Resurrection (The Stork Tower Book 7) Read online

  Leah finally rescues her mother within the game of Survival and the bomb within Lin’s head is disarmed. Frustrated at every turn Meredith and Nathan have Leah framed for the murder of the person who they had arranged to shoot her. Despite the proof being circumstantial at best, at the end of the book Leah is arrested for murder and driven away from her Pod facility by the police.

  WHERE THE STORY IS AT

  Some detail, just in case you’ve forgotten where the story is at (including previous characters who return, or have significance, in Resurrection):

  REAL WORLD

  Leah is tired and still recovering from being shot. Lin, Leah’s mother, has regained her memory . Leah increasingly uses her new abilities and there are even more changes to her neural structure. More people in the Switch are benefiting from the changes Leah is bringing.

  Leah - Atherleah Lin Mu-Ling Carroll - 16 years old

  Gèng - Leah’s AI

  Leah’s family

  Conner Carroll - Leah’s brother - 14 years old

  Lin Li-Jin Carroll - Leah’s mother (Lin) - from mainland China

  Michael Carroll - Leah’s father - Irish ancestry

  Leah’s Security Personnel (Pod Centre)

  John - Head of Security

  Lacey - head of the assault team

  Marie - scout

  Joel - scout - Marie’s brother

  Johan - knife specialist and medic

  Other Characters

  Jimmy Loo - Crime Boss in the ‘Switch’

  Jen - Jenny Ngô - John’s girlfriend

  Father Andrew - Catholic Priest

  Mrs Sperry - Counsellor

  Aker - Tailor of armoured clothing

  John Welford - ex Chief AI Installer for the Greater Brisbane Hospital

  Kevin - Doctor

  Mia - A healer from the Switch

  Emily - Jenny’s younger sister - Healer apprentice

  STORK TOWER

  Leah’s personal world in the multiverse continues to expand as Gèng adds details. Gèng begins to act more independently while continuing to help Leah navigate the multiverse.

  Atherleah Lin Mu-Ling Carroll (Leah)

  Gèng - Leah’s AI

  Michael Carroll - Leah’s father

  Lin Li-Jin Carroll - Leah’s mother (Lin)

  John - Head of Security

  Leah’s Employees and Consultants (Virtual multiverse)

  Dr Ellen Roberts - Psychiatrist and Neural Specialist

  George - Financial Planning AI

  Leon Scorsese - Chief Financial Officer of Guàn Enterprises

  Olivia Goodwin - Solicitor - criminal lawyer

  Reed - Sharon Trang’s AI and hacker

  Sarafaraz Kalif - Accountant

  Sharon Trang - Public Relations Consultant

  Stephen Riley - Attorney

  Susan Drisedale - Solicitor - corporate lawyer

  Tesfaye Berhanu - Virtual Security Analyst and hacker

  Marianne Chevalier - Manager of the Seraph System in Cosmos Online

  Virtual Multiverse Characters

  Akia - Security Oversight AI 4 - Security AI

  Amy - Amelia Walker - Leah’s friend

  Dr Ellen Whitfield - Leah’s MIT Doctoral Supervisor in Theoretical Physics

  Meredith Kodoman - high profile player involved in virtual slavery

  Nathan Kodoman - high profile player involved in virtual slavery

  Kate Emerson - Thad’s sister - her real name is Paris

  Thad - Thaddeus Emerson - Leah’s boyfriend

  Dr Thomas Ellis - MIT Doctoral Supervisor in Experimental Physics

  Wisp - Annie Martin - Leah’s friend

  Leo Barnsworth - A prisoner with the real Meredith - British Earl

  Alan Hopper - Security Consultant, creator of the backdoor into the World Bank

  Franklin White - Leah contact to cyber-security in British army

  Archie - Sir Archibald Matthews, Brigadier - Ex-cyber-security in British army

  Ivan - Боевой_молот - player from Dunyanin and Leah’s ally

  Noah - Delta_Knight_01 - player from Dunyanin and Leah’s ally

  Yuè Fēi - Yuè_Fēi_Lóng - player from Dunyanin and Leah’s ally

  DUNYANIN - REGISTRATION

  Leah has finished her quest for Lord Geckiş, the God of Transition, Change and Metamorphosis. She and her hand of Günahkâr guards are in a cavern she created on the peak of Mount Siddetli. Other Günahkâr, the race of dark elves who have agreed to be her Imperial Guards are making their way across the continent to help secure her various holdings and to protect her people.

