I feel my cheeks burn from his casual dismissal. "Well, if you're so smart, why don't you just tell me?"
"Dabria lost her sister. While she was away making a name for herself in the Red War, her younger sister got hooked on Immersion. She was one of the more susceptible junkies, developing a habit that affected her brainwaves. In short time she couldn't do without and was crippled by a debilitating case of reality confusion. They pulled her from a Deep Sleep center barely alive. She died a few days later, right before Dabria came back from Mars. Obviously, Dabria took it hard. And personal."
I felt numb, trying to imagine what Dabria felt when she stepped off the shuttle. The family that waited for her, faces lined by grief instead of joy. The loss of a beloved sister… it was beyond my ability to envision. I've never had a family to lose. At least not until Dabria took me into one.
"I… never knew."
Nox studies me, eyes intent on my face. "I figured you didn't. This is a vendetta for her, Enigma. It's not some noble war to free humanity. It's revenge, plain and simple. They hurt her, so she wants to hurt them."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you need to know. Because maybe when this is over, you might decide to choose for you instead of being a naïve soldier in another person's war. Maybe you choose freedom instead of further imprisonment."
"You don't get it, Nox. This will never be over. Not for me, anyway."
"Everything ends, one way or another. Don't lose that drive. I made it especially for you." He gives me a roguish grin as he walks to the curb, slips into an autocab, and glides away.
Chapter 11: 5P3CT3R
The city sparkles.
Shimmers of phosphorus. Streaks of neon: blues, reds, magentas, purples. Impossibly high structures tower and interconnect. Air traffic whizzes by in suicidal formations, somehow not collapsing into mass destruction. Sky surfers soar above my head on garishly painted hover-boards, laughing as they court death by weaving in and out of air lanes.
The only thing missing is Hel. To see her laugh, to feel her hands stroke my face. To taste her when she kisses me against a backdrop of glittering lights.
I glance at Dabria, who observes the scene with her hands planted against the balcony railing. She is without the headgear, hair blowing in the wind. She looks exactly as she does in reality, choosing not to adopt a proxy like most of us in Elysia do.
I am in my customary perfect proxy: slim but muscular, faultlessly handsome, hair coifed without a strand out of place. Tailored suit, eyes shielded by Vantablack sunglasses. I usually feel untouchable, overflowing with confidence that I can't feel in any other place. But standing beside Dabria, the only thing I feel is fraudulent.
She scans the skyline, lips compressed. "Do you know how all of this came into being, Specter?"
I shrug. "Not really. I guess it expanded from gaming or something."
"Immersion was created before the Cataclysm, designed specifically for those selected for hibernation residencies in the Havens. Scientists feared that sleeping for two hundred years would result in irreversible damage to the human mind. Immersion was the antidote to those fears. A virtual existence for the brain to actively inhabit, creating the same complexities and decisions of reality. The creators hoped that humanity would awaken completely refreshed, even enhanced by the experience."
"Let me guess. Things didn't turn out the way they predicted."
"Not for everyone. While a majority of sleepers awoke from hibernation intact, a segment of the population suffered from what is now known as reality confusion. Unable to be convinced that the lives they lived under Immersion weren't real, many suffered mental breakdowns and suicidal actions. The creators of Elysia did their job too well. And that was only the first version. Major improvements have been patched in since then. The number who suffer from reality confusion has quadrupled, quietly removed and placed under psychiatric care while the rest of the Sleepers enjoy themselves undisturbed."
I thrust my hands in my pockets, irritated by her derisive monotone. "Accidents happen. If you hate Elysia so much, why did you bring me here?"
She turns in my direction. "Because you needed this. Had you gone without Immersion too much longer, your ability to function would rapidly deteriorate. And we need you as sharp as possible if we're going to pull this off."
"Pull what off? I don't even know what my role is, or what the hell the plan is."
"That's on purpose, Specter. I don't trust you."
"You're going to have to, or there's no point to us working together."
"We're not working together. I'm coercing you to work with me. I've put your precious DLP under threat of erasure, and you'd do anything to stop that. Even now, you're thinking. Scheming. Trying to find a way out of your bondage. Trying to find a way back to your precious Hel. Because despite knowing she's an artificial creation, you still crave her as if she's real. You would betray a flesh and blood person in a heartbeat if it meant reuniting you with her. So, tell me: how can I possibly trust you?"
I drop my head, face burning from the humiliating ease of how quickly she dismantles me. "I guess you're right. When you make a person your prisoner, there's no way you can trust him."
She stares, dark eyes unreadable. "That's the irony, Specter. The corporate slavers who designed Hel and millions like her have already made you their prisoner. And yet because of your blindness, you don't direct any of that animosity toward them."
I shake my head, a bitter grin on my lips. "So, you brought me here to listen to you lecture? Nice way to spoil the mood."
"No, I brought you here for a choice." She points upward. "You know what this is."
I follow her gaze. The city is thick with fliers of all sorts. Gliders, sky surfers, aerocycles, jet packs, and wings, both artificial and natural. They soar and weave between buildings, fooling around. Waiting for the big event.
"It's the Mass Attack tournament. Aerial, so it must be Wednesday."
"And you're pretty good?"
I pause, checking to see if she's joking. Her face gives nothing away, but I swear she's laughing at me. I stand up straighter.
"Top ten if I'm fooling around. Top five on a good day."
"Then I have a proposition for you. We'll play this round. If you outlast me, I'll let you go. No strings attached. Back to Elysia, back to pretending your DLP is a real girl."
My pulse quickens, leaving me shaky with adrenaline. "And if I lose?"
"Then you agree to work with me. No more threats, no holding your DLP hostage. You agree not to contact Hel until this is over. Not to enter Elysia until it's over. You give me your word, and you see it through to the end."
I can't help the grin that spreads across my face. "You're on. It's a deal."
"Then get ready. Because the Leviathan is on its way." She taps her holoband, and wings sprout from her back. Black, metallic, and gleaming with razor-edged feathers. An angel of death with a long ion blaster in one hand. She gives me a hard smile before shooting upward in a blast of rushing air, joining the overcrowded sky where the other participants restlessly soar and hover.
The building trembles as if struck by a giant fist. The crowds roar at the approach of the Leviathan. In the distance, skyscrapers topple in massive clouds of dust and debris. Something enormous is barely visible, slowly approaching like a nightmare storm. Tentacles writhe from its midst, flailing about with destructive energy. A bellowing sound emits from the monster, shattering windows as it announces its arrival.
The skyboard clicks on, listing the rules of the tournament. Aerial battle only: no touching down or hiding within buildings. Nothing larger than an aerocycle allowed for combat. No upgrades except for in-tournament drops. I ignore it, already knowing the rules by heart. I try not to think of Hel, but it's impossible. I haven't entered a singles tournament in ages. It's always been co-op. Always with Hel watching my back and cheering me on. Without her, I don't feel myself. I don't feel complete.