Chapter 24: The Beginning of an Answer

Chapter 24: The Beginning of an Answer

Anne and Priam exchanged a long look. Their discussion held the attention of all the occupants of the cave. Priam was confident. The enemy fighters did not want to fight him, and a good leader knows when to listen to his subordinates. Nothing is worse than ordering your men to fight and seeing none of them come forward...

Albin stepped forward to intervene.

"Are you willing to promise that in front of the Concepts? To bind your word to your Potential and die if you perjure yourself?

Priam had no idea that this was even possible. But his answer was immediate.

"Don't jerk me. You are still alive because I was a mere student ten days ago. Ten days are not enough to erase twenty-five years of peaceful modern education. But my patience is wearing thin. You deserve to die, and I will attack if you talk nonsense again. I tell you that I will warn the dome of your existence, and you will get nothing more from me."

Albin wanted to continue, but Anne raised a hand to stop him and then looked at Priam.

"Thank you, Priam. We are grateful to you for remaining civilized in these complicated times for humanity. I did things that I considered necessary to survive. You manage to remain noble, and I admire that."

"I don't care what you think of me Anne, answer my question."

Turning her head away first, Anne looked in Claire's direction.

"Of course, we agree. I wonder if Claire could also look for our families. Claire, we haven't maltreated you, have we? There is no tension between us. Ultimately, we all want the same thing, to find our loved ones. Can you help us?"

The question wasn't directed at him, and Priam frowned. Claire was an adult, and he had no desire to tell her what to do. But the fact that Anne was talking to her was suspicious. Claire had been a hostage and had no reason to take sides with them.

After a second or two, the young woman stepped forward. Coming out of the mist, she looked at Anne for a long time before declaring:

"I will notify the dome authorities and ask them to grant you an interview."

"..." Priam couldn't believe his ears. The young woman's reaction was incomprehensible. She had no reason to keep that promise or be cordial with her captors. Priam was not stupid and sensed that there was something suspicious going on. He could think of a few hypotheses. Anne had credibly threatened Claire - maybe Claire's faction was working with Anne's. Claire had developed Stockholm syndrome very quickly. Claire and Anne had found common ground during her captivity. Maybe worse. No assumption was reassuring.

Priam liked the young woman and didn't want to break up their budding friendship, but he faced a dilemma. Any friendship was based on trust. He hoped that the young woman would be able to share with him quickly. If not, he would have to ask her. If he had to find out the truth alone... The young man had this strange feeling, this ball in the belly that existed when one went through a difficult period of friendship. When you knew a friend was lying to you, you hoped he would eventually confide in you so you could seek a solution together. It was possible to rekindle a friendship by being honest. Sometimes trials allowed a relationship to grow. Other times, they tore apart what had been. I hope you have good reason to lie, Claire... And I hope you'll talk to me before I have to. I'll give you till the dome before I confront you.

Taking a breath while closing her eyes, the perfect image of a woman who admits defeat, Anne announced:

"Then you can go. Don't forget your promises."

The sentence pulled Priam away from his dark thoughts, and he almost burst out laughing. He didn't need anyone's permission to go anywhere he wanted. He was free and had only offered his help out of kindness and because he didn't want to slaughter his fellow man. He had been told all his life that murder was wrong. But if Anne thought she was chaining him to empty promises, she was fooling herself.

"That's very kind of you, Anne," replied Priam sarcastically. "We're going to go now. But before we go, I think we forgot to discuss something important. Twenty men are dead, and you didn't tell me about the 'threat'... Let's be honest for a moment. Honesty is a powerful weapon when you are in a position of power. I don't like you. Albin, when you get angry, you look like a slab of undercooked bacon. There you go again! And you, Anne, you lie as much as you breathe, and you tried to manipulate my thoughts. I haven't forgiven you, and I don't plan to walk away and let you get away with it so easily."

"... Meaning?"

"You tried to control my thoughts. The Concepts have no desire to manipulate our minds. However, we wouldn't know if they did. But this System offers too many opportunities to control your fellow man. In any case, you wanted to deprive me of my freedom of thought. There will be no trial for that. You will pay."

