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them.”
    “Like what?”
    “Cheating mostly. It comes in handy, believe me. And it’s not easy, what with the random luck element. So ARES charge Shipley a small licence fee, and pay him a surprise visit every now and then to make sure everything is within set limits and that he’s not creaming the public too much.”
    “How does he do that?”
    “The games are rigged. Not in here – there’s no point in rigging games with Shifters – but on the other side it’s all controlled. Some of the croupiers are Shifters. And see those kids with the headsets?”
    I glanced over to where the three boys were watching the TV screens. “Yeah.”
    “They’re telling the plants what to play. Only if the cards don’t go their way, they Shift and tell them to play a different hand.”
    “But isn’t that unfair?”
    She laughed. “Why do you look so surprised? Do you think any casino in the world is fair? No way. The House always wins. Here, Shipley just brings in some extra skills to make sure of it.”
    “So Shipley is a Shifter? But I thought you said only kids could do it.”
    “He was a Shifter. One of ARES’ best. But after entropy, he left and set this place up. It’s kind of sad. I think he misses having the power.”
    “Hey, I’m not surprised. I mean, having total control over your life. It’s so cool.”
    “It really isn’t,” Aubrey said, unconvincingly. “And it’s not total control. For a start, if you come up against someone stronger, and you try and make a Shift that they don’t like, you’re stuck in their version of reality.”
    I rubbed my face, trying to take this all in. Aubrey was bombarding me with this stuff like she was explaining why two plus two equals four to a toddler. I’d never felt so stupid in my life. “So you don’t always have control over your reality?” I said, trying to keep up.
    “Not always. See those two?” She nodded to a guy and girl sat alone at a card table. Other kids stood around them, watching the game.
    “What about them?”
    “Watch.”
    I did. They didn’t do anything. They just stared at each other like they were playing that not-blinking game Katie and I used to play. “They’re not doing anything.”
    “They’re trying to force their Shift. They’re pretty equally matched. But the more powerful of them will see their version become reality.”
    I stared longer and I don’t know if it was the drink kicking in, or if I really needed to get my eyes tested, but I thought I saw ripples coming out from each of them, as if someone had dropped a stone in a pond. Where the ripples met, they repelled each other, bouncing back and creating more ripples. I sensed rather than saw the cards fall and it was over. The boy jumped up and punched the air in triumph.
    “You might think you’re all master-of-your-owndestiny and whatever,” Aubrey said. “But really, you’re caught up in a huge game of Top Trumps. The stronger Shifter, the person with more focus, more willpower, will always win. As long as your choices don’t affect another Shifter’s plans, then you’ll be fine. But if you go up against them and try and create a reality that’s out of step with theirs. Well…” Aubrey shrugged and didn’t bother finishing.
    “So, let me get this straight,” I said. “There’s this weird quantum power that only some people have. Only some kids to be exact. Although some are more powerful at it than others. And there’s a secret government unit that controls it all and if I’m not careful I’ll be banged up quicker than I can say Scrotum’s cat.”
    “Schrödinger’s cat. But yes, that about sums it up.”
    I reached for the drink and downed it.

Chapter Five
    Two more drinks arrived out of nowhere. Aubrey ignored hers and scanned the room. I guess she was giving me time to let it all sink in. And I needed it. Within five minutes, I’d been told I had the power to change reality and, whether I believed it or not, it was probably going to get me