Conor nodded. "Thought so." He looked at Jack, and held out h<strong>is</strong> left hand. "Conor O'Neill."Jack looked at him in d<strong>is</strong>belief. He felt first entitled to at least one nervous breakdown or a psychoticyelling spree or-Conor's hand was still extended.Jack swallowed, and took it in a brief handshake."Jack Traven."Their hands were a perfect fit. They both felt it – <strong>the</strong> d<strong>is</strong>tinct weird of two left hands meeting itself, <strong>the</strong>tactile recognition of same skin, fingers, grasp; <strong>the</strong>y broke off <strong>the</strong> handshake and lapsed into awkwardsilence.**Conor brushed h<strong>is</strong> left hand with h<strong>is</strong> right; half-folded h<strong>is</strong> arms, unfolded <strong>the</strong>m, stuck h<strong>is</strong> hand into h<strong>is</strong>pocket. Jack was staring at him with an uncomfortable wariness. Conor looked away, to <strong>the</strong> floor,suddenly hit with <strong>the</strong> contradicting sensations of being <strong>the</strong> only one in <strong>the</strong> room and not really being<strong>the</strong>re himself. He backed against <strong>the</strong> sofa, felt its comforting presence against h<strong>is</strong> back and palm of h<strong>is</strong>right hand that told him that, for <strong>the</strong> moment at least, he still ex<strong>is</strong>ted and was probably not an illusion.He took a deep breath. Still alive. Still real. Still breathing."Okay," he said, in a half-mutter mostly for h<strong>is</strong> own benefit. "Okay."Conor gripped at <strong>the</strong> sofa, <strong>the</strong> soft lea<strong>the</strong>r folding under h<strong>is</strong> fingers, and finally deigned to look up again,h<strong>is</strong> eyes not quite focusing. "Um. Uh... so... uh, what do you... what do you know about th<strong>is</strong> place?" heasked Neo."It's a hotel," Neo said after several seconds of hesitation.Conor ra<strong>is</strong>ed an eyebrow."They're bringing people over," Neo continued, encouraged by <strong>the</strong> v<strong>is</strong>ual gratitude. "People fromdifferent universes. Who are fictional here, in th<strong>is</strong> one.""Why?" Jack asked.Neo looked uncomfortable. He didn't like being stared at and asked questions. He glanced at Ted,hoping for inspiration. Ted looked back at him in a most unhelpful way. "Money," Neo said finally."Sex. Murder. Just... yeah. Things like that. Th<strong>is</strong>... guy up on <strong>the</strong> top floor just now told me-""What guy?" Conor asked."H<strong>is</strong> name's Adwin. He's <strong>the</strong>... bro<strong>the</strong>r of <strong>the</strong> one who invented <strong>the</strong> machine that brought us here.""You know him?"Neo nodded. "We've been here before." He gestured briefly at Ted, who appeared to be reluctantlyfalling asleep on <strong>the</strong> sofa.Conor narrowed h<strong>is</strong> eyes at Neo. "You've been here before," he repeated."-<strong>Not</strong> here, exactly," Neo said, really w<strong>is</strong>hing that everyone would stop staring at him because it wasmaking him nervous and less capable of constructing coherent sentences. "Th<strong>is</strong> universe. But, uh, wegot out, in a... time machine that could travel to alternate universes-""You've been here before?" Jack interrupted. "Why?""I think we were one of <strong>the</strong> first experiments. To make sure <strong>the</strong> machine worked. And <strong>the</strong>n we gotrescued, and it probably p<strong>is</strong>sed <strong>the</strong>m off a little so <strong>the</strong>y got us back.""How did you get rescued?" Conor asked.
