With engines still running, the train rumbled gently beside the platform of Tikika. Men twice my size, with muscles bulky enough to break off their bodies and start a new state, loaded the Cryo-Tube from the cargo carriage onto a ridiculously large trolley, something which I found weird. Not the men, but the fact that they were using a manual trolley instead of an autonomous one.

I leaned over to Leila and asked, “Where are the automated cranes?”

“Oh...” she replied hesitantly. “The Forum has cut off electronic trades with this city.”

“What? Why would they do that?”

She looked worryingly left and right, “We shouldn't talk about this is in the open.” A reply which I found eerily similar to something out of an espionage film. “Let's get to the car.”

I followed her to the front of the station, noticing just how empty the public place was. At most, I saw about two dozen people, even though the time was clearly midday. Even the passengers that exited the train were no more than the number of good fingers and toes I had left.

“I know the situations isn't exactly peaceful in the world right now, but where are all the people?” I asked as we reached the steps of the station. A black van waited for us at the foot of the steps.

Leila ignored my question. Or more accurately, refused to answer. Leading me down to the vehicle while I hastily followed behind her. The door opened from the inside, with Doctor Parker greeting me. We got into the six-seater, with me and Leila taking the middle passenger seats. Parker moved to the front, and Newton waved to me as the driver.

Once the door slid shut, Leila began, “We haven't told you everything, dad. We didn't want you to worry.”

“Wait, Lei,” Newton said, “Are we really doing this? I thought we discussed that there's no point.”

“That's right,” Parker added. “He won't even be here for everything.”

Angered, I exclaimed, “Can you guys stop talking about things as if I'm not here? And what's this situation that you all don't want me to know?”

Leila sighed and said, “Look around you dad.”

“What do you-”

“Just...look around.”

I did as she asked, staring out the tinted window to the underground road, but did not see the futuristic world I had expected. Surrounding the station entrance were just a handful of citizens, cycling along on bicycles and horse drawn carriages. The ones on their feet ogled at our van as if it was a monster from another dimension.

I could hear Newton letting our a surrendering breath as he started the engine, the sound of which drew even more wilting stares. As he drove off, I heard the deafening quiet of the city as our tires screech rang louder than blasting rock music into headphones.

Almost breathless at the archaic looking streets, I asked, “What happened?”

“Like I said,” Leila continued. “ The Forum cut off electronics trade to Tikika. That means anything with a chip or anything else metallic in it has been embargoed here. Even cars. You're sitting in one of the last thousand vehicles left still working in the city.”

“Why would The Forum do that?”

Parker said, “It's a long story Milton.” Then to Leila, he reprimanded, “One that he does not need to know.”

“He has a right to,” she replied.

“But there is nothing he can do!”

Agitated by being ignored again, I raised, “But she's right! I have a right to know what's happening to the world that I'm supposed to save!”

Newton, apparently ignoring the conflict between his wife and the doctor, explained, “In the past few years, The Forum has been using the Five Cities to heavily mine ores through the expensive underground networks Joan had created. They practically monopolised the metal industry.”

“Newton!” Parker exclaimed.

I said, “Look Doctor. I have to know this.”

“Why? Not to sound insensitive, but you won't even be here when all the things go down. All we're giving you is one extra thing to worry about.”

I hailed back, “Look doc, you're a logical guy. Maybe something happens in the next few years. Something that I can help fix when I wake up!”

“He's right,” Newton said. “We can't live forever. But Milton here is as close as we can get. If anything happens in the future, he's the only one that can take care of it. And to do that, he needs to know what happened.”

Parker laid back into his seat in defeat, letting out a long, drawn out breath. “Fine. But you guys do the explaining.”

Leila put a caring hand on my shoulde. “It's gonna be a long explanation.”

“I can't believe I'm saying this,” I replied to her. “But I have all the time in the world right now.”

She replied, “Okay. As Leonard said, The Forum embargoed metal trade with Tikika,” she explained as she settled back into her seat. “That's because before the embargo, Tikika decided to rebel against The Forum.”

“Why?” I asked. Of the all the cities, Tikika was considered the most peaceful and cooperative.

She continued, “Cause The Forum had successfully created basic artificial intelligence and had started to manufacture automated fighting machines. Basically, robots of war that can fight intelligently and kill without morale.”

“What?” I exclaimed in absolute surprise. I felt I had just dived headlong into a pool of science fiction. But after a look at the serious face given by my daughter, I realized, “You're not joking.”

“Of course not!” Parker voice out. “That's why they cut off funding to you. They moved all of it to produce those damn machines.” He outed his previous lie about not knowing the reason for the funding cut.

Still in partial disbelief, I questioned, “What is the point of this? The world is being overtaken by Mist and The Forum has time to prepare for a war?”

Newton added, “This was all happening even before Joan passed away. We've been trying for a peaceful solution, but The Forum over the decade gradually moved to a totalitarian stance. A lot of people weren't happy with it. Including my parents.” He grimly paused, and I knew what he would say before he even continued. “So they threw all of them into prison. For life. A lot of things like that was happening around the world. So, when news spread that they've decided to cut off funding to your project, the husband of Joan the hero and future saviour, it became the last straw.”

It then dawned on me. The reason for the secretive nature of this move and why I woke up in the train instead of the lab. Because they needed to move me quickly, and waking me up earlier would have caused too much trouble, given that the post awakened me would have been disoriented and unable to move efficiently.

My son-in-law continued, “The Forum's changed a lot in the past few years. They've become a group for giving power to selected few while putting the rest in the palm of their hands. If this discord continues and the rest of the Five Cities join in the rebellion, we might have an all out war, and not just the isolated rioting that's been happening.”

Remembering that Roagnark was the capitol for The Forum, I deduced, “You guys are fugitives,” I looked to my daughter who could only stare at the back of the seat in front of her. “You didn't just move me, you broke me out of Roagnark.”

Parker stated, “Told you he'd figure it out.”

“Shut up,” I shushed.

“Now that's just rude,” Parker countered.

“Shut up!” My voice got louder that second time. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

It was the first time since going under that my mind had the chance to synchronise with the happenings around me. Having had a full day to rest and catch up on events, I finally started putting the pieces together. Of why I was so far away from home. Of the effects of the new world had on my safety. But most disturbingly, how I ended up where I was and why Parker did not want me to know more of the situation at present.

I asked, “How many?”

Confused, Leila asked, “What are you talking about, dad?”

“How many?!” Thinking faster and clearer than I had in days, I said, “You needed to get me here. Here! To Tikika! Which means that whatever you're doing is not only off the book, it is completely against the wishes of The Forum, since they are not exactly best friends right now.”

“Shit,” Parker mumbled. “He's really figuring it out.”

“Then there should only be one way to get me here! You needed to take me by force. And you had the means to do it, since so many people were supporting me,” I pushed on, gesturing in frustration. “There's only one reason why you wouldn't want me to know what's happening. And that is if I'll start questioning the worth of keeping me alive. And there's only one thing that can make me do that. One thing drastic enough to make me question myself. So I will ask again, how many?”

Leila looked at me, tears beginning to cloud her eyes. Her voice breaking slightly as she said, “A lot, dad. A lot of people died to get you here.”