Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
About the Author
Praise for Malorie Blackman
Also by Malorie Blackman
Copyright
About the Book
So your mum’s this brilliant scientist. She’s just invented VIMS, a robot that’s the most awesome Artificial Intelligence system. Its virtual world is the perfect place to forget about real life. Which is exactly what you want.
But then a bug corrupts the robot. It’s violent and unpredictable. This is no ordinary glitch – someone’s trying to sabotage it. You need to figure out who, and why. And fast!
For Neil and Lizzy, with love
Chapter One
How it Started!
HI! I’M DOMINIC. Dominic Painter. And, yes, that really is my name. And, no, I’m not making it up. And yes, I have heard the one about the painter, the decorator and the window cleaner! Now that that’s out of the way, I want to tell you about my mum. My mum is Carol Painter. Have you heard of her? You haven’t? Where have you been? Living on Mars? I thought everyone had heard of my mum. Well, it’s like this, my mum makes things. I don’t mean things! I mean THINGS – in great, big, screaming capital letters. And her latest wonder is VIMS, which stands for the Virtual Interactive Mobile System. You’ve never heard of that either? OK, then. Sit back, relax and I’ll tell you all about it. This is the story of Mum’s latest miracle – VIMS – and how it almost got me killed.
Chapter Two
Marriage!
‘DOMINIC, I WANT you to sit down.’
‘I am sitting down, Mum.’ I looked from Mum to Jack and back again. They both stood in front of me with fixed smiles and anxious eyes.
‘Dominic, we’ve got something to tell you.’
That much I’d worked out for myself. ‘Yes, Mum?’
I watched as, without looking down, Mum fumbled around for and found Jack’s hand. And then I knew what was coming.
‘Is Jack going to move in with us?’ I asked.
‘Well, your mum and I thought we’d do it the other way around. You two will move in with me,’ smiled Jack.
‘Are you two going to live together?’
‘Us three are going to live together,’ Jack stressed, the easy smile still on his face.
‘And when is all this meant to happen?’
Mum and Jack looked at each other for silent confirmation. ‘We thought we’d get married at the end of November, so we’d all be together for Christmas,’ said Mum.
‘You’re getting married?’ I stood up slowly.
‘Yes, of course. What did you think we were talking about?’ Mum frowned.
What happened next was really mean. I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t help it. I really couldn’t.
‘You’re joking, right? You’re not really going to marry Jack, are you?’
‘Dominic, you like Jack,’ Mum said, surprised. ‘And you’re always saying …’
‘I don’t like Jack. I hate him.’ I glared at him. The look on his face almost made me give myself away there and then. ‘I hate him. He’s not part of this family and he never will be.’
‘Dominic, please,’ Mum pleaded, appalled. Whatever else she’d expected, she certainly hadn’t expected this reaction from me.
I looked from Mum to Jack. He looked stunned. I glared at him and watched as moments later his expression cleared. And then I knew he had caught on. He stepped forward, his expression deadly serious.
‘Now wait just a minute, Dominic …’ he began.
‘No, you wait just a minute, maggot-features!’
‘Don’t call me that, you grotty little oik!’
‘Jack! Dominic, apologize at once.’ Mum didn’t know who to round on first.
‘Apologize to a rhino’s bum like him? No way!’
‘Now wait just a minute, you … you …’ And then Jack went and spoilt it all by bursting out laughing. And of course, once he’d started, he set me off as well.
‘Jack, how could you?!’ I said, cracking up. ‘We could’ve wound up Mum for at least another five minutes if you hadn’t burst out laughing.’
‘What?’ Mum still didn’t have a clue what was going on.
‘I couldn’t help it,’ Jack replied, actually coughing from laughing so much. ‘The look on your mum’s face was priceless.’
‘You mean, you two didn’t mean all that?’ Mum said sombrely.
Something in her voice made Jack shut up immediately, and I wasn’t too far behind.
