The Prime Minister’s personal transport was more like a spaceship than a flying car. It was sleek and shiny and streamlined, with red racing stripes and a spoiler. No wheels. It was all thrusters and hover pads. If Hall wasn’t so scared, it would be really cool.

Maheera took the driver’s seat and Hall jumped into the front passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt.

‘Going manual from the get-go?’ said Hall.

Maheera didn’t answer. She buckled up and stabbed at the controls. The wall of the underground garage slid away to reveal a launch tube.

Hall was slammed back into his seat as the transport took off, shooting up through the tube. It emerged from the end as if it had been thrown into the air by a giant’s hand.

‘So we’re safe now?’ squeaked Hall.

‘I wouldn’t count on it,’ said Maheera, as reflected light blazed in the windscreen.

With a low, guttural THRUM, the transport was slammed forward, flipping over and over as a wave of force battered it from behind.

Hall’s head spun as the transport tumbled and everything outside blazed white hot. But his belt held him in his seat.

‘What was that?’ cried Hall, as Maheera regained control of the vehicle.

‘That was an antimatter explosion,’ said Maheera, voice unsteady.

‘Seriously?’

‘Quite serious.’ Maheera’s voice took on a cold edge. ‘The entire Parliament of Humanity has just ceased to exist.’

‘What? Why?’ Hall pressed his face up to the side window, trying to look down. There was nothing there. Silicon City had been levelled. He leaned his forehead against the glass and closed his eyes.

‘The Prime Minister said that he would buy us some time,’ said Maheera. ‘I am now left to carry out his final orders and hope that his faith has not been misplaced.’

Yeah, thought Hall, no pressure at all!

They spent the rest of the flight in silence. What was there to say?

Hall was alone with his thoughts. Confused thoughts. He still didn’t understand it all. Somehow everything didn’t quite add up. But he couldn’t put his finger on it. It was like he was missing a few very important pieces of a complex jigsaw puzzle.

He gazed out of the window, watching the distant point of light get bigger. Despite the horror of the antimatter explosion, he felt a distinct thrill about their destination. The strange tugging was reasserting itself. And he kept thinking of home.

As they got closer, he could make out the details. It was a palace made up of geometric shapes – cubes and prisms; spheres and pyramids; cylinders and cones. It had the haphazardly cobbled together appearance of something a child might construct out of building blocks. Giant building blocks … that glowed from within.

The Palace of Light! With a massive dome in the centre, an impossibly tall tower somehow stretched up from its apex.

The nearer they came, the more enthused Hall got. There was a feeling, an odd fluttering thrill, deep inside him. An unexplainable, nagging need to get to this place. The Palace of Light.

As they approached, the roof of one of the smaller domes pulled back, and Maheera piloted the transport down into the shape.

Inside was an empty landing bay – a rectangular platform in the centre of the hemispherical area. The roof was closing up as they disembarked, encircling them in a chamber with walls that glowed softly with a pale green light. It was just the right size for their transport.

‘Now what?’ asked Hall. Now that he was inside, the feeling had subsided. It hadn’t gone completely, but it was no longer pulling at him.

‘No idea,’ said Maheera.

‘Really?’

‘Do you still not realise the immensity of this situation,’ snapped the Field Marshal, turning on him. ‘This is the final level. This is the end of the war. No one has ever made it to this level. The Prime Minister has gambled everything – and I do mean absolutely everything – on getting you here.’

‘But why did he think I could do this?’ asked Hall. He didn’t understand what was going on. Despite the explanations, none of it made all that much sense to him.

‘The truth?’ said Maheera. ‘I don’t know. I’m just a soldier with a fancy title. I follow orders without question. When my Prime Minister – the leader of my people – says we must do something, I make sure it gets done. Even if I don’t understand why.’ She paused. ‘It is my job … my duty to get you to the final stage.’

Two discs appeared beside them, each big enough for one person to step on to.

‘After you,’ said Hall.

‘Together,’ insisted Maheera.

Hall watched her as she approached the disc and he stepped onto his at the same time. Particles of light whirled around him, then dissipated.

He was somewhere else. And he was alone. Where’s Maheera? he wondered.

He was in an empty room, walls glowing softly, as in the landing bay. What are they made of? He touched one. It felt solid and insubstantial at the same time, as if a good, strong push could make your hand go through it. And it vibrated with energy.

As he took his hand away, the surface became mirrored and he could see himself. His clothes were different. He was dressed in a grey skin-tight body suit, with fluorescent lines of red accentuating his shape.

‘Ugh!’ Hall groaned. He stood side-on. Seriously? They put me in a onesie? Why would anyone want me to wear this? And how do I go to the toilet?

Hall stared at his own puzzled expression. Toilet? I haven’t been since I got to this world. And I haven’t eaten or drunk anything either. Weird!

He stepped away and the mirror slid back to reveal a display wall full of weaponry. Hall gawped at it.

Pistols. Rifles. Energy weapons. Cross-bows. Bows and arrows. Hand grenades. Knives and daggers of various shapes and sizes. An array of swords, rapiers and other pointy-ended things. A battleaxe. A bazooka and a mini rocket-launcher.

They all had glowing red edges. Again with the colour coding. Someone’s gone nuts with the fluoro tape.

Hall reached for a futuristic-looking gun … then hesitated.

He didn’t want to hurt or kill anyone. He didn’t want to take a weapon … but what if he needed it?

Indecision froze him.

He was about to go into a game. If his opponent was RandomizarBian, he was certain he wouldn’t need a weapon. But if it was someone else? If only there was some way of finding out.

‘Who will I be playing against?’ he wondered out loud.

‘Your opponent will be Nguyen Thi Bian,’ said a familiar, disembodied voice.

‘Siggy? Is that you?’ called Hall.

But there was no response.

Nguyen Thi Bian? Bian. Could this be RandomizarBian’s real name?

Making his decision, Hall stepped away from the weaponry. ‘I don’t need any of these,’ he said.

The disc reappeared beside him and he stepped on.

Everything went dark.