Margit woke in the cramped pod, but at least she felt safe. Her relocation meant that her commute to work nearly doubled in the amount of time needed. She walked briskly along the corridors of Maclearware until she heard a voice behind her.
“Hoy, Gitta.” Hearing his voice brought a little warmth back to her insides. But the voice was somewhat different, tired.
“Hi Gabor,” she replied and turned to face him. She was taken aback at the sight. She was used to a large grin across his face, always spreading good mood with a glint in his eyes. Now those eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles. “What happened?”
“In the attack. They took her. They killed my baby sister.” He spoke as if every word was a nail being pulled from his flesh.
“I’m so sorry,” Margit replied and got closer to him. She didn’t know whether she was supposed to embrace him or just put a hand on his shoulder, but before she came too close, he held her back.
“No, it’s fine, I know you were in the attack as well. I’m glad you’re still alive.” He spoke and then clenched his fist. “I’m just furious. I always thought we would be safe here. That Maclearware would make sure we were fine. They didn’t even let me see her remains. Was I a fool for believing they cared?” He kept his mouth open as if he wanted to say more but the words were unable to come out.
They never cared, I told you many times, Margit thought and then immediately hated herself for thinking it. She looked down, not knowing what to say. He followed her gaze and then took a good look at her for the first time since they began talking.
“You look none the worse for wear,” he said. Margit gave a smile, but when he saw the sadness in her eyes, as she did so, he felt embarrassed for such a comment. “I’m sorry, you went through a lot as well.”
“Sorry I just can’t talk about it, not yet.”
“I understand,” he said recognizing pain. “But I will be here for you if you need to confide in me.”
“Thank you.”
“What I really want is revenge.” He spoke quietly and roughly. “I will do anything to get my hands on those bastards. I can’t sit still or hold back. I will get them.” His breathing became ragged as he spoke.
“Stop,” Margit said and motioned him to be silent. He nodded in understanding but kept a wild look in his eyes. “I can’t imagine how you feel right now, but you need to control yourself. You still have your own family back home. Don’t make them suffer even more.”
This time Gabor had a sad look in his eyes, but it seemed like the aggression drained from his body. “Yes, thank you. I’m sorry, I will see you later.” They parted ways and went to their respective offices to earn their meagre living.
On her way to her new home she was once again waylaid in the middle of the street and was once again sitting in the van. “Wait you don’t need to-”
Before she was able to object she was once again forced into the barren virtual world. Not long after she was once again facing the old woman.
“So what have you decided?” She asked after a moment of silence.
Margit had expected that her decision would have to come soon, but didn’t think that meant the very next day. “Wait there was something I didn’t get to ask the last time around.”
“Ask away.”
“You said that eco-terrorists were led by an AI, that doesn’t really make sense.”
“I said they were controlled by a Cerb. Whether or not they are aware of it is a whole different matter. If you want my guess I’d say that at least some on the top are aware of what is really going on while the rest follow along like sheep believing they are serving their own cause.”
“The other thing I wonder about is you said you wanted me to join you, but I don’t see how I would be able to help you in any way.”
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“Oh please stop. It’s not as if this will be anything new for you.” Flora said and Margit’s eyes widened. “We know enough.” Margit wanted to argue but decided it was futile. “So if that is all, I would like to hear your answer.”
Margit looked her in the eye. She thought about her little pod, her debt and loss. Gabor’s vow of revenge flashed before her eyes. At that moment she decided and took a deep breath. “All right, I will join.”
“Excellent, I had a feeling you would see reason,” she said with a smirk. “You will start right away. Don’t worry your first mission will be fairly simple. Your fresh and unknown face will be a great asset. We know that a terrorist group has been stockpiling ingredients for explosives. We need you to infiltrate their group.”
“And what then?”
“You will find out their target and put a stop to it,” Flora said and raised her hand, stopping Margit’s protest before it had a chance to leave her mouth. “Don’t worry your task is simple. We will discuss it in great detail right now.”
Margit was riding the Underground. Her clothes were stained by the sweat and dirt of many days. She looked as if she hadn’t taken a shower in a week. She sat down inside the train and muttered. Some of the people around stood up and moved away as far as the wagon and the remaining crowd allowed. “They’ll just put them everywhere. They’ll replace us all soon with machines, you’ll see,” she talked to no one in particular. Some people sighed, others looked in fear, but all tried very hard not to make eye contact with her.
