Wake me up in 2395

Chapter 6: The Invitation of the Empress

Chapter 6: The Invitation of the Empress

Dahil sa aking sinabi ay hindi na umimik pa si Lag sa buong biyahe at tila nag-isip siya nang malalim, well, I do not regret stating facts because I also have my own principles and beliefs in life, I also do not like the idea of beating around the bush when I can just be frank and be done with it, because that is me and that is what I am.

Maybe I have offended him with the things I said? Was he actually loyal to the Imperium Government, to be more specific, to the Empress Wynzelle Astarria? Well, I couldn’t blame him for his loyalty. After all, five years ago, he was personally appointed by the Empress herself to be the mayor of Ancora City and his family works for Imperium as well. He must be deeply indebted to the government and I am sure he will never do anything that would make him lose all of this. I cannot really blame him, but somehow, if ever this case was true, I will be a little bit disappointed because I expected better from him. Was he a conformist? Or does he not want radical ideas that will spark change?

The silence that lingered in the air of the hovercar as we drove past several skyscrapers was deafening and I wasn’t joking when I said that—the only noise between us was the faint sound of the hovercar’s machine and the noise of the city right outside. When I looked at Lag, I couldn’t read what was going on with his mind as his face was blank, it was as if he was suddenly devoid of all emotions—was it because of the things I said? Siguro nabigla siya, I should have filtered a little bit, I guess?

I sighed.

“Lag?”

Nang tawagin ko siya ay bahagya siyang tumingin sa akin at muli siyang tumingin sa dinadaanan ng aming sasakyan—we were guided by the hologram-like projection at the windshield of the car which showed the correct pathway, the distance, measurements, velocity, gravity, and others, “I will pretend that I did not just hear the things you said.” Aniya matapos ang ilang sandali. There was something different on his voice, something that I cannot fathom—was it fear? Was he afraid? Of what? Or rather, of whom?

“Why?” I wanted to know his reasons that is why I will ask. When he said that he will pretend that he did not just hear the things I said, that the government is possibly hiding something from us beyond those walls, does it imply that he knows something as well? Sa mga sandaling ito, bigla akong nabahala sa hindi malamang dahilan. Gusto kong malaman kung tama ba o mali ang aking hinala rin.

“Prim, the world you know before the world now are very different in so many aspects...” He started, after a few seconds of pause, he continued again. “This is a panopticon world where the reality is being converted into a data capture. In simpler terms, there are surveillances and ears everywhere through the use of technology and such. Privacy in this world today is now only limited to the privileged, however, those who are privileged must still be careful and wary because everything here is now connected to the Impernet or the Imperium Network that is controlled by Imperium itself—this is a virtual platform where currency, distributions, economy, social status, your bio-data, biometrics, information, news, virtual connections and communications, and everything else is stored, this used to be called the Internet in your time, which I have read from one of the lost archives of your era. Going back, those who are found out to be speaking ill of Imperium, they are punished... And there is only one capital punishment in this world.”

“Thrown outside the walls.” I replied, “so, there are no prison cells in here.”

Umiling si Lag, “no more prison cells, however, there is this conspiracy theory going around that Imperium has built this ‘rehabilitation center’ that is only for the higher and noble class—it is said that those who disobey the law that comes from this class are put into the rehabilitation center, rather than thrown outside the walls, and they are corrected or rehabbed. There is still no clue as to who started this gossip, as if ever the culprit is caught, they will also be punished accordingly.”

Kumunot naman ang aking noo... So, only the middle-class offenders are thrown outside the walls. The system is truly very discriminating, but what caught my attention though is the question on how they rehabilitate the noble-class offenders, “how do they rehabilitate, though?” I asked.

Lag sighed, “rumors say it that they use a technology to either rewrite or wipe the memory of the offender.” Lag shrugged his shoulder after, he put the hovercar in auto-pilot mode, then looked at me after, “it is through an invented technology called the MEMORY—or the Mind Export Mobility Override Rescue Y-Tech.”

Tumango na lang ako, “I guess that is the reason why crime rates in this time now are close to zero? Because offenders are immediately dealt with accordingly, and there are no chances. Also, for the middle class, that is not an option as they do not know what lies beyond the walls.”

“Indeed. No one wants that because no one knows what awaits them outside the walls.” He looked at me with his serious eyes, as if warning me fiercely. “A piece of advice from someone who knows how the system of this current time works...” There was a warning flashing in his eyes, and I cannot help but feel a little bit tensed because of the sudden change of atmosphere between the two of us, “keep your thoughts to yourself and be careful with what you say or do.”

Tumango na lang ako. Tumingin muli ako sa tanawin. Suddenly, this utopia became alien to me—I cannot even say if this world was truly a utopia, because what lies beyond the walls is an apocalypse, and a world in ruins, a total wreck, a dystopia. That thought changed everything and suddenly, I didn’t enjoy the view anymore. I processed everything that Lag has stated... And that’s when I sensed it—fear. He was not loyal to the Imperium Government; he was afraid of them.

