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“In fact, A. already briefed us,” Pratiti continued, tapping the little device in her ear with a finger, “but I wanted to meet you in person, just to be sure.”
“Be sure?”
“What kind of person you are,” she nodded. “If I am going to entrust the Edge to you, I wanted to meet you first… I was a bit relieved and proud to learn Ghost is a woman, to be honest. And is it true you are working with Warlock? And that old witch, Circé?”
“I just met Circé recently, but Warlock’s been my Back Hacker for a while now…”
“Wow,” muttered Pratiti, visibly impressed, “and here I thought that old rat was long dead…”
Eden didn’t see the use in hiding Loir’s existence, and she was more intrigued about Pratiti and her relationship with the Edge. She was starting to understand why Lecky and A. had brought her here. These people were all clearly hiding under heavy security here, and those behind Pratiti and Malieka were still avoiding her gaze, looking afraid of her.
“…Sorry,” said Pratiti, glancing their way. “The five of us have been hiding here for a while; meeting complete strangers is not what we’re used to. Don’t mind them.”
Eden didn’t mind their attitude. Those three people behind them were clearly terrified by her arrival, even though she couldn’t even walk on her own without help. They kept their heads low, and just like Pratiti, had signs of bandages or injuries under their dark clothing, some so massive it couldn’t even be hidden under their long sleeves. Eden wasn’t even sure of their genders because of their short hair and how they turned their backs to her at any given moment, but she was sure of one thing: those people had been in the hands of the Core.
“You are all part of the Edge?” she muttered.
“Yeah. I am a survivor of the first generation, like Warlock and Circé. They are from the second and third generation.”
“How many generations were there…?” asked Eden.
“The Edge grew progressively but exponentially,” explained A., stepping forward. “After the failure of the first generation, the second one was created almost right away, within the next two years. Instead of trying another frontal attack, Pan taught them how to conduct long-distance attacks on the System, and had them teach the next generation in turn. Each hacker had to teach at least two younger hackers of the next generation. Some were still captured, sadly, but thanks to this system, the Edge is what it is today.”
“One hundred and thirty-two people,” proudly said Pratiti, “scattered around the globe. Some hide in the suburbs of large cities like us, some in completely secret locations off of the Cores’ radars. Now, we even have a few in hiding inside the Cores too. At least one hacker for each city with a Core System, with partners in their suburbs.”
All of this was so incredible and hard to believe at once, Eden felt dizzy for a second. The Edge she had thought to be only a handful of people, like when it began, was now such a big organization? This changed everything!
“One hundred and thirty-two,” she repeated, both amazed and shocked, “and you’re…”
“The leader,” nodded Pratiti, “or something like that, at least for now. When it became clear we had too many people, we decided to subdivide into groups, so each group could have its own individuality and not too much information was exchanged between all the Edge hackers. A silo system, if you prefer. Everyone only knows what they need to and we only gather when the situation calls for it… which seems to be the case right now.”
She exchanged a glance with A., who nodded, turning to Eden. Next to her, Malieka gently pushed a chair for her, so Eden could sit instead of relying on Lecky. She thanked her silently before turning to Malieka’s husband.
“Pan didn’t oversee all of the Edge’s rebirth,” explained A. “We did. First, he helped Pratiti escape and led her here to me. Then, we began to rebuild what was left of the Edge, making its system stronger and safer. We knew other hackers of the first generation had survived, but Pan couldn’t contact them. Luckily, you found two.”
Eden nodded, but it was clear Pan had deliberately hidden some things from them. She hadn’t found Loir, Pan had led her to him. The same thing was probably also true for Circé if she considered the bigger picture. Somehow, it felt a bit too easy that the other surviving hacker of the Edge’s first generation, who had been forced to work for the Core, had been lucky enough to cross paths with the only person who could deactivate her SIN and make her an ally… Had Pan made sure she would meet Circé on that mission, knowing the hacker would be likely to join Eden and take revenge on her employers? It felt overly complex, and at the same time, with everything she now knew, not so impossible. More and more, this all looked like a huge conspiracy against the Core, orchestrated by her father and Pan, with Eden as the cornerstone.
“…So, Nebty will be leading the Edge, but… what are you expecting of me?”
“To lead us all,” said A. “You’re the only one with an original but corrupted SIN. We need you as Ghost to bypass all the security. They know hackers like Pratiti won’t be able to take one step into the Core without triggering some alarms. However, if we manage to sneak you in first, and you give us an entrance point…”
“Then all hackers will be able to access the Core’s System and hack it from the inside,” said Malieka.
“You need me to open a door from the inside,” said Eden. “I need to be… physically inside the Core and hack their System so the other hackers can access it virtually.”
“Exactly,” smiled Pratiti. “We know their System enough, but their latest levels of security are not something we can access easily. But we don’t plan to leave you alone. If you manage to sneak into the Core first and find a spot to hack it from the inside, then more of our hackers will be able to get inside, not only virtually but physically too.”
“…How many? Isn’t there anyone already inside…?”
“Not Chicago,” muttered A. “It’s the only Core none of our hackers have been able to infiltrate; even Pan has to be extremely careful.”
“Their security is way too high in Chicago because they need to protect the original Core,” added Lecky. “Whatever we do to it will affect all the others globally. The attacks on other Cores don’t affect Chicago, but whatever happens in Chicago will damage all the other Cores; the Architect built it this way.”
Eden already knew that, but being reminded of it by two Zodiacs did have quite the impact. If they didn’t succeed, aside from all the casualties, the Edge would collapse for real. Who knew how long it would take to rebuild a proper form of resistance again…
“Which is why this attack will be so important,” she muttered. “A lot will rely on whether… I can hack it from the inside or not.”
“You’re Ghost,” said Pratiti, a serious expression on. “Even if you weren’t the Architect’s daughter, I wouldn’t entrust anyone else with that mission. I’ve seen you do things no other hacker can do. You have the best Back Hacker possible, and now, you have the whole Edge ready to be your backup.”
