan asked.

I must say it is unusual, tell me, what is your background, what do you do for a living if you don’t mind me asking? the doctor said.

I teach our young pilots to fly the new fighters and from those, I help pick the most prominent captains to learn to command the huge battleships and cruisers. I also pick those who will command the deep space research ships. In this age, we have so many young people who want to travel into deep space they all want to fly the fighters just in case we are ever attacked again, he replied laughing.

Surely some of our young people want to learn the sciences?

Oh yes, but there are so many to choose from and most of the young boys cannot beat the girls who out fly them in their combat ships time after time. So the boys train in the Marines and Land Army, others fly the large shuttles that deploy troops and some pilots get noticed and go on to become Commanders and Captains of the faster escort ships, Kylan replied.

Ah, that is good; I spent two years on the hospital ship Placid following the deep space ships which fought in the Hermouscryle War. There was always so much to do, so many good young people who were dying or seriously injured. We could never have enough sailors joining the war fleet.

Ah yes, I sent thousands of young women into that war and luckily, most returned home, I am pleased that war is over and the people from the planets Hern and Cryle can now live in peace with the Ousrouts put down and are no longer a threat to the people in the Lyre star system. I hope the peace treaty will last many thousands of years and we do not have to come to their aid again.

I understand there is to be a new supership that will be completely run by a computer and it even gets to name itself. These ships, if the first one works correctly, will have a sentient computer to run it. The ship could in the end do away with a captain, but I don’t think that will ever happen, the units will not allow a ship to go where it wants or fire on an alien vessel and blow it up. However, it will make operating the ship much easier. The crew will also be watched over by the computer and this should mean there will be fewer accidents in space. The other thing associated with a sentient ship, you would need less crew as everything is computer repairable and the computer will know exactly what repairs need to be carried out and how the job needs to be done. This means that even a novice could repair the engine if it failed with help from the computer, the doctor said.

The ship is on the drawing boards but it will not be ready for many years and we still need to know how it will act when it is faced with a real space battle. Creating a battle scenario inside the computer is one thing, but in reality it’s completely different when live missiles and torpedoes are coming at you.

Do you think they will be any good?

I think they’ll be perfect, the main problem will be the older captains and commanders, they will put up the biggest battle. They’ve been used to flying the ships and making decisions, now the ship will be capable of doing all that and much more, Kylan explained.

I see, the doctor replied as if he was waiting for time to pass.

The cot alarm sounded a moment later and then a second alarm activated, this time much louder and more urgent than before. The doctor ran to the cot, looking at the hologram on his way and knew exactly what had happened.

As he touched the cot, the warbling alarm was silenced but red alarm lamps continued to pulsate. The doctor touched various controls on the cot’s control panel and called the nurse for urgent medications. Holding the baby’s arm firmly in his hand, he inserted a hypodermic syringe into a vein and the baby started to scream.

Let’s get it to intensive care immediately, the doctor ordered and moved the cot away from the mother and towards the door on the other side of the room.

What’s happening? the mother screamed in panic.

The baby is crashing, I need to get it into intensive care in case I need to operate, the doctor replied and with a nurse at his side, pushed the cot out of the room and along the corridor into another room.

Here there were very bright lights and lots of equipment and special cots for babies in serious trouble. The nurse looked at the doctor as they connected the cot up to a central station where the baby could be monitored by a major health computer. Once the baby was strapped in position, the health computer could administer any drugs that were needed and the baby’s health followed very accurately.

There was only the nurse in the room as the doctor made the final connection to the Health Computer.

Nurse Harris, would you please return to the mother and calm the parents down, tell them to give me ten minutes and I’ll let them know what is happening to their baby.

Of course doctor, I did the right thing in telling you about the baby didn’t I? Nurse Harris asked.

Indeed you did, we’ve been looking for any new born baby who has the ability to move its lips or tongue within an hour of being born.

Is there something wrong with it?

On the contrary, it could be a sign that it is highly intelligent. Now, off you go, calm the parents down and assure them I will be along shortly. Under no circumstances are they allowed in this room until I give them permission is that understood?

Of course Doctor, she replied and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Dr Kyree locked it and returned to the cot. He lifted the new born baby up in his hands and once again looked around the room. Happy he was alone, he pressed the small device on his jacket and a transparent door appeared to open into the room. He stepped inside with the baby and the transparent door closed. To anyone watching in the room, it appeared that the doctor and baby just disappeared. As soon as he entered the room, it started to grow in size. When it was three by three metres, the room stopped growing and a window appeared in the far wall.