  Erol Kartal - Dunyanin CEO

  Atherleah - Leah’s character - 45% dragon, 22.5% highland human, 22.5% forest elf, 10% divine - vampire - Empress

  Clan Guàn - Leah’s Clan - Motto: Integritas! Prospertas! Praesidium! Purity, Prosperity, and Protection

  Peter Scorsese - Exclusive broker for Leah and Clan Guàn within Dunyanin - Leon’s brother

  Mĕi - a Chimera - Atherleah’s pet

  Mìng (Shēngmìng de huǒ) - a mixed Fire/Life Dragon - Atherleah’s companion and pet

  Leah’s Günahkâr Bodyguards

  Yürek (F) - Baş (leader) of the bodyguards - from clan Yangin (Element: Fire, Colour: Red)

  İşaret (M) - from clan Yalet (Element: Spirit, Colour: Silver)

  Orta (M) - from clan Rüzgâr (Element: Air, Colour: Blue)

  Yüzük (F) - from clan Sular (Element: Water, Colour: Violet)

  Küçük (M) - from clan Toprak (Element: Earth, Colour: Gold)

  Gods

  Aldat - God of Deception

  Geckiş - God of Transition, Change and Metamorphosis

  Intikam - Goddess of Revenge

  Iskense - God of Lies

  Kargasa - God of Chaos

  Mantic - God of Logic

  Namus - God of Purity

  Olme - Goddess of Death

  Serseri, Goddess of the Outcast

  Suzluk - God/Goddess of Despair

  Susma - God of Silence

  Umut - God of Hope

  Utsal - Goddess of Light and Truth

  ACADEMIA - EDUCATIONAL PORTAL WORLD

  Leah continues to make new discoveries about the aether dimension and her braid formulations.

  Dr Ellen Whitfield - Leah’s MIT Doctoral Supervisor in Theoretical Physics

  Dr Thomas Ellis - MIT Doctoral Supervisor - Experimental Physics

  COSMOS ONLINE - GALACTIC SPACE WORLD

  Leah and Wisp have claimed the giant space station and intersystem portal. They’ve named the system Seraph. They appointed a System Administrator to manage the game inside the Seraph system.

  Atherleah - current avatars on Seraph and the two space stations, Berne and Hydra

  John - current avatars on Berne and on Hydra

  Mahigan the Black - Meredith’s character

  Wisp - current avatar on Seraph

  Marianne Chevalier - Manager of Seraph System

  PNEUMATICA

  Leah and Thad have just named and rescued Deirdre Caoimhe, the eldest child of the Queen of Aeolipile. Although Thad and Deirdre escape, Leah is captured and imprisoned with the two Pyranthians who helped her then sacrificed in the Pyranthian Festival of Blood.

  Atherleah_Carroll - Leah’s user name - known as ‘Charlotte’ - Privateer Captain of the Tempest and the Draken

  Edison - Developer in charge of Pneumatica

  Thad Emerson - Leah’s boyfriend

  Kate Emerson - Thad’s sister

  NPCs

  Takobi Matuwa - Pyranthian Warrior - gave Leah the name Yuwata Mumuna (My ugly sister)

  Takobi’s brother - Pyranthian Warrior - gave Thad the name Karami Kwanya (the runt of the litter)

  CYBER-VERSE

  Leah is looking for leads on the people she found imprisoned within the multiverse in a vault at the World Bank.

  Akia - Security Oversight AI 4 - Security AI

  Alan Hopper - person responsible for
the back doors into the vault and the World Bank.

