Chapter 20 #2
“Okay you guys have lost me. What is The Begon?” I ask.
“The Begon contains all the financial statements of The Seventh Zone. It contains all the unjust deaths, forced labor, inhumane working conditions. It’s filled with files, videos, phone calls, all the things I have watched Londe do since I was a child,” Pesh responds.
“So it contains every criminal act De Londe has ever committed?” Levon asks, puzzled.
“Yes, pretty much,” Pesh responds.
Levon looks at us with that commanding look only Levon can pull off. “So why haven’t we turned this damn thing into the authorities yet?” she asks in an authoritative voice.
“We haven’t hacked it yet. It’s encrypted with technology that we haven’t been able to figure out how to read or put in a format that is accessible.
I stole it from my dad six months ago—and every computer here is engineered with the ability to see my house, Patron De Londe’s mansion, and The Commons.
We’ve been trying to hack it for half a year now but, it’s impossible. ”
“Right, but I know exactly how to hack it to be readable!” Swin says.
“Sooo… hundreds of these people—” Levon says.
“99,” Pesh comments.
“Okay, sooo… 99 geniuses haven’t hacked it, and you think you can?” Levon continues looking at Swin in disbelief.
“Yes, your majesty. I can. I think I can at least,” Swin comments.
Before they can continue, I interject, trying to understand the situation.
“Okay, but what happens when we hack The Begon? How are we actually going to free all those people in The Seventh Zone? We can’t just let them die.
99 people safe is nice. But there are hundreds of people who need us!
Even if it was one person, we should still figure out a way to save them soon! ”
“Right. What do you suggest?” Pesh asks.
“Give Swin a computer,” I respond.
Pesh nods, pulling out a chair for Swin to sit on. He directs him to the right to a three-set computer system with a large screen projector on the wall. “Do you know how to use this one?” Pesh asks.
“Heck yea! This is amazing!” Swin begins to use it instantly.
I continue speaking, “Then, we set a deadline.”
“But that’s unrealistic! They’ve been working on it for almost a year,” Levon says.
“Right, because they had a year. But we don’t have that. We have today. If we don’t set a deadline, sooner or later, Patron De Londe is gonna set it for us. Like, don’t you think he’s looking for this Begon. Soon, he might figure out a way to trace it!”
“She has a point!” One of the students stands up.
I look up to see that they are all focused on me, listening, so I continue to speak, passion infused, “Things always get done under a deadline. Think of the tests, they tell us to figure out equations, solve hundreds of problems in seconds, crazy things, unrealistic and impossible things, but we’ve done it.
We need a hard deadline. Because every second we waste is a second a Commoner consumes Conzamine.
Every second we waste is another lost life in The Seventh Zone that we could have saved.
I saw a boy there, he was terrified. I don’t know how long he’s going to last. Think of those people there as your brother, as your sister, as your family.
I came to The Commons to find my sister.
So I was willing to do anything to find her.
Who do you have still trapped in The Seventh Zone?
Come on, I’m sure you guys all have someone! ”
One of the girls stands up and exclaims, “My brother is still there in the Vaccination Zone!”
We all stare at her with empathy in our eyes.
“My new friends are there making nuclear weapons,” the boy who stood up first whispers, head bent.
“My stepsister is there, in the Experimental Zone,” the boy beside him exclaims, tears filling his eyes.
Daunting dread fills us all.
“My girlfriend is there, in the experiment section too! And um… it’s with this horrible guy, Gihard. And I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t!”
Levon gasps in shock. Then suddenly, she looks away to avoid being noticed. I look to see tears cloud her eyes, as well as his.
“My best friend, Feloy, is still trapped in the V Zone, making vehicles. Never had any friends till I met him,” Swin says, looking down.
“My future Vice President, Tran, is there. Smart girl trapped in the Experiment Zone as well,” Levon says.
“I know her!” Swin says to her and they smile at each other in a sober way.
Silence.
Pesh looks up with darting eyes, grief plain on his face. “And all my students are there.” His voice cracks, but he continues, “I couldn’t protect them. I owe them everything. Everything!”
My eyes collide with his as tears cloud his eyes.
I try to transfer comfort with my gaze, but I can no longer stare at him.
I look away to stop any tears from flooding down, knowing that any more staring will unleash them, and I cannot afford that.
Now is not the time to cry. Now is the time to be brave and strong, so I persevere.
“So let’s do this! As fast as we can. Because we can!
We were only eliminated because we were the greatest threat to The Commons. So let’s be just that!”
Everyone nods. Their eyes stay on me with clenched fists, ready to fight as I declare.
“The time is now. No more waiting. Who’s with me? For The Love of The Commoners!” I raise my fingers up, making an L sign for Love and a C sign for The Commoners, then I cover my fist, strong.
Everyone nods and shouts together, raising their hands up in a similar motion, tears flooding down many faces: “For The Love of The Commoners.”
For The Love of The Commoners.