Revelations

Part 2

1001001 S.O.S.

By Nick Maro

Aja propped her feet on the table and leaned back in the office chair. She opened the technical journal to the page she was just reading. She and David were asked to see what they could learn in the small lab that was located under the screen at the long closed Starlight Drive Inn. It was also the birthplace of the powerful super computer Synergy. Aja heard him digging through some boxes they had found. "Find anything else, David?"

"No, just more circuit boards. However I was thinking maybe this is just where Emmett built Synergy. There might be a storage area. I mean, we're under only one half of the screen. What if there's another hidden door to the other side?" He dusted his pants off as he stood up.

Aja put the journal down and sipped her coffee in thought. "Y'know, that's a very good point. Who's at the projector building?"

David thought for a moment. "Only Kimber and Raya, Jerrica wanted to take care of Rio and Shana needed watch after the Starlight Girls." He pulled out the cheap walkie talkie Jerrica had bought at a local toy store. He walked out from under the giant screen and spoke into the microphone. "Kimber, Raya, you reading us over there?"

There was a burst of static and then Raya's voice came through. "I hear you David. Go ahead."

"Aja and I have a stupid idea we're going to test out. The both of you come over when you get the chance. No hurry."

Raya's voice came back through the speaker. "Okay. Everything's pretty dull here. I'm thinking of making a food run later. Let me know what you when you get hungry."

He felt a slight hunger pang after she mentioned food. But there were more important things right now than eating. "We will. If this doesn't pan out then we'll start taking food orders." David walked back into the main storage area. Aja was already at the other wall looking for the hidden panel. "Sounds like Raya and Kimber are getting hungry up there. Do you remember how we found the other door?"

"I remember that we pushed up against the wall and the panel clicked open. We should try pushing on the wall. Maybe we'll get lucky and find the hidden catch." They started pushing on opposite ends of the wall and worked their way to the middle. About six feet from where she had started Aja found the second secret panel. "Well, that was easy." She opened the panel wide while David ran outside and told the others what they had found. Aja studied the door while he was busy.

"Okay Lara Croft, just open the door." David smiled as she gave him a glare over her shoulder. She opened the door to reveal another dark corridor. David turned on his flashlight and ventured into the dark hallway while Aja followed close not wanting to trip over anything. She pointed out a light switch on the wall to the right and he flipped the switch on.

Once again the lights took a couple of moments to power up. Inside was just what David just had suspected what was another storage area. In the middle of the room was a huge worktable. Rows of drawers lined both sides of the table. The walls still had plans and blueprints tacked to the walls and cork boards. What looked to be a frame for a computer about Syngery's size was against the far wall. "Aja, what was in the journal anyway?" David asked looking through a drawer only to find more computer chips.

Aja shut an empty drawer. "Basically Emmett wrote that the Synergy we have now was a prototype model. He had designed a more powerful version of her. He knew he wouldn't be able to finish that so he put everything he could into the prototype." She put her hands on the table. "I'm thinking we should build the new Synergy. From what I can tell is that frame and these parts are what Emmett planned on using." She studied the blueprints on the walls. "These are the blueprints and the journal was meant to act as a guide for his successor." There was a growing excitement in Aja's voice as she studied the schematics.

Raya cleared her throat as she entered the secondary workshop. "Who do you think he had in mind?"

"My father spoke very highly of Rio in the journal we found, Raya. Maybe it was him." Kimber suggested while looking at a set of blueprints. "These things always have given me a headache."

"Before we do anything we should call Jerrica and let her know what we've found. Odds are she'll okay this whole thing." A stray thought came across David's mind. "Aja, you know that mystery panel on Synergy? Were you able to find out what that was for?"

"No, not yet. Since we now know that the current Synergy computer is just a prototype, probably a system that conflicted with her current hardware. It happens quite a bit. Okay, let's take a break. Raya can get food and David can call Jerrica. Kimber and I will go back to the projector booth." Raya nodded and got their food orders before Aja and Kimber walked to the projector booth to relax.

David searched for his cell phone as he caught up to Raya. "Raya, you have your cell phone? I forgot mine."

