7

Aiden arrived at the meeting spot and saw that the colonel and two other officers were already there. Aiden didn’t know who exactly was on the colonel’s list but wasn’t surprised to see George and Lucas sitting there Elizabeth. Both the officers didn’t like Bureogis a lot but still worked there because the job market is looking tough.

“Hey look who’s here! We thought that you were too loyal to Bureogis to come!” Said Elizabeth in mock exclamation.

“I am not loyal to them; I am just conscientious.” Said Aiden, who was feeling a bit uncomfortable with Elizabeth’s labeling, although he knew she wasn’t serious.

“Anyways,” Elizabeth continued, “I know you are technically not late, but we have pretty much discussed all the major details. See, I recently got acquitted with the Humanity Liberation Front…”

“Stop right there,” Aiden interrupted, “I think I know where this is going. Do you mean the same HLF that claimed responsibility of the Cairo incident? New policy announcements from the Estos TAC IIs are in a week, and you want to destroy them which would stop the announcements but also cripple the city.”

“The city is already crippled for most people, and it soon will be for us as well.” Commented Lucas.

Then, George stood up, and said “Aiden, you have been outside of the dark zone for too long. These places had only been getting worse for the last few years until the HLF came. Although where we are right now is still ruled by gangs and fractions, the HLF has grown in influence. On the south side of the city, they have even formed a de facto government that is caring for the people. Aiden, you do not know what these people have gone through. Your brother Liam has been able to afford your parents a very nice apartment in the light zone. But both mine and Lucas’ family were killed, murdered, out here. Aiden, don’t you see that the corporations cannot keep on controlling the city? Don’t you see that the HLF is creating a government for the people?“

George sighed, “Elizabeth wanted you to come because you were technically born in the dark zone, but I told her that you were lighter inside and you would never understand what we do. Aiden, I hope you prove me wrong, or else I very much might need to shoot you out here, right now.”

Elizabeth now stood up and said “No one is shooting anyone today, Aiden might not join, that is his choice. But I am sure that he isn’t going to tell, we've all served together too long for that sort of thing to happen” Elizabeth looked at him, with eyes begging him to make sure that he does not fuck up his next sentence.

Aiden did not know what to respond. What he thought of as a basic question has quickly become the catalyst for an inspirational speech as well as a serious death threat. The whole scene would have been comically funny if it were not for the seriousness of it. Aiden really did not want to fuck up his next sentence, so naturally, what he did was that he fucked up his following sentence.

“Guys, I will think about it,” Aiden responded casually.

Elizabeth dipped her head down silently and looked away, Lucas sighed, and George took out his sidearm and pointed at Aiden.

“Whoa, Whoa, let’s not jump to conclusions from ambiguous phrases here! Common Geroge, you know me.” Aiden said quickly, taking a step back as if it would protect from a bullet if George decides to pull the trigger. Lucas sighed again, George started bursting with laughter, Aiden laughed nervously as well, and Elizabeth walked away to a distance 10 meters away with her hands raised in a sign of surrender, clearly not wanting to deal with the stupidly laughable state of affairs.

“Well,” George continued when he stopped laughing, “what else do you want to say to clarify your ambiguous phrases?”

Aiden decided that to his fellow officer, honesty was probably the best option, and he decided that George would probably not shoot him as long as he kept things interesting during his explanation.

“Well,” Aiden started “can we have the gun down fist, just to prevent accidents. And maybe sit down as well; I’ve heard that make us calmer.”

George sat down, as did Aiden, but George did not drop his gun. Instead, he simply responded that accidents were the least of Aiden’s worries.

And so Aiden started anyways, unsatisfied that he requests were not met. “As you probably know, since you were there with me, that when I first joined the BSF I sincerely believed in the cause, and in corporations. I was innocent back then, and as you probably also knew, throughout the years I have seen things which made me lose much of my belief in Bureogis, or any corporation for that matter.” George nodded, putting his gun down, signaling Aiden to continue.

Aiden breathed a sigh of relief, but then George immediately held his gun up again, cause Aiden to breathe a sigh of disbelief at the man. “Since yesterday, like all of us here, I got fired, and I feel betrayed. Tonight, when I came out to the dark zone for the first time in 20 years, I didn’t even get time to reflect on how bad things are, I guess I just grew kind of use to violence since I was always in the field. But thinking about it, it has been pretty bad for all these people, for the majority of people in fact. And that is why I actually sympathize with the HLF, after some considerations of the state of the world. But, I have to be honest, I really hope that there was a better way.”

After Aiden finished, he leaned back and looked at George, and then Lucas to see their reactions. Unsurprisingly, Lucas sighed again and George decided to put away his pistol. The three men sat there, George thinking, Lucas not caring, and Aiden waiting to see George’s response. The silence between them was broken when Elizabeth came back from 20 meters away.

“I can see that Aiden is still alive,” observed Elizabeth, “so I presume that he is in?”

George looked up at her and said: “The kid’s honest at least, which I appreciate enough, but apparently he needs to be convinced that there is no better way.”

“Come on guys, there has to be a better way!” Aiden said.

Elizabeth looked at Aiden, and spoke softly “Aiden, look around the communities in the dark zone, see the suffering in detail for yourself, and tell me that there is a better way.” Elizabeth didn’t look angry, but there was a subtle rage in her voice which caused Aiden to shudder.

