The Significant (44 page)

      
Maki closed his eyes. “What was I
supposed to say?” he hissed. “Don’t you understand? I’m a degenerate now. If
Venus were to find out, she’d have me tested and killed.”

      
It was not until Maki said those words
that Chronus suddenly remembered what it meant to be degenerate. He glanced
around the room.

      
“So…all this…”

      
“It’s not for me,” Maki whispered.

      
“You’re trying to shut her down?”

      
Maki did not speak. He merely looked at
Chronus, his eyes speaking volumes.

      
“I’m calling it the Aren System,” Maki
murmured. “It’s a power generator that can operate outside of Venus’ control.”

      
“But it doesn’t work,” Chronus said,
nodding to the error messages around the room.

      
“Uh, no…that’s not the generator,” he
said. “This is the other process…the one that shuts Venus down.”

      
“It can’t be done, Maki.”

      
“Do you remember what Isa said in school?
All those things that she said needed to change for the planet and the rest of
the Altereye System to move forward? She said that Venus needed to be
destroyed.”

      
“Until she was made Golden Elite and she
realized
that we can’t shut her down.”

      
“That’s not the reason she stopped
trying,” Maki said quietly. “She realized that shutting her down came at a
heavier price.”

      
“Of course it does, that’s what I meant.
Even if you manage to get power to the major cities, communications and
defenses would remain down until we could reprogram everything, and that’s why
we can’t shut her down. You know this already.”

      
Maki shook his head.

      
“We
can
shut her down.”

      
“No, you can’t!” Chronus snapped. “She
has power sources all over the planet and she can program herself off-planet as
well.”

      
“Not without her source coding.”

      
“And you have her source coding?”

      
“No, of course not,” Maki said, shaking
his head. He glanced back at the NCB chair. “But I am working on something that
will delete her source coding. A virus, actually. So far, nothing has worked.”

      
“How can you test this without Venus
noticing?”

      
“It has taken me
years
to get to this point. Why do you think I’m so tired all the
time? Why do you think my house is so disorganized that I barely find my
clothes in the morning?”

      
“You have to stop this,” Chronus said.

      
“No.”

      
“Maki, we’re on the brink of war. There
are already enough secrets in the Syndicate with Isa and her Significant, we
can’t—”

      
“
Kailynn
,”
Maki snapped. “Call her Kailynn.” Maki stared at Chronus seriously. “Isa was
right all along. Venus must be shut down. She can’t keep up with the evolving
society, that’s why the Elite generations are getting worse and worse. You
remember what a fucking moron Gattriel was, but he was the
best
in that generation. Humans are changing, but Elites and Venus
stay the same. On this track, everyone on this planet will die.”

      
Chronus stared at Maki, unable to speak.

      
“Isa was the first Elite to do anything
different in nearly seventeen generations of Golden Elites. She is the one
degenerate Elite that could actually change things for the better, but she
can’t do that if Venus is holding her back.”

      
“Venus would not have allowed Isa to live
if Isa was not going to follow the protocol of the Syndicate.”

      
“They almost had her terminated,” Maki
said seriously.

      
“
When
?”

      
“When we were fourteen,” Maki murmured. “Venus
was sure that she could not be controlled anymore. So she ordered her
execution.”

      
“I never heard of this.”

      
“Of course you didn’t,” Maki whispered.
“I looked at the school files. Two days before her execution date, Aren was
killed.”

      
That stopped Chronus.

      
“That subdued all of us,” Maki continued.
“But it also changed Isa. She knew that she had to change things from a
position of power, not from the position of a rebel. So she played Venus’ game.
And just when she was getting strong enough to take on Venus, Colonel Amori
came and ripped her apart.” Maki swallowed hard. “But Kailynn is bringing her
back. Kailynn is giving her strength that I haven’t seen in her in years.”

      
“…I’ve noticed, too.”

      
“So, now is the time to change,” Maki
breathed.

      
Chronus closed his eyes.

      
“Maki…” He took a deep breath. “What
you’re doing…all this…” he motioned to the room, “you’ll be killed.”

      
“I’ll be killed anyway,” Maki whispered.
“I’m a degenerate now. That’s what happens.” He took Chronus’ shoulders when
the other Elite looked away. “We’ve talked about the day without Venus for
years. We knew that if anyone could find a way to change things, it would be
Isa. We wanted this when we were certified Elite prototypes—no emotion, no
tears, no weakness, right?” Maki’s hands tightened around Chronus’ shoulders.
“Now that I’m degenerate, I see that we
need
this to happen. The people are disjointed and scared, but no one talks to one
another because they are so afraid of what will be overheard, because they are
taught not to talk to one another. If we get them talking, Venus holds no power
over them.”

      
“And we shut her down?” Chronus asked.

      
“Yes,” Maki said. “For Aren, for Isa, and
Remus, for the rest of us, and for everyone who will come after us. We
need
to do this.”

      
Chronus took a deep breath and slowly let
it out.

      
However, he nodded.

      
Maki let out a breath of relief and
relaxed.

      
“Thank you, my friend.”