  Atherleah Lin Mu-Ling Carroll (Leah)

  Gèng - Leah’s AI

  ASCENDENT - ELITE CLUB IN THE MULTIVERSE

  Gianna - Leah’s personal concierge

  Maeja - Leah’s secondary personal concierge

  Other Worlds (so far)

  Adventure World - second date with Thad

  Alexandria - Horror and the Occult theme world

  Carnival - first date with Thad

  Curator - History and Archeology world

  Dark Moon Duel - Leah learns swordplay

  Master Archery - Leah learns archery from Lady Flèche

  New World - 4X universe world

  Persepolis - Persian theme world

  Quickdraw - Western theme world

  Ringworld - World based on novel by Larry Niven

  Runes of Destiny - Michael is playing to find out about Kodomans

  Saturn’s Rings - Space world

  Spectator - Provides immersion into virtual feeds and news

  Survival - Complex scenarios to test survival skills

  United Federation of Planets - Star Trek theme world

  Virtual World Today - news and current affairs world

  Walworld - shopping world

  Warrior - Conflict Resolution world for the wealthy

  1

  December 19 2073

  REAL WORLD

  Pain slowly pulled Leah from oblivion. The transition from unconsciousness to awareness was stretched out over fifteen minutes as her agony warred with the drugs in her system. Gradually, the artificial chemicals lost the battle as Leah’s body removed them from her bloodstream. Bit by bit, she felt a constant thrum of torment begin to take hold of her upper body as each heartbeat sent a fresh wave of agony across her shoulders. Slowly, Leah’s mind isolated the sounds that seemed to ebb and flow with the beat. The first was a low moan whose irregular beat she finally realised matched her own out-of-rhythm breathing. Needing oxygen, she would inhale, but the sudden stab of pain would cause her to hold her breath for just a moment before letting it out in a long, painful exhalation.

  Once she recognised this, Leah slowly brought her breathing under control and began to notice secondary sounds. These sounds all seemed to flow together, and she had to concentrate to sort them out. Behind her, she could hear a pair of voices talking softly in what she supposed was another room. In front of her, someone was breathing deeply and all around her was a faint hum.

  Softly, inside her head, Leah heard a faint chime of bells, then the familiar voice of Gèng. Slowly and carefully Gèng said, “Leah, try not to move. There are two men who check on you every five or six minutes to see if you’re awake. I used the soft chimes so as not to startle you. Your father is also drugged and is apparently several metres in front of you.”

  With some difficulty, Leah sub-vocalised and said, “What happened?”

  “Without the Pod, I can’t do a full analysis, but I understand from what was said while you were unconscious that you were first drugged using gas they released inside the back of the police car. Then you were injected with something to knock you out for a longer period. Your father has been given a second dose of the injected chemicals because they only want to talk with you. It’s been eight hours since you lost consciousness. Without access to any electronic signals, and using the limited data I’ve been able to collect from your senses, I suspect you and Michael are within the Brisbane CBD. Most likely you are in one of the properties belonging to Nathan or his friends.”

  Leah tentatively tried to move and found her wrists and ankles were secured, and she could feel more straps around her thighs, her abdomen and around her forehead. She carefully tried to open her eyes only to be blinded by the glare in the room, which forced her to her close her eyes quickly. Even so, it was a few minutes before her eyes stopped watering. The next time she barely opened one eye, and she waited before opening it a little more. Opening them bit by bit it took her several minutes until she was able to look around the room. Her father was sitting upright in a chair three metres in front of her. Michael was held in position with thick plastic ties holding his arms and legs to the chair, each limb had at least two ties with more around his upper legs and chest. They looked like thick flexible packing straps. The chair had a pole fixed to its back which jutted above the centre of Michael’s head. His head was held upright by a strap around his forehead.

  Behind her father, she could see an old two-dimensional screen on the wall. There were no windows, and two bright lights shone down from the ceiling. Leah said, “Can you calculate if I have the strength to break these ties?”

  “I don’t have the specifications in any database that I can access. I believe your skin and tissue would tear before you would be able to break them.”

  Leah looked down toward her legs, and for the first time it registered that her legs were bare. Her shirt, jeans and footwear had been removed, and she was only wearing her underwear and bra. She could also feel the strapping on her shoulders where they restricted her movements. Michael, on the other hand, was still fully clothed. Leah heard a noise behind her and closed her eyes while trying to calm her breathing.

