AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He snorted and slowly shook his head, not in denial but in that way people sometimes did to say ‘What am I going to do with you?’
“You are going to learn about all the big galactic players, the brewing conflicts, intergalactic politics, and diplomacy. Once you’ve been exposed to the truth and understand all the wrongs that have been done, all the plotting and scheming currently happening, you will see the wisdom of my course of action. War is never pretty. Innocents get caught in the crossfire. Butthiswill prevent true genocides.”
“But whose truth is that?Yours?” I asked, making no effort to hide my thoughts on that.
“No, Dawn. You will get thetruth, thefactsas gathered by our intelligence service. What’s the point of being an Ambassador if your counterparts deem you a fraud because all your facts are wrong?”
That gave me pause. I locked eyes with him, searching for a glimmer of deception. But he held my gaze unwaveringly. Until I saw the material he intended for me to learn, I couldn’t say for sure whether it was legitimate or doctored. However, I didn’t doubt he genuinely believed it to be truthful. To my shame, I couldn’t deny being intrigued by it all. But how was that going to help me free Keran, his men, and myself?
“Finish your meal,” Deimos said, gesturing with his chin at my almost empty plate.
I took a couple more bites before pushing the plate, sated. He got up, grabbed the device from the table, and gestured for me to go sit on the couch. I obeyed while eyeing warily the thing in his hand. He smiled tauntingly in response to my reaction.
“Relax, Dawn. I already said I wouldn’t harm you.” He raised the device in front of me. It looked like a stick, with each end narrower and slightly recurved. “This little beauty is a virtual reality set. You could say it’s a portable holodeck.”
Holding each end, he gently pulled, and the stick separated into two parts. Deimos showed me the inner side of the wider, straight end of one of the two pieces.
“This is a magnet that will keep it in place. You put it on like a visor by pressing the magnet of each half right behind your temple, just in front of your ear, like so,” he continued, placing it in front of his right ear to show me. “See? The back of the stick must be right in front of your ear for sound, and the recurved part right at the edge of your eye.”
He placed the second half in front of his left ear. I could now see how it made an incomplete visor.
“Once both halves are positioned, you merely use the vocal command ‘Activate’ to turn it on,” Deimos explained.
As soon as he did, a luminous beam shot out of both recurved tips. They connected in front of his eyes, forming a holographic screen.
“Deactivate,” Deimos said.
The beams collapsed, and he carefully removed each half before handing them to me. I instinctively took them. To my dismay, his eyes started glowing. Before he even started speaking, I knew his voice would vibrate.
“Over the course of the next few days, you will follow the complete program at the pace dictated by the device. You will only pause when it tells you to, and you will answer the quiz at the end of each module. Pass the test, and I will allow you to see your true love. And when you do, you will be kind to him and see him with an open heart.”
His eyes flashed and the glow faded.
To my shock, I felt none of the needle stabbing pain or discomfort his previous compulsions usually triggered in me.
Because these ones are not abhorrent to me.
And they weren’t. I wanted to see what the content of this program was, and I definitely wanted to see Jaek—if I had accurately guessed my so-called true love’s identity. Together, we could find a way out of here and free the others.
“Why can’t I see him now?” I asked, trying not to sound overly eager.
“First, because he’s busy doing essential work. Second, because you haven’t earned it yet. And third, because you will want to wait for the lingering scent of your indiscretion to fade.”
I flinched, once more struck by conflicting emotions. I hadn’t cheated on Jaek. But this fucking mind control was twisting everything.
But if he is indeed your soulmate…
“I must go,” Deimos said. “Put the visors on and launch the program.”
Although he hadn’t used his compulsion, I didn’t make a fuss. Right this instant, I cowardly wanted to escape my own mind. As soon as I activated the device, the screen filled my view, literally giving me the immersive impression of being on a holodeck. I followed the on-screen instructions and launched the first module. Behind the voice of the device’s mentor, I vaguely heard the sound of my room’s door opening then closing.
Chapter 19
Dawn
For five days, Deimos kept me completely isolated while undergoing intense virtual training. Being a rather social person, had most of the content not been so riveting, I might have gone insane. As he had promised, the material regarding cultural customs, laws, and intergalactic politics all seemed factual. Once the training started moving towards historical retelling, especially where Korletheans were concerned, I detected a clear bias in the way the facts were presented.
No doubt because many topics fascinated me, I didn’t find myself fighting the compulsion at all. However, on the third day, I noticed a change. Subtle at first, it became more and more obvious as time went by.
