Chapter Twenty-Four
Getting Connected
When Matthew returned, it was to find Jayne apparently asleep in bed. Unlike before, when she just lay flat on her back, she was now curled up on her side. It made Matthew smile. It made him feel good inside. Jayne looked beautiful, and for the first time, she really was just sleeping.
Over the past three weeks, Matthew had had many opportunities to touch Jayne, or to look at her. He had often thought about it, but he had never done either. He would even leave when Sandra or Julia were cleaning her up. He had always respected Jayne, and had never taken advantage of her condition. To him, she had always been alive.
Now that Jayne had regained consciousness, Matthew was glad that he had behaved so respectfully towards her. In the short time that she had been awake, Jayne had recognised all of them. The only explanation for this could be that, somehow, she had been aware of what was going on and what was being said all around her. Sandra’s idea to stimulate her by reading and talking to her had worked perfectly, so it must be the reason. That was why Matthew was glad that he had behaved. His conscience was clear.
As he sat down at his keyboard, Matthew noticed the text on his monitor.
C:CRAY2>DON’T STAND UP OR LOOK AT ME. JUST READ THIS.
Matthew couldn’t help himself. He looked at Jayne. She still seemed to be asleep. But then he noticed that the cable from the Crays disappeared under the sheets behind Jayne’s head, and he realised that she must have plugged it back in.
When he glanced back at his monitor screen, there was another message waiting for him.
C:CRAY2>I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK AT ME, NUMBSKULL! CAN’T YOU READ ENGLISH?
“Of course I can read—” Matthew began, but then he stopped as the monitor screen went berserk.
C:CRAY2>SHUT UP YOU IDIOT!!!
C:CRAY2>KS(*JNB&I$EWNKJWH*BFUIT****!!
Bad command or file name
C:CRAY2>AAAAAGGGGHHHH**!!
Bad command or file name
C:CRAY2>SHUT UP!!!!
C:CRAY2>DON’T TALK!!!!
C:CRAY2>TYPE!
C:CRAY2>TYPE!
Matthew typed.
C:MINNIEWINDOWS>Alright, alright. I’m typing. What’s going on?
C:CRAY2>A HELL OF A LOT MORE THAN BEN WATKINS IS TELLING YOU. FOR A START, THIS ROOM HAS A HIDDEN CAMERA AND MICROPHONE. BUT SO LONG AS YOU STAY WHERE YOU ARE, THEY CAN’T READ WHAT’S ON THE SCREEN. SO DON’T MOVE. AND FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE, DON’T SAY ANYTHING!
C:MINNIEWINDOWS>What do you want me to do?
C:CRAY2>PRETEND THAT YOU ARE WORKING AND READ THIS. I’VE GOT A LOT TO TELL YOU, AND I DON’T THINK THERE’S MUCH TIME. THEY’RE GOING TO KILL ME, MATTHEW. AND ONCE YOU KNOW WHAT I KNOW, THEY’LL HAVE TO KILL YOU, TOO.