      
Outside the opening, Umana’s eyes were
wide with horror, his hand over his mouth as his stomach turned.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

      
Isa finally came home after a long,
exhausting day at the Syndicate. She spent the first part of the morning
handling political affairs and the second half of the day building her own
central processor for her NCB chair. She had forgotten the harrowing nature of
the task.

      
However, seeing Kailynn’s face, creased
with concentration as she worked on exercises to learn how to read and write,
the Elite’s worries seemed to disappear.

      
She walked to Kailynn and leaned down,
kissing her cheek.

      
Kailynn turned to her.

      
“Long day,” she noted.

      
“Yes,” Isa agreed with a sigh, tucking a
tendril of hair behind Kailynn’s ear.

      
“Are you alright?” Kailynn asked, turning
to face Isa fully. “You weren’t yourself yesterday.”

      
“I’m alright,” Isa assured. “Just a lot
going on at work right now.”

      
“Rayal said the exact same thing,”
Kailynn grumbled.

      
Isa smiled gently, brushing her fingers
over Kailynn’s cheek.

      
“I’ll tell you everything you want to
know, just not tonight. I’m tired.”

      
The night progressed as usual. Rayal,
though, did not join them for dinner, and Tarah was clearly disappointed. She
barely spoke at all through dinner.

      
When they went to bed, Kailynn climbed on
top of Isa and kissed her passionately, but the Elite smiled and slowly pulled
away from the kiss, her eyes closing.

      
“I’m sorry…” she whispered. “I’m
exhausted.”

      
“That’s alright,” Kailynn said with a
gentle smile. She leaned down and kissed the Elite once more. “I just wanted to
kiss you goodnight.”

      
She took her place next to Isa and closed
her eyes.

      
Two hours later, a beeping woke both of
them. Kailynn groaned, confused and unsure what was making the noise. Isa,
however, grabbed her phone, bolting upright.

      
“Elite Isa,” she answered quickly,
putting the call on speaker.

      
“Isa, it’s Remus,” Remus said quickly.
“We have an emergency situation. Venus has ordered Maki’s arrest.”

      
“What?” Isa gasped, her eyes going wide.

      
“Apparently, the caretaker overheard him
discussing plans to shut down Venus,” Remus said. “The data is unclear right
now, but she ordered his arrest. As soon as the Officials appeared, he ran.”

      
Isa was silent, her eyes wide. She stood,
grabbing her robe and slipping it on as Kailynn watched, nervous, not entirely
understanding what was happening. “Did the caretaker report him?”

      
“No,” Remus said. “Apparently, Umana
called Luska on his private phone. Naturally, the call was monitored. When
Umana realized the call was on record, he hung up. There’s no word on his
whereabouts, either.”

      
“And Maki is running?”

      
“The Officials just called in for a
vehicle chase. He put his car on manual and overrode all tracking devices.
They’re chasing him.” Remus hesitated. “They think he’s heading to you.”

      
Isa was pacing next to the bed, her eyes
on the floor, thinking.

      
Kailynn could only watch in silence.

      
“Let him come,” Isa said. “I want to talk
to him.”

      
“If he really was trying to shut down
Venus, he may mean to kill you,” Remus pointed out.

      
“You know Maki would never hurt me.”

      
“…no, he wouldn’t,” Remus agreed.

      
“I’ll call the Officials now,” Isa said.
“Thank you, Remus.”

      
“I’m on my way over.”

      
Isa hung up the phone and dialed another
number, talking to the Official dispatcher and ordering them to give Maki space
and time to get to Anon Tower. When she was met with resistance, she commanded
them to do as she bid.

      
She then called Rayal, asking him for the
status on Venus’ orders. Kailynn dressed nervously, watching Isa’s agitated
pacing. Rayal explained that Venus had ordered Maki’s arrest on suspicion of
treason and degeneration. Isa hesitated, confused.

      
“Degeneration?”

      
“That’s what it says,” Rayal said.

      
“Does she have a location on him?”

      
“No,” Rayal said. “Two minutes ago she
located his car near Grant’s Palace Hotel.”

      
“How is he avoiding the cameras?” Isa
murmured, snatching up the phone from the bed and walking into the living room,
Kailynn close behind. “Even on foot, the cameras should be able to find him.”

      
“I’m not sure.”

      
“Are all of the Syndicate Elites on
notice?”

      
“Yes.”

      
“Tell them to stay away from Anon Tower
and not to contact him,” Isa ordered, going to the bar and pressing her finger
to a sensor under the counter. One metal panel in the bar slid to the side,
revealing a control panel for Anon Tower security. “What’s the fastest way from
Grant’s Palace to Anon Tower?”

      
Rayal was silent as he searched the
different routes.

      
The door to the guest hall opened and
Tarah walked out, confused by the noise and tension in the living room. She
walked over to Kailynn.

      
“What’s happening?”

      
“Maki is under arrest,” Kailynn relayed
quietly. “He’s running from the Officials.”

      
“The fastest route on roads is twenty
minutes,” Rayal answered. “If he was heading to Anon Tower, he would not have
driven so far away and gone on foot back to you.”

