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“They do not need to know!” retorted the Governor. “Progress is the new natural selection! Those who deserve to be our citizens shouldn’t have to worry about the life of vermin! Do you care for the lives of rats? Of ants? Do not lecture me when you’ve been surviving on that same technology you loathe!”
“...I don’t loathe the technology,” said Eden. “That’s the difference between me and you. I don’t hate the machines, I hate what you’ve done with them. If I murder someone, nobody blames the gun for it. So why are you pushing all the blame on those who only fight to survive? You’re not fighting for survival. You’re only praying for supremacy.”
“...Wouldn’t you do it?”
A cold chill ran down Eden’s spine. She hated the way this man smiled, that creepy way he looked down at her, with those eyes that were way too young to belong to an eighty-year-old man... He chuckled again and combed his brown curls back.
“Greed, Eden. Every single human knows about this. So, let’s discuss it. Speak honestly, child, if you had a chance to save him, would you take it?”
“...What?”
“Look around you. This is the top of this world. You’ve seen the lab your brother is in, haven’t you? We can accomplish miracles of technology there. We could save that man you love so much. Everything. It is doable. His whole body, all as good as new... Wouldn’t you agree to that?”
“No.”
Eden’s response had been so quick, the Governor’s expression sunk briefly before he chuckled.
“...You’re lying. He is dying,” he muttered as if assuming she hadn’t understood, “and we can save him. This isn’t merely hypothetical. I’m offering you.”
“...Then what?” she muttered. “It would be somebody else again?”
Gently, she felt Dante’s hand move to hug her a bit tighter. Eden was still crying, but in her heart, she had never been so sure about something. She wouldn’t do that to him. She took a deep breath and grabbed Dante’s hand tighter against her waist. She could feel how weak he was from the way his body was gradually leaning more and more on hers. She was trembling in fear, at the thought that he could fall or collapse at any second. She had no idea how he was even able to still stand. But she was certain. Perhaps she would have made a very different decision if it had been two hours ago. Yet, after all she had seen, after all she had heard, she couldn’t.
Eden slowly shook her head, ignoring her tears running down.
“Dante is not Adam,” she cried. “Whatever happened to that boy... Whatever you did to him and the others, he died that day. And Dante De Luca was born, but he is not the boy I met in the Suburbs. Dante is someone else. Perhaps... Perhaps his infatuation with me began with whatever was left of Adam inside his brain, but I am sure of one thing. He and Adam are not the same. The sweet boy from the Suburbs died. And now, the only man I want is Dante. And whatever you want to do to him... He won’t be my Dante anymore.”
She felt Dante gently kiss the back of her head.
“...You foolish girl,” hissed the Governor, taking a couple of steps back. “...Fine, die with your boyfriend then! You may have come all the way here, but what have you accomplished? You cannot shut down this System! Even if you sacrifice your brother, you’ll be condemning all of Chicago with it! That’s right. All of the Core’s citizen’s SINs are bound to the System. If you shut it down, they will automatically suffer brain damage! You’ll murder all of the Core with hundreds of cases of strokes! You claim to be some righteous woman, like your dad, but you’re just as powerless as he was, in the end. You and your friends will accomplish nothing, and you will be wiped out for more of our citizens to be able to thrive! Soon, there will be nothing left of the Suburbs. It will all be over, and no one will cry for that vermin!”
“My dad was a hero,” said Eden, “and you murdered him because he was going against what you wanted. You murdered him like you murdered the Edge and everyone who stood in your way. You’re right. The System cannot be shut down, but I’ve realized it doesn’t need to be. The System isn’t wrong; you are. You and all those bastards who control it for their own sakes. I am ending this today.”
Eden raised her weapon, suddenly aiming it toward the Governor. Her gun pointing directly at his head made the old man suddenly step back.
“...Ha!” he exclaimed. “As expected! You’re just another terrorist! What are you going to do, Eden? Kill me? This won’t end anything. I may control the Core, but even if I die, somebody else will take after me. You won’t be able to get rid of the whole chain of command, child!”
“I can always start with you.”
Eden fired. The gunshot loudly hit the glass, making the Governor jump back in fright. The gunfire set off a loud alarm in the room, a strident sound assorted with beeping red lights. Luckily, it was immediately deactivated after only ringing twice, most likely by Pan, but in this short amount of time, the Governor had already run toward a cabinet on the side, grabbing a gun himself.
Dante reacted first, pulling Eden to dive behind the closest piece of furniture, which was the other end of the large, wooden table. Luckily, it seemed to be secured to the ground by a large concrete base; in other words, a decent shield. While keeping her hidden, Dante moved to start firing above the table too.
“I want all soldier bots here!” shouted the Governor, furious. “Get them all up here!”
“Sorry, sir,” said Pan’s calm voice. “I cannot do that.”
“You wretched thing! I should have gotten rid of you long ago!”
The Governor kept firing, but he obviously had no talent. He shot every single piece of furniture around them but never hit the table even once. Dante, on the other hand, was a much better shot, and after a couple of tries, he hit the Governor’s shoulder. The man screamed in pain while Eden grabbed Dante’s shirt to pull him back into hiding with her.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He didn’t answer, only peeking at the status of his gun while the screams of pain from the Governor could be heard in the background. Eden glanced at the hand that had grabbed his shirt. It was covered in blood. She cried even more.
“Dante, stop...”
Once sure his gun was reloaded, he tried to get back on his feet, but, unexpectedly, he wasn’t able to. His legs gave out, and he fell next to her, looking almost surprised himself. Eden watched, helpless, as Dante struggled against his own body, trying hard to get back up. It was no use. Even his hands suddenly dropped the gun on her lap, his fingers completely unresponsive. She could tell he was trying to move them again, in vain. They were merely shaking.
