Chapter 40: Losing It

  Those who hadn’t cowered away stared at me wide-eyed, full of fear.

  The guy with the pipe – now without it – stepped forward, trying to reason. “Please don’t do this. We never did anything to you! It’s the oligarchs you want – “

  “Shut up!” I snapped. “I’m not with Libra!”

  “Y-You’re not?” The man I held at gunpoint whispered, shaking. “T-Then why do you need a High Technician?”

  “My reasons are my own.” I said sharply, my eyes sweeping the crowd. “Well? Whoever you are, step forward or I’ll blow this guy’s brains out!”

  “I-I’m the High Technician!” Pipe Guy blurted. “I’ll do whatever you – “

  “Oh, please. Do you think I was born yesterday?” I shook my head.

  “No, I’m serious – “

  “I’m not stupid.” I cut him off, turning to a bluff to catch his and the others’ reactions. “The High Technician can’t be someone so young. And if you waste any more of my time, I’ll shoot you first.”

  “Wait, wait,” the man in my grip said quickly. “You’re right. He’s lying. He’s not a High Technician. But I am.”

  “Sir, no – “ Pipe Guy tried to interject.

  I pressed the gun harder to his temple. “You Skyhaveners really think the rest of Solvane are idiots, huh? Same as your friend, you’re far too young to – “

  “But I am!” The man barked with confidence. “You’re right – I’m young. I replaced my father, Viggo Sokol, two months ago. He was a High Technician for forty years. Now it’s my turn. That’s how it works.”

  It threw me off. He could be lying, but I couldn’t be sure. I knew nearly nothing about the High Technicians. I needed to know the truth, so I continued with my threatening act.

  I turned the gun on Pipe Guy. “If you’re lying, I’ll shoot him.”

  “I’m not lying!” The High Technician-in-question snapped. “My name is Milo Sokol. I’m a High Technician. You can check my COG if you don’t believe me!”

  I glanced at the timer on my COG.

  [Countdown to the End of the World: 00:17:44]

  They were wasting too much time.

  I shoved the man forward, gun aimed at his back. “Show me. Prove it, or I’ll shoot everyone in this hall.”

  As soon as I finished my words, a sudden, unexplainable pain surged through my forehead. I staggered slightly but managed to stay upright.

  “Okay.” Milo said quickly, arms raised, seemingly oblivious to my episode. “Just don’t hurt anyone.”

  He lowered his COG arm and began typing something on the bracer.

  “Don’t even think about inserting a crystal.” I warned him, actually afraid I might follow through with my threat. “I’m already on edge. Don’t try to find out what’s faster – me pulling the trigger or you channeling mana.”

  “I won’t.” Milo said. “Here.”

  He turned his wrist and stepped forward, showing me the display.

  On his COG’s screen, the familiar interface displayed:

  [Civic Omni-Gear System]

  [Level: 44]

  [User: Milo Sokol]

  [ID: 145688]

  [Address: 4th Promenade 11, Halden Heights, Skyhaven]

  [Occupation: High Technician #3]

  “See? I wasn’t lying.” He said, voice low.

  Satisfied, I pointed the handgun at him again. “Okay, High Technician. I need you to calibrate my COG.”

  “Calibrate?”

  “Yes.” I stepped closer. “It needs to be able to track Aetherprints.”

  There was a pause. Milo glanced at Pipe Guy, then back to me. Their silent exchange was enough to tell me I was right.

  Mile gave a nervous chuckle. “Aetherprint is a myth. Surely you don’t – “

  “Listen here,” I snapped. “I know it’s real. And I’ve got zero patience left. You’ll calibrate my COG or I’ll – “

  Another wave of pain hit me – sharp, nauseating. I swayed again – this time harder.

  This time they noticed, and I caught the slight movements upfront.

  Before they could attack me, or run away, I raised the gun and fired into the ceiling.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The shot cracked through the hall. More screams. More panic.

