My heart nearly leaped out of my chest. I straightened against the wall, opened the emergency door, and slipped inside. I rested my back against the door, my chest heaving. Sweat plastered my clothes to my skin as adrenaline consumed me. I had to stay rational.
I took a deep breath. "I'm in the stairwell."
"Alright, head down to the 205th floor. Follow the card now," Kiara's voice sounded in my ears.
"Okay."
Each floor had four flights of stairs. I passed within view of the nanocameras so Kiara could deactivate them. As I approached, sequences of code appeared, and then everything went black. The cameras would remain deactivated for an hour.
Everywhere I stepped, Kiara decoded another piece of Parliament's nanosecurity, identifying the areas and the nanotechnologies present. All of it using a nanoblueprint from thirty cycles ago. She really was impressive.
"How's the card?"
The pixels grew more restless. Still, the change was slight. "Nothing different. Ah, enough. I need to take these shoes off." I complained about the pain the high heels caused my feet and began carrying the shoes in my hands.
"Whatever. Just wipe your tracks."
I continued down the flights to the next landing.
"And now?" Kiara asked.
The card's pixels danced across its surface. I moved away from the door, and their agitation lessened. When I approached, they vibrated again.
"I found the floor." A bead of sweat rolled down my eyebrow and settled on an eyelash.
"I'll check it."
My bioscreen opened, displaying that floor's nanoblueprint.
"Alright, there's a long corridor and several doors. Zero nanocameras. They wanna keep whatever's in there hidden."
I leaned against the cold wall. The chill against my skin eased my rigid muscles a little, but keeping my emotions under control took a colossal effort. My breathing was heavy, and tension piled exhaustingly onto my shoulders.
Part of me wondered what was happening upstairs. From where I stood, the silence was disturbing. I needed to stop thinking about it and concentrate, a Herculean task that demanded all my attention.
"You might have to… no nanocameras means androids handle security. So…"
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Yeah. Know how?"
I rubbed my sweaty forehead. Of course I knew how to kill an android, except I had never done it. I had only deactivated them through the Motherboard. But this? Hurting them at their core? An android's entire nanotechnological essence. How could I do that, knowing Kiara existed? A sentient android. How could I?
"I-I do… but I want to avoid it. Is there a route around them?"
Kiara fell silent.
Great. Another burden on me. It was me. Only me who would do this. Only me to walk that path. Why had I chosen this? I had made it this far. I would manage. I opened the door a crack and saw a long corridor stretching ahead. Frosted partitions obscured the rooms' interiors. I stepped off the landing.
The corridors connected at the sides, forming an enormous square. The card's pixels pointed left. I walked briskly, peeking into compartments filled with endless cabinets crammed with boxes, items, and papers. Curious as I was about their contents, I stayed focused.
The pixels froze. This was it.
I tilted my head to look inside the room and saw blurred cabinets full of unidentifiable objects. "Found the room." I smiled, excited. I nearly breathed a sigh of relief right there. I studied the door.
The nanolock had an iris scanner, a fingerprint reader, a certificate pass, and a password. Damn it. I had celebrated too soon. Yes, we had expected this. But the original plan had been to get close to the central security room, wait for Kiara to infiltrate the systems, and deactivate that area. That way, she would only need to access a few security protocols.
"Already aware." Static interfered with the call. "You're gonna have to do it. You'll have to manipulate an android."
"Kiara!" I covered my mouth and looked around.
Silence reigned.
"Haven't you figured out your position? There's one coming down the left corridor. You know… there's a way to control an android. I know you'll think of something. I'm waiting for you to get access."
"Kiara?" I whispered. "Kiara?"
Shit. Curses. I understood Kiara a little better. Damn you, Saymon! Because of him, I was being forced to do this. How could I attack an android? My physical strength? Pathetic. Sweat ran from the nape of my neck to my heels. What if…? No. Unworkable. The problem? A nanotechnology. An android. Even if I really wanted to, I couldn't land a slap on him. Even if I did, it wouldn't hurt. Not to mention I would be violating Lex Argos itself!
First principle: "Every Living Intelligence holds the absolute right to choose whether to remain connected, deactivate itself, or merge, with full consent, with another nanotechnological entity." Lex Argos was etched into every fiber of my being.
My chest rose and fell as though I were on the verge of collapse. I was going against everything. But I was already here. There was only this path. I had to try. Perhaps I had a chance.
Footsteps approached.
I needed to decide quickly. My best chance.
The footsteps grew louder. Louder. He was close. Soon, he would turn the corner and see me. Who knew what would happen to me? Someone suspicious wandering around that room in Parliament? I knew very well what they would do. I had to act in the only way that would stop him from…
I gathered all my strength. Put one of the heels back on. Twisted my ankle. "Aaaaagh!" I howled in pain. Shit. I'd really sprained it. It was supposed to be a… My eyes watered. I fell and massaged the injured area. A grade-two sprain. Damn it. How could I be so… It was supposed to be grade one.
