“I thought no one had access to individual vehicles.”
“No unauthorized personnel. You are among the elite for now. And I am supposed to be giving you a tour of your district. Don’t worry. We haven’t made it this far by being careless. There are much more drastic worries ahead for you, my friend.”
“I…still don’t understand why you’re focusing on me. I’m nobody.”
“History is filled with nobodies who become somebody when the time was right. It is circumstance that gives us our heroes, Franklin. Not some higher calling. You’re in this game of cat and mouse because of who you were. It will come to you in time, I promise. For now all you need to know is that they are afraid of you. In a way they need you to publicly be on their side. And that is why this plan will work.”
“What plan?”
“The plan to end it all, Franklin. To bring their corrupt Empire down on their heads. And you’re the one who will make it all possible.”
Chapter 6
I open my mouth, but Jack cuts me off with a gesture. “There.”
I look out the window. For a moment I don’t recognize it. I have never seen the Industrial Center from the outside before. Imposing walls more suitable for a fortress than an industrial hub encompass the entire district.
The transport slows to a crawl. Jack looks at the towering walls and speaks softly. “Do you know what lies inside those walls, Franklin?”
“The factories. Electricity. Water. Recycling.”
“Power Central,” Jack says.
I look at him questioningly.
“You haven’t actually seen it, Franklin. You didn’t have the authority. Drones aren’t allowed in there anyway. But you’ve seen the train reserved for the Tunnel.”
I remember that particular train, only because we were never allowed anywhere near the area. At the time I had no reason to question why. Curiosity is a luxury not afforded the subservient.
“I know it.”
Jack stares at the walls as though he can see through them. “That’s the only way into Power Central. Where the electromagnetic fields are created that keep the Sovereign hidden and safe.”
“Electromagnetic fields?”
His face is expressionless. “What do you remember about the end of the War?”
I immediately supply the automatic response. “The Allied Federation surrendered unconditionally. The Sovereign’s triumph was absolute and the might of the Empire complete across the nations.”
I catch Emily’s eyes in the rearview mirror. She shakes her head.
Jack chuckles. “All lies. The so-called Sovereign Empire was beleaguered, accosted from all sides. It was they who lost the war.”
The simple statement strikes an icy dagger deep into my spine. “What do you mean? Everyone knows—”
“You can accept the fact that the Sovereign brainwashes its own citizens into listless zombies, but you can’t believe the same dictatorship would lie to you? Wake up and smell the plastic roses, Franklin. Rise above your level of docile acceptance.”
I struggle to retain mental equilibrium as I wrestle with the inversion of written history. “But…they control everything.”
Jack’s smile is grim. “That’s the picture they paint by numbers in broad strokes for those willing to sacrifice their minds. Deep inside you know better. The Sovereign is more bark than bite, their Dog of War practically toothless. Their meticulously crafted illusion is their best weapon, the work of unrivaled genius without the boundaries of moral fortitude. Yet their gleaming city rusts behind their painted façade, their hold grows ever tenuous on a growing number of discontented citizens bent on waking up from their stupor.”
We pass the Industrial Center. The area beyond is grainy like the moment before awaking, and suddenly all I want is to keep driving. To go forward, far beyond the tentacled reach of the Sovereign and its animalistic agents.
Instead, the road comes to an end. A rounded cul-de-sac teases with a final view of mystery before we circle back to The City.
My mind is a cyclone of unharvested questions. “Then how does the Empire keep from being toppled if it’s in such a precarious state?”
“The machines,” Jack says. “They create inverted fields that distort what can be seen or detected. In effect, the remains of the defeated Sovereign have vanished completely, free of time or place. They pulled off the biggest con ever, the world’s most amazing vanishing trick. Like magic they disappeared, existing only here — complete in their power over the citizens they managed to suck into the centrifuge of their deception.”
I can only stare openmouthed. “That’s…that’s impossible.”
Jack smiles wryly. “Is it? Have you ever questioned what lies outside the existing boundaries you know of? Why no one ever leaves this place?”
“I never thought—”
“Of course you haven’t. You’re not supposed to. The Smiling Man has a much more sinister purpose than to irritate you every morning. Hidden in the audio relay is a stream of hypnotic suggestion which streams directly into the subconscious of every citizen subject to its delivery. Silence is essential. Question nothing. Obey everything.”
I feel a twist in my gut at the certainty of his words. “How do the machines work?”
Jack takes a deep breath. “There are places that exist on Earth which produce unexplained anomalies. They disrupt all manner of electronics, tracking devices and directional instruments. Entire flights have disappeared into thin air. Vessels have entered areas of the sea and vanished completely. The Sovereign directed their scientists to study what created those anomalies. They discovered the inverted fields of distorted reality. And in time they were able to accurately reproduce the effect. Once entered, an entity no longer can be detected by the outside world. In effect, it ceases to exist. But inside, the entity is entirely functional. Simply outside of our known reality. Perhaps outside of time itself.”
The City grows larger in the windshield, a towering nightmare that threatens to pull us deeply into its madness. I have never been more afraid in my life.
I squirm uncomfortably in my seat. “If what you say is true, then what can we possibly do? They’re too powerful, too big…”
“In a silent empire, the greatest threat is the spoken truth,” Jack says. “And we have been busy spreading the word. Our agents have their spies and Dogmen spread thin, chasing our ghost trails while we spread our influence throughout the City. But so long as their machines operate, they are the ones in control. The machines must stop, the cogs removed before the Empire will collapse.”
The City swallows us in the shadows of its grandeur. Trains rumble overhead, and even higher up the zeppelins hover, ever-roving eyes that search intrusively. The pressure falls on my shoulders like the earth upon Atlas, threatening to crush me beneath its colossal oppression.
I suddenly hate it. The vehemence builds in my chest like fire in the furnaces of industry. The feeling surprises me with its instant familiarity. It is like…coming home.
“What do you need me to do?”
Jack smiles, visibly relaxing as he sits back in the cushioned seat. “It’s not what we need. It’s what they need. And you’re going to give it to them.”
“And that is…?”
“The rebellion, Franklin. You’re going to track it down and hand its leaders to the Sovereign. You’re going to be more than they ever dreamed you could be. They will love you for it. More importantly, they will trust you. And once you’ve gained their trust…you’ll be able to take down an Empire.”