‘It was just a joke, darling,’ Jack tried.
Mum directed a look at him that would have shrivelled a diamond.
‘Mum, where’s your sense of humour?’ I asked.
‘You … you … both of you …’ Mum spluttered.
Jack pulled Mum into his arms for a tight cuddle. With her head safely on his shoulder, Jack tried to wave me out of the living room but I refused to budge.
‘I knew you two were going to tie the knot,’ I told Mum. ‘You’ve been making cow eyes at each other for the last year. And you’re always kissing and cuddling. If you knew how embarrassing it looks for two old people like you to be doing that kind of thing, then I’m sure you wouldn’t do it! Mind you, Liam says that when you get married all that kissing and cuddling stuff you do will stop – so at least that’s something.’
‘Who are you calling old?’ Jack said indignantly. ‘Bloomin’ cheek!’
‘And what d’you mean “when we get married it’ll all stop”?’ Mum pulled away from Jack to ask.
‘Liam says that married people stop all that mushy stuff once they tie the knot, so the sooner you get married, the better as far as I’m concerned. Then you two can stop showing me up!’
‘And just where does Liam get his ideas about married people?’ Jack frowned.
‘Oh, Liam knows all about these things. He’s got cable telly in his room,’ I informed him.
‘Liam’s mum and dad should know better,’ Mum said, annoyed. ‘And for your information, I don’t intend to stop kissing and cuddling Jack until I’m cold in my grave.’
I beamed at her, knowing I’d got her again, although this time I hadn’t made it up. Liam really had said that about married people. I looked at Mum and Jack who stood together, still holding hands. They really were too soppy for words. But to tell the truth I was glad Mum was marrying Jack. I liked him very much. Look at the way he’d picked up on the fact that I was just winding up Mum and joined in with me – before he’d given the game away by creasing!
‘Congratulations!’ I grinned at them.
And suddenly I couldn’t stop smiling. I’d spent so long hoping that Mum and Jack would get together and now it was actually going to happen. Mum and Jack made a good couple. What I mean by that is, Mum takes herself far too seriously. She’s not so bad now, but you should’ve seen her before she started going out with Jack two years ago. She has what she calls her funny moments and her serious half-hours! I call them her funny moments and her serious half-years! Mum and Jack have known each other off and on for about ten years now. They
both used to work at BFC Power – the huge power plant outside our town that provides power for the entire South West region. Have you seen it? It’s a real eyesore. It’s that horrible set of huge buildings near the motorway. Mum liked it there though. She said it was the people rather than the place that kept her there for so long.
Everyone used to call Mum, Jack and this other guy called Rayner, the Three Musketeers! They were all good friends. Still are! Rayner still works at BFC but Mum left the power plant nine years ago to work at Desica International. Jack left BFC five years ago to start working for Mum. But it was only after Jack had been working for Mum for three years that they started going out together. Physically they look totally different. Mum is short and what she calls cuddly. And Jack is tall and thin like a record-breakingly long twig. I call him the world’s largest stick insect. And speaking of his name …
‘What do I call you? Jack or … Dad, or what?’
‘What d’you want to call me?’ Jack asked.
I considered. ‘I’ll call you Jack.’
‘Dominic, don’t you think …?’ Mum began.
‘No. Jack is fine,’ Jack interrupted.
Mum looked at Jack and nodded slowly. ‘OK. Jack it is, then.’
See what I mean about Mum mellowing out with Jack around? I was looking forward to all three of us being a family. In fact, to be honest, I felt like we were already a family. I couldn’t really remember what it was like without Jack. And then a dark grey cloud came scurrying across my blue sky.
‘Jack, what about your first wife?’ I asked.
‘Alison?’ Mum answered before Jack could. ‘What’s Alison got to do with this?’
I suppose I shouldn’t have said anything. Mum had told me about Alison in strict confidence but I just wanted to know how things stood.
