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Eden glared at the ceiling since she didn’t know any better. That voice was infuriating beyond anything. Still, she ignored it, trying to find her way into the more-than-reluctant computer. She had never seen such a complicated programming language, nor such a protected system ever. Perhaps she would have been more efficient if she could Dive in, but with her Ghost SIN damaged, it was out of the question. She hoped it would somehow begin working again, and allow her to Dive just enough to find a way in for the others...
“Your father was the smartest man that lived in this century, Eden,” the Governor continued. “He imagined, conceived the world we live in today. Can you imagine? He literally shaped the world and paved the future for the next century. While humanity gives time for our mother planet to heal, we will continue to thrive in those bubbles he created, looking for our own evolution! And when nature is ready for us humans to come back to her, we will return, stronger, smarter than ever. Perfect citizens who each belong here, and know what to do. Each one of them treasuring their city, working hard for their peers’ sake–”
“You just shut up,” groaned Eden. “You shut up about this so-called utopia of yours. There is no paradise built on the thousands of people you killed. Your quiet little sheep won’t be any different. They deserve their own mind, their own choices. You can’t possibly control every citizen in this city to do your bidding and buy into this bullshit you’re serving them!”
“You’re not seeing the larger picture, child. Those sacrifices are necessary. Haven’t you learned about the ways of the world, of the animal reign since the beginning of time? Only the strongest, fittest survive. The others are nothing but the losing, expendable links of the food chain. They are simply bound to disappear, for the species to survive. We are so close to achieving the perfect human colony!”
Eden decided to stop answering him. She was convinced this man was mad, insane, and his belief in his fantasy just disgusted her all the same. She kept furiously typing on the keyboard, her anger and frustration on the rise. She couldn’t believe she was being slowed down by this stupid machine when hundreds–no, thousands of lives were on the line. The psychopath on the speakers was like a horrible reminder of what was going on outside, and she wasn’t going to lose her focus, especially when the surveillance cameras were displaying the ongoing battle the entire time.
“Your father had that vision too. I can only be sorry those worthless people convinced you they were worth all the suffering you have gone through, child. You deserved better than them. You are one of us, and we are different. Better, and turned toward the future. They are merely living on the scraps of the past we allow them to feed on. But not for much longer. Soon, there will be none of those pathetic reminders of what humans used to be, and we will move on to this gorgeous, perfect utopia humanity has always thrived for! …Can’t you see it? We’re so close to the end, to achieving long, pain-free lives! Even immortality is no longer just a fantasy!”
The poor creature having its limbs cut off and regrown constantly came to Eden’s mind. This was probably one of the few ideas they had in mind for that so-called utopia he was rambling about... Just the idea of it made her shiver. She already knew what relying on fake legs could do to one’s mind. The trauma was part of her, and those two robotic pieces weren’t. She grieved for the legs she had lost, but not for that piece of junk that had been left in the elevator. She didn’t want to believe humans would ever lose the ability to grieve at all. How would they learn to treasure their bodies when it would be so easy to heal and regrow them? Eden knew how long, painful, but necessary the process of healing was. However, it was what had made her stronger, much stronger than before.
“You’re going to create monsters,” she answered. “Monsters void of feelings. We need pain, we need to suffer, and we need to know what loss is like. Your utopia is never going to be anything but sterile bullshit. Living in a dream isn’t living.”
“...So stubborn,” sighed the Governor. “I’m sure you will change your mind, though, Eden. Once you see the miracles we have already accomplished, that your father accomplished! Can’t you see? He did it all for you! For his child to live in a better, stronger world. You should have never experienced the hell you went through, and I am the most sorry about that horrible life you’ve been subjected to. You should have lived like us, so carefree and happy!”
Eden closed her fists on the keyboard. If she hadn’t needed this thing so badly, she would have punched that damn console already. She was fed up hearing him use her father as an argument. She hadn’t known the man, but everything was telling her the Governor was lying. Whatever her father had accomplished, he had also turned around. He had changed, and he had created the Edge himself to stop that Core he had created. It just didn’t add up; she didn’t have to listen to those sugar-coated lies.
