Jack and the Beanstalk [SF YA]

CHAPTER THREE - Running Away with the Spoon - Part 2

I couldn't tell what notions collided inside Brian's head, and at the moment I wasn't sure I wanted to. After fifteen minutes I returned to the still warm bed. The clock read 10:30 p.m., but I couldn't sleep. My own thoughts careened off each other.

(What kind of activity is he involved in?)

--You're the bright one. How come he never told you?

(I was too young. It was none of my concern. He couldn't.)

--Look, you don't need to rationalize it to me.

Somewhere after midnight I must have fallen asleep, only to be shaken awake again. The lights remained on this time. Brian shook me. His posture read fatigue, but he seemed not too out of sorts. "Okay. It's all set, Jax. You're out of here on the I-Con bound for Singapore. You're going up the Skyhook."

"I'm going up the Beanstalk?" I broke up laughing. Perhaps it lacked the humor to trigger such a fit of laughter, but the stress of the last 24 hours had built to a fever point.

"Yeah, watch out for the giants," Brian joked but it sounded forced and the worried expression on his face cut off my laughter. "You're to be a courier." He said it as if he were signing my death warrant.

"So what are you worried about?"

"Jax, this isn't a prank. Lives are at stake. Yours, mine... Jesus, I can't believe I talked them into letting you do this."

"What's so dangerous about it?"

"A courier carries information, information that will aid our project. We cannot broadcast it. Every code is breakable. Couriers usually last less than seven missions."

"It beats the alternative."

"Yeah, but an untrained courier averages two." Brian let out a sigh that seemed to shrink his size down to that of a normal harried human. "Dodgson's dead."

It felt like a hand tightening on my heart. "Then we don't have a lot of time."

#

Inside half an hour I had three IDs, my own, now certified for space travel; John Petrovich, lunar-born returning from schooling on Earth and; Tony Braun, Space Marine Pfc., bound for further training on the Moon. All these identities came complete with retina scans and fingerprints on official government cards with holograms intact.

While Brian invented my new identities he explained the rest of the plan to get me off planet. He spread out diagrams of the cargo elevator on the beanstalk. He showed me how and where to hide myself and when and how to get out.

"Jack, the transfer station at the top of the stalk is complicated. You ever used a hypno-disc?"

I shook my head no. "Mike didn't think them useful. He claimed they didn't actually teach you anything."

"Probably right, but it might save your life tomorrow." He began hooking up the headset. "I'll be sure and trigger all the keywords you might need. I want you to know how the station is laid out just in case things don't work according to plan. Ready?"

"Yeah," I said tentatively. He flipped the visor down and patterns began to appear before my eyes--the same sort of random fractal images you get when you press your eyelids into your eyes. Very low sounds reminiscent of voices echoed in the headset, gradually getting louder. Then Brian removed the visor and pulled the headset off.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Wrong?" He looked at me peculiarly, and then realization crept in. "It went fine. You've been out for about..." He looked at his watch. "87 minutes. How do you feel?"

An hour and a half? Incredible. "I'm fine." I stood and my body reminded me that I'd been sitting stock still for an hour and a half. "Well, nearly fine. Give me a minute to move around." I stretched my arms and legs.

"Normal," he chuckled. "This is a list of the keywords you'll need. As you read them you'll be able to access the information. Sit down."

"I'm fine."

"Sit down, Jack."

I sat.

"The first key is Skyhook Station #2 Schematics."

My brain suddenly filled with architecturemultiple levels, airlocks, transfer decks, speedwalks. My head spun--eyes momentarily failing me. I was glad to be sitting. After a moment of near panic it all began to clarify and separate. "You could've warned me."

"I did, but it's been a long time for me. You get used to being overwhelmed. Sometimes I get a little ahead of myself. "

He proceeded to tell me in lightning fast details what he thought I needed to know. It turned out the organization ran an underground railroad that extended clear to the Moon. Brian had the name of a contact on the station. He gave it to me, explaining it as only a last resort option. He also told me his codename: Black Sheep. Knowing Brian it seemed appropriate.

"I've got to get going. Things to take care of, you know? There're just a few more things you need to know. Good luck. You're welcome to anything in this office. Okay?"

"Brian?"

"Yes?"

"If I'm supposed to be a courier where's my package?"

"In here." He tapped the side of my head. "The hypno-disc? It'll take the right code to release it though."

I spent the next two hours studying. I went through the list of keywords and one more hypno-disc, an overview of Space Marine basic training. By the time I finished I'd come to the conclusion that my brain had reached full capacity. Too bad that team of South American scientists' biological computer link had failed final human testing. At the moment I could use a few more terabytes of memory. Or I'd settle for that encyclopedic monkey they'd created.

From a murder to illicit courier trying to leave the country illegally in a day. I'd always had brushes with the law but this took the cake. So much for making it honestly on my brains and good looks.