Deirdre of the Shadows

The Collinwood drawing room took old world elegance to an extreme. Elizabeth Collins, the dark-haired matriarch, described it as largely unchanged since its construction just after the Revolutionary War. There were modern conveniences, of course, and Lois was sure there were secret panels among the wood inlays. She and Jimmy had coffee while Mrs Collins briefed them on the situation. Not being a superstitious type, Mrs Collins was at wit's end figuring out why her nephew was so out of sorts.

"My nephew insists he's communicating with a real person through the game. At first I considered a psychologist, but his father won't allow it. Then I recalled reading about your work on Kratos Island in the Pacific. Supposedly there were supernatural elements there, and Miss Danvers is said to be skilled in psychic research."

To describe Kara that way was an understatement. "That she is. I'm sure she can use a branch hookup to the game and follow along with David's travels in the virtual world."

Mrs Collins sat on the edge of a wing chair. "That's another thing. It's supposed to be a virtual city, but it's the Collinwood grounds and estate. The game maker said he has no way of knowing how to do that, never having been here before. It's extremely disconcerting that some element within the game has created another version of Collinwood—someone who knows us very well. What bothers me most is why David has been singled out."

"What about the people?" Jim asked. "Are you in there yourself, or your daughter Caroline?"

"No, it's the usual assortment of villains and monsters you fight in a game world. I haven't seen it, nor do I intend to. There's something unnatural about the whole thing. David is so wrapped up in it that it interferes with his school work. He won't talk about it. Perhaps Miss Danvers can get something out of him. I have the impression he's in over his head. I told David he could show her the Old House, but must not go inside."

"Mrs Collins," Jim ventured, "may I take some pictures of the Old House?"

"From outside only. As you know, it's been closed since that drifter was found dead on the north portico. The police think it was natural causes. Then again, people can certainly be scared to death."

Jim made an exaggerated shudder. "That's good to know. I won't go near any doors to the place."

"Meanwhile," Lois added, "our associate, Clark Kent, is investigating how such a thing is possible in the first place. That kind of technology isn't of this world, if you ask me. He wants to know where the manufacturer got his hands on it." She paused to sip. "I hope your brother doesn't plan on restricting his son's use of the game. We'll need to find out what he's experiencing in that other world."

Mrs Collins made a wry smile. "Roger isn't very good at discipline. He's so wrapped up in his own work running the cannery, he hardly has time for anything else."

Jim was still rattled by the ghost thing. "Mrs Collins, do you think David might be in contact with a spirit—someone from the family tree like a great great grandfather?"

She looked skeptical. "Our housekeeper is pretty superstitious, but Roger and I try to keep level heads about all the legends swirling about the estate. I think it's a very sophisticated program that keys on what David does. Somehow it's using him, but to what end I can't say."

Lois finished the coffee. "I hope Miss Danvers can get David to open up. Without something to go on, she'll be wasting her time entering the game world in tandem with him."

South lawn

Dried leaves and twigs crunched underfoot among barren trees. Kara wondered where David was going, since they were moving parallel to the grand pillars of the Old House. He stopped at the edge of an old swimming pool, now half full of detritus, began tossing branches in. He had yet to say a word.

"Aren't we going closer to the house?" Kara asked. "It's the most likely place to make contact."

David sullenly tossed more branches into the mix of debris below. "Why should we? I know your type. You just think I'm crazy. Another bored rich kid with too much time on his hands."

It was time to gain his confidence. "Attend me." He watched her rise into the air. Kara then crossed her legs as if sitting in a chair thirty feet up. "Sometimes I get bored myself, but there's always this."

"Holy cow! Only Supergirl can do that!"

Kara drifted back down and smoothed her skirt. "Let's keep that secret for the time being. I wanted you to know that I've seen things even you wouldn't believe. I may be able to make sense of what's happening in the game."

His initial confidence faltered. "I don't see how. Somebody is trying to get a message to me. I don't know what they want. The spirit is looking for something."

"Any idea who it could be?"

"Yes. The same one who killed that man who trespassed at the Old House. Deirdre Collins."

"Who's she?"

"She died of suicide in 1774 because her husband got killed in the war."

That cleared up a few things. Kara looked back at the Old House, quietly moldering beyond a copse of skeletal trees. Even the sky was leached of color, a sickly white. "I can see where that would generate a restless spirit. They usually left something undone, which they want finished."

David playfully jumped into the brown and flesh colored leaves, going waist deep. "I don't think that's it. She's protecting something at the Old House, and she's trying to show me what it is. Trouble is, she can't talk."

"You seen her in the game, then?"

