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“Mr. Charles... I don’t understand,” she muttered. “All this time?”
“Oh, of course! You’d be surprised how many of us remember the good times... and miss them. Of course, there is a lot of politics involved, things an old man like me should have retired from a while ago, but it’s also the burden of a soldier to show up in times of war, isn’t it?”
He chuckled and took his fork, opening up the egg. Eden was shocked at the gorgeous orange color hidden inside, and her stomach couldn’t hold it anymore. She did the same, mimicking Mr. Charles and eating her eggs benedict with delight. Any other time, she would have eaten silently and all in one go, but the questions were too many. She ate as quickly as she could while spacing her sentences correctly so as not to speak with a full mouth.
“You were a... a soldier?”
“Oh, I speak figuratively, dear. Well, mostly. I once belonged to an intelligence agency, although I was much more often behind a desk than on the field. Each army needs their support like you need your partner, don’t you, dear? How can one go into battle without backup?! There used to be many agencies. Data, human behavior, systems, numbers, populations, communication, military, anything that could be analyzed, we did. Naturally, we were often contacted to work for bigger corporations, including the Core itself.”
He drank a bit of his fruit juice, delicately tapped his lips with his napkin, and grabbed his fork again. In front of his impeccable table manners, Eden felt like a starved barbarian, but he was kind not to say anything about it while she filled her mouth with as much food as she could. She had no idea how everything on this plate could be so pretty and so good, while she had no idea what most of it was. She could recognize the hash browns and beans, but there were also unidentified dark-red little slices, and green little tree-shaped vegetables.
“So how did you... shift to the other side?” Eden asked, careful about her words.
“Knowledge! One of the most secret but deadly weapons that came into my hands was information. No matter how hard a corporation or government tries to conceal it, information remains the most valuable asset of all. At least, in the right hands. I quickly came across some things that were meant to be forgotten and buried and would have cost me my neck if others knew... It also opened my eyes to the heavy price we’ve paid to live the life we are living now.”
Mr. Charles sighed and stopped eating for a short while, taking his cup of coffee again.
“I am blessed to have raised my children in such a perfect place, Eden. My daughter has never eaten as you do now because she has no idea what it’s like on the other side. No idea.”
Eden slowed her chewing a bit, embarrassed. Was she really eating in such an unrestrained way? She was hungry for sure, but she was also just trying to eat it all quickly before Loir’s update was done... Mr. Charles chuckled, visibly amused by her confusion.
“It is quite alright. It makes me happy that I was able to help you a bit more...”
“Mr. Charles... Is it a coincidence that you were... my customer, on the other side?” Eden finally asked.
“Of course not,” he chuckled. “There is no such thing as a coincidence, dear. No, I knew... about a lot of things. Your father was a complicated man, but he was my friend.”
“...You knew my dad?”
“I sure did! Who do you think helped me survive and live until I reached this age, knowing what I know? I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him, dear. Your father was many things, including a genius and a complicated man. But before anything, I believe he was a hero.”
Eden choked up at those words. She hadn’t even realized how hearing about her unknown father would make her react until she felt that tight knot in her throat. She tried to cough it up, grabbing her cup of fruit juice to drink it down, but the tears were already forming in her eyes.
“That’s right, young lady,” Mr. Charles smiled. “Your father was the bravest man I ever met...”
“I never got to meet him,” muttered Eden.
Mr. Charles suddenly stood up and grabbed something out of his pocket. He handed a little picture to a confused Eden. It was a simple, aged square of paper, its colors having faded quite a bit.
“I know they don’t print much of those these days, but... I am even more old-fashioned than my years would tell. This is a precious memento... I always keep it with me, no matter how dangerous that could be. I want to remember the man who saved my life.”
There were only seven men in the picture. They were all posing in front of the camera, looking a bit tired but happy. They were all wearing shirts and formal outfits, but it looked like they had worn them for a while. The background looked like an office, or perhaps a lab. She couldn’t tell, most of the light was on those men and everything behind was a bit dark and too common to spot any details. The seven men were more important in her eyes. She immediately recognized Mr. Charles amongst them; he hadn’t changed much, even wearing suspenders. He looked to be in his forties in this picture, and one of the oldest. The man next to him looked about the same age, perhaps a bit older, but his white beard could have misled her. He was the only one barely smiling, his lips slightly outward, but he seemed to be more smiling with his eyes behind his glasses. The other men were in their thirties, and smiling wide, seemingly waving at the camera.
“Who are they...?”
“Those two were my colleagues,” said Mr. Charles, pointing his index finger to show her. “They were captured shortly after the launch of the Core, tortured, and probably killed. This one was a bit luckier; he had an accident and died quickly. This one is still alive, I believe. He managed to leave for another Core. This one… He’s still working for them.”
The only man he hadn’t pointed at was the man with the beard. Eden’s heart dropped when she realized why this older man seemed familiar. They had the same nose and the same forehead…
“That’s right. This is your father. This picture was taken a few years before you were born… before the Chicago Core was finalized and launched. When we were still just regular workers, hoping to protect the interests of our fellow citizens, thinking our ideas were going to change the world… We had just pulled an all-nighter working on a new data-treating system, one of the System’s foundations today. Your father was leading the project. An incredibly smart man, he was. Always ahead of everyone. Even the brightest of us.”
Eden was barely listening anymore. Her eyes were riveted on that man in the picture. Her father. Her real, biological father she’d never met... She felt a bit strange. Sometimes, she resented that man. He was a stranger to her when he was supposed to have been the most important person, at least for her childhood.
“...Why did he never... see me?” she muttered. “I’ve... I literally have no recollection of him.”
“Oh, he wished he could, dear. But almost as soon as the Core was created, he knew all too well how dangerous that would be, and how they could use you against him. You and your mother. So he made a deal to keep you safe, far from him and from the Core’s leaders. As long as he worked for them and had no interaction with you or your mother, you’d be safe. It may be complicated for you to understand, but... those times in which we lived, you couldn’t trust anyone. The Core’s leaders grew incredibly strong overnight, and everyone became prey in a manhunt. I am one of the few survivors that escaped.”
“...Why did they try to kill you if you helped create the Core?”
