Chapter 54

“Can you hear me now?” His dad’s voice said, the sound echoing out of Dagger’s mouth, in a more than slightly unsettling way. The robot dog’s eyes glowed, and James knew his image, and surroundings, were being broadcast to his father. Dagger had mentioned as much with regards to the call. But it seemed that feature was one way.

“I can,” James said with a sigh. “Just like I was able to the first two times you asked.” His dad chuckled.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist. And, honestly, it’s not every day we get to put this sort of thing to use. So, it was only right I double check that it’s working properly.”

“What sort of thing?” James asked, his dad’s wording strange. “Isn’t this just a regular call?”

The sound of his dad, scoffing, came from Dagger’s mouth.

“Just a regular call.” James could practically imagine the look of fake disappointment on his father’s face as he very likely shook his head. “You should give your parents a little credit. This is no mere call.”

“Then what is it?” James pressed. “Because on my end, it just seems like a creepy one way video call. And honestly, your voice coming through Dagger’s mouth is really creepy. Why aren’t we doing a holo call like yesterday?”

“Yesterday’s call was harmless.” His dad replied, “so we were able to speak, at least for that short while, with you normally. Now though,” his dad paused. “Now though, we have to be extremely careful. And that means, taking every measure possible to ensure no one knows what’s being said.”

“In that case, should we switch to secure messages?” James asked. Surely their special quantum encryption or whatever it was could ensure their text messages were sent securely.

“We could, but that’s slower, and nowhere near as cool. Besides, what’s the point in having amazing technology, if you don’t ever put it to use.”

“Then what—”

“—I’m talking to you with my mind.” His dad’s answer made James close his mouth immediately. “And I’m hearing, and seeing you, through my mind as well.”

“You’re what?” James asked in disbelief. “Are you using AR glasses?” He speculated.

“Nope, those can be easily intercepted and hacked into.” His dad’s response came, matter of fact. “This is much more secure. I’m receiving the information input of the video and audio feeds being sent through our encrypted method directly into my brain, which then allows me to hear, and see in a way, you. At the same time, I can think my messages to you, as if I were speaking to you, and it gets translated into the appropriate audio data and sent back to you, via the same network. Like I said, it’s super neat.”

James, said nothing. He just stood there, looking dumbfounded, at Dagger.

As if to confirm what he’d been saying, his dad began speaking once more. “I know for a fact you’re in our workshop, which means you’ve already gotten to see, at least a little, the technology in play firsthand. So don’t stand there thinking you’re old man’s talking crazy.”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“I, you, what?” James said, his mind still trying to piece everything together.

“The chair, James,” his dad’s response came, “it linked into your brain. The monitor for the chair doesn’t display actual messages, it’s just there for appearances. Helps too, when you’re first getting used to the tech, to have a surface your mind can identify to impart the information it is receiving on. Small adjustments, easing people into new technology, after all, is the best way to avoid an information overload.”

James thought back to the chair, and the monitor, and the messages he’d seen on it. Instinctively, he reached for the back of his neck, and rubbed under his skull, where the warmth had been. It was starting to come together. Sort of.

“Exactly,” James’s father said, and he could practically hear his dad clapping. “That special void that was picked up in your medical scans, is actually a highly advanced, and secret, piece of technology developed, and patented, by yours truly.” His dad paused, and the sound of him clearing his throat came through Dagger’s mouth. “Well, with your mother’s help, of course, and Zephire.”

“Dr. Zephire?” James said, immediately recognizing the name. The man who’d developed the technology that was going to be used by the government to trap everyone within DCO, while granting a select few immortality in the real world through his parent’s robots. “You worked on this tech with Rue’s dad?”

“None other,” came the response. “Man’s brilliant when it comes to the mind. We worked on the nanites, ensuring they had the proper ability to cloak themselves, to make themselves undetectable, and able to interact with the brain in the ways we needed to. Dr. Zephire helped identify the specific parts of the mind, the conscious and subconscious, that could be effected, and how, via electrical pulses and signals. At its core, the brain is a massive marvel of electricity. A circuit board of infinite potential, and sending the right sparks of energy, in the appropriate amounts, frequencies, and precise spots, well, let’s just say, it damn near seems like magic.”

James’s mouth couldn’t open any further. His still healing jaw, throbbed.

“What?” was all he could say. “You put robots in my mind without telling me?” He then said, clinging to the first bit that came to, well, mind.

“Technically,” his dad’s voice drew out the word, in an evasive manner, “yes?” The word was soft, almost like a question. “I mean, we tweaked your immersion pod, adding them to its gel. So then, on release, the nanites entered your body through you ear canal, and moved to their designated hibernation spot.”

“When?” James pressed. He hadn’t seen his parents in, how long had it been? Months?

“Oh, see, that’s where the technical bit comes from too. We didn’t do it in person. We had one of our robots from the lab handle it.”

“I,” James looked around at the mentioned lab. There were humanoid robots secured to the walls. There were also a variety of robots moving about, conducting different tasks. For a lab who’s owners hadn’t visited it in months, the lab felt very much alive and active.

“Yeah, take a moment to process it all,” his dad said, voice soothing, “and then we can get into the meat and potatoes of things. No need to dive into unnecessary details about when and how we put the nanites in your body, and probably not any ethical questions. We’ve got more pressing matters to discuss anyways.” James heard the tone shift in his father’s voice, moving from jovial to serious. “There’s something you need to know,” his dad said, “you’re in grave danger.”

“You don’t say,” James said darkly, “did the government learn about our plans to stop them?” He asked, his heart already sinking. That had to be it. Somehow, someway, the government had learned of his and his friends’ plans. They’d had no chance from the start. “Are the Enforcers coming to silence me, like they silenced Xander?”

There was a long, awkward silence. A sound, almost like static, emitted from Dagger’s throat as the robot dog stood there, unmoving, its glowing eyes clearly still recording James, and sending the information to his father. After a few minutes, his father cleared his throat.

“Okay, let’s start over,” his dad said, clearly off balance. “What the hell are you talking about?”