This is a work of fiction. All similarities with reality are probably intentional for the sake of satire or respect, but should be understood as coincidental. Keep in mind that the characters are British,butusethemetricsystemtherefore:fiction.

Prologue1.Doyouhearthat?Itsthesoundoftheworldholdingitsbreath.2.TheFlight.Pleaseletushelpyou,everythingwillbealright.3.Alltheseskullsarefrompeoplewhoarenowjudgingyou.Nopressure,though,right?4.Itsalwaysnicetoseeanewfacearoundhere,dontyouthink?5.Whoops,Ithinksomeonemadeahugemistake.6.Thoseofyouwhoknowhowtocarryatune,singalong.7.Youvebeenagreataudience.Notes

Prologue TheEyewasfloatinginmidair.Small,powerless,nothingmorethanacolouredorb,veinstricken,andwithasorrypupilthatshiftedthroughthecoloursoftherainbow.Ithadnoeyelids,nothingtodistinguishit'supordown,butitstilllookedangry.Alanwasfloatinginfrontofit,questioningeverythingtheEyewastryingtodo.WhentheEyespoke,Alanfeltthesoundsscratchinghisbrain.Itwasstilltryingtodefenditself,itwasstilldangerous,likeawoundedanimal."Youstillhaven'twon,"itsaid."Ihadwonfromthemomentwemet,"saidAlan."Thatwastheintentionallalong,right?""No!"theEyescreamed."Youremembereverythingwrong.""Actually,itisyouwhoremembersthingswrong.Iamtheonewhokepthisheadon.Youarenothingbutabadjoke,andyouarefinished."TheEyehissed,andAlanremembered.

1. Do you hear that? Its the sound of the world holding its breath. Almost everyone on the bus was sleeping, or pretending to. Alan was lying over the back seats with his notebook over his chest. The last page was filled with crossed out verses and notes. He had tried, but it wasnt the night for a new song. He could hear some drivel towards the front of the bus, but couldnt make out the words. He tried to guess the hour, and then looked into his mobilephone.Hehadbeenwrongbyacoupleofhours,itwasfourAM.As he was wondering if anyone would have sleeping pills, Andys head appeared from behind theseatinfrontofhim.Hey,yourenotsleeping,hesaid.

Imnot,whatsup?repliedAlan.Nothing much, its a quite night. I was thinking of starting a Nerf fight earlier, but I dont think its agoodidea.No,itsnot,wehavetwoweekstogo.Letpeoplesleep.Easyforyoutosay.Imallhypedup,andcantsleep.Samehere.Someonestalkingupfronttoo,right?Yeah,rememberthatrodiethatwasallshoomedupearlier?Stillhasntshutup?HesatwithSavahnnaliketwohoursago.Hasntstoppedyappingsince.Bloodyhell.AndysmiledashesawAlansexpressionchange.Youbastard,youaregoingtoplaywhiteknight,hesaid.Knockitoff,butyeah,Imight.Alan got up and ignored Andys smirk as he walked over to the front of the bus. Savahnna was sitting with her feet up on the seat, and appeared to be listening closely to the roadie, who was speakingaboutsomesortofhallucinogenicmysticaldreamofhis.Hey, sorry to interrupt, I need to speak to Savahnna about tomorrows setlist, do you mind if I stealherforawhile?Theroadielookedupwithglassyeyes,andsmiledwhenhesawwhoitwas.Sure, man, he said and stood up so that she could leave her seat. She didnt say a word, but she did offer a warm half smile. The roadie sat back down, and immediately started talking again, to no one in particular. Alan watched as Savahnna walked down the aisle, heading to the back seats, and thought to himself that this was a good night. It seemed like they had been on the road forever, but they were finally reaching the end of the tour. Only two more weeks, and nine concerts to go, and they would be flying back home, where they would have a short vacation. He was knackered, but knowing that it was the last huddle gave him strength. As he passedbesidesAndy,hesawhewassmirking.Hesatdownoppositeofher,andlookedintohergreeneyes.Hesuddenlyfeltnervous,andbrokeintolaughter.Shedidnotseemamused,however.Well, considering we do not have any shared setlist, I suppose thats not what you wanted to speakabout.Right,right,youjustseemedtoneedsaving.Oh,soImnothingbutadamselindistresstoyou,right?Right,andIwasbeingchivalrous.Myhardcorefeministsideisappalled.Icanunderstandthat,saysAlan.However,youcamewithoutcomplaining.Well,perhapsIwashavinganinterestingconversationearlier,andyouspoiledit,Mr.Chivalry.Perhaps,butIsomehowthinkyourenotinterestedinfightingimaginarylamas.So,youwereeavesdropping.Indeed,Iwas.Theywereimaginaryllamas,notlamas.Oh,sorrythen.Yourefreetogoback.Alright,yougotme.Ineededsaving.

Ah,Illbesurenottotellyourfeministside.Thanks,so,youwantedtodiscussourplaylist,right?Right,so,wellplayours,andyougirlswillplayyours,ok?Sure.Well,Imgladwegotthatoutoftheway.Letstalkaboutsomethingelse.Imfinewiththat.Isawyouwritingearlieron,areyouworkingonanewsong?Imtrying,butIvegotnothingyet.Nothingatall?Well, theres this point when we stop all the noise, and then Rob and me scream reclaim our future,butnothingelseseemstobeworkingonthesong.Imsureitwillcometoyouatsomepoint.Itwill,butprobablywhenImnotexhausted.Shefinallysmiled.Youvebeentouringforafewmonthsnow,amIright?Yeah,westartedonMay,lastnineconcertsforus.You are lucky, we have like twenty five to go, and then we start putting the second album down.Ireallylookforwardtohearingthatone.I dont know. Lena has been going full feminazi on it. I think she plans to record it on a frequencythatonlywomenmighthear.Really?Shedoesntseemsobad.She isnt, at least not in public. I think she forgets how much she hates men when they are around.Alanletoutasmallchuckle.Wearehittingawallwiththenewalbum,tobehonest.She was now much more relaxed. She had sat with her legs crossed over the seat, and was restingherheadagainstthewindow.Alancontinued.Theresjusttoomuchgoingon.Weneedtofindourfocus,onlythenwillbeabletowrite.Whatdoyouwanttospeakabout?Well, theres just this feeling that half of the world is lying to the other half. I just want people to sit and listen to each other. Theres climate change, and environmental issues, thats a big one. Then theres the whole economic and political collapse all around us. Thats a fucking big topic right then. So big that its really hard to know where to start tackling those. I guess well just start throwingchordsaroundandseewhatsticks.Imsureyoulldosomethinggreat.Yeah,thanks,anuncomfortablesilencefellbetweenthetwo.Ishouldcatchsomesleep,shesaid.Thanksforthetalk.Sure,sure,saidAlan.Nightnight.She closed her eyes, and let her head fall against the headrest. Alan sat there wondering why he had felt the impulse of talking to her, like that. Perhaps it was the fact that they were headed towards Paris, but he felt like he could use a few clichs. Perhaps it was because for two monthshehadntwrittennothingofvalue.Hefellasleep,anddreamtofnothinginparticular.

When he woke up, the bus was already being unloaded. He watched his bandmates helping the roadies, and got up to offer a hand. The Dark Light girls were nowhere to be seen. As he climbed the stairs down, and his feet touched french soil, he was nerfgunned to the face. Andy waslookingathimwithateethfilledgrin.Healwayshadlookedasifhehadtoomanyteeth.Quitit,coffee,hedemanded.Nocoffeeyet,unloadfirst.Noway.NobreakfastforAlannoworkfromAlan.Shutup,pickthatamp.Weneedtogetthestufftothestagearea.He reluctantly grabbed the amp that they had told him, and followed the rest. When they arrived, he saw that the girls were sitting at a table with croissant and an insane amount of cups of coffee.Helefttheampwiththerestofthestuff,andsatdown.Robsatbyhisside.Didyougettowritesomethingyesterday?heasked.Fuck all, said Alan while stuffing a croissant in his mouth. He avoided looking at Rob, as he knewthathewasconcerned.Hecouldntdealwithconcernedthismorning.Whattimeisit?askedsomeone.TwoPM,weareonatfive,andyouguysathalfeight,saidSavahnna.Butwehaveasigningsessionathalffour,saidArnold.Fuck,whenarewegoingtoeat?askedAndy.Howaboutwhenwefinishbreakfast?Howlongisthesigningsession?askedAlan.Itsalongone,repliedArnoldFirsttimeinParisandall,fortyfiveminutes,toanhour.Fuck,wellmissthegirls.Yeah,nothingwecando.WewillseetheminNantes,however.Alan looked disgruntled, but the girls didnt seem to care. He tried to catch Savahnnas eye, but shewasconsciouslyignoringhim.And so, breakfast and lunch went by like a flash, and the signing session was mostly uneventful. They did manage to reach the last two song of the Dark Lights, and Alan watched with interest. Therewassomethinginherthatheliked.When they finally went on stage, they opened with one of their fan favourites. They had sixty minutes, and they had managed to squeeze in everything that they knew would make people jump.Itwasthefinallegofthetour,andtheywereplanningongoingoutwithabang.Halfway into it, they stopped the music and doused the lights out. Andy continued to beat a steady rhythm, as Alan walked to the center of the stage. He jumped on top of an amp and addressedthepublic.We are Brave New Would, he shouted. The crowd responded with cheering. We are here in Paris today to make you have a great time! He decided on the spot to use the unity speech, androlledstraightintoit.You all came from different parts of the world, and you all got together here for different reasons,butwhatsimportantisthatyouareallaggrofhhunfh.He stopped for a second. He was out of breath. He looked to his right and saw Rob looking at himwithpuzzledeyes.I want you all to gather here, he said while pointing to the area where the pit had been. We

aregoingtoformthebiggestpitthatRockenSeinehassiiinghurfh.Alan knew that something was definitely wrong. To his left, Arnold was dropping his guitar. He startedtoruntowardshim.Everythingwentblack.