A woman was at the window as furniture started to appear in the room, a coffee table, three chairs and a baby changing unit. Dr Kyree placed the baby on the changing mat and faced the woman. He was hurrying as he placed two metallic pads onto the unit’s head and connected the other two ends to a small square cube, which was changing from one colour to another.

Darrent I know you can hear me, there appears to be an error, you were supposed to have entered a male unit but we found it was deformed and you would not have been able to fulfil your destiny. You can talk to me now. Just think your reply and I will hear you, Dr Kyree said.

Yes I hear you; there are a few things wrong. First, I’m aware of the other side and still have my previous memory also; I’m a male inside a female unit.

Do you recall what your destiny was to be?

Yes, I was to fly one of the first sentient battleships and help work out our problem. I also have to write a special book and get it somewhere, but the place has eluded me at the moment. Oh yes, I was supposed to lead humanity into a war and help them solve the problem within The Game.

That’s correct and when we checked out how far the humans had come, they have made some drastic changes in this scenario and changed our guidelines. They use women to captain their biggest starships and battleships. They also fly most of the fighters as they have faster reflexes and do not allow emotions to get in their way. Therefore, to command the ship you are supposed to take into battle, you need to be a female unit.

But I’m male, Darrent protested. I demand to abort this procedure and I am prepared to destroy this unit to accomplish it.

There have been numerous times we have sent males into female units and vice versa. They always sort themselves out in the end, but we cannot allow anything to go wrong so we have devised a way to make you forget you were a male and allow you to remember everything you need too. All it will mean is when you end The Game; it will take you a few days in recovery to get through the sexual orientation.

I still want out, he shouted from inside the unit’s head. I cannot go through the next twenty years growing into an adult unit being stuck inside this brain. It’s not fair or right. I feel as if I’m going mad already and I’m now feeling very claustrophobic. I need to be able to get about, speak to people, listen to the music I want to hear and control the unit properly like I should be able to do, he continued to holler.

Please, calm down Professor, you are making the unit’s pulse race and its heart is going into panic mode. If you don’t calm down soon, all your work will be in vain, the female at the window said forcefully. You have worked extremely hard to organise your trip into The Game and if you exit it now, you will put the plan back years in their time, she continued.

Dr Victoria Redgrade, is that you? Darrent asked.

Yes Professor. They asked me to speak with you and remind you that this is your project. It has taken three years to get this project going and you insisted it had to be you to go in and do the job.

What are you talking about? Darrent asked.

Part of it worked anyway, Dr Kyree interrupted.

What do you mean? Darrent answered.

The person who you really are, the time fix we implemented in your subconscious has worked, but the matrix which was supposed to have hidden your real role for at least ten years in the unit has failed to latch on and we were only aware of this after you transferred to the unit.

Well there you are, this is the reason I need to abort the operation, Darrent retorted.

Professor, it was you who discovered the flaw in the system and what was about to happen to The Game if things were not put right. A number of times humanity had almost got to understand what was really happening and some people are out to prove the astronomers are wrong and we have implemented people to put down others who knew what was really happening. You told us what would happen to the units if they discovered the truth behind The Game, Dr Victoria Redgrade explained.

Victoria, what are you talking about, I can’t remember at this stage?

Dr Kyree, can we allow him to have his full memory now, then he will know what he has to do and he will go about accomplishing it? The only other thing we have to do is give him a feminine thought process because he will have a real tough time himself and the unit may not respond to his male thought process and breakdown or commit suicide as it grows and fights its subconscious, who is in fact Professor Darrent Kolesckie. If the unit is taken by its parent units to see a psychiatrist and is given retrograde hypnosis, they will discover without a doubt who he is and what he has to do. Not only that, the psychiatrist will push and push and discover that we treat this as a Game. The units will not be happy about this and Professor Kolesckie will be held and put under hypnosis again and again by their top most leading people and they will find a way to contact us and bring about the collapse of The Game.

Surely that cannot happen, if you think about it apart from the robot drones and the AI’s in The Game, the remainder are made up from our own people and those from other planets who have chosen to join in and play The Game, Dr Kyree said.

