The four simple words blinked back at Cal from the screen. 

"You are not alone." 

The words might be simple, but Cal had the feeling the message wasn't simple at all. He stood immobile, staring at the message for some time. Eventually, and exhaling a shaky breath, he moved to his desk and sat. The 'test' gadget Dr. Takei had given him caught his attention, and he tapped the button on the side. The same faint whirr as last time he'd blocked the Mind prickled the edges of his hearing and he began to type.

- Who is this? -

- You may call me Ghost -

- Why did you send me this message? -

- You needed to know there are others who are not necessarily happy with simply being spoon-fed life through a synaptic feed. There is more to life than just the City, or the Mind -

- What do you want with me? -

- We need nothing from you, but we are watchers. We have been watching you for a while now, and we are aware that you are different, that you thirst for knowledge. Can you feel the stars calling to you, Cal? -

Cal froze, his hands immobile over the keys of the keyboard, its light projected letters and numbers waiting on the surface of his desk for his reply. Grief washed over him as he realized how closely Ghost's words echoed Helena's last words in the pod. I can feel the stars, Cal. I can feel them calling to me. I wish you were here with me.

- Who are you? Who is 'we'? How do I know I can trust you? -

- I am Ghost. We are the Community. And you don't know, but... -

Cal paused again, his heart racing. As he prepared to type an additional message, another line appeared on the screen. Reading the words, Cal's breath caught in his throat.

- ...sometimes you just have to jump -

The whine of Takei's device began to decrease, and Cal typed frantically.

- How do I find you? -

- Instructions will appear on your screen once you stop talking to me. You will have approximately ten seconds to memorize them before they disappear. Tell no-one of this. Come alone. I will find you at the meeting place -

As Cal watched, a set of instructions appeared on the screen, and he instinctively reacted, concentrating on memorising the sequence. He blinked, his eyes dry from the intense concentration, and the surface of the intelligent wall went blank as the device Takei had given him faded into silence. 

Shakily, he rose and got himself a glass of water. Closing his eyes, he mentally reviewed the instructions. So many coincidences; no, too many coincidences. He packed some food and a drink. He took a deep breath and looked at the picture of him and Helena at the Falls.

"Sometimes you have to jump..." he said and called his travel pod.

~~~

The Falls were spectacular, as always. Cal stopped at a vantage point to rest for a few seconds and appreciate the view. Spray from the massive waterfall drifted around the forest below, and a gust of wind pushed some of the gentle mist onto his face, the cooling spray helping to dispel the heat from his skin.

He looked up the trail. The instructions had taken him a circuitous but quiet route away from the main trails. It was an area he had visited before though, and he was nearly at his destination, the Folly. A tower set in a gentle meadow, the Folly was off the main network of trails and tended to be visited only by those who really loved getting away from the crowds clamouring to see the Falls. It had been a favourite picnic spot of his and Helena's in the past, and he felt a pang of sorrow as he shouldered his pack and continued stomping up the gravelled trail.

The Folly appeared to be empty as he stepped in through one of the four doors set at the points of the compass. Myriad stained glass windows in the walls of the Folly above his head allowed light to stream in, and he looked up inside the multi-hued tower. Rainbow light painted the upper walls but left the lower level in deep shadow. His footsteps echoed off the stone tiled floor, but as he stopped walking, a faint noise caught his attention. Cal inclined his head to one side, his hearing trying to get a fix on it.  

"I'm glad you came." The voice startled Cal and he whirled around to face the sound. A form detached from the deep shadows opposite him. A tall, thin man in dark coveralls strode towards him, pocketing a device as he went.

"You have a signal blocker?" asked Cal, his ears finally placing the faint whining noise in the background as similar to the device Takei had given him.  

"Yes. We have a few moment's privacy. Thank you for coming."

"How do you know who I am?"

The man patted his pocket. "We know a few of the same people."

"You know Takei?"

"Yes, he taught me up until a few years ago when I decided to leave the Program."

"What do you want with me?"

"You are causing quite a stir within the Community at the moment. We wanted to know more about you?"

"Who are the Community? Who is 'we'?"

"I can take you to them, but you'll have to come with me."

Cal's fists clenched and anger swept across his mind. "You're leading me on a wild goose chase. Why the hell should I go with you? Nothing is adding up here." Cal dumped his pack on the floor and took a few paces toward the man who remained calm, his posture neutral.

"Nothing you've said is making any sense. I seem to be going around in circles at the moment and not finding anything. Then, suddenly, I get a message from a 'ghost' in the machine who appears to be you, and you stand there and mumble on about some 'community' that may or may not exist, but don't bother to explain what's going on?"

Cal was shouting now, and had walked closer to the man, his knuckles white with anger. The man seemed to grow, looming over Cal, but he still appeared calm, and surprised Cal by grinning at him.

"Could you put me down please?"

"What?" said Cal, puzzled.

"You need to learn to control your emotions, and your power." He gestured at the ground and Cal noticed he was floating a foot or so above the stone tiles of the Folly. "Put me down please," he repeated.

Cal stepped back, shaking his head. As he did, the man dropped to the tiles, staggered slightly as he caught his balance, and then resumed his previous stance, a faint smile playing across his face.

"Can you only move things with your mind when you're angry?"

"None of your business," replied Cal. "I've had enough of this."

Cal turned to grab his pack off the floor, only to find it floating in front of his face. He wheeled around again to face the Ghost, and the man made a dropping motion with his hand. The pack floated gently back to the tiles.

"The Mind said no-one else could do what I can do."

"The Mind doesn't know everything that goes on in the City."

"And you do?" challenged Cal.

The Ghost inclined his head and laughed softly into the shadows. "No, but I know a lot more than many people. As I said in my message, 'you are not alone'. The high pitched whine from the Ghost's pocket had been steadily declining for the last few seconds, and he pulled it out into view.

"I'd rather not hit this again, it makes us visible by being invisible, if you see what I mean. You either come with me now, or not at all. I will not be offended if you decide not to come with me."

Cal thought for a second. A question gnawed at his mind and he wouldn't make any more decisions until he got an answer. "Why did you say 'sometimes you just have to jump' at the end of our last conversation?"

"It seemed appropriate. As I said, Cal, we know a few of the same people."

"Okay, let's go." Cal grabbed his pack.

The whine of the device in Ghost's pocket diminished. He nodded in approval and moved to a shadowed corner. "I am risking much by putting my trust in you, Cal." Ghost pushed on a brick in the wall, then a series of others in sequence. There was a click, and a section of the floor swung away to reveal a set of stone steps leading into darkness.

"You first, Cal, I'll need to close the entrance."

Cal descended the steps into the darkness below, and a few seconds later the faint light from above was shut off as Ghost closed the door. The whining of the device ceased and they were alone in the silence under the Folly.

