or maybe drowning in ice water.â
âI heard the slipstream once described like a fast flowing river,â Darsh says.
âKind of,â Cora replies. âThe slipstream is the layer before the shadow biosphere itself. Sliders only skim across the surface of that fast flowing river. Of course, there are these currents you can ride safely and theyâre always marked and mapped by beacons. Itâs their light that form the tunnels we use inside the slipstream.â
Listening to Cora describe the frightening dimension Iâd slipped into with Blake, I canât help but steal another glance at him. Heâs still alone at the table, and I find myself wondering if he has any friends at the academy, or even a girlfriend.
âWe call these tunnels lightpaths, and usually enter them through safe entryways, accessed through slider dark-rooms,â Cora continues her explanation. âBut if you get tossed off a path, you land deeper in the slipstream and then you can get in serious trouble. Itâs difficult to get back on track unless youâre wearing a nanosuit and have some serious thruster juice loaded in. Not to mention youâd need plenty of oxygen packs, or youâd suffocate from the thin atmosphere.â
âHas anyone travelled inside the shadow biosphere itself?â I ask.
Cora shakes her head. âIf the slipstream is a river, then the shadow biosphere is a bottomless ocean. Anyone who goes there doesnât come back. Sometimes, you can see dark fissures beyond the lightpath. Apparently they lead directly to the heart of the biosphere itself.â
âEver see any sharks?â Darsh jokes.
Cora gives a small laugh that sounds forced. âNot yet.â
I put my fork down and push my plate away. âDo you know of anyone whoâs gotten lost in the slipstream?â
Coraâs forehead wrinkles and Darsh gives her shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. I throw him a questioning look.
âThe sliders had a good tutorial teacher until recently,â Darsh explains. âAfter he left, Blake Galloway took over the class.â
Grief surfaces in Coraâs eyes. âHe didnât leave. He was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. So he chose the deep.â
âWhat does that mean?â I glance at Darsh, but heâs watching Cora with a pained expression.
She gives me a weak smile. âChoosing the deep is suicide. Itâs to enter one of those fissures. Like I said, no one comes back from that.â
Next to her tray, Coraâs slate beeps. She stares down at it, then grimaces. âI forgot to tell you. Iâm supposed to take you to Director Eckhartâs office. Your last appointment for the day, I promise.â
âWhoâs Director Eckhart?â I ask, the name sounding familiar.
âThe big banana around here.â Darsh waggles his eyebrows at me. âThe grand director of the executive committee of Helios. He was army intelligence before he came to the academy. Heâs so scary he made a cadet wet his pants once.â
I look at Cora. âSerious?â
âDarsh is joking,â she assures me.
âI run in the opposite direction if I see him coming,â Darsh deadpans. âOnce I hid in a bush to avoid him, and I swear he knew I was there.â
âDoes he meet with all new cadets?â I ask faintly.
âNot usually,â Cora admits.
âCheer up.â Darsh sees my worried look. âIâm sure itâs nothing serious.â
âHave you ever met him?â I ask.
âNo way.â Darsh pulls a horrified face. âAnd I hope I never have to.â
CHAPTER 11
Director Eckhartâs office is on the top floor of Central and a stern-faced woman guards the closed double doors to his office. After a ten minute wait, she motions for us to enter. The office interior is a wash of khaki and gold framed photos. Packing boxes sit in front of an empty bookcase and a pile of
Adite Banerjie
Karin Harlow
Madison Smartt Bell
Zoe Chant
Wendy Sparrow
Violet Duke
Jane Charles
Noelle August
Connie Brockway
Kirsten Osbourne