  All attention returned to me.

  I straightened up and locked eyes with Milo. “Do what I asked, and no one gets hurt.”

  He nodded shakily, pointing toward one of the adjoining rooms. “I’ll need my tools. Come with me.”

  ***

  The High Technician’s workshop was dim, lit only by two Lumen lamps embedded on opposite walls.

  The space was cramped – barely two meters by two. At the far end stood a long wooden table spanning the entire width of the room. Three shelves above it were cluttered with small boxes and containers. A leather tool bag sat closed on the table.

  In front of the table, stood a high wooden chair.

  Aside from that, the room was empty.

  Milo stepped in, made his way to the table, and sat down without looking back.

  “Come on over.” He said.

  I moved to unstrap the leather bands and buckles of my COG, ready to hand it over. But he stopped me.

  “No. Don’t take it off.” He said quickly. “You need to wear it. Or else I can’t work.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’re bluffing. You just want to keep one of my hands occupied.”

  “I’m not.” He said, turning slightly. “I can’t calibrate something that isn’t powered. If you really know what Aetherprints are, then you should know that our COGs run on our bodies’ mana. Remove the COG from its human host, and it’s just metal.”

  I watched him silently. His logic tracked – Stanford wrote the same thing in his journal.

  “Fine.” I relented. “But first, lock the door. I don’t want any surprises from outside.”

  He hesitated, glancing at the door. “There…aren’t any locks on the Technicians’ workshop doors.”

  Now I knew he was bluffing. But I wasn’t going to waste anymore time – not with the timer glaring at me. Thirteen minutes until the end of the world.

  I raised the handgun again. “Then block it with the chair and work standing. I don’t care how. That door isn’t opening until you’re done.”

  He gulped, then nodded. “Okay.”

  Dragging the chair to the door, he wedged it tightly beneath the handle, angling it so the door couldn’t be pushed open from the outside.

  Then he returned to the table.

  I followed, raising my COG arm and resting it on the surface while keeping the gun in my other hand trained on him.

  “If you try to damage the arm, cut anything off – “

  “I won’t, alright? Relax!” He said, exasperated. “I’m not dying over this bullshit.”

  “Good.” I muttered.

  He opened the leather bag and pulled out a long, slender metallic needle – about the length of his hand. Carefully, he brought it toward my COG, pausing to glance at me for silent permission. I gave a nod.

  He slid the needle into the Integration Port until it was halfway in, then began shifting it slowly from side to side. My COG’s screen instantly began glitching – lines of garbled text, random letters, numbers, and symbols flashing like static.

  They sequences made zero sense to me, but Milo seemed to be reading them, moving the needle with more precision as if looking for the right sequence.

  As he worked, he spoke up. “If you’re really not with Libra, can you at least tell me what the state of the battle was when – “

  “Everyone’s dead.” I cut him off, answering the question. “The Enforcers and Insurgents killed each other. Then I…killed the last Insurgent.”

  He froze. His eyes flicked toward mine, then slowly back to my COG, saying nothing at first.

  “Then it’s safe outside…” He muttered eventually.

  Barely. The End of the World is nigh. Just ten minutes left.

  “How long will it take you?” I asked.

  “Ten. Maybe fifteen minutes.”

  “Make it eight.”

  I needed the extra two minutes to find a way to…forcefully end this run. If I didn’t, the System would collapse. I wouldn’t get all 123 runs. Everything would end here.

  “It’s a delicate – “

  “I don’t doubt it.” I said. “But you’ve only got eight minutes.”

  He sighed. “Why? What’s the rush? You said they’re all dead outside.”

  “Doesn’t matter to you.” I replied. “Keep working.”

  Two minutes passed in silence, and I couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe it was the timer ticking down, shrinking second by second, gnawing at my nerves. So I decided to use the time to learn anything I could about Valdemar – to try and connect any new details with what Stanford had written about him in his journal.

