“That would give them control of the Park.” Finn paused, deep in thought. “But wait a second. If they have the same server, the same software, does that give them control over our DHIs too?”

“You see? You understand things so quickly. There’s a reason you’re the leader,” Wayne said, his eyes briefly looking brighter.

“I’m not the leader.”

“Of course you are.”

“We’ve never voted on a leader.”

“Not all leaders are elected, Finn. Some just rise to the occasion.”

Finn ignored that. He and his friends worked as a group. Wayne wouldn’t understand that.

“So what you’re saying,” Finn said, “is that the Overtakers may be able to use our DHIs like they used Jez to trick Amanda? They could have us doing stuff we wouldn’t want.”

“It’s not only that, I’m afraid. If they have a second server up and running—and by everything you’ve told me about Jez’s disappearance, they must—then the greater concern is their generating DHIs for each of you inside the Animal Kingdom. If they trap those DHIs and prevent them from crossing back over when you’re asleep…”

“We’d end up like Maybeck was.”

“Sleeping Beauty Syndrome,” Wayne said.

“Yeah: SBS,” Finn whispered so softly to himself that Wayne didn’t hear. It was the nickname Wayne had given to the comatose state. “But why would they want to do that to us?”

“Because Maleficent wants you out of the way. For good. They can only accomplish that if you go to sleep,” Wayne reminded Finn. “That’s the key, you see? If none of you goes to sleep, there’s no way you’ll cross over in the first place, no way you could be trapped in the Syndrome. They cannot gain that control over you as long as you remain awake.”

“I thought the software was rewritten so that SBS couldn’t happen again. Wasn’t that the point of the DHI server being down for the past couple months? The Grand Opening was to celebrate everything working again.”

“Yes, yes, yes. And I’d like to think the same rewritten software had been installed at the Animal Kingdom, but that installation has been going on while the original software was being debugged. I know a software update was made available to the Animal Kingdom, but I can’t get anyone over there to confirm it ever took place.”

Finn stared at Wayne’s flickering face, his thoughts whirring. Wayne was warning him that the Overtakers had a DHI server with the original flawed software that allowed Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. “You’re freaking me out,” Finn said.

“Yes. I can understand that.”

“How do you know any of this is for real?”

“I don’t. All I can tell you is, as a precaution, I’ve been taking twenty-minute naps—never a minute longer, hoping to keep them from crossing me over. So far it has worked. But for how long? The crossing over has to do with the dream state. We designed it that way. It occurs in the first few moments of REM sleep, which is about twenty minutes into a decent night’s sleep. The crossing over feels to you like it happens immediately—instantly—but that’s not the case. And another thing: I designed the crossing over to synchronize—that is, if you all go to sleep at about the same time, all five of you would then cross over at roughly the same moment. It saves the code from having to reload for each of you.”

“But what about the remote control? If we got in trouble, couldn’t you use that to cross us back over?”

“If your DHIs were all in the same place at the same time. Yes, that’s more than likely possible. But they could prevent that easily enough.”

“By keeping our DHIs apart.” Finn didn’t like what he was hearing. “So, what am I supposed to do?” he asked. Wayne was making it sound as if there was no hope: they were doomed.

“You need to stay awake. You need to find where the real Jezebel is being kept,” Wayne explained. “And you need to find that second server and take it back. At the very least, you need to crash it. But only once Jezebel is safe and you see that she’s fully awake. I wouldn’t mind if you contacted me then as well. If you crash that server before saving Jezebel…well…I’m not sure you or anyone else will ever see her again.”

“And if they catch you sleeping, then the same applies to you.”

“Never mind about me. It’s Jezebel we must concentrate on.”

“Why? Who is she?” Finn asked, hearing something different, something urgent, in Wayne’s voice. He knew something he wasn’t sharing.

Wayne grimaced. He looked sternly into the camera. “It’s not for me to say.”

“But you know?”

“I suspect. Knowing and suspecting are two different things.”

“Then tell me.”

“I can’t. That wouldn’t be fair to her or you. For one thing, I could be wrong. Listen, Finn, there are powers at work far greater than my own. It’s not for me to guess. If you’re to learn about Jezebel, it will have to come from another source.”

“Amanda.”

“Perhaps.”

“They’re sisters.”

“That’s a loosely thrown around term, now isn’t it, Finn? We’re all sisters and brothers, depending how far back you go.”

“They aren’t sisters,” Finn said, seeking an answer.

“It isn’t for me to say. That’s the best I can do.”

“Find Jez,” Finn said, repeating his instructions. “Find and crash the second server. Recover it if we can.

“It’s challenge enough, I know,” Wayne said. “But the bigger challenge will be how quickly you can accomplish any of this. You absolutely must have Jezebel safe and the server crashed before any of you fall asleep. If you sleep, you very well may be crossed over into that second server, the Overtakers’ server, and that would leave you—the real Finn—”

“SBS,” Finn said, cutting him off. “The Sleeping Beauty Syndrome.”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“You’re afraid?” said Finn sarcastically. “How do you think I feel?”

“There’s one last thing I need to explain.”

Wayne was constantly doing this: holding stuff back, and Finn found it frustrating and annoying. It was as if…as if he were testing him.

“You’re surprised your friends haven’t IMed you,” Wayne said.

“Yes.” But how do you know that?

“And you’re probably wondering how I know that.”

“Okay. You win.”

“You’ll find them in your private room inside VMK. Maybe I’ll have time to explain about VMK at some point. For now, all you need to know is that I sent your friends the same link and password I just gave you. When we end this chat, all you have to do is click on the VMK logo on the landing page. It’ll link you directly to VMK.”

“No way!” Excitement filled Finn. He had loved the virtual community. The idea of returning…

“I promise you it’s true. Remember the link: dgamer-dot-com, forward slash VMK. You’ll use the same user ID and password I’ve just given you. And by the way, something you may need…There’s a new Web terminal in Camp Minnie Mickey. It’s supposed to be used for making Disney vacations reservations, but if you click on Dream Vacations and type the password I gave you, it will grant you Web access and through it, a way into VMK.”

“But Camp Minnie Mickey is in the Animal Kingdom?” Finn said.

“Once you’re inside VMK, if you need me type my name. It won’t show in the text box, but I’ll see it and I’ll come find you. Trust no one, not even the avatars in VMK. The Overtakers are everywhere. Take every precaution you can.”

“But I’m going to Animal Kingdom?” Finn said, repeating himself. After all he’d been told, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get anywhere near the park.

“You must find Maleficent and destroy the second server. So, yes. You and the others are going to Animal Kingdom.”

Wayne turned to look over his shoulder again. “Oh, no…” he said, his voice panicked. The screen erupted into static, and Wayne was gone.

* * *

Finn found his way to to the DHIs’ private room inside the Virtual Magic Kingdom. He was disappointed he didn’t have time to enjoy being back in VMK. The game was nearly empty of players, and the effect was chilling. As he reached and entered the room, he found Maybeck sitting on a virtual couch; Willa and Charlene were over in a corner, their text boxes filled with dialogue about what had happened during the lightning storm.