get to work.”
Beau and I entangle with the Q-net and gently probe Jarren’s blockade for a weakness or hole we could slip through. It takes a light touch and super focused concentration. After a couple of hours, I’m straining to stay on task. A headache thumps in my temples. I hate to admit this, and I’ll never say it to Radcliff, but the man is right. Lack of sleep and worming are a bad combination.
Careful, Beau warns.
I back away before my clumsiness sets off the alarm. That was close. Beau and I go to a neutral Q-cluster to regroup.
The door behind us opens. The intrusion of the physical world while deep in the Q-net is an odd sensation. Normally no one bothers us while we’re worming.
“Dorey, I need you for a few minutes,” Morgan says. “It’s important.”
A vibration flutters through the cluster, probably due to Beau’s annoyance over being interrupted.
Stay here, I’ll be back. Beau disentangles.
While I wait, I consider possible routes to DES. I wish I understood exactly how the Q-net transmits messages and reports over vast distances without being affected by the time dilation. If I could comprehend the equations used by the Q-net, perhaps I could discover a way to send a message to DES without alerting Jarren. However, I’d need another four years of advanced mathematics just to learn the basics.
The pain in my head intensifies. I cross my arms on the desk and rest my forehead on them. There’s nothing of interest in this cluster. To me, a cluster is like a cavern in a cave system that has a bunch of narrow tunnels leading to and away from it.
This cluster only has one tunnel coming in and one going out. Rather boring until the “walls” turn transparent. That’s never happened before. Beyond the cluster is—star roads!
And then I’m flying. I swirl and dip and swim through the Q-net. It’s exhilarating. It’s amazing. I’m…welcomed. Embraced. Twirled and flung to the very edges of space. Time is fluid and spread across the universe like peanut butter on bread. All the answers are right here. I could find a way to DES. But DES is such a tiny part of the Q-net. It’s irritating. A parasite. Better to soar along the star roads. To become—
“Ara!” Beau shakes my shoulder. “Wake up.”
The Q-net shrinks. Once again the “walls” are opaque and I’m confined to the dull Q-cluster. I mourn the loss.
“Disentangle. Now,” he orders.
“I’m okay.” I sit up. The motion ignites the pain in my head and I press my fingertips on my temples to keep my skull from exploding. Imagining Beau’s office walls covered with bits of splattered brain doesn’t help.
“Disentangle.” Beau’s tone is firm.
The effort sends spikes of fire from my hair to my toes. Ouch. I pull out my tangs then cradle my head in my hands, closing my eyes.
“Should I call the doctor?” he asks.
“No. I just need a painkiller.”
Beau rustles around, opening drawers. The door creaks open. It’s quiet for a few seconds before his footsteps sound.
“Here.”
I open one eye. He hands me a glass of water and two pills. Ah. I down them in one gulp—relief can’t come soon enough.
“That was really dangerous and stupid,” Beau says.
“I…” At a loss for words, I consider what happened. The sensations and feelings I experienced were similar to when I’d died, which should alarm me, but it doesn’t.
“You, what?”
“I didn’t know I fell asleep. I just thought…” This time he waited for me to find the right description. “I thought I’d found the…heart of the Q-net.” And it was just about to reveal itself to me. Crazy, I know.
“Which is why you never ever fall asleep while entangled. Stars, girl. You could have gone catatonic.”
Now he’s being dramatic. “There’s only a very tiny chance.” Almost everyone who dozes off wakes up disentangled.
“With your track record, I wouldn’t be surprised if you fall into that tiny percentage.” His tone is hard and angry. “And don’t forget, I woke you. Who knows what would have happened if you’d slept longer or deeper.”
I may have found a way to communicate with DES. However, I keep that to myself or risk having my head examined.
“Well, you’re no good to me now,” he says, still grumpy. “Go get some rest.”
I’m about to protest when I recall how I almost triggered an alarm before I fell asleep. “Okay.”
He squints at me in suspicion. I turn to go before he can question me, then pause, remembering to ask him about the encounter