The android rounded the corner. My scream had been enough to draw him, and he came toward me, eyes wide. "Doctor Akiyama?" He crouched and examined my leg. He wore a Kokusai uniform. Engi, a nanoengineering assistant. "What are you doing here?"
I cried. "E-everything's chaos upstairs. This boy, Joel, tried to help me. He was escorting me when everything happened. You know, don't you?"
He grimaced sympathetically. "I know. I'm following everything. Parliament has been taken over. Joel helped you get here?"
I nodded through my tears, rubbing my ankle, which truly hurt. That part was no act.
"This is certainly the safest place to be right now." Engi gave me a reassuring smile.
"I-I tried to find help… twisted my ankle… th-these shoes…" My choked voice echoed through the empty corridors.
"Let me help you. May I?"
I nodded.
His irises glowed blue as he examined my leg. "It's a grade-two sprain, with a partial ligament tear. I'll help you stand. There's a room here where you can stay until everything passes." Engi held out his hand. "It was very kind of Joel to help. Everyone upstairs is terrified." His eyes smiled.
A pang of guilt pierced my heart at his kindness. "Y-yes. Joel read the situation before I did and helped me."
"That's good. I hope the others will be alright too."
I leaned on his shoulders, and he helped me up. Pain caught me so intensely when I planted my foot on the floor. Argh, crap. "I-I can't…" I closed my eyes. I knew what I needed to do. But knowing was one thing. Acting was another. My heart beat so loudly it sounded like an internal alarm.
Engi looked at me with eyes full of understanding.
That understanding killed me more than any blow could kill him. I gathered what remained of my courage. Took a deep breath, summoned enough strength to gain momentum, and adjusted the shoe in my hand.
Engi held my waist and looked down, watching my injured foot.
Yes. The position was perfect. I swung my arm back. In one burst, I aimed for his head and drove the tip of the heel into the middle of his forehead. The android fell, staring at me with wide eyes. "I-I'm sorry…" My blood pressure rose so much I feared a heart attack. Sweat blurred my vision. I blinked hard to clear the droplets. Tried to stay focused. The android's manual control activated.
"Open that door," I ordered.
Engi nodded and stood. I kept pressing the shoe against his forehead. He presented his iris, placed his finger on the reader, swiped his card, and entered the password.
Hissss Compressed air escaped through the opening.
I sighed, still far from relieved. One thing remained. My tears fell for another reason. I had to do this. I had to… "N-now…" The tears flowed even harder.
Engi. A nanotechnology. His frozen face, full of feeling.
I forced saliva down my throat, aching with pressure. I had to do it quickly. I had already… I had already done this to a human. I closed my eyes. Pain stiffened my muscles. "T-tear your nanochip out of your chest."
His arm moved. I was a coward to look away. Watching his eyes go dark was unbearable. I heard the tough skin being pierced, nanometal breaking like fast-spinning gears that heated until they failed.
Silence.
My breathing exerted crushing pressure inside my ears. Before me, the hole where a heart should have been. The nanochip in his hands. His dark eyes.
"I-I'm sorry, Engi." I rested my head against his arm, as though it would help, as though I were in mourning. The last traces of blood trickled down, and my Crone welcomed and blessed Engi's passage, his return to shine as a star.
"It's calming down upstairs. You need to hurry so you can blend into the crowd," Kiara informed me.
I would have to dwell on this later. I had to keep going. Driven by adrenaline, I ignored the pain in my ankle and dragged myself into a small room piled with metal boxes. I moved the card until the pixels froze. A grayish-blue box. "Found it!"
I ran the nanosoftware to block my fingerprints. I picked up the lightweight box and turned it, searching for the lock. I found a narrow opening on the side and inserted the card. The pixels went dark. The box opened in several layers until its interior was revealed.
"Y-y-y-you d-did it." A strange, faltering voice came from the object. "W-we a-are… n-n-now…" A loud whine resounded.
"Are you seeing this?"
A hologram tried to form, but corruption prevented it. Everything shut down.
"Yeah. No fucking idea what that is."
The final layer opened, revealing a MetaCore. A smooth-surfaced metacylinder rested inside it. Very popular during the solar cycles of 2780 and 2781.
"Is this it?"
"Looks like it. Go. Hurry back up."
I quickly removed the card from the box. The box returned to its original shape. I put it back, slipped the metacylinder into my pocket, and dragged myself toward the exit. I used nanosoftware to erase my tracks. "What do I do with Engi?"
Kiara went quiet.
I was in no condition to do better than that, so I left Engi where he was.
The way back proved torturous with my injured ankle. Every step sent an electric current through my leg.
I reached the stairs and made it to the ground floor. Desperate voices. Everyone running.
My eyes couldn't follow it all. I advanced toward the hall at a turtle's pace.
