Chapter 13: On The Run

I’m not a good person. There was always a severe disconnect between how I was perceived and who I was, but it was never more apparent than when I worked in fashion. I should have been treated as a villain, as a despicable human, but I wasn’t. Everyone loved me. Even more so, I began to love myself a little bit more each day. The world was slowly convincing me that I wasn’t all that evil. I didn’t mention my past to other people, much less myself. So, I became someone else.

That’s the beauty of humans. They’re changeable. They’re malleable. One moment, they can be enthralled in a sport, and the next they only care about woodworking. I’ve tried to take that lesson to heart. I didn’t change my name—I was born Nathaniel Hensley and I like that name. I was born with a love for the exciting and I don’t want that to change. I will admit that I was born and at some unfortunate point, or perhaps a sequence of points forming a terrible line, I became a man I’m not proud of. That’s the ugliness of humans.

That’s why I wanted to help Amahle Imada. Yes, it’s true that I agreed with her cause, to an extent. But all I wanted was to become someone else, a man who could be loved. I wouldn’t change my name, but I would make the man with that name unrecognizable. How was I to do that? I was at a loss. How is a thief supposed to behave as innocent? All they would end up portraying is a lying thief. No, I had to act in reverse to my past. I would have to be good, to be great.

So, I helped Amahle Imada. I don’t regret it.

Amahle sat back, sighed, and relaxed her expression.

“I know.”

“What? You know?” I screeched.

“Quiet down. God,” Amahle pleaded. “All I said was I know.”

“Yea, you know you could die! That’s very important knowledge! Here I thought the only one who couldn’t die was you!”

“I said quiet down. How did you find this out? Hadrian shouldn’t have known.”

“Ah, well,” I felt a bit better remembering my sneaky mission, “I listened in on a conversation between Hadrian and Anders.”

“So he knew,” mumbled Amahle. I didn’t quite know what she meant, but we had more pressing issues. I closed the door behind me, realizing that this conversation should stay private. I was only slightly annoyed that she wasn’t impressed by my eavesdropping.

“I don’t think they’ve noticed your absence, but no promises.”

“I organized things so it would appear as though I was too busy to be reached. It makes me look like a bad employee, but not gone entirely. No, he knows the official prototype has been stolen. That’s it.”

“I think it might be suspicious for you to be a bad employee, but fair enough. He doesn’t know who took it. That’s what’s important.”

Amahle shifted in her chair. I decided to leave the discussion aside.

That day went as well as the days prior. Amahle continued to work, and I considered the risk of going to work the next day. Every time I walked through those doors, I could be arrested on the spot. The only thing providing me solace is that, most likely, I wouldn’t need to go all the way to the headquarters to be arrested. The authorities were polite in that regard. They always came to pick you up, so you could stay put.

The next morning, I dressed in a black suit, left early, and had a day filled with normal tasks for my position. I was not yet detained. I returned home.

“Have you found anything?” I asked Amahle. She was scarce on updates, and I was itching for good news. She sat in the same position, which was probably a result of her cyborg nature. She was impervious to lower back pain.

“Yes and no. The issue is that I can’t recall how the technology was put into me. It had to be different than this,” she motioned toward the sim card. “It had to be organic. You could call it biodegradable. Over time, it melts into the surrounding host. That’s my best guess.”

“Hadrian did say it was complicated.”

“That’s one way to summarize it. Anyway, I can gather certain qualities from this card, but I can’t assume that it would work the same, whatever they turned me into.”

It was becoming a trend for Amahle to give me setbacks instead of successes in her research.

“So we haven’t gained any ground,” I said, bluntly. She paused.

“No, we have not. Are you angry?”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“No, not yet.”

I turned and went out the door. I needed a walk. The rest of the night I didn’t speak to Amahle, who worked diligently through the night and into the morning. I went to work yet again, and I was still not in handcuffs. The worry did not leave me. I acted as normally as I could at work, and left with a tired smile on my face. By the time I got home, I did not look like myself. It was a peculiar sensation, to be bound by a puzzle and have no method to solve it. I was at the mercy of Amahle’s intellect, and despite her pedigree, it took a toll on my state of mind.

“Amahle, what have you found?” I questioned. She didn’t turn her head.

“Much the same. Though, I do have a theory for how they turned Hadrian’s work into a biological component. Do you know of epigenetics?”

“Amahle, that sounds like nothing.”

“No, it’s something. It’s about modifiable gene activity.”

“That’s not what I meant. It sounds like you haven’t gotten anything. That’s nothing. You’ve found nothing. Nothing useful.” I paced about my apartment quickly, though I had no destination. I had to move.