2. The Flight. Please let us help you, everything will be alright. Alan awoke with the feeling that he was running, and he suddenly panicked. His body wouldnt answer, as he begged it to stop. He could see a large metallic corridor, with unadorned doors at the sides, that rushed by his side. He could also see a figure, dressed with what looked like a metallic fullbody catsuit with a gas mask, running a few steps ahead of him. He noticed that he couldnt control his body at all, and also noticed that it felt strange, like his hands were too far away from its torso. He tried to scream, but that didnt help either. This had to be a really bad dream.Suddenly, a loud pinglike sound got his attention, and he saw a female face hovering in the air. She looked pissed. Immediately, he heard a voice that he couldnt place. It sounded as if spokenthroughheadphones.Youactivatedhim?The face changed to a male one, that had two spikes protruding from its cheeks. It looked fierce, and seemed like it had carved out of metal. Alan had seen some extreme body mods, but thiswasdifferent,likeanHRGigersnightmare.Thevoicechangedtoo.Hemightbehelpful.Thefacebecamefemaleagain.Hewont,hewillbescaredanddisoriented.Hespremassex,forfuckssakeAlan started to notice a pattern. What he was seeing was the faces of those that were talking, likethiswassomekindofvideogameinterface.Thewomansfacecontinued.Wedontneedafuckingdeadweightrightnow,fuckhead.Wecantaffordit.Yourenottheonecarryinghim,right?saidtheman.So,whatshisstatus?saidher.Scared,disoriented.Myglansarefightinglikehelltokeepadrenalinedown,tonurturehim.Whataboutsomeendostocushionthecultureshock?Wouldnthelp.The corridor was reaching an end. He could see an empty metal wall coming in at full speed towards them. The second to last door on the right suddenly turned bright red, and an arrow appeared over it. As they dashed forward, he suddenly heard a loud whistling sound to his left, followedbytwoothers.Therewasaloudbangandacloudsmokefilledthecorridor.He noticed, without being able to react, how he tumbled and faced backwards. He saw right behind him what looked like two metal jellyfishes that were highlighted with a red outline as soon as they came into view. He noticed how his hand grabbed something from his belt and watched as a metal cylinder was flung back towards the things. He turned with one fluid movement towards the marked door again, and started running. He still heard the whistling sounds, and felt some sharp stings on his back, but nothing that felt serious. The figure that had

beeninfrontofhimwasnowkneelingbesidesthedoor,thatsuddenlyopened.He heard the explosion right before he felt it. A sudden heat hit his back and neck, and he felt the rush of air filling the room. He noticed that his body was riding on the explosion, and he saw as the other person reached with their hand from inside the open room, and grabbed his arm. Hegotpulledintotheroom,andthedoorwasshutbehindhim.Bothbodiesremainedcrouchedforafewseconds,astheyregainedtheirbreath.Howsyourpassengerholding?askedthewoman.Shaken,saidtheman.Alanfeltthathewassmiling.Heseemedtobeenjoyingthis.Hewasnt.Isheconnectedtothetacnet?Should be, dont think he knows how to use it. Alright, listen, mate. I know this might sound really confusing, but there will be milk and cookies later, as well as time to explain everything. Now, you might be wondering why you cannot move. Thats normal. You were copied long ago. Your brain and metabrain, all your memories and thought patterns, as well as your neural connections and ideas. It was all turned to software, and that was saved in a hard drive somewhere. We have now retrieve that data, and I am using a secondary brain to run a program,thatsbasicallyyou.Youmadeitsoundhorrible,saidthewoman.Anyway, I am Kendrick, and shes Sham, Shamara. You are actually connected to the tacnet, so to use it, simply try thinking in words. The tacnet software should pick up on that and translate.It will be automatic, when youve done it a couple of times, said the woman. She was now standing up, and she looked around her, assessing the situation. Alan tried to focus his thoughts intowords,asKendrickhadsuggested.Thesilhouetteofahead,withaquestionmarkinsteadofaface,appearedonthetacnet.Bloomingbutterscotchgrass,saidanewvoice.Ah, right, it was Kendrick talking. The system will need to fine tune itself. Your speech patternsareancient,soitneedstocatchupwithit.Itmighttakeafewtries,butdontdespair.Whatrhinocerosflew?Kendrick stood up too, and followed Shamara. She looked restless, but was walking with confidence.Muchbetter,saidKendrick.Thatalmostmakessense.Thisistheroomthatwehadmarked.Weshouldbeabletomakeourwayoutfromhere.Whatsintheboxes?askedKendrick.Noclue.Alantriedagain.Whathappens?Whathappenswhen?askedKendrick.Whathappened?managedtosayAlan.Well,whatsthelastyouremember?Ifainted,itwasduringaliveconcert.Alivewhat?Concert,withmyband.Whatyearwasthat?askedKendrick.

Whatyear?Right, I think you must have been gone for a while. There havent been many live concerts for ages.2014,saidAlantentatively.HenoticedthatKendrickstoppedandtookadeepbreath.Then thats he said. Too broad of a question. We are in 2109, mate, thats almost a century fromyourtime.I know its difficult to take this all in, said Shamara. For now, you really have no option but to trustus,Imafraid.Icanseethat,saidAlan.Youre doing great with the tacnet, mate, said Kendrick. Well get out of here in a minute and everythingwillbeThere was a knocking sound, and one of the boxes in the room started flashing bright red. Alan saw that Shamara was wielding a gun, and had pointed to the box. Kendricks face took over thetacnet.Livestuff,thatsgreat.Shouldweopenit,Sham?No.Butyouregoingtoitanyway.Kendrick was already walking to the box, that was a huge metallic thing, about time and a half the size of a man. He grabbed a handle, and pushed in and to the right with a single motion. Thedooropenedwithahiss.A humanoid creature jumped out and grabbed Kendricks arm with a twisted and deformed hand. The fingers were too long, and out of place. A second hand went straight to his face, and covered his eyes. There was a loud bang and the creatures grasp lessened. It fell backwards, with a hole between the eyes. Kendrick looked towards Shamara, who had just shot. The creature lay motionless on the floor. When Alan got a second look he saw that the creature seemed to have been human at some point, but was now a twisted parody of one. Its features were distorted in a grotesque fashion. The skin of its head seemed to have been stretched over a skull that was too big, and was actually ripped and torn around the mouth and nose. The body was thin to the point where it looked like someone had dropped a wet rag over a skeleton. Severalofthejointsweretwistedinunnaturaldirections.Shit,saidKendrick.The room was silent for a few seconds, as the creature twitched on the floor. Suddenly, there wasanotherknock.Andanother.Andanother.Shitfuckballs,saidKendrick.Blow the wall, NOW, said Shamara. She had the gun ready to shoot, and was trying to look in alldirections.Shittyshittyfuck,whatthehellaretheydoinghere?Idontknow,Idontcare.WALLNOW!Alan felt Kendrick reaching towards his belt, and grabbing another grenade. He twiddled with a few dials as the knockings continued, getting more and more nervous by the minute. Kendrick threw the grenade against the wall, and turned around to see several red points appearing on

thetacnet.Someoftheboxesseemedtobeopening.Shamara started shooting, as an explosion went off behind them. Alan felt a rush of wind at his back, but the drift was reversed suddenly. Everything that was unhinged in the room suddenly startedflyingtowardstheexplosion.Alan didnt understand nothing at all. Suddenly his body seemed to be lifted in the air, and pulled back. He watched as Shamara started to float, as she was shooting at several of the creaturesthatseemedtobeappearingoutofnowhere.And suddenly, he felt a tug in his brain. His point of view switched, and he was jumping towards Shamara. He could see her thoughts around her, fear, arousal, anger She shoot at him straight between the eyes, and he was standing inside a box, hitting the walls so hard his hands hurt. He blinked, and he was struggling to hold on to something, as he felt a powerful pull towards a hole in the wall, through what things were falling. He watched as Kendrick fell backwards, as if pulled by an invisible force, and disappeared from view. He felt despair, despite not understanding what was going on, Kendrick was a much comfortable place than this carcass. It felt crowded, empty, and too angry. He couldnt think clearly, it was like trying to listen to a faint voice in a full concert. He saw one of the creatures grab Shamaras head, and he could see how her fear was being sucked out. He could see it, and he felt so hungry, she wassotasty,herfearwassointense.He jumped and grabbed her. The impact knocked them of their feet, and they were sucked into the hole on the wall and suddenly they were falling. He felt as scared as he had ever been, and searchedforafamiliarthought,whatever,andsuddenlyhefoundit.Fuckingfuckshitfuckhell!saidKendrick.Alan was back in Kendricks body, and suddenly his mind was much clearer. He saw that they were falling from a massive airship, that was at least as big as a football stadium. He could see the hole on the side of the ship, through which they had fallen. He saw the ground, several kilometers down. he couldnt make any details from this height, but it seemed like a town with a river through it. He saw Shamara falling, lifeless, along with several of the creatures, that were flailingaroundandhadtheirmouthsopeninasilentscream.Healsosawathinlinethatbroketheskyintwo.It took him a second or two to regain his bearings. Suddenly he realized that something was wrong.Kendrick!Shamaraishurt!hemanagedtosaythroughthetacnet.So she is! Sham, can you speak? said Kendrick. There was a tense moment, and suddenly Alan felt Kendricks body shifting. They were still falling, but he had extended his body to maximize air resistance. This made him lose momentum, and he could navigate up to Shamaras limp body. He grabbed her as more and more of the creatures were falling past them.Whatarethosethings?askedAlan.Hewastryingnottothinkaboutthefallbeneaththem.Junkies,Personajunkies,hardtoexplainrightnow.Kendrick turned to face the floor, which was rising fast to meet them. He pulled a piece of metal rope and tied Shamara close to him. He extended his body again, and Alan felt a sudden shock as the suit modified itself. Some flaps extended from his arms and legs, and he felt that they werelosingspeed.

