‘It’s just a simulation. A film crew spent months filming all around this town for Mum and the VIMS project. Mum’s team wanted to test VIMS’ responses to various different situations without really exposing him to the world outside.’
‘But we just saw VIMS go into Matt’s garden,’ Liam protested. ‘I saw him empty the bin and throw the potted plant through the window.’
‘It wasn’t real. VIMS uses the stock footage of the town and then reprograms the images based on what you ask him to do.’
Liam still looked sceptical.
‘I’m telling you that none of it was real,’ I said, exasperated. ‘That’s why it’s called virtual reality, not actual reality. I’m not too sure how all the ins and outs of it work, but believe me, when VIMS is in simulation mode he can do anything without moving outside the testing area at Mum’s work place. Besides, is it likely that I’d really do that to Matt’s house? Would I really get VIMS to throw things through the window? Someone could get hurt.’
Liam scrutinized me. He was trying to decide whether or not I was on another of my wind-ups! But not this time. This time I was totally serious. I think it was my last argument that finally won Liam over. His expression cleared and he turned back to the screen.
‘Can VIMS really do all that – in a simulation?’ Liam whistled.
I nodded.
‘So it wasn’t real?’
‘None of it. Although I must admit, part of me would like to see Matt get what’s coming to him,’ I couldn’t help adding.
‘It’s quite good,’ Liam stated.
Which, coming from him, was high praise indeed.
‘Honestly! As if I’d do a thing like that.’ My smile faded.
In fact, the more I thought about what he’d just believed, the more annoyed I got. When I came to think about it, it wasn’t very flattering. Did Liam really believe that I’d do something so destructive, so vindictive? Matt had provoked me enough but I wasn’t about to retaliate like that.
‘I think you should pack the whole thing up now, before your mum comes home or we get caught, or break something,’ Liam said at last. ‘It’s very good, but let’s call it a day.’
‘OK.’ I shut down the system and pulled off the VR glove. ‘You must admit though, it was fun. I mean, imagining that it was all for real – it was fun.’
Liam gave a slow smile. ‘I guess so.’
‘As they say, revenge is sweet but revenge with VIMS’ help is pure strawberries and ice cream!’
The phone rang.
Liam left the room first, with me bringing up the rear. I think to be honest that Liam was glad to leave the room. It was a lot to take in all at once. He kept glancing back over his shoulder as if he still couldn’t quite believe that what he’d just seen wasn’t in the slightest bit real. When we got downstairs, I picked up the phone.
‘Dominic, is that you?’
‘Hi, Pops.’ I grinned at the phone in my hand. Strange how just hearing my granddad’s voice always made me smile. ‘How’re you? When are we going to see you next?’
‘Where have you been? Jack and I have been phoning all afternoon.’ There was no answering smile in Granddad’s voice. In fact it was just the opposite.
My heart lurched in my chest. Something was wrong. ‘What’s the matter, Pops?’
‘It’s your mum,’ Pops replied grimly. ‘There’s been an accident.’
Chapter Eleven
Out of Control
LIAM INSISTED ON staying with me until Pops came to pick me up and take me to the hospital. I sat on the second-to-last stair, staring at the front door and willing Pops to arrive.
‘You don’t have to do this. I’m OK,’ I told Liam, more than once.
‘I know that,’ he replied. ‘But I want to do it. Didn’t your granddad give you any clue about what happened to your mum?’
‘I’ve already told you everything he said,’ I snapped. ‘Mum was giving a demo of VIMS this morning and there was an accident and she was knocked unconscious.’
‘But what kind of accident?’
I opened my mouth to rant at him, only to snap it shut a moment later without saying a word. He was just concerned about Mum and it would be really out of order to take out my anxiety on him.
‘Liam,’ I began when I could trust myself to speak without biting his head clean off, ‘I’ve played you the phone messages Jack and Pops left on the answering machine and I’ve told you what Pops said to me over the phone. You know as much as I do now.’