~~~

When they emerged from the tunnel under the Folly an hour or so later, it was into a much larger space underground. Tunnels fanned out from a central hub. Some stalls and vendors clumped together around the passages, and a few people in coveralls wandered around carrying various bits of equipment or food.

"How many people know of this place?" asked Cal.

"A few hundred, no more. Not all of us live down here. Many simply visit for discussion or friendship. But we're a community separate to those who live in the City above. Most have tired of being plugged in all the time, or want to explore the City from the underside. I suspect the Mind knows we're here, but we're largely irrelevant to the smooth running of the hedonistic society above us. We do not cause problems to the City and so far, we've been left alone to do what we want."

"And what do you want?"

Ghost motioned to him to sit down on a bench. "We want to do something other than simply exist. Many of us are gifted in some way: some like you and me can make things move with our minds, others can heal or communicate without the Mind's synaptic links. Some just do not want to be Connected all the time. We are those who are different."

"And does anyone ever leave the Community?"

"Yes, sometimes. There are those who search for other things or those who simply require solitude."

Cal leaned forward, his eyes intent on the Ghost. "Those who search for other things? Like what?"

"A way outside."

"And have any found a way?"

"Some, yes. But most have come back to us."

"Most?"

"Life always has risks, Cal. The world outside is no longer controlled fully by man as it was. We as a species have evolved to be pampered by machines, fed by auto chefs, and waited on by robots. We have largely lost our ability to survive in anything other than the metallic wombs we now live in. We are spoon-fed everything we need by the Mind, even our knowledge. We indulge our whims and desires in environments that are safe, and more than a little bland. We are homo sapiens vanilla, Cal. We as a race have largely lost our spark, our point of difference and zest for things that are different. But you've got something within you that makes you want to see more than just your apartment walls, or the inside of your mind played out on whatever Mindscape you happen to fancy.

"Is there life outside these walls?"

"Yes."

"How do we get out there?"

"I don't know. But know this, Cal, not everything the Mind tells us is the absolute truth. It's very good at skirting around questions and not giving absolutes in its answers."

"Would anyone else know how to get out there?"

"Why do you want to go outside?"

Cal paused, thought for a second and then decided to trust his instincts. "My friend died wanting to see the stars. For real, by standing outside in the fresh air and seeing them. I want to do the same, to honour her memory."

"Are you sure she's dead?"

Cal staggered back, shocked. "I'm sorry?" stammered Cal. "I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"Sorry, Cal, I tend to question things that shouldn't be questioned sometimes. Force of habit. But I wouldn't trust someone telling me a friend is dead unless I'd seen the body." Ghost waved a hand dismissively. "But now I'm evading the questions. There's a name I hear bandied around the Community sometimes about a man who managed to get outside a decade or so ago. He's an old man now, but I know you know him. Kelna."

"Professor Kelna?" said Cal incredulously. "He's been outside?"

"This is what the stories suggest, but none of us have ever gotten close enough to him to be able to ask. He protects his privacy much better than you did."

"I don't know if Kelna would help or not. He's a wonderful man, but can be incredibly stubborn." Cal sighed and buried his head in his hands. "I'm not sure what to do anymore, Ghost. Everything is so confusing."