Priam had long been an introvert. As a child, when he had things to say, he didn't dare speak up. He had changed since then, but some valuable habits had remained. The first was to let his enemies speak. He had not forgiven Anne for anything, but every sentence she uttered could provide him with information. The discussion was ending, and he could now let loose the anger that had been boiling inside him for the past few minutes.

"I understand," Anne replied. The bitch kept her head up, and that annoyed Priam. She seemed to think the trial would acquit her.

"There is one thing that bothers me. There's going to be a trial, but maybe you're going to run away? Or try to manipulate the judges? Maybe even fight the dome dwellers to escape your trial? In our old world, you would have been acquitted with the benefit of the doubt. After all, if you deny in court that you committed the crime, it's your word against mine. In this new world, however... Some would sentence you to death just for your power, and others would tear out your vocal cords. But as I said, I have no desire to judge you for your murders."

Priam pointed to Albin. "But you and Albin had to answer for a crime I will judge alone. Not the murder of twenty men and women. But the sabotage of humanity."

Albin and Anne had killed combatants. Whether or not these fighters were guilty of atrocities, they were human.

"Human civilization is undoubtedly on the brink. If we start eliminating fighters, I'm afraid humanity will not withstand this integration into the Concept universe. You call yourself human, so you must understand that reducing our strengths is madness in the long run. The System pushes us to improve and to fight. Historically, wars have been the fastest way for humanity to progress.

War, in all its horror, allowed men to push their limits. Many of the objects of everyday life have been invented thanks to wars. The microwave, the radio, the tin can, and even the GPS originally came from military research.

"The Concepts know this, and they want us to progress. How long will it be before we are at open war with other civilizations? Today, you may have killed a general who would have led us to victory."

Priam paused for a moment to organize his remarks.

"For the same reason, I want you alive. I'm not averse to a trial, and I hope to find you on the front lines defending other humans one day. Anne in the service of humanity... I have my doubts, but you may not have a choice. The System doesn't like runaways. Until then, you will at least be useful to me. For the sabotage of humanity, I sentence you to help me. It's simple, I only ask for information and some resources. You will give me enough to spare your lives."

"We have nothing. We just..."

Priam cut off the weeper's plea. He was in a hurry to get back to his loved ones. The discussion had been going on for five minutes, which was already too long. I'm almost immortal, and she's threatening to kill me with boredom!

"I hope for your sake that's not true Anne, because my patience has limits. If you have nothing to give me, I will force you to use your Potential to find answers to my questions. Do we understand each other?"

Using one's Potential to help anyone other than oneself was almost impossible. Otherwise, an emperor could gain almost godlike powers by sacrificing a few thousand subjects. But nothing was to prevent one from seeking answers with this Potential and sharing one's findings afterward.

"... We understand each other. What do you want?"

First Quest: Soon to be reunited?

You have discovered the identity of the threat - the Revenants.

You have sealed the passage, and the threat to this dome is temporarily removed. But if this dome holds, some others will not be so lucky. Despite their resemblance to humanity, coexistence with the Revenants is impossible...

Participation: 100%.

Reward received: Permission to enter the domes. Already possessed...

New reward: Unlocked map - System skill. Points of interest added.

Potential +20.

Bonus: You have persuaded the threatening agents to temporarily abandon their claim and sell their secret.

Potential +10. Indication of nearby domes on the map. CHAR +10

First Quest: Soon to be reunited?

Investigate the Revenants. Discover their origin.

Eliminate them.

Next reward: Depending on your participation.

Difficulty: Variable

"They won't follow us that way anymore. I wonder if they'll wait for their trial or look for another door. Maybe there are other dome guards?" wondered Priam.

"It doesn't matter. I'll probably have time to find my loved ones by the time they find and shoot a new guardian," he concluded. He had learned a lot during that conversation with Anne. But he knew there had been more left unsaid than true. Now, Claire, you're going to talk...

The two young people went into the darkness.

Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)

PHYSICAL:

Strength 78

Constitution 92

Agility 108

Vitality 126

Perception 95

MENTAL:

Vivacity 96

Dexterity 77

Memory 33

Willpower 52

Charisma 50

META:

Meta-affinity 44

Meta-focus 44

Potential: 240

Tier 0