I didn’t have much time to think about it. There suddenly came a huge fanfare from the overhead screens. It was much more dramatic than anything I had heard up until then. It was an electronic trumpet tune that called everyone’s attention to the screens. Everyone stopped and looked up at them. Literally. Everyone. All at the same time. This was way different from when the other announcements were made. The people barely paid attention to those. But not now. I felt an excited buzz travel through the crowd. People came alive. They exchanged looks. They chattered to one another. All the way up and down this crowded street, you could feel the electricity. Cars stopped, which wasn’t that big a deal because they weren’t going anywhere anyway, but the drivers got out of their vehicles to look up at the screens. Whatever was going to happen, they were excited about it. Thousands of people were suddenly all staring up, in anticipation of… what?
Naturally I looked up too. The screens were all blank for a few more seconds as the fanfare built. Finally, as the music reached a crescendo, a single word appeared in a shower of light and drama. blok.
There it was again. Blok. What the heck was it? The way it appeared on-screen with such a flourish, you’d think people would cheer, as if their favorite wrestling champion had just been announced. They didn’t. They continued to look up with anticipation, but there was no cheering. The inspirational music continued, and a man’s voice was heard.
“The competition is about to begin,” the voice said, teasing the crowd. He sounded excited, almost giddy, as if this news were as exciting to him as he was trying to make it for the crowd. I guess it worked, because I could feel a buzz growing. The people of Quillan were getting psyched up. “We are in midquad, which can only mean one thing!”
Suddenly everyone in the crowd shouted out: “TATO!”
Yikes! The roar was deafening. They all shouted out the word and began to applaud and cheer. It was like the fuse had reached the dynamite and the crowd had exploded. Whatever “Tato” was, the crowd thought it was pretty good. The word tato flashed on-screen, which made them cheer again. I couldn’t imagine what was so incredibly great about this “Tato” thing that it could finally inject some life into this listless world.
The man’s excited voice continued over the roar, louder, so it could be heard: “Place your bets, the time is near; the greatest games on Quillan are here!” He sang this out like a singsong children’s rhyme. The people responded with a cheer and applause. I didn’t. Rhymes. I had heard a rhyme recently. Where was that? Why did this give me an uneasy feeling? I couldn’t remember.
On the screen the word tato dissolved in a brilliant flash of orange. What was left was a close-up of the announcer. The guy had a big toothy smile. His hair was long and blond and totally wild like he had stuck his finger in a toaster. He was an older guy, in his forties maybe. Whatever age he was, he was way too old to be acting so crazy. He reminded me of one of those nutty guys in cheesy TV commercials who try to sell you kitchen stuff, or used cars. Or report the weather. like he was having a great time. The people responded.
“We are proud, so very proud, to bring you the greaaaaatest Tato match in history!” He was whipping the crowd into a frenzy. The shot on-screen widened out to include another person. A woman. She was as still and intense as the guy was animated and nutty. She stared out at the world with an unwavering glare. Her hair was dark and slicked back so severely, it almost looked like she was bald. Her features were sharp, like a fox’s. Whoever she was, she meant business.
“The match will begin in moments,” she said clearly but with no emotion. “Wagering must be completed by the tone. Do not dally. If you plan to wager, the time is now.”
What an odd couple these two made. The hyperactive nutty guy who looked like he was auditioning for a kids’ TV show, and the intense, glaring woman who was everybody’s nightmare of a strict teacher. Who were these two?
The nutty guy gave me the answer. He sang out another rhyme that went, “The time is now; let’s have some fun; we’re ready for the show. Our games aren’t tame; you know our names, your friends LaBerge and Veego.”
I remembered where I saw the rhyme.
LaBerge and Veego. Veego and LaBerge. These were the guys who sent me that odd rhyming invitation to come to Quillan. I pulled the thick paper out of my back pocket and read it one more time:
Riggedy riggedy white
Come and spend the night
Well play some games
Some wild, some tame
Cause if you will, you might Your hosts on Quillan,
Veego and LaBerge
More importantly, this invitation was in a box that was sent to me through the flume by Saint Dane. Somehow these two wack jobs on the video screen were tied in with the demon Traveler. I needed to know who they were, and what they were all about. My hunt for Saint Dane had officially begun.
Veego said, “LaBerge and I feel this will be an exciting, well-played Tato. Not since the famous match of twelve-oh-six have there been two competitors who are so closely matched.” (She pronounced LaBerge like la-bearj. It sounded French, but there was no such thing as “French” on Quillan. As far as I knew.)
“They are entering the Tato dome now!” LaBerge announced. “Last chance for betting. The action is about to begin!”
The screen flashed white. Veego and LaBerge disappeared and were replaced by an overhead shot of what looked to be a sports court of some kind. It was a big platform in the shape of an octagon, about fifteen yards across. There was a red logo in the center that said tato in the familiar block letters. Or should I call them “blok” letters? I saw five black round domes spaced evenly in a circle on the floor of the court, near the edges. Each looked to be a couple of feet in diameter and about a foot high in the center-like shiny bumps on the floor. They appeared to be made out of dark glass. Finally, there were two squares across from each other that were nothing more than marks on the floor of the court. I guess it goes without saying that this didn’t look like any kind of court I had ever seen.
“Announcing!” came LaBerge’s voice. Music started to build. The excitement was growing. “He is undefeated in six Tato matches and is looking to set the new, unheard-of record of seven straight wins. Citizens of Rune and all Quillan, we present to you, everyone’s favorite… Challenger Green!”
The crowd cheered. A chant of “Green, Green, Green” went up from most of the people gathered on the street. I watched as the contestant stepped up onto the platform and stood in one of the squares. Challenger Green was a guy who looked about my age with long, wavy red hair that fell below his shoulders. He was a big light-skinned guy who looked very much like an athlete. But what I zeroed in on was his shirt. It was bright green with five diagonal black stripes… just like the red shirt I was wearing. Things were starting to come clear. The bald guy at the arcade had called me a “challenger.” He must have thought I was one of the guys who competed at this Tato thing.
It was not a realization that made me particularly happy.
What I saw next made me even less happy.
Veego announced, “Competing against Challenger Green is a newcomer. Though he has never entered the Tato dome, he has so impressed the judges that he has been fast-tracked into this very special match. If Challenger Green is to break the record, it will have to be against the most promising challenger to have ever stepped into the Tato dome. Introducing for the first time here in Rune or anywhere else on Quillan, today’s worthy adversary… Challenger Yellow!”
Rune. What was Rune? Before I had the chance to think too much about it, the guy called “Challenger Yellow” stepped onto the octagon wearing, you guessed it, a yellow jersey with black diagonal stripes. I guess that meant I was Challenger Red. Lucky me. I wondered why exactly these challenger clothes were left for me at the flume. I would much rather have had something bland and inconspicuous, so that I could blend into the territory. I made the decision to ditch this shirt and find some boring old Quillan clothes as soon as possible.