Alan tried to focus on what the city below them was. The river looked familiar, but not too much. It had the chaotic sprawl of old european cities, that hadnt been as much planned as they had been improvised over the centuries.There were two more modern development areas two on sideofthetown,andthreetothesouth,butmostoftheriverbankseemedold.Shamara was not responding at all, and Kendrick was trying to stop their velocity as much as he could,butitwasntbeingenough.Suddenlyhisfacecamethroughthetacnet.We are going to crash hard, mate. I am going to put you on ghost mode, so you dont feel the impact.Ghostmode?Right, Im severing your connection to my sensories. Its going to be weird, but hopefully it will belesstraumaticforyou.Weirdinwhatway?Imagine going deaf and blind at the same time, in a water tank. You wont feel anything. It can bestrange,butyouaregoingtobefine.Whataboutyou?IllcushionSham,sheshouldnthavemuchofaproblem.Andyou?Itsgoingtohurt.ButIvehadworse.Seeyouafterthehit,kid.AndtheneverythingwentblackforAlan.He felt a surge of panic at first, but told himself that it must be normal. He noticed that he needed to keep his mind active, to avoid the panic. He started to recall the events that had gotten him there. He remembered the feeling of falling on stage, and Robs look of concerns as he run towards him. He could be dreaming all this, even though the images and feelings had been so vivid. Hadnt he read somewhere about how people in a comma had hallucinatory dreamsthatfeltlikedifferentrealities?If so, perhaps this whole situation was somehow cathartic. Perhaps it related to his current life atsomelevel.No,itisnt,saidavoiceinhishead.What?Whatwasthat?Notadream,Alan,continuedthevoice.Reality,butpiecesofit,puzzle.Alan felt the voice was scratching at his very being. It was unwelcome, and it made it harder for himtothinkproperly,likesomeonewassharinghisthoughts.Whoareyou?Forgotten,willcomeback.Hefeltasifmanyeyeswerelookingathim.Whoareyou?You.We.Nomatternow.Willremember.Puzzlenow.The presence faded, and he felt relieved. The darkness of his thought seemed like a safe haven now. He still felt shaken and invaded. Too many things had happened in less than ten minutes. He started to recite mentally the songs that he had composed. He realized that that should be a way of checking if his memories were intact. Admittedly it wouldnt be much of a proof, but it was soothing.He had gone through a record and a half, when suddenly a rush of sensory information hit him.

He saw ruins and felt a pungent smell he couldnt recognize. Most of his left side had become numb, but he noticed that Kendrick was still moving them. There was a ringing sound, that was cutshortbythenowfamiliarpingfromthetacnet,Kendrickfaceappeared.Sorryyouhadtomissthat.AreyouOK,mate?Yes,you?Ourleftsideseemsnumb.Yeah, I disabled pain receptors for it. Few broken bones, but nothing thats not easily fixable. Shamsfinetoo.Imgladtohearthat.Kendrickclimbedthroughahalffallenwall.Whatdowedonow?askedAlan.Well, we need to get back to a safe place, and get Sham some attention. It seems like the persoshitherhard.Persos?Thethingsintheship.Holdonforasecond.Alan noticed how the helmet that Kendrick was wearing was released. He felt a small nudge at the back of the neck, and suddenly everything looked brighter. The air also smelled cleaner, althoughtherewasstillatingeofsomethingrotten.Im guessing you still have a lot of questions, said Kendrick. Alan noticed that he was now talking out loud, instead of through the tacnet. He could hear the voice clearly now. I am not the one to answer them, I know little. But I will take you to someone better. I want to show you somethingthough.Alan remained silent while Kendrick pulled himself up from floor to floor. The place looked like the carcass of a stranded office building. He could see some glass panes still intact, and even some office supplies left behind. It all looked slightly alien, but he recognized most of the stuff. They reached the top floor in no time, and Kendrick rushed to some stairs that led to an open roof.Heexitedandwenttotheedge.Alan hadnt noticed the amount of devastation that the city had sustained while falling. From here, however, he could see the broken buildings, the holes on the street and the debris that covered the area. He didnt see a sign that humans had lived anywhere in the area in ages. Nature was starting to overrun some areas, but even those seemed oddly abandoned, as if the trees had tried to move in, but decided it wasnt worth the effort. He still didnt recognize the town. He tried looking for some billboards hoping that the language might tell him where he was, butthosehadgonetoo.He felt trapped in a nightmare. The sky looked yellow, and there was still something crossing it, asifaplanehadleftasolidtrailfromhorizontohorizon.Henoticedthattherewerenobirdsandnoanimalsounds.Youmightrememberthat,saidKendrick,thoughImnotsureyoullrecognizeit.He pointed and an area of his vision flashed. Alan realized that Kendrick was marking the thing hewantedtonotice.To the far left, he could see a spire of metal that looked like an unfinished radio tower. It was the EiffelTower.

3. All these skulls are from people who are now judging you. No pressure, though, right? Alan had a sudden panic rush. Up until now, there had been a clear distance with everything that was happening, but suddenly there was a connection something he could recognize, and it scared him. Kendrick had said that the year was 2109, it made no sense, there was no way this washappening.Only he had seen it happen countless times in science fiction. He had even owned a Futurama tshirt.Thiscouldntbereal,butitwasjustsoplausible.That over there, said Kendrick, pointing towards the thin line in the sky, is The Ring. Its the place where the wreckers of Earth are hidden. It was built twenty five years ago, and has been a stainintheskysincethen.Alanlookedoverit.Itlookedinnocent,butoutofplaceandscary.Look, I know this is a loot to take in. I can feel your brain poking me to flight, but theres still something we need to do. Bear with me, and as soon as we get to the combs Ill pump you full of endorphins. That should make you feel better. But first I need to make a diversion. Theyve seenmyfall,andtheyremostlikelyscanningthearea.Holdontight,mate,youmightlikethis.Kendrick looked to the streets below, and saw two vehicles running down a street, directly headed to their position. He quickly looked around, and Alan noticed that several spots amongst the neighboring buildings were marked with a bright red crosshair. These seemed located at random, until the last one was placed right behind the vehicles. At that same moment, Alan heard a whirring sound behind him, followed by a sharp bang. He saw a metallic ball whizz past his head, and hit the first marked spot. It bounced directly towards the second spot, and the third and four after that. When it hit the last checkpoint, it deployed a pair of wings and a snout, and flew straight between the vehicles. Alan noticed that the vehicles reacted too late, and the ball exploded, launching one of the vehicles high into the air. The other was moved, but quickly turnedaroundandstartedtracingwheretheballhadcomefrom.Thatshouldkeepthementertainedforabit.The suits helmet activated again and covered Kendricks head. He started talking through the tacnetagain.Zerg,yougotmepinpointed?A new face came on the intercom. It didnt look like a human face, it had no eyes or nose, but simply a highly articulated mouth. It had a metallic colour, and several creases that moved to showexpressions.Gotyou,markingnearestentrance.Thanks,estimatedtraveltime?Fiveminutes,butyoulllikelymakeitintwo.Great,seeyouinthebase!Illtrackyouandwarnyouifsomethinghappens.Zergs voice sounded strangely outworldy. It was human, but had a distinct lack of emphasis on anywords.Ishearobot?askedAlan.

Zerg? No, hes Well, he is strange, but human in most ways. Hes one of the good ones, though.Alan could now see a faint arrow on the air in front of them. It pointed left, and had a smaller onethatwaspointingfurtherleft,tothepointinthestairswheretheyhadwalkedin.Lets get you to our base, said Kendrick. For when you get your own body, the big arrow marksthegeneraldirection,thelittleonemarksthesuggestedpath.He walked following the big arrow, and moved to the edge of the roof. There was a red point at about five hundred meters from their position hidden between some buildings. Kendrick took impulse and jumped from the roof. This shock Alan, but somehow the confidence of Kendrick was starting to rub on him. They fell halfway through the building, before Kendrick deployed his flightsuit again. The sudden air shock was enough to stop them long enough for Kendrick to grab the side of the building. He let himself go, and landed on his feet. Alan felt the impact, but noticed that it was absorbed by the knees. He could actually feel his bones changing shape, but itdidnthurtatall.Kendrick jumped through the nearest window, and walked to the place where they had crashed. Shamaras body was lying there, motionless. Kendrick picked her up and slung her across his shoulder.Willshebealright?askedAlan.SheSheshouldbefine,yes.Should?Whatdidtheydotoher?Boof, thats a difficult question, Kendrick started running towards the red dot, but kept talking through it. Persona is a hell of a drug. It changes the brain, in ways that are not all of them understood.ItseemslikeitgivesitSomethinglikeawirelessconnectiontootherbrains.Wireless?Right, you know about telepathy, yes? Thats one of the side effects. But its nasty, like they cannotonlyreadyourthoughts,butactuallyfeedfromthem.IthinkIunderstand,saidAlan.Great, great Its really hard to explain what Persona is, to be honest I dont really get it myself,butSalomonisagreatdoc,hellbringherback.Salomon?Ourheaddoc,Ilookforwardtoyoumeetingtheguys,mate.They were almost at the red dot by now. Alan had gotten used to Kendricks speed by now, but he was still surprised to see how well he could move carrying a dead weight such as Shamara. They turned a final corner and saw an underground station entryway. The arrow was flashing towards it. Kendrick walked with confidence into it, even though it was completely dark. Alan realised that as soon as they walked into the darkness the red point moved into the ground, further along the station, and his vision switched to the green hue of night vision. The station was in ruins, as the rest of the town had been. There had been shops and kiosks here once, but everythingseemedoverrunandlooted.Kendrick moved with determination and speed through the place, as if he already knew it, but he was only following the arrows. They led them to a closed door. Crossing that door, they found themselves in an empty maintenance room. There was a hole on the wall, as if there had been an explosion, and there was a completely different hallway there. While the underground

