“What the hell is this?” I protest, trying to move. My body is stuck to the chair like it was to the mattress last night.
“Max, this is a memory scanner. It’ll only take a few minutes, then it’ll begin broadcasting the images from your mind to the screen,” Troy says, pointing to the monitor behind him. “It won’t hurt. You might even thank us for it,” he adds, smiling.
“Doubtful,” I say, my teeth clenched in anger.
Out of the corner of my eye I catch Brink smiling. He seems to be enjoying my discomfort. He probably thinks I deserve this for being with Frey and not him.
Wait till we’re back in The Litarian Battles, then they won’t be laughing.
The screen on the right comes to life with my memories, but no sound. It displays my visit with Lok and Garrett, my nightmare, and my lovemaking with Frey. Troy pats Frey on the back, congratulating him on his conquest, but Brink is seething. His face is red, his hands balled up into fists. He’s going to try and make Frey and I pay for our supposed betrayal of him. If it’s not today, then it’ll happen when we return to Thrace Tower. I have to be on my guard.
I hold my breath, waiting to see if it’ll display what happened the night the Aedox came for me, but it doesn’t. I become younger and younger with each passing minute. The screen on the left turns on several minutes later displaying its own set of pictures, but none I recognize.
“What’s that?” I ask any of them.
Frey answers. “It’s checking your memories against anything in the Archive’s files, such as faces and locations.”
“Why? Why would you want to do that?” I ask, my voice rising.
“To find out who you are,” Troy says.
What? I know who I am. Just Max Sutton. I’m an orphan from the Outer Limits. I’m nobody special.
Several pictures appear on the monitor to the left as the one on the right turns off, but the blue beams around me don’t retract. The images are of a man with a thick jaw, piercing blue eyes, and short raven-black hair. Another is a woman with long raven-black hair, high cheekbones, and thick eyelashes. The final one is of a very young child who resembles the woman quite a bit. I recognize the child as me, but how and why is it in the Archive’s files? Troy steps forward and taps on the man’s face. The other two pictures slide to the left as his enlarges. The name “Liam Thomas” appears underneath the image and a menu flashes next to it, showing various files. Troy selects one of the files and a news story begins to play.
“Good evening, Tarsus,” Hammond begins, his face a lot younger than it is now, but still covered with that ridiculous mustache. He’s standing in front of a large paned window, which overlooks the skyscrapers and bright neon signs of downtown Tarsus. He has to be at least several stories high since the tops of most of the buildings behind him are at the same level he’s at. “Leader Fallon has dispatched a unit of Aedox to the northern section of Tarsus. There are rumors going around of a possible uprising among some of our more elite citizens.” The window behind Hammond changes to an overview of a very well-manicured landscape with immense houses sporadically positioned around fountains and pools. No signs of carriage lines anywhere along the paths.
Does having a carriage line connected to your dwelling actually signify that you aren’t as prominent as those without one? I don’t remember seeing a cable running along the path in front of Troy’s house, or any of the houses in his neighborhood now that I think about it.
“Minor uprisings are not new to us. They happen quite frequently in the Outer Limits,” Hammond says, almost with a laugh. “What is concerning about this one is the couple implicated in such a scheme. Yes, children, I’m speaking about our loving and kind hearted former leader, Liam Thomas.”
“What does this have to do with anything?” I ask, irritated.
“You don’t recognize them?” Frey asks.
“Why would I? Nothing like this has ever been transmitted into the Outer Limits. We can only watch The Litarian Battles.”
“Max, these images are from your memory,” Troy says. “The Archive simply matched up the data from your mind to their files, and is showing related content.”
That can’t be? None of this can be true. This has to be a trick.
Troy had paused the video after my outburst, so he touches the screen again to continue the video.
“Liam and his wife, Clio, have been outspoken opponents of the newly appointed leader. Especially since Mr. Thomas was not allowed to serve the normal timeframe for his term in office, which is twenty years. In fact, he was only our leader for a total of four years. An unprecedented short amount of time. Leader Fallon has never explained why she was selected to replace Mr. Thomas, nor has she commented on any of his statements against her. So for now, children, we will sit back and watch the fun.”
The video stops and the files appear on the screen. Troy looks them over and selects another one. Hammond appears on the screen again, standing in the same spot he had in the earlier message.
“Severe actions were taken today against the Thomas family,” Hammond starts, looking a little frazzled. “Leader Fallon had no choice but to seize Liam and Clio Thomas this afternoon, placing them under arrest. Not much detail is known as to why, only that they have been moved to a secure location. The whereabouts of their daughter, Mera, have not been disclosed.”
“You honestly think I’m these people’s daughter?” I say
