Phantasmagoria
Ghost Conscience

''Wraith...isDiana,'' Kelsey tells me as we walk though the dark woods.

Wait aminute...

What?

Wraithis...Diana?

Howcan that be...?

''Howis Wraith...Diana?'' I ask her, clearly not understanding what shehas just said. Kelsey sighs before she gets ready to explain.

''OK.So basically, Wraith is Diana's...alter ego, if you like. He's partof her consciousness, or more like, her subconsciousness. He'sher...ghost conscience,'' Kelsey explains to me.

Ghostconscience.

He'sreal to us, but not to the outside world. He's...an invisible part ofDiana, the manifestation of her evil side, I assume, otherwise hewouldn't be hell bent on trying to get rid of me.

''Solet me get this straight; Wraith is in Diana's mind. But...why doeshe come out? How does he come out?'' I ask her. I'm trying to graspwhy Wraith-no, why Diana allows a part of her consciousness, orsubconsciousness, to attack me.

''Wraithis Diana's defence mechanism. He feels threatened when he sensesparticipants are...getting too close to her. Wraith...protects Diana.He wants her all to himself,'' Kelsey replies.

Whatthe heck?

Whatkind of craziness have I got myself into?

If Ihad known at the beginning of this game that I was going to be at themercy of a woman who has a split personality, I wouldn't even haveentered.

''So...hefeels that I'm a threat?'' I ask her another question.

''Guessso. He's...never acted so aggressive before, though. I mean, this isthe first time that he's entered threelevels. And the second time he's attacked a level keeper,'' Kelseyadmits.

''He'sattacked before?'' I ask in surprise. This is not the first time he'sattacked?

''Yep.He attacked the triplets all at once,'' Kelsey reveals. He attackedthe triplets?

Wait...

Triplets...?

Whattriplets?

''Triplets...?''I respond. I haven't seen any triplets.

''Oh,you didn't know? You've already met them. Mathilde, Marzipan andMarigold,'' Kelsey answers.

No...way...

Thosethree girls...

They're...triplets?

''Hah!I knew it! I knew they were related! But...triplets? Wow,'' I gush. Iknew they must have been related.

''Yep.Mathilde, Marzipan and Marigold all have a French father and anEnglish mother. Mathilde was originally named Mahogany, since she wasthe only one of the triplets born with dark brown hair, like theirfather. When the parents got divorced, though, Mahogany lived inFrance with her father, and she changed her name to Mathilde.Marzipan and Marigold stayed with their mother in merry old England.That's why no one can really tell the difference,'' Kelsey explains.

Wow,she really deserves the name Information keeper. She knowseverything.

''So...whatdid Wraith do to them?'' I ask her.

''Well,he tried to drown Mathilde in her memories, and he locked Marzipanand Marigold in the body of a Never,'' Kelsey replies.

Hetried to drown Mathilde in her memories?

Likeshe...tried to drown me...in mine...

Maybethat explains why she tried to do something similar to me. Tried todrown me in my last memory of Jayden. She tried to choke me with hisdeath.

Andthe girls were trapped in the body of a Never? Oh, that reminds me...

''Arethe Nevers...and the Geists...like Wraith?'' I query Kelsey. Shelooks at me as we carry on walking through the woods. I may not beable to see very well, but I know that look. That'you-don't-know-how-much-there-is-to-know-about-this-game' look.

''Well,they don't come from Diana, if that's what you meant. However...,''she begins, but stops herself and sighs. She looks down, then back upat me. What's wrong?

''Howeverwhat?'' I prompt her. Why has she stopped explaining?

''Areyou sure you want to know?'' she asks me. Of course I want to know,that's why I asked in the first place. But then again, is she askingme because...it is something that shouldn't be known about the Neversand Geists?

''Yes,I do want to know,'' I reply in a serious voice. If it's not what I'mthinking, then I want to know the real answer.

''OK.The Nevers and the Geists...are...people,'' Kelsey says as she dropsthe bombshell.

TheNevers...

Andthe Geists...

Arepeople.

People.

Living,breathing, people.

That...howis that possible...?

''Iknow it's hard to...come to terms with,'' Kelsey says as I must havea look of shock. Oh, I can feel my jaw on the floor.

Yep, Ithink I'm definitely shocked.

''How...arethey...how can they be...people?'' I struggle to put in to words howthe Nevers and the Geists...are humans.

''Youremember when Vaughan was about to end you in level 3, but hesuddenly stopped?'' Kelsey says as she makes me remember anot-so-nostalgic memory of me and Vaughan.

''Yeah?''I say. Where is she going with this?