Yes, but the units can and do move about by their own initiative and we live in the subconscious. We have to work very hard to make the units obey OUR commands and the unit could in fact hold us hostage, Victoria replied.

Explain, Dr Kyree asked.

Let’s say the units discover the truth, all they have to do is survive and we will be stuck inside the unit until it dies of old age. That means the units could in fact live to over nine hundred years and if enough doctors managed to keep them alive, we could be held hostage indefinitely.

That’s impossible, Darrent objected.

"Not according to your own evidence Professor. You put forward this theory and explained that it would be possible for the units to make enough hospital beds and machines to keep the population of the world alive for thousands of years. When the unit got too old or was too ill to work or continue to live, it would be put into a comma and kept alive by machines and drugs and given food and proteins to keep the unit alive and healthy until new parts became available and they could revive the unit and make it well again.

"We, the Utopians, would not have the chance to abort the unit because before putting the unit into a coma, they would operate on the brain and stop it from being killed by its subconscious or soul. They may even come up with an idea of how to kill its soul and therefore us. The unit has an inbuilt survival instinct, it will do everything possible to survive and fight very hard so it does not die, that is because if we are knocked unconscious or fall into a coma, the unit can continue to try and repair itself or allow other units to repair it.

"Therefore, the unit could try and use its survival instinct to stay alive and live the life IT wants and not the life we want. This is what could happen and you said it yourself professor, the only way we could overcome this would be to stop The Game. However, we do not have the number of rooms we would require if we were to stop The Game immediately. Billions of us would die in the process and there would be an outrage. We would need another way of accomplishing this and that is where the multiverse came in.

Actually I’ve had a brilliant idea. Professor, I know this is asking a lot of you, but, what if right now we could give you a female thought pattern, the part which makes you want to be female? Would you agree to this if you had something to do for the next fifteen years at least? Victoria asked.

I suppose in principle it could be interesting, what would I have to do he replied.

"You write a book on how The Game started and what has happened to get you to agree to push The Game forward. By that, I mean you compile a complete history of why The Game was made. I’m not explaining myself properly. I know, do what you thought of doing originally, write the Second Bible and place it yourself on that planet, I can’t recall its name, but you’ll recall it later. In the Bible tell the humans about the Cycloves and what they have done and what they could do to them. After all, we have unleashed them on the humans even if they are still a long off in the multiverse. Tell them what life was like before they arrived in our galaxy and what it’s like now. Explain to the humans why we had no option but create The Game and what The Game has done for us.

You can build this book up in your subconscious; Dr Kyree can operate on the unit and give you a hiding place where you can go and store this book so that it can be retrieved at… say the age of twelve. Yes at the age of twelve, we can come and see you, retrieve the book and this can be used to help teach your students here. While you are growing, you can make up a diary of what you do as a girl and how you manage your unit. This can also be published so that we have a better understanding of what would happen to us if we suddenly became aware of who we actually are while growing up and what precautions we would have to take to stop us from being killed or found out. How does that sound? Would you still be prepared to go through with your project? Finding the right units who are ready for a new unit to enter their world may take some time and it may all be in vain, what do you think?

Only if I can have all my knowledge and I can walk, talk, play the piano, do the maths and physics by the age of six which will get me noticed and I can come up with new star drives to help get the ship into the Multiverse sooner and I would be picked to command the ship, Darrent replied.

Well Dr Kyree, is it possible? Victoria asked.

It is possible, but would the Ethics Committee agree?

We don’t have time for the Ethics Committee to decide upon this, we have to make this happen now, or face the option of being found out. If you can do it, I have a nurse and operating team ready outside this room. We alter his thought pattern here and you return with the professor and rush him to surgery to carry out the brain refuge area. What do you think; can you do this with only one of our nurses?

I would need a couple of special instruments that are not available in this time zone.

I can keep this room available for the next few minutes, Victoria replied looking at her watch.

That will give us time to alter his brain pattern, but where am I going to get the tools I need for the operation?

There is a nurse in the hospital who has the necessary instruments, please don’t ask how we did this, but the nurse is on her way to you right now.

If you can have the entry team add Darrent’s complete memory to him, I’ll take care of everything else. Now you have had time to consider your options professor, what are your intentions? Dr Kyree asked.

Just a moment, something is happening, Darrent replied.

