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She held her breath as they headed back, hoping the maze hadn’t changed so much that they couldn’t get out again.
But the exit was right where they had left it, thankfully. They stepped out together and looked back up the hillside once they had a couple paces of distance.
They scanned the labyrinth for a few minutes, but nothing appeared to be moving, except the tassels on the cornstalks as the cold breeze moved through them.
“It’s definitely shifting,” Tiago said finally. “Just not while we’re watching.”
“I mean the whole place is computer designed,” Alexis realized out loud. “I guess it doesn’t have to behave consistently.”
It was an odd thought. After all, everything looked and felt and smelled so real. But in reality, she might as well be on a giant game board.
“If it changes, how do we deal with that?” Tiago asked, frowning. “If we can’t learn from what we already did, does that make it unsolvable?”
“This reminds me of something,” Alexis murmured.
“What?” he asked.
She searched her mind for the puzzle piece of familiarity.
“Tech rehearsals,” she said, lighting on it.
“What are tech rehearsals?” Tiago asked.
“They’re the first rehearsals in the theater,” she explained. “Before we have costumes, when we’re just figuring out lighting and sets.”
“You’re an actress?” he asked.
“Ballet dancer,” she told him.
“Wow, a ballerina,” he breathed. “I should have guessed.”
“Technically I’m just a ballet dancer,” she said. “Only principal dancers are called ballerinas. I’ve been a soloist and in the corps de ballet.”
“Amazing,” he said, looking a little starstruck. “Ballet is really hard.”
His attitude endeared him to her. Many athletes didn’t think of ballet as anything but a bunch of prancing around in costumes. She wondered if he had known any other dancers.
She did her best not to think about just how many women a guy who looked like him might know.
“I think we need distance,” she told him. “Figuring out lighting and scenery placement can’t be done from the stage, the guys in the booth have to help the crew get it right.”
“But even if we study it from here, when we go back inside again it will just change,” Tiago said.
“What ifoneof us goes back out and just yells to the other what to do?” she offered.
“That’s a damned good idea,” he told her. “Want to go back in there and I can tell you what’s going on with the maze?”
“Oberon, do we have to stay together?” she asked.
“You do not,” Oberon said.
She swore he was trying not to laugh. But of course, that wasn’t possible. Oberon wasn’t a sentient being. He was an AI.
“Great,” she said. “Let’s give it a try, Tiago.”
He gave her a wide grin and she dashed off into the maze again.
This time, when she reached the center, she saw three possible turns again.
