Read Online Reality Matrix Effect (9781310151330) by Laura Remson Mitchell - Free Book Online Page A

surely no one could object now. They’d
been reading up on how they might approach the subject. Visitors
must have wondered why they had a stack of books on the topic. Al
Frederick even asked them once if they were planning to adopt.
    But before they had the chance to tell Rayna,
they received a letter from the lawyer who had arranged the
adoption. The letter reminded them that the terms of the original
agreement remained binding, in accordance with the wishes of the
child’s (Rayna’s) natural next of kin.
    Rayna glanced out the bus window. The
highlights of the city registered only on her subconscious. Then,
suddenly, there were the spires of the carefully preserved Watts
Towers, awash in the afternoon sun. The ride was nearly over. A
veteran of the tour, she knew the route by heart. Strange how
things stay with you, even if you’re not aware of them, she
thought. In all the times she had taken this tour, she had never
paid much attention to its sights  or sounds. Yet, she was
certain she could conduct the tour herself.
    “Hope you’ve enjoyed our little trip,” the
driver announced in a deep baritone as he pulled the bus up to a
debarkation platform beneath a large sign that read “Hover-Tours,
Inc:  Your Key to the City.”
    “Please exit to the rear of the bus,” he
added.
    Rayna allowed herself to be jostled along
until she found herself standing on a street corner adjacent to the
Hover-Tours station.
    What do I do now? she asked herself as
she crossed the street and continued walking without any particular
destination. Who the hell am I?   She was the child of a
Jewish “father” and an Italian Catholic “mother” who had emphasized
the importance of ethics and honest communication, yet had failed
to tell her she was adopted. The Kingmans were never told anything
about her true parentage, they insisted. And according to the
computer, the adoption records were sealed. She’d need a court
order to open them. That meant a lawyer.
    A lawyer?  She halted suddenly,
permitting a smile to spread slowly across her face. Keith.
Keith’s a lawyer. And he’s only minutes away by Trans-Mat.
    Rayna looked about and spotted a single
Trans-Mat booth on the corner. A curtain of gloom lifted. She was
sure Keith could help her.
    Her mind wandered happily as she made her way
to the booth. She knew Keith’s coordinates by heart. She entered
them on the control board and inserted her universal transaction
card in the appropriate slot. A readout showed her account had been
charged the correct amount, and she pressed the “transmit” button.
She could feel the usual light-headedness as the transmission
process began. A moment later, she stood in the lobby of Keith’s
building.
    Unlike the complex where Rayna lived, Keith’s
building was an older structure. It had once been what people used
to call a “mansion.”  Rayna found it hard to believe that so
large a place once served as home to just a single family. (In
fact, the story went, it had been owned by an old eccentric who had
no family. However, a number of the owner’s employees—domestic
help, secretaries and various business advisers—had lived in the
building at the owner’s insistence. He had wanted them handy at all
times.)  The interior of the three-story house had been
remodeled about 30 years ago, dividing it into eight comfortable,
attractive apartments. Keith’s was on the top floor.
    Rayna strode out of the Trans-Mat booth and
headed directly for the elevator. The doors opened just as she
reached for the call button. An attractive woman in her
mid-twenties brushed past Rayna, leaving behind the lingering scent
of a distinctive yet delicate perfume. Rayna watched as the woman
turned to greet someone at the lobby entrance and then continued on
her way. For some reason, the woman made Rayna feel uneasy.
Something in the woman’s bearing was at once galling and
threatening. Maybe it was her air of self-assurance. Yes, that was
it. The woman was