Triptych

Chapter 18

One Year Later

Mac

If a few years ago, someone told Mac she'll be running for a political office and openly debate on human enhancements she would've laughed her head off. If someone told her about her best friend will give up a life of privilege and riches to live in the surface city, acting as a civil servant/spokesperson to the labor class who have been looked down upon for years, she would've called them crazy. And yet here they are, on the roof of Magic Shop well after midnight, their smiles illuminated by the moonlight as they share a bottle of beer among themselves.

Lana is quiet tonight, as she gets sometimes. Mac nudges her shoulders quietly and she returns her smile. She still gets lost in her head sometimes, doubting the smallest action without another entity affirming it. Orion thought she'll do better in the surface city, around simple people with their mundane lives; and he was right. Lana looks like she has a new purpose now, a new rough at the edges family that pushes her forward but at her own pace, at her own merit.

People were understandably shocked with Mac went "political" against FOCUS so publicly. A lot of people still let her know very clearly that she's nothing more than a public figure who doesn't know what she's talking about and should stick to acting. But there are those who understand, who relate to her and Lana and know what it's like to have the expectations of others shoved down their throats until they're swallowed up by them. For now, that seems enough.

Mac knows it's a long road until they can completely shut down FOCUS. Even though human enhancements aren't mandatory now, they're highly encouraged. People's mindsets are harder to change than laws sometimes. But Mac has hope now and Lana is there, proof that its never too late to go your own path. For now, its enough.

The End?

I don't know, maybe not. This story was supposed to ask a question, a question I have asked myself several times and still find myself lost. Perhaps that's why it was so hard to finish? I didn't know how to end it because I still don't know the answer myself. But I tried to answer it as best I could.

It was also hard to finish because it's my first story and I had all these ideas that I didn't know how to articulate into words. Maybe I'll return to it sometime later with a revision or a sequel. I don't know. For now, thank you for reading...