technician brats. Figured.
The footsteps retreated, each beat echoing in my head.
Dane’s father was one of the prisoners. It changed things, broke my defenses, and set my mother’s voice screaming in my ears.
Windsong needs you.
I needed to get off of Garam and back to Thanda, fast.
There had to be a way, and I redoubled my efforts to fi nd something useful on the network. Every planet had routes to speedy wealth—one of the few consistencies in the system.
Those routes were always risky, but so was sticking around a day longer than I had to.
I found plenty of games of chance that seemed popular, but I didn’t know enough about them to work the odds in a gamble.
The same went for some skill-based competitions I came across.
Maybe I could succeed at one, but I didn’t have time to learn the rules and get that good.
I needed something quick, something I could pull off.
Something obvious.
By the time Brand and Tobias returned to escort us to our room, I’d fi gured the answer. One other thing was common to all the planets: everyone loved watching two people try to beat each other senseless.
92
R.C. ll E WI S
“What would it take to set me up for a fi ght?” Dane whipped around to stare at me. “A what?”
“I’m not talking to you,” I retorted.
Brand stepped in. “I hardly think that’s the kind of thing—”
“I have a winning record in the Thandan fi ght circuit. Go on and check their networks, you’ll see. Fight winnings will pay off the repairs a lot faster than patching broken components.”
“Then I’ll do the fi ghting,” Dane said.
“My idea, my fi ght.” Besides, getting the winnings in my name would make escaping that much easier.
Even with Dane arguing, Tobias didn’t take his eyes off me.
He was looking at me like the men on Thanda did when they were certain a risky bet would pay off big. I wondered how he’d feel if I took him out for a warm-up spur right then.
“With all due respect, Dane, watching a trained Candaran fi ght won’t bring in the credits she will. A girl who bested Thanda’s mining brutes will be an incredible draw.”
“She’s never used VT.”
“You keep telling us how smart she is. I’m sure she’ll catch on.”
Dane opened his mouth to argue more, but I cut him off.
I’d seen VT mentioned on the network, but no defi nition.
“What’s VT?”
“Virtual-tech,” Tobias explained. “Fighters engage through our computer network, the audience watches, and no one has to leave their colony.”
It didn’t sound any worse than the cage fi ghts I was used to. Possibly better.
That didn’t explain why Dane looked so unhappy about it.
93
S T I T C H I N G S N O W
Brand and Tobias took us by a VT facility to let me try out the technology. It was complicated, involving neural transmitters and kinetic sensors, redirecting the signals from my brain to the computer. I couldn’t begin to guess how it all worked. They got me hooked up and ran a demonstration.
It felt real.
The rational part of my brain knew I was in a small room full of equipment, unmoving in a reclined chair, but every other part was convinced I was walking along a cliff overlooking an ocean. Salt wafted on the breeze tickling my skin, and the sun made me squint just a little. As I explored, I stubbed my toe on a large rock. That felt real, too.
It was amazing. My brain responded to the signals the computer sent, and the simulation responded to my brain’s own signals. I could fi ght like this.
Tobias turned off the simulation and disconnected the equipment. “So, are you in?”
I answered before Dane could. “Defi nitely.”
“All right, we’ll arrange a fi ght for sometime tomorrow and see how many credits you rack up. If you’re as good as you say, I might consider sponsoring you into the professional circuit.
There are a lot more credits to be won that way.” And be your pet fi ghting Thandan? Not likely.
I kept my mouth shut as I followed the others out.
The footsteps retreated, each beat echoing in my head.
Dane’s father was one of the prisoners. It changed things, broke my defenses, and set my mother’s voice screaming in my ears.
Windsong needs you.
I needed to get off of Garam and back to Thanda, fast.
There had to be a way, and I redoubled my efforts to fi nd something useful on the network. Every planet had routes to speedy wealth—one of the few consistencies in the system.
Those routes were always risky, but so was sticking around a day longer than I had to.
I found plenty of games of chance that seemed popular, but I didn’t know enough about them to work the odds in a gamble.
The same went for some skill-based competitions I came across.
Maybe I could succeed at one, but I didn’t have time to learn the rules and get that good.
I needed something quick, something I could pull off.
Something obvious.
By the time Brand and Tobias returned to escort us to our room, I’d fi gured the answer. One other thing was common to all the planets: everyone loved watching two people try to beat each other senseless.
92
R.C. ll E WI S
“What would it take to set me up for a fi ght?” Dane whipped around to stare at me. “A what?”
“I’m not talking to you,” I retorted.
Brand stepped in. “I hardly think that’s the kind of thing—”
“I have a winning record in the Thandan fi ght circuit. Go on and check their networks, you’ll see. Fight winnings will pay off the repairs a lot faster than patching broken components.”
“Then I’ll do the fi ghting,” Dane said.
“My idea, my fi ght.” Besides, getting the winnings in my name would make escaping that much easier.
Even with Dane arguing, Tobias didn’t take his eyes off me.
He was looking at me like the men on Thanda did when they were certain a risky bet would pay off big. I wondered how he’d feel if I took him out for a warm-up spur right then.
“With all due respect, Dane, watching a trained Candaran fi ght won’t bring in the credits she will. A girl who bested Thanda’s mining brutes will be an incredible draw.”
“She’s never used VT.”
“You keep telling us how smart she is. I’m sure she’ll catch on.”
Dane opened his mouth to argue more, but I cut him off.
I’d seen VT mentioned on the network, but no defi nition.
“What’s VT?”
“Virtual-tech,” Tobias explained. “Fighters engage through our computer network, the audience watches, and no one has to leave their colony.”
It didn’t sound any worse than the cage fi ghts I was used to. Possibly better.
That didn’t explain why Dane looked so unhappy about it.
93
S T I T C H I N G S N O W
Brand and Tobias took us by a VT facility to let me try out the technology. It was complicated, involving neural transmitters and kinetic sensors, redirecting the signals from my brain to the computer. I couldn’t begin to guess how it all worked. They got me hooked up and ran a demonstration.
It felt real.
The rational part of my brain knew I was in a small room full of equipment, unmoving in a reclined chair, but every other part was convinced I was walking along a cliff overlooking an ocean. Salt wafted on the breeze tickling my skin, and the sun made me squint just a little. As I explored, I stubbed my toe on a large rock. That felt real, too.
It was amazing. My brain responded to the signals the computer sent, and the simulation responded to my brain’s own signals. I could fi ght like this.
Tobias turned off the simulation and disconnected the equipment. “So, are you in?”
I answered before Dane could. “Defi nitely.”
“All right, we’ll arrange a fi ght for sometime tomorrow and see how many credits you rack up. If you’re as good as you say, I might consider sponsoring you into the professional circuit.
There are a lot more credits to be won that way.” And be your pet fi ghting Thandan? Not likely.
I kept my mouth shut as I followed the others out.
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