"Saymon just sent this." Kiara switched the car to autopilot and sat near me.
I turned my eyes from the rainy landscape.
Pixels appeared before us, forming the image of the Aether Network's current premier, Lorenzo Cardoso. He wore a perfectly tailored navy-blue suit, his dark brown hair carefully arranged and his beard neatly trimmed. He faced the camera solemnly.
"I bring you news with immense sadness. The Brazilian people have suffered an unprecedented attack. They struck our core. The pillar sustaining our society. We have suffered in the worst possible way, for our own people struck us. Brazilians who walk this same soil, who share this same homeland. It is deeply painful to have to remove an enemy so close to us."
Behind him, a holoprojection of the Brazilian flag waved solemnly.
"All those videos circulating through the Aether Network's media, showing attacks on Greater São Paulo and Netheria, are nothing more than a great misunderstanding." His gestures were restrained.
"Our investigations have established precisely that the enemy has infiltrated far deeper than we could have imagined in cycles! These terrorists have poisoned the population with lies and manipulation. They are trying to turn the Aether Network against Brazilians themselves. The very idea! The Aether Network, which fights for the people daily? Implementing the best measures, providing the greatest well-being…"
The pixels faltered. Lorenzo's image disappeared.
In its place appeared a darkened figure. "Really, Premier?" a robotic voice mocked, followed by laughter. "Let's see if that's actually true."
The image shifted, revealing a recording of Lorenzo in a videoconference. We could see him clearly, though identifying the people he was speaking to was impossible.
"It's unacceptable for Zenith to be struck like this. If it were Centrália, fine, but an attack directly on us? Inconceivable!" He struck the table, shaking his head. "I'll try to calm things down in Centrália. They keep protesting… Why don't they shut up and retreat into their own insignificance? Everything was ready for the proposal's approval. We had to postpone it. These terrorists… Who are they?"
Indistinct voices answered, but I couldn't understand what they said.
"We need to find out more about this Une Côte. The sooner we resolve this, the sooner we can approve the measure, by April. We're paying too much in taxes and labor entitlements. Androids would do the work much faster and more efficiently. Without additional costs."
The other voices spoke again.
"I'll prepare for the address. Calm down. Things will soon return to how they should be. Centrália will forget all this in a matter of moons." Lorenzo waved. "As for Netheria, I'll deal with them personally."
The darkened figure returned. "Understand? They think you're insignificant. You are the weaving force they exploit. They fear you because you have the strength to destroy this pyramid."
As the voice spoke, images of demonstrations filling the streets followed one another. Social media exploded with discussions, people debated in bars, and chaos spread from one image to the next.
"That poisoning the Premier mentioned is nothing more than the poison they feed you daily. If you keep lying, Lorenzo, know that there is much more to reveal. This is only beginning."
The clandestine broadcast ended. Lorenzo reappeared. He was sweating, his expression frightened.
I covered my mouth.
"Saymon sent another file." Kiara smoothed her hair back.
He had sent that news without saying anything at all. No emoji, no comment. Only a full stop.
The android opened the second broadcast, a report from Jornada Unia, Europe's second-largest broadcaster.
Russian Empress Threatens Sanctions Against the Aether Network Over Repression of ProtestersMoscow, Tecesi of Irraluna, 2880 — Russia's Empress, Sonechka Alexeyev, spoke today at the Red Bastion in defense of those protesting against the Aether Network. In her statement, she declared that if the organization's violent reprisals persist, Russia will terminate its trade agreements with the entity.The monarch reiterated her firm support for the protesters and pledged to rally efforts to intervene against repressive acts, invoking the Treaty of Intervention for Peace (TIP), signed by 180 member countries, including Russia and Brazil. The treaty's second article establishes that, in the face of evident human rights violations, signatories may mobilize military forces against the offending country.The Empress's position finds an echo in Egypt, where military leader Abdel Ramesses Kalil also expressed solidarity with the protesters. Although the country is not a TIP signatory, it belongs to the League of United Continents (LUC), an organization providing for administrative, tax, and criminal sanctions against countries that violate existential rights, as well as the possibility of direct support for victimized groups.
The broadcast ended.
A bubbling sensation traveled through my veins like an impetuous flame, burning my core in pure euphoria.
Saymon had delivered his threat. Incontestable proof. The blood tie between Anichka, Empress Sonechka, and the former leader of the Vorovskoy mir. If that came to light, what would the Russian people think? Or rather, how would the world react? The overthrow of the Empress and her dynasty would be inevitable. The country would collapse into civil war.
And the Aether Network? The world's largest organization watched, lurking, awaiting her decision. Between the most powerful international alliance and her own country. Between global stability and the risk of collapse. Between power and… her own survival. In the end, she had chosen to save herself. Had that been a wise decision, Empress?
And Abdel? His statement echoed beyond its words. Enmity toward the Aether Network had burned for generations in Egyptian hearts. But now, he was doing more than supporting the insurgents.
He laid bare what the Aether Network refused to see. The enemy was far greater than they supposed. More than a declaration of support, that statement was a declaration of war. Egypt awakened like a vengeful titan.
I shifted restlessly in my seat.
Kiara returned to the wheel. "Almost there."
"How are things there?" I bit my nails.
She shrugged.
We flew over an area of Nobody's Land. The enormous piles of structures, erected beneath the yellowish atmosphere, lay destroyed, collapsed over one another.
A pang cut through my chest. I remembered the faces of the families I had seen in those slums. Remembered that Maia, too, had once lived there.
We crossed the main highway and entered the road leading to Centrália's heart.
Nanodrones hovered vigilantly in the air. A.T.F. police and military vehicles lined up like steel sentinels. Spirited voices echoed, charged with a stirring fury. Indistinct voices, yet they reverberated in my chest, churned my stomach, and awakened a fierce urge to join them.
Kiara parked before an abandoned establishment.
What did Maia's items conceal?
"Ready?" she asked.
I nodded.
Droplets slid down the windows. Scattered, slow drops wove a damp mist around the buildings. We were about to enter the core igniting these events, to become entwined with the voices roaring their revolt.
I stepped out of the car. Warm wind brushed my face. A breeze stirred the strands of my hair. The zephyr's touch. Subtle. So like Maia's. My heart quickened.