Chapter 57

A MONUMENT TO HALTED PROGRESS

Oceanwide Plaza Tower 1, Downtown Los Angeles, California, United States

The unfinished skyscraper that Charlie Sloane had chosen for his illegal headquarters loomed over the bustling streets of Downtown Los Angeles. Its towering facade seemed to have been a part of an ambitious plan, but only ever became a skeleton and left incomplete. The gaunt structure of the fifty-three story building was encased in a patchwork of glass and exposed steel that pierced the night sky. Its unfinished stories were left gaping open to the urban night. Tarps attempting to cover the exposed floors flapped in the wind, making the building seem haunted with the essence of abandonment.

Gen, still grappling with the shock of seeing such strange structures, approached the entrance of the tower, her eyes wide with cautious curiosity. Emperor was close by, checking the perimeter of the building. The dragon’s size prevented him from entering the tower even with its open floors. However, he would be close by to help Gen to keep her mind locked and her thoughts focused on her actual reality.

There are no guards stationed around the building, Emperor stated in Gen’s head.

Just as we suspected, she replied. I’m about to enter the building. Are we ready?

Are you ready? he asked, his emphasis on the word, “you”.

Gen drew in a breath, enjoying the cool, night air. Yes, she answered.

Just remember that what you see from the VR will be a false reality, he implored. At first it will take over but you’ve got to break free using your mind.

But you’ll be able to help me, right? she questioned.

That’s unclear, her dragon replied. This is new territory. I’ll be monitoring you from the outside but I may not be able to communicate with you at times. That might be a part of the virtual reality controls. It could block your mind from outside communications. You must ground yourself now in this reality. Think of it like dreaming. When you fall asleep and have a nightmare, you can wake yourself up if you take control. Or you can allow it to terrify you. I’m afraid what will happen if you don’t break free.

Like it will give me a heart attack from fear, she guessed.

Like it could make you do something irrational when you’re fighting a false reality, he imparted. Just stay lucid. And I’ll try and help how I can.

Gen gulped. Nodded. Started forward.

The doors to the building were vast panels of glass smeared with the dust of neglect and stood ajar. She stepped inside, her boots crunching on a carpet of debris littered with twisted bits of metal, shards of glass and scraps of plaster. The air inside was stale, thick with the scent of rust and the unpleasant smell of chemical residues—which were like strange potions and concoctions unknown in Gen’s time.

Overhead, what would have been the ceiling was instead an open unfinished area full of beams and wires. The air from the neighboring streets whipped through the area. It was strange to Gen to be inside a building and also outside with the elements trespassing into the space. The whole building felt like a sad abandoned dream, but that thought reminded her that she couldn’t get swept away when the virtual reality started. She had to remember that it was all an illusion.

As she ventured further, her path was illuminated by the intermittent glow of work lamps abandoned by workers who might never return. Gen suspected that Charlie Sloane had left them on. Did he know that she was there? She suspected that if he didn’t then he would soon.

These strange torches were ensconced in wire cages that cast eerie shadows on the raw concrete walls and the giant metal beams that crisscrossed like the ribs of a giant beast. Construction equipment like large, iron monsters with wheels and levers, sat dormant. To Gen, they seemed like resting dragons, cold and silent, waiting for a rider to wake them.

Navigating deeper into the building’s insides, Gen encountered what appeared to be a lift. It was a small room enclosed by a metal grid that hung ominously open. She eyed it warily, recalling the tales of cages used to lower traitors into dungeons during her time. The wind whispered through the open structure, carrying with it the distant sounds of the city, blending with the occasional clang of metal from the building swaying gently with the breeze.

This ghostly shell of a tower, with its exposed innards and abandoned tools, was a far cry from any construction Gen had known in the 15th century, where stone and wood were painstakingly shaped by hand. Here, in the heart of a city that never truly slept, she found herself enveloped in the eerie stillness of a monument to halted progress, its very atmosphere a relic amidst the life outside.

Finding the stairs, Gen progressed to the second floor. She didn’t dare trust the metal cage known as an elevator. And she didn’t mind climbing fifty-three stories if that meant she didn’t crash to her death.

Gen didn’t know what she’d find on the next floors, but she braced herself for the false reality. All she had to do was find the hub that Alicia described and destroy it. Then she’d be that much closer to stopping Charlie Sloane—but first she had one very important question for him.