Stolen Minds

  Chapter 8

  The hooded trio engaged themselves in hushed whispers as they passed the reception desk unchallenged and exited unto the main street in Perimeter 3. Nothing could have prepared Hannah for the sight that greeted her senses. There were countless pedestrians on the streets in the Lower City, very unusual in a city networked with low cost intelligent transportation. Many walked as though in a daze, with an outward appearance that spoke of extreme destitution. One man walked right into Hannah and her hood fell off; he stared for a while, and unceremoniously corrected himself; as he walked away a foul stench followed him. Apparently, he was unable to recognise the one-time most hunted criminal in Safe Haven, and Hannah was confused. She looked to the others, former citizens of Safe Haven like herself, and they mirrored the same confused expressions. Hannah returned her hood to its position and started walking, with Nathan and Lola following her towards a public cabin stop. When the cabin pulled to a halt, Hannah was hit by the realization of the situation. The billboard on the side of the cabin read: ‘Select, the only sustenance you will ever need…’

  She felt Nathan and Lola guide her shocked self into the cabin. Daniel was right, Hannah thought. As Hannah sat down at the rear end of the cabin, with Nathan and Lola on either side, her mind reeled with the new information. Everything else became a distant memory as Hannah took in the reality of her most successful product yet; this was all her fault, she thought. Doesn’t anyone else see this? Why didn’t Marcus or John interfere? Surely they are doing something about it… These thoughts and questions plagued Hannah’s mind, but still she thought that it was her product and therefore all this was her fault.

  “They’re like zombies,” Lola commented while looking out the window on her side, just as the cabin rose to the Middle City, en route to Perimeter 2. “Is this because of Select?” Lola asked Hannah in a hushed tone, which received a stern look from Nathan.

  “Hannah, this isn’t your fault,” Nathan consoled. “You had no way of knowing that it would end up like this; what you made was a tool and this is how they chose to use it.”

  “But I did know, Daniel warned me,” Hannah protested.

  “Regardless, you can’t blame yourself for their abuse of your product,” Nathan responded.

  “I know what you’re doing Duke and I’m grateful, but you’re wrong,” Hannah said. “These people are suffering because of my product and I just can’t deny that fact.”

  Their journey to Perimeter 2 continued and Hannah gazed out the window barely noticing the architecture that had once inspired her. She looked out to the cargo networks below and the other passing cabins, but instead of marvelling at Atlas’s capability, she hated herself for not noticing what had once been her gilded cage.

  “I have to destroy Select,” Hannah blurted out in a hushed tone as the cabin approached the final stop within Perimeter 2.

  “What?! No, not you too!” Lola said in a frustrated tone. “Have you forgotten our mission?” Lola asked Hannah in a whisper.

  “No, but this is just as important; I started it, so I have to fix it,” Hannah whispered in return. The trio stood up and walked off the cabin, into an enclosed skywalk in the Middle City of Perimeter 2. Hannah pulled Nathan and Lola to the side, away from the congested skywalk, which was filled with bewildered citizens.

  “Look, I’m going to do this, and besides it’s on our way, we would need to get to Building 0 anyway. We need to get to Atlas’s hardware interface, which is located in Atlas’s Sky Hub and the only place with access to the Sky Hub is the Mayor’s office, in Building 0; and that’s also where I’ll need to be, to destroy Select,” Hannah explained.

  “She’s right, the Mayor’s office is where we have to go to complete our mission,” Nathan said.

  “Of course, I’m right! The more time we waste arguing about this, the harder it’ll be to destroy Select,” Hannah replied.

  “Right… Like a few minutes would make much difference at this point…” Lola retorted.

  “C’mon, there’s no sense fighting. We’re all here for the same reason; let’s just continue to the Mayor’s office for now...” Nathan interjected. “...And look, here’s our next cabin,” Nathan added motioning for Hannah and Lola to go ahead of him.