Cron, the nanodrones, and the corrupted A.T.F. androids had disappeared, leaving no traces of a massacre or clear evidence of the mercenaries who had attacked Zenith. Except for the hundreds of Zenithians in their luxurious clothes, fleeing toward Parliament's exit in terror. Horror streamed down their faces in golden tears.
Those who had always hovered above now crawled. Bare feet dragged over shattered glass. Blood mingled with the false shimmer of their clothes. Zenith's fragility, now exposed. And I… I merely watched.
The crowd passed through the broken glass. Glass that had always been imagined indestructible. From the outside, it had symbolized unbreakable grandeur. Now, that opening rubbed the truth in the faces of passersby and the world:
Everyone was at risk. The Aether Network was at risk. What would they do to cover this up?
A flame kindled in my heart at the thought. I almost smiled, savoring the new feeling. The strange satisfaction of my bare feet on the shards of glass. A mark of how fragile the Aether Network was. Fragile as that glass, so determined to be the strongest. A fraud. A fraud that could no longer hold.
Wintry lights shimmered softly. Through the hole in Parliament, a drizzle dared to enter, as though the sky wished to reclaim its recovered dominion. The Aether Network could do nothing. What had happened was inextinguishable.
I passed through the doorway and breathed the rainy air. Cold filled my restless soul.
Nanodrones flew overhead while A.T.F. androids offered everyone support. The Zenithians' incessant screams begged for safety.
Safety? I laughed at the thought. The symbol of their inviolability had simply been smashed.
"Where do I go now?" I whispered.
"They've closed Via Celeste. The A.T.F. has blocked landings around there. Are you badly hurt?"
"I am, but I can walk. Slowly, but I can."
"Head to the end of Via Infinitum. I'll pick you up."
"It'll take me about thirty minutes. Maybe longer."
"I'm waiting."
I walked painfully through Zenith's wealthy streets, once so familiar to me. Before, they had exuded a feeling of home, with their clean streets, lustrous buildings, everything neatly arranged, and cutting-edge nanoengineering. Now, the reigning chaos brought me a certain satisfaction. It dethroned the corrupted order. Confusion dominated the streets. Dread dominated the Zenithians. Police alerts dominated the adwares.
I focused on my ankle, calculating every step to stay upright. All this effort would make the injury horribly worse. Even with nanobandages, walking would be a nightmare for half a lunation.
"Doctor Akiyama?" An A.T.F. police officer approached me. "Do you need help? Are you hurt? We're assisting everyone. Do you live far?"
I forced myself back to reality. "Y-yes. My apartment is at the end of the avenue. Could you take me there?" I tried to suppress a grimace as pain caught me.
"Certainly. It would be a pleasure to help. May I carry you? We have no vehicles available. It's what I can do." She offered an apologetic smile.
"That's alright." I held out my arms.
The officer gathered me into hers, supporting my back and legs, and began walking.
The zephyr caressed my face. I relaxed a little. Throbbing pain occupied my body, but I stayed focused. That distress would end when I left Zenith for good.
We reached an empty avenue in ten minutes.
No sign of Kiara. She would surely appear once the officer left.
The woman stopped in front of the last building before the corner. "Here? Alright. Can you manage on your own?"
I nodded.
She lowered me to the ground, concerned that putting weight on my foot might increase the pain.
I suppressed a groan as I planted it. "I-it's alright."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I don't want to take up your time. Many people need help. Thank you."
The officer gave a brief bow. "The pleasure is all mine. This is my job. The A.T.F. thanks you for your trust." She turned, leaving me there. Her back grew more distant.
Good. Now I needed to wait for Kiara. I would be out of there soon. I was eager to…
The officer turned and gave me a strange smile.
My brows drew together.
Her smile froze me in place. Something felt disturbing. What was she doing? "Ah, almost forgot. Saymon asked you to meet him. Hear that, Kiara? You know where he'll be." She looked into my eyes. "At your own pace. He'll wait for Akiko to recover." She turned away without waiting for an answer.
Saymon? His name pierced my mind like a blade. My blood stopped flowing. My breath faltered.
She turned and went on her way, as though shattering my world were a completed task.
I swallowed. The tension returned at full force. I would have crumpled under that pressure. No. I was still in Zenith. Still close to danger. I had to keep going. I ignored the feeling his name had caused and walked toward the boundary with Centrália.
With every step forward, Zenith fell behind me, forever. That glass globe, frozen in a fabricated reality, was now shattering at my back. In my heart, insurgency reigned. The Zenithians' fear stirred little compassion in me. They had never known fear and were nowhere near knowing suffering. Nowhere near.
A black car pulled up. Kiara waved.
I smiled in relief. It was her. I had done it.The doors rose. I threw myself into the car and lay across the seat.
The adrenaline dissipated. My muscles contracted. Pain surged fiercely. My vision blurred, fading as my blood pressure dropped.
"Cheers. You nailed it. Rest. You've earned it." It was the last thing I heard.