AfterNet 01 - Good Cop Dead Cop

match.
    Munroe found himself talking to himself rather than the agent. He seemed to understand what he wanted better if he said it out loud.
    OK, that’s it. Now how do I get …
    The doors to the chamber parted and hinged outward. He felt the field of the chamber dissipate. He exited and reacquired the field of the lab. After the subtle quality of the chamber’s field, the lab’s field felt loud.
    “Alex? How was it?” Yamaguchi asked.
    “I know what I want for next Christmas.”
    “What was it like?” Yamaguchi asked Munroe again, back in Feore’s office.
    Munroe was distracted. Since leaving the chamber reality seemed a little drab.
    “Huh? Oh, it was … well, I’d say it was like an out of body experience but, you know … I was surfing the web without needing to use screens and icons or even words. It just came into my brain. It was like … it was like a waking dream.”
    Feore returned to the office. “Sorry, Shel and I had a lot to talk about. Alex, you were amazing. You accessed about as much info as a living person can digest in a week. Did you find what you were looking for?”
    “Yeah, I did. Can I use your computer?”
    “Sure.” Feore turned his computer around on his desk to face them. “Have at it.”
    Munroe called up the web addresses he remembered.
    “First, I found this notice in several of the entertainment forums. Actually I found it last night … or this morning rather. It wasn’t too difficult to find.”
No drugs, no booze but plenty of soul-altering music, lots of food and drink. If you’re a Jesus freak, this is the place New Years Eve. It’s an abandoned school. You’ll need the password: flower-rainbow. Yeah, we know its lame. We’re Christians. Whaddya expect. Beelzebub. Click here for map.
    “It seems to be in Weld County, a town called Gilcrest. Next, I found Margaret Duggan’s blogs.”
    “Who’s Margaret Duggan again?” Feore asked.
    “We think she’s the one arranging the actual abductions. The one with the church group … in the Springs,” Yamaguchi added when he looked blank. “Wait, Alex, you said blogs?”
    “Yeah, she’s got several. This one is her journal.” Munroe had called up the relevant page. Feore and Yamaguchi leaned forward to read.
Mom’s feeling a lot better today because Dad’s a lot more lucid. The Aricept seems to be working, and he was really alert. Dr. Jones warned me it’s just a short-term thing but I’m just thankful hes not aggressive anymore. But he’s a lot more perceptive, too. I think he knows that the dialysis isn’t working for her as much as before.
    The entry was dated April 13, 2002. Munroe skipped forward to an entry a few months later.
Just got back from the nursing home. Dad was really well behaved and I just gave up trying to tell him that it was Mom’s funeral. He just kept saying it was Grandma’s funeral.
It wasn’t until I was leaving that he knew. Oh God, why? That’s what I don’t understand. Give him the peace of forgetting. Why do you make him remember?
    “She was taking care of her mom and dad, going to school and working,” Munroe said.
    “Yeah, I know what it’s like,” Yamaguchi said.
    “Her dad died in December,” Munroe said. He advanced through the blog.
I haven’t been keeping this up and I just want to thank everyone for their kind words. As some of you know, my Dad died last week. He was pretty peaceful and thought I was Mom.
The hospice people were great. I just resented them trying to get him to sign that Afternet bullshit. Sorry. Please forgive my earlier rant. It’s all over now anyway. What does it matter?
I have to admit I was kind of glad. I am so sorry to feel that way, but I was kind of glad. I came home from work yesterday and I realized I had time if I wanted and I went to a movie. It’s the first movie I’ve been to in years. I just had the extra time. I felt so guilty, but I knew I had the time.
    “The poor kid,” Feore said. “This is your villain?”
    “Not everything is as it seems,” Munroe answered. “There’s a big gap after this. I don’t know why.”
    “I think for the first time in a long time, she was enjoying herself,” she said.
    “Could be. Anyway, here’s the last entry.”
Please just leave me alone. I don’t know what kind of game youre playing at. I don’t believe in any of you. My Mom and Dad are dead and in heaven. Dad would never have signed anything for the Afternet. He didn’t believe in it and Mom didn’t either. Our