last Forgetting.” He wrinkles his nose. “The unfortunate case of that insane Youth, Mason.”
Without my being conscious of what I’m doing, my hand strikes the Envoy in the face, but the punch doesn’t connect. Instead, my fist goes through the Envoy’s face. I should’ve guessed it would, since I’m inside of a recording.
Phoe pauses the conversation. “I don’t blame you for trying to smack him,” she says. “If I could punch this winged prick, I would.”
I take a couple of calming breaths and say, “Investigating Mason would lead them to me.”
“Yes.” Phoe’s blue eyes are pools of worry. “And there’s this.”
She fast-forwards the conversation until Jeremiah says, “I’d like to be granted the Lens of Truth for this investigation.”
Phoe pauses the recording again and interjects, “In case you missed it, the Lens of Truth is what the Envoy used to make Jeremiah answer his questions earlier. I believe it’s a neural lie detection algorithm of some kind.”
She continues the recording.
The Envoy looks thoughtful for a moment, then decisively says, “All right. You and Fiona will be granted the Lens of Truth for the duration of this investigation.”
“Fiona?” There’s a note of agitation in Jeremiah’s voice.
“Yes,” the Envoy replies, watching Jeremiah intently.
“But she’s the reason I requested the Lens of Truth to begin with.” Jeremiah’s jaw tightens. “She’s the very person I want to question first.”
“That would be completely out of the question,” the Envoy says, his voice so forceful it reverberates in my belly. “I will not allow you to turn this quagmire into a platform for petty political squabbles.” He shakes his index finger at Jeremiah. “Fiona is a capable Councilwoman, and if something were to happen to you”—there’s a threatening undertone to the Envoy’s words—“she’d succeed you as the Keeper.”
For a moment, Jeremiah looks like he was struck. He seems to be considering whether to talk back. Either his fear or respect wins out, because he says, “I understand, Envoy. The honorable Fiona and I will take your gift and investigate.”
For the first time since the Forgetting issue came up, the Envoy looks pleased. I guess pairing Jeremiah with Fiona was some kind of test, and Jeremiah passed.
“You’ll start with Mason’s cohorts and work your way up to the Instructors.” The Envoy’s voice is a calmer melody. “If the Lens needs to be used on any of the Elderly, I want to be notified about it first.”
“As you wish,” Jeremiah says, and his mouth freezes.
I look at Phoe, who’s flicked her fingers again.
Though I expected the Envoy to say something along those lines, now it’s official. I’m definitely one of Mason’s cohorts.
Phoe and I stand there in silence. Then she looks me in the eye and says, “We’re done here. Let’s go back to the real world.”
I open my mouth to launch into a torrent of objections, but Phoe is no longer in the room.
I take one last look at the mystery AI, or whatever the Envoy is, and signal to leave the VR, showing one middle finger to Jeremiah and the other to the winged creature.
The white tunnel swirls me back to my man cave, and I repeat the gesture. Another white whirlwind later, I find myself back on my bed in the real world.
Phoe is still standing above me. When she sees me open my eyes, she sighs deeply, and a distant expression appears on her face.
“So,” I say, breaking the silence, “they’ll investigate me using that Lens of Truth.”
“Most likely, yes,” Phoe says, but she sounds distracted. “Jeremiah just called upon the Council to discuss it, so I suggest we wait until that meeting is over before we decide what to do next.”
“But—”
“I mean it. We need to know all the variables.”
“And you can eavesdrop on their meeting?” I frown. “Isn’t it risky, given the Envoy situation?”
“So long as I stay out of their minds, I
Without my being conscious of what I’m doing, my hand strikes the Envoy in the face, but the punch doesn’t connect. Instead, my fist goes through the Envoy’s face. I should’ve guessed it would, since I’m inside of a recording.
Phoe pauses the conversation. “I don’t blame you for trying to smack him,” she says. “If I could punch this winged prick, I would.”
I take a couple of calming breaths and say, “Investigating Mason would lead them to me.”
“Yes.” Phoe’s blue eyes are pools of worry. “And there’s this.”
She fast-forwards the conversation until Jeremiah says, “I’d like to be granted the Lens of Truth for this investigation.”
Phoe pauses the recording again and interjects, “In case you missed it, the Lens of Truth is what the Envoy used to make Jeremiah answer his questions earlier. I believe it’s a neural lie detection algorithm of some kind.”
She continues the recording.
The Envoy looks thoughtful for a moment, then decisively says, “All right. You and Fiona will be granted the Lens of Truth for the duration of this investigation.”
“Fiona?” There’s a note of agitation in Jeremiah’s voice.
“Yes,” the Envoy replies, watching Jeremiah intently.
“But she’s the reason I requested the Lens of Truth to begin with.” Jeremiah’s jaw tightens. “She’s the very person I want to question first.”
“That would be completely out of the question,” the Envoy says, his voice so forceful it reverberates in my belly. “I will not allow you to turn this quagmire into a platform for petty political squabbles.” He shakes his index finger at Jeremiah. “Fiona is a capable Councilwoman, and if something were to happen to you”—there’s a threatening undertone to the Envoy’s words—“she’d succeed you as the Keeper.”
For a moment, Jeremiah looks like he was struck. He seems to be considering whether to talk back. Either his fear or respect wins out, because he says, “I understand, Envoy. The honorable Fiona and I will take your gift and investigate.”
For the first time since the Forgetting issue came up, the Envoy looks pleased. I guess pairing Jeremiah with Fiona was some kind of test, and Jeremiah passed.
“You’ll start with Mason’s cohorts and work your way up to the Instructors.” The Envoy’s voice is a calmer melody. “If the Lens needs to be used on any of the Elderly, I want to be notified about it first.”
“As you wish,” Jeremiah says, and his mouth freezes.
I look at Phoe, who’s flicked her fingers again.
Though I expected the Envoy to say something along those lines, now it’s official. I’m definitely one of Mason’s cohorts.
Phoe and I stand there in silence. Then she looks me in the eye and says, “We’re done here. Let’s go back to the real world.”
I open my mouth to launch into a torrent of objections, but Phoe is no longer in the room.
I take one last look at the mystery AI, or whatever the Envoy is, and signal to leave the VR, showing one middle finger to Jeremiah and the other to the winged creature.
The white tunnel swirls me back to my man cave, and I repeat the gesture. Another white whirlwind later, I find myself back on my bed in the real world.
Phoe is still standing above me. When she sees me open my eyes, she sighs deeply, and a distant expression appears on her face.
“So,” I say, breaking the silence, “they’ll investigate me using that Lens of Truth.”
“Most likely, yes,” Phoe says, but she sounds distracted. “Jeremiah just called upon the Council to discuss it, so I suggest we wait until that meeting is over before we decide what to do next.”
“But—”
“I mean it. We need to know all the variables.”
“And you can eavesdrop on their meeting?” I frown. “Isn’t it risky, given the Envoy situation?”
“So long as I stay out of their minds, I
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