feelings,” Jan protested, “feelings can’t be anything else but real. And
it’s not a ‘virus’, it’s a ghost – a person. It was a person you saw yesterday, not an
aberration of your senses.”
“That’s a
point,” Hal looked puzzled. “If I’ve got the virus then why didn’t I have the dream as well?”
“Because it’s not a
virus!”
“No, no,” Hal was thinking on his feet, “no, no – it
must be something else. I know. It’s that ring – it must be something to
do with that ring she gave you. But how…”
“But why? ” Jan interrupted. “It’s not the
‘how’ but the ‘why’ that’s important. Why is Margaret haunting us? What was it that caused her to be so terrified?”
Hal was not listening. He had turned back to the computer,
closed down the virtual reality program and loaded up his CAD software. A
three-dimensional map sprang up on the screen.
“Yes!” Hal punched the air. “It’s just as I thought.”
Jan looked over her cousin’s shoulder at an aerial view of
her dreamscape. The chapel, the lane, the cottages – they were all there
in every detail. Hal moved the cursor up. The scene shifted to the windmill. This
time the scene was not as richly detailed. Some of the surfaces were little more
than an outline and others had been simply rendered in flat colours with no
texture.
Hal moved the cursor onward. A wire-frame model of the
monastery came into view with only the western end and the side toward the lane
displaying any detail in its walls and windows.
“Why is the monastery only half completed?” enquired Jan, in
spite of herself. She leaned forward to look more closely at the screen.
“Well,” Hal began, tentatively, uncertain of his cousin’s
reaction. “According to my theory, the virus hasn’t fully taken hold there yet.
I reckon it gets its energy, or instructions, from that ring of yours, and
since you didn’t get that close to the monastery in your dream it hasn’t been
able to completely recreate it. Not yet .”
He turned and smiled at Jan.
“Remember what I was saying yesterday? About your going down
to the chapel while I stayed here to see if your ‘ring’ came up on the screen? How
about going down to the ruins of the monastery instead?”
Jan stood upright and gazed into the distance.
“Come on,” Hal urged, “you’ll be all right – it won’t
be like your nightmare. I just want to see whether you – well, sort of
radiate completed buildings wherever you go, when you’ve got that ring on.”
Jan turned her gaze toward her cousin, her eyes not quite
focusing on his.
“This isn’t about recreating medieval cities,” she said,
coldly. “This is about finding out what it was that terrified a girl so much
that she’s haunted the vicinity for 700 years.”
“Hold on a minute,” It was Hal’s turn to sound serious. “I thought
recreating old Wickwich was exactly what this was all about. And it strikes me that it’s precisely what your Margaret wants us to do. We wouldn’t have got
this far otherwise.” He placed his hand on the computer’s monitor. “Perhaps
this holds the key. Perhaps, by completing the task we’ve set ourselves, we’ll
actually discover Margaret’s secret.”
Jan thought for a moment before responding.
“Maybe, but…” Her eyes turned and focused on the outline of
the monastery. “Perhaps the monastery’s as far as we need to go. I certainly
didn’t get any further in my dream. In any case, you’ve got the framework of
the building – couldn’t you just use your software to fill it in?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Hal began clicking his mouse
buttons and jabbing at the keyboard straight away.
“Which do you reckon’s the best match?” he asked, pointing at
a palette of textures on the screen consisting of rows of rectangles displaying
samples of wall surfaces, from warm red brick to cold grey granite. None of
them were quite right, but Jan pointed to a square
it’s not a ‘virus’, it’s a ghost – a person. It was a person you saw yesterday, not an
aberration of your senses.”
“That’s a
point,” Hal looked puzzled. “If I’ve got the virus then why didn’t I have the dream as well?”
“Because it’s not a
virus!”
“No, no,” Hal was thinking on his feet, “no, no – it
must be something else. I know. It’s that ring – it must be something to
do with that ring she gave you. But how…”
“But why? ” Jan interrupted. “It’s not the
‘how’ but the ‘why’ that’s important. Why is Margaret haunting us? What was it that caused her to be so terrified?”
Hal was not listening. He had turned back to the computer,
closed down the virtual reality program and loaded up his CAD software. A
three-dimensional map sprang up on the screen.
“Yes!” Hal punched the air. “It’s just as I thought.”
Jan looked over her cousin’s shoulder at an aerial view of
her dreamscape. The chapel, the lane, the cottages – they were all there
in every detail. Hal moved the cursor up. The scene shifted to the windmill. This
time the scene was not as richly detailed. Some of the surfaces were little more
than an outline and others had been simply rendered in flat colours with no
texture.
Hal moved the cursor onward. A wire-frame model of the
monastery came into view with only the western end and the side toward the lane
displaying any detail in its walls and windows.
“Why is the monastery only half completed?” enquired Jan, in
spite of herself. She leaned forward to look more closely at the screen.
“Well,” Hal began, tentatively, uncertain of his cousin’s
reaction. “According to my theory, the virus hasn’t fully taken hold there yet.
I reckon it gets its energy, or instructions, from that ring of yours, and
since you didn’t get that close to the monastery in your dream it hasn’t been
able to completely recreate it. Not yet .”
He turned and smiled at Jan.
“Remember what I was saying yesterday? About your going down
to the chapel while I stayed here to see if your ‘ring’ came up on the screen? How
about going down to the ruins of the monastery instead?”
Jan stood upright and gazed into the distance.
“Come on,” Hal urged, “you’ll be all right – it won’t
be like your nightmare. I just want to see whether you – well, sort of
radiate completed buildings wherever you go, when you’ve got that ring on.”
Jan turned her gaze toward her cousin, her eyes not quite
focusing on his.
“This isn’t about recreating medieval cities,” she said,
coldly. “This is about finding out what it was that terrified a girl so much
that she’s haunted the vicinity for 700 years.”
“Hold on a minute,” It was Hal’s turn to sound serious. “I thought
recreating old Wickwich was exactly what this was all about. And it strikes me that it’s precisely what your Margaret wants us to do. We wouldn’t have got
this far otherwise.” He placed his hand on the computer’s monitor. “Perhaps
this holds the key. Perhaps, by completing the task we’ve set ourselves, we’ll
actually discover Margaret’s secret.”
Jan thought for a moment before responding.
“Maybe, but…” Her eyes turned and focused on the outline of
the monastery. “Perhaps the monastery’s as far as we need to go. I certainly
didn’t get any further in my dream. In any case, you’ve got the framework of
the building – couldn’t you just use your software to fill it in?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out.” Hal began clicking his mouse
buttons and jabbing at the keyboard straight away.
“Which do you reckon’s the best match?” he asked, pointing at
a palette of textures on the screen consisting of rows of rectangles displaying
samples of wall surfaces, from warm red brick to cold grey granite. None of
them were quite right, but Jan pointed to a square
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