  The footsteps moved until they were in front of her. A man’s deep voice said, “I know you are awake. There’s a small camera in the screen opposite you. Mr Kodoman wants to say a few words before we get the party started.”

  Leah opened her eyes and looked up at a muscular man she’d never seen before. He looked to be about her father’s age. He looked down at her with a smile which wasn’t only on his mouth but was reflected in his eyes as well.

  “That’s better. My, you are a pretty thing. Mr Kodoman said we weren’t to play with you before you were awake and until he’s had his fun. Afterwards, though, we can do what we like. It’s a shame really because after he’s done with you, I don’t think you’ll be in a fit state to enjoy yourself. Ah well, never mind. At least me and Billy will have some fun. Now, Mr Kodoman wanted me to tell you that he hates being interrupted. Apparently, you like to interrupt, but this time if you make so much as a whimper during his visit then we’ll be taking his anger out on your dad. I’ll let you in on a secret. No matter what you do, your dad is going to die tonight, but it’s your choice whether he does it with pain, or without. Now, I want to get this out of the way so let me show you what I mean.”

  With that, the man reached out his hand, and someone, who Leah imagined must be Billy, handed him a large hammer. The man turned rapidly and brought the hammer around to slam into her father’s lower right leg. Leah could hear the bone snap and her father’s eyes opened briefly in a silent scream before he lapsed back into unconsciousness. The man turned, he smiled at Leah and said, “He won’t wake up, you know. I could break every bone in his body, and while he’ll feel it, he can’t break out of the induced coma. When we finally let the drugs wear off, the pain will rush in. I once had someone die from the sudden influx of pain. Now, do you understand what will happen?”

  Leah let the emotion fall from her face and simply nodded.

  The man began to chuckle. He said, “I love the defiant ones. I really wish I could show you who’s boss, but Mr Kodoman has reserved that privilege for himself. When he’s finished, there won’t be much of anything left inside that pretty head of yours. Rest assured, though, me and Billy will take care of whatever remains. Now, I’m going to let him know you’re awake. Don’t go anywhere.”

  With that, the man started chuckling, and as he walked past Leah, he rapped her hard on the left shoulder with the handle of the hammer, causing her to let out a strangled scream which just made him laugh even louder. When Leah finally brought her breathing under control, Gèng said, “Leah, while you were unconscious, I heard Billy and Earl talking.”

  “Was that Earl?”

  “Yes. They were discussing the last few people they had brought here. They discussed the man Troy Henson and the agent, Charlotte Brown. Earl killed Troy. If you look at yo
ur father, you can see his leg is broken in a similar fashion to what happened to Troy. I believe they are going to frame you for his death as well.”

  “He’s not going to die Gèng. We will get through this. We just have to work out a way.”

  Gèng said nothing and Leah was left with her thoughts. Leah was still working on what to do when the screen behind her father blinked twice before showing Nathan and Meredith. Leah tried to let none of her anxiety show and just stared straight ahead into the screen.

  Meredith started to laugh, and Nathan’s lips curled into a sneer. He said, “I understand that Earl has explained the rules. You and your father are going to die soon. If you don’t annoy me, or my wife, we will kill your father painlessly. You, on the other hand, will be forced to suffer a little. Personally, I would rather dispose of you without all these theatrics, but I promised an ally that you would learn despair before you died.”

  As he spoke the last word, the screen in front of Leah split to show Suzluk. Nathan said, “I believe you know Suzluk. As payment for certain services, he wanted to see your face when you finally comprehend the magnitude of your failure and the full extent of your upcoming painful and ignoble end.”

  Suzluk’s face creased in a sadistic grin, and he said, “You are pathetic, little Atherleah. This death of yours will be the final one, and afterwards, I will hunt down each of your friends and destroy them as well.”

  Nathan seemed to roll his eyes but said, “At the beginning, your pain will be more emotional than physical. I am going to explain what is going to happen in simple terms so that you understand. I’ll then leave you to think on the situation for several minutes. It won’t be too long before you understand, and it is then that despair will take hold of your mind. You are immobilised in the same way as your father. Your restraint is slightly different in that there are two poles behind your head. Your head restraint has a gap at the back which allows access to your PAI chip.