The World That Will Never Be by Maria Siopis

Author:Maria Siopis [Siopis, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shadoe Publishing
Published: 2017-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty—A Visit to the Leaders

Susan entered the Vendetta Room and sat facing the back of seven tall chairs that completely concealed the figures seated in them. She almost burst out laughing as it occurred to her for the first time that the whole room looked like a game setting she had seen years ago. It was a singing competition, and the judges couldn’t face the competitors while they were singing, eliminating any bias. What would she do if the chairs turned?

“Miss Hansel, why did you request this meeting?” one of them asked. “Your persistence was monumental.” His voice was not familiar. It was husky and dry. She felt like she was in the game, and someone was asking her what song she was going to perform. She was nervous and tense. “Well?” he persisted.

“General Marcus has some ideas of his own, and he wants to implement them with my help. He came to see me personally after he confined the president, and he offered me a job,” Susan stopped to give them time to digest the new developments. She looked around the room, trying to remember if she’d ever paid attention to the walls and paintings. How ironic to see the current president’s portrait.

“Of course we know all that already. Every little detail, every little pause you made before you came to us. We know what is going on in this building and elsewhere, Miss Hansel. Everything and everyone is monitored. You needed help in deciding which direction to take, so we sent RJ to visit you. We’re glad you came to us.”

Susan held her breath, her face became ashen in an instant while the neurons inside her mind battled. Had they seen her with Ariana, in her office and under the earth? Did they know about Maribel?

“We only intrude on others’ privacy when the common good is in danger,” he continued, as if reading her mind.

“That’s a relief,” she was able to say. “Now what?”

“There’s always an alternate plan, an alternate player. You are going to receive your instructions shortly. You may go now.”

Susan left, thinking that she needed fresh air, away from the monster buildings that were recording her every move. She felt embarrassed, betrayed, and hurt for not being trusted, and at the same time an idiot for thinking that she was not being watched. Her life once again was on the verge of collapsing, but somehow she was managing to survive. The last couple of days, she had been confronted with the complexity of being alive, and had had to make decisions that determined her future. She called Ariana and asked her to meet her at her apartment, suggesting the back roads, where there were fewer cameras. She exited the Ascord buildings and never looked back.

When Susan traversed the avenue across from her dwelling, she felt like herself again, close to the only place where she believed that privacy still existed. Ariana was waiting in the lobby of her building, talking to the security guard, having, perhaps, a light conversation.

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