Elusion
Claudia Gabel, Cheryl Klam
To Ben and Brian—we couldn’t have done this without you.
PROLOGUE
“DON’T BE SCARED, REGAN,” MY FATHER says. “I’ll be next to you the whole time, I promise. ”
But I’m not scared at all. The reason my breath is coming out in quick, little gasps is because I’m excited. After all, I’ve waited for this moment for such a long time.
I shift in my seat, carefully listening to my dad as he gives me the instructions, to the point where I’m actually focusing on every syllable.
Place the microlaser visor over your eyes.
Insert the audio buds into your ears.
Slip your hand through the acrylic wristband.
Click on the app with your finger.
I follow each step, double-checking myself so I don’t screw this up. This trial run is way too important to him. Computer scientists still don’t believe in his work—an alternate reality program and device he’s spent the last four years building—but all that is going to change.
We’re going to prove them wrong.
My dad said that to me, just before we assembled our Equips and locked our hands together.
We.
I haven’t heard that word in a long time. I think I forgot how amazing it is when he includes me in his life.
Within a few moments, trypnosis sets in and I begin to feel my body drifting away from me. Piece by piece, molecule by molecule, I break apart and dissolve until there is nothing left.
Nothing but absolute happiness.
When I open my eyes, I’m in this other dimension, which for now is only made of gauzy, incandescent light.
A soft wave of electricity trickles along my skin. It almost feels as though I’m being lifted off the ground by an invisible current and suspended in midair. I’ve never felt anything like this in the real world, and since it’s generated by a hypnosis program that’s preloaded onto my Equip, I never will.
But I can relish it while I’m here.
Every single artificial moment of it.
“The light is going to fade in a bit,” I hear my father say. “And then the real magic will begin. ”
I smile. He is right by my side, just like he promised.
“When you see it all, you’ll understand everything,” he says.
He sounds almost apologetic, and I’m wondering if by “everything,” he means this inaugural trip to Elusion will somehow explain the late hours my dad keeps at Orexis; how he constantly breaks plans with my mom and me so he can work in his computer lab; all the time he spends with Patrick, showing him how to code and design every inch of this place.
A warm breeze blows a piece of wavy strawberry-blond hair right into my eyes. As I brush it back, my smile grows even wider. Normally I get angry or upset when I think about how distant my father has been, but none of it bothers me now. Here in Elusion, I’m free from all my insecurities, disappointments, and unfulfilled wishes.
“Can you see me yet?” he asks. “It might take another second or two for the visuals and other sensory perceptions to kick in. ”
I blink a few times and my dad slowly comes into focus. Although his silhouette is outlined by a shimmering golden glow, he’s wearing the same plaid flannel shirt and khaki pants he had on in the living room. His salt-and-pepper hair is still messed up and in need of a wash. His warm brown eyes twinkle as he reaches out to me and takes my hand in his.
