"He certainly couldn't have chosen a better guard dog."
"Tell me about it. All the while, he's been secured with no one the wiser. Until now, that is."
A trio of Wildcats followed on our heels, geared up in sleek black catsuits and armed to the teeth. They were old friends, which meant the only ones I knew by name: Red-haired Kelly, dark-haired Christina, and Jen, a blonde. All three were battle-tested soldiers, and hard as nails to boot. We'd had our share of ups and downs, but I was actually glad to see them. Christina nodded to Selene.
"I have the others securing the floor. Anyone trying to get inside will have to go through us."
I grunted. "Hope you got something that can slow down a teleporting metahuman super-soldier, or you're all gonna catch a case of the New Haven Blues real quick."
She smirked confidently. "I didn't know you cared so much, Mick. Don't worry — we have a few surprises for Kilgore if he dares to show up."
"Can't wait to find out." Guided by the readout on my holoband, I stopped in front of a familiar door: 2046. "Well, I'll be damned."
"Your old apartment."
I pushed the door open. "Guess no one's taken my spot since I moved out."
The room was near-empty and smelled like dusty neglect. The tattered remains of my old futon still remained, along with a lonely heavy punching bag I didn't bother taking with me when I moved. Grainy dust floated in the air, shimmering in the neon-painted light streaming from the blinds. I slid the closet door open, staring at the sheetrock in the back.
"According to the scan, the doorway is somewhere in here."
Selene glanced around the bare walls. "You said something about having a key?"
"Yeah, that might help." I pulled the drive from my pocket and pointed it at the wall, moving slowly as if scanning. The tip pulsed blue, and in response, a green circle appeared near the wall joints, small as a digital doorbell. I inserted the drive into the port.
The wall slid open in response.
Sterile air fanned across my face, along with the scent of hot electronics. I glanced at Selene, who shrugged. We both entered the hidden room, lights blooming as we stepped inside. The sleek, streamlined chamber featured only two colors: white and black. The rest was glass and stainless steel. There wasn't much to see, but cunning lines in the floor and walls practically shouted the potential for a lot of hidden equipment. It appeared to double as a tech and bio-engineering lab, eerily similar to the one I recalled from flashbacks to my first encounter with Faraday. Then, I'd awakened as Hunter in the middle of his memory reprogramming and nearly killed him. I just hoped history wouldn't repeat itself the second go-around.
I paused by a white, pill-shaped pod the size of a coffin. Placing a hand on the viewscreen caused the light to bloom on inside. I involuntarily snatched my hand back at the sight.
It looked like a corpse.
I motioned to Selene. "Dead man inside. Think it's Faraday?"
Being smarter than me, she looked at the control panel, where a readout was clearly displayed. "Not dead. He's in a state of hibernation, the machine doing the bare minimum to keep his body alive. Priority is given to his brain, which is completely healthy." She pursed her lips. "More than healthy."
"What does that mean?"
She pointed at the display. "Look at the readings. Brain wave activity is off the charts, double that of a normal person. Whatever he's doing, it's taking a lot of psionic energy."
I took a closer look at the man's face, recognizing nothing of the person I met in prison not so long ago. That Faraday had been a carbon copy, which meant he looked exactly like the real man. The person inside the stasis pod was just a withered husk: jutting cheekbones, shriveled lips, brittle hair, and the pallor of an unhealthy carcass.
"Is it him? I can't tell."
Selene shook her head, looking rattled. "I don’t know. He's unrecognizable."
"Why the hell would someone do this to themselves?"
A rich, instantly familiar voice spoke from behind us. "The future, of course. The evolution of humanity can't be pursued without sacrifice, after all."
We turned around, staring at the profile projected holographically from the ceiling. Glen Faraday's expression was as coy as ever, a smug smile on his face. He appeared just as I remembered: silver-haired, weathered features, and cold, calculating eyes.
"Hello, Michael. Hello, Selene. It's past time that we talk, wouldn't you say?"
Chapter 11: The Elysian
I tilted my Bogart back and frowned. "What the hell is going on, Faraday? Is this your shriveled corpse or what?"
"That 'shriveled corpse,' is indeed me — in a sense. I've had little use for my physical body lately, so excuse the rather unsettling appearance."
"Okay, so where are you? Or your brain, anyway. You got a lot to answer for, starting with how badly you screwed my head up. If you'd have done your job right, this Haven wouldn't be in the mess it is right now."
He peered at me, visage so lifelike in its holographic clarity. "Let's not pretend you had nothing to do with that, Michael. It's hard to complete an intricate memory overhaul when the subject wakes up with a different personality and tries to kill you."
"It's been a helluva long time since then, Faraday."
"Tell you what — let's talk about that, Michael. It's been a while since I entertained visitors from the outside world. Why don't you and Selene join me for a chat?"
"A chat? How are you gonna do that when you look like you need two years of physical therapy just to get out of this stasis pod?"
"Oh, I don't mean here in New Haven. I want you both to join me here in Elysia."
"Elysia? Where the hell is that?"
"What I've been working on the entire time I've been in New Haven. It's a fully immersive digital world, Michael. You wouldn't know this, but hundreds of millions of people around the world plug into Elysia every day. Many rent pods like the one you see here and spend months, even years there. It's quickly becoming a replacement for reality, a haven for those seeking to escape the real world. Nearly indistinguishable from the physical world, a place where you truly can be anyone and do anything."
"Oh yeah? How do we get in?"
His eyes slid to the side. As if remotely activated, twin panels slid open on the floor, and two sophisticated chairs emerged, equipped with cables and intravenous drip bags.
"You'll find a cable attached to the headrest that plugs into the data port behind your earlobe. That will transport you to the sector of Elysia where you can find me. I'll meet you there."
I gave the chair an uneasy glance. "Plug a wire into my brain? How do I know you won't wipe my memory or try to pull some kind of grift?"
"You don't. But you came here looking for me, Michael. This is the only way to accomplish your mission. So don't go frigid now — you're almost there. See you in Elysia." His profile dissipated as the transmission ended.
I looked at Selene. "The man has a point. No point in turning back now."
She nodded, turning to her captains. "Make sure the perimeter is secured."
Jen nodded. "We're on it."
As they coordinated with their fellow Wildcats, Selene motioned to the chairs. "Shall we?"
I sat in the nearest one, trying to act nonchalant. "No worries about jacking your brain into the infosphere?"
"Not the first time I've been to Elysia, Mike."
"It is for me," I muttered as I pulled the cord from the headrest. I hesitated for a second, feeling a bead of sweat slide down my temple. My pulse pounded as a hundred scenarios flicked through my head, each one worse than the last. But what choice did I have? I had to see it through to the end. I plugged the cable into the port behind my earlobe, hearing the click as it snapped into place. My vision flashed, blinded by sparkling dots of dazzling light.