– Well that’s unexpected. Thanks for the compliment. So like that, I’m old and eroded?
– No, but seriously, it was a good thing I met you at the hospital. I would have lost everything that I’d discovered. I would have wallowed in idleness and passivity, given up on my safeverseen past.
– You know, for me it was a great joy to meet a safeverseen at New View. So many years of solitude, asking myself what had become of the movement, if it had been decimated or if the torch had been passed. Anyway, we have to hurry. Our escape won’t go unnoticed. The hospital service won’t take long to find us. This hut isn’t far from New View, and they have headhunting drones that track escaped patients. Is there something you want to ask me, before we make it look like we’re returning to the dismal reality of the hospital?
– Diane… Tell me. The Tecô-Regi-Ster… Do you think it can be reversed, or at least contained? And if so, how would you proceed?
– Well… in my case I no longer have the means to act, given that I’m shut away in this hospital. But if I were outside, I would act like I did back in the day. I would try to launch a palace coup. Meaning that if the surveillance agents, the Kpter agents and the Key-Secure-Ô-Log revolted, the Tecô-Deli-Kpter would implode on itself. Because if the Tecô-Deli-Kpter is destroyed or weakened from the interior, the Key-Deli-Ô-Scope won’t be able to monitor people. The Chimiô-Hei-Ster would lose its main weapon, because it’s the Tecô-Deli-Kpter that keeps the secret of its murderous practices. It’s a domino effect, you see? A palace revolution in the security domain would be to my mind as efficient, or more efficient, than massive citizen reaction. The safeverseen movement is moreover the proof that such an uprising is possible, and that it can bear fruit.
– That’s a dangerous position, because it’s not sure that surveillance agents will dare to rise up; they move within a very harsh milieu, in which pressure and repression are the daily reality. Plus, given the material conditions in which they find themselves, I doubt that they would want to give it all up in the name of a cause. But in the end, I agree, it would be very efficient. And advantageous for these agents, as much as for the population. I have another question. Do you really believe that the safeverseens betrayed me? I mean, they disappeared, and…
– No, I don’t think do. You know, they developed technologies that capture movements around their buildings. If they disappeared, it was to save the movement. It was nothing personal against you.
– But what about me? Why didn’t they make me disappear?
– I don’t know. They must have made a mistake, in all the panic. Or else they had a plan… But. Aksel? Why are you scratching your arm like that? You haven’t stopped doing that for this entire conversation.
– I don’t know. I have a scab that keeps coming up on my right wrist. It really itches. It’s becoming a compulsion.
– Let me see…
– What is it?
– Oh damn it! You have a chip in your arm. I’m sure of it. Hold on, I’m going to find something to get it out.
– A chip ? But…
– There. I found a little bit of metal. It won’t be very hygenic, but it’s the best we can do. We have to check your arm before the nurses get here.
– Ow!
– Oh! Incredible…
– What is it?
– You’re not going to believe what I’ve just seen… It’s… it’s an orthogonic chip! Look: it’s turquoise, and there are fractals on its surface.
– The safeverseens … chipped me?
– You remember that time when they knocked you out, before you became a safeverseen…
– But why did they do that?
– No idea but… Hold on… Oh my god, I hope it’s that!
– What? WHAT?
– Safeverseens, if you hear me, do as I say: send this recording of the sound ôSes to all the Ô-plugs of the Key-Deli-Ô-Scope! This is Diane. Send it! Now! You can do it! So the citizens will know the truth about the Tecô-Regi-Ster and will no longer hate the safeverseens. You’re going to have your new recruits!
-My god… Imagine the overthrow that this is going to create. It’s going to be a mad rush. The Ô-plugs are going to hear the story you’ve just told in its entirety. They going to know about the Humming Birds, the nanoparticles, the chemical industry, the mass murder. The people will revolt! They won’t let themselves be poisoned or manipulated. This is amazing! AMAZING!
– We only have to hope that they’re able to send this recording to the ears of each Ô-plug. Guard this chip with your life. We’ll put it back in you. It’s your sole link with the safeverseens. You only have to say that you were hurt during our little escapade. Here. Voilà, it’s back in place. Now we just have to wait.
– But what are we going to do? Return to the hospital?
– I remind you that we’re locked up for life. They don’t let political dissidents of our kind back out into the wild. We’re going to have to be clever in order to talk. Speak in Safeverseen, or invent a new language. As for what’s next, we just have to have confidence in the safeverseen movement. And the population, which I hope will know how to react.
– I hear noise outside… The nurses.
– It won’t be long before they open the door. Thank you, Aksel, for everything that you’ve done. You’re a brilliant safeverseen.
– I only followed the orders they gave me. The same as I’ve done my whole life. I’m worthless.
– That’s not true: you participated in the second molecular safeverseen revolution. Thank you for your contribution.
– Diane, I have to tell you…
– Aksel, Diane! This is the nurse team. Come with us. That’s an order. We’re going back to New View Hospital. We’ve brought your medication with us, come here. If you don’t cooperate, we’ll use drones. Electric shock! Come on, let’s go!