The car hummed softly as Jude gripped the wheel back to the acid trip mazed city, his eyes scanning the empty streets ahead. Beside him, Teresa sat quietly, her fingers working methodically on a long bulky weapon in her lap, its metallic gleam catching the sunlight.
Jude recognised it—one of those rare, old electric-charge models he'd only ever read about. The weapon would hum in Teresa’s hands while she pressed on and off certain buttons. It was built to fire bursts of energy. Jude knew it wasn’t the most practical for long treks—requiring constant recharges from a portable power source or generator and certainly not designed for extended use without the right setup.
Yet, as he glanced at Teresa, there were no bulky power banks or backup generators in sight. She carried nothing but the weapon itself, calm and confident as if the issue of energy supply was no problem at all.
The way Teresa handled the weapon so effortlessly made something click in Jude's mind about her abilities. He couldn't help but wonder, though it felt strangely impolite to outright ask, "How does your power actually work?"
“Turn left!” Teresa’s command snapped Jude back to reality. He followed her direction, turning the wheel while stealing a quick glance in the rearview mirror. Lucy was slumped against the side door in the backseat, her head resting peacefully as she dozed off.
Teresa shifted in her seat, surveying the streets of the empty, colourful town. "No sign of the dogs."
Jude furrowed his brow. "Dogs?"
"Yeah, dogs."
Jude ventured cautiously, trying to tiptoe around the questions that had been circling his mind for days. Everyone seemed hesitant to answer, afraid of triggering another one of his episodes.
“You mean... they… like us? Or maybe… ‘friends’?” His voice was tight as if even asking might trigger a new brain freeze, and he was unsure if Teresa had brought any Neural Epipen.
"Do you even know what a Purist is?" Teresa snapped, cutting off her own thoughts, her impatience clear. "Turn right, now!"
Jude hesitated, still trying to process her question. "Uh, more like... people who value morals over individuals, right?"
She scoffed. "That’s what they’re teaching now? Listen, just like every group—race, ethnicity—there are good ones and bad ones. Friends are no different. Some want a future where everyone gets a shot. The others... well, they’d rather cleanse the universe." Teresa trailed off, her thoughts tangled. "I’m rambling, forget it."
Lucy stirred, rubbing her eyes, her voice groggy but curious. "Hard to pretend you didn’t just say that. So... there are bad guys?"
Teresa sighed, frustration weighing down her words as she fiddled with the weapon in her lap. "Len should be the one explaining all this. Not me. I’m just an old woman, done with all this crap. I’m tired, kid. Really tired."
They finally spotted the mall up ahead, the landmark scanner quietly waiting outside. But no one moved. Jude kept his hands on the wheel, eyes scanning the empty streets. Teresa shifted in her seat, weapon at the ready, her gaze sweeping the horizon.
Lucy, now wide awake, glanced nervously out the window, half-expecting something—anything—to emerge. The silence was too still, the calm too eerie, as if the town itself was holding its breath for what might come next.
But there was nothing.
Jude squinted through the windshield, "It looks safe..." His words barely left his mouth before Lucy shot out of the car, her body darting toward the landmark scanner. The sudden motion made Jude’s stomach tighten as he watched her, heart skipping a beat as if something wasn't right.
Jude muttered under his breath, cursing Lucy’s reckless dash toward the scanner, and bolted after her. She hesitated for just a moment, her hand trembling as she reached for the screen. With a quick breath, she pressed her palm against it. A tense second passed, and then a beep echoed through the empty air, followed by the robotic voice announcing, "Congratulations; you have unlocked A-J10."
Lucy stared at the screen, her brow furrowing in confusion. "What?"
She pulled her hand away, glancing at the display as if she expected it to change. But when she pressed her palm to it again, the same message flashed across: "Congratulations; you have unlocked A-J10." No level up.
Still stuck at 13. Frustration flickered across her face, the realisation sinking in. Something wasn’t right.
Lucy’s chin quivered, her fists tightening as her breath hitched. Her eyes welled, but she blinked the tears away. "It’s broken," she whispered, almost to herself. "It has to be broken. I should be level 14 by now."
Jude leaned closer to the screen, squinting at the flickering display. "Maybe," he muttered, though doubt hung heavy in his voice. "Try again."
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Lucy slammed her hand against the scanner once more.
"Congratulations; you have unlocked A-J10."
She tried again, her movements growing more frantic.
"Congratulations; you have unlocked A-J10."
Again.
"Congratulations; you have unlocked A-J10."
Each repetition only deepened the crack forming in her composure, frustration twisting her face as the machine spat out the same response over and over.
Jude wiped his palm on his jeans, stepping toward the scanner. "Let me try," he said, placing his hand on the screen. A soft beep followed, and the display lit up.
"Congratulations; you are level 5. You have unlocked A-J10."
He blinked, caught off guard. Two levels up, just like that. His breath hitched in surprise—it was the first time his advanced boost skill had actually shown any noticeable effect.
The realisation settled in, but he didn’t let it show, trying to keep his voice even. "Looks like it’s working fine... for me, at least."
Lucy’s face flushed with frustration as she lashed out, her foot kicking the machine with an angry thud. “Stupid fucking thing,” she spat, her entire body trembling with rage, fists clenched at her sides, shoulders heaving with the effort of holding back tears.
