Page 125 of Anarchy Chained: Alpha Thomas

EPILOGUE - THOMAS

“Welcome to the show, Mr. Brooks. I’m sorry you couldn’t be here in person, but we’ll take a satellite feed if we must.” The reporter smiles at me. “As long as we don’t lose transmission.”

Haha. Funny. Don’t quit the day job, honey.

Be nice, Sullivan, I chastise him. “No chance of that, Miss Manchen,” I growl out. “SkyEye is the most reliable service this city has ever seen.”

I give her the creeps because she leans back in her chair at my dangerous tone. Creeping is my main superpower and I like it. So I’m keeping it.

She clears her throat and says, “The whole city’s wondering just what it is you’ve unleashed on us. Can you explain it a little better? We’ve all watched the statement you gave earlier this week, but still…” She cocks her head. “It’s so… weird.”

“Is it weird?” I ask her back. “Is it really? I mean, in my mind, it’s just the next logical technological step.”

“But I think everyone was under the impression SkyEye and ToyBox were developing a… kind of virtual reality game. Something educational. Something that involves the history of the city.”

“Well,” I say, smiling. “I think if you look closely, you’ll see that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

“You think this is a game?” she asks, her tone incredulous.

“Why not? It’s got all the makings of a game.”

She huffs out some air, ready to be a little more confrontational. I bet she’s thankful for this satellite feed now. Makes her feel brave to have creepy me on the other side of the screen and not sitting four feet away. “It’s an invasion of privacy.”

“Is it?” I ask again. “Is it really? I mean, we didn’t force people to buy the ToyBox console. Or the SpyGlass tablets. Or the glasses.”

“But you did give the phones away for free.” She raises an eyebrow at me. Like she’s about to get the upper hand.

She’s not. “We did. After the district attorney hacked into the banks, shut down the power, contaminated the power plant, and blew up all the city’s cell towers. How could I not give them away, Miss Manchen? How? I’d be a heartless bastard if I didn’t come to the rescue of Cathedral City. I love this place. Dearly. It’s my home. The only home I’ve ever had. The only home I will ever have. I’m just trying to take care of it and the free sat phones were just the first step. I have many plans for this city. I’ve just begun to leave my mark.”

Just the first step in our little coup d’état, you mean?

Shut up, Sullivan. But I like having him around. He’s funny. And cool. And easy-going. Which means I’m all these things too. At least in private.

Miss Manchen scowls, undeterred. “So the fact that you had software running on those tablets and consoles, as well as the free phones, that maps every user’s facial characteristics and puts it in a database… that doesn’t bother you?”

“Why would it? Everyone signed a release. They gave us permission. We’re just trying to do what’s right.”

“With your game?” she sneers.

“Well, technically, the game belongs to Case Reider and ToyBox.”

“Your software then?” She’s losing her cool now.

“The software belongs to Lincoln Wade and Wade Industries.”

“So you take no responsibility for what’s happening out there?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Sullivan interjects, speaking out of my mouth. “We take all the credit.”

Manchen recoils. “What?”

“We’re proud of our product, Miss Manchen.” I put my hand out—off camera—and Sadie places a set of SpyGlasses in my palm. I put them on my face and Manchen looks like she’s ready to bolt. But we’re live on air. I told them I’d only do the interview if we were live. And I’d only do it with Manchen.

Because I know her dirty little past. And everyone else knows it now too.

That’s what SpyGlasses do. The facial recognition maps everyone who comes into your field of vision, tags them, then displays every piece of dirt Sheila could gather on them. Every newcomer who enters our little city nestled among the tall mountains is also tagged. By license plate as they pass through the tower’s invisible magnetic field. Or through cameras in the bus stations. Or the airport security.

No one gets through unless they have a tag. If they don’t have a tag… well, that just makes it easier to spot the criminals.