The North

Chapter 13: Ascendant

"Do you want to know what happens next?" Tau asked as he weaved his car between taxis and buses on the busy road leading towards the bright city lights. His car was the head of the convey that moved like a determined snake in pursuit of its prey.

"What happens next?" KB asked. He had been silent since entering the vehicle and suddenly felt relieved by the broken silence.

"We are on our way to Sumo nightclub right now. You know Sumo, right?" Tau asked, his eyes remaining fixed on the road ahead.

"Yeah..." KB responded. Sumo was yet another premium nightclub that KB knew of in the North. He had never been there though as the place was notorious for placing a limit on the number of Fans that could enter.

"Everything will shut down when we get there, especially when people see you and your friends. You need to be ready for that. Don-"

"What?" KB interrupted, surprised.

"Don't ... let them see that you're surprised." Tau continued, irritated by KB's interruption.

KB was about to apologize when thoughts of Mbali, Senzo, and Thato suddenly appeared in his mind. They had each entered different cars outside Mbali's uncle's house, and KB was not sure who they had each ended up with.

"And don't worry about your friends." Tau added, as if having read KB's thoughts, "They're being briefed as we speak."

A brief silence fell in the car when Tau reached a stop sign. He opened his window and stuck his elbow out before taking off again.

"First, they will flood your social media – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. Whatever you use, they will find it. They will follow you, like your posts, leave comments, and dig and dig until they think they know who you are. Then they will decide whether or not they like you. And that's what they'll do. Every single day they will decide how they feel about you. They will start hashtags to support you, they will fight for you, they will defend you, they will praise you!" Tau was slightly out of breath when he was done talking, and he was still staring out at the road ahead, his elbow still sticking out the window.

And then Tau turned to face KB, briefly making eye contact before returning his glare to the road.

"But they can also ruin you." Tau warned, his voice low. "They will watch your every move. They will drag your name through the mud and immortalize you in GIFs and memes that a million invisible voices will laugh at..."

"The Fans!" KB suddenly realized "You're talking about the Fans."

"They are the ones who keep this show going, KB. They are the ones who watch with salivating mouths as our performance goes on and on and on. None of this is real. But you need to make them think it is. You need to make them believe in your life even if you yourself don't. That's what you call influence."

KB remained quiet with his eyes turned down towards his hands on his lap. Had Tau and the rest of the Stars faked their way to the top? KB thought to himself. The idea alone seemed impossible. No, he resolved, there is no way. The Stars may have embellished certain aspects of their lives, but what KB had done by lying...was still doing... now that was something else completely. The thought was suddenly shattered by the sound of Tau's guttural laugh.

"The Fans need us to keep them distracted from the shit-show of their own lives." Tau laughed, his sharp teeth glistening under the street lights. "But we also need them." He continued "We need them to need us, because that's what keeps them loyal, that's what compels them to go to war and destroy each other for us. The Fans are our most powerful asset, and it's our job to make sure they never realize that."