On the way, I noticed something that was at the very least… surprising. The ceiling was criss-crossed with wasps that flitted about in all directions. I asked Cid about this. « Seriously, don’t you know anything? You didn’t know that the Intelligence agency use drones that look like flies or mosquitoes? It’s a technology from before the Humming Birds, but it’s still in use. These wasps, you see, those are Gulpers. They swallow the fly drones. » I commented that it was an ingenious idea, though simple in principle. « Yeah, yeah. Anyway, here’s Ezil. She’ll accompany you. Stay by her side, or else, I warn you, you’ll know real agony, and we won’t be able to do anything else for you. » The girl in question, under her suit, appeared to have short, black hair. She had a circular tattoo on her forehead. « Ezil, here’s Aksel. He’s the Key-Secure-Ô-Log who’s going to… you know. Sorry, but we had to double you up with him. He’s carbon. Take care of yourself. The mysterious Ezil breathed, « It’s the third time since Diane that… » « Good god! » I exclaimed, « Who is this Diane that you all keep telling me about? What does she have to do with me? » Cid sighed. « Listen, Ezil. I’m going to let you tell him about Diane. I have to get back on the ground. I have a message to transmit. »
Ezil turned to me and spoke. « Diane is at the origin of the safeverseen movement. Her story starts many years ago, twenty years, something like that. It was before the arrival of Key-Deli-Ô-Scope. She was under increasing surveillance: her research was compromising to multinationals at the time. Her surveillants had installed a whole system of micro-cameras in her apartment, and and chip her. They observed her daily. However, Diane managed, largely by speaking into the chip, to convert her surveillants to her cause. A palace coup in the security sector followed. The Intelligence agency would not tolerate such an overthrow: they massacred a large number of the revolutionaries, and they captured Diane. We don’t know if she’s still alive, but we owe the creation of the movement to her. The rest, we owe it to all of us. Numerous engineers, scientists, artists and philosophers have joined us. Diane was diamond. Her diffuser, I mean. Maximum concentration of carbon. Like you. And like me. Do you understand? You must never make a move unless I’m at your side. » « Or else what? » « Or else you’ll be hurt. You can’t imagine what they put us through here. Without a diffuser, you won’t stay alive for long, I can assure you of that. » I dared the question: « Who are ‘they’? And what are they doing to you? » « Right now I can’t tell you about Tecô-Regi-Ster, but you’ll have your answers in due time. Are you hungry? We have good food, without nanoparticles, if you want. » « Seriously? Food without nanoparticles! I was under the impression that it didn’t exist anymore. » I accepted. She held out a red vegetable and a bowl of amaranth to me. « Do you know how to prepare your pepper? » « In all honesty, I’m used to pre-prepared meals delivered by commercial drones… I … I don’t know how to cook. » Ezil seemed uncomfortable and told me: « Take this knife, and cut it at the top, yes, like that. Empty it out and cut it into pieces. You can add it to lentils. I carried out these tasks and ate slowly.
– How was it?
– Ugh. Disgusting. What a bitter taste! I made a face. Ezel laughed and told me: « Yes, it’s like that, food without an excess of flavoring added. Welcome to the real world, Askel. » She added, « Would you like to see our plantations? That way you can ask Harris about the nanoparticles. He’s an expert in that area. And on top of it… he was part of the first wave of safeverseens. He’s a survivor, a tough one! But you’ll see, he’s… he’s lost it a little up here, » she tapped her head, « and he also doesn’t speak the common language anymore, only Safeverseen. If you don’t understand what he says, I’ll translate. » I accepted her proposition.
Ezel put a blindfold over my eyes and took my hand. Step by step, I tried to count the drops of water that fell on my suit. When I got my vision back, I was stupified by what surrounded me. Hundreds of vegetable plants in a wooden structure, filled with emerald green lasers. There were turquoise crystals scattered across the plantations. Numerous people in suits cared for the plants. We stopped before a man of large stature, his face creased with wrinkles. Harris, probably. He addressed me. « Aksel, Aï prisôme? » I had no time to respond, as Ezil jumped in: « Aksel ista diama. We ore dublèd uppè. Hi wantz to knomorest aboutet the n’noparticulies. » « Yé, yé, I hove somesingi phori hîme. » Harris looked me up and down and smiled. « Aïm going togeve you appapère I wrotest on n’noparticulies. Itsse phore biginnères, bute iphe uhavest kest ions just asque mil. » « Did you understand, Aksel? » I gave it a shot: « I… am going to give you… a paper that I wrote on … nanoparticles? But the second sentence is impossible for me to translate. » « Bravo, you’re quick to understand! The second sentence was: it’s for beginners, but if you have questions just ask me. You think you’ll manage to translate the whole paper by yourself? » I nodded, even though I figured I was far from capable. Harris turned around and handed me a yellowing scrap of paper. As it happens, I still have it in my pocket. Here, read it for yourself:
« Dow disse mater riale hâs binne used indi agro-indu stry sinssedi 1990s, wi wit nessed averi table exe plozion in 2003. Twen tyyearrrs priora todi zarrival ophe Key-Deli-Ô-Scope, wi coude caount hund dreds ophe productets. Itch wiik thri or fur productets were ad dedto di marketet. Too dey, dey’re iverywhire. Zeu pro blème wiz these n’noparticuliesis dat, due to their smill sizest, dey can ent terre in tozo ones dat are inah acce essible phore normil moleculies. Dey passist through debrein, deveins et arteries, the pulmon harris aveeeoli, place zental tisse hue, deliver, kid neys, gastrre ointe testinal tract… Titaniie ium dioxide has-has-han iphect de gêne erration ophe zellularies dis zorders. Ite domages DiNiA anded cane in xite gene tique muta zions. It-isse a karcinôgêne anded causis zerebrrale lezi ions. N’nocilver goes through zorganikk’ barre hiers anded buildsse up on zellwalls. Kar bonne n’notubies libe rote toxe hic compo nints and zhort-zirkuit zellular do-vision. Moulti-sidid karbon n’notubies posese de sime problâmes as asbestos. N’noparticulies ingene râle arenotte riduced bydi organismus : dey build uppe inne definie telly. »
– Nice. What did you understand?
– That nanoparticles were carcinogens, and they created cellular disorders….
– And that they damage DNA and create genetic mutations.
– Ah, I hadn’t understood that. I also saw that they’re everywhere in food. Since when?
– Since the 90s!
– That’s incredible. Today it still gives me the shivers. In any case, I made like I had understood everything. I asked Harris: « Why do they do this? Why are they killing the population little by little? »