It's My Party

Meanwhile progress was being made in other areas. Madison, Amy and Margaret had completed their boost assignment ten days ago, at the end of the second week of the Bee Park's three week autumn. It was good timing for two reasons. On their last day, the Park's servos were clearly waiting for them to leave so they could do the final autumn harvest.

And Farideh earned her authority as Yellow Mall Janitor the next day. She and the three women from the last boost team took on the mission of searching Yellow Mall's surface area for the last four missing members of Party #6. They had found no one after a week of searching. But interesting discoveries had been made.

In the basement of the administration building at Yellow Brick University, Farideh activated an elevator and linked it with the jump grid. The Society now had quick access to the University from any elevator. A second discovery was made soon afterwards. Just a few meters from the University elevator was simple corridor running north-south, with a trapdoor-sized closet at each end. Exploration revealed they were bidirectional trapdoors leading to small buildings at the precise geographic north and south poles.

So far the polar islands themselves remained unexplored, but the views out the windows there were extraordinary. The sun was just crossing the equator and both poles were in twilight, a cold gray mist at the north pole from a warm ocean, and a south pole full of sparkling ice with the tip of the orange sun orbiting the horizon. In spite of the busy schedules, everyone who had the chance had taken the time to see it. By walking quickly, one could make a complete circuit and examine both poles and be back home within a few minutes.

Toshi and Kiyoko had made a brief inspection of the Bee Park just yesterday. As expected, the Park was at the beginning of its winter slumber, and the storage bins at the small lodge were full of fruits and vegetables. The Society was struggling with the issue of transporting the food and enough honey down to Wobanakik and allowing Jada's team to attempt to boost outside of the Bee Park. The risks were completely unknown. There was no immediate rush, and Jada's opinion was that they should wait.

Time: Sunday, October 3, 2019 8 AM

With a final check of her watch, Jessica began hunting through the numerous little cubbyholes that were imbedded in the artwork along the northern wall of her bathroom. Finding her eight o-clock prize was easy today, and a quick sniff with her nose informed her that her first cookie of the day would taste like bacon and eggs. Not bad at all. Jessica opened her mouth happily and ate half the cookie in a single bite. All the cookies were good, and this one was no exception. Of course, it wasn't her all-time favorite. She only got one of those every other day, a sweet lemony cookie that Jessica would nibble on slowly with her eyes closed.

The setup was so strange, but Jessica in a flash of instinct had decided weeks ago that there was a message buried in the strangeness. She would only get her hourly cookie if she already eaten the previous one, no hoarding allowed. And the food was enough to sustain her but not enough to gain weight. By being diligent, she could get a maximum of eighteen cookies a day, from 8 AM to 11 PM, with the last one having the remarkable ability of leaving her mouth and teeth feeling fresh and clean. . The first part of the message seemed obvious: Stay here and be fed and cared for. The second meaning was deeper: You are not being provisioned to leave. Do not leave the bathroom.

Her third day there, twenty days ago now, Jessica's two food bars stolen from Ricardo were long gone and hunger was driving her to leave her hideout much earlier than she had planned. She wanted to begin exploring and find something to eat.

And then miraculously, a point on the artwork along the northern wall began to sparkle as if the sunlight were hitting a jeweled diamond. Jessica investigated and found what appeared to be a small door that could be pulled up. She thought the discovery odd. In her three days of voluntary confinement, she had studied the artwork very carefully, out of boredom more than anything else. She had not noticed such a door before. Jessica had opened the door and was delighted to find a tasty cookie inside.

She had know been here twenty-three days and still had no immediate plans to leave. She would stay as long as she was fed, at least for another few weeks and perhaps much longer. Jessica would only have one chance to escape with her life. She would not disregard the mysterious benefactor urging her to stay.

And over the last three weeks Jessica had studied the sky with her watch. It was another great mystery, one that made no sense. When she had descended into the museum maze with Ricardo, the world was at its spring equinox, yet when she emerged two days later the world was undeniably in mid summer. And according to her timing of the solar movement, it now seemed as if autumn had started. This was impossible. Planets just don't decide to skip a season. Jessica could come up with nothing as an explanation.