station had been oddly familiar, but modern this new hallway seemed ancient. Glass and other reflectivesurfacesleftwaytostoneandmortar.Kendricksteppedintothehallwaywithoutanyhesitation.Werehere,Zerg,time?Twominutestwentythree,saidZerg.Youdisappointme,Ken.Hey,IamcarryingShamhere,cutmesomeslack.The arrows were now pointing ahead, and suddenly changed to the right. Kendrick moved through a narrow slit in the wall, that opened to a different chamber. There were at least six differentexitsfromthisroom.Wherearewe?askedAlan.Well, Paris has this maze of hidden tunnels beneath it. They were old catacombs that during the centuries had been used for smuggling and to fight invasions. We use them to, as base of operations,itsacozyplace,youllsee.As they walked, Alan started to see that some of the places they walked through had been fitted for habitation. There were lights on them, and some had furniture on them that clearly belonged to this time period, and in a few occasions, they crossed paths with other people going in differentdirections.TheyallgreetedKendrickwarmly.After one bend, they found some stairs that climbed deeper into the ground. They descended, andwalkedthroughasmallcorridor.You are going to like this, said Kendrick as they walked into a larger corridor. Alan saw that the walls were lined up with skulls and bones, that covered the walls as far as he could see. He suddenlyfeltreallywary.ArethoseReal,yes,beenhereforages.Usedtobeatouristattraction,fancythat.They walked without speaking through the corridor. Alan felt uncomfortable, as if the skulls were watchinghim,judging.SuddenlyZergsfaceappearedonthetacnet.Salomonswaitingforyou,Ken.Great,great,youtoldhimaboutSham?Idid.Wegotyourrecordingsandaregoingthroughthem.Thanks.They finally walked into a room that looked different from the rest. This one had been excavated recently, and was fitted with a lot of equipment that seemed alien to Alan. There was a bed that seemed to hang from the ceiling in the middle of the room. There was also a man there, who lookedupfromascreenwhentheywalkedin.Ah,hesaid,Kendrick,pleaseleaveMissKelonthebed.Kendrickshelmetfoldeditselfagain.Hespokedirectly.I was pulled from the ship before she did. I could not stop the persos. I might hadnt been able tocatchifAlanhadntwarnme.Ah, Mr. Prat, welcome to our place. Dont worry, well get you out of Kendrick in just a minute. I cant even imagine how hard it must be like to think in a brain so small. Lucky for you, its almost emptyasitis.Oi,complainedKendrick.Dont you oi me, you idiot! screamed Salomon. He was clearly angry, and even Kendrick was

taken back by his sudden intensity. What were you thinking? Oh, thats right, you werent. Your impulsivenessmighthavecostusMissKelbrain.Suddenly, from the wall, a small metallic ball detached itself. It started floating and reached Dr. Salomon.ItspokewithZergsvoice.It also saved her, Doctor. Remember that we do need Kendricks impulsiveness as much as we needShamarascaution,andyourskills.I remember that, said the Doctor, who was still upset. But we will be killed by his instinctual primitiveimpulses.Theres plenty of time to discuss the best course of evolution for humans later, but now we do havemorepressingmatters.Kendrick,wehaveapodforMr.Prattready.Justapod?askedKendrick.Yes, apparently there was a raid, and weve lost Puteaux cache. But Ive spoken to Granny, andshewillbegladtohelp.YouwillgothereafterwegetMr.Prattoutofyou.Great,leadtheway.Alanusedthetacnettoask.Whatsapod?A pod is a basic body shell. It has two arms, two legs, a brain case, a face, and little more. Its justsomethingtemporal,dontworry.Temporal,likeatemporalbody?Yes,Idounderstanditmightsoundweirdtoyou,butitsaneverydaythinghere.AndwhoisthisGranny?Ah,youaregoingtolikeher,mate,shesabodybuilder.Shellbuildyouagreatone.They walked in silence for a few minutes. Alan was still trying to understand all the implications of what was happening. He still had trouble conceiving that this was all true. The idea of using a body that wasnt his seemed alien, but he had been doing that now for a bit, while riding Kendrick. He took the chance to think about his old friends. What would have happened to them? Perhaps at some point he should try finding out about their lives. If this was the future, he expected the Internet to be still working, and he could find out there what happened to the band, ortohisfamily.They reached another room that looked like a medical bay. There were two tables here, and on one of them there was what looked like a corpse. Several robotic arms were moving around the place, and a few of the same metallic balls that he had seen earlier were floating about. Kendricksatontheemptyoperationstable.Youalreadyknowthedrill,Kendrick,saidZergsvoice.Right.Itsbeenapleasurehavingyouascopilot,mate.Illseeyouontheotherside.Helieddown,theyfeltaprickinthearm,andtheyweresoonfastasleep.

4. Its always nice to see a new face around here, dont you think? Alan woke up with hope that she would see his bandmates face, and would dismiss everything as a bad dream. However he found himself on the same room he had fallen asleep earlier. His point of view was askew, however, as he realized that he was in the other bed. One of Zergs

ballsappearedinfrontofhisface.Howareyoufeeling?Slightlydizzy,saidAlanthroughthetacnet.Tryspeakingnormally.Scythydacy,hesaid.Right, vocal and gastric system work fine, apparently. Dont worry about the speech impediments. Youll grow used to your new mouth and glottis in no time. Let me check your eyes.A series of dots and rays appeared in front of his vision. They moved in quick succession and madehimwince.Notperfectbutitwillwork,nowcomestheuncomfortabletime,youmightnoticeafewpins.Andhedid,alloverhisbodyhefeltneedlesprickinghim.Nerve receptors are online too. Seems like you have a fully operational body, Mr. Pratt. Could youtrymovingyourrighthand?Alan felt weird. He had grown used quickly to being in a body he couldnt control. He tried moving his right hand, and indeed it moved. He then raised the left and pulled himself up. He looked at his hands, which seemed eerily out of place. The fingers were too short and fat and they were the wrong shade of skin, too pallid. As he moved them around, and opened and closedthemacoupleoftimes,hecouldfeelthembecomingmoreandmorecomfortable.Side effects you might feel are disorientation, dizziness, spatial distortion and clumsiness, as wellasafeelingofparanoia.Theseareallnormal,saidZerg.Foundsgreet,repliedAlan.Hetookasecondtobreathe.Soondsgreat.I see you are already getting better at speaking. You seem to have a knack for this. Good news is that according to my records, this body is smaller than your previous one, so you shouldnt hit yourselftoomuch.AnythingelseIshouldknow?askedAlan.Younowhavefreckles.Ah,wicked.The door opened and Kendrick walked in. Now that he could finally see him, Alan realized how imposinghewas.Helookedlikehewasmadeofmetal.Gladtoseeyouupandrunning,Alan,hesaid.Howareyoufeeling?Tired,andstrange.LikeImwearingashirtthatstootight.You are wearing nothing, actually, said Zerg. Alan became aware that he was indeed naked. A panel opened on the side with what looked like a suit similar to the one Kendrick was wearing. He stood up and started getting dressed. He noticed that the suit seemed to adapt to his hands and limbs by stretching, but didnt look as delicate, or tight as lycra. It was actually quite comfortable. There were some boots, and he reached down to pick them up. He closed his hand too soon, and grabbed only empty air. He hesitated for a second, and tried again. This timehegotthem.Mostofmybodyseemsslightlynumb,isthatnormal?It is, said Zerg. Your brain needs a while to recognize every single nerve impulse arriving to it. Its all new to him. In fact, for it to be your first time, youre adapting really fast. You must have a heavilymalleablebrain.

Uh,thanks,Ithink.KendrickwalkedintotheroomonceAlanwasfullydressedandextendedhishand.Wehaventbeenproperlyintroducedyet,mate,hesaid.Imgladyourehere.Alan extended his hand tentatively. His hand looked minuscule compared with Kendricks. They shookhands.Salomonwantstoseeyou,Mr.Pratt.Ihopeyouwillnotmindhavingasmallinterview.Ill get things ready for our later trip, said Kendrick and left the room. Alan felt more out of place than ever. Being with Kendrick, he couldnt actually take any decisions but was only being pushedalong.Hewasnowresponsibleofhisactions,andthatwasscary.WhatdoesSalomonwantwithme,Zerg?heasked.Well, it seems like you might be interesting for the cause. We still dont know how, or why you were being carried to the Ring, so its good that Kendrick restored you as he did. But you are still an unknown factor, so we want to know as much of you as possible. Now, Salomon can be abitaggressiveattimes.Iwillbetheretoo,butrememberyouvedonenothingwrong.They walked to the first medical room, where Shamara was still lying motionless. Salomon was waiting for them, and offered Alan a chair when they walked in, Zerg still following around as a ball.WhenAlansat,Salomonsatoppositeofhim.Tellme,Mr.Pratt,whoareyou?Well, my name is Alan Pratt, and I am from North London. I have had a band, with some success. We were actually doing a world tour when I fainted during a performance, and I woke upIwokeuphere.Aband,interruptedSalomon.Youmeanlikeamusicband,right?Right, sort of hardcore with some drumnbass and a bit of everything, really. We kept ourselves opentoallinfluences.I think, said Zerg, its fair that we give you a recap of what happened during this time. That wayyouwillhavesomebackgroundtounderstandthechanges.A small projection appeared between them, showing a video with images of several events. Zergcarriedon.The social instability from the early twenty first century only got worse, until around the 30s. At this point, there was a severe decline of the quality of air, and the environmental issues we had been carrying since the Industrial Revolution reached their tipping point. In less than ten years, nearlytwothirdsofallanimallifeintheplanetwentextinct.Alan recoiled at this. Hearing it through Zergs disembodied impersonal voice made the news evenmorehorrible.This was a waking call, continued Zerg. It became a tipping point, and most countries starting being more conscious as the decade unfolded. There was a very strong reclaimer and green movement. At one point, we started building orbital habitats, to minimize our effect on Earth. These were built using trapped asteroids, and space debris. And fear not, despite what you saw here, many areas of the Earth are now better than they were in your time. The Amazonian reserve,forexample.Manyoftheextinctspecieswerebroughtbackartificially.The plan for the orbital stations, interrupted Salomon, was to give an alternative to overpopulation, but it didnt really work. Instead of being open places of transit, they became a refugefortheeliteaplacewherealltheshitanddirttheyhadcausedcouldnttouchthem.

