Dismar lit the roll, took a long drag, and then asked, “How did you know?”
“His doctors were from the League. Oina found out.”
“He was just playing, probably, to impress his father as all kids do,” he suggested.
“Just playing… That was his playing level, that was his small puzzle. His father conceived him then used him,” I replied
“A true criminal,” said Dismar.
“The League is responsible, too. They shouldn’t allow psychopaths to play around with dark science, no matter what the threat is.”
“I hope this will never happen again,” Dismar finally replied.
“I really hope not either.”
After a while, Dismar finished his coffee. There was a nice waitress that gave him back his appetite. She was the daughter of the owner, who was calling the customer support of Consoft desperately to restart the robots. Everything shut down due to the destruction of the databases.
Dismar ordered bacon, eggs, and a toast. I was finishing my third coffee, then I paused as I watched him eating with a smile on his face as the waitress took care of him very well.
Against all odds, we are alive. The nightmare is heading to an end. I gave a nice tip to the waitress and asked to use her phone to call Oina. But then, I hesitated to make the call and gave her back her phone.
I thought, She will find me when she wants.
Chapter 23
The Telegraphs
“I always misjudge people.”
~ Konu
W e sailed in Dismar’s boat manually without using any electronic devices. Our target was an archipelago of islands donated to ManFirst by a super-rich businessman. He had been living there, as well, with the early tribes, until he died recently. A nice way to check out, in my opinion. Life should end with simplicity, just as it starts.
Dismar left me on the main island. He told me that he would be back to check on me, but for now, he would be living on another one not far away. He said he needed to regroup and have some time for himself. We didn’t speak much about what we thought. It was just a “see you later” sort of situation.
ManFirst… Who would have thought that I would end up here?
First, I had to strip down until I was completely naked and then stand next to the gate for a couple of hours. Someone finally opened the door for me and took me to a small wooden house where the chief started conducting an interview, naked.
“Who are you, and why you want to join us?”
“Can I get something to wear? I’m not feeling comfortable; sorry for the trouble.” After a moment, they gave me some rustic, handmade clothes. I put them on, but