“A most unfortunate incident,” the manager said. “But I can assure you that every one of my games room team are fully-certified operatives. We will review our procedures to make sure this sort of thing does not happen again.”
“They said they were off-worlders,” muttered the youth. “How was I supposed to know she had an implant?”
As she heard the word again, Ravana shuddered and pulled the sheets tight, increasingly frantic at the thought that there was something lodged in her brain, something that had been there hidden and waiting all these years. Quirinus glanced towards her and then quickly looked away, as if ashamed at having concealed it from her for so long.
The double vision experienced within the game had been caused by her long-dormant implant. It had tried to reconcile its direct link with the VR suite with the data stream from her headset, but this had led her mind to superimpose a nightmare-like interpretation upon the game itself. That this had never happened to her before was purely because the only other VR suite she had ever used, that on the Dandridge Cole, was so old it pre-dated implant technology.
“She didn’t know herself,” admitted Quirinus, looking dejected. “I never told her.”
“Never seen a standard implant backfire like that before,” the youth mumbled.
“How long have I had it?” whispered Ravana.
Her father still could not bring himself to look at her.
“Since you were four,” he said. “Children on Yuanshi had to have implants by law; your mother and I were told it was as routine as getting vaccinations. Back then we lived in downtown Lanka and didn’t have access to any of the new and supposedly wonderful implant-controlled technology that was becoming popular, so I assumed it had never been activated. As I watched you growing up it became harder and harder to tell you about it.”
“I felt the pain of the Platypus,” murmured Ravana, watching as her cat slunk across the bed to cautiously sniff the bouquet and chocolates. “Was that the implant?”
“I think so. Maybe also the cause of your headaches,” Quirinus told her, then sighed. “It’s why I agreed to fly us here to Daode. I was hoping to find a doctor who could tell us if there was anything wrong.”
Ravana sat up. “You brought me here to have a doctor look inside my head?”
The hotel manager looked flustered. “If there is any way the hotel can help…”
“You’ve already been most kind,” said Quirinus, with a cursory nod. “I will let you know if we need anything else.”
The manager bowed, taking this as a cue to leave. No sooner had he and the young man left the room when Ostara suddenly appeared at the doorway, looking breathless.
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” she exclaimed, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I need to tell you about Fenris!”
“Can it wait?” asked Quirinus. “Ravana has had a bit of a shock.”
“Poor Ravana!” said Ostara. She gave her a sympathetic smile. “What’s wrong?”
“I need my head examined,” Ravana replied gloomily.
“A wise precaution,” came a voice from the connecting doorway. Quirinus and Ostara turned to see Fenris stepping into the room, his expression suggesting he had been listening for a while. “It just so happens I know of an old family friend of the Maharani’s, an excellent doctor who has a practice right here in Hemakuta. I am sure he would be only too glad to help put your fears to rest.”
“Don’t trust him,” Ostara warned Quirinus. “He…”
“I don’t plan to!” Quirinus retorted, interrupting her.
“We have had our disagreements in the past,” Fenris acknowledged. “But this is about doing what is right for your daughter in her hour of need.”
“The Maharani does still have a great deal of influence in this system,” Quirinus told Ostara, as she opened her mouth to protest. He spoke as if it was himself he was trying to convince. “A friendly doctor may be just what we need. Ravana, do you want me to take you to see someone? Just to check that everything’s okay?”
“Can he get this thing out of my head?” asked Ravana, bitterly.
She threw back the sheets with a grim determination. Whoever put her to bed had removed her boots but left her still wearing her now very crumpled flight suit. After recovering her footwear, Ravana picked up her cat and came to her father’s side, though refused to meet his gaze. Fenris gave her electric pet a disapproving glance but said nothing.
“You can take us there now?” asked Quirinus.
“Of course,” Fenris replied. “There is really no need for you to come with us,” he added coolly when Ostara made as if to follow.
“Fine!” she snapped. “I’ll wait here.”
Leaving Ostara sulking in the hotel room, Fenris quickly led Quirinus and Ravana to the lift at the end of the corridor. Once they reached the ground floor lobby, he directed them not to the main entrance but instead past the dining hall and on towards the pleasure garden.
“Is this the right way?” asked Quirinus.
“The hotel has a rear entrance,” Fenris replied. “It will save us a few minutes.”
The garden was an oasis of green. The stone path they followed wound past immaculate lawns, bright flower beds and a mini orchard before arriving at a small fish pond. Overlooking the pond was an ornamental wooden pagoda in the Chinese style, with an open doorway leading into a darkened interior. Fenris led Ravana and her father towards the pagoda, then upon reaching the door indicated for them to step inside.
“In there?” asked Quirinus, puzzled. “Why?”
Fenris reached into his pocket, withdrew a dark object and pointed it at Quirinus’ chest. Ravana looked down at the plasma pistol in the man’s hand and stifled a scream.
“I’m afraid I must insist,” Fenris replied coldly. He waggled the gun barrel towards the doorway. “Inside, now.”
Taking Ravana’s hand, Quirinus stepped into the dimly-lit pagoda. To their surprise, waiting in the shadows was the unlikely duo of Agent Dana and Surya’s cyberclone, but any hope that the clone may be of help was quickly dashed by the pistol in its hand, which meant its usual Asimov safety protocols had been disengaged. Ravana had seen similar plasma-bolt weapons at Lan-Tlanto and knew they could easily knock someone off their feet without the risk of leaving inconvenient holes in a spacecraft’s hull.
“What is this?” demanded Quirinus. “What’s going on?”
“Quirinus O’Brien!” declared Dana. She held up her agent’s warrant, then slipped it back into a concealed pocket before either Ravana or her father could get a good look at it. “You are under arrest for the aiding and abetting of Maharani Uma of Ayodhya, wanted for terrorism offences on Yuanshi. You do not have to say anything, but any statement may be recorded and used in evidence against you.”
“You’re arresting me?” Quirinus exclaimed. “Don’t be absurd!”
“I don’t understand,” cried Ravana. “Fenris works for the Maharani, not my father!”
“Agent Fenris is a Que Qiao operative who has been collecting intelligence on the renegade Maharani for some time,” Dana informed them. “It is he who identified O’Brien as the man wanted for helping Maharani Uma and Raja Surya flee Ayodhya nine years ago. Your father is an enemy of the state and must be brought to trial.”
“No!” protested Ravana, hugging her cat tightly. Today was going from bad to worse.
“You slimy son of a…” began Quirinus.
Fenris raised his gun. “Do you deny the charge?”
“My ship was hijacked!” retorted Quirinus. “I was forced to take the Maharani and her cronies off Yuanshi! You were pointing the gun back then too, as I recall.”