“Go ahead and return her diary. Before we speak with Jeremy and decide what to do about Adversity Management, there’s one more thing I can do here.”

“Confronting her will likely destroy any goodwill she has left for you,” Ghost said.

I took a moment to carefully consider his words. Something I’d try to do more carefully from this point on.

“I’ll play it by ear. I want to scan for a device in her brain. If she’s a commander, she’s going to fight me and it’s not going to be easy. I’m taking a risk here, assuming she’s not one. The possibility of a commander hidden somewhere on this island is more plausible, so we need to have eyes in the back of head for the remainder of our time here.”

“A time that needs to be short,” he emphasized.

I nodded. “You’re right. Let’s start wrapping things up here.”

Ghost took the diary and flew off, and I made my way back into the temple grounds. I knew where I’d likely find her. Leading a study group where I first met her.

Once I made it there and confirmed she was present, I stood quietly in the corner, watching and listening, waiting until they were finished before I approached her.

“Hello Lunaria. That was a great lecture today.”

“A great compliment from one of PanTech’s leading professors. Thank you.”

She’d been fed more information about me. Of course.

“What you’re doing here is as valid as anything ever done at PanTech. You can take my word for that.”

She bowed slightly, returning to making eye contact.

“What can I help you with today, Taylor?”

“May we speak in private?”

“Oh? There’s no need to go anywhere else for that. Now that we’ve adjourned our study for today no one will disturb us here for hours.”

“I’d like to scan you for any possible—”

“Implants?” she asked.

I was surprised but shouldn’t have been. So, she had considered it as a possibility. Or was aware of one’s existence already. After all, a person doesn’t write every single detail of their life in their diary. There was no point in beating around the bush anymore.

“Yes. Among other things, but yes. I’d like to check you for implants.”

“Do you believe an implant is responsible for the voice of the stars?”

“I would like to find out. As I’ve told you, I’m very skeptical, but also open-minded. I just want to rule it out before accepting it as divine.”

“I believe I’ve indulged your curiosities enough, Taylor.”

“You’ll not grant me one more?” I asked, pulling out my scanning device. “It’s not invasive. Just a simple wave of the wand and we’ll both know. Don’t you want to know the truth yourself?”

“It would change nothing.”

“In that case…”

I held the device in front of her, but she grabbed my wrist tightly in her grip. Her very normal grip, for a woman in her sixties.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I studied her expression. She was panicked. Terrified. Her eyes welled with tears as she stood against something that was far more than a routine, trivial scan. It was the foundation her world was built upon. It was the thing that gave meaning to her sacrifices. It was her entire understanding of herself, and the lens through which she had viewed her whole existence.

“You’ve been brave so many times throughout your life. You can do this,” I said, as reassuringly as I could muster.

The truth was, I was intent on forcing the scan, even if she resisted. I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. She needed to choose this. After all, I could’ve walked by and waved the scanner by her head without her noticing. This was something she needed to face.

She loosened her grip but didn’t let go. “I’m scared, Taylor…”

“I know.”

We stood there for several minutes in that position, as she struggled internally with the choice before her. Eventually, she released me and dropped her hands to her sides. I scanned, which took only a brief moment.

“Do you want to know?” I asked.

She only nodded, as though she already knew the answer, and that I would only be confirming it.

“You’ve been implanted with a device. It’s attached to your brain. Very tiny.”

“Do you know when?” she asked.

Funny, that she’d choose to ask that question first instead of wanting to know what the device did, but I understood why she wanted to know.

“I can’t say, but this is a fairly generic implant. It would take a specialized individual to install it. It could’ve been this zone’s previous commander, or someone else on the team with specific clinical history. This is not something a run-of-the-mill Adversity Management soldier is capable of. But… I assume it was installed earlier than you think it might’ve been, then reprogrammed and activated remotely as it collected data about your brain activity. Back at HQ, these devices could be used to cure even the most severe of mental illnesses. Specialized devices could be even smaller. This one is multi-functional.”

“They were never real… ever… my mother…”

She was breaking down. I took her hand. Although I didn’t agree with some of the choices she’d made, I understood why she might have made them. I sympathized with the nightmare she must’ve lived, and the effort she put into overcoming it.

“And my daughter…” she continued, slowly collapsing to her knees, sobbing into her hands. “Jeremy will never forgive me.”

I lowered myself with her, hugging her as she cried. This was something she carried with her for such a long, long time. As usual, my feelings quickly turned to rage. PanTech played gods with her, as they always did. They used this vulnerable woman as a convenient tool of control to make their work ever so slightly easier. Destroyed lives on a whim. And here they were, doing it again with the vaccine. Deciding who lived and who died based on their own, not even moral preferences, but little more than convenience. Real lives reduced to pros and cons.

“I could deactivate it, but…”

“Thank you for offering, but I know what you’re thinking. I’ve also considered it. Although they’re likely listening in on us right now, I want them to know that I’m willing to continue things as they are for the sake of the people here. I’ll keep hearing the voice of the stars and speaking those words to the people of Redbank. The alternative is… not a choice I’m able to make.”

I nodded, squeezing her shoulder. I didn’t know if they were listening or not but kept my plans to myself regardless.

“I understand and respect your decision. My investigation into Redbank will end here, and I won’t share what I’ve found with anyone on this island.”

She flinched for a moment, catching the caveat that made my statement true. Yet, like me, chose not to speak it aloud.

“Thank you, Taylor.”

I helped her to her feet, and began walking away, toward the beach. I saw Remira along the way but could only offer a weak smile and wave as I passed her by, even knowing it would likely be the last time I saw her.

My feelings were mixed. I wasn’t sure if what I’d done was a good thing. Sometimes the truth was like that. It didn’t always set people free. Sometimes the truth was a prison. Sometimes discovering the truth collapses a person’s entire world down upon them. Made its foundation crumble beneath them. That’s what it was like for Lunaria, and I wasn’t sure where she’d go from here. It was almost a certainty that I’d not made her life better.

However, I knew where I would be going from here. Realistically, if I was capable of it, I’d go straight to PanTech’s island and teach them a well-deserved lesson. If they thought Captain Markus gave PanTech a thrashing here, I wished I could deliver that a thousand-fold. But… I was one person, and I had other places that needed my help. More zones were suffering from the virus, and PanTech Adversity Management’s rogue actions.

However, Jeremy and the people of Rockport had been wronged in so many ways, and I wasn’t going to sit idly by while they’re targeted and systematically removed, another calculation to be made for the sake of minimizing inconvenience.

I would not be letting them have their way so easily.