He laughed bitterly. "Yeah, but not like you think. While I'm fighting all these bad guys with my sword, another one comes along to help me. She hates the villains, and doesn't seem to understand they aren't real." He looked up at her. "Don't laugh. She has the form of a skeleton in a pirate hat and bandanna around her throat. I know it's her because she took a piece of charcoal out of a fireplace and wrote her name on the floor."

"I see. After the fight, what does she do?"

David began tossing leaves in the air. "Did you know I can do this in the game if I want to? But Deirdre gets mad if I don't go where she leads. Lately it's in the caves that come out from the Old House foundation."

At last a place to start. "I can check it out for you, making sure not to go all the way up into the house."

"You can? I mean as Supergirl? I'd sure like to see that. But why do you want to get mixed up in something like this?"

"Let's say it's concern for where the tech came from. I tangled with some UFOs on the moon. They're probably looking to get even." Kara flew behind some trees to make the switch, the came back in costume.

"Wow! No one is ever going to believe this! Supergirl right in my back yard!"

"Don't be too sure. We can get Jimmy Olsen to take our picture later on. For now, I'm off to the caves. Then I'll meet you in your room and we'll enter the game world. Sound like a plan?"

"You bet!" David took off running back toward the mansion.

Stardine Industries

"Come in, Mr Kent!" The president of the firm shook hands. His high forehead and glasses lent him an air of the technical wizard. "We're hoping for some good publicity. Our top-line system isn't cheap."

Clark took the indicated chair while the president, Chandler, leaned on his desk. "I'm trying to figure out how the system has a complete layout of Collinwood: the mansion, grounds, even the caves beneath the Old House."

Chandler looked perplexed. "I've never even been to Collinwood. The only sim we make is a fictional city. Maybe the system is evolving to match its environment."

"I think it's more than that. Can you tell me where you came by the technology?"

"Sure. A gentleman sold us the processors for a decent price. Those are the core of the system. We build the peripherals, like the screen and game controllers." Clark asked for a description. "He wore a beige suit; other than that, perfectly ordinary."

Clark figured the aliens were setting up a new order of Men in Black, who didn't dress the old way, and kept their distance from the agency to avoid getting assimilated. Trying to track them was practically impossible. "Does he intend to come back for future sales?" He casually checked out a bank of filing cabinets.

"He does, but he won't commit to a time or schedule. Say—want to see some lower-end games?" Chandler entered a back room where technicians were having fun testing consoles with simple games. Some were shootouts in high-rise buildings; others were table tennis; another attempted to intercept inbound missiles. They certainly looked addictive, the kind of thing people would rather do than improve their minds. A dumb populace was one that was easily controlled. Insidious. But the free enterprise system made it entirely legal.

Clark watched with arms crossed. "Is it possible that alien technology is involved? It's known that UFOs can come and go as if entering another dimension." Would it be necessary to give the aliens an ultimatum, maybe even attack Mars?

"Aliens? I don't really believe in that UFO stuff. Do you?"

"I've seen them up close, though I can't tell you where."

"Or you'd have to kill me! Ha ha!" Chandler looked fondly at his assembly line. "We'll have lots of competition for these small units, but we're the only ones building the high-end ones."

"Mr Chandler, would you let me know the next time this guy shows up? We may have an even bigger story for our paper."

"I'll certainly consider it, Mr Kent." The handshake meant the interview was over.

On the drive back to Metropolis, Clark decided there was more involved than alien tech. Perhaps a spirit had taken over the system and bent it to its own purpose. But what purpose? All he had was an article about a whiz-bang new game that only one percent of people could even afford. The aliens were probably unaware of how a spirit could appropriate the system and communicate from centuries past. That, then, was the real article. Lois stood to break quite a story if Kara could help young David figure out what the ghost wanted. In the meantime, Clark had an initial clue gained by an X-ray scan of Chandler's filing cabinets: the name of a bank where the stranger had deposited the check. It was the first step in another possible clash with the UFO drivers.

He stopped at a restaurant to place a call to Six Forks, where Sirtis had rejoined the mermaid act. At the moment, they were only rehearsing. He could hear splashing in the background while a maintenance worker held the phone ready. Sirtis came on. "Sirtis, are you up for round two with the aliens?"

"After what they did to Kara? I want to blow up the planet Mars."

"It just might come to that. They're flooding the market with highly addictive games designed to dumb down the country. We'll probably be there at some point on our own, but for now, I'd like to buy some time. My first stop is Inspector Henderson; he'll need to open some doors for us. Then it's a classic stakeout."

"Like secret agents. I have always wanted to try that."

"Great. I'll brief you on the situation at Collinwood." Fortunately, Sirtis was no stranger to the supernatural.