Jay wiped his forehead with the flat of his hand and gritted his teeth. Eyes riveted on the road ahead, he kept running and running. He wasn't going to slow down. This wouldn't happen. He felt his heartbeats rising steadily and the sweat gluing his white tee shirt to his chest. It was getting painful now, but somehow it felt good too. On both sides of the road, he could see huge expands of land and towering glaciers. The bright blue skies kept him company. The largest of B24's three suns was just in front of him, like an incentive to keep going on. The other two smaller suns, already further down, reminded him of the distance yet to be covered.

There was this familiar numbness in his legs. There was the wind too, gently stroking his ears and brushing his skin. And the heat: a mix of intense physical effort and violent pressure to succeed. He felt it burning his sides, while sweat was trickling down his loins. His heartbeats were so strong and loud that he could hear them.

Jay kept regulating his respiration, lengthening the outbreath and making it deep, powerful and silent. He was gathering momentum. Above all, the road ahead was the promise of something real, something decisive. He had to run for it. One step, then another one. Again, and again. As he went on, the path kept unrolling and uncovering new portions of red, deserted ground.

Never mind what would happen in the end. Nothing would stop him, he had to reach the very limit. And he knew he was getting close now. He had thought it out carefully. He had in mind exactly what he wanted to say and how much time would be left. He knew the risks, and he didn't want to put anyone in danger, except himself.

Deep inside, Jay knew that he had nothing to lose. A blood-curdling warning came from deep within his entrails. A forbidden thought... and a few scattered images. He didn't slacken his pace, until he heard the buzzing signal announcing a health-threatening increase in blood pressure. It was time to slow down. Just one more push. Just a few more lengths.

To reach the very limit.

"There you go," said Jay loud and clear. "I've been pushing it tonight! I think I've broken my record!"

He jumped lightly on the side of the road which vanished in the instant, together with the glaciers and the glorious skies.

"Hey Star, check it out: I've been running for ninety minutes, that's my top run of the month! Hey, come here and look, I have a new bonus on my tracking list."

While saying this, Jay grabbed Starling's arm very firmly and dragged him close to where he was standing. Starling, who had been running next to Jay in another translucent cubicle, gazed blankly at Jay's record display. His friend was hurting his arm as he spoke, and he looked fierce.

"Ouch man, give it a rest. What the...?"

"Please listen, I only have two minutes before all signals go haywire. You need you to listen carefully, Star! Do you understand?" Jay uttered these last words very quickly, in a low, determined voice.

"I...OK!"

"I remember, Star. Not everything, but bits of it. I remember a necklace, pain, and GloCo's Regulators..."

"What? But it's... it's impossible!"

"I know I lost it. I don't know why. I lost it, and they took me away. And it had something to do with this locket. But you know all of that, don't you?"

"What d'you mean Jay? Why are you saying this?"

"Coz I remember you. You talked to me. You were there, weren't you?"

Starling for once didn't know what to say. Jay had been back for a week. The Regulators had probably taken him to his flat the night before his return, because the next morning he was back at the Composium. Everything had looked and felt normal. Jay had not mentioned anything, as it was supposed to happen after a retrieval. He had been re-processed... So what was this all about?

"Hey, I bet you're jealous now!" paraded Jay at the top of his voice. "Star, you have to help me, man. I'm lost. I've been thinking about this for a week. I think you can help me," he added hurriedly in a whisper.

"You're messed up, dude. Maybe your system doesn't stand re-scheduling. Maybe retrieval has upset your brain."

"But you were there with me when I found this locket, weren't you?"

"You've got to stop this now. You're gonna get us both in trouble!"

"I'm not stopping this. I need to know what happened."

"I don't know man! Please, let it go. Just get some rest, right? And stop asking questions."

"Not until I get answers! Just tell me what happened, or I swear..."

"Hey Jay," shouted Starling. "Watch me!" A girl with long blond hair clad in a green sport suit had been watching them suspiciously. Starling swiftly stepped back into his cubicle, and slid the door shut. Just before disappearing from sight, Jay could hear his friend say distinctly: "new running mode, max speed!"

It was over. For now. Jay felt the anger lingering and looming over him. He calmed his breath, closed his eyes for a few seconds... It was high time for all his biological data to come back to normal. His workout session was finished and he was supposed to have steady vital signs again.

He headed to the dressing room, fists closed so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh. He didn't heed the twinge. There was worse affliction than that. Passing Starling's cubicle, he promised:

"Haven't said my last word, Star. No need to run away!"