The Steamlands

Chapter 16: Unforgivable Knowledge

"WHAT DID YOU DO?! WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?! You're going to pay for what you've done!"

I heard screaming from across the hallway. It sounded like Katherine, Katherine Carter, one of the members of the ECLIPSE board. The noise was coming from Ella's office. I instantly got up and went towards her. I was right.

"You should've kept a better eye on your trainee! Now we're all doom!" She yelled at me.

I was so confused. What had Ella done?

"What happened here?" I demanded to know.

Ella looked up with a scared, almost traumatized look on her face.

"She hacked the ECLIPSE security system and sent all the camera footage to the outside world! You have any idea how much damage she's done? How are we supposed to explain ourselves? The Steamlands is what keeps the outside world up and running. Without it, chaos would roam free! Now the only thing people will ever see us as, are murderers, which will make the populous demand for the destruction of this place!" Katherine yelled her lungs out.

This was insane. I couldn't believe I had completely discarded Ella's skills as a hacker. Now, what had once had been a dream, to destroy and expose The Steamlands, was now a nightmare that everyone living here was going to experience. No! THIS WAS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! There had to be something we could still do to prevent my home from being destroyed.

"Are The Mainlands working on recovering the footage?"

"Yes, they're already working on it. Lucky for us, they already had a plan just in case anything like this ever happened." She said.

"How are they going to go about doing this?" I asked.

"Well, destroying the original footage is not the answer since countless people have already seen the videos. Perhaps many have recorded and shared it throughout social media. On that hand, the damage has already been done. It's too late. But since world peace had already been achieved, and everyone got rid of their weapons, they can't do anything against us. But we can. We have the last supply of nuclear weapons on this planet. All we have to do is threaten them to let us stay and let The Steamlands continue functioning the way it's used to." She confidently stated.

"However, that doesn't change the fact that we'll lose the outside world's respect. Anyone who passes the Specialty Test will be humiliated and treated like freaks until they find their way to The Steamlands, the only home they'll ever find. That could be catastrophic. If people start developing hate for others just because they're meant to be here, that could disrupt the peace. I just hope The Mainlands can handle it" She worriedly phrased.

She seemed genuinely concerned. I'd never seen Katherine like this. She was normally so relaxed.

"And what's going to happen to her?" I asked her about Ella.

Ella suddenly had a look of fear on her face. "I have to verify that with the rest of the board and The Mainlands to see if they want anything to do with her. If you could excuse me" She said, violently and fastly leaving the room.

Ella and I stood in the room in silence.

"Why did you do this?" I questioned Ella, knowing her answer but asking for it anyway.

"Because even though I wanted to believe what you said, deep inside of me I knew it was wrong. No person deserves to die like that, no matter who they are. Even though I knew I'd have to sacrifice myself, I would stand firm with my actions" She stated.

That was something I hadn't been willing to do in a long time, exposing myself for what I thought was best. I had been a selfish person, letting my sadistic pleasure get the best of me. I had let my thirst for revenge blind me from what was important. I hadn't noticed any of that till now. But now, who cared? The Steamlands was on the verge of collapsing, and there was nothing I could do about it but simply let the events unfold. Like Katherine said, that damage had already been done. And I certainly made my time here in ECLIPSE, worth it. I had advanced so much. Now everything, was only a matter of time.