Edited by: Kuro and Lille
With the help of System 225, Grey and Elio were able to communicate.
On the 12th day, System 225 relayed a message from Elio.
Elio wanted them to get ready to welcome Kai and his spacecrafts into XU239. They were close and would be arriving in a couple of hours.
This gave Grey and System 225 to prepare for what they were going to do.
When the time arrived, System 225 completely took over the entire network of XU239.
Every electronic device had Grey and Cyan’s face on it.
“Hello everyone, my name is Valen…” He looked over at Cyan so he could introduce himself.
Cyan understood the look and nodded his head. “And my name is Cyan. I am Valen’s husband.”
Grey was the one who did the talking in this case as well. For the people who knew Cyan, they knew he wasn’t much of a talker, so it was best to have it this way. Grey also teaches, so he felt he would be the best option in explaining everything in a way people could understand.
“This may seem like a surprise to everyone, but we need you to listen to us. Every year, different natural disasters and viruses plague our city, taking the lives of many loved ones. And the culprit of all of this is our city’s ‘Lord’.
“Before anyone yells in protest, please take a look at these videos. Afterward, you may voice your opinions. What I will show you is the horrors that our city’s so-called ‘Lord’ has subjected us to for hundreds of years.
“Has no one questioned why we experience tornadoes and earthquakes every year? Why there are different viruses that seem to come out of nowhere? Why are we constantly being monitored through cameras and microphones? And what if we say or do something we shouldn’t? Have you ever wondered what happens to us?
“Today, all of these questions that you may have thought of will be answered. Take a deep breath, and watch and listen to how these people, our city ‘Lord’ really thinks of us.”
Everyone in the city stopped what they were doing, watching the nearest screen. After hearing his speech, there were many people who whispered their opinions. Some wanted to know the answer to those questions, some people were brainwashed, blindly worshiping the Lord of the city. Lastly, there were others who honestly hadn’t considered anything about their daily life. They were content with what they had even if some areas of their lives were restricted. For them, they thought it was for their safety.
If Grey was right, if their safety was not their motive, then they would also rebel against the Lord.
What people wanted the most for their lives were stability and safety. A roof over their heads, food on their table, and a stable job were what most people asked for. Take that away and eventually, people would fight for a better quality of life.
At Grey’s cue, System 225 played a compilation of videos starting from what happened to the people after they died, to the conversations between the scientists.
There were four clips that stood out the most for the people of XU239. The first was the scene of their loved ones’ bodies being transferred to a facility, their organs taken out, and their bodies thrown into mass graves after they were only left with their brains and bodies.
The second was the one where the scientist laughed at them for being stupid and mentioned that they, XU239, were being farmed just like cattle.
The third clip was where the scientists had discussions about building materials, what was useless and what was useful, and even the vaccines they had to take every year.
The last noteworthy clip was about the most recent “suicide drivers” who rammed into a busy four-way intersection. It talked about how this couple questioned everything that was going on after their child died and was taken from them. They couldn’t even see their daughter’s face one last time before being “buried.” The couple was bitter, and dug out the coffin days later, only to find an empty casket.
Then they were eliminated by the scientists, the Lords of their city.
After all the videos finished playing, System 225 put Grey’s and Cyan’s faces back on the screen. This time, Cyan was the one who would do the talking.
“I worked at the City Hall ever since I became an adult four years ago. I noticed many odd things about the things that we were doing. I collected data after every earthquake, tornado, and virus outbreak. I documented what materials worked and how well, how many people died, and who survived. I began to question what the point of all of this was.
“Why did the ‘Lord’ have to know about all of these things? It was almost as if I was they were gathering data in an experiment! That was when Valen and I found out that the people of XU239, all of us, were being used as human guinea pigs! We are not even human in their eyes. We are not people with thoughts and feelings, we are not people with family and friends. No, to them, we were nothing more than lab rats for them to gather data.”
His words were the last straw for everyone in XU239. Even those who wanted to blindly follow the ‘Lord’ hesitated. All the evidence was right in front of them, what could they even say?
