Our freedom began with a man named Charles, who worked a mundane job at ANY1, a matchmaking software company in City-25. He worked as often as anyone else. Often troubleshooting relational issues and software discrepancies. This day was long, and he watched the clock move like it too had fallen to sleep.
But just like every day, it was finally over, and while leaving, his friend Cassius called. With a sigh, Charles answered,
“What, Cass? What do you want?”
“Is that any way to talk to the guy that hooked you up with your woman?” Cass replied.
Charles rolled his eyes and pulled the phone from his ear as Cassius continued to prattle on.
Charles returns the phone to his ear, interrupting Cassius’s speech. “Look, Cass, I will see you later at Zee’s . And please, don’t bring any problems. You know how Emilia gets when she’s annoyed.”
Cassius laughs on the other end as Charles face-palms.
“Look, Charles, I love annoying Mily. It’s my duty as her oldest friend.”
Charles rubbed his brow. “Alright, alright. I’ll see you later tonight.”
Cassius chuckles. “I will have my own hands full with the beauty I’m bringing. So, you don’t have to worry about me messing stuff up. I hope the ring fits her!”
“Whatever. Bye, Cass.” Cass was still trying to talk while Charles ended the call.
“This guy will ruin everything I’ve been planning again.” He reached gently into his coat pocket and pulled out an ivory colored ring box. “It’s been a year. Two attempts have failed, but today is the day.”
Just as he finished his thought, someone slams into him, sending the ring box into the air. With a thud, Charles plummets to the ground. He clenched his jaw as he nursed his back. Quickly, Charles scanned the surrounding area while standing back on his feet. A man, covered in scars, lying there on the ground, and he was lying on the ring box.
“Watch where you’re going!” Charles grabbed the man. “You know how much I paid for this ring?”
As Charles held him by his shirt collar, he got a closer look at the man and saw the open wounds on his body. His hands were red with blood. Charles released him, and the man crumbled to the ground.
Charles lowered his head to meet eyes with the man, “Are you alright? Sorry about that. I got carried away.”
Charles pulled a water bottle from his bag and gave it to the man and watched as he gulped the water down.
The man met his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, resting his hand on Charles’ shoulder, “Charles, it’s finally time.”
“How do you know my name?” Charles pushes the man’s hand off as he stands up.
“No time,” the man says while looking behind them. As Charles peered over his shoulder, he saw two pursuers, an Agent and Enforcer, Guardians of City-25, shouting for the man’s arrest, running in their direction, with eyes like red flames. The man stood and scurried through the alley as the pursuers leaving Charles there confused, trying to process the moment.
“How did he know me?” As Charles moved forward, his foot slipped on something: a black pocket-sized notebook. Charles cautiously dragged the notebook under his foot to the building wall, reached down, and placed it in his coat pocket before leaving.
Afterwards, Charles swiftly entered a public rest area, washing the blood from his hands and patting the stains from his light coat. But curiosity took over him. Nothing has ever happened in City-25 to make an Agent and Enforcer appear together. So, Charles carefully opened the notebook and scanned its content. He read along, mumbling the writing to himself. One line gave him pause as he resolved to read it aloud.
“The Cipher goes away to wake the world.”
A tunnel of light swept him away as he finished speaking, and it swirled and shifted in sixteen distinct paths, cutting through the thick walls of City-25. Echoes overtake his thoughts, and the light intensified. He covered his ears and closed his eyes as he heard a loud voice saying, “Use the Sol to break the wall.”
He forced open his eyes, and his body jumped, surprising everyone seated at a table. Charles frantically looked around in a panicked stare. He recognized the fragrant smell of seasonings and meat.
“I’m at Zee’s?” Charles, looking around in confusion, finally saw the honey-colored almond eyes of the one he most wanted to see. Emilia, his love, sat beside him. Her long dark hair rested in a single professional braid that furled along her shoulder onto her lap. She wore a burgundy pants suit with a gold and blue accented trim that fit her frame well. She looked on with worried eyes at Charles after he caused such a commotion.
“Are you OK, Charles?” Emilia asked. She looked at his clothes and plucked at the stains on his coat.
Cassius, a slender, fair-skinned man, looked on with amusement. His dirty blonde hair slicked back. He wore his shirt four buttons opened with a dizzying design on it to boot. His face was almost like a fox with its sharp edges, and he squinted his eyes in suspicion, tutting and shaking his head slowly. Only to burst into a fit of laughter after seeing Emilia’s face glaring at him as he threw his arm around a young lady sitting beside him. “You’re late, lover boy,” Cassius said. “I thought you’d gotten lost! By Zu man, Charles here would lose his hands by the wrist if he needed to grasp something.” Cassius peaked at Charles through the red hair of his guest, shaking his head as he dropped curls before his one one eye staring at him. “You must be working too hard, Charlie Boy. Need a drink to kill the edge?”
