Rajesh Chandra Maji

a very serious club. and since you ve never heard of them, then i suppose you ve al?o never seen one of these." with that, he leaned behind her and dragged a large silver case forward. he opened it and drew out the most alienlooking body suit she had ever seen. smiling, he held it up for her to examine. her eyes widened with intrigue. she quickly recognized the complexity of the device draped in front of her. she lost touch with her anger for the moment and became engrossed in the story that was unfolding. "this suit will take you to one hundred different worlds without ever leaving this room, ms. cassell. i was one of the few fortunate enough to gain access to one. as i ve said, it s a matter of ?ome seriousness, however, because you can die in one of these very easily. they are catalysts for wealth and combat, an adventurer s greatest dream. i was doing quite well actually. the only real mistake i made was initially allowing the selection process to time out and default me to the aurora city. i should have chosen a place more directly suited to my specific abilities. i was a triathlon champion, by the way. you see there is a certain undefined treasure involved at the end of any particular contest, ?omething that is said to be priceless. i was close to it, very close, nearly at the end of the third level. i was in mortal combat with a quite hideous beast and had not realized that this particular breed traveled in pairs. apparently, the first one distracts you while the second striks from your blind side. i had nearly disposed of the first one when the second clamped down on my knee, crushing it. i had only a broadsword, of course, but even then i cut it thoroughly and manage to escape. it had driven me all the way back to the second level however, which is where i was forced to eject from the game. but i survived in any case, though my knee did not fare as well. unfortunately, i have no chance of reentering the contest as i am now." leeds paused to silently con?ole himself. cassiopia stared at the crumpled suit as he dropped it back into its case. quickly, his gaze returned to her. "i ve had ?ome time now to study the suit quite thoroughly, ms. cassell, with the help of a very knowledgeable as?ociate. i believe the suit is far beyond any presentday technology. i believe it to be alien. i have no idea who s operating the game, or where they come from, but i m certain that the treasure that is given to a player who beats the system is beyond comprehension. i must have it, and i will not rest until i do. and that, my dear, is where you and your robot will assist me." cassiopia s anger flared. "you re insane. you re nothing but a criminal. i won t do anything for you. my father has probably already informed the police, and they re looking for us right now." leeds sighed, managing to contain his short temper. "no...no, i m afraid not, my dear. your father is at this moment locked away in his own basement. if you cooperate with us he will be released unharmed, until then, there he will remain. what i require will only take a day or two of your time. that s all i ask." cassiopia narrowed her stare. "what is it you want?" "as i ve said, i am unable to continue in the sensesuit. only the most skilled individuals tend to survive them. i need ?omeone who is infallible to take my place. the suit really does not care whom. this one will always assume it is i who is using it. i need a superman to take my place, ?omeone like your tel for instance." leeds waited to allow his statement to sink in. "of course, the suit was not intended to accommodate ?omething as large and bulky as your mechanical friend, but surprisingly enough we were able to adapt. ?omehow i think the game operators were unaware of the diagnostic units included in the case. i doubt they would knowingly have allowed players access to them. i found mine purely by coincidence when i kicked it is anger and the foam packing fell out onto the floor. by acquiring the help of ?omeone skilled in robotics and computers, it became possible to develop that interface con?ole you see here on your right. as a matter of fact i believe you know the gentleman i m speaking of. he s a former as?ociate of yours." with that, a third figure emerged from behind cassiopia. she immediately recognized the familiar, darkhaired man whose beard stubble was always ?o thick it made him looked poorly groomed. he wore a white lab smock and smiled crookedly as he returned her seething stare. "cox! i should have guessed." "nice to see you again, cassiopia. how s the profes?or these days? still a shutin? nice tel you have there. tell me, how have the tactile sen?ors been holding up? they were largely my design, if you remember." "i thought you d still be in pri?on." "early release. with mr. leed s help, it surprised even me how quickly i got out. maybe they thought i got a bad deal, eh?" "for corporate espionage with a foreign government? you ?old out the tel corporation, and you ?old out your own country. they should have kept you in there forever." "screw that, babe. i was treated like crap. i was passed over at every turn. others took credit for nearly everything i did. it was bullshit." leeds s temper grew marginal. "ladies, gentleman,...please. let us get back to matters at hand." he waited for a tentative calm and resumed. "as i was saying, ms. cassell, with mr. cox s very capable help and his knowledge of tel robotics, we were able to develop a system in which the robot