The City Of Cenopolis

Chapter 4: Leaving Nexus Corp

The morning sun streamed through the narrow blinds of Luke’s cramped apartment, casting long shadows across the room. Eli sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the small pile of essentials they had gathered the night before—some clothes, data logs, and a few personal items they had managed to salvage. The contrast between the sterile perfection of Cenopolis and the gritty, cluttered space of Luke’s home felt jarring to Eli.

His mind was still clouded by the events of the previous day. Everything had changed so quickly. One moment, they were just employees at Nexus Corp; the next, they were uncovering dark secrets, and now they were lying low in Luke’s apartment, grappling with the weight of what they had learned. Sam's lifeless form and the lies Nexus buried behind their polished façade swirled endlessly in Eli's thoughts.

Luke moved around the apartment with quiet efficiency, organizing their things, occasionally glancing at Eli. The silence between them was thick with tension. Neither had spoken much since the hack had gone wrong, and now, the weight of their discovery hung heavily in the air.

Eli rubbed his temples, trying to suppress the rising tide of panic. The cold, efficient world of Nexus Corp that he had once trusted now felt like a dark, looming shadow closing in on him. What they had done—what they had uncovered—meant there was no going back. But that didn’t make the path forward any easier to navigate.

As if on cue, Eli’s neural interface pinged, the familiar sound slicing through his thoughts. He blinked, staring at the flashing icon on the corner of his vision. Incoming call: Malcolm.

His heart raced. It was his father. After a moment’s hesitation, he swiped to answer, feeling a mix of dread and obligation as the line connected.

“Eli?” Malcolm’s voice was cool, professional, as always. “You didn’t show up to work this morning. I wanted to check in.”

Eli swallowed, trying to gather his thoughts. “I’m… I’m not coming in.”

There was a pause on the other end, long enough for Eli to hear the faint hum of Nexus Corp’s halls in the background. “Why not? What’s going on?”

Eli closed his eyes, his hands trembling slightly. “It’s Sam. She—there was a malfunction during her upgrade. It didn’t work. She’s… she’s in a vegetative state, Dad. And it’s Nexus’s fault.”

Another long pause. Malcolm sighed, and when he spoke again, his voice was calm but distant. “That’s unfortunate, Eli. I’m sorry about Sam. Really, I am. But these things happen sometimes. You know that. We can’t always account for every variable. Nexus will do what they can, but you need to come back to work.”

Eli’s grip tightened on the edge of the bed. “What? Did you even hear what I just said? Sam is—she’s gone. And it’s because of Nexus! How can you say that so casually?”

Malcolm’s tone didn’t change. “I understand you’re upset. But this is how progress works, son. Sometimes there are setbacks. You know that better than anyone.”

“Setbacks?” Eli’s voice trembled with anger. “She’s not a setback, Dad! She’s a person—a person whose life was ruined because of the very technology you’ve spent your life defending. Do you even care?”

There was a long silence on the other end. “Eli, I know this is difficult, but we all have a job to do. Nexus is bigger than any one person. You have to understand that. We’re building something important—something that will change the world for the better. Don’t let one tragedy cloud your judgment.”

Something snapped inside Eli. The flood of emotions he had been holding back since Sam’s accident surged forward, and before he could stop himself, the words spilled out in a rush of fury.