"Sorry, I don't own one. Kimber has hers though." She took David's order and ran to her car. David walked to the projector building while he checked his watch. It was five minutes after five. He had hoped that Kimber knew Rio's phone number.

Roxy peeked around the corner of the wall where she spotted Stormer standing with her back to her. She checked her gun and made sure it was working correctly. Stormer would pay for what she did to her in the living room. This time it was war. Roxy took careful aim at her but as she was about to pull the trigger her light sensor started going off and began beeping. Someone had shot her. Roxy looked all around seeing no one except Stormer. She pulled the trigger of her gun and Roxy's sensor went off again. She was officially dead. "That wasn't fair, Mary! Where's Phyllis hiding this time?"

Pizzazz came out of a closet in the hall between Stormer and Roxy. "I believe the score is two to nothing, Rox. You and Sheila owe Mary and me fifty bucks each. Now pay up!" Roxy reluctantly handed over fifty dollars to each woman. "Now let this be a lesson that you can't beat the team of the Gabor Half Sisters."

"Next time you'll think before you challenge us to a game of laser tag, now won't you?" Stormer twirled the plastic gun on her finger. "And where's Sheila? I want my other fifty."

"I thought you were gonna flush them out into me direction, luv. What happened?" Jetta came around the corner, sounding somewhat annoyed. She saw Pizzazz counting her money. "Aw shit. We lost again?" Jetta pulled her money out of her back pocket and handed it out. "So how did we lose this time? Hey! I thought you had to eliminate both of us to win! Gimme me money back."

Pizzazz and Stormer both smiled wickedly. "We do." At the same time they shot Jetta's sensor thus eliminating her.

"That's not fair! You cheated! Gimme me bloody cash back, Phyllis!" Jetta shoved Pizzazz back a step who then pushed her back twice as hard.

Roxy grabbed the money Stormer was holding. "Let go, Roxy! We won, you lost! Deal with it!" She yanked the money out of Roxy's hand. Roxy tackled her to the floor and tried getting the cash back.

"You tricked us, Mary. Now hand it ov…ov…over." Roxy finished quietly then got off of Stormer and sat leaning against the wall. She looked up and saw Pizzazz and Jetta in a pushing match. "Stop it you two." When they didn't, she yelled, "I said to fucking stop it!" The two women stopped to look at Roxy. She made a sad smile. "It just dawned on me how much we've matured and changed. Stormer and Pizzazz can keep my share. You didn't cheat you were just sneaky. No matter what, I'll still jump to conclusions every so often." Roxy got to her feet. "I'm going to look for something to eat."

Stormer tapped Roxy on the shoulder and handed her twenty-five dollars. "Maybe we cheated just a little bit. Like in the living room, Pizzazz convinced me to turn off my sensor. You had me and should've won. So, here's half of what you gave me." She gave another twenty-five to Jetta. Pizzazz reluctantly did the same. "I say next time we have a battle of the bands with Jem and The Holograms, just an idea to kick around."

The phone rang as Pizzazz walked past it. "Hello, Gabor Residence, Pizzazz speaking. Hi Clash. What are you two mad scientists up to today? Okay, we'll be there in about an hour. No, we can't make it any sooner. We're about to eat. Alright see you then. Bye." She hung up and joined the others in the kitchen. "Clash said that Techrat has a gimmick for Jetta. It's for the benefit concert. She's being secretive and wouldn't tell me what it was though. We'll leave after dinner." Pizzazz sat at the table and began eating.

"So what did you need me for, luv?" Jetta asked while leaning against a work table.

Techrat held out a pair of what looked to be arm bracers with a hose that came out of the back of them. Little holes went around the bracer. "Put these on." She looked at the bracers suspiciously before putting them on. She found the fit to be just right. Techrat hooked each hose to an air tank. "When I tell you, point both arms at the drum set in the corner and press the palm button." Jetta nodded and pointed her arms. "Now press the buttons." When she did, there was a rapid fire noise of fwip that came out before the drum set started making noise. It lasted for about fifteen seconds.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Jetta looked at the wrist bracelets in awe.