“I must have dozed off. Apologies,” Charles said, shaking his head, “And that must have been a dream.”
Emilia slaps his shoulder. “I know they don’t work you that hard at ANY1.” Cassius breaks into laughter again as Charles regains his composure.
“Yeah. It’s been an interesting day, Emilia.” Emilia smiles lovingly into Charles’ eyes and she leans forward and they kiss.
The group converse for an hour about any things regarding the love matching work at ANY1 for City-25 and the recent developments at Guardian. Of course, Emilia, being consummate professional, only divulged the small juicy details allowed to go to the public. As they chatted and ate, Charles realized Cassius’s date hadn’t uttered a word, but she just sat there stoically, looking longingly into the sky and beyond him at the table.
“You must be a skilled listener to be with this guy.” Charles said to Cassius’s date while he filled his glass with a deep red wine. He swirled it in the glass, mesmerized by its scent, as Emilia looked on with a smile.
“2141, l’Engarran. Vintage from the Old Country, yes?”
Emilia and Cassius clapped at his statement, both amazed at his wine skills.
“I never understood how you do this,” Emilia said, caressing Charles’ hand.
“I had a win kit in my youth with hundreds of samples that I just…know,” said Charles. “The scent and taste never left me.”
“Well, if you keep manifesting gifts like this, we might have to put you in a lab and see where these hidden skills come from, darling,” Emilia said with a gentle laugh.
“But back to you,” Charles interjects, looking at Cassius’s date. “We never got your name, Ms..?”
Cassius chuckled and gently grabbed her chin, guiding her eyes to his. “Not much this quiet fire can say, Charlie Boy. She’s a mute Charles. But she is still excellent company.”
Charles quietly glanced at Emilia, who rolled her eyes at Cassius as she sipped on her wine. “OK,” Charles said, sitting back in his chair. “Well, nice to meet you Ms—”
“Jane,” Cassius replies.
“Jane. Right. Nice to meet you, Jane.” Charles smiles and motions for a handshake.
Jane stared at his hand and shook it sideways while meeting his eyes.
“Empty Eyes,” Charles thought. “Why is there no light in her eyes?”
Cassius snatches Jane’s hand from Charles.
“Hey, don’t try coercing her with your hopeful eyes.” Cassius laughs again as Charles and Emilia both put on forced smiles.
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They sat longer, and the twilight was upon them. Just as the lights outside of the restaurant danced in the darkened sky, Charles felt it was time.
“Emilia, I have something for you.” He reached in his pocket fumbling for the ring, but suddenly, an interruption from the TV caught everyone’s eyes.
Emilia stood as the Guardian Threat Alert appeared at the bottom of the screen. “Threat Level 4,” Cassius said as he looked on, shifted his eyes to meet Emilias. Charles watched the broadcast just as transfixed as the others. An urgent news report echoed in the restaurant with an alarming message: an intruder has breached the impregnable wall of City-25.
Charles stood once he saw the identity of the breacher, and to his shock, it was the man he ran into earlier in the day. His bloodied image rippled across every TV on the main road, taking over the airwaves. “This can’t be a coincidence,” Charles thought as he felt his back pocket where the notebook was. Emilia picked up her phone and made a call.
“I just saw it. I’m leaving now and should be in the office at Night Owl position at 20:00.” After the call, Emilia plopped back down into the chair and rested her head in her hands.
As the broadcast interruption concluded, a stunned silence rested at the table. Charles glanced at Emilia, and she wore an icy stare as she rested her head on her clasped hands, looking into the distance.
“What happened to the peace in the city?” Cassius said, as he threw his hands in the air in disbelief.
“What is peace without security? He got in because someone was sloppy.” Emilia said as she picked up her purse, readying to leave.
“What did he do so wrong?” Charles replied. “Isn’t City-25 the beacon of light for the world? Maybe he needed help.”
“No,” Emilia says sharply. “There isn’t anyone that sneaks into a place looking to make it better. He threatens our peace.”
“But isn’t peace what we offer?” Charles replies. “Isn’t our responsibility to sow a field for others to eat when they are in need? That’s what we’re taught here.”
“No, Charles,” Emilia rechecks her phone, “security creates peace, and the others vandalize them without a Guardian to protect them.”
“But peace creates better men, right?” Charles rubs Emilia’s back, trying to calm the moment.