One moment the units’ symptoms were normal then they started to rise, its heart rate and pulse going off the scale. For a moment Dr Kyree thought Darrent had managed to create a Cerebral Haemorrhage. He looked at the display of medications available to him and picked up a hypo. He approached the unit and pressed the hypo into its neck. There was a slight hiss of gas propelling the liquid agent into the jugular vein then the alarms quietened down and the redness in the units’ face and eyes returned to their former colour.

What just happened? Dr Kyree asked the nurse on the other side.

Ahhh, the techos just uploaded the professor’s entire memory without thinking of where he was. It’s a good job you were still in the Antry room, he should be fine in a few seconds of our time and as far as we are concerned, he is in our time zone until he leaves this room.

By any chance, do you happen to know which nurse will be accompanying me back to The Game? Dr Kyree asked.

That would be me, nurse Ariel Albrea said as she entered the room and stood behind Dr Kyree.

How did you get in here?

I knew I had to be here at this exact moment, just like you knew you had to be at this hospital today. I had a spare key to the door, she replied with a smile and held up the key card which had allowed her access to the room.

Are you staying in The Game? Dr Kyree asked.

No, when were finished here I’m leaving, how about you?

I have to ensure the professor gets through this and Chrymella will need a great deal of help. Not only that I don’t think the professor will let me leave The Game with him still in it trapped inside a female body, he replied with a smile on his face.

What operation are you going to carry out? Ariel asked.

I’m going to open her head and create a small hole for him to stay in and hide away, Dr Kyree replied.

In that case you’ll need the equipment I’ve prepared for you and I’ll be very pleased to assist you for the operation, Ariel said proudly.

Right, are we ready to go Professor? Dr Kyree asked the unit.

How long before I can see and talk properly? Darrent asked.

I can get your eyes to work during the operation and your speech will take at least four months to come. Of course you’ll be able to talk properly to me, but it will take a few months for your voice to come properly but as I will be your doctor and see you on a regular basis, you’ll be able to speak to me via the equipment I have. Just try not to do things too fast. The more you do, the more you will draw attention to yourself which may get you taken away from me.

When this operation is over, if things go bad, will I still be able to exit The Game at my wish?

Yes! he sighed.

That’s okay then, I agree to you doing the operation. Now, I suggest you leave this room and get on with the operation before the adult units and the nurses come looking for us, Darrent suggested from his position inside the unit’s brain.

Although they could see and speak to people on the other side, it was impossible to get out of The Game or into it for that matter. The room was like video phone booth, they could see and talk to those on the other side and they could talk to those in the cube, but that was as far as it got.

Ariel carried the unit out of the room and returned it to its cot, while Dr Kyree turned and asked one last question of Victoria. When he left the room the door closed behind him and the room disappeared. He walked straight over to the main doors and unlocked them allowing a frustrated nurse into the room.

The lock seems faulty, I’ve reported it to maintenance, he said hiding the truth.

I’ve been here a few minutes; didn’t you hear me banging the door?

I was attending to my patient, now, if you don’t mind, I have two anxious parents to speak to.

I’m sorry doctor, the nurse replied and saw a nurse caring for a baby in the cot. She turned and went to the cupboard where she collected the equipment she needed for another patient in another delivery suite.

Hi, Dr Kyree said entering the delivery suite again.

Where is my baby? Madelyn screamed, with Kylan looking apprehensive and holding his wife’s hand firmly in his. Both had been crying while their baby had been rushed to another part of the hospital wondering what had happened to it.

Your baby needs an urgent operation on its brain to remove a small blood clot. I need your approval and for you to sign this form, he said pulling a small ICIS pad from his pocket for the mother or father to sign. Paper forms were now none existent as there was very little paper left and that was only used for very important documents between governments or planets.

Kylan pressed his thumb onto the pad and the machine bleeped and sent a copy of the agreement to Kylan’s own ICIS unit as per standard protocol.

How long will the operation take? Kylan asked.

About thirty to forty minutes, the nurse is prepping your baby as we speak.

Look after Chrymella for us please, Madelyn, the mother pleaded with tears running down her face.

Of course we will; I’m sure everything will be fine and Chrymella will live a long and healthy life once this operation is over. In fact, I promise you I’ll be her personal doctor and yours for free once you leave this hospital.

Are you sure, but why? Madelyn asked.

Because some people need my help and I like helping people. Now, I must get on with the operation, he replied and left the room.

