“—and yet had a power source and access to the satellite VirtNet feeds. This is an old training facility for army tech warriors, abandoned a decade ago due to budget cuts. Turns out it worked perfectly for our needs. Took a couple of weeks to set up, but here we are. Already down to business.”

Michael had a million questions, but one stood out above all others.

He faced the tall woman and took a step closer to her, looking into her eyes carefully. “Gerard said you told him your name was Helga. And that you’re a Tangent. Does…” He had no idea how to phrase what he wanted to ask.

Michael was surprised to see tears glistening in her eyes, blurring the reflections of the lights in the room. “Yes,” she said. Then she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a crushing hug. “So you must be Michael, then. My boy.”

Michael’s eyes widened and it took him a moment to return the embrace. “You’re…Helga? Really? But how?” She’d quickly come to accept him in his new body, but he didn’t know if he could do the same.

She pulled back from him, her eyes fierce despite being wet. “There’s a lot to tell. A lot to catch up on. In brief, we’ve been on Kaine’s trail since even before you crossed paths with him. We stole the Mortality Doctrine program from him. Copied a version of it, anyway. We had to do it, Michael. We had to come here into the real world if we ever wanted to save the virtual one.”

The carsick feeling washed over Michael again. “Wait…you…stole people’s bodies?” He took a step backward. “You…How do I even know you’re really Helga? How can I trust any of you? At all?”

The woman who claimed to be his old nanny smiled kindly. “Good questions, all,” she said. “And I’ll answer each and every one. I think it will be easy enough to prove who I am. I’ll answer something only you know….”

She paused, carefully looking over Michael’s group. It was obvious they were as concerned as he was. They’d committed themselves to stopping this sort of thing. And yet their rescuers were no better than Kaine, apparently.

“We haven’t…killed anyone,” the tall woman finally clarified. Her stance had grown formal again, her expression no longer tender. But Michael could see a deep sadness in those eyes. “Not the true death, anyway.”

“The true death?” Sarah repeated, shooting a wary look at Michael. He suddenly felt like the ground below him was shifting.

“Please,” the woman said, clearly frustrated by her audience’s turn. “Let’s just sit down and talk through it all, okay? Please.” She motioned toward a circle of chairs set up near the glowing Coffins.