Zergmanagedtoofferadissatisfiedscowl,despitehavingnofacialfeatureswhatsoever.The stations were never planned as a Noahs Ark, he stepped in, stopping Salomon. They were meant to be something temporary, and a help to the reclaiming process. Then, there was an incident with one of them. A terrorist attack caused it to be destroyed, and to fall over the North Pole. Now, keep in mind that these stations were massive. The crash is considered to be acataclysmiceventonparwiththeChicxulubone.After that, continued Zerg, most old polities finally gave in. There was an international effort to create the Ring, which youve already seen, and they ended up creating a coalition that they used to control the construction efforts, and establish a workforce for the factories that created goodsfortheRing.Industrialslavery,addedSalomon.Indeed, there are some parallels between the Industrial Revolution and the Ring establishment. We now live in the shadow of it. Theres a clear division between the quality of life in the Ring andthatoftheSurface.Thatswhatsparkedtherevolutionthatyoureapartof.Alantriedtotakeallthisin.Hehadquestions,buttheywouldhavetobeansweredlater.What we are up against, said Salomon, is a memetic war. The Ringers have created a fake illusion of movement. Work hard and you will join us, they say, when in fact it is impossible to move upwards on their society. In the last year, only three people have been promoted, and two of them have already returned to the surface as delinquents. However, they still sell their ascensionsastriumphsofhardworkanddedication.Alan could see that Salomon was passionate about this. He found disturbing that his dreads wheremovingoftheirownaccord,toemphasizehiswords.IstilldontknowwhereIstandinallthis,saidAlan.Wedontknoweither.Whatdoyouremember?Hetoldthemallagain,uptohisreawakening.It doesnt make sense, said Zerg. We have been looking for you and your band, to find your background, but as it turns out, most of the information about you and your band was classified awhileback.What?saidAlan.It seems like you were somehow involved in the political upheavals of the 10s and 20s, and thatyoustoodinthewrongfeet.Buttobehonest,thatperiodissomehowdark.SoIwontbeabletofindoutwhathappenedtomyfriends?Noteasily,atleast.Alan felt lost. He wasnt expecting this. Even if it was painful, he had wanted some closure of his old life. Now, the feeling of being in a different reality was back. He couldnt find any personal connectiontothisworld,sohewasfindingithardertobelieveinit.We still dont know much about you, said Zerg, but you are welcome. We pride ourselves in beinganopensociety,andifyouwereanartist,Imsureyouwillbeuseful.HenoticedSalomonwasscowling.Whatgoodisanartistinawar?heasked.Zergmanagedtolookamused.As Salomon said, this is more of a memetic war than anything else. The words of a poet and the voice of a minstrel are the fuel on which armies march. They are the ones who create the ideasthatpeoplefightfor.

ButImnotWe dont expect you to be, said Salomon. At least not yet. Right now, you are a victim, nothing more. We will give you a helping hand, and try to soften the transition shock. But if you dont want to join us, we wont force you to do so. We understand that you might not share our views,butwedohopeyouwillatleastlisten.Alanremainedsilent.However, right now you are a wildcard, kept on Salomon. As such, we need to supervise you, untilweknowwhytheyweretakingyouontheliftandwhyyourinformationisclassified.SoImaprisoner?Youremoreofaguestthatcannotleave,andthatwillbemonitored.We do understand that this is not an ideal arrangement, said Zerg, but we must err on the sideofcaution.Weare,afterall,atwar.Alan felt distrust. Indeed, these people had been nothing but helpful to him up until now, but he wasonlyseeingonesideofthestory.Hewasworriedthathewasmissingthewholepicture.For now, said Zerg, we will take you to Grannys for a new body one that would allow you at least to be protected and useful if needed. Kendrick is willing to take you there, he has taken a likingtowardsyou.WillIneedtopayforthis?No,saidZerg.Grannyowesusafewfavours,wearejustcallingthemin.SothenIwouldoweyouthefavour,now?Thatremainstobeseen,saidSalomon.I am not sure about this, said Alan, but the conversation was cut short. Kendrick walked into theroom.Ifwewanttogettothetownbyrushhour,weneedtobegoing,hesaid.Rushhour?Right, its the best way to remain anonymous. The drones relax their security standards, to ensurethatpeoplereachthefactoriesontime.Wewillmixourselveswiththecrowd.Yes,saidSalomon,youshouldleaveatonce.TheylefttheroomwithKendrickleadingtheway.Hegavehimasmallmetallicsquare.Here, carry it in your palm, like this. It will jam the readers, and use a fake identity for the readers.Hemadeademonstration,andAlancomplied.The voice of Zerg appeared on the tacnet once more, but this time the message was marked as private.Alan, please excuse Salomon. He is as distrusting as Kendrick is overzealous. We do need someonelikeyou.AndhowareyousosureofwhoIam?Ive heard your songs, and analyzed your lyrics. They show a sharp understanding of social andpoliticalstrife.Ithoughtmysongswereclassified.Theyare.Theyarenotimpossibletofindthroughothermeans,however.Then,didyoufindoutwhathappenedtoNo.Thatisindeedwellhidden.Whichisstrange.Look,Ineedtofindoutaboutthem.Idontknow,perhapsIneedclosure.

Understandable.Illmakeitoneofmypriorities.Kendrick was now walking through a narrow staircase that went up. He got to a door in the wall and opened it, leading into a dark empty basement. There was a thick layer of dust on the floor, andanotherstairleadingup.As soon as we go out, we will be mixed with the factory workers. Make sure not to call attention toyourself.Mostoftheseguyswouldratyououtforamonthlysubtoanewvideochannel.Saidthemanwiththefacefullofmetal.Thisisthefuture,mate.Metalismorecommonthanfreckles.Seriously?Youjustsaidthat?Wait,isthattrue?No,itisnt,whatIthoughtitsoundedgood.As they walked through the basement, Alan noticed that the dust moved around them and settleditselfagain,coveringtheirsteps.Nanodust,saidKendrick.Prettycool,eh?Alan smiled. As the door of the basement opened, he was blinded by the light coming in from outside. They were in the entry lobby of a derelict building, and he could see people walking on the street outside. As they walked to the street, Alan looked back and saw that the door had a signsaying:

DangerNoentrywithout

thermsuit.Xwasteinside.

TheywalkedintothestreetsofParis,andbecomeonewiththecrowds.

5. Whoops, I think someone made a huge mistake. Alan walked close to Kendrick, as the crowds got larger. He noticed that there were no vehicles atall,andeveryonewalkedinroughlythesamedirection.Hespokethroughthetacnet.Ken,whereseveryonegoing?The factories. This people work for the ringers, they wake up, they try to reach the factories, theydo12hoursofpressingbuttons,andtheygobackhome.Itsobsceneifyouaskme.Thatsoundscliche.Theremustbemoretoitthanthat.Well, they do get paid for their job, but the fact is that that money is not really worth anything, unlessyoubuyringgoods,oryouwanttogotothering.Sotheycanbuyatickettomovethere?Thats what they want people to think. The real fact is that theres always something extra that youneedtopaytogetthere,orsomeexpenseyouhadntcounton,sonobodyleaves.Carrotonastick?Right.Weneedtousetheirtranssystem,though.WewillreachGrannysinnotime.Alan could see something that looked like a station in front of them. People were flocking to it, andwaitingtheirturntogetin.Someofthemlookedstressed,butmostjustseemeddefeated.