Clash stepped forward a proud smile on her face. "They fire little pellets of sawdust that break upon impact. They're perfectly safe and harmless. I found a whole crate full of this stuff in the junkyard. I figured if I could help design something we could use these in a concert. I'm glad it worked."

"Techrat, have I told you that you're a damn genius?! Anything else for the rest of us, Clash?" Pizzazz asked hopefully.

"Sorry, but no," Techrat turned back to Jetta. "If you want, I can adjust the firing speed so it's faster or slower. Also, I want you to practice using these. I was thinking maybe as an improvised drum solo. Just work it in somewhere."

Jetta nodded slowly as she took them off. "Yeah, you know I will. Any chance of makin' them a bit more compact? They're a tad bulky now."

"One of the things I suggested also. Techrat and I will try our best." Clash took the wrist bracers and put them on the work table. "Has David called on the progress of the renovation?"

Roxy shook her head. "Nah, he hasn't called all day. Like we need an update on how many boxes of crap they've thrown out. Anyway, I'm betting it's been a very dull day." The others agreed and asked to see the wrist bracers in action again.

David rang the bell for Haven House then took a step back as he waited. A teenage boy about fifteen answered the door. "May I help you, sir?"

"Yes. Is Danse available? I have some good news about the benefit." The boy let him inside as David extended a hand. "I'm David Gabor."

The boy shook David's hand. "I'm Peter. I think she's teaching a class." David followed the boy's lead to an open door.

Inside Danse was teaching her class, David waited by the door way while Peter left to do some chores. Danse finished up teaching and called it a day. "Hi Danse, just stopped by to drop off the final list of performers we were able to sign up." He tossed her a towel and she wiped the sweat off her brow. "Also if you're free later my mother has invited you over for dinner. Nothing fancy, just a get together."

Danse smiled as she wrapped the towel around her neck and shoulders. "That sounds wonderful actually. My office is down the hall we can talk there. So how's everything at the Starlight Drive Inn?" She walked past him and went to an office not far from the dance studio. She sat behind her desk while David sat across from her. "Now, which bands did we get?"

"The new bands are The Stingers, Johnny Deacon and The Bluebloods. Several band managers called and expressed interest but also to say they couldn't make it. Not a big deal but here's a funny story. Some band called Cold Slither wanted to be part of the concert. But get this their manager said they had to be paid five hundred dollars an hour. He hung up very quickly when I told him that the other bands were playing for free." David handed her a list of bands. "The renovation of Starlight Drive Inn is going great. The Haven House kids that came out to help are very hard workers."

"Thanks." Danse smiled while looked the sheet over. "They all came back yesterday excited. Jerrica had them paint the projector building and the screen base." She looked at the date on her calendar. "I can't believe it's already Monday and the concert is on Saturday. There's so much I still need to get done." She walked up to David and took his hand in hers. "I just want to thank you in advance for helping out like this. This is such a big event that without you and Jerrica helping I'd go insane." She picked up a gym bag and headed for the door. "Give me a half hour to take a shower and clean up then we can go to your place for dinner. In the meantime feel free to talk to the kids here. I'm sure they'd enjoy any stories you have to tell." She waved and exited the room.

David found the recreation room where most of the kids were sitting. The counselors invited him in quickly. He talked with a few of the kids he had met during the weekend as he waited. A half hour later Danse was ready and they left together to have dinner with his mother, Pizzazz and Kimber.

Aja searched for the next component that was listed on the blueprint. The construction of the new Synergy mainframe was going faster than she had expected. Emmett Benton had it easily planned out for his successor even though she didn't think it was her he had in mind. However, she felt it was up to her now to make his dream a reality. She found the circuit board she was searching for and snapped it into place.

She took a step back to see the progress of how the supercomputer looked. It looked like a more compact version of Synergy that was at the Starlight Mansion. Aja folded her arms across her chest and smiled feeling pride in what she had built. The framework didn't have the panels or covers on yet but it was looking great. The screen was an early version of a high definition TV screen and there were a new class of laser projectors around the screen. This version was vastly superior to the old Synergy computer in matters of processing speed. Best part was that Aja could download the current Synergy persona and memories into this new system. In fact, the program for the new features was already in the old system.

