Book 04 - The Nightmare Machine by John Whitman

Author:John Whitman [Whitman, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction
ISBN: 9780553484533
Publisher: Bantam
Published: 1997-05-12T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 9

Zak was so startled that he didn’t cry out. He blinked, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him.

They weren’t. The plaza beneath the administration building was empty. The crowds had vanished. “They’re gone,” he said in pure astonishment.

“They’re all just gone.”

“Who’s gone?” Tash asked.

“Everyone!” he said, pointing out the window. Tash and Lando rushed to the window. As far as the eye could see, the streets were empty.

Hologram Fun World was deserted.

“See!” Zak insisted. “I told you something was going on here.” He turned to Danna Fajji and demanded, “What happened to everyone?”

Fajji stammered, “Please-please, I assure you, no one has been harmed…”

Lando glowered. “Zak may be right about this place after all. I think you’ve got some explaining to do, Fajji.”

The chubby man tugged at his red heard. “Master Calrissian, I’m afraid I do owe you an explanation.” He sighed. “You see, business at Hologram Fun World has not been as good lately as it could be. We haven’t had many visitors. And when the park is so empty, the people that do come feel less excited about being here. So in order to make the park appear full, we-“

“You created holographic visitors,” Tash guessed.

“Exactly,” Fajji confessed. “We do have a few real visitors in Fun World, but most of the crowds you’ve seen today-they’re computer-generated images.”

“I knew it,” Deevee sniffed.

“Deevee, you knew that?” Tash started.

“Of course,” the droid replied. “Any droid worth his circuitry would know the difference.”

“But most species wouldn’t,” Fajji acknowledged.

“An investor certainly wouldn’t,” Lando said accusingly. “Fajji, why do I have the feeling you were trying to trick me into investing in your Fun World? “

“Master Calrissian, I-“

“Don’t say another word!” Calrissian snorted indignantly. “I’ll have to reconsider our arrangement and speak to you tomorrow. Good day!”

Calrissian stomped out of Fajji’s office with the two Arrandas and their droid in tow. As all four descended in the turbolift, Lando surprised his friends when his angry glare turned into a pleasant chuckle.

“Wha-?” Zak sputtered. “You’re not mad? That Fajji tried to trick you, and you’re laughing?”

Lando’s eyes flashed mischievously. “Just a businessman’s trick. I would have done the same in his place. In fact, I admire Fajji’s guts for trying to pull off the hologram trick.”

“But you seemed so angry in there,” Zak replied.

“Remember,” Lando said in return, “things are not always what they seem. Let’s go back to the lodge.”

That night, Zak dreamed.

He dreamed that he was on Uncle Hoole’s Shi’ido homeworld-a planet that, like Uncle Hoole himself, was a mystery. At first it was calm and beautiful, with clean, well tended streets and tall, elegant Shi’ido walking by. Zak felt peaceful and calm.

Then, in the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a large head and flashing red eyes. Two long, multi-jointed arms wriggled through the air, reaching for him. But when Zak turned toward the image, the entire world melted and changed shape.

Suddenly he was surrounded by Imperial stormtroopers. When Zak turned to run, the world shape-shifted again, and Zak plunged into a thick bog.

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