      
Isa’s face lit up in realization.

      
“He was never in the car,” she murmured.
“Don’t let the Officials open the car. Put them on alert that Maki is armed and
dangerous.”

      
“You just said he wasn’t in the car,”
Rayal asked, confused.

      
“I need to buy time,” Isa said, punching
in codes to the security system.

      
“Isa, everything in Anon Tower just went
down,” Rayal gasped.

      
“That was me,” the Golden Elite assured.
“They’ll only be down for a moment. Can you delay the signal to Venus?”

      
“For one minute, at most,” Rayal said,
exasperated.

      
Isa walked into the kitchen, glancing at
the screens on the wall to her right. Her eyes scanned over the various images
while Kailynn and Tarah watched from the door.

      
“He’s in,” Isa murmured. She went back to
the bar while Kailynn and Tarah blinked at the Golden Elite in shock.

      
“Isa, you’re letting him in?” Tarah
asked.

      
“He won’t hurt me,” Isa said strongly,
crouching to the control panel again and bringing everything back online.
“Rayal, Maki is here. I’m sure Venus has already dispatched Officials and
overridden my command to not pursue him. Please get me as much time as
possible.”

      
“Once they are alerted and on their way,
I am also coming to Anon Tower,” Rayal said.

      
Isa disconnected the call and closed the
cover to the security control panel.

      
She turned to Kailynn and Tarah.

      
“Can you give me some time alone with
him?”

      
Tarah nodded obediently but Kailynn shook
her head.

      
“No, I’m not leaving.”

      
“Kailynn—”

      
“You think he won’t hurt you, but how can
you be sure?”

      
“We’ve known each other our entire
lives,” Isa reminded her. “I need to hear what he has to say about this.”

      
“I’m not leaving you alone with him.”

      
“Come on, Kailynn,” Tarah said, taking
her arm carefully and trying to pull her to the guest hall.

      
“No!”

      
The door alarm rang and Isa immediately
darted to let in Maki.

      
“I’m sorry, Isa,” Maki said, walking into
the living room as Isa followed. “I’m so sorry.”

      
“Tell me what is going on, Maki,” Isa
said, her voice calm. She glanced at the other two in the room. “Please, give
us some privacy.”

      
“It’s fine, they should hear this,” Maki
said. He was breathing hard from running and his face betraying his panic. He
swallowed hard. “It’s true.”

      
“Which part is true? Trying to shut her
down? Or that you’ve degenerated?”

      
“Both.”

      
Isa’s face was controlled and calm, but
she did not speak for several long seconds.

      
“You should have told me,” she said
quietly. “Degeneration is something that I can protect you from. Not shutting
down Venus.”

      
“You managed to save Remus from a death
sentence,” Maki said quietly. “But that is because he is your Silver Elite. I
am expendable. I’m just a Bronze Elite.”

      
“You should have told me,” Isa said
sharply. “Not try to shut her down.”

      
“I was working on shutting her down
before I realized I was degenerate,” Maki said. “I started this when you were
in the hospital five years ago.”

      
Isa stared at him, thinking over the
words carefully.

      
“Explain yourself.”

      
Maki sighed heavily and lowered his eyes.

      
“You wanted to shut down Venus when we
were in school,” he started.

      
“I was a
child,
” Isa said strongly. “She can’t be shut down. It will cripple
the planet beyond repair.”

      
“No, it won’t,” Maki said. “Not if we can
transfer power sources to new generators.”

      
“There is no such system.”

      
“I made it,” Maki explained. “The Aren
System.”

      
Isa was about to speak again when the
name caused her to stop. She stared at Maki in surprise, unable to form a
response. Maki nodded knowingly.

      
“Isa, I have always stood beside you, and
I’ve always believed in what you could do, and everything you can accomplish. I
know that you can change the planet for the better. I know that you can lead
the people through this change.”

      
Isa opened her mouth once more and then
stopped, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

      
“No…I can’t.”

      
“Maybe not before,” Maki admitted. He
took a step closer, looking at her with a small smile. “But you
can
.”

      
Isa’s brow furrowed as she looked at
Maki, trying to figure out the hidden meaning. When the gears in her mind
clicked, her eyes shot wide and she covered her mouth, turning away from Maki
and walking around him, thinking.

      
“Isa, you have to believe me,” he
started. “It’s possible.”

      
“Why would you do this?” Isa whispered.
“Why would you not tell me that you were doing something that would force me to
make this decision? You should have consulted me first.”

      
“I wasn’t sure it was even possible,”
Maki said, walking to her as she leaned on the bar, her eyes distantly staring
at the counter in thought. “You were in the hospital, and Dr. Arre explained
everything to us about what happened with Colonel Amori. When I realized what
he had done to you, I understood that Venus is the source of this planet’s
power, but it is also the biggest
threat
.
All it would take would be someone figuring out how to shut her down or
weaponize her, and the entire Altereye System would be doomed. You managed to
fend off one person who tried, but he found a way to weaponize your NCB chair
and almost kill you.”