Theywaitedtheirturn,untiltheygotintothestation.Alanlookedup.Ken,saidAlan.Rememberhowyoutoldusnottodrawattentiontoourselves?Yeah.ThereahugeWantedposterwithyourfaceonthatscreen.Kendrick looked up, in shock. His face looked enormous from where they stood. He suddenly jumpedback.Alantriedtofollow.NO, came a shout over the tacnet. Theyve only got me. Go to the cabins, and press the buttonG.Whenyougettothatstation,getoff,andleavethestation.Wewillmeetthere.Alan saw how Kendrick pushed his way out of the station, as several drones flew over the crowd. He could see that some of the workers were actually taking photos or videos. The crowd pushedhimforward,andhelostsightofbothKendrickandthedronesinjustaninstant.He could do nothing but walk forward. He finally saw that the people were walking into glass boxes that had the size of a room. Each one had up to 20 seats, and they only admitted enough people as seats they had. He waited patiently, trying to copy with the other people were doing, until his turn to walk into the cabins came. He pressed his palm against the reader, after fiddling to make sure that the device he had been given worked correctly. He half expected it to fail, and to be captured and Well, he had no idea what would happen if he got captured. The light turned green, and he walked into the cabin. He saw people sitting down, and he imitated them, as nonchalantly as he could. He noticed that on the wall there was a device that had several lights on it, all marked with letters from A to M. He saw that to his right, there was a panel with the same letters. He saw people pressing them, and saw the light beneath the J flash several times,aswellastheL.ThedoorsclosedashepressedtheG.Suddenly,amantwoseatsfromitshouted.G? What? Who is the idiot that wants to go there? he started looking around. Alan was nervous.Themangotupandlookedstraighttowardshim.You,fuckingidiot,Imgoingtobelatebecauseofyou,whatthefuckareyougoingtodoinG?Thatsnoneofyourbusiness,saidAlan.It isnt? As it turns out, Ill be fired if I dont reach my office in time, so I can make it my damn businessifIwant.Alan stood up to face the man, who was now standing in front of him. Only then did he notice that the cabin was moving through a series of tunnels, at a very high speed. He couldnt feel the speedatallinsideofit,though.Hefacedtheangryman,whowastallerthanhim.PressthefuckingJ.WhatifIdont?He saw the man getting ready to throw a punch, and he moved to block it. He still felt this body stiff, and he had no idea how it was going to perform in a fight. He heard a ping, and realized that the man had stopped and was looking to the wall. Someone had changed their destination to G. Both him and the man looked at the right, where a woman was lying on the wall. She was not wearing any shoes, and had hands instead of feet, and she had just changed her destination.Theangrymanturnedtofaceher.Look, ladymonkey, Ill get you as soon as Im done with you bloody boyfriend, but change your destination,NOW.Alan took the chance, and decided to charge the man. He hunched and tackled with his

shoulder. As he hit the man, however, he noticed he had not calculated the distance correctly, andhelosthisfooting.Theybothfelltothecabinsfloor.Therestofthepassengersscreamed.As the man was getting up and looking at Alan, who was struggling to stand, he suddenly saw how the woman jumped and grabbed a bar that hung from the ceiling. She did a swift backflip, and Alan saw something pass through his field of vision. When he looked again at the man, he saw that he had an puzzled expression, and had a dart hanging from his check. His mouth moved,buthecollapsedbeforehecouldformanywords.The woman walked up to Alan, as the rest of the commuters worked hard to avoid any conflict or crossing eyes with anyone. She offered him a hand, and he used to get back up. The people seemedtobeignoringthem.Thanks,hesaid.Yourewelcome,youjustgotthatbody,right?Itshowsthatmuch,uh?Well,shesaid,Imabitofanexpert,butyeah,itshows.Alan smiled, and sat back in his place. So much for not calling attention to himself. The woman stilllookedathim,withasmileontheeyes.Listen,hetoldthewoman,thanksforthehelp,butIratherbealone.No problem, she said. Lets be alone together. She sat on the floor, too close to him for his comfort.Wheredoyoucomefrom?Ihehesitated.Icomefromfaraway.Says the mysterious guy, she was still smiling. Are you going to answer any of my questions?No,tobehonest,no.Thenhowarewegoingtoholdaconversation?Well,thatsthething,werenot.She looked distraught. Alan hoped Kendrick was there to remove the tension. Just a few secondslater,however,thecabinseemedtoslowdown.Ah,wearethere,saidthewoman.The cabin stopped, and he could see a big G on the door. They opened, showing an almost empty station. The woman walked down, and he hurried after her. The door closed after them, andtheycouldseethepeopleinthecabinlookingatthemandtheunconsciousbully.Theywillreportusinseconds,saidthewoman.Weshouldmovesoon.ImImmeetingsomeonehere.So,isthatsomeonearound?Alan looked while they walked to the stations exit. There was no sign of Kendrick around, not even in the walls, as they had been earlier. He was feeling quite worried now, but didnt trust the woman.Whentheygottothestreet,helookedaround,stillnoKendrick.Look, said the woman, Theres not many places to go here in the G, I know most of them, and Icanprobablytakeyouwhereyouneedtogo.No,noIllhideandwait,thanks.Soyouaresurethatyourfriendisnotaround,right?Helookedeverywhereoncemore.No.

Thewomanlentherhandforward.Well, Mr. Mysterious, it was a pleasure but I plan to leave before the drones come. If we ever meetagain,remembermeasafriend.Alanhesitated.Youreright,hesaidfinally.Thanksforthehelp.Hegrabbedherhandandfeltapricklingsensation.Thelastthinghesawwashersmile.He woke up with a headache. He first noticed a continuous chunkchunk noise going through, and then noticed that he was lying in a bed in what seemed like a medical bay. There was a strong hospital like smell, and when he tried to move, he noticed he was strapped. He pulled at the straps, but found that he was completely unable to move. Suddenly, a huge metallic face appearedinfrontofhim.Welcome... to the future! it screamed with a rather ominous voice. He felt a shock a first, but thenrecognizedthesound.Kendrick? he asked. The mask was removed to reveal the still metallic face. Kendrick was on thevergeoflaughingout.I had always wanted to say that, he said. You should have seen your face, all white and shitKendrick,whyamItieddown?Oh,safetything,really.Youwereconvulsingabit,sowetiedyoudown.We,youmeanyouandthewoman?Ah,yes,IseeyoumetGranny.Shetookquitealikingtoyou.Thewomaninthetrain?Right, she had no idea who you were earlier, so she wanted to harvest you, but she saw our markingsandcalledus.What?Oh,dontworry,itsallrightnow.Letmeuntieyou.The woman he had met in the train walked into the room. She was now wearing a long robe, alongwithwhatlookedlikesurgicalgloves.Alanrecoiledfromher.Hello, Mr. Pratt, she said. It seems like we started out on the wrong foot. Please excuse my rudenessearlier.Rudeness?Youtriedtokillme?Ah, a common misconception. See, I didnt intend to kill you. I merely intended to select your bestorgans,andswapthemwithsomelowqualitysparesIhavelyingaround.Grannysabodybuilder.Seemslikethattermhasevolvedfrommyowntime.Grannywassmiling.Soitstrue,shesaid.Youarefromthepast,right?AlanlookedatKendrick.Kendrickshrugged.Theres so much I want to ask you. Did you ever meet Michael Jackson? Is it true the air smelled different? she had moved up to him and had started poking him. She was doing a medicalscan,andshewasbeingquitefastwithit.Whatcanyoutellmeaboutyouroldbody?Alan was caught off guard, and it took him a few seconds to realize this was a question he had

toanswerto.Uh,Imnotsure,Iwasmostlyaverage,Ithink.Ugh,average,Ihatethatword.Itbasicallymeansyouhadnoideawhatyoulookedlike.Well,Iwasabout1.75,andaround75kilos.BMEindex?EXTmean?UhNevermind,Illshowyouphotos.Doyouatleastrememberyourhaircolour?Well,IwasblondblondishGrannyletoutanexasperatedsigh.Illgiveyouthephotos,shesaid.After a while, they had a composite image of what he had looked like. Kendrick tried to give a few suggestions, but Alan didnt feel comfortable with them. He was trying not to freak out, but things were going too fast. He didnt want to be indebted to these people, before he was sure of what was going on. He was now, in a way, growing used to the idea of being here, but he wantedtimetoreflectonwhathadhappened,onwhathehadlost,andonwhomhecouldtrust.Heneededtimeawayfromeveryone,buthedidntknowhoworwhenhewasgoingtogetit.After a while of prodding around with photos, Granny actually came to a decision. She walked to a wall, and tapped on it a few times. Alan saw that there was a numberpad reflected on it, and she had typed in something. He heard faint metallic noises rising, until a section of the wall slid off,andatubecameoutofit.Insidethetube,therewasabody.Alan had to admit that there was a certain likeness to his old self, it was much closer than the onehehadnow.Whataboutaddons,saidGranny.Addons?Right,implantsandsuch,doyouknowwhatyouneed?AlanlookedatKendricksheepishly.We are going to take basic net implants, advanced entoptics, hormonal stabilizer and an improvedmetabolicsystem,saidKendrick.Grannysmiled.Thatsexpensive,shesaid.Kendrickshrugged.ThatssomethingyouwillhavetodiscusswithZerg.SheturnedtoAlan.Yourfriendsarerisktakers,Mr.Singer.Ibetyouwillmakeitworththeirtime.With that, the deal was closed. Alan was put to sleep for the fourth time in what seemed like a really short time, and woke up feeling much better than before. As he woke up, he saw that he was seeing an interface everywhere he turned. It did take a few seconds to fire up, but after it did, as soon as he looked at Kendrick and focus on him he saw several chunks of data popping up.WhoisSebastianShaw?heasked.Hes someone who didnt need his name no more, replied Kendrick. Now hes someone who ishelpingthecausebyallowingmetomovearoundunnoticed.Isee.So,whoamI?YouarePeteHound.Dontworrytoomuchaboutit,itwillchangereallysoon.