“I’m counting on that.” Emilia meets eyes with Charles and winks and finishes her drink.
“I have to go,” she stands abruptly. “This guy cannot escape.”
“Can you wait for a minute, Emilia?” Charles stands, grabbing Emilia’s hand.
“I don’t have time. As an investigator for Guardian, I have to go. The security of the city is at stake.” Emilia pulls away from Charles’s grip and motions for a taxi.
“I have to do this. We will talk tomorrow. Is lunch a good time to meet?” Emilia says with a smile.
“Fine,” Charles scratches his head in frustration, “just be careful.”
Emilia leans in and kisses Charles. “I’m always careful, Charles. That’s why you love me.”
She leaves as Charles watches her taxi drive away. He looks at the ring and lets out a sigh. “I guess third time is not the charm.”
“Mily is the best in the world, Charles,” Cassius finishes his drink and burps, “No one has ever escaped her once she’s determined to find them. I mean, look at you! She tracked you down good, didn’t she?”
Cassius burst into laughter, but Charles was unmoved. He felt helpless, knowing he couldn’t protect her or even show appreciation for her. Cassius got the drift.
“We will be on our way then,” said Cassius as he put a few bills on the table and stood with Jane, helping her to her feet.
“Go Home. Curfew is in two hours at 9 PM. Go back to your place and rest. A few memories from today will be a bygone thing by the morning.”
Just as Cassius left, the rain fell like shimmers of silver in the night lights. The wind gathered and ran across the area like a pack of wolves howling as the gust pushed against Charles. The lightning rolled like a chain of light above in the sky.
“Great,” Charles said, grunting as he kicked the puddle of water on the ground. “What else can happen?”
As he continued on his way home in the relentless rains, someone from the cover of darkness pulled him into the alley, covering his mouth. A sharp pain shoots down Charles’s leg. Panicked, he looks and sees a syringe sticking out of his thigh. Charles elbows the attacker’s side and breaks free, but his vision keeps blurring.
“The Syringe!” Charles pulled the syringe from his leg, but it was too late. A burning pain overtakes his body. Gripped in pain, Charles begins to womble in place, but the attacker pushes Charles against the wall.
“Focus, Charles.” He grabs Charles by his shoulders. “The anti-toxin in that syringe should open your mind. Remember who you are!”
As Charles hyperventilates, the familiar tunnel of light he saw when he opened the notebook sweeps him away. He closed his eyes to guard his eyes from the intense light, but suddenly, the crackling of fire catches his ears. The smell of burning wood reaches him, but he has no memory of ever seeing a forest. Yet six people were sitting with him, laughing and eating. Only one face was clear enough to see. It was the man he has been encountering all day.
“Manny,” Charles pointed toward the man, “For freedom, we move mountains. And we should leave no one to find comfort in their chains.”
Manny smiles with tears in his eyes and nods in agreement. Charles hands Manny a cup filled with a glowing green substance that Manny takes while blowing his head in reverence. He drinks and passes the cup around to the other five and each drank before it came back to Charles. “We are the light that makes the world plain!”
Charles said with a loud voice as the six looked at him, each with a faint glow to their eyes. “RES State! For descaled Eyes and unbound hands!” Each raised their fist and repeated the saying., “RES State! For descaled Eyes and unbound hands!”
The light pulls Charles through the tunnel at breakneck speed and fades as Charles awakens in the alley, gasping for air as the rain continued. Charles slowly gaining control over his breathing, exhaled and calmly looked upon the man that stood before him.
“Manny?” Charles says in confusion and yet with a sense of knowing.
The man known as Manny smiles. “You remember?” Manny asked. Charles nods as Manny let out a great sigh. His knees buckled, and he fell. Charles swiftly stood and caught him with one arm. Charles’s speed and strength amazed him.“How did I—” Charles began. “There is no time, sir. Listen carefully.” Manny interjected.
Charles’s eyes burned and filled with light. He gazed upon the city and it divided the walls with piercing pillars of light that slashed through the impenetrable walls.
“What is this light I’m seeing?” asked Charles.
“It’s called Sol Sight, sir,” said Manny. Looking into the eyes of Charles as the glow brightened his face. “The syringe I injected you with removed the Override Formula they use for their city’s inhabitants.” Manny glances over Charles’s shoulder and down the alley.
“The vision you have appears once in a few hundred years. You are the Cipher. The one who decodes the world. And for the people of this city, you risked being in chains for their freedom.”
Charles squints as the sight fades and sees Manny’s panicked look. A pair of red lights emerge, approaching them from the adjacent alley. The red light encroached as Manny looked around frantically.
