The Game Read Online Free Page B

Yes?”
    “ Singleton here. Sir, it’s
time.”
    There is a pause on the other end of the line.
Then, “You’re not giving us much time to prepare.”
    “ With all due respect, sir. We knew
it would be this way.”
    “ Yes, yes. You’re right. How much
time do we have?”
    “ The boy’s in the space simulator
now. Possibly thirty minutes before he ventures to the other one. I
can maybe stall another ten minutes by reducing the upload
bandwidth.”
    “ Give us as much time as you
can.”
    “ Yes, sir.”
* * *
    General Davis Potter hangs up the phone and
steels his gaze across the faces of the other four people in the
room. His eyes settle on her, the only female. He asks, “You ready,
Georgia?”
    Her shoulders straighten involuntarily. “Yes,
sir.”
    “ Well, wake it up and get it to the
practice range.”
    Georgia storms from the room. The nerve of
him, calling him it. Doesn’t Potter realize, this was once a
man—that he fought for this country—that he gave his life for this country? That he once had a name! He still has a
name.
    She turns corner after corner through the maze
of corridors then finally enters a door marked Research and
Development – Advanced Weaponry . She swipes her clearance badge
through the card reader then presses her thumb to the lock. Once
identified, the security software automatically unlocks the steel
door, granting her access to the rooms within.
    Several coworkers look up at the sound of her
entrance. She stops in the center of the room, drawing the
attention of those present. “Okay everyone, it’s time.” She crosses
to the far wall and runs her hand over the glass-faced cylinder.
Floating inside is a human body; a man, a soldier, once named
Robert Daley. The official word is that Robert Daley died in
combat, but that isn’t entirely true. His body suffered traumatic
injuries, and once on life support, medics were able to sustain his
brain and vital organs even though he would never wake from the
coma.
    Unfortunately, for him, his condition was
perfect for this experiment. The reason she though it unfortunate
is because, somehow, she knows that somewhere inside that shell,
Rob Daley is still conscious, still aware of what is happening to
him—despite what the military doctors say.
    She caresses the glass, expecting his eyes to
open and look out at her. She should feel repulsed by the sight
within—an abomination of flesh, metal, silicone, and computer.
Where he once had a left arm and leg, there’s now a steel framed
skeleton with fiber optic nerves hardwired to the spinal column.
Looking at him reminds her of movies she saw as a child, where
half-man, half-robot police chase down bad guys and bring them to
justice in their own brutal way. The science fiction of it all
excited and amazed her, but now, the scientific fact turns her
stomach.
    Why couldn’t they just let him die—die a
hero?
    She whispers, “I’m sorry, Robert Daley.” Her
trailing fingers leave a hazy streak on the polished glass. She
turns to a computer console and proceeds to input a series of
commands, knowing that General Potter would be watching her from
one of the many security cameras placed about the room.
    The liquid in the tube begins to drain as
another coworker, Harold, approaches. He pushes a hospital gurney
and leaves it parked next to the cylinder.
    Georgia enters a final command, presses enter,
and steps back while the software finishes uploading into the
microprocessors embedded in Rob’s skull.
    “ What now?” Harold asks.
    “ The software should finish booting
up in a couple of minutes. Then we get him on the gurney and to the
simulation area.” The computer chimes. “Okay, let’s get him out of
there.”
    She flips a switch on the side of the container
and the glass cover slides open. Georgia reaches in and unplugs a
cable from behind Rob’s left ear. Harold signals to a couple of
other men and together, they lift Rob out of his glass cocoon and
onto the waiting