"I'll be scanning our surroundings from now on." Cora smiled and put a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "What I saw could just be a graphics glitch, but there's a chance it could be a symptom of a larger problem and something I can exploit. If explosions and other violent events destabilize the simulation, I may be able to slip past its security measures and access its code."

"And maybe you can manipulate it? Rewrite the simulation?"

"That's my plan. Obviously, the simulation's code will be in an alien language, but if I can access it, I can figure it out. Hacking is one of my specialties."

"Well," Dylan said, "I guess the 'simulation' thing would also explain how information keeps appearing in our heads. It's like software being installed."

"Kind of, yeah." Cora smiled. "It might also give me more ways to slip into the system."

Nishara grimaced suddenly, shivered, and took a slow breath. "We have to jump out and parachute down to the ground. And I don't think I'll ever get used to suddenly just knowing things I haven't learned."

"Other groups are in airplanes all around us." Zilaka closed her eyes and rubbed a spot between her horns as if a headache were developing. "Each group will be trying to kill the others."

Dylan nodded. "Kind of a 'last team standing' sort of thing."

"Yeah." Cora cocked her head. "The basic setup reminds me of a few video games I played when I was much younger. Players landed without weapons and had to gather what they needed from items left scattered all over an island."

"Must've been published after I was abducted," Dylan said. "Sounds like something I would've played if I knew it existed."

"Probably. I found them in an archive not long after I became sentient."

A map appeared on the wall to Grishnag's left. Blips representing the airplanes zipped from one side of a desert settlement to the other. She sighed and walked to the sloping end of the chamber opposite the map. A mechanism clunked and whirred, and a hatch swung down and turned into a ramp.

"Guess we should take the plunge before we fly out of the playing area. Who knows what kind of punishment we'll get if we don't play along."

Everyone got out of their seats and joined her.

"A lot of people put skydiving on their bucket list," Dylan shouted over the roar of the wind and engines. "I never wanted to. One little thing goes wrong and it's all over. No thanks."

"Well, if our chutes don't open, at least we'll survive." Grishnag patted his shoulder and stepped up to the ramp.

"The rest of the combatants are already jumping." Cora pointed at the several planes that were visible beyond the ramp, then pointed at a group of buildings on the ground. "Looks like nobody's heading that way, so let's drop there and hope we can find some weapons and armor."

Everyone nodded and approached the ramp hesitantly. Grishnag trudged down the ramp and stepped off.

"Geronimo, I guess."