My stomach churned with disgust. Lorenzo had just revealed that the Aether Network had spread the world's deadliest disease, responsible for 43% of global deaths. How had he managed to keep smiling?
"Gavno. Fuckers." Trix clenched her teeth.
In the recording, as Lorenzo adjusted his shirt, the voices of those he addressed spoke again.
"Naturally. It will be excellent population control. We're approaching twelve billion people. To improve the nanoformula, we added a predisposition to the bacterium. Yes, to affect the nearly four billion over eighty cycles. That number keeps growing! These longevity nanotechnologies…" Lorenzo drank some water. "Our organizations will go bankrupt. Money is spent on this population, which doesn't even contribute labor! With the numbers dropping, we'll put androids to work."
The voices spoke again.
"Parliament approved lowering the investment cap. Yes, in education and healthcare. The results will take around thirty cycles."
The others finished speaking.
The recording stopped. The premier reappeared in the broadcast, sweating cold, dread written in his eyes.
I felt a bitter satisfaction at seeing him terrified. I was beginning to understand why mercenaries enjoyed other people's terror. Trix was right. Fuckers.
"I thought the lines were secure!" Lorenzo argued with someone off-screen. Desperation spilled from his features.
"We're back. We're ba—" Someone shouted in the background.
The premier looked at the camera, smoothed his hair, and opened his mouth… The image cut out. The journalist reappeared, shocked.
Kiara stopped the holoprojection.
Silence.
I could barely believe what I had heard. I wanted to unleash my anger. Wanted to strike Lorenzo with my clenched fists, along with everyone else involved in that atrocity. I gritted my teeth until my jaw tightened.
A trickle of blood ran from my lips. They had treated that disease like a product! Reduced investment in education to manipulate society. Cut healthcare resources, interfering with the population's ability to survive. Ultimately, they intended to control who lived and who died. Meaning…
"What happened to the people in Nobody's Land?" I asked Kiara.
She frowned.
Thinking of those people was instinctive. After all, they suffered the most.
After the invasion of Zenith, the Aether Network had attacked Nobody's Land first. Regardless of the justifications offered, those communities always ended up becoming targets. Families who only wanted to live, even surrounded by mercenaries and violence.
"Saymon predicted they'd attack Nobody's Land, so they evacuated the region two days beforehand." Kiara shrugged. "No idea where they are."
"I see."
Saymon truly seemed to control everything, as though the entire world were a gigantic chessboard and he moved every piece.
I inhaled deeply. I was beginning to understand the desire to provoke chaos. Free the protesters. Show the Aether Network that this was bigger than its rulers. Make it clear that the atrocities committed over so many cycles were intolerable. I wanted to be part of it.
I still struggled to understand Saymon. His choices seemed to run roughshod over others, as though his own desires were law. Yet he was turning the gears against that system. And I was willing to take part in those machinations. No. It was more than that. Maia was behind it too.
I sighed. Tension remained lodged in my heart. I felt furious. And exhausted. "I'm going to rest. It's simply too much."
"You okay?" Kiara rested a hand on my shoulder. "As a doctor, what you saw…"
I nodded. Met her silver eyes, bright as the moon. "I abhor those people. All of them." A tear of indignation threatened to fall. "I-I hate having contributed to this in any way."
"Hey…"
"I want… I just want to get through tonight." My voice caught. "Don't worry. I'll face whatever comes head-on."
I lay beneath the black sky, veiled by gray clouds. A few brave stars shone before my eyes. I tried to think of nothing. On the parched ground, I fell asleep. I wanted to dream of Maia, but only an infinite darkness visited my dreams.