  Something would hopefully stick for the next runs.

  “Who are the other two High Technicians?” I asked.

  He glanced up at me, eyes narrowing slightly, then returned his focus to my COG. He slid in a second needle beside the first and began maneuvering both, careful and methodical.

  “Why do you ask?”

  I gave the gun a casual shake in my hand. “Just answer.”

  He sighed. “I’m the third. The second High Technician is a woman named Savannah Charlton. She’s not out there.” He gestured with his head toward the door behind us. “In case you’re wondering.”

  “Where is she?”

  He shrugged weakly. “Home. Sick or something.”

  “And the first one?” I asked. “It’s the Head of House Innovation, right?”

  He gave a slight nod without lifting his eyes. “Prime Rogier Henrich. You won’t find him in the Calibration Hall, either. He’s a High Technician in name only. He never actually comes here.”

  Makes sense considering which House he was leading.

  Time to cut deeper.

  “So which one of you three is in bed with Valdemar?” I asked bluntly.

  That stopped him cold.

  He looked up at me, face twisted in disgust. “What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

  “Indirectly,” I said. “But I learned about the Aetherprint from Valdemar. Could he have learned about it on his own – or did one of you three help him?”

  I watched his face carefully. Searching.

  His gaze dropped – not out of guilt, but…confusion.

  I decided to add more pressure. “Maybe it was your father.”

  His gaze snapped back to me, burning with anger.

  I touched a sensitive spot.

  “My father would never!” He said through clenched teeth. “And don’t you dare dishonor his memory.”

  Could’ve been a lie. But it didn’t feel like one.

  “Okay. I believe you.” I said calmly. “Then let me ask it another way – between the other two, who’s more likely to help Valdemar?”

  “I…” He started, but the words never came because, suddenly, my COG’s needles pierced my forearm.

  I winced, shifting from the unexpected pain. My grip on the gun tightened, almost reacting on instinct – but he spoke before I could raise it.

  “It’s supposed to happen. Don’t worry.” He said quickly. “The new configuration needs more power than the standard one, so it takes.”

  The needles retracted a moment later, and with the End of the World timer standing at exactly two minutes, he finally said. “It’s done.”

  “Done?” I asked, pulling my arm back and inspecting the screen. “How do I search for someone specific?”

  He reached for my COG, fingers moving swiftly through the interface, until he reached a new screen – one I had never seen before in my life. It was red.

  “You input the ID of the person you’re looking for. If their blood sample was at some point in the Census Archives, it’ll work. Tracks them by their Aetherprint.”

  “What about sequences?” I pressed. “Something like SKO-03543.”

  His eyes widened. “How do you know about Aetherprint sequences?”

  “I already told you.” I replied. “Indirectly, through Valdemar.” Then I raised the gun again. “Now help.”

  Still stunned, he stepped closer and nodded. “You can enter the sequence. It’s actually better than ID – more precise. But harder to extract for people.”

  He watched over my shoulder as I typed Zee’s Aetherprint into the new screen.

  Three seconds passed, and the result appeared.

  The secret automaton’s location was nowhere near where I had expected.

  Orlinth.

  Zee – and probably Thea – were somewhere in Orlinth all this time.

  “What…” I muttered, confused.

  That’s when Milo made his move.

  He bumped into my ribs with his shoulder, sending me stumbling against the wall. I dropped the gun as I hit the floor, breath knocked out of me.

  “Dirty lying terrorist!” He shouted. “You even admitted learning from Valdemar!”

  He bolted to the door.

  [Countdown to the End of the World: 00:00:31]

  I couldn’t let him leave. I needed him to kill me before the System collapsed.

  But he was already at the door.

  I reached for the gun, grabbed it fast, raised it even faster – just to wound him, just to stop him from running away.

  But then something inside me twisted. A searing burst inside my chest.

  Like my heart just imploded.

  And just like that – with five seconds left before the End of the World had arrived – I died.