Lucas, who was silent for the whole time, interjected, “You know, I think looking around is what he needs. I say we take his card, watch, and phone so he can’t pay for whatever he used to get here and make him walk back. That ought to give him enough time to look around.”

Elizabeth thought about that sentence and said “we are two hundred kilometers away from city center, I think we can grab Aiden, and drop him off 25 kilometers away from the first checkpoint. Even with that proximity to the checkpoint, things are looking pretty bad if it’s the west side. She looked at Aiden, and behind her, Aiden can see George nodding in agreement with the plan.

“Look, we don’t want to do this to you. But you have been out of the dark zone for too long, and you have forgotten who you are. Just look around while you are walking back; your combat training, as well as your sidearm, should keep you safe enough.” George said, approaching him and giving him a light pat on the back. Aiden thought he smelled alcohol.

Aiden could not believe what he was hearing, that his fellow officers are going to leave him in the middle of the dark zone 25 kilometers from the light zone checkpoint, with no units. But then again, one of them was prepared to shoot him. The whole occasion was surreal, but Aiden had no choice but to deal with it. He sighed as he handed over his card, phone, and watch to Elizabeth once they were inside her mag-mobile. When he turned around to see George and Lucas, he saw the face of two men who had a purpose, who were even prepared to die for a caused, and Aiden, surprisingly, felt jealous at them, for his own conscience was deeply conflicted through the night’s events.

The two-hour ride to the drop off point was silent, and Aiden had time to gather over his thoughts and reflect on if colonel Medugis was doing the right thing, and how the hell he was going to get back to the light zone. On one hand, being fired, or being notified of his firing one week prior, has removed his personal bias which was a result of his financial dependence on the company. Aiden was surprised how different the company seemed to him when the company’s interest no longer aligned with his. Prior to the event, he had naturally overlooked many of the company’s faults as well as its unethical operations while only keeping his mind on the positive impact that Bureogis had on people’s lives as a result of their actions.

But now that perspective has been reversed; simply by removing his attachment from Bureogis has made Aiden start to put more attention on the faults of the company, and corporations in general, while their benefits which previously seemed important now seem insignificant. Aiden was both amazed and confused at just how different things can seem from a slight change in perspective, his whole moral view seeks to be turning upside down.

Perhaps Elizabeth did have a point, perhaps the Estos TAC IIs needed to go, and perhaps the HLF would bring a better world. Perhaps. But, Aiden had more pressing concerns. He would have to be careful when he is in the dark zone this late. Most people would lock themselves in their houses, and for good reason. Aiden thought hard about what he might do, but came up with nothing. Suddenly, Elizabeth slowed the mag-mobile down, and Aiden knew they have arrived. George got down, open the door for Aiden with a mocking bow. George went back into the car after Aiden got out grudgingly and reluctantly, and Elizabeth drove the mag-mobile away. Aiden was left alone in the middle of a dark, lightless block of low-quality housing. However, in the distance, he could see the light from the center of the city.

Aiden started walking and found himself immediately outside of a Temple of The Engineer. Although Aiden knew those existed, he still shook his head when he passed by, and heard priests of The Order preaching about the brilliance of The Engineer, who uses the omnipotent hand to bring the just distribution of goods to all those who work hard and deserve it. Aiden felt disgusted at the words, although he once believed them as well, which was one of the reasons that he joined Bureogis. However, there was a critical difference between Aiden and those in the Temple right now. When Aiden was a follower, he directly benefited from The Engineer’s policies and did not believe it as a literal god, as Liam explained to him how the Estos TAC II AIs actually worked. However, while believing AIs to be gods is a result of ignorance, worshipping something that is directed against one’s benefit is blindness. And it was blindness, pure and simple, that Aiden was witnessing as he heard how followers of The Order discussed with their priest how The Engineer’s policies are benefitting them although they are stuck in poverty.

The conversation was surprisingly amusing to listen due to its absolute absurdity, and Aiden stood beside the building for a few minutes. However, he could not bear anymore it when the priest whipped the followers into a frenzy about The Engineer, The Traveler, and The Curator, and eventually started asking donations from people who probably need that money much more than the priest does. Aiden was completely abhorred and wanted to rush in and punch the priest in the face, but ultimately controlled himself and quickly walked away.

Aiden understood that self-interest can blind a person, just as he viewed Bureogis in as favorable a light as he could even though he accessed some of the corporation’s darkest secrets. This was because he wanted to believe that his work was meaningful, and so he ignored and dismissed all the evidence he had that contradicted that belief, and paid much attention to all the evidence that he had to support the belief. However, Aiden simply did not understand how people can be so irrational as to be blind enough to worship something that is obviously not acting in their self-interest.

Aiden tried to calm himself but the more he thought about what he just saw, the more he realized that Elizabeth was perhaps right, that perhaps violence was the only way. The world would be better if the TAC IIs were gone, and it would be humans who rule the Earth in a humane way. Just as Aiden thought about how the goodwill of men shall triumph over their selfishness, and how compassion will win over cold logical calculations of the AIs, he heard accelerating footsteps behind him. As soon as he turned around he felt something hit him. Before he could even register the pain, his world went black.