Chapter 14: A Criminal’s Monologue

The streets of Echo City halted when my face appeared. There were traffic accidents and confused expressions, all because of my pixels on a screen. Many pulled out their phones to film, despite this happening across the entire city. I imagined the video would be uploaded right after I was finished.

“I’m Nathaniel Hensley, and I have something to say to the lot of you.”

I had prepared this line, but the rest I left to what sounded good in the moment. I knew the message I was trying to get across.

“I stole something from Antler Industries. The same Antler that powers your entire life.”

I paused and let that sink in. It was important in speeches to allow the audience to think. Much better to make them want more rather than overwhelm them.

“What did I steal? Why did I steal it? I’ve thought quite a bit about these questions and how to answer them.”

From Amahle’s estimate, I would have three minutes. That meant five. She was always overestimating others. I doubted they could kick me off that quickly. I imagined all the workers scrambling to get my face off the screen, but Echo was a city on the grid. It wasn’t so easy.

“I stole the prototype of Perma Tech. The same that you all watched in that demonstration. It’s a wonderful piece of technology.”

I picked up a phone Amahle had put the Perma Tech in. It wasn’t Antler, but she had figured out how to make them work together. This was only possible because the product was so adaptable.

“Here’s some proof.”

I took a pen from my breast pocket and in one movement jammed it into a gap in the non-Antler phone. I removed the pen as the phone made bizarre, injured noises. As expected, it began to repair, reaching its former status.

“I know you all probably wanted to see that again anyway. So you’re welcome.”

***

Dozens of blocks away, Will sat in the lobby of Antler headquarters. He wore a sour expression on his face. I hadn’t informed him of this stunt. Noise grew outside the building as worried citizens tried to enter. Will watched them. To him, they appeared as insects panicking at a threat they could not comprehend. They bothered him.

On the other side of the lobby, a figure entered through the back entrance. Will immediately stood up. This was the genius he had heard so much about, but only spoken to a few times. Someone who he trusted. An influence on the future of humankind who chose to stay unknown for reasons humble and innocent.

“Hadrian Jade. How are you?”

Hadrian perked their head up from their phone.

“Who are you?”

“Will. We’ve met a few times.”

“Oh, Will! Nice to meet you!”

“Meet?” Will mumbled disappointedly to himself. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to speak with Anders again, but then I got this news.”

Hadrian held up their phone, showing my face. Will frowned.

“Right, I think everyone is getting that right now.”

“I met this guy!” Hadrian added. Will raised his eyebrows.

“You did? What did he say?”

“I don’t remember, but he was nice. Is this an elaborate advertisement?”

“No, I don’t believe it is. I’m sorry he stole your invention.”

Hadrian stared at Will like his words were an alien language.

“Why would I care if he stole it?” Hadrian asked. Will cleared his throat.

“Well, you did work on it and all. I thought you would think of it as your child.”

“No, not really. Once I was finished, I didn’t really care. It’s sort of like proving something in math. It only matters to you until you’re done. Then it’s just the past.”

“I imagine you’re speaking from experience. My apologies.”

Hadrian looked back at their phone.

“He’s pretty handsome, now that I really look at him.”

On my end, it wasn’t looking so pretty. Outside Amahle’s house, sirens threatened to uncover my location with each passing second. Amahle, however, remained calm off-camera. I was doing the heavy lifting.

“You might ask, why did I steal it? It’s a fair question, and easy to answer. I did it for you, the people of Echo City. Not only you, but you all are the most influenced by Antler. It all starts here and radiates outwards toward the rest of this planet. So I did it for you.”

I breathed in and kept my positive expression. I couldn’t show anything but that. If I faltered, I would just be a criminal. I picked up the phone again and removed the sim card from it. I held it up in front of me. It was strange how such a small device was worth all this fuss. I didn’t understand the device. I understood the fuss.

“This is what Perma Tech looks like. Surprising, isn’t it?” I asked. Then, I chuckled. “I suppose it’s not. Antler is an impressive company. Perhaps the most impressive company in history. I should know. I technically work for them. They haven’t been able to inform me of my demotion. Yet.” I winked.

Amahle waved at me and held up two fingers, signaling the number of minutes I had left. I nodded. I didn’t want to end on an incomplete thought. If historical speeches had any trend, it was a strong opening and a stronger closing.