Before she could lash out again, Jude gently grabbed her arm, his grip firm but soft enough to stop her. “Hey, hey,” he said, pulling her back a step. “Take it easy, alright? Let’s not kick the thing to death. Maybe the next one will bump you up.” He pulled her closely, more concerned about her hurting herself than the machine.
Lucy wrenched herself from Jude’s grip, pushing him away as she screamed. “You don’t get it! No one does!” Her eyes shimmered, tears clinging to the edges but refusing to fall until they did.
Her chin quivered, and angry tears spilt over, streaming down her flushed cheeks. “I don’t have much time… I don’t even know how long I have left! I’m dying! I'm just a kid, and I'm fucking dying!"
“We’re all headed the same way, kid,” Teresa said bluntly, interrupting Lucy’s outburst. She slung her heavy weapon casually over her shoulder. “One day, you hit the ground, and that’s it. You’re not special because you figured it out sooner. You’re just like the rest of us.” She shifted her stance, glancing around warily. “Now, are we done here? I’d rather not run into any ‘anti-friends’ today.”
Teresa didn’t wait for a response, spinning on her heel and striding back to the jeep. The door slammed shut behind her. Lucy stood frozen, her anger ebbing, but her feet rooted to the ground. Jude stared at her, at a complete loss for words.
The jeep’s window rolled down, and Teresa leaned out, tapping impatiently on the door. “You two planning on standing there all day? There are more Landmark scanners to hit!” she barked.
“No.”
Jude blinked, caught off guard. “No?”
She stood with her back to him, focused on the scanner. “I said no. I’m not ready to go.” Her fingers traced the surface of the machine, searching for something hidden beneath the interface, her eyes narrowing with the kind of focus that made Jude uneasy.
He lingered behind her, watching Lucy’s hand hover over the screen.
“Abel,” she said, “five tokens if you give me access to the admin interface.”
Jude tensed. He opened his mouth to protest but hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should stop her. He couldn't fathom why not, but something felt off. It felt wrong.
Lucy’s gaze stayed fixed on the screen as she called out, "Abel?"
The AI’s response finally came, its voice cold and mechanical. "The required request could initiate Phase Shifting on the device, obsoleting the drivers and, in doing so, cause more distress than assistance."
Jude heard intently, realising it seemed like something was definitely off with the token system. If the tokens were supposed to help Abel move toward singularity—becoming more human, more aware—then this mechanical detachment wasn't normal. Instead of becoming more advanced or lifelike with each token, Abel was regressing into something colder, more robotic.
It raised Jude's questions about whether someone had already tampered with the system or the AI. Lucy might be unknowingly feeding into a broken system. Perhaps the deeper she delved into these commands, the more she risked destabilising the very tech she was relying on. She wasn't feeding the advance to Abel’s humanity—but doing the exact opposite.
"Ten tokens," Lucy countered, her voice firm, not even pausing to consider the warning. She was bargaining with the AI like it was a simple transaction.
After what felt like too long, Abel’s voice broke the tension: “Initiating Phase Shift.”
The screen on the landmark scanner flickered, then blinked into a BIOS screen—lines of code scrolling rapidly. Numbers and characters danced across the display, a blur of data that most would find incomprehensible.
But not Lucy. Her eyes locked onto the screen with laser focus, absorbing each string of information like it was second nature. The intensity in her stare made Jude pause. He hadn’t seen her like this before—so in tune.
Watching her made him wonder: Was Lucy gifted with more than just intellect? Could she actually have an ability? Or was she simply operating on a level far beyond what he or anyone else could understand?
The screen flickered again, cutting off the rapid stream of code with a sudden prompt: Please insert _ _ level. The words blinked on the screen, bright like a forbidden temptation.
Lucy’s lips curled into a small, triumphant smile. This was it—the answer to everything, her way out. All she needed to do was enter two digits, just 1 and 6. Her fingers hovered over the keypad, trembling slightly. With that simple input, she could bypass everything and bring this journey to a close.
Just as Lucy's fingertip hovered over the keypad, Jude’s instincts kicked in. He had just casually glanced over his shoulder, but his eyes were wide open with alarm.
In one swift motion, he lunged at Lucy, grabbing her wrist and yanking her to the ground just as a violent crackle split the air. A bright flash and a deafening explosion erupted from the scanner behind them, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Jude scrambled to his feet, pulling Lucy upright. They both spun toward the source of the chaos. Teresa stood in front of the jeep, her hand still smouldering, wisps of smoke curling into the air. Her eyes were concealed behind dark goggles, but the rage burning behind was clear as day.
Teresa stormed over without a word. She brought her hand down hard across Lucy’s face, the slap echoing through the air. "People die because of that shit, missy!" Her voice trembled with fury. "His name was Isidor! He died because of that shit!"
Lucy rubbed her stinging cheek. "I didn’t have anything to do with that," she muttered, her voice tight.
Teresa leaned in, eyes blazing behind her goggles. "Don't you dare touch the SiC again!" Her words cut through sharp as a blade. "Mess with your AI all you want, but if you so much as look at the SiC again, Len will send 200 men to shadow your every step. Just like she did with me."
image [https://i.imgur.com/9pEWA5w.png]