Was he?

Of course, he has to be. Otherwise, he would not be warning me to be wary. He was saying it for my own good. He was a mayor, a figure, and a love of the Empress, I guess he is free to say such things but with caution still, because unlike those who belong in the lower bracket, he has access and privilege of privacy.

“Lag?”

“Yes, Prim?”

“You’re not alone now.” Parang nagulat siya dahil sa aking sinabi, matapos iyon ay hinawakan ko ang kaniyang kamay at nginitihan siya. “I am here.” I wanted to tell him that he can trust me and that he is free to share everything with me. I wanted to understand him more, and understand this new world better as well. There is so much to learn, as there is so much time that has already gone. I want to catch up, to adopt, rather than be stuck with obsolete ideals that are centuries long lost.

“Well, that’s very reassuring.” He chuckled. Suddenly, the cold tension that lingered in the air was already gone and that was good, because I was not good at all with handling stress and pressure. It makes me overthink a lot of things, and overthinking was never good.

“Shall we go home now?” I asked after I had enough of the view of the city. Hindi na kami lumabas pa sa hovercar din dahil masyadong busy ang siyudad.

“Alright.” Pinaikot na niya ang hovercar pabalik sa mansion niyang nakatayo sa taas ng dalawang malalaking gusali.

“Lag, I am curious.”

“About?”

“What’s the demography of Ancora City?” I asked. It was just a random thought, but I guess I have to start with knowing first about real-time quantitative data, and then I can shift to qualitative after getting to know such. I cannot use this data as well to make assumptions in regarding to other cities and places here.

Lag then tapped his bracelet and laser-lights started to emerge out of it, then from there a hologram started to take shape, showing data. He used his fingers and scanned through the air, like a screen, and the hologram moved accordingly.

“Ancora City has eighty-thousand residents,” he pointed the total population showed at the hologram that stated 800,000, “two thousand are nobles and from the upper class, while the rest, the seven hundred ninety-eight thousand, are the middle class.” He showed this pie-graph as well showcasing the social class. There is no lower class, as apparently, in this world, the lower class are the exiles—those who are thrown outside the walls. I wonder if they are still alive out there? Knowing that Imperium claims the outside world is not livable.

“As for the s*x—five hundred thousand individuals are male, while three hundred thousand individuals are female.” Tumango naman ako. “For those who belong to the age bracket of 1-10, there are fifty thousand of them, 11-20 have one hundred thousand, 21-30 have two hundred thousand, 31-40 have one hundred and fifty thousand, 41-50 have one hundred and fifty thousand as well, and those who age 41-100 are two hundred thousand.” After a few seconds, he then eyed me, “however, the oldest recorded age as of this moment is 289, and it is from the Astarria family, the man who used to be an Emperor 200 years ago, he is dubbed as the Immortal, he is Warez Astarria, and he is also the spearhead of Imperium Union, he was the mastermind behind it all, he is the first emperor... And he is the only man who is exempted from the 100-year-old euthanasia, which means that if a certain individual reaches 100 years old, he or she shall be euthanized to still control human population. As human lifespan increased as well because of the modern and advanced techs...”

289 years old... Damn. But of course, I am way older as I am 400 years old. I chuckled at the thought.

“So, how did this Warez guy live so long?”

“He transferred his consciousness to a machine... He is basically a cyborg.” Aniya, “and that means he is alive, for as long as his consciousness is encrypted towards this system of the body where he resides.”

“So, he is basically immortal.”

“Well, you can say that.” Lag chuckled, hindi ko namalayan na nasa tuktok na pala kami ng mansion niya. The rooftop automatically opened after sensing the hovercar, and we descended towards the parking space. The door automatically opened after as well.

Nang nakabalik na kami sa kaniyang mansion ay agad kaming sinalubong nina Ingrid at Tiara. Yumuko silang dalawa at binati kami ng maligayang pagbalik.

“Master Lucius, there is a summon letter from the Imperium Government.” Tiara announced and Lag gestured her to open it. Saktong iyon ay biglang kuminang ang kaniyang kanang mata—take this literally, of course. After that, her eyes projected a light and the illuminations around the chamber turned off automatically, I guess she and Ingrid are also very connected to the system of the mansion, which is why changes that occurs in them will also affect the surrounding space.

A 3-D hologram of a woman in an empress suit appeared and I felt myself caught in my own breath for a few seconds because of the woman’s ethereal beauty—I scanned the goddess before my eyes—red silk that is adorned with golden linings, her silver hair was in a shimada and it was decorated with jewelries that resembled to a crown. Her lips were thin, and pink. She was pale, but undoubtingly beautiful. I can tell her skin is of porcelain. She seemed more like a doll to me, especially when I saw her purple eyes and the light make-up that adorned her face. She wore earrings as well, which contained this insignia—of a dragon flattering its wings around the world, and I knew already that it was the symbol of Imperium.