In the operating theatre, two scrub nurses and a paediatric anaesthetist had already put Chrymella to sleep. Her head had been shaved and nurse Ariel Albrea was ready with the special tools Dr Kyree would need.

I don’t recall seeing you in this hospital before, Adrian the anaesthetist said looking at Dr Kyree.

I don’t get to operate very often and I’m usually on the night shift.

They looked at each other for a few moments in silence as Dr Kyree pressed a button on the small unit attached to his wrist. A shimmer spread out from the device like a shockwave.

A moment later, Adrian looked at Dr Kyree. I’m ready when you are, he said as if they had known each other for years and made another check over his instruments. The scrub nurses were counting swabs and checking everything was ready and Ariel smiled at Dr Kyree, handing him the portable laser.

Adrian was sat to the side of Chrymella and watched with awe as Dr Kyree used the laser to cut a minute hole into the unit’s skull. What followed had never been seen before and would not be seen again as Dr Kyree carved a minute room within the brain for the consciousness to remain in and work on its project.

With the brain operation out of the way, Dr Kyree took the two very minute capsules from nurse Ariel and injected one in each side of the unit’s neck. It was then Dr Kyree spoke for the first time during the operation.

What you are about to see is a project I’ve been working on and I will be talking this unit, I’m sorry this baby girl. The two Isometric implants I injected will work their way into the cerebral cortex and there, match with the neurons and interact with them, allowing me to make a detailed examination of the brain and try to understand it a little more by communicating with the baby’s subconscious.

That is unheard of, you’re wasting your time, Adrian stated.

Then let us see shall we? Chrymella, you are currently in surgery and having an operation on your brain, can you communicate with me?

Adrian and the other nurses started to laugh out loud as Ariel smiled at Dr Kyree and attached two emitters, one to either side of the unit’s neck.

Chrymella, I am trying to talk to your subconscious, I believe you have a voice and can speak to me; if your subconscious is there please tell me if the brain operation is completed and you are fine.

I think… I think it went well. There appears to be some pain in my head, can I have… the pain is quite bad, am I alright?

The staff in the room were suddenly silent and looking star-struck at the baby that was talking to Dr Kyree.

This is… impossible! one nurse said holding her hands to her face.

Impossible? It’s a bloody miracle! Adrian gasped. A bloody miracle. Ask it another question. Uhmmmmm, Chrymella, Chrymella can you hear me? Adrian asked in a loud voice.

Of course I can and don’t shout I have a headache. The voice replied in a childlike female voice.

Do you understand that you have just been born?

Yes it’s strange, but the unit has no voice yet.

Unit? What do you mean by unit?

Baby, the baby I mean.

Are you the baby’s conscious?

Yes!

How much do you know already?

What do you mean?

I think that’s enough for now, it’s just gone through brain surgery and was only born two hours ago, Dr Kyree said.

But this is the first time anyone has spoken to a baby two hours old and it has answered questions. I just thought of one, please let this be the last question, Adrian begged.

Ask your question, Dr Kyree replied, praying that it would have nothing to do with the other side.

Chrymella, this is an amazing time, what was it like inside the womb, could you understand what your parents were talking about?

Sometimes, towards the end, but it was quiet most of the time, Darrent replied.

Do you recall where you were before you joined with the baby? Adrian asked quickly.

I don’t know what you mean; I was only here a short time ago.

So where were you before you arrived here? Were you on the other side, in God’s domain so to speak? Adrian almost shouted.

My head aches, I’m tired, very tir… ed, Darrent said and fell silent.

Adrian instantly checked Chrymella’s statistics, checking the oxygen and every line that was going into and out of her body. There was a small drain coming from her head with a little blood flowing into the small, plastic bottle at the end of the pipe.

Chrymella, are you alright? Dr Kyree asked urgently.

Yes, but I’m tired; I must sleep, she sighed.

Bring her around now, I want to check she’s okay, this was not supposed to happen and we need to keep this a secret, are we all agreed? It is after all highly unprofessional and if the hospital Ethics Committee knew what we had just done they would have a brain storm. This is not only wrong, but illegal, Dr Kyree explained.

Alright everyone, Dr Kyree is right, we keep this under our hats, anyway, nobody would believe us. Are we all agreed? Nurses, are you okay with this?

Yes, they all agreed together.

While