“Chips out. Agreed?” Charles asked.

Harriet gave another reluctant nod. Edgar didn’t say anything. Marie knew Billy would disagree. Despite the growing anger inside her, she didn’t like to see one of her friends in pain. She opened the door to the room Billy was in.

“Billy?” Billy was pacing the floor, looking like he was in the process of tearing his hair out. “Are you okay?” Marie quietly shut the door.

Billy had his back to her when he dropped his hands. “I need to know something.” His voice had pain in it. “I should have asked this before I joined. It was my own fault for being so eager, but here we are.”

Marie’s heart filled with dread when Billy turned around. The playful, jovial Billy was gone. “If peace had been possible, what would that have meant for the chip?”

Marie wasn’t sure how to answer. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. The biggest concern on her plate was simply existing in a city that hated her.

“In your perfect, peaceful world, would the chip still exist?” Billy asked again.

Marie rubbed her arm. “I assumed in my peaceful world, everyone would, sort of, understand that it was evil. They would willingly get it taken out. I guess.”

Billy’s eyes darkened, and the dread in Marie’s gut began to grow. She didn’t quite understand why. Couldn’t Billy see how ridiculous the chip was?

“I joined the underground because I believed cutting scientists off like we were was wrong. I believed they had a place in the city. I believed it was important to let them study what they wanted to without everyone assuming they would turn into mad scientists,” Billy said quietly.

“And we’d still sing and dance?” Marie asked. “Seriously? You still expect someone like me to happily sing and dance as long as I get to study science?” Billy didn’t say anything, and anger started to trickle inside Marie. “You just don’t get it, Billy. You never have, and you never will. You are everything society wants you to be. You’ll never understand what it’s like to be feared just because of what you study!”

“I’m not denying it,” Billy said, folding his arms, his eyes gleaming with anger. “I know I’m what society wants me to be. I have a voice, and I choose to help you. But if you’re serious about destroying the chip, then this is where my help ends.”

“Your life is better because mine has to suffer! Don’t you get that? And if you can’t give up a few things to help my life, then we don’t need your help,” Marie said.

“No, Marie. I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I’m not giving up a couple of life choices. What you are planning to do is to destroy my way of life completely,” Billy said.

Marie fought the desire to roll her eyes. That wouldn’t help the situation. “You are such a drama queen. You act like we’re going to take away the arts all together. You’ll still have your writing.”

“But you’ll take away my singing and dancing. You’ll take away every reason why I love this city so much,” he said.

“Yeah, by taking away a powerful government that sees no problem with taking people like me and erasing their memories! You saw what happened to Sophie!”

“Yeah! Because scientists invented that stuff”

Marie gave a gasp. His words were sharp. Marie would have preferred it if he slapped her instead. “What are you saying?”

Billy shook his head. “Singing and dancing is too much a part of me, Marie. And you’re threatening to destroy it. If you honestly believe destroying my way of life will magically make yours better, then let me spoil it for you. It won’t. Instead, it will make you enemies. Enemies you do not wish to have.”

Marie glared at Billy. “I’m sorry, are you admitting to my face that you’re going to fight for the S.E.A.? You’re going to fight for the tyrants?”

“Don’t pretend you’re better than the S.E.A. Not when you went along with the idea of following that Josef guy into war.”

“What other choice do we have?” Marie asked.

“Tell me, Marie.” Billy’s voice was rising in anger. “Do you honestly think that once you blow up the skyscraper, that President Arnold is going to bring Albert out to you with an apology? Do you honestly think that? You are going to put Albert in more danger doing this. I know you’re scared, I know you care about Albert, but you can’t-”

“Don’t act like you can analyze me like your characters, Billy.” The anger was turning Marie’s voice more acidic than she expected, but she couldn’t stay silent. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

Billy gave her an incredulous look. “What! Are you serious?” The anger and surprise in his face turned to annoyance. “He’s my friend too, Marie!”

“Yeah? Then why aren’t you doing everything you can to get him back!” Marie snapped. “Why are you pushing back on this!”

“Because it won’t work!” Billy snapped back.

“The chip is evil!” Marie yelled. “And you refuse to see it because it benefits you. You heard it from the inventors themselves. It is nothing but mind reading, wrapped up in happy song and dance so it's easier to swallow. Stop defending it and see it for what it actually is!”

“And if the plan was instead to destroy the machine that records the songs for the S.E.A. but to keep the chip intact, we would be having a completely different conversation,” Billy snapped back. “There’s got to be some way to do that, right?”

Marie frowned, glaring at Billy. “That could never work. It would still give the S.E.A. too much power. We’ve got to get rid of it.”

