Code Breakers: Beta Read Online Free Page A

undergone a series of new software-enhancements, integrating closer within his unique brain and the secondary neural network.
    The craft shook, pulled Gerry from his philosophical thoughts. His AO streamed with speeds, velocity vectors, temperatures, and heart rate; the latter two spiking.
    He tensed the muscles in his legs, pushing himself back into his seat, his hands gripping the holds attached either side of him and he tried to hide the thoughts of burning up into a fiery ball of death.
    “Hey, Jachz, buddy? Holy hell! Is this normal?” Gerry said.
    The shuttle rocked violently. The temperatures continued to rise.
    “You’re doing fine. Just breathe and relax.”
    “Relax. Yeah, that’s good. Stay calm and relax. Oh hell, I’m going to die in this tub aren’t I? It’s too hot. The shuttle can’t take it, surely.”
    “It’s within tolerances. You’re doing well. You’ll be through it any second now.”
    Gerry’s stomach lurched. He leant forward, vomited into an open vacuum bin, which ensured no particulate remained within the cabin. His head throbbed. His body became damp with panic sweat. But when he raised his head and looked out of the cabin window, there in the distance, the reflective surface of the Dome shined like a welcoming beacon.
    “You’re through, Gerry. Engaging landing protocol.”
    “Well, that’s something I never want to do again,” Gerry said between deep breaths.
    “Apparently you get used to it. Or so I’m told,” Jachz replied. “You can activate your Earth surface protocols now.”
    He referred to Gerry’s new personal scanning and recording systems. Through his optical prosthesis, Amma, Nolan, and the rest of the analysts would see what he sees, then use that information to plan their strategies. The first thing on his agenda, besides finding Petal, was severing that connection—which since his attack was now an easier proposition, though he did wonder if the attack had left him vulnerable.
    Even now, approaching Earth, he still felt a buzz of fear in his mind as if that great black thing had left a part of itself inside his brain.
    The shuttle flew within the Earth’s atmosphere as it sped westwards toward the Dome. A glint of morning sunlight reflected off the surface: a tiny spark on the dawn horizon. With the sun at his back, the shuttle began to slow and dip beneath the clouds.
    For the first time, Gerry got an overview of the devastation. From his altitude he saw great acres of dark land, scorched by the nuclear bombs. Cities lay like children’s building bricks. What used to be farms were now dead, poisoned lands, and rivers moved slowly, filled with radioactive sludge.
    Now over the border between the Empire of China and the Republic of Mongolia, the location of the Dome, he saw how the devastation affected the forests. Although it was June and in the middle of spring, there were still no leaves or greenery. Even now, over forty years since those fatal bombs fell, the nuclear winter still had the seasons within its cold grasp.
    Gerry closed his eyes, not wanting to see anymore of the rubble, or the dead, empty, charred buildings that used to be home to tens of millions of people. He wondered what had happened to all the bodies. Had their bones vaporised and got sucked up into the atmosphere only to rain down later in the fallout? Or were they still there, buried under Steelcrete tombs?
    No matter the circumstances of the war, he found it difficult to side with The Family’s justification for ending it like this. It was more than war they ended , he thought. It was nearly everything . So much loss and grief.
    “Approaching the Dome, Gerry,” Jachz said, breaking Gerry from his thoughts. He was thankful for the interruption. Anger built within him at the scenes below. He reminded himself that finding Petal, if she was still alive, was his number one priority. Anything else would have to come later.
    The Dome loomed large in his shuttle’s windows. It looked