The footsteps of Jerrica entering the room startled Aja. She stood in awe of the computer before her. "It's beautiful, Aja, but aren't you tired? You've been working since we found it on minimal sleep."

"I'm fine. I just want to finish things before the benefit. Give the audience an extra special light show. I should be done by tomorrow afternoon then we can download Synergy's program into it. The mystery panel that we couldn't figure out was to transfer Synergy into this machine." Aja looked at her watch. "Geez, I didn't notice it was after midnight already. I'm going to work on this some more and then take a nap here. If you could have someone bring breakfast by?"

"Of course, don't work too hard." Jerrica began to leave the small work area. "You know what? I think you've just found a fall back career if we ever break up. The reason why I stopped by is that Craig and The Bluebloods will be playing at the benefit. They arrive Friday night at LAX. I just thought you'd want to know."

Aja looked up from the blueprints. "Great! I'll give Stormer a call later. I want to go with to pick him up but first I must build the Leithenstein Monster!" She began laughing like a typical classic movie evil scientist complete with raising her hands in the air in a menacing manner.

Jerrica looked at her old friend amused. "Just get some sleep, Dr. Leithenstein." She left Aja to build the new computer in peace. "The time alone has gone to her head," she muttered to herself as she walked down the corridor.

Aja proudly stood before the covered machine. Her eyes were red from a lack of sleep and had bags under them. She hadn't slept since Monday morning and it was now around five that Tuesday afternoon. She yawned for what seemed to the tenth time that minute. Jerrica, Raya, Shana, Kimber and David were in Synergy's room with her. They all shared concern for her fatigue and well being. Earlier that day, Aja rented a truck and moved the new computer to Starlight Mansion while the Starlight Girls were passing out flyers for the benefit.

Clearing her throat Aja spoke with pride in her voice. "I present to you the future of Jem and The Holograms. I give you Synergy Version Two!" She pulled off the cloth that was draped on the new system. The familiar purple hued face of Synergy came on the screen. Aja continued and explained about the upgrade. "The new features are improved laser projectors that are capable to project over six hundred million holograms at once. And the best feature is that she can project solid light holograms within limits. It's only effective up to twenty miles from Synergy's computer. Beyond that it becomes less solid but she can still project visible light holograms. Synergy, show everyone the new you." Aja stepped aside for the demonstration.

The lights on the system blinked rapidly as the supercomputer came to life, the laser projectors powered on as Synergy formed in mid air. The effect took a few moments longer than usual but Synergy was now solid and tangible. "Aja, thank you, I feel in my circuits that I'm finally whole. This is how I was meant to truly be. Error! Error!" She suddenly yelled.

Jerrica started to panic as she watched Synergy's form glitch and shudder in place. "What's wrong with her, Aja!"

"It's-it's nothing. Synergy full system shut down." At Aja's command, Synergy's body vanished and the computer shut down. "I have a feeling the hologram matrix got knocked out of alignment during transport. It's a little sensitive. I'll have it fixed in a minute." She slid under the main console and removed a panel. "Shana, hand me the flashlight." She grabbed the flashlight and turned it on. "Thanks." She made a few adjustments then slid back out. "That should do it." Aja pressed the power button and Synergy hummed back to life. "Synergy, perform an in-depth diagnostic on yourself. Make sure everything is functioning properly."

The lights along Synergy's side blinked as she checked herself then projected another solid light hologram of her form. "You were correct in adjusting my hologram matrix. All of my systems are functioning within the proper parameters. Now to do something I've wanted to do for a long time." Synergy hugged Jerrica without passing through her. She broke the hug and backed away from her. "There is another limit that Aja wasn't aware of. I can only make one solid light hologram at full strength. If I make two the distance strength is cut by half and so forth. But since the visible light holograms take not even a fraction of my power it won't decrease the solid light holograms power at all." Synergy dispersed the solid light hologram of herself.