No matter. She was alive and healthy, and every day the memory of her must be growing dimmer in Ricardo's mind. Jessica considered time was on her side. She finished her bacon-and-egg cookie and started her morning exercises. Afterwards she would shower and do the laundry. It didn't really need it, but she felt desperate to accomplish something.

Time: Sunday, October 3, 2019 8:30 AM

Amber and her teammates arrived at the green tower at the time they expected. Further south across the high grass was the eastern end of the massive linear building. The two story structure was about 500 meters away, and it stretched on to the west for a good four kilometers.

These wide open areas and great buildings seemed to be distinctive to Black and White Malls. From the satellite imagery, the other four surface areas were much more cluttered and mazelike and had nothing nearly as large as the diamond complexes. Amber stared at Ricardo's home thoughtfully as Whitney and Kiyoko examined the slipperiness of the slide. It was as Diego had described it, a truly fearsome amusement ride. Amusing that is, if you managed to survive it whole.

The group had a fake discussion about turning back rather than risking the slide, pretending not to know that the maze could not be reversed. And then they prepared for their descent. "Wow," said Whitney, "good thing we brought the suction cup. You were right and I was wrong Amber. It was worth its weight to bring it."

Amber nodded thoughtfully. Mission parameters were to assume their conversations could be picked up by directional microphones once they were in direct line-of-sight of the linear building. And they were right. Ricardo had targeted them with visual and audio scanners moments after their ascent of the pink tower.

"I'm not getting a good suction lock on the walkway," Kiyoko called out. "It pops off about ten seconds after I make the connection."

Amber nodded. "Try using on the perimeter wall."

A few moments later. "Yikes! It won't grip at all. The surface is so smooth, it feels like a hard liquid."

Whitney looked at Kiyoko. "A hard liquid?"

Kiyoko nodded. "I know that's a strange way to put it, but feel it yourself. If you try to push into the wall, it's as hard as glass. But if you move your hand along the wall, it's the slipperiest surface imaginable, just like the slide itself. The suction cup can't get a grip."

"We'll have to do this one at a time," decided Amber. "I think I'm the heaviest, so I'll be the anchor and go last."

"Excuse me great leader," Kiyoko said with a smile, "but it is the lightest person who should go last, and that's me. I'll put the least stress on the suction cup. Whitney and I will be your anchor."

Amber paused and considered. "Yeah, okay, thanks. Lower the backpacks to me after I'm down. And Kiyoko, be careful! On your descent, slide quickly and then kill your speed. Try to cover most of the drop before the suction cup pops."

Kiyoko nodded her understanding and she and Whitney braced themselves. The two of them found they could hold Amber's partial weight easily on the curved incline, and as Amber descended, the tension on the rope quickly disappeared. After that the three backpacks were lowered one by one, and then it was Whitney's turn.

She sent her hiking boots down separately to reduce weight. All three women marveled at the final speed of the boots shooting off the end of the slide. It was a stern reminder that they could suffer a serious injury if they got careless. With the rope extended, Whitney prepared to launch herself down the slide. Kiyoko gave her the nod to go and then pushed the suction cup firmly into the walkway. For the first five seconds, she let the cup take the weight of Whitney on the slide. Then she pulled on the rope hard. Whitney was already a number of meters down and the task was difficult but doable. Kiyoko felt the suction cup pop after another five seconds, right on schedule, but by then Whitney was already out of the danger zone. She made it to the bottom easily.

Kiyoko came next. She rehearsed the motions with her mind and body, plunging the cup to the floor as she moved her body onto the slide. She fell quickly then bore down hard on the rope, feeling the heat from the friction build in her climbing gloves. She was almost halfway down the slide and carrying very little speed with the taut rope suddenly twanged and went limp in her hands. Kiyoko turned and tumbled to the ground, trying to keep her body loose as she bounced and skipped along the smooth grass.

"Kiyoko! Duck!" screamed Amber.

Instinctively Kiyoko buried her head, protecting her face in her arms. An instant later she heard a whoosh and felt a stiff breeze against her upturned ear. Then she heard Amber cry out in anguish, "You're hit! Kiyoko! How bad is it?!"