There was a full body mirror on the room and he looked at himself. Granny had done a good job, and he looked so close to his old self that it was unsettling. He noticed that he was feeling happy.Thehormonalthingyousaid,doIhavethatinsideofme?Yes,saidGranny.Stateoftheart,Ringlikequality.IsthatwhyImfeelinghappy?Yes, it would try to adapt your emotions to what your brain needs. It gets easier to control over time, but it usually defaults to happy, so you will probably feel ecstatic for a few days. Dont get usedtoit,though.Why?Becauselifesucks.Alangrunted.So,whatdowedonow?Now, said Kendrick, we go back and we get you used to that body of yours. And Im sure that Zergwillhavesomethingforus.Great, another errand, said Alan. Kendrick simply smiled and left the room. As he was moving tofollow,GrannyheldahandupandstoppedAlan.Wouldyougivemeaminute?shesaid.Alan hesitated, and looked towards Kendrick, but the door closed between them. It didnt seem likeshewasgoingtogivehimtheoptiontodecline.Helookedatherwithdistrust.Whatdoyouwant?I want a lot of things, Mr. Pratt, but most of all I want to make sure you have all the information aboutwhoyourfriendsareandwhoyourfriendsshouldbe.Letmeguess,Ishouldbeyourfriend,right?Well,Iamamuchbetterfriendthanenemy.I think you are horrible at both, said Alan. She smiled. It was an old, ironic and insincere smile. There was no humour there, rather an ancient asseveration that the Universe was a rather ironicplace.I appreciate your sincerity, she said. You are an exception, Mr. Pratt, a rare gem of knowledge, and of ignorance at the same time. I want to leverage that talent, and I would do it withfarbettersharperfocusthanthoseterroristsyouarewith.Alansawanopportunity.Tell me then, whats your take on this? What would you tell me if I had just woken up in your lab?I would lie to you, of course. I would tell you that the world is a horrible place, and that you needtostaywithmetobesafe.Isee,hesaid.Iwillkeepthisinmind.However,Iwouldliketoleavenow.Thedooropened,Kendrickwasstandingonthehallwaywithaconcernedlookinhisface.Areyoualright,mate?heasked.AlannoticedheavoidedlookingatGrannydirectly.Yes,Iam.Letsgo.They left the lab, with Granny still watching. Kendrick didnt say a word. After a while, they got to the streets, and they walked in silence. The tension was unbearable. As they reached the station,theycouldseethatitwasnearlyempty.Onlyafewpeoplewerewaitingforthecabins.

Isitsafetousethecabins?Alanasked.Wontyourfacestillbeinthewantedposters?Wearenotgoingtothesamestation,wearegoingtoanotherstationunderourcontrol.Yourcontrol?Right, they only have security at the stations that are heavily used. They are spread thin as it is.Andyourbaseisnearaheavilyusedstation?Wouldntitbesafertoremoveitcompletely?No. In a heavily populated area they cannot fight a guerrilla. Too much collateral damage, and they cannot afford that. No, we are going to meet a friend of mine, and we are spending the nightthere.Afriendofyours,orafriendofthecause?KendricklookedatAlanforamoment,asifhedidntunderstandthedifference.Ah,Ikindofforgetwhereyoucamefrom,hesaidandsmiled.Youstillhaventansweredmyquestion.Veryobservant.Alanstoppedrightthere.Kendrick, we need to talk. I want to trust you guys, really. Youve helped me a lot since Since I woke up. But I hope you understand that this is hard for me, and that you are all making it difficult.Kendrickturnedbacktofacehim.Hewasimposing,evenifAlansbodywasnowbigger.I know, mate. I know and Im sorry. When I was up there it felt like the right thing to do, you know? It felt like saving you. But saving someone makes you responsible for them later, and I wasntreadyforthat,mate.Canyougrokthat?Alanfeltlikehehadjustbeendealtamassiveblow.Listen, mate, said Kendrick, Im sorry, its not your fault. If anything, its mine. I was the one who made a hasty decision, and fucked shit up. I want to help you, but you need to help me out here,OK?Alannodded.I may not be the smartest guy in the revolution, but I am resourceful, so thats a plus. Im the best moving around the city, so trust me. Well meet the rest of the guys tomorrow. But tonight, werest.Alan followed as Kendrick walked through the station, and realized that he was walking now with a limp. It was minimal, but it was there. He realized that the design of this station was the same as they one they had started in, but this one was stripped down. Not only were there much less people, but the screens had been taken down, perhaps looted, and there were no drones moving around. They walked through the gates and stood waiting for a cabin. These tookalongtimetoappear,andwhentheyfinallyappeared,theywereempty.They stepped into it, and Kendrick pressed K. He pointed towards Alan to press the same button, and he did. The cabin started moving and raced through the tunnels with both men looking at the floor. Alan started moving his fingers. He felt like they were all easier to use now thanthehadbeenbefore.Theyjustfeltrightthistime.Athoughtstruckhim.DoyouthinkIcouldgetanelectronickeyboard?What?askedKendrick.Im missing muscle memory, I can feel it. I would like to play again, but I would need a lot of

practice. He played some of the chords he could remember, they felt stale. Thats something I needtodo,ithelpsmetorelax.Ithinkwecouldlookforsomething,youllhavetoaskZerghowever.Andamoogsetandsoundtable.I,Idontknowanythingaboutthat.Alanshakedhishead.Right,right,sorry.Iwanttohelpyouadapt,mate.IamsorryIbroughtyouhere.You dont need to be sorry. Its weird, but I appreciate being alive. It beats the alternative, of course.Kendrick smiled. I read a book, once, about how immortality pissed of a lot of people. Many are stillfightingit,nowadays.Icanimaginethat.Areyoureligious?askedKendrick.No,notreally,you?Itscomplicated,andIdrathernottalkaboutitatthemoment.Isee.They reached the K station, and stept out of the cabin. The neighbourhood they were in was even more rounddown than the one they had come from. Most of the buildings had falling walls, and there were little lights or people on the street. Most of the buildings seemed to had 19th century architecture, but the interiors that were visible through destroyed walls were remodelled andlookedmodern.Once or twice, they crossed someone on the streets that tried to hide from them. Alan felt worried, but followed Kendrick as he walked through them. Suddenly, Kendrick fell to the ground. There was a grunt, and a crash as his body hit the floor. Alan run up to him and lent him ahand.Hesawhimsweatingandwithhisteethclenched.A shadow from the wall moved, and suddenly a humanoid figure approached them. It seemed to be slithering rather than walking. As he came closer, Alan saw that the skin on its face looked as if it had melted. There were no eyes, mouth or nose, and there was a fetid stink coming from it.Alan felt someone caressing his brain, as if they were covering his thought with a fine silk cloth. It felt like the worst thing he had ever experienced. Suddenly, Kendrick moved and drew his gun with a swift motion. There was a flash of light, but no sound, and the creature suddenly fell backwards. As it did, Alan saw that something moved over it. When Kendrick finally moved, they bothwalkedtogethertoit.Thecorpsehadadistinctface,andwasinfactmissingoneeye.Kendrickpointedtoit.SolditseyeforPersona.Junkie.AlanlookedatKendrick.Heseemedexhaustednow.AreyouOK?Imfine,fine,letsmoveon.Jackshouseisjustroundthecorner.They walked with Alan supporting Kendrick, and indeed after turning the corner, he pointed to a door. As they got there, there was a whirring sound and several drones flew up from the debris. Alan noticed several cameras focus on him and Kendrick, but the wounded soldier walked along with confidence. He walked into the building and went straight to an elevator, with wide open

doors.Ithadtheonlylightstillon.Therewasaneerieglowcomingoutofthewallsofit.After they got into the elevator, Kendrick pressed several numbers in quick succession. The doors closed really fast, and made a loud clang that startled Alan.The lift started moving at great speed, downwards into earth. Alan felt himself becoming weightless, as they fell too fast. The elevatorstoppedsuddenly,andAlanalmostlosthisbalance.The doors opened and led into a room that was decorated with expensive looking furniture. Everythingfeltold,andwasgildedandpolishedtoashine.Therewasafacethere,hiddenbetweenlayersofclothing.Asigncameuponhisvision:

JackBelmondFurnitureandrepairs.

Hespokewithachildishhighpitchedvoice.I thought I told you not to come back here again, and with a stranger nonetheless. Alan tried nottolookedconcerned.Shut up, you are going to love this, said Kendrick. He put the leg that Alan had noticed limping forward, and his suit folded into itself. A pool of blood formed on the floor immediately. There was a hole there, through which they could see bone, and a huge gush running through the side.Igotshotbydrones,Ineedyoutofixthis.Jackmovedforward,andstartedinspectingthelegwithcoldness.Its going to hurt, you know you will need to enable pain receptors for me to work properly, right?Yes,Iguessyouhaverhumlyingaround.Ido.Doesyourfriendwantanything?Youcanaskhimyourself.I rather not, I spoke to one person already today, and that was you, Kendrick, you know the rules.Pleaseaskhimandthentellhimtositdownsomewhere.KendrickturnedtowardsAlan,youheardhim,whatsyourpoison?Uh,Jger?Idontreallyrecognizethat,sorry.Right, Ill take whisky. He sat down on one of the expensive looking seats and waited until Jack came by with two glasses, and gave one to each of them, and then sat down to watch Kendricksleg.Thesoldierdownedhisglassinonego,andwinced.Now,activateyournerves.Kendrick suddenly closed his eyes and grimaced, as Jack started prodding around. He was trying hard not to scream. The pool of blood got bigger, as Jack touched the leg. It started to bleedagain.Verygood,verygood.Illgiveyoumorphinenow.Youllfallasleepinaroundsixteenseconds.HeplantedasmalldeviceonKendricksleg,anditmadethesoldiersfacerelax.Holdontight,mate,hesaid.Illseeyoutomouhanddozedoff.Alan watched as Jack started to prod around with the leg. He had a pair of pliers, and other tools and was busy with a work that Alan couldnt begin to fathom. He watched for a bit, but got nervous.Is there anything I can do to help? he asked. Jack locked up at him, and said nothing. His face

