Patricians: Power Politics (2 of 9)

Chapter 44: Breaking Loose

Cresting the horizon, the morning sun flittered through the cracks in the shutters of the safe house. Chaos and his team were sleeping in the old living room, now converted into a barracks. Everyone was still sleeping except Zero, who had been watching over Julia throughout the night. The digital environment's programming had eroded to the point where the program couldn't sustain it much longer. Zero had never seen anything like this, and had struggled through the night to keep the program running. The longer the program ran, the more Julia's mind took control over it.

Exhaustion from the long weeks spent watching the program had worn Zero down. Caffeine had long since lost its effect. More powerful stimulants were required to keep Zero alert. Chaos had acquired some drugs that would help keep his friend awake, but he kept them under lock and key. Leaving the room for a moment, Zero went to see his commander. Sleep deprivation caused the man to stumble down the hall towards the converted living room. Stumbling past a window there was no motion outside of the house, and thermal optical camouflage ensured the man outside wouldn't be seen.

Achilles had located the house. There was no sign of motion outside. Several cameras were hidden outside the building to detect someone's approach. Hacking into the camera feed, Achilles neutralized the first warning system. The secondary detection systems were a set of motion sensors placed on the door and windows. Only a well-trained eye would be capable of spotting the hidden devices. Achilles pulled out a micro-electromagnetic pulse gun he carried for these situations.

Small devices like motion detectors often didn't have any electromagnetic shielding. Taking aim, Achilles locked on the device and fried it. One after the other, the motion detectors stopped working. Scanning the perimeter, Achilles detected no other wireless transmission. Everything was still quiet in the house for the moment. Time was of the essence, and, so, Achilles moved towards the door. Turning the handle, he saw the last line of defense. A simple lock was now all that stood between Achilles and the Wolf Pack holding Julia. He knew that he had to find Julia fast, and he still had no clue where she was located in the house.

Lying in the tank Julia was asleep and unattended. The monitors showed her in the digital world. Over the last few days, Julia had become aware of the digital world. Everything in the fake environment became whatever the woman wanted. With a thought, Julia could change the colour of the walls and even reshape the entire environment. Zero's presence in the digital world had left a specific tracer behind it. Recognizing that tracer allowed Julia the freedom to manipulate.

Today would be different from all the other days. Julia didn't need to test the environment or her control over it anymore. Now that Zero had signed out of the system, the opportunity to escape presented itself. Focusing all thoughts on escape, Julia began to manipulate her environment. Walls fell away and the ground shook. It was like waking from a bad dream. Julia had brief flashes of the tank she was in amidst the decaying digital prison. Each of her thoughts tore away the illusion of the digital world. Everything bent to Julia's force of will. Her thoughts echoed across the digital world with the force of a nuclear explosion. Thrashing inside the sealed tube, Julia struggled to awaken fully from the digital dream world.

Ground gave way and the lights of the digital world faded. Inside the tank, Julia awoke with a startle. Trapped by the glass tube, it prevented any escape. Julia couldn't overpower the real world with her thoughts. Machines beeped around the tube. Hearing the beeps gave Julia a new idea.

Her neural implants were connected to the machines. Accessing the machine, Julia ripped through the code, trying to find a way to escape. There had to be some kind of emergency release command buried somewhere in the databanks of the system. Time pressed Julia, and she knew Zero would return soon. The instinct to escape took over the woman's thoughts and focused her efforts. Julia didn't find the command to escape, but, instead, triggered a fire alert.