''Doyou remember Saya telling you it was a hacker that caused him tostop?'' Kelsey helps me reminisce again.

''Yeah,I do...,'' I say as I'm still unable to see what her point is.

''Thathacker, the one that one of the gate keepers got rid of...got turnedinto a Never,'' Kelsey reveals.

What?

Thehacker...got turned into a Never...

''Doesthat happen to all hackers?'' I ask.

''Yes.Anyone who dares interfere with the game is punished by Diana. She'sthe one that turns them into Nevers,'' Kelsey explains. So, Dianapunishes the hackers...and turns them into Nevers...

Buthow...?

''Howdoes she-,'' I begin to ask a question, but Kelsey knows what I'mgoing to ask.

''She...wipestheir minds,'' Kelsey answers the unfinished question.

Wipestheir minds...?

Shewipes...their memories?

''Isthat why...they're blind? Why they don't speak?'' I ask her.

''Yes.They have no memory of who they are,'' Kelsey says further.

''Butthe Geists...look different. Why is that?'' I ask.

''That'sbecause they have been taken over by Wraith,'' Kelsey says.

''Wraithcan do that? I thought he wasn't...real, though,'' I respond.

''Iknow, but he's part of Diana too. Her power is real enough,'' Kelseyreplies. Everything ultimately goes back to Diana. What exactly isshe capable of?

''Diana...whatis the scope of her powers?'' I ask. Kelsey smiles. Must be a reallygood question to ask.

''Herabilities...well, you know how we're able to read your mind?'' Kelseytells me. Read my mind? So you guys cando that. I knew I wasn't going crazy.

''Yep,''I reply happily.

''Well,that's because...Dianacan read your mind. She's telepathic. She conveys your thoughts intoour minds so we know what you're thinking,'' Kelsey answers.

Oh,so Diana's the mastermind?

She'sthe one who controls everything?

Ofcourse she would. She created this game.

''Yep,she did,'' Kelsey responds to my thoughts. I chuckle briefly at that,knowing that now I must be careful about what I think.

''Boy,this is totally different to the phase training,'' I say aloud.Kelsey gives a short laugh before turning behind her to look at thetimer. I look back at the timer too.

''7minutes left. Chasing me and getting to me went too quickly. It wassupposed to be longer. Most participants never replace me at all, butbecause of what happened with Wraith, I've been caught already. I mayas well take you to her,'' Kelsey says.

Takeme to her?

ToDiana?

''Yes.To Diana,'' Kelsey replies to what I was thinking. I still have toget used to that.

''We'regoing right now?'' I ask her. I can't quite believe I'm nearly at theend of this game. It went by so fast.

''Yes,of course. Unless you want another challenge,'' Kelsey muses.

''Idon't think I would like to have that luxury,'' I jokingly say back.I wouldn't like to do another challenge for the rest of my life.

''Well,let's be on our way then!'' Kelsey says as we stop. She looks up tothe sky, which begins to change. The moon, stars - all the darknessstarts to melt away to reveal a bright, rainbow-coloured sky. Thetrees of the forest begin to go back into the ground, and the Neversthat I see dotted around the area, including the one that was chasingme, all disappear one by one. I look at Kelsey, who looks ahead ofher. I can see her mind at work, because of the look of concentrationon her face. I'll reserve any more questions for her later.

''Brontosaurusor Diplodocus?'' Kelsey asks me after she conjures up a highway roadin front of us.

Whatis she on about?

Why isshe asking me about dinosaurs?

Is shegiving me a choice?

''Uh...Diplodocus...?''I respond. I don't know why she is...

Asking...

Me...

''Wow,''is all I can say, as I see hundreds of different kinds of dinosaursdescend down the highway. They came out of nowhere. I seeVelociraptors, a Triceratops, Stegosauruses...you name the dinosaur,they're here.

I feellike I'm in Jurassic Park.

''Hereyou are. Your very own Diplodocus,'' Kelsey says as she directs myattention to a rather giant dinosaur. It's very, verybig.

''Whatdo I do with it?'' I ask her as it bends down to see my face. Kelseygoes over to a triceratops which has stationed itself next to myDiplodocus.

''Rideit, of course. How else do you expect to get to Diana?'' Kelseyresponds. She immediately jumps on to her dinosaur with ease, and itstarts following the others on the highway.

GuessI have to follow suit. I float up to my dinosaur, and follow afterKelsey.

''Yougirls...really like to stretch your imaginations,'' I say as I catchup to Kelsey.

''Youhave no idea,'' Kelsey says.

Yeah,you're right.

Ireally don't.