[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.The walls were adorned with a staggering series of holographic vistas that took Anji’s breath away.They appeared to be computer-animated graphics of mountain ranges and stunning lakes.All of them had perfect clear blue skies and wonderful sunny days, with wispy clouds and occasional birds the only reminders that they were actually animated at all.She headed past a series of elevators towards a pair of impressively large doors at the far end of the hall.Pressing her head up to the doors, she could hear only silence beyond, so she tried one of the handles and found the door to be open.It swung ajar and she discovered a further huge room, this time with a giant table dominating the centre.The décor was strangely discomforting: grey walls laced with white lines that appeared to deliberately mimic an immense spider’s web.Around the table were dotted numerous padded seats that reminded Anji of those she’d sat in around innumerable boardroom tables.And slung over the back of one of the seats was a scruffy-looking bottle-green coat.Dashing over, she picked up the coat to see instantly that it was mud-spattered and stained with dark patches that might well have been blood.There were a few items scattered nearby on the table.A yo-yo, monocle and a crumpled little white bag of sweets.Snatching the assorted bits, she began stuffing them back into the coat.So.He’d been here.But where was he now?As she was refilling the pockets she noticed the marks on the floor and gasped.The carpet was a dark beige colour so it was difficult to be sure, but the marks appeared to be blood.And they were sprayed in various patterns around the chair that had contained the Doctor’s coat.The lights dimmed unexpectedly.There was motion nearby.One of the children waving its arms.She saw it for an instant –Then the voices hit her.And the hysteria.A shock sensation that came from nowhere to consume her entirely.As blackness zoomed in she had the impression of muttering whispered voices and a kind of searing dread that made her fingers tingle –The lights began to flicker and Leung checked the monitor to find the man in the cell suddenly jumping to his feet.The monitor was dying with the lights, 164Dark Progenyfluttering on and off and filling with flashes of static.Punching the keyboard to initiate a systems analysis, Leung watched the cell while he waited for the results.The prisoner was staring at the door.Or maybe at something in front of the door, although there was nothing there to see.He seemed frozen for a moment, then a ball of furious motion, slamming his fists against the door.The room was filled with the banging, as if Leung were sitting inside a gigantic bell.It made the hairs stand up on the back of his neck.That and the lights dancing crazily.The cell door was shuddering under the prisoner’s repeated impact, and Leung could hear his muffled voice yelling and screaming.Trying to bring the sound online, Leung was shocked by the hissing static that resulted.Trying to cancel the sound, Leung found it impossible.The noise rose to a swift crescendo, forcing him to cover his ears.As he gritted his teeth against the onslaught he could swear for a moment that the static was actually thousands of sinister whispering voices –Veta was screaming, hands to her head.She was staring wide-eyed into the middle of the empty room and Josef could do nothing to calm her.In blind panic he shook her, then found her eyes full of so much emotion he couldn’t begin to read it.‘What’s wrong?’‘Didn’t you see him?’‘See who?’‘Oh my God!’‘What is it?’‘ No! ’ she cried, collapsing in tears.He took her in his arms but she pushed him away, glaring at him in terror and desperation.‘They killed him,’ she gasped in disbelief.‘Oh my God, they killed him.’Part FourYe fathers, provoke not your children to wrath.– Ephesians ch.6, v.4Voices.Muttering.In the black.Voices she knew and yet they were strange.They curled through the dark inside her head, growing closer and louder and far more distinct.Her eyes flicked open and Anji was momentarily fazed to find herself on the floor, face pressed against the blood-spattered carpet.Her brain felt thick and muzzy, thoughts misfiring like her dad’s old car.The room around her was also misfiring, flickering dull and bright in a commotion of light.The voices in her head mingled with the voices outside as she clambered to her feet and gazed about in confusion.There were people approaching.Very near.Two men arguing.No escape.Nowhere to hide.She was going to be found.Blood on the carpet.The Doctor’s coat.Fast getting closer and nowhere to run –Tyran swept open the door and waved Domecq inside.‘Take a seat,’ he offered, indicating the desk vaguely while he rushed over and tried his comp.The WorldCorp logo fizzed into the air above the desk, distorting and fading but just about managing to remain recognisable.Tyran explored the controls, using the comp to connect to Comp Maintenance.The logo was replaced by a human head that wavered and sparked with little blasts of light.‘Mr Tyran!’ the head said, its voice cracking and spitting.‘What the hell’s going on?’ Tyran demanded.The head shook and shimmered.‘Same as before, sir, only worse.The whole substructure of the comp system seems to be collaps-’ The voice and head dissolved and returned.‘.monitoring and repairing as fast as we can but it’s difficult to keep up with the damage.It’s accelerating faster than we can –’The head snapped out of existence and Tyran scowled at Domecq, who sat with infuriating insouciance on the other side of the desk.‘See?’ Tyran appealed.‘We have to act now!’‘There are larger issues at stake here than building a planet.’166167‘There is no larger issue than building a planet,’ Tyran almost yelled.‘We need this world.The situation on Earth’s getting severe –’‘No doubt the strain on WorldCorp’s finances is also getting severe –’Tyran regarded Domecq with subdued fury.The man sat there with his arm hooked over the back of his chair looking smug and conceited.The failing light made him look like a fading hologram, and no doubt he felt he was just as untouchable.‘Don’t play games with me, Dr Domecq.’Domecq returned his stare with equanimity.‘Don’t play politics with me, Mr Tyran.’Gritting his teeth, Tyran forced the scrambling demons back down inside.He’d felt increasingly exasperated by Domecq’s attitude since the man arrived [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]