She glanced to the side. Dante was already plugging in the pirate key to the central units. Soon, the Edge would be able to reach her again and solve all this.
“You’re so mistaken, child. Your father shared this vision! Can’t you see it?”
“My father was wrong, and he knew it!” she shouted. “He and Mr. Charles gave their lives to stop this! He died because he refused to listen to you anymore, but he left enough of a legacy to stop you...”
“Ah... You’re talking about the Edge, aren’t you?”
Eden’s hands froze.
“That’s... the most beautiful part of it all. Your father created the Edge, child.”
“...Yes, he did. To stop all this!”
“Oh, no, no, no, that’s where you’re wrong. Your dear father was such a smart man, Eden. Do you think we would have captured and destroyed the Edge so easily if he had truly meant for them to stop him...? We knew about the Edge’s creation and existence all along! It was your father’s idea, not to stop our project, but to test it!”
“...What?”
Suddenly, the screen in front of her changed, showing a dozen faces. Eden’s heart sank. The original Edge. She immediately recognized Circé among them, looking much younger, with her hair a bright purple color, black lips, and heavy eyeshadow. There was also Pratiti, with long black dreadlocks, and no bandages... All of those people were wearing gray uniforms in the images, and glaring at whoever had taken those shots.
“That’s right, Eden. Your father had planned the destruction of the Edge from the minute he created it. It was all part of another of his genius plans. He knew people would try to stop the Core, so why not invite them to do it, and see how far they could go? And just when they were about to succeed... we got rid of the biggest threats! Ah... Truly, Eden, your father was a genius.”
“...Or the worst, cold-blooded bastard,” Eden cried.
She felt the urge to scream. She couldn’t believe her father had done such a horrible thing, not to the Edge. Eden kept staring at the faces, feeling almost as if they were glaring at her. She couldn’t see Loir among them, but it didn’t matter. In fact, perhaps seeing his face now would have made it all worse... Unable to repress the tears that were coming, Eden forced herself to keep looking at those images, as if to carve them into her mind, along with that horrible feeling of guilt. She couldn’t fathom that her father could have done that to those people who believed in him.
“Your father personally selected each one of them. He fetched the very best hackers, and worst people, to create the biggest threat his creation would ever face, to test it. He scoured to the ends of the Dark Web, to every corner of the globe, to create his own enemy. You’ve probably heard it already, haven’t you? The Edge was sent to attack each Core, one by one. With each attack, we were carefully watching how they did it, the vulnerable parts of our System they exposed, to see what we had to fix next! We had to make a few sacrifices for that, but... eventually, it was the best way to reveal our biggest weaknesses.”
Eden slowly shook her head, unable to believe it.
“No... No, you’re lying...”
“Of course not. I understand, it’s hard. But do you really think he could have created such an impressive team of hackers without us knowing? After all the attacks they made on the Cores? Some of them were truly impressive. We knew about them and pretty much let those young people do it. How terrifying would it have been if we hadn’t been aware all along! Sadly, we had to end this project as soon as the last version of the Chicago Core was completed, the most perfect one we had ever created: flawless, magnificent, and this time, virtually invulnerable. Plus, we got rid of all the biggest threats at once!”
Eden clenched her fists, furious. They had played around with the Edge like they were toys and threw them away when they were done. No, they had exterminated them. She felt like throwing up, disgusted. She was almost glad Nebty and Circé probably weren’t hearing this...
“Well, it would have been a flawless plan if a few of them hadn’t escaped, but... Oh, well, mistakes do happen, even for the most brilliant of us. I was honestly hoping to even recruit one or two among them, you know! After all, your father had hand-picked them himself. Sadly, almost none of them were very... open to our offers. In fact, I was sad to hear the only one we could recruit hadn’t really come to our side of their own volition.”
Eden felt a vicious feeling of relief. Yes, some of the Edge had survived. Nebty, Circé, Loir. They had survived, even long enough to betray the Core and bite back. Loir had died today, but if she could at least avenge him, she knew she’d be able to hear his crazy laugh from the other side.