‘Suppose she comes back and … and wants you two to get back together?’
‘She won’t,’ said Jack.
‘But suppose …’
‘Dominic, you worry too much. My divorce from Alison came through years ago. She’s happy and settled somewhere in Australia and she has no intention of coming back to this country.’
‘But suppose …’
‘Dominic, she’s not coming back. Trust me,’ Jack said gently.
‘OK.’ And I did trust him. It’s just that I didn’t want anything to spoil Mum’s and Jack’s happiness. Mum had told me how unhappy Jack and Alison had been together and how his wife loved to make Jack’s life a misery. Alison had left Jack eight years ago while he was still working at the power plant and he hadn’t heard a word from her since. I just didn’t want her turning up now and putting a spanner in the works. Mum and Jack were both watching me intently. Not wanting to put a damper on their big ‘surprise’, I forced my worries out of my head.
‘So when are we going to have our dinner?’ I asked. ‘I’m starving.’
‘I should send you to your room for the rest of the night without a bite to eat for that little stunt earlier,’ Mum sniffed. ‘You really had me going!’
‘Mum, that was the idea.’ I smiled.
Slowly she smiled back. ‘Dominic, you had better watch that peculiar sense of humour you’ve got there. It could get you into trouble.’
I just grinned at her. ‘So what’s for dinner then? Feed me. I’m a growing boy.’
‘How about we phone for a take-away pizza?’ Jack suggested.
‘Yeah, OK!’ I said, snatching his hand off. I was just about to tell him what I wanted when the phone rang. Mum went to answer it.
‘Hello … Oh, hello, Rayner.’ Mum put her hand over the mouthpiece. ‘It’s Rayner,’ she whispered, as if we hadn’t already gathered that. ‘What’s that? … I’m not sure … Yes, I know I said … OK, OK! … No, not tomorrow morning, I’m giving a demo to some suits and uniforms … Can’t it wait until next week …? Oh, I see … OK then, tomorrow afternoon it is. Yes … Yes, I said so, didn’t I?’ Mum looked over at us and raised exasperated eyebrows. ‘All right, I’ll see you tomorrow. Yes … You’re welcome. No, I don’t – and why d’you always ask me that? Say hello to Monica for me. Bye!’
Mum and Jack exchanged a look.
‘He asked you to come back to work at the power plant, didn’t he?’ Jack said drily.
‘Yeah, as always,’ Mum sighed.
‘I thought so from that emphatic “No, I don’t!”’ Jack nodded. ‘What was the rest of the conversation about?’
‘D’you remember when we had dinner with Rayner and Monica a couple of weeks ago and he was talking about the problems they’ve been having at the power plant? Well, he’s still having trouble with a section of their underground pipes and, as it would cost a fortune to dig down and try to find the problem, it occurred to me to suggest he use the VIMS unit to go through the tunnels. I’m sure it wouldn’t take VIMS long to find out what’s wrong.’
‘They’ve got their own machinery to sort out problems in their pipes,’ frowned Jack.
‘Yes, I know. But their devices can’t seem to find out what’s the matter.’ Mum shrugged. ‘Anyway, it’ll be a good road test for the VIMS unit.’
‘Which section?’ asked Jack.
‘Pardon?’
‘Which section of the plant has the problem?’
Mum frowned at him. ‘I can’t remember. A-17? A-19? Something like that.’
‘I see.’ Jack said the words so quietly, it was a strain to hear them. He had a sombre, thoughtful look on his face. I could almost see the wheels going round in his head.
‘Besides, does it matter?’ asked Mum.
‘No, I guess not,’ Jack said seriously. ‘But Carol, I’d be lying if I said I thought this was a good idea.’
‘Why not?’
‘VIMS needs a lot more testing before we submit it for such a serious workout. Suppose something goes wrong when the VIMS unit is so far underground? How would we get it back?’
‘But with all the safeties and backup systems we have in the unit, what could possibly go wrong?’ asked Mum.
