SILVER EYES (GXG)

Chapter 64: Bring The Stars

As I expected, Brooke didn't come to pick me up. Instead, her most loyal techno-humans, Gabriel and Normand, showed up and led me to the Nexus Court in one of their ships. The journey was super entertaining with a stimulating conversation about absolutely nothing. They had never been very talkative, and it seemed that the fact that I had been missing for more than a month wouldn't change that. They had no interest in me whatsoever.

As we flew over the city, I spotted a large crowd gathered on the main street, shouting and causing an alarming commotion that I could hear even from that height. They were waving banners I couldn't read due to the distance. I also noticed many more Narval officers patrolling than usual, with their laser guns unfolded, as if ready to be used.

"What the hell is going on?" I asked, alarmed.

"Many people didn't like the new rule." Normand said.

"What new rule?"

Gabriel and Normand looked at each other as if deciding whether they should tell me or not.

"What?" I pressed.

"Society has gone crazy while you were gone..." Gabriel began.

"Brooke had to take measures." Normand continued, then took a pamphlet from his pocket and handed it to me. It showed a smiling woman with an implant behind her ear that extended to the other ear. It was exactly the same as the one Erik had. The slogan read: "The Society Needs You! Get Your Free Reg Implant Today and Experience True Freedom."

Normand looked at me over his shoulder as I did my best not to scream at the absurdity of the idea that getting an implant would somehow make us more free.

"Given the recent rise in terrorist attacks and the increase in rebellious behavior," Normand continued, "everyone is now required to get a mental implant."

"Everyone?" I asked, flipping through the pamphlet, which detailed various implants for all ages as simply as a restaurant menu.

"Yeah, even kids." Gabriel replied.

"That seems a bit extreme, don't you think?" I said.

"No, it's actually a smart strategy to buy time," Gabriel explained. "The Phoenix group has developed a device that can deactivate our implants, as you know. If we all have implants, they'll need to deal with a lot more of us. The more people with implants, the more time they'll need to deactivate them all."

Wow, they really sounded desperate. Since I started working for the Nexus Court, I'd never come across the idea of "needing to buy time" before. It was a new and unsettling sign that they had no control over the situation. However, desperation was a dangerous state for a system that had no empathy for its people; they would do anything to gain that little extra time, and that was bad news for all of us. Plus, that idea of putting implants on everyone was clearly not just about buying time. The more people who had them, the more vulnerable they would be to having their memories erased when the time came. It was all a pathetic excuse for the grim fate we were about to face.

When I arrived at the Nexus Court, they made me wait in one of the meeting rooms until the door opened and Beverly practically stumbled into me, followed by a very quiet Stella. They looked much more vibrant than the last time I'd seen them, especially Beverly, who had been on the brink of death on The Other Side. Now, she was rocking a denim jacket over a black top, her usually messy hair pulled into two playful buns on either side. Her skin was back to its normal color, with no trace of the feverish pallor she'd had before. Stella looked great too, with her dramatic makeup that made her eyelashes seem impossibly long, and her long black hair pulled back in a ponytail.

"Holy moly, girl, you're here!" Beverly exclaimed, rushing toward me and wrapping me in a huge hug.

I tried to hug her back, but she had wrapped my arms so tightly, I felt like a burrito. All I could do was surrender to her squish.