God's Rise | WOTG #2

Thirty-One

K A T O

YESTERDAY, THE SOLDIERS ACCOMPANIED me until we arrived at the military archives. Unfortunately, I failed to find the evidence—Colonel Fernandez's conversation with Havierre. The annihilator jets surprised us with their bombs leaving us no choice but to deal with them. Exhaustion made my body heavy, amplifying the pull of gravity on my bones.

Pagkagising ko ay sa military archives agad ako dumeretso. At dahil alam ko naman na kung saan yo'n ay hindi na 'ko nagpasama pa sa mga sundalo rito. Pagkalabas na pagkalabas ko sa quarters namin ay tumambad agad sa akin ang sandamakmak na mga taong na naglilisawan sa hallways. Their uniforms were immaculate, radiating discipline and strength. Iba-iba ang mga nakasulat sa ibabaw ng crest ng mga sundalo rito dahil iba-iba sila ng pinanggalingan. Ang iba ay galing sa Edge City, Twin Cities, at ang iba—kahit mas kaunti ang bilang—ay galing mismo sa Districts. Mahirap na siguro kasing makatakas sa Disrtricts at hawak-hawak 'yon ni Havierre. Lahat ng kapangyarihan sa lugar na 'yon ay nasa kaniyang kamay. At kung may mga binabalak naman kaming pasukin 'yon ay siguradong mahihirapan nga kami.

Isang napakalaking pinto ang sumalubong sa akin at sa harapan nito ay may nakalagay na hologram na ang basa ay: Military Archives. Kusa itong bumukas at ako'y agad pumasok. Inilibot ko ang aking mga mata at karamihan ng mga tao dito ay nasa edad 20-40 at ako lang ang nag-iisang binata.

The chamber of the archives was spacious and bright. Rows and rows of computers lined the whole place and three magnanimous glass boxes were placed in the middle. I asked one of the soldiers about what those three huge glasses were for and he said, "Most of the files are stored there. Basically, 'yon mismo ang archives." Numbers—a series of 1s and 0s—floated inside the three boxes. When I touched its surface, it reacted to my fingers. They were drawn to me. The numbers came to me like I have something to feed them. They rippled like water from a lake as I touched and glazed my fingers on the cold surface of the glass.

Being electrokinetic, it was also under my ability to manipulate technology and everything in it. Information was transferred through electricity and electricity flowed inside my veins and pumped from my heart to my very flesh. It coursed like blood and gave me power. This whole room of information was at the mercy of my fingertips. I could delete it all in a single snap.

I smiled at the thought. Colonel Fernandez couldn't hide anything from me now. He'd be exposed from his lies and punishment shall befall him.

I sit at one of the holoComputers—one that was more complex and bigger than the rest. I opened it just by sitting.

The hologram demanded passcode. I touched the keyboard and ran a hack into it. I felt the computer as it became a part of my body and it pulsed and breathed like the device in front of me was alive. It obeyed my command and opened itself from me eager to spill all of its information.

This would be easy.

I immersed myself on the glowing screen. Lahat ng uri ng mga dokumento—medical, identity, personal, military, political—ay tumambad sa harapan ko. I scrolled and letters rushed in front of my eyes until I found it.

MILITARY DISCLOSURES

Bago ako makarating doon ay sinuong ko muna ang sandamakmak na security measures. Pagkatapos ng isa ay mayroon na namang haharang. Patong-patong sila para masigurado na walang kung sino-sino lang ang makakabasa ng mga nasa loob nito. Pero kahit anong harang pa nila'y wala rin namang kwenta lahat ng 'yon sa 'kin.