‘Carol, I really don’t think we should do this. I think it’s more than a little premature.’
‘I don’t,’ Mum argued. ‘Besides, I promised Rayner that we’d help him.’
‘Then just unpromise him.’
‘Why are you so against the idea?’ Mum frowned.
Me? I was watching Mum and Jack argue, my head moving from side to side like a spectator at a tennis match.
‘What happens if VIMS doesn’t work or worse still it works in a way we haven’t anticipated?’
‘What? For goodness’ sake, Jack! VIMS will go down into the section of pipework that has the problem, it will wander up and down the pipes for a while taking photos and sending data back to our remote viewer and if it’s a cracked pipe then VIMS may even be able to fix it. What’s the big deal?’
‘What about our demo tomorrow morning?’ Jack said quietly.
‘Oh, that!’ Mum dismissed with a wave of her hand. ‘The demo will be a doddle. We’ll show off VIMS to the suits and uniforms, they’ll fork over more money for further research and development and we’ll still have time to load up the VIMS unit in the afternoon and take it over to Rayner at the power plant.’
‘Mum, who are the suits and uniforms you keep talking about?’ I couldn’t help asking.
‘Huh? Oh, that’s what I call business people and the military,’ Mum explained.
‘VIMS isn’t going to be used to hurt people, is it?’ I asked, appalled.
‘Of course not,’ Mum said at once. ‘Dominic, you should know better. The military are looking at it for disarming car bombs and detecting landmines and operating machinery and equipment in hazardous places, things like that. I wouldn’t let them use my invention in armed combat. I’d destroy the thing first.’
‘That’s all right then.’ I breathed a sigh of relief.
I looked from Jack to Mum and back again. Jack had a strange look on his face. A look I’d never seen before. Maybe he didn’t agree with
Mum that VIMS should be used for non-violent military activities only?
Mum obviously agreed with me that Jack had a strange look on his face. ‘Is everything OK, dear?’
‘Yes. Yes,’ Jack replied immediately. ‘I’m just a bit worried about the demo tomorrow. I want everything to go perfectly.’
‘Don’t worry.’ Mum laughed. ‘With all the testing we’ve done on VIMS, it can’t fail.’
‘Can I go to work with you tomorrow to see the VIMS machine?’ I asked hopefully.
Mum looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. ‘Of course not.’
‘But tomorrow’s Saturday. I don’t have to go to school and I promise I won’t be any trouble,’ I persisted. ‘I’m dying to see it.’
‘No.’ Mum frowned.
I opened my mouth to argue some more but Mum wasn’t having it.
‘Dominic, which part of “no” don’t you understand? Is it the “n” or the “o” that’s giving you so much trouble? Jack, are you going to phone for the pizzas or shall I?’
And as far as Mum was concerned, our conversation was over.
I sat back down on the sofa, but that wasn’t the end of it as far as I was concerned. I wanted to see the VIMS unit. I’d seen blueprints and schematics and I’d heard Mum and Jack talk of nothing else for the last umpteen months but I still hadn’t seen it. What was this thing that had kept Mum and Jack so busy over the last couple of years? Maybe if I had a proper look at it instead of just seeing drawings all the time, I wouldn’t mind Mum spending so much of her time with the thing. At least then, I’d know why. I’d know what the fascination was.
Besides, I was tired of raving on about it to my friends when I hadn’t even seen it. Well, all that was going to change. A secret smile crept across my face. My mind was made up. In that moment, I decided that rain, shine, sleet or snow, tomorrow I was going to see VIMS in action.
Chapter Three
Getting In
IT WAS YUKKY weather. A blustery wind blew the rain every which way so that it didn’t matter which way I turned, I still got soaked. Typical late winter weather. I hate winter. It’s dismal and depressing and always makes my leg hurt worse.
I glanced at Liam. He looked nervous. ‘You OK?’