THEREFORE I AM [Completed]

Chapter Fourteen

Eli
Now, 2078

"Eli!" A muffled sound broke through the grey haze of the jolts that affected the neural network in my brain. I tried to muster all the movement I could, feeling awake, yet simultaneously paralysed. A deep vibration built up in my ears, akin to the pressure of molten lava trying to break through the tip of a volcano. A slow movement teased at the tips of my toes, gradually making its way up through my leg. "Eli!" The whisper urged me to move. The vibration in my ear deepened, and with determined effort, I willed every motor in my body to push harder. My vocal mechanisms pleaded for me to scream, as if guiding the power of my intentions to the joints in my limbs. My eyelids started to open, revealing the broken and musty tiles of the prison floor. The air was filled with particles of dust and mites, instantly provoking a grimace from my facial motors. Finally, my eyes fully opened, and I could see Katherine pressed against the rusty bars. "Eli!" she shouted once again. Though I couldn't fully move, my jaw felt loose enough to start producing sounds.

"Katherine." It was all I could manage to say, even my voice sounded like a whisper at a concert. "What happened?"

"I don't know exactly what went down at the Cleansing, but a group of Androids stormed in and rounded up the Humans... they killed most of the Androids who didn't join them. Lyle was among them." This wasn't solely about Humans and Androids; it was about Kelvin's ideology and nothing more. His love and devotion to a false deity had grown and infected everything he touched.

"Kelvin possesses a code that can erase an Android's memory. He intends to use it on me," I informed Katherine. She leaned back from the bars, her jaw tightening and her eyes widening with an expression of disgust.

"He tried to fucking kill me. Is there anyone who wants me to stay alive? I mean... ugh!" She let out an exhausted sigh. "Can't say I don't deserve it." Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill over. "I've been a terrible person."

"I don't think so," I replied honestly. Sure, she held the title of Chancellor, but from what I had witnessed, she had shown goodness. The tears that pooled in her eyes finally started to cascade down her dusty face, leaving tracks in their wake.

"I didn't know at the time, and when I finally figured it all out, the Nations Concerted, I was already too deeply involved. It was like sinking in quicksand." Summoning enough strength, I propped my torso up with my elbow as the silver fluid began to circulate within my body. "In the beginning, the rebels killed my husband and shot me in the stomach. I was a politician back then, in a country known as the USA." The air, filled with dust, started to glow with an amber warning as the iris in my eyes alerted me that I had reached forty-percent battery. "I was easily swayed. High Chancellor," she emphasised the title, "Alexei believed I was the perfect person to lead Emmaus, the capital of the NC. I willingly took on the role and led so many people to their uploads. It sickens me. The moment we won the war, I sensed that something was off, not quite right. The victory felt too seamless, even with challenges in the east. Alexei waltzed right onto that throne." I could hear the croak in her voice, the sudden realisation of the mistakes she had made pouring out with each tear.

"Redemption is not a word I would typically use after encountering Kelvin, but... it applies to you," she uttered with a hint of annoyance, turning her face away and rubbing a hand over her tear-stained cheeks. "It does. We may not have accomplished much, but at least you made an effort." Redemption means being Cleansed. I paused, feeling a prickly sensation spreading from my legs to my head. There was a tone in the Network that felt slightly unsettling, raising the hairs on my back, even though they were nonexistent.

"Randeep would be so proud of you," she said, turning to me, her eyes reflecting a twinkle of amber. "You're barely over a month old, yet you speak as if you've lived for over a thousand."