Liam nodded slowly. ‘I know, it’s just that …’
He didn’t say any more. Nor did he have to. I knew what he meant. Jack and Pops had both been deliberately unspecific when they phoned. Jack had only said that Mum was in hospital and I was to phone him on his mobile the moment I got his messages. Pops had said pretty much the same thing – except to add at the end of each of his messages how much he hated talking to bloomin’ answering machines!
After what seemed like years, the door bell finally rang. I flew up and flung the door open. I gave a start of surprise. It wasn’t Pops. It was Julie Resnick, Mum’s boss. I stood blinking at her like a stunned owl.
‘Hello, Dominic. Can I come in?’
‘D’you know what’s happened to Mum?’ I asked. ‘Can I come in?’ Julie repeated.
‘Yes, of course.’ I stepped aside, allowing her to enter the hall.
‘So what happened?’ I said impatiently.
‘D’you want to sit down?’ Julie asked me.
No, I didn’t want to sit down, or dance around, or stand on my head. I just wished she’d get on with it.
‘I want you to prepare yourself,’ Julie said grimly. ‘Your mum’s invention, the VIMS unit, went haywire again, only this time it knocked your mum off the stage she was on.’
‘The stage?’
‘The demonstration to the board of directors was taking place in a conference hall with a small stage. Your mum wanted to demonstrate VIMS’ capabilities and to show the board a film of what she and her team have been up to over the last year.’
‘And VIMS knocked her off the stage?’ I couldn’t take it all in.
‘It went haywire and started lashing out in all directions. Your mum moved in to stop it and it hit her across the chest, knocking her off the stage,’ Julie told me straight.
The door bell rang again. I opened it. This time it was Pops.
‘I’m sorry it took me so long to get here,’ Pops apologized at once. ‘The traffic was a nightmare. Come on, let’s go to the hospital.’
‘Is Jack still with her?’ I asked.
‘As far as I know,’ Pops replied.
Liam trooped out of the house ahead of us.
‘Dominic, phone me first thing tomorrow and let me know how your mum is doing, OK?’ Liam said.
I nodded.
I grabbed my coat and was about to make my way out the door after Liam when I realized that Julie was still in the house.
‘Can I help you?’ Pops asked politely.
‘I’m Julie Resnick, Carol’s boss,’ Julie explained to Pops.
‘Ah yes. You phoned me earlier,’ Pops nodded.
‘That’s right. I hope you don’t mind but I just came to make sure that Dominic was all right.’
‘He’s fine.’ Pops frowned. ‘We’re both going to the hospital now.’
‘Oh … er … I thought I might check through some of your daughter’s programs and documents on VIMS whilst I was here …’ said Julie.
Pops’ look of astonishment rapidly turned to icy anger. He drew himself up to his full height and looked Julie straight in the eye.
‘My daughter is in hospital and she’s injured, not dead. There’s no need to collect up all her belongings quite yet.’
‘Oh, I didn’t mean to … Of course not,’ Julie stammered in her effort to placate Pops. ‘I’ll go. This is the wrong time to … I’ll go.’
‘I’d appreciate it,’ Pops told her, frost dripping from every word.
&
nbsp; Julie glanced behind her and up our stairs, before she sidled past Pops to leave the house.
Liam stepped aside on the garden path to let her get past. No one spoke until Julie was in her car and driving away. I took a glance at Pops then. A muscle in his cheek just under his eye was doing the samba. I’d only ever seen that particular muscle dance like that once before – when, ages ago, Pops took me to the park and some other boys had made fun of my limp.
‘Let’s go,’ Pops said gruffly.
‘Let me know how she is – OK?’ Liam said.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
All the way to the hospital, neither Pops nor I spoke. Pops doesn’t like to talk and drive at the same time and I wasn’t in the mood to speak anyway. It took ages to get to the hospital. Pops drives at least ten miles below the speed limit. He calls it ‘safe driving’, but judging by the dirty looks we kept getting I don’t think the drivers around us would’ve agreed.
