Silent Planet

Chapter 4: Games

On the Road. Saturday, January 21, 2006.

Neal slouched deeper into the bus seat. They'd crossed the George Washington Bridge a few minutes ago and were now heading north along the Hudson. He was all too familiar with that highway. It was the road to the Catskills where the Burke family cabin was located. In other words, snow country. Peter was surely familiar with all the ski resorts in the area.

It was tempting to fake an injury. The icy conditions were ideal for a slip on the snow, and a twisted ankle would keep him from skiing in the wilderness. He could stay in the lodge by the fire and sip brandy while the others endured the harsh arctic conditions.

When the bus rolled to a stop by a large Victorian house in Alpine, New Jersey on the banks of the Hudson River with nary a ski lift in sight, the sun began to peek out from behind the looming storm clouds.

"Ian was messing with our heads," Blair said, exchanging relieved smiles with Neal. She'd sat next to him during the ride. "We won't turn into human popsicles after all. This is a gaming facility. We've spent numerous weekends here working on projects. It looks like this will be more of a busman's holiday than I expected."

Neal pictured Peter's smirk even though he wasn't present on the bus. This called for a revenge prank, but he'd be generous and wait till after the conclusion of the op.

The house had been divided into numerous rooms supposedly for gaming although Neal couldn't tell much since the doors were closed. Whiteboards giving the schedule for each room were mounted in the hallway. The sleeping quarters were barracks-style with bunk beds. There wasn't much of a kitchen. It appeared to be mainly used for brewing coffee and storing cold drinks. As soon as they arrived, Ian placed an order with the local pizza shop. Given that he was surrounded by programmers, Neal fully expected to be living off pizza for the duration of the retreat, and no one would hear any complaints coming from him. It could have been so much worse.

As soon as the group had stowed their duffels, Ian divided them into six teams, each with a mixture of artists and developers. Their first task was to select a name based on a fantasy world. Neal wasn't thrilled with his team's enthusiasm for Mordor. His suggestion of Tatooine had been voted down. Some of the groups started with video games, while the others, including Neal's team, had a Lego room to play in. The video games were all non-Scima releases. After a day of practice, the evening would be spent in death-match competitions and a presentation of their Lego creations.

Neal was glad Blair was a member of his team. Diana had asked Raven to be in her group. During the bus trip, Diana and Raven had sat across the aisle from him. Despite Diana's chatter, Raven had seemed withdrawn throughout the trip. It could be that she simply wasn't a morning person, but her behavior could also be a signal that something was troubling her.

"The only rule is that it can't have anything to do with any of the games we're working on," Blair said, scanning the instructions for the Lego project. "Building Mount Doom isn't high on my list."

"How about Peter Pan's pirate ship?" Neal suggested, figuring he might get a few ideas to suggest for Angela's props.

One of the developers chuckled. "We could build a giant animated alligator with a ticking clock inside."

Blair nodded slowly. "A kickass Tinker Bell transformed into a Ninja fighter could be entertaining."

Neal had no clue how one would go about building any of the ideas the team was tossing around, but he'd spread the magic dust by suggesting the concept. The details he'd gladly leave to the others.

When Peter arrived at the inn, Neal, Diana, and Jones were called into Room 9 with the avowed purpose of demonstrating Aloft.

"Enjoying your retreat?" Peter asked once the door was closed. He had the complacent smile of a prank-master.