"By a friend of one of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs who got taken. He was a scient<strong>is</strong>t. We managed to e-mail him, hetraced it to th<strong>is</strong> universe, and came to get us.""Could you do that again?" Conor asked."I don't know," Neo said. "I don't even know where we are. The last time we managed to get out of <strong>the</strong>place, and we had a specific address. But here... I haven't even seen a single window. We could beanywhere."And Neo went on and told <strong>the</strong>m everything else he knew; he gave <strong>the</strong>m <strong>the</strong> condensed version of <strong>the</strong>events that had transpired <strong>the</strong> previous time he and Ted met; he told <strong>the</strong>m about Keanu Reeves ("How'dyou spell that?" Conor asked; Neo obliged with <strong>the</strong> spelling, whereupon Conor spent several secondsfinding new creative ways of getting <strong>the</strong> pronunciation wrong); he told <strong>the</strong>m what Adwin had just told himabout Kenselton Hotel, leaving out <strong>the</strong> bit about everyone dying because that sort of thing wasn't nice tohear."So that's <strong>the</strong> guy running th<strong>is</strong> thing?" Jack asked."I don't think so. It's too big for just one person. He's <strong>the</strong> one behind <strong>the</strong> idea, but I think that's it.""I want to meet him.""Now?""Yeah."Neo started moving; <strong>the</strong>y followed him out into <strong>the</strong> corridor, Conor with h<strong>is</strong> hands in h<strong>is</strong> pockets tryingnot to look at anyone. Neo held <strong>the</strong> stairwell door open and let <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs pass through first, <strong>the</strong>n into<strong>the</strong> lift lobby, <strong>the</strong> lift just a few floors away. They waited in silence, <strong>the</strong>n created a momentary humantraffic jam when <strong>the</strong> lift arrived and <strong>the</strong>y tried to enter at <strong>the</strong> same time; into <strong>the</strong> lift car, doors shut, 62ndfloor.There was no one in room F62-03."You should have got him when you had <strong>the</strong> chance," Jack said."And <strong>the</strong>n what?" Neo asked, as <strong>the</strong>y trudged down <strong>the</strong> empty corridor of <strong>the</strong> 62nd floor."He's around somewhere," Conor said. "He's gotta be. If not it means <strong>the</strong>re's a way out-"A guard named Harold <strong>the</strong> Straight material<strong>is</strong>ed in <strong>the</strong> teleportation bay on <strong>the</strong>ir left and narrowed h<strong>is</strong>eyes at <strong>the</strong>m. "What are <strong>the</strong> four of you doing here?" he asked.Conor made a sudden lunge forward to grab Harold <strong>the</strong> Straight, only to be thrown back against <strong>the</strong> wallyelling in pain as <strong>the</strong> guard's electric force field did its duty."<strong>Whoa</strong>," Ted brea<strong>the</strong>d. Harold <strong>the</strong> Straight looked d<strong>is</strong>passionately at him, <strong>the</strong>n back at Conor. "Rulenumber 3," he quoted. "Violence against members of <strong>the</strong> staff <strong>is</strong> not encouraged. We would prefer tokeep as many of you alive as possible.""What do you want with us?" Jack shouted."It doesn't matter," Harold <strong>the</strong> Straight said. "You're not getting out of here, and that's all you really needto know. Get back to your floor."Neo stole a peek into <strong>the</strong> teleportation bay, but it was just an empty capsule. He saw no electronicsanywhere that could be fiddled with."Why?" Jack asked."You're d<strong>is</strong>rupting <strong>the</strong> peace and order," Harold <strong>the</strong> Straight replied.Part of <strong>the</strong> strict organ<strong>is</strong>ation of Kenselton Hotel involved ensuring that people went where <strong>the</strong>y weretold to go, which <strong>is</strong> why arrivals were staggered. If a character arrived alone and was met with nothingbut a possibly-robot reception<strong>is</strong>t behind a bullet-proof, lightsaber-proof, Terminator-proof partition whotold him or her nothing except to go to a certain floor, chances are highly in favour of <strong>the</strong> character goingto said floor, if nothing else for <strong>the</strong> simple reason that it might hold some answers.
- Page 5: "Your behaviour these past few mont
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- Page 14 and 15: Next morning62nd Floor. Arrival Lob
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- Page 43 and 44: New guy gave a start. "Uh," he said
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Splash.The sudden rush of cold shoc
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The stairwell door opened and the b
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"Get everyone in here in fifteen mi
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Human beings have a strange tendenc
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Jack shrugged. "Suit yourself." He
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"-but we won't know for sure either
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**"We were just trying to get home!
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"It's John, assholes."John Constant
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The mob surged through both doors o
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"What?"A sudden telepathic message
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At the rear, not-Tim turned to face
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The lift dinged and opened its door
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Group B: Shane, Perry, Jjaks, Chris
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"Nah," Jesse said. "Might n-... - h
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The teen shrugged. "I don't know."
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"NO!" Shane yelled, running towards
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He smiled and vanished; leaving not
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"That wasn't really nice of y-" Dem
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"What? Hey, I just woke up.""...Dav
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"What-" Conor said, surveying the s
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"D'you have any food to spare? We'r
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Group C: Griffin, Kevin, Scott, Jul
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"...Er," said Dem. He put the most
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Group D: Neo, EddieStanding about d
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The cornflakes guy looked at him.Je
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"At least it meant we had heat," Ha
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Group B: Shane, Perry, Tommy, Chris
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"I can't bring them back to life,"
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Someone running after him from behi
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Then a ripple in the air; and sudde
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Nelson smirked and walked on to the
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"Yes sir," Ludlow hissed into his e
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Alex got slowly to his feet. He dim
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The face that looked up at him held
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First Combined MeetingThomas Ludlow
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- Reeves clears throat.- Utah shuts
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Griffin isn't the only one in the r
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He realised that he was not standin
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Ludlow smirked. "Thank you. Now I k
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Seventeen suspicious-looking, mostl
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Scott emerged from the alley he had
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Julian finished the stitches, close
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Stuck in House: Chris Townsend, Mat
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Loose in Kenselton Holding Facility
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Paul and the kids stared back at hi
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"Arctor, Robert," Dem said. "Get on
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With measured reluctance he tries t
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0704270/006/GRA"There are two kinds