I couldn’t help but smile, leaning against the glass. “Or is it maybe that we need them, Raphael?”
He stilled, his eyes wide with the realization. “You’re right,” he muttered. “How… How did we get to this point, Douma?”
I took a deep breath, going over everything I remembered, from the moment I’d first seen Dmitri, Elonora, and their crew. They’d stumbled into one of the first colosseums, thinking that they’d find their people there. Kallisto had led them to us, hoping it would grant her safe passage back to Ta’Zan. How young we were then… Just a few weeks ago.
How it had all changed! Even before they removed my memory chip, I’d developed a soft spot for Dmitri. But I didn’t have the heart to betray Ta’Zan. When I woke up, remembering nothing, the first thing I saw was Dmitri smiling at me. The sweet feeling of familiarity, the mild knot in my chest. I was already falling for him.
“We met them,” I whispered. “We met them, we understood them… and they changed us. They showed us a different way of life, and we could no longer bring ourselves to go back to the old way. They didn’t do anything, specifically, other than be themselves.”
Raphael chuckled. “Yeah, Elonora’s quite the whip.”
“She’s out of your league,” I shot back.
“Had it not been for Nevis, I might’ve had a chance,” he groaned, crossing his arms and pouting like a little kid. It was one of the things I liked most about Raphael. He’d developed a strong and colorful personality from the very beginning. No wonder he’d butted heads with Ta’Zan. Out of all the Perfects created, Raphael would always be the one who rebelled without a memory wipe.
“We do need them, don’t we?” I asked, though I already knew the answer to that.
Raphael offered a brief nod in return. “We do. They’re doing so much. They’re exploring the world. Going from planet to planet, inadvertently setting things right wherever they land. You’ve heard their stories.”
“Yeah. You’d like to do that, too, huh?”
“You read me so well,” he replied, grinning, and his eyes twinkled with mischief. “What do you say, Douma? Shall we get the heck out of this joint, save our planet, and fly off into the cosmos with these people?”
I laughed. “You make it sound so easy.”
“They’re doing most of the hard work, if you think about it—” Raphael said, then froze at the sound of footsteps.
The double doors glided open. Ta’Zan came in, accompanied by Amal and Amane. Amal seemed relaxed, once again benefitting from Ta’Zan’s trust. Amane, on the other hand, was fuming. She’d been crying, judging by her puffy eyes, and that collar couldn’t possibly be comfortable. Mine annoyed me like crazy.
The twins gave us both soft nods, then went to the table and started fumbling with the slim cables. Amane turned one of the computer units on, the screen turning white. Strings of black symbols dashed across, signaling the beginning of what had to be a reading of my vitals and brainwaves.
“Nice to see you show up again,” Raphael said to Ta’Zan, his tone clipped.
The air thickened around us, a display of energy between the creator and his most brilliant child. Ta’Zan was smiling, but his blue and green eyes carried a certain weight and dull anger—the kind that he’d been developing over the days since Raphael had left and joined the outsiders.
“I have no reason to stay away,” Ta’Zan replied.
Amal and Amane both came around to our boxes, placing their hands on the glass. The surface rippled and split open, allowing them to reach inside and mount the wires on our temples. The procedure was swift and simple, as the wires had suction-cup endings that kept them in place. Amane discreetly nudged me before she withdrew her hands.
I turned my head to look at her, and she gave me a wink, as if trying to reassure me that she was still here, still on our side.
“Besides, I need to understand what drove you two to betray me like this,” Ta’Zan added.
Amane and Amal took hold of two tablets, inputting data and occasionally watching the computer screens, while the wire sensors read our brainwaves and translated them into figures for them to interpret. They stole glances at Raphael and me but said nothing. The floor belonged to Ta’Zan, it seemed.
“It takes a certain kind of thinking to commit to such stupidity, when I specifically designed you to be intelligent creatures,” Ta’Zan continued.
“You designed us to be intelligent, but you brainwashed us into being mindless tools,” Raphael replied. “You never wanted us to be our own people. You’ve always wanted us to be strong, but limited to blindly obeying you. Please don’t insult our intelligence by saying otherwise.”
“You must’ve seen this coming, though,” I said. “You’re smart enough to know that you would never blindly obey someone else. So why did you think we’d be different?”
“Your brothers and sisters know what’s best for them,” Ta’Zan replied. “How are you two foolish enough to think you’d be better off without me? Actually, don’t answer that. I’m sure your data readings will tell me everything I need to know.”
“It’s called free will!” Raphael snapped. “Like Douma said, you should’ve seen it coming. But pride does tend to blind people. It’ll turn the most brilliant ones into idiots. Case in point,” he added, nodding at Ta’Zan.
“The Perfects are free to do whatever they wish. They chose to fight for me,” Ta’Zan retorted. A muscle twitched in his jaw, the only sign I had that Raphael’s words were, in fact, getting to him. “All I’m trying to understand is why you decided to go the other way and bite the hand that feeds you.”
“Let’s get something straight here,” I said. “No matter how many tests you do, you’ll never be able to understand why we are who we are. You cannot study free will. There’s nothing wrong with us. And you can continue trying to keep us all under control, but it won’t last forever. Sooner or later, they will all rise against you, because what you preach is a delusion, a bitter lie that causes nothing but suffering.”
Ta’Zan shifted his focus to me, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head to the side. “I wonder… You had your memories wiped. Amal cut your head off and implanted your old memories. How did you decide to go against my wishes, even after that?”
My breath got stuck in my throat. I hadn’t thought about this when I went back to Dmitri and the crew. I couldn’t tell him the truth now—not without getting Amal into hot water. The twins were both quiet and stunned, trying to stay focused on their tablets as they avoided looking at Ta’Zan. The last thing they wanted at this point was to make eye contact.
“I was already having thoughts of rebellion,” I said. “Long before the outsiders cut my head off and took out my memory chip, I was already tired of your lies and delusions of grandeur. After Amal reset me again, the same feelings came back. All you did was further fan the flames.”
Ta’Zan didn’t say anything for a while, as if taking it all in, probably wondering if I was telling the truth. He gave Amal a sideways glance, and she gathered the courage to look at him and nod, confirming my story.
“Then you’re as wrong as Raphael, it seems,” Ta’Zan concluded.
“Keep telling yourself that,” Raphael said. “You’re in over your head, Ta’Zan. You can’t stop this revolution. It started with us, and even after we’re gone, it will continue to grow. It won’t end with us. It’ll end with you turned into a cloud of ashes.”
“We’ll see about that,” Ta’Zan said.
“We’ve seen it already. More and more of our brothers and sisters are getting tired of your lies. They see what’s going on. They see how weak and insecure you’ve been since we took out your comms blockers and destroyed your starships,” I said, smiling with sheer confidence. “They know you’re not fit to lead.”
I was lying, of course, but he didn’t need to know that. It was enough to get under his skin, and that just proved my point.
Ta’Zan pointed an angry finger at Amal and Amane. “Get me the reading results as soon as possible, then get cracking on the ship prototypes. We’re behind schedule already,” he said, gritting his teeth.
