A voice rings out from the balcony above and behind my hiding place under a seat, “Alright, what do I have to do to win this prize, girl?” A chorus chimes in chaotically and I make out a few more voices shouting out:
“Gimme back my fishing rod!”
“You aren’t the boss of me!”
“Why did you kidnap me?”
I watch as the girl on stage sighs dramatically before the cacophony. Her arm pulls back behind the curtain, and then she flings open her concealment. I can’t help but gasp as I see she has a green glow outlining her, like the seagulls did. Could she be a human Holo? Is that even possible!? Maybe it’s a trick with the lights?
She stamps her foot on the stage where it echoes into the stadium, “Everybody, shut up and listen for a second! OK?” Now we all get a good look at her. She looks Asian, with the left side of her hair a lustrous black and the right side a green like leaves in spring. I haven’t heard of anyone with naturally green hair like that even among genies, or genetically modified humans.
The next thing I notice is her ridiculously long sword sheathed at her back behind her. The sheath has a slight curve to it making me think it’s designed to slash. She’s shorter than I am. How can she even swing that thing let alone reach the hilt? No genetic modifications would be enough to confound physics that deeply. Maybe the sword is like a Holo and it’s lighter than it looks? Once again making me wonder…what is she?
My thoughts quickly move as I notice my brother cheerfully waving behind her. He looks healthy. Happy even. He usually doesn’t adjust to change well. Juan’s ‘acquaintances’ are sitting in a cage of green light at the back of the stage. They seem disgruntled but unharmed.
The Holo girl claps and says, “First I want to apologize. I am sorry. I did not realize how traumatic summoning everyone here would be. I gave the Holos commands to get people here and well…I did not imagine they would kidnap you. My thoughts are not as clear as they used to be. However, I will make it up to you! I want to change the world. If you help me test out my ideas, you can receive a prize! And, of course, you will receive anything the Holos took, like that fishing rod, Jim.” She claps her hands, the lights shut off again, and a glowing raven lands on the balcony. It opens its mouth to project a Hologram onto the stage.
Now is my chance to move while she’s distracted by the new arrivals. I don’t trust this glowing girl for a second. Too many things aren’t adding up, and I need to send a message to Sojourn as soon as possible. I’ve got maybe three hours before reinforcements arrive. But most important is getting my brother back. I weigh whether I should retreat now or save my brother. It’s easy.
I choose my brother.
I rationalize it by thinking it will double our chances of one of us making it out to send a message. Yup. Totally rational to dive deeper into the belly of the beast.
I continue my army crawl between the rows of seats. Occasionally my arm bumps against something sticky under the seats. I guess the birds didn’t care to clean anything out of sight. Typical bird brains.
I focus purely on stealth. Every inch of progress measured and tested. I only catch a little of the glowing girl’s speech. Phrases like, “crypto currency economics”, “alpha testing”, and “reprogramming Holos” catch my ear as I inch ever closer to the stage. I think I hear someone in the audience snoring a few seats to my left.
It feels like hours have passed as I reach the stairs at the stage’s left side. I wonder if I can make my way behind the curtains when a spotlight blinds me.
“Our first alpha tester has arrived!”
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