Kiyoko lifted her head. "Huh? Me? I'm fine." Then she looked south and saw the heavy suction cup many meters away. It had dragged the rope through the grass. "Holy shit," she whispered.

By this time Whitney was by her side. "I can't believe that thing didn't take your head off! It didn't touch you at all?"

Kiyoko shook her head, and then almost said something that would be out-of-character for an innocent expedition. She stopped herself just in time. A few minutes later, all boots and backpacks on, the group continued their journey south.

Flashback to earlier in the morning, the women forming a triple link on the steps of the pink tower.

Whitney was the first one to project a thought. "Amber, what are you trying to hide? You're assuming Fatima will think you're giving us one final chance to chicken out, aren't you? But that's not it. Amber! You're struggling to conceal something!"

"Yes Amber," added the mind of Kiyoko, "I can see your emotions too. You have a some kind of plan but you're hiding the details from us. Why? And please don't be so fatalistic. I can see your determination and willingness for self sacrifice. Tell us what's going on."

Amber returned the mental construct of a shrug. "I'm sorry but I won't answer. I have my reasons. I know I'm asking for a huge amount of trust here. I'm making a slight change to the mission plan." Amber then thought through a set of swift instructions.

"Slight change?!" Kiyoko thought in astonishment. "Amber, are you planning to throw your life away?!"

"If I am, then having you and Whitney with me would only mean three deaths instead of one. I promise, if the door stays open and lets me out, we'll go back to the original agenda and discuss our options tonight with Fatima. Otherwise, my plan makes sense!"

There was a long subjective moment of silence, so brief in objective time an unlinked mind would have sensed it as a mere flash in time. Whitney finally thought, "How can we agree with you if we don't even know what your plan is?"

Kiyoko thought a more strenuous objection. "And don't you remember the reason I'm on this mission? My authority as janitor might trump Ricardo even in his lair. Amber, if you think someone should enter the building, I am the appropriate choice. Tell us the plan and let me take the point."

Amber projected a mental shake of her head. "A valid argument perhaps but I'm the one in change. I choose me." Then she softened her tone somewhat when she realized the distress she was causing her friends. "Kiyoko, and you too Whitney, I appreciate your kindness and your courage, but it has to be me. Ricardo had this thing about me, call it a warped version of puppy love or something, I don't know. But it's there, I'm sure of it. I can feel it when he's with me, and I've got a feeling it's the one thing that might allow us to defeat him." A subjective moment later. "Please?"

"Amber, you're asking us to let you die!" wailed Kiyoko in a return thought.

"I have my reasons. Trust me?" Amber worked to shield her reasons as hard as she could, knowing that if her friends could understand her expectations, they would never agree to her idea. And in love and respect, her thoughts remained hidden. Her friends would not force her mind open. "Okay, let's go!" thought Amber, and she broke the link before the others could frame their replies.

Chapter 99.

Time: Sunday, October 3, 2019 10:30 AM

Amber, Whitney and Kiyoko were almost finished in their inspection of the circumference of the linear building. There were a total of ten doors into the complex, four each on the north and south faces and one each on the short east and west faces. So far all nine of the doors tested had opened easily when probed. The expedition was approaching the tenth door on the eastern face. A quick turn around the corner would bring them back to the building's northern face where they had started their probing two hours ago.

Whitney tested the last door and found it also opened easily. She allowed it to close and then turned to her companions, and in particular to Amber. "I didn't realize how boring this would be. So, what's next great leader? Do we test the next building," she asked gesturing with her arm to the great three-story building to the south, "or head east for a while?"

"Uh, Amber, could rest for a while before we decide?" asked Kiyoko. "We've been on our feet for hours." Which was true. The group by now had walked over twenty kilometers since leaving the Black Mall home complex, and had had very little rest.

The group wound up taking an extended break, snacking on some food and stretching out on the grass outside the eastern door. Today was turning out to be a cool and very pleasant day, a big contrast from yesterday's humid thundershowers. There was a clean dry wind blowing in from the west and the temperature around 15C in the bright morning sunshine. It would be hard to imagine nicer hiking weather.