To put the cherry on top, Grey finished what they had to say. “We are not the only ones being treated like this, but we will be the first to fight against the so-called ‘Lord’ and these scientists who toyed with our lives for hundreds of years. My friends, our city will endure this no more. No more losing the people we love due to their experiments! No more losing our loved ones who were sick and disabled! No more losing our friends and family who wanted to fight against this unfair system! Follow us into a new era! An era not only for the people of XU239, but for all those who were enslaved just like we have been!”
Everyone in the city cheered, roaring with fighting spirit. It came to the point that even Grey and Cyan could hear them from the City Hall. They had already taken over the place before the start of their plan. Grey and Cyan already had everything they needed, all they needed to do was get everyone to leave with them!
“I will take down this forcefield that has prevented us from leaving the city. My allies will come and we will follow them and liberate the other cities who have suffered the same fates as us! Take your precious belongings and gather in the City Square. We don’t have much time. Once the forcefield disappears, our city will explode. But do not fret, we will rebuild our homes once more!”
“And when the time comes, I hope to see you all in the new place we will call home!”
After the broadcast turned off, almost everyone gathered their belongings and jumped into hover cars and buses. Everyone was gathering in the center of the city, which was big enough to accommodate thousands of people. Even so, the traffic was horrendous as people slowly moved their way to the city plaza.
Even still, there were some stubborn people who didn’t want to believe in their new reality, so they stayed put.
Even if Grey wanted to save everyone, he knew that was impossible. Luckily, System 225 had a progress bar showing the number of people rushing toward the city plaza. It was over 90% of XU239.
‘System 225, could you contact Left General Kai for me?’
[Of course, initiating communication with Left General Kai Ezlen. Communication has been established.]
General Kai’s face popped up on the nearest holographic TV. He didn’t have a terminal like the rest of the Federation. XU239 was stuck with holographic TVs and phones.
Kai had a stern look on his face. Behind him were other soldiers. “Valen, Cyan, I take it that everything is ready or almost ready on your end?”
Grey nodded. “That’s correct. Most of the citizens of XU239 will be gathering in the City Square in front of the City Hall. Once they do, I will take down the forcefield. Once that comes down, make sure you go to the five spots located on the map. I will then direct everyone into your spacecrafts.”
Each spacecraft that Kai brought could hold almost three thousand people. This also included supplies. With a population of a little less than ten thousand, five spacecrafts were enough. There would even be room for Kai and his soldiers.
“I will have two thousand people go into each spacecraft. This should be fine, yes?”
“Of course. More than just fine. We will see you soon.”
With that, Grey had System 225 cut off their communication. They had Arisa and System 505 monitor things on Kai and Elio’s side while they focused on getting everyone out of XU239.
Grey and Cyan left the ‘Lord’s’ office which was always kept empty.
All of the people working in the City Hall moved out of their way.
Even though Cyan didn’t look at them, he still addressed everyone. “Follow us if you want to survive. If you would like to stay, be my guest.”
Grey followed up, “The ones who do come with us will help us create five groups of two thousand people. It’s okay to go a little bit over two thousand, but make sure not to go too far. The spacecrafts won’t be able to fit more than 2100 people so please keep this in mind.”
“Yes sir!” Everyone in the building shouted. Everyone followed after them, not wanting to be left behind.
Grey could only hope everyone would listen to him properly.
If someone didn’t make it into a spacecraft, there was not much he could do. He didn’t know how long it would take for the explosives under the city to explode.
Time was ticking.
GrandpaMarky: Hello my lovely grandchildren! I really thought things would be easy for me after seeing my rheumatologist but life had other plans. I was able to get a referral to see a geneticist but the one that specialized in something I want to get checked for left the hospital I get most of my medical care from... So now I have to hope and pray to God they take my insurance now lol. If not, I'm gonna have to get another referral for outside of the network I'm in... What a pain my ass. I haven't done any of that because I've been so tired and defeated. Well, I will get to it soon.
Anyway, that's it from me! We have three more chapters until the end of this Arc :D I hope you all are excited to read the next Arc, which is the last of the main story! See you all next week. Have a beautiful day/night my lovely grandchildren <3