At last we reached the hospital. After a lot of wandering about, trying to find out where Mum was, we at last reached her ward. Mum was in a side room and we’d barely been told the number before I was running towards it and flinging open the door. And I got the shock of my life. Mum’s head was swathed in bandages and she was linked up to a monitor beside her bed. And yet with all this stuff around her, Mum’s eyes were closed, as if she was sleeping. That’s the part that really scared me. She looked so peaceful, as if she was above and beyond everything going on around her. I stood in the doorway, watching her. My throat started to hurt and I had to swallow quite a few times before it stopped.
‘Dominic, are you going to hover in the hall all night?’ Pops said irritably.
Slowly I walked into the room, followed by Pops. Only when I was fully in the room did I see Jack. He was sitting slumped on a chair in the corner of the room. And his eyes were puffy and red.
‘Is Mum going to be all right?’ I whispered.
Jack shrugged. ‘The doctors don’t know yet. Apparently the next few hours are going to be crucial.’
‘What exactly is the matter with her?’
‘Concussion, severe bruising and a broken rib. The rib punctured her right lung but that’s OK now.’
I blinked stupidly at the catalogue of injuries VIMS had inflicted on my mum. ‘Where is VIMS now?’
‘Back in the testing area at Desica,’ Jack said.
‘I hope that dangerous bag of bolts is going to be dismantled,’ Pops said furiously, ‘before it can harm anyone else.’
‘We’re still discussing that,’ Jack said sombrely.
‘But you can’t do that. Mum would hate it.’ The words exploded from me before I even realized what I was going to say. I, of all people, should’ve been happy about the prospect of VIMS being dismantled, but instead I was horrified. VIMS was Mum’s life work. VIMS was Mum’s dream.
‘I’m sorry your mum ever started working on VIMS,’ Jack said bitterly. ‘I’m sorry I ever heard of the thing. I’m sorry … I’m sorry …’
And this is going to sound really mushy, I know, but that’s when I realized just how much Jack loved my mum.
‘It’s not your fault, son,’ Pops said gruffly. ‘According to what that Resnick woman told me earlier, the VIMS machine just went out of control and Carol was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
‘Yes, but I should’ve persuaded Julie and Carol to postpone the demonstration this morning until we’d figured out what was wrong with VIMS. I did try but …’
‘But knowing my daughter, you didn’t get very far.’ Pops sighed.
‘I should’ve tried harder,’ Jack said angrily.
Pops and I looked at each other. We knew Jack was angry with himself, not with us and not with Mum. Jack turned to look at me. It was the first time he’d looked away from Mum since I’d entered the room.
‘Dominic, you can stay for a while and then I’m taking you back home.’
‘Oh, but—’
‘No, buts!’ Jack interrupted. ‘You’ve got school tomorrow.’
‘But, Mum—’
‘Your granddad or I will be here. We’ll make sure that your mum is never alone,’ Jack insisted. ‘I’ll pick you up after school tomorrow and bring you here so you can stay a bit longer.’
I gave up at that. Jack had that ‘I’ve-made-up-my-mind!’ look on his face.
‘Do you really think VIMS will be scrapped?’ I couldn’t help asking.
Jack considered, then nodded slowly. ‘What happened on Saturday was bad enough, but after what happened to your mum this morning …’
‘I see.’ And I did see. As Pops and I each settled into the chairs on either side of Mum’s bed, my mind was working furiously. They couldn’t junk Mum’s project. They just couldn’t. I wouldn’t let that happen. But what could I do? I had to think of something – and fast. Or the past few years of Mum’s life would all have been for nothing.
Chapter Twelve
A Trip to the Seaside
ALL THE WAY home, I tried to think of a way to stop Desica ditching Mum’s project, but it seemed like the harder I tried to come up with an idea, the bigger the headache I was getting – and that’s all.
‘Your mum will be fine, Dominic,’ Jack said gently. ‘I know she will.’
I nodded, but said nothing.
When we got home, Jack insisted that I should have a proper dinner and so we went to the kitchen and started making baked, un-battered fish and fat-free chips. Then Jack set about making a salad. If I hadn’t had other things on my mind, I might’ve complained about all the tastiest bits being left out of the meal! But as it was, VIMS took up every corner, nook and cranny of each thought that wasn’t wrapped around Mum. If only she wasn’t unconscious. Even from a hospital bed, I was sure that Mum could’ve persuaded Julie and everyone else to leave VIMS alone – at least until she was back on her feet again. But Mum couldn’t argue her case. So I had to buy her some time until she could. But how? How?