“That’s Empress Wynzelle Astarria, the most powerful being of this era—as she is the current Head of Imperium, the government that governs everything.” Ingrid whispered to me. Tumango naman ako habang namamangha pa rin sa kaniyang taglay na kagandahan. No wonder men are trying to be in her favor as well. It is not only absolute power which she holds, she also has an exquisite beauty that is too out of the world.

Tumingin ako kay Lag, he just looked at the figure looming on the projector that was casted by Tiara. He seemed not bothered at all nor amazed by her beauty.

“Lucius Arturius Ghani, you are hereby summoned to the Imperium Capital for the 200th Imperium Ball, an annual festivity for the conception of Imperium Union that has brought peace and order to the world. An aircraft shall be sent by tomorrow night. You may bring anyone with you as your partner.” The last line of the Empress reeked of emotions I can never comprehend. But given how tender her voice was, I can already tell that she’s really smitten by this man beside me. And this summon or invitation letter could have been done by her servants, but she chose to do it herself. So, that alone already suggests.

Nawala na ang ilaw at muling bumalik sa dati si Tiara.

“Oh, it’s that time of the year.” Lag said out of the blue. After that, he looked at me, “prepare your things. We will be going to the ball.”

Kumislap naman ang aking mga mata dahil sa aking narinig. “I’ll be your date?”

“No. You are my adopted sister, remember? So, I will be introducing you to powerful figures as you already are a Ghani.”

Lumabi naman ako dahil sa aking narinig. Well, it wasn’t like I was expecting something or anything. I guess he’s just making himself available for Empress Astarria, so does it mean that he has plans of getting married and submitting himself to the empress after all? Why am I bothered? Why can’t I stand the thought?

“Well, I guess that’d be really great—I mean, meeting new people and perhaps making friends.” Ngumiti naman ako, trying to look at the brighter side of the picture.

“So, Tiara, have you purchased the M-ring that I asked of you?” Lag looked at Tiara who immediately nodded.

“Yes, Master Lucius.” Saad nito. Pagkatapos ay may nilabas siyang kahon mula sa bulsa sa likod ng kaniyang bestida. Nilahad niya ito ay Lag na agad namang tinanggap iyon.

He opened the box and what appeared was a silver ring. He took it and looked at me, “this device is called M-ring. In your time, you used to call it as a cellphone.” Walang sabi niyang kinuha ang aking kamay at nilagay ang singsing sa aking palasingsingan. “You just have to rotate the ring 360 degrees for it to open. Try it.”

Ginawa ko naman ang kaniyang utos at nanalangin na sana ay hindi niya napansin ang pamumula ng aking pisngi. Pinaikot ko ang singsing na suot ko na, pagkatapos ay may ilaw na biglang lumabas mula roon. A hologram... It looked like an exact replica of the features of a phone. I gasped, amazed. I really cannot get used to the world.

“You do not have to worry about privacy, by the way. Because it is only you who can see the hologram that is coming from the ring. Only the wielder can see what their M-ring is emitting. Your data is already registered by that ring you are wearing as well. Therefore, that ring will not work if other people will try and wear it.”

“So, let’s exchange contact.” He added afterwards, then he held my hand and he let our rings to touch. Ngayon ko lang din napansin ang kaniyang singsing na kapareha lamang ng akin. Something suddenly popped into the screen of my hologram.

Lucius Arturius Ghani would like to connect. Accept or reject?

I pressed the accept button.

Lucius Arturius Ghani is now a part of your contact. Do you want to leave a message? Yes or no?

I pressed the no button.

“For you to turn the M-ring off, you have to turn it counterclockwise for 360 degrees.”

I did as he said and the hologram disappeared. This technology is really amazing. Hindi ko maiwasang mamangha.

“Lag...”

“Yes, Prim?”

I smiled at him. “Thank you for giving me all of this, for being kind... I want you to know how I appreciate everything that you do for me.”

He seemed taken aback because of the words that I have spoken. He smiled, this time, his smile was different—it seemed so alive, bright, and passionate. I couldn’t really grasp the right words to describe. But it was genuine.

“Anything for you, Prim.” And with that, he turned his back against me and left the room, leaving me alone with the company of Tiara and Ingrid.

A few seconds later, the M-ring glowed. Pinaikot ko ito at lumabas naman muli ang hologram na ako lang ang nakakakita.

A self-destructing message received from Lucius Arturius Ghani. Accept or reject?

I accepted of course, after that, a message appeared.

You are right. The Imperium Government is hiding something from us. Be careful. Surveillance is everywhere. Always watch your back. -Lucius

And with that, the message exploded as if it never existed in the first place.