It had been two weeks since her meeting with Flora. Ever since she spent all her time after work in filthy clothes, making a reputation for herself in the Umevar Underground. So far the only result was people trying very hard to avoid her and just go on with their lives. She almost felt sorry for them. To maximize her effective area, she got off at a random station, waited for a different train and repeated the exercise. When she had first started with her task, her aversion to social interactions with strangers left her thoroughly embarrassed, so she ended up pretending to be drunk.
She finished with another train wagon and exited to the station, where she sat on a bench. She wanted to relax, but as there were a few other people around, she needed to stay in character. She mumbled to herself, making it sound like more complaints coming from her, but it was actually a recitation of centuries old humorous poetry. Even if she was incomprehensible, it was still not completely safe, but she was too tired to care.
All of a sudden a man sat down next to her. She switched from poetry back to her protests about technology. Her heart was beating faster and she struggled hard so it wouldn’t show and continued as if she hadn’t noticed anyone beside her.
“Horrible, isn’t it?” The man said.
She glared at him for a moment as if trying to see whether he was mocking her. “They don’t get it. They will take us all away I say. One part after another. They don’t see it coming.” She said after a while and nodded at him. “Do you see it?”
He stared back for a moment, then smiled. “Maybe I do. I have some friends who have been saying similar things and sharing your concerns. In fact I am sure they would love to meet someone as enthusiastic as yourself. You know what, you should come with me and I will introduce you to them,” he said in a kind voice. He stood up and offered his hand to Margit. She took his hand and they took the next train together. He introduced himself as Isaac and she gave her real name since there was a chance they would scan her personal identification chip.
They journeyed mostly in silence except when the man spoke of how good it was that she had joined him and that all his friends will like her. They got off the train and walked the streets of one of the poor districts until they reached an old warehouse. They walked around to the back and came to a heavy metal door. The man knocked a strange knock whereupon the hatch opened and he whispered something to the darkness beyond. The sounds of rattling locks were followed by the screeching of hinges as the door slowly opened. The man motioned her to enter and went behind her. Inside another man was waiting, but Margit was led by without exchanging anything more than short nods.
Inside the main hall of the warehouse there were several groups of people, some just talking, others working at desks with stacks of paper lying all around. When they noticed her they all gathered in a semicircle around her.
“Hello everyone, today I’ve brought a guest. This is Margit. I’ve met her today at an Underground station and she showed real enthusiasm. I believe she might feel right at home with us here.” One by one the people came to her, introduced themselves and shook her hand. No one seemed to mind her dirty appearance or at least they hid it well. She spent a while discussing her dislike for modern technology and others shared their anecdotes as well. At the end they even invited her to spend the night there and take a shower.
“Do you have anywhere to stay?”
“No, they took everything from me. Haven’t slept under a roof for quite a while.”
All throughout the week she visited the warehouse immediately after her work. Since they had showers she no longer had to go trough the trouble of looking filthy.
“You know, Margit, we haven’t really known each other for a long time yet, but I think you belong here with us,” Isaac said.
“I feel like you’ve been here all along,” Bennet added with a smile. Margit simply smiled back but said nothing.
“We have been enjoying spending time with you and discussing important topics, but as you might have already noticed, we are doing more than just talk in our humble base. We have a great duty.” Isaac said and looked around at all the people listening. They all nodded and murmured in assent. “We intend to make our beliefs a reality. You see there is something we haven’t told you yet Margit. We do hate the way new technology has infested our lives, but there is a different way of looking at this problem. There is somebody behind all this, that is making these decisions, that destroy our natural lives. We need to strike against this person and make our voices heard out loud. Do you understand?”
“Yes, I think I do,” said Margit.
“Good. Would you be willing to help us on our mission? There may be some danger, but our cause is important enough that some risk has to be taken.”
“I will join you. I’m glad I have finally found so many people that know how things rally are in this city.”
“Excellent. I already told you the important things before, but now we can go into details. The important person I mentioned before is councillor Nemeth,” Isaac said and smiled knowingly.
“Yeah let’s just say that he’s in for an explosive surprise,” said Bennet.
Isaac gave him a stern look. “Yes, I suppose you have to find out sooner or later. We have a way to rig his car with explosives, which will take care of our problems. We will need your help in this, but enough for today. We will discuss more tomorrow. First we must celebrate your joining our cause.”
After a short celebration the group went to sleep. Margit thought about the little pod that she had rented and hadn’t slept in in a week. She hated it back then, but now all she wished for was the assured safety and peace of the tiny cocoon. She sighed and went to sleep.