Synthetic Intuition

Chapter 12 2/2 | Lazlo

"I'd be careful wher you say such things if I were you" Apollo continued to stand motionless.

"If you wher me? How much do you know about me?" I could sense my anxiety was beginning to show through. Unsure of what to do with the gauntlet or how to attach it to the stand, I set it back down on the tarp.

"Trezza told me what you got yourself into. She had a suspicion about who you wher and that you might be able to help us" Apollo's voice loosened as I leaned against one of the many shelving units.

"Only a suspicion!? After what we... She hasn't told me anything" I lowered my voice. Apollo smirked.

"She is quite the nervous girl... particularly around you. And very protective. Don't blame her" Apollo replied. I nervously tapped my fingers on the metal frame. My eyes fixed on the entrance door visible through the gap between two boxes.

"You didn't answer my question..." I took a breath through my teeth.

"You clearly do, yet she does not destroy you despite the 'things she already knows', she let us through the city gates. She gave me a false identity. She speaks to you from your office monitor, doesn't she? Is that how you know what happened in Crush?" I glared back at Apollo, unsure whether to approach him in confrontation or run away.

"What you are thinking about is not the Overwatch. I have seen the Overwatch used to murder millions. I witnessed her creations shred, melt, and burn human flesh firsthand hand" Apollo rushed over to one of the shelves behind me lifting a large box from it and placing it on the table with a thud. Before looking back at me with a hard expression. His tone had shifted from what seemed like his normal witty self. I wanted to ask more, I HAD to but I could not bring myself to it. There was too much. I needed something, ANYTHING to focus on, to take things one at a time.

"Breath" Apollo folded his arms, leaning his hip on the table. Breath? It was such a simple, such a natural action that I had forgotten in the rush of thoughts. I inhaled but struggled.

"I know it is a lot. I know how you feel. A lot of us do. Maybe not in the same way but I get the feeling. I still do from time to time. I am here for you. And so is the... AI that let you in and allowed me to find you. That's why we are here" For a moment, I saw through Apollo as the kind-hearted man that others seemed to think he was but part of me only felt like he had made it worse. I exhaled.

An AI helping me and probably everyone here? I recalled what Trezza had said in the ruined facility under those deep red lights about the tunneler being the only device that was not connected to the Overwatch and at that, illegal. But in order to communicate long range they would need a cell tower or satellite which would have to be managed by the Overwatch unless some sort of virus was disabling a few of the Overwatches systems at a time. I inhaled looking down at the armor.

My mind was beginning to clear. The benefits of oxygen to the brain were taking effect as I began to come to my own conclusions. Maybe I can find my own answers. I did not need people. I needed to find answers myself.

"Bom dia! Here is a water bottle. Figured you could use it" I was startled as Matteus entered the room tossing a clear water bottle toward me. It fumbled in my arms but I managed without needing to pick it off the floor. I could use it. My thumbs were swollen and my mouth was dry. It intrigued me how much even something so familiar, so simple could change so much in the span of 70 years. The plastic bottle lost its detail but was ever so slightly rough like ultra-fine sandpaper, probably to improve grip. What fascinated me the most yet was slightly disturbing was the color of the water. It was ever so slightly blue but despite the subtleness of the blue it still made it seem unnatural. I stared down into the small opening in the top after twisting the white cap off with one quick motion.