“The same Agent and Enforcer from earlier caught my scent!” Manny said, pushing himself away from Charles, limping and leaning against the wall. He reached into his pocket and opened a small hologram with a sepia tint and entered a few commands. After it beeped, he clicked it again a few more times, only for it the crackle and fix in the rainy alley. He smashed the device against the wall and stomped on it for good measure.
“If I’m going, the others must know you are well, sir,” Manny said, wiping the rain from his eyes.
“Now, on to Plan B. You must turn me in, sir.” Manny straightened his posture. “To complete my mission, you must live and regain all your memories.”
Charles looked wide-eyed at Manny unable to release this one who he knows he knew.“I just got you back,” Charles said in a low, somber voice. He grabbed Manny’s shoulder. “Manfred Marsalis, ‘the Little Soldier’. You have lived up to your name,” Charles said with pride and a smile. “I do not want to let you go. Not yet, at least.”
“I understand, sir, but this is the only way.,” Manny said. “Use this disturbance to create opportunity. Awaken the five. Break the wheel. Free these people.”
Charles reluctantly agrees, grabs Manny, and forces him out of the alley, catching the Agent and Enforcer’s attention.
“Fellow Metropolitan! Your service is noted! Raise your ID for recognition.” The Agent’s metal hands clasp Manny and yanks him away from Charles. Manny locks eyes with Charles, nodding for him to allow it. Charles reluctantly raises his identification and the Enforcer’s helm opened and two large red eyes scanned the ID and clicked with affirmation.
“Metropolitan Charles of D Block Row 25,” The Enforcer said with a deep robotic tone, “visit the Guardian chambers in the morning to collect your reward.” The Agent forced Manny upwards and attached glowing crimson bindings around his neck, arms and legs. The Agent looked at the Enforcer and said,
“Activate Outbacker Protocol 7.”
Manny’s body levitated in the air as the bindings tightened and moved toward the Enforcer. His hand ran over his gauntlet and the Agent pressed a few buttons on the screen that locked Manny’s movement with the Enforcer. The sirens blared as they got louder and clearer as the vehicle moved toward them, and the sound prompted the neighboring residents to empty from their homes. The crowd cheered as the Agent guided Manny’s helpless body into the back compartment of the vehicle.
“They’re blind and afraid of the journey,” Manny says while resisting.
Just before the door closes, Manny shouts, “But for freedom, we move mountains! And we should leave no one to find comfort in their chains!”
Charles cannot stomach the moment and turns his back as his body trembles. He left those words to Manny, and now they will lead him to his death. Tears fell from his face like the falling of rain. But Manny smiled, even though he knew it was the end.
As they left, Charles stood there, in the alley in the dark of night, opening his eyes to a new world. He was awake now because of Manny’s undying loyalty and sacrifice. This unique sight allowed him to see the machinations at work that simulated the environment. In Fact, there was no sky, no sunshine, or real rain. They fabricated it. Charles followed the light beaming through the walls in the night, dodging Enforcers and Agents patrolling during the curfew with a precision he could not comprehend. The light bent and twirled through the streets, through the city gate, and he followed it. There were breaches in the wall that his eyes could see even in the darkness. Charles slips through the breaches and saw the gears turning to make the city work. Like a perverse clock made for a giant’s hand, it clicked and turned. It was an automated experience for everyone inside. He climbs the inner wall toward to outside, guided by light and purpose.
Once he reached the top, a familiar sound reached him, bringing him to a stop. It was the sound of trees moving in the wind. He climbed some more but fatigue settled in, and yet, he willed to move on to see the world outside. As he slipped through the last crack in the wall, the wind wrapped around his body, and the sweet smell of the field filled his lungs. The beautiful glow of the sun hugged him like a warm blanket. It felt distant, yet familiar. Then Charles slowly began looking to where he arose.
City- 25 looked like a cog plugged into a perpetual wheel. There were other cities as well. Each topped with a steel-like dome engraved with old numeral marks. The number 25 etched atop the dome that he stood upon. A circular, seemingly compulsively written saying surrounded the number five times. Charles read it aloud,
“Remaking enemies as slaves for security. Rebuilding slaves into vessels for peace.”
He paused and clenched his fist in anger.
“The hypocrisy,” Charles said, shaking in anger, “They expel actual people for fabrications and consider that noble? They made this beautiful cage for us to die in like rats! One cage was enough. Twenty-five is an atrocity! Never again.”
Charles wiped the tears from his eyes and calmed the burning light of Sol Sight and descended back into the City, the cage for the slaves made from enemies.
This was our Liberation Day and awakening. The day our chains were no longer comfortable.