"I have a question." Shana said looking at the old Synergy system. "Now what do we do with this one? We can't just throw it out and it could fall into the wrong hands. Plus it's been with us from the beginning." She looked at everyone in the room then smiled. "It's a backup system. It just dawned on me that we could keep the old system as a backup. We still don't know what kind of bugs are in the new one. It just makes sense is all." The others agreed after a few moments. Shana checked her watch. "Damn. I'm late in meeting with Anthony and Countess Du Voisen. We're going over the stage fashions." She let out an annoyed sigh. "Again." She turned toward the computer screen. "Bye Synergy. Bye all." She ran out of the room to change.

Jerrica laughed. "Figures Danielle would want to see her again. She's such a perfectionist." She put her arm around Aja's shoulders. "And you, Miss Computer Expert need some sleep. I'm taking you to your room." She and Aja left the room to put the fatigued woman to bed.

"Kimber, David, do you want to help me pass out flyers? The Misfits and the Starlight Girls are already doing it. But I'm sure three more people helping would be appreciated." Raya smiled sweetly.

"Actually that's great idea, Raya. Then afterwards we'll get ice cream or something." Raya quickly agreed to Kimber's suggestion. She took David's hand in hers. The three friends bid their farewells to Synergy and left the hidden room.

"I-I-I don't like it. Craig's plane is late. What's the delay?" Stormer paced the terminal nervously as lightning lanced outside the terminal window. The clap of thunder made her jump a little. "I don't like this at all."

David comforted her by putting his arm around his half sister's shoulders. "Mary, everything will be all right. Your brother is fine. The rest of The Bluebloods are okay. Pilots make this kind of landing all the time. Just sit down and relax. I'm not worried." He gestured at Aja flipping through a magazine. "Aja isn't worried. So just relax, okay?" Stormer nodded and sat next to Aja.

The storm continued to rage outside. There was a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder that made both Aja and Stormer instinctively jump in their seats. After the initial shock they began giggling. Aja rubbed Stormer's back in comfort. "Guess I'm a little on edge too, Mary. It's normal during a storm like this. I'm sure it's just a small delay." Stormer relaxed a little and gave a half smile to her friend.

"Here try this, Mary." David pulled out his headphones and his MP3 player. Stormer put the headphones on but didn't hit play on the device. She looked up at him with a questioning look on her face. "A J-Pop mix playlist that Hitomi made for me. She put quite a few bands on there. Ayumi Hamasaki, Every Little Thing, Tokio, DoCo, Nanase Aikawa, Shonen Knife, Namie Amuro and a few others. If you like it I'll have her make you a copy." Stormer hit play and relaxed.

"I hope the plane lands soon. I'm more nervous than I'm letting on." Aja stood and put her jacket on the chair. "I'm heading to the newsstand. Anything you want?" David declined the offer. "Okay, I'll be back soon."

Aja returned ten minutes later, sat back down next to Stormer and began reading the magazine she had just bought. David sat down and started looking over the band performance order for the benefit. Twenty minutes later it was announced that The Bluebloods' plane would be landing in five minutes. David and Aja let Stormer listen to the music as the plane made its way to the gate. Aja nudged Stormer when the doors to the gate opened. She handed the MP3 player and headphones to David and thanked him.

Craig and The Bluebloods came out of the gate looking relieved to be on the ground. Stormer ran up to her brother and hugged him tightly while Aja waited for her to stop greeting and finally hugged and kissed her boyfriend. Stormer introduced David to The Bluebloods. Together they headed down to the baggage claim. The Bluebloods were worried if their instruments had arrived safely. David assured them that they had and were safely at Flash Studios. The Bluebloods took their limo to the hotel David had booked for them. The remaining four people got into Aja's car.

Stormer leaned forward to talk to her brother. "I hope you don't mind staying at my place. You'll be in my room, I'll be in Kimber's room and Kimber will stay at the Starlight Mansion."

"If it's okay Mary, I'm staying a few days extra to spend time with you and Aja. Our tour is finally over so I have time off." He pointed his thumb towards the trunk. "That's why my bag was so full. I hope I'm not imposing."

"Of course not! You're my brother. You can finally see how much The Misfits have changed." Stormer grinned proudly.

Aja laughed a little. "Yeah and you can help us remodel the Starlight Drive Inn. The only guy we have working on it is David while Rio is getting over being sick." She looked in the rearview mirror at David. "Are Ken and Eiji ever going to help?"