“What the hundreds of millions who watched the demonstration of Perma Tech forgot to question was the limitations. That’s always the thing, isn’t it? People wonder first what the flaws are. People are pessimists. If someone sells you a cheap apple, you question if the apple has something wrong with it. I’m not saying that’s wrong, but what if the apple is perfect? What should you worry about then? Worry about the maker.” I paused, letting the listener catch up. People took time to process. “You know who your maker is.”

***

Near the heart of the city, Detective Henrietta walked past the stunned citizens and the screens they stared at.

“God, Nathaniel, you could have told me this part of the plan,” she muttered to herself. Henrietta swerved right and entered a dive bar. She hoped for some respite from the events unfolding. Instead, she found a room filled with drunk patrons silently listening to the screens.

“This guy is crazy!” Yelled one. The other shushed him. Henrietta shook her head.

“Can I get a drink?” She asked.

“Lady, there’s bigger stuff than drinks!” Responded the bartender.

“What, this idiot?”

“He’s not an idiot! But yeah.”

The patrons shushed again. Henrietta decided to just pour herself a drink. Nobody was paying attention to her anyway. She studied them. The citizens of Echo were a unique sort. It was tough to put her finger on it, but they appeared both unified and solitary. They responded quickly to bad events, but there wasn’t much friendly banter. Not that Henrietta was contributing to the latter. She sighed.

“Fine, I guess I’ll watch,” Henrietta said. The patrons shushed her again.

***

As I gathered my audience across town, I was running out of time. I had to get to the meat of my message, and I had to get through to people. That was one of the toughest jobs humans ever took on. I didn’t think I would ever attempt it.

“When Antler Industries made phones, nobody thought twice about it, because phones aren’t necessary. Then when they made cars, it felt normal, because they already made phones, and they made them so well. Next, Antler made weapons. We let that slide because, despite it sounding dangerous, we’d prefer to leave weapons to people who are good at making cars and phones and everything in between. We never questioned them. Not enough.”

I sighed, letting my smile become serious. I couldn’t pretend this whole time. I didn’t want to.

“Perma Tech is what you all should worry about. This technology that can keep phones around forever, this seemingly wonderful small piece of genius that only a few on the planet understand. This is what we should think about. Not what’s wrong with it. What’s right with it. How it got so right. What it could mean for something so advanced to be here without anyone understanding it. I stole this to give everyone time to understand. I’m not making a profit. I’m not selling this. I stole it for you.”

I laughed. I suppose I wasn’t nervous anymore. I could almost see the faces of everyone involved. Some angry, some amused. Amahle was the only person I could actually lay my eyes on, and she just held up one finger. I had to wrap this up.

“Perma Tech isn’t just limited to phones, or cars, or even weapons. It’s something that can be implanted in humans.”

Even in this house, I could hear murmurs outside. That line certainly got across.

“That’s right. It can make you immortal. I won’t tell you that’s bad, though some of you might think that anyway. The way Perma Tech works isn’t public knowledge yet, so I’ll share. If I break a phone, it reverts to the last state stored in Antler’s servers. In other words, Antler is in control. Now imagine this with humans.”

I turned my head at the sound of nearby sirens. They passed by the house and I breathed out in relief. I turned back to the camera.

“If Antler makes you immortal, they will own your life.”

Then, the screens around Echo City cut the feed. The citizens laughed in disbelief. The streets became hectic with people checking their phones. The moths of the city were circling a new light. They were confused. They were happy. They were afraid.

Amahle clapped.

“Ended on a high note. Well done,” she said. I was surprised. She rarely complimented me. Considering her honesty, that probably wasn’t a good thing.

“You think so?” I asked, loosening my tie. Speaking had made me warm.

“It went roughly as well as I thought it would.”

“You must have a high opinion of me.”

“Right,” Amahle scoffed. “Anyway, they weren’t able to track where we were, since Echo City is a cacophony of signals. When do you think he’s going to respond?” She asked.

“Soon,” I answered. Amahle knew many things, but this I was sure about. “He’ll respond as soon as he can.”

***

In the headquarters of Antler, the board of directors sat, all terrified, save for Hadrian Jade. Anders turned off the video. He was silent. Everyone was silent.

“He’s quite a good speaker,” Hadrian said, smiling. Anders continued the silence. He didn’t lay his eyes on anyone. In his mind, they weren’t there. It was only him, and for the first time in his life, he felt like he was losing.