Читать книгу Natalia’s Game - - Страница 6

Two Hours Earlier

A swirl of green and orange aurora borealis splash across the dark canvas of sky as I arrive 100 kilometers above the earth’s northern surface. Stars twinkle an invitation.

My name is Crew Thomas, and I’m addicted (in a nice way) to the Millennium-Falcon-like feeling I know is coming next: Hyper-acceleration through the astral plane and descent into the Hoia-Baciu Forest in Romania. Why there? It’s a long story, but I don’t mind.

In Romania, there is a girl. Not just any girl. A lucid dreamer who sees the future. She’s special. Natalia Net … Na. Ta. Lia. Net. It rings in my heart and soul like poetry, and I keep repeating it. Na. Ta. Lia. Net. I will find her and ask her to jump blindly and dangerously into my life. Most girls wouldn’t do that, of course. But she may. Rumor has it that Natalia Net is an assassin. If true, that’s a big plus.

My first stop today is the Hoia-Baciu, a centuries-old forest. Every Romanian knows that strange things happen there. But, most importantly, the gods blessed it with a gusher of energy that seeps through the ground, shared by all its creatures. I need a lot of energy, so I stop at the Hoia-Baciu whenever I travel to Europe.

You’re probably asking: Who is this guy? The answer is: I’m a ghost, a nobody. It was always that way. I grew up in a military family with a strict dad and a quiet mom. My dad was a control guy, so I didn’t have much spare time. To escape, I read science fiction and pretty much any science I could get my hands on. It paid off.

After my dad died young, I went off to college and figured out a couple of the missing links in quantum physics. That made me a freak. My dad would now marvel at my capabilities, at the hard work I put in. Maybe not. Perhaps he would simply give me his usual hitched nod, asking me what all this quantum garbage means. I imagine his reaction so that I can close this still-open chapter.

You probably haven’t a clue what quantum physics is. I explain it as an out-of-body experience; my consciousness separates from my body and travels through the astral plane. I can go almost anywhere. Sometimes my body and consciousness travel together. That’s a fancy way of describing the quantum sequence required to project my body for long distances. When I figured out a way to do that, people noticed. Not long after, I became a spy. That was a long time ago.

And today? The world is a mess. The Russians are winning the race to hypersonic missiles, and the Chinese are committed to winning the race to deep space. So, where does that leave us Americans?

In trouble.

With a downside scenario of global calamity, the CIA asked me to come out of retirement, astral project into the future, report on the relevant evil outcomes, and prevent them from happening. So much for retiring to a white sand beach. The problem is this: breaking the time barrier and traveling into the future can be accomplished only through a portal. Entering that portal can be done only through a dream. And I can’t dream.