"Yeah, they've been practicing non-stop for the event. But they promised after the benefit they will help." David tapped Stormer's shoulder. "So what did you think of that playlist?"

"I loved it! I'll tell Hitomi to make me a copy tomorrow." She went back to talking with her brother. David leaned back and watched the storm out of the car window.

"Has Hitomi agreed to go with us to the Portland area next weekend?" Eiji asked as he checked his keyboard.

Ken tuned his guitar. "Yep, she'll be coming with but I wish David and Kimber would join us. They definitely need a vacation." Once satisfied with the sound he put the guitar down. "Did you buy a memory card for the camera?"

"Yeah, I still say this is a wild goose chase. Giant robots in the Portland area? Yeah, right. If there really was such a thing then why don't we see them elsewhere? Why don't they try to talk to us? It's Big Foot all over again, Ken." Eiji let a stagehand move his keyboard to the stage. "But it should still be a nice drive. It looks like we're on in five, so it's a last minute bathroom break for me." Eiji jogged toward the nearest restroom.

When Eiji returned he was directed to the stage. David was on stage with the rest of the band. Eiji asked him again what the surprise was. He gave him that disarming smile and told him to trust him. David started playing once the curtain began to rise. They played two of their oldest and best songs. When the second song was over David called for a brief break. "Ladies and gentlemen, the people watching at home, this has been my last performance with Pulsar. I now give you Suzaku's new lead singer Kimber Benton."

Kimber came on stage to a thunderous applause. She hugged and kissed David to cheers from the audience. He left quickly and stood just off stage where he watched as Kimber broke out into her first official song with her new band. They played the rest of the hour to a responsive crowd. He knew that Suzaku was a hit.

At the end of Suzaku's set Kimber announced that The Stingers were on next. Johnny Deacon opened the benefit over two hours beforehand. He played many of his older hit songs which the fans loved. The Bluebloods played after Johnny. Danse and her students performed during a few of the songs. Suzaku was after The Bluebloods. The Stingers were playing next, then The Misfits and finally Jem and The Holograms closing out the show. Each band was given one hour to play and fifteen minutes to set up.

The Stingers finished setting up and began playing before the curtain went up. David and Kimber started walking toward the back area when David bumped into Eric Raymond. "How are you enjoying the concert?" Kimber asked him in a very friendly tone.

"Very much so, I was just coming to thank David for inviting us. Riot and the girls were getting very antsy about when they were going to perform next. Also Kimber, I really enjoyed your performance up there. You have a bright future." He looked around the backstage clearly searching for someone. "I need to find Jerrica. Either of you know where she is?"

David directed him to the production booth. "Yeah she's in the booth I think. How's the leg doing?"

Eric instinctively looked at his leg. "It's healing just fine. A few more weeks and I won't need this cane, although it is fun to use it to chase The Stingers out of my office. I can't believe that I twisted my knee dancing. Getting old really sucks." David and Kimber both laughed. "I'll talk to you later. Take care, kids." He walked in the direction David told him to go.

Fifty minutes later The Stingers had finished their set. The Misfits set up rather quickly and started performing right away. The audience loved the new sound live. In the middle of a drum solo, Jetta stopped and pointed both of her arms at her drum set. She pressed the palm buttons and launched the sawdust balls out of the wrist bracers hitting her drum set. The crowd went berserk for her gimmick. Once she was empty, she picked up her drum sticks and started playing again. The Misfits finished up on time and Jetta threw her sticks into audience. So far they had received the loudest ovation.

Jem and The Holograms got on stage after setting up. Jem thanked everyone for showing up and for ordering the special. She dedicated the first song to Kimber. They performed longer than expected. The pay per view company let it go an extra half hour longer. Jem was on the final song and couldn't hear Synergy's warning through the monitor plugs she was wearing. Pink light began to shimmer all around her. Before she could do anything it was too late, in front of millions around the world, Jem was revealed as Jerrica Benton.

TO BE CONCLUDED IN "SHOW'S OVER, SYNERGY"

PART 3 OF REVELATIONS