“I disagree, Nathaniel. This is useful. Now I have an idea of how it works. It is most likely a combination of genetic and delayed-epigenetic changes to my body. Whoever worked on this after Hadrian was good.”

I took my jacket off and loosened my tie. It was raining outside. The weather in Echo always changed so quickly.

“Amahle, that’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough.”

“There’s nothing else we can do, unless you’ve been hiding some expert knowledge on bioengineering from me.”

This was the first time Amahle had been sarcastic with me, or perhaps it was an honest thought. However, it didn’t bother me. She inspired an idea.

“I know how to make this work,” I said while pulling out a burner phone from my desk.

“You just have those?” Amahle asked.

“Yep.” I found the card in my wallet and entered the number. After a few rings, a familiar voice picked up. “Hello, Henrietta.” I smiled at Amahle. “Right, Detective Henreitta. Don’t hang up!” I pleaded. “I need you to talk to Anders. You just have to be honest.”

The next day, Henrietta told Anders I was a criminal. A few hours later, my apartment was raided, though they found neither Amahle nor myself. Henrietta had played her part to perfection. Many areas in Echo could be rented with privacy, but Amahle and I couldn’t choose those. Amahle did, as a result of her fantastic salary and knowledge of Antler's capabilities, have a separate house that she told me was totally off the books. Upon questioning, she told me it was purchased from the owner of her favorite diner, who was quite anti-Echo himself. It was our best option, and I trusted Amahle to keep herself protected from the wrath of Anders.

It was in the afternoon, near the time most people would like to nap, that an announcement forced itself onto the screens of Echo. Phones, computers, and even the sides of advanced buildings showed the same picture, and I had to say, I looked good.

“Nathaniel Hensley: Wanted.”

I had expected as much. Henrietta’s job was to inform Anders, and Anders was supposed to try and find me. Why I wanted that, well, that was my genius and my mistake.

“This employee of Antler Industries, Nathaniel Hensley, is wanted for various crimes, including grand larceny. If you have seen him or have any information as to his whereabouts, please contact the authorities. Thank you.”

This message played a few times, always with my face on top. I suppose they couldn’t find a bad photo of me, as much as Anders would have liked to. Amahle and I were hidden away, and no one would easily be able to track me down to this location.

Echo City responded to the declaration with a harmonious, collective goal of catching me. I would have been impressed if it wasn’t my face on the screen. Instead, because of my personal attachment, I saw how disturbing it all was. Given some message that threatens their way of life, an entire population can work together in insidious efficiency. Their agreement only births stronger agreement, and soon they can become a ravenous herd. Antler was not only the builder of this city, but the idealogue.

From here on out, I had to be careful about leaving the house. I had to look over my shoulder, waiting for the punishment of a malevolent god. Amahle had to hide as well, but not for the same reasons. After I told her about her potential doom, she worked doubly hard, though such an estimate can’t be taken seriously when she never slept anyway. I asked her once, despite evolving past the need for sleep, if she still felt odd without it. She told me to focus. It’s a good thing I’m patient. Those days were long, while Amahle worked, and I sat about in my worry, listening to the encroaching murmurs of Echo City.

“Nathaniel, I’ve got it,” said Amahle one morning. I had been starving for these words.

“Are you sure?” I asked. She didn’t like these sorts of questions.

“Yes, I’m sure. When do you want to start it?”

I looked outside the window, hearing the distant hum of sirens and the worry of citizens. They were on peak alert. They scanned the city for my face. I couldn’t imagine anywhere else on the planet behaving like this.

“Right now.”

Amahle sighed.

“Okay, great. I’ll have to get it set up.”

“What, did you want a break? I thought you didn’t need those!” I exclaimed.

“I don’t, but if you had told me earlier, I could have been ready. Instead, you tried to be cool. Being impulsive isn’t cool, it’s just troublesome.”

Her point was valid, but she didn’t want me to respond. Amahle got everything set up, and I set my phone on top of the kitchen table. It balanced against a cup, with the camera facing me. The quality was high, though not as high as Antler phones.

“Okay, we’re ready to go in three, two, one,” Amahle pointed at me, her face somehow calm. She was a difficult one to shake. My eyes stared at the phone, and I smiled. I had always dreamed of being famous. This was a quick way to do so, even if it wasn’t ideal for most.

On the same screens around Echo City, the image suddenly changed. I was there, in video format.

“Hello, I’m Nathaniel Hensley. I have something to explain to the lot of you.”