Billy matched Marie’s glare, his chest heaving, arms folded tightly. “You want to know what I hate most about human nature?” Marie didn’t know what to say. It was clear Billy wasn’t expecting a reply. He’d answer the question himself. “Fill a human with enough fear and paranoia, they can create things that could completely destroy a civilization. Bombs, chips, writings, poems, all are dangerous.” Billy unfolded his arms, tears in his eyes that Marie didn’t expect. “And you know what I love about human nature? We can often use those exact same things once used for destruction and use them to unify. I believe we can use the chip to unify. It’s a beautiful creation, and to destroy it because you don’t like it is a crime.” Billy took a few steps until he was right next to Marie. “What’s our future going to be like, Marie? Are we going to use our skills to lift the city to a better, unified world? Or are we going to use them to tear it apart? Are you going to fill it with poisons while I feed it with fear? Or will we choose to be different? Will we choose to see the things others make as a way to unify?”

Marie glared at Billy, still stubbornly holding on to the fact that he was nothing more than a dramatic know-it-all, spouting knowledge about human nature to protect the evil chip he so desperately needs to keep people like her in line. Billy was glancing around her face, reading the emotions in her eyes and the small facial clues he was picking up.

“I have no use for the chip,” Marie said.

“And therefore no one does?” Billy asked.

“Since your people choose to use it to control me, I will retaliate,” Marie said.

Billy gave a scoff. “My people.”

“You just don’t get it, Billy. You don’t know what it’s like to be someone like me,” Marie said.

“Oh, yeah? Well, if you magically pull this off, I’ll be sure to ask my children what it’s like. Because you’re not seeking for peace now. You’re seeking to be in power. And in another forty years it’ll be me who’s in your position.”

“That’s not-”

“Yes it is,” Billy cut her off. “You keep complaining that I’ll never know what it’s like to be you, but have you even tried to think what it’s like to be me?”

Marie glared at him. “Every day of my life, Billy! I have dreamed of what it’s like to have your kind of intelligence! To have society practically bow in the streets because of what I can do! To actually attend Presley High because I’m a genius, not because I’m a charity case!” Marie felt the hot tears pouring down her cheeks.

The room was small, and since there was no windows, Marie could almost feel the heat from each other’s anger. “There’s the good and the ugly of it, Marie. You have to remember the compassion I have toward your plight. To feel it deep in my bones. I was willing to join an underground because I saw the value of science, even if I couldn’t do it. I befriended you, to the point that I risked my life every single day this summer to give you the hopeful future to simply live your life.” Billy took a breath, and instead a quiet sob came out. “Now Albert is in mortal danger. My parents are… most likely arrested at this point.” He pounded his fist into his forehead as the tears continued to fall down his cheeks. “And this same group that I sacrificed so much for has turned around and threatened to stab me in the back…” Billy’s tears of hurt turned to rage. Marie still wanted to be angry at Billy, but found she couldn’t. Instead she folded her arms and stared at the corner of the room, forcing her anger into that section of the wall.

“We’re all in danger now, Billy,” Marie said. “And we have to fight back.”

“You will be playing right into President Arnold’s hands. He is waiting for you to do something this drastic so he can convince those who follow him that all of you really are mad scientists. He will be one step closer to completely wiping you out,” Billy said.

“So what do you suggest we do? Die anyway?” Marie faced Billy, the anger returning. “Be the damsels in distress to your precious S.E.A. friends so they can see how much we’ve been oppressed?”

Billy glared at her. “All I know is destroying the chip isn’t the answer. President Arnold is already using extreme measures. It can’t be that much longer before the good individuals in the S.E.A. building sees him for what he is. With our luck, he’ll self-sabotage himself and we won’t have to do anything.”

Marie glared right back before shaking her head. “I was right. Your plan really is to just sit here and hope people change. I’m not willing to die, Billy.”

“And I won’t let you destroy the chip,” Billy said with a terrifying finality to his voice. “Even if I have to join the other side to stop you.”

A wave of exhaustion hit Marie. They were losing Billy, but she found she didn’t have the energy to feel the fear like she was supposed to. Instead she started laughing. “The S.E.A. won’t possibly forgive you after what you did. You will walk in there, telling them you’ve changed, and they’re not going to believe it. They’re the S.E.A. They only care about control. They’ll just throw you in the basement with Albert.” Marie shook her head. “Maybe that’s exactly what you need to wake you up. To make you realize I’m right. Go ahead, Billy. Get yourself captured.”

Billy’s glare was dark, his fists clenched to his side. Marie thought he was going to say something back, but instead he turned around and headed toward the door. Marie didn’t stop him. A part of her knew she should, because he just admitted he was going to fight her to stop the chip from being destroyed, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. The door opened, and to Marie’s shock, Charles stood right there, gloves on his hands and deep suspicion in his eyes. Everything inside her froze. Of course she had thought of the others in the back of her mind, but she hadn’t thought they got that loud. Charles must have overheard everything.

“It’s your turn to get your chip taken out, Billy,” Charles said, his voice quiet but stern.