“Glare? I guess. But if it was glare it would have burned out that side of the frame. It wouldn’t make a kid all pixelated.”
These were the words Finn heard so clearly: a kid pixelated.
“That’s a digital camera, right?” Finn asked.
They looked over at him as if he’d snuck up on them.
“Ahh, yeah,” said the man in a pleasant voice. “What else?”
It was an anomaly common to the parks: taking a photo—a digital camera photo—of a DHI and a guest presented risks. In certain light, the digital cameras did not capture the digitally projected holograms. The DHIs pixelated.
“A kid?” Finn asked, his voice breaking with concern. “A girl?” He imagined Amanda or Jess in the photo. They were capable of crossing over as DHIs, though he’d heard of no such plans from Wayne. His heart beat frantically at the thought of seeing Amanda—even as a hologram.
“No, a boy. Big kid. Football big. You know?” the man said. “Your age. Maybe a little older.”
People always judged Finn younger than he was.
“You remember what color eyes he had?” Finn asked.
“Oh yeah, kid. I remember the eyes of every guest I shoot.”
“No need to get testy, Victor,” the woman chided.
Wayne had said he was going to project some of the recently recruited DHI volunteers on the ship—Kenny Carlson, Eddy Moriarty, Patty Standard, and others—but that would be at night when they were naturally asleep. Even at that, they were to fall under Keeper supervision. It wasn’t possible they’d be projected in the daytime onto the island without Finn or Philby knowing about it.
Was Philby keeping it from him?
Was Wayne up to something?
“A boy,” Finn said, repeating what he’d just heard. “My age. A big kid.”
He knew someone who fit that description.
* * *
Willa and Charlene followed the two Asian girl Cast Members who’d left the Dream together. With the release of the guests, the island was a bevy of activity, two thousand people having come ashore to pursue their tropical beach vacation. There were more shore adventures offered on Castaway Cay than any other single port on the cruise, from Jet Skis to snorkeling, waterslides to sailing. It was like two thousand kids in the sandbox, all in swimsuits, their pale skin shining under a layer of sunscreen.
The island was a mile long and narrow, with a white sand beach stretching the distance facing west; on the opposite side were hundreds of acres of mangroves and jungle scrub, inhospitable terrain out of bounds for guests that had only a few narrow sandy lanes cut into it.
A motorized shuttle ferried those who didn’t want to walk from one area to the next using a paved road that, in Disney park fashion, led to several organized stops, whether restrooms, restaurants, or shopping. The various thatched-roof structures carried names like Cookie’s BBQ, and the beaches were designated by age: Scuttle’s Cove, Hide Out, Serenity Bay. Hundreds of guests rode the shuttle despite the short walk required. Near the back of the crowd were Willa and Charlene, having never lost sight of their marks.
The shuttle dropped most of its passengers at the first stop—the family beach. A few dozen stayed on, mostly adults seeking refuge at the far end of the island or those wishing to wait for a second shuttle offering short motorized tours. The two Asian girls, and Charlene and Willa with them, disembarked at this last stop and awaited the tour shuttle. It arrived, carrying ten seniors and several families. Another half dozen boarded, including the four girls, and it headed down an old runway that, according to the driver’s narration, had once served the family that had previously owned the island and could still be used in emergencies.
It was a strange sight on an island so small: a wide and long piece of asphalt cut into sand and palm trees. The shuttle paused at an abandoned plane at an intersection of the runway and one of the scenic tour roads. The Asian Cast Members climbed off here, but no other guests chose to disembark.
Willa and Charlene exchanged a glance. Would they give themselves away if they, too, climbed off now?
“What do you think?” Charlene asked.
“I think they’ve tricked us,” Willa answered.
“We’ll have to get off at the next stop and come back.”
“What if I got off and you stayed on?”
“Excellent! Brilliant! But don’t follow them, okay? Wait for me.”
“Done.” Charlene climbed off the opposite side of the shuttle car from the Asian girls and headed over to the abandoned airplane, studying it.
The shuttle continued on. Willa turned her head and tracked her friend, seeing that the two Asian girls immediately took off on foot up the runway. She waited impatiently for the shuttle’s next stop. When it showed no sign of slowing, she called out, “Could I get off here, please?”