The Man Who Ended the World by Jason Gurley Page A

suspended glass table at the room's center. The table hangs from a single titanium thread. 
    A work of art, no? Stacy asks. 
    How come the edges of the table don't tip over? Henry asks.
    The thread is bound to a very rigid substance that's pressed into the glass itself, Stacy answers. The table's center of gravity is practically universal. 
    Henry doesn't really understand, but that's okay. 
    It's a very nice table, he says. He shifts from one foot to the other and looks around the space. In the distance he thinks he can see a swimming pool that even has a high-dive platform.
    Ah, but it's more, Stacy says. Watch.
    The hairs on Henry's arms rise of their own accord, as if the table has just become electrified. 
    It takes him a moment to see it, but a thin green beam of light has just drawn a series of lines in the air above the table. The lines begin to connect and weave together until Henry is looking at a series of rectangles and boxes. 
    Holy shit, he whispers. What's that?
    The lines are drawing increasingly complex shapes, spinning off fresh threads that double back on themselves and begin to define new spaces. 
    This is a holographic, real-time map of Mr. Glass's facility, Stacy says. Right now, it's drawing the level we entered on. The storage level. 
    It's amazing, he says.
    I could have simply activated the entire thing, but it's much more enjoyable -- and impressive -- watching it unfold like this, don't you think? 
    Henry is mesmerized. 
    The map looks like a multi-layered slice of cake. Different-colored lines have begun to spawn within the larger green rectangles. 
    Watch, Stacy says. Enhance level 4.
    The map explodes and enlarges, and Henry jumps back, startled. The rectangle that represented level 4, the size of a shoebox a moment ago, was now the side of an airplane wing. It stretched in multiple directions, and the interior suddenly populated with more shapes. Henry could recognize a segmented space with a bed and a shower. 
    What's that, he asks, pointing at a glowing yellow dot. Rings pulse from the dot. Is that you? 
    No, that's not me, Stacy says. Technically, I'm everywhere. No, that yellow dot is Mr. Glass. 
    Henry looks worried. Can he see me looking at him? Is he on this floor?
    Oh, no, Stacy reassures him. Mr. Glass is two levels beneath us right now. Do you see how that dot is moving back and forth?
    Henry could see it. 
    That's because Mr. Glass is lying in a swinging hammock at the moment. And the little concentric circles emanating from his dot? Those are biorhythms that indicate he is currently napping.
    Henry laughs. He's snoring, I'll bet!
    Stacy says, Let's find out. 
    Henry listens as she says, Level 4 audio feed, localized to patio. 
    There is silence, and then, as Henry listens, a thin, reedy sound seems to surround him. 
    Holy cow, he says. He's snoring!
    He is snoring, Stacy agrees. 
    So where are we right now? Henry asks.
    Collapse, Stacy says, and the map collapses to the cake-stack again.
    The voice commands aren't strictly necessary, but they're effective for her demonstration to Henry. 
    Enhance level black, she says.
    The map springs open again, this time revealing the panic room level. Henry has a better view now of the pool at the far end of the room, and --
    Is that a movie theatre? he asks. 
    It is, Stacy says. Mr. Glass was nostalgic for the old days when he designed this room. 
    I haven't ever seen a real movie theatre, Henry says. My dad says they all closed when I was three or four. He says he always wanted to take me to see his favorite movies and he never got to.
    That's unfortunate, Stacy agrees. 
    Henry points at a blue dot near the center of the room. Is that me? 
    That's you, Stacy says.
    Henry laughs. Neat! 
    He suddenly breaks into a run, sprinting away from the table, looking back over his shoulder. The blue dot begins to move, streaking a blue vapor trail in its wake. 
    Henry laughs and runs back. So cool, he says. This place has