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“How long has passed? Since I came in here?”
“Four minutes, and a bit over thirty seconds.”
Less than five minutes. Eden nodded. It meant there was still plenty of time, or at least, she shouldn’t have missed too much of what had happened in the real world.
“Pan, I came here to stop them. To stop the Core.”
“I know. As soon as you deactivate me, there will be a–”
“I am not deactivating you!” she shouted. “I came here to stop the bastards who did this to our family, I’m not going to bloody kill my own big brother! And no, I don’t care what you think you are or not! You’re alive to me and I still need you!”
“...I understand,” sighed Pan, surprisingly calm, “but you are running out of time either way. So... what do you want to do? I don’t think there’s another way, Eden. I know you want to save me, but the System is heavily reliant on me. My death would be the quickest way.”
“It doesn’t mean there isn’t another way then, right? We have to find it, Pan. Please.”
He stared at her for a long while, and she wondered if, behind those pretty hazel eyes, his computer brain was actually looking through thousands of pieces of data to find a solution... Would she ever reconcile with having a half-computer brother? In a way, she knew she already had. Her own legs were already those of a robot. This was the kind of strange world they lived in, where they had to be one with the machines.
Which got her thinking. Did they really need to take down the machines? Eden, better than most, knew what disabling the System would mean. They had to cut off all of the smartest computers. It would disable all the computers, but also the Parts and all the bots the Core’s people relied upon daily. Was that really the best solution? It had sounded so simple when she had discussed it with the Zodiac because it was the only sure way to disable all the weapons the Core had...
“Pan, bring me back.”
“What?”
“Bring me back to the real world. You can still communicate with me from there, right? From that computer. I want to go back, check on Dante, and see if I can liaise with the rest of the Edge. I need to check up on everyone, and perhaps, we’ll find a solution if there’s more of us to think about it...”
“I understand,” he nodded, “but Eden, just know it’s alright if you don’t find another way, alright? I’m prepared for it.”
“...I’m not.”
Just a blink later, she was back to facing the large computer. The pain suddenly hit her like a violent wave, making her lose her balance and start to fall. Surprisingly, two strong arms gently caught her, and she felt his torso like a cushion under her back.
“Dante!”
“Welcome back,” he said, putting a kiss on her temple. “Anything new?”
“A lot of new things... Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
She wanted to roll her eyes. As if he’d ever say anything else... Still, she let out a sigh, and for a second, leaned herself into his embrace. It was almost cruel how they had no time for even a moment of tenderness. She felt Dante’s gentle breathing against her ear, so comforting and warm, but she could also feel the blood from his injuries. She only had to glance to the side to see the long trail that he had left behind him from the data centers to here...
“The Edge is on,” he said. “They are already investigating the server as we speak.”
“So much effort, for so little!”
Eden grimaced at the annoying voice. The Governor. She had almost forgotten about him...
“You children are so clueless about the world we live in. The humanity of today needs the System, more desperately than you can see! Can you imagine how many lives rely on this? The System of today regulates our everyday lives. We simply cannot go back to a time when there wasn’t any!”
Eden knew there was a portion of truth in this, but she refused to believe there was no way to reconcile living with machines and people’s free will.
“You can fuck off,” she groaned, trying to get herself up again.
Dante helped her, visibly completely oblivious to his own wounds. Eden could barely look at him. There was literally blood all over his suit... It was impressive he could even stand and act so calmly right now. She tried not to think too much about it. The sooner this would be over, the sooner they could treat him.
“Eden, look.”
She followed his finger, pointing at the screen. Pan! The chat tab was still there and telling her to go to the back-left corner of the room, behind them. Eden found a spark of hope. Had he found an answer?