wore a scowl, but it wasnt even judging him. It just seemed that he didnt understand why Alan wastalkingtohim.Alan got up from his chair, and walked around for a bit. He was watching to check Jacks reaction, in case he was just supposed to stay completely still, but Jack didnt seem to care so he wondered about. This house was filled not only with loads of furniture, but also with thousands of different pieces of electronic equipment. He wondered how anyone could find anything of value here. There were several monitors in the back, where he could see scenes fromthestreets.Everythingseemeddesolate.Suddenly, a featureless face appeared in one of the monitors, and raised a fingers to where its lips would have been, asking for silence. Alan felt the need to comply. He saw how the finger took the drone, and carried it over to where they had left the body that had attacked him. The creature force the camera to look right to the face, with the empty socket. Alan saw a million different emotions reflected on that face, all at once, and suddenly saw how his wife was leaving. He saw how he had hit the wall out of frustration breaking all his bones and how loud the crack had been. There were many other moments, memories that he had never lived but were now a part of him. He saw how the collective had come to him, and he saw how they had allsharedintheknowledgeoftheEye.And then his brain rejected it all, he screamed, and fall backwards, crashing into a canap that had some chairs mounted on them, everything come down crashing loudly. He looked at Jack, whowaslookingathimwiththesameblankexpression.Kendrickwasstilldeepasleep.Helookedatthemonitors,andsawnothingstrangeinthem.Im going to need another drink, he said. Jack stood up and got him a full bottle of whisky. Alan tookagreatswing.He ended up crouching in a duvet with silk covers, and fell asleep dreading what he would dream,butdreamtnothinginparticular.He woke up before Kendrick did, and saw Jack walking with some medical devices in his hand. Kendricksleglookedmuchbetter,andtherewasntevenascar,buthewasstillpassedout.Ah, Mr. Pratt, said Jack. Glad to see you woke up. Is everything OK? You did seem to have hadaroughnight.SomethingscaredyouifImnotmistaken?Alantookafewsecondstocollecthimself.Right, I am still Well, I am still getting used to things around here, and I was just caught by surprisebyBysomethingonthescreen.Jacklookedhimstraightontheeyes.Whathappened?There was this guy we met earlier, the guys of the Persona thing. He grabbed a camera and somethingweirdhappened.Oh,saidJack.Thatisfalse.What?It didnt happen. Its really interesting that you saw it, though. The screens moved and started rewinding. Jack saw that the street had been empty the whole night. It started playing a fragment.This is when you screamed, said Jack. The cameras were all empty. Something interesting mighthavehappenedinyourpast,foryoutobethisattunedwiththeEye.

Idontrememberanything.Doesntmeanithasnthappened,theresalmostacenturyofyourexistenceunaccountedfor.IthoughtIhadbeensaved,insomeway,andlockedaway.Well, I dont think youve always been like that. Uploading started to happen almost twenty years after the last incident you claim to remember. So there could be much that we dont know about you. There are many possible reasons for amnesia, like trauma, edited memories, backups,brainhackingThat sounds terrible, said Alan. He looked over to Kendrick. He was shifting on his sleep, but wasntconsciousyet.Itsnotthatbad.Perhapsyouwouldntlikewhatyoufindifyoulooked.Alantriedtomovetheconversationawayfromthetopic.YoumentionedsomethingcalledtheEye.Idid.Whatsthat?Ihavenoidea,Jacksmiled.Thenwhydidyoumentionit?Oh,Iknowaboutthetheories,andwhatitrepresents.Idontknowwhatitis.Canyoutellmeaboutit?Well, what we call the Eye is a metaphysical representation of a shared consciousness that many of the people that take Persona share. There is a theory that says that those who take the drug open their mind to a supernatural entity or god, that looks upon humanity with disdain. Others say that it is a telepathic neural network shared by the people who take the drug. Theresactuallysomehistoricalbackgroundtosupportthis.Soyoumean,thatbytakingthedrugpeoplebecometelepaths?Theres much more to it than that. In fact, the effect changes from person to person, and its theorized that there are many strains of the drug, that also have different results. Some people simply become mindless drones, other develop enhanced senses, some are known to be able toaffectotherpeoplessensesandproducehallucinations,likewhathappenedtoyou.SoitcouldbesimplythatIwasattackedbysomeone?Well, even those that can create hallucinations only have a limited effect, such as hiding a face, or moving a face, and that is only known to act on a limited range. But it is also known that the Personanetworkischangingrecently.Changing?Indeed, apparently those attuned to the Eye are saying that it has changed from an observer to anactiveplayer,inthelastfivetosixmonths.Thatsweird.Oh,Idontknow,IfinditinterestingandIllbelookingatittoseehowitdevelops.Alantriedtoreply,buttherewasasoundcomingfromKendrick.Uh,mywholelegfeelslikepinsandneedles.Jacklookedathimwithanexpressionlessface.HeturnedtoAlan.Please tell your friend that I had to disconnect most of his receptors, as the damage was too heavy.Hewillneedtoreadjusttohisleg.Alan felt disoriented from a second, and then noticed that Jack was addressing him. He turned

toKendrick.Oh,Isee,saidthesoldier.Noproblem.Hestoodup,andtestedhislegacoupleoftimes.Hesmiled.TellJackhedidagreatwork,Alan.AlanlookedatJack.Hesaysyoumadeagreatjob,Mr.Belmond.Heisverythankful.Bloodyox,heis.Alwaysgettinghurt,heis.Tellhimtobecareful.AlanturnedtoKendrick.Hewasenjoyingthis.Becarefulwiththatleg,mate,hetoldhim.Kendricksmiled.Now, lets leave, I want breakfast. Well get back to Zerg later. I want to show you a few more sights.Alan said his goodbyes to Jack, who stopped looking at them as soon as they had done so and went back to the cameras. He started moving the drones around the street, in what seemed like arandompattern.Astheyleftthebuilding,Alanaskedsomethingthathadbeeninhismindforawhile.Ken,whydidntyougetyourleglookedatearlier,atGrannysplace?Kendricksmiled.Granny always adds a tracker to all her work. We know that, and we simply plan around it. I was tracked for a while, until I got shot once. We took the chance to disable the tracker then, so she would think it got destroyed, but if I ever go under the knife on hers again, Ill get bugged. SoIdratheravoidit.Wait,thatmeansImbeingtrackedtoo?Yes, thats exactly what it means. But we want that. Its politics, so you should probably ask Zergaboutit.Idontcaremuchaboutthat.Alan was concerned but at least he was beginning to see patterns emerge. Grannys mafia and Zergs revos werent allies, they just had common enemies. It was clear that both parties had already been taking precautions as to what would happen if the common enemy fell. He was still worried about this common enemy, however. He knew nothing of the people that lived in the ring. He could understand why they would be seen as enemies, of course, but he was still concerned about the realities of the things he had been told. He was also worried about why someone like Granny would side with the revolution, she most likely had all her bases covered, andwasalsoinbedwiththeRingpeople,whoevertheywere.They reached the station and moved without talking too much. Kendrick didnt seem to happy this morning, but Alan assumed that it was caused by the bad leg. When they got to the B station, they saw that it was as crowded as it had been the day before. The exit was by the side, so they avoided the crowds, and nobody seemed to notice them. As they exited the station, however,theyfeltacommotioninthemiddleofthecrowd.They looked back, and saw that people were trying to flee. Kendrick immediately drew his gun, and pushed Alan aside, so he got under cover. They started moving backwards, and suddenly saw how a body was flung across the air. When they looked at the origin of the commotion, they saw that at least three persos were causing the havoc and they now turned to face the incoming drones.Severalofthefleeingpeoplefelltothefloorwiththeirhandsgraspingtheirownheads.Whattheshit?saidKendrick.Thatshouldntbehappening.

The drones started shooting, and the persos were running around, trying to become harder targets. One of them jumped against a wall, and then jumped back, to fall in one of the drones. KendrickgrabbedAlan.Letsrun,thisisnotourjob.They started running amongst part of the crowd. It seemed like the battle was left behind, but the people were still fleeing. Alan had a hard time recognizing the area, but Kendrick moved with mastery. As they moved through a door, Alan was shoved into the lobby. He then remembered it as the building where they had come out the day before. Kendrick closed the door,andmoveddirectlytothebasementdoor.Alanfollowed.They moved through the tunnels with determination, and met a couple of people who looked concerned.Whathashappened?askedtheyoungestofthetwo.Persoattack,onthestation.Ondaylight?Yes,weneedtowarnZerg.Ithinkheknows.They reached the base, where Salomon and many others were assembled around a table. Alan saw the names of all of them, and suspected that they were as fake as the Kendricks Sebastian.Allfacesturnedtowardshim.This is the man we talked about, said Salomon. Youve all read the report, so no further introductionsareneeded.Kendricksteptin.Persoshaveattackedthestation.Itwasonbroaddaylight.Theywerevicious.No,notthestation,saidSalomon.Whatdoyoumean?burstoutKendrick.Wewerethere,wesawit!Notthestation,Ken,itwasZergsvoicethistime.Persoshaveattackedthecity.

6. Those of you who know how to carry a tune, sing along. There was an interactive map of the city on the table, and it was showing several areas flashing withdeepredcolours.Thisisnotourbattle,saidSalomon.ThedamagetheydowillonlyhurttheRing.These are the people who we are fighting for, Salomon. The man who spoke had a strong eastern european accent. Kendrick had told Alan that he was Yaivar Osketrestu, a respected revo, who had been there almost since the first sparks of the revolt. If we let them die, then we arenotbetterthattheRingers.Zerg chimed in. Theres also the fact that some of our positions are compromised. If we dont stoptheattack,wemightlosealotofpower.I simply hope I dont like get anymore zombies. Ive got enough with Shamara. It was Salomon now.We are going to cover the 17th, said Yaivar, and Kendrick can take the twins and recover the station.Ifw