I picked at my meal whilst Jack sat with a piece of fish poised on his fork for over five minutes as he stared into space.
‘Jack, are you all right?’
He didn’t answer. I don’t think he even heard me.
‘Jack …?’
‘Sorry. Yes? What?’
‘Are you OK?’
‘Yes. Yes.’ Jack waved a dismissive hand in my general direction.
‘What d’you think about VIMS being dismantled?’ I asked.
‘Your mum won’t like it. But maybe it’s the best thing.’ To say that Jack’s answer surprised me would be an understatement.
‘What d’you mean?’
‘I don’t want your mum to be hurt any more.’
‘Can’t you fix it?’
‘Some things can’t be fixed.’
‘But have you tried?’
Jack sighed and dropped his fork back onto his plate. ‘Dominic, can we just leave it for tonight? I’m not in a very talkative mood.’
‘I’m sorry.’ I bowed my head. ‘I think … I’ll go to bed now.’
‘OK. Leave your plate. I’ll tidy everything away.’
After a final goodnight, I left Jack to it. In all the years I’d known him, I can’t remember ever seeing him look so miserable.
Half an hour later, I’d cleaned my teeth and changed into my pyjamas. The house was deathly quiet. I wondered what Jack was doing. I couldn’t hear a sound from downstairs. I lay in bed, determined not to fall asleep until I had thought of a way to stop Julie and Desica from dismantling Mum’s project. If only my eyelids didn’t feel quite so heavy …
The morning sun streamed through my window and onto my face. It woke me up. And it was as if it was trying to drum an idea into my head. I know that sounds fanciful, but the moment I opened my eyes, I knew what I had to do. Just like that. I had a quick shower and went in search of Jack. Surprise, surprise! He’d already beetled off to the hospital. He’d left a note on the front door.
Hi Dominic,
I’m sor
ry to disappear so early but I wanted to be with your mum. You can get yourself some cereal. The milk is in the fridge and the cereal is in the cereal cupboard! (I can imagine your expression on reading the above!) I’ll phone you later. After breakfast, you’re to go straight to school and then come straight home again. Either I or your granddad will come to pick you up and drive you to the hospital. Avoid mischief and stay out of trouble!
Love, Jack.
P.S. And before you get in a huff and mumble about me not being your dad yet, let me tell you that ever since Carol and I started going out together, I’ve always thought of you as my son.
He really did know me well. I was just thinking that very thing – about him bossing me around and not being my dad yet – and here he’d written it down. I smiled and took the note down off the door. With Jack out of the way that left me free to carry out my plan.
I went into Mum’s work room and linked up to the VIMS unit. I didn’t make one single mistake. I was a boy on a mission. When at last the monitor screen flickered into life, I got straight down to it.
‘VIMS, this is Dominic Painter, Carol Painter’s son and I want you to listen carefully. VIMS, I want you to leave the Desica building – low mode, maximum stealth, silent running – and I want you to make your way due south to Bailey’s Point. VIMS, are you water-proof?’
‘I am designed for mountainous, desert, land and submarine operations,’ VIMS’ monotone informed me.
After a quick think about it, I decided that submarine meant underwater, so he was.
‘VIMS, do you have a internal map of how to get to Bailey’s Point?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good. Then here’s what I want you to do. VIMS, when you get to Bailey’s Point, I want you to roll down the beach, making sure that no one sees you of course, and I want you to hide in the sea. VIMS, make sure you’re completely covered by sea water and you’re to wait in the sea until I give you further instructions. Is that clear?’
‘I understand,’ VIMS replied.
‘VIMS, you’re not to take orders from anyone else but me – OK? I’ll give you a password. VIMS, the password is …’ I racked my brains for a really good one. ‘The password is “Have you heard the one about the painter, the decorator and the window cleaner?” Do you understand?’