While Whitney and Kiyoko chatted, Amber got up leaving her backpack by her friends. She casually walked over and put her face against the transparent eastern door, gazing into the room with rapt attention. After a while Whitney called out, "Hey Amber, what's so interesting?"

"I think it's some kind of museum," Amber called back, "The paintings are incredible, old master stuff, really impressive. And the room across the hall contains sculptures. You want to take a look at this?"

"No, not really," Whitney answered with a shrug. She turned away and got out a notepad and began making a rough sketch of the area.

Amber slid the door open again and found a simple latch that would keep the door retracted. She played with the door for a while, letting it slide open and closed several times and testing the sturdiness of the latch. And then seemingly on a whim she stepped inside.

"Hey Amber!" yelled Kiyoko as she stood up. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I just want to see one of the paintings. It's magnificent."

"Amber, what the fuck?! Are you crazy?!" shouted Whitney as she also got to her feet. "Get your butt back out here!"

"This is so beautiful," Amber called back, ignoring their protests. "I know this work of art. It's a full sized reproduction of Monet's Waterlilies, Green Reflections. Come take a look. Look at the colors. It's looks"

"Amber!" yelled Whitney. "We agreed not to enter any buildings! And you call yourself a leader?!"

"Oh, this is safe enough. The door has a latch to keep it open." Amber was now a good ten meters within the room. It was a large and well-lit gallery with numerous displays of fine art. Kiyoko and Whitney were standing just outside the doorway looking very annoyed.

"Amber!" Whitney growled in a warning tone of voice. "This is not what we agreed to."

"I know. Whitney, come in here and see this. You won't be sorry."

"You think I'm crazy too?!"

"The door opens easily. Just take a look at the latch. There's no risk."

"No!"

"Oh, all right." Amber paused. "How about you Kiyoko? This is really worth seeing up close. Whitney can stay outside as a back-up. Come on in."

"Uh, I think I'll pass. Thanks anyway. Amber, you really should come out."

"You don't know what you're missing. Sure I can't change your mind?" Amber let the question hang for a moment and then after a last look at the painting muttered, "Pity." She turned and back to walk towards the open door and called out. "Oh, all right. Let's hit the next building to the south."

She walked calmly to the open exit and got within two meters of it when suddenly the door shot closed so fast it hit the opposite side of the frame with the sound of a pistol shot. All three women recoiled from the bang, and then Amber rushed and began jerking on the door from the inside, trying to open it. Her efforts were completely futile.

"Amber, you dumb fuck!" Whitney screamed.

Kiyoko meanwhile looked on in horror. She and Whitney then tried to open the door from the outside, but their efforts were also fruitless. And the closed door blocked all sound. The women soon realized they had to communicate with hand gestures. Whitney and Kiyoko would carry Amber's backpack and go to another door of the linear building, the closest one was about 700 meters away on the building's southern face. Amber would try to work her way there from the inside. Perhaps she could exit from there. She waved goodbye and walked into an interior corridor of the building. Whitney and Kiyoko picked up all their gear and started hiking south.

Kiyoko seemed surprised that Whitney took the burden of carrying Amber's gear. "You want some help with that?"

"No, I got it," Whitney replied brusquely as the two women began to walk. At the southeast corner of the linear building, Kiyoko turned the corner and continued west, but Whitney held her position. After several steps Kiyoko realized she was alone and she turned around to stare at Whitney. "Why are we stopping?"

"Kiyoko, be realistic. What do you think our chances are for getting Amber out?"

'I don't know. All ten of the doors opened."

"That means nothing. Think of the doors as ten mousetraps. Do you really want to be the next mouse?"

Kiyoko blinked as she heard the question. She then turned and studied the long building with a critical eye. "No, of course not. Stupid Amber! Why did she have to go in?!"

"Yeah, stupid is right, and who's the bigger fool Kiyoko, the fool who goes in, or the fool who follows her?"

Kiyoko paused to consider. "Well, I might push a door open, but I'm certainly not going in."

"Me neither. But do you want to risk getting your hand smashed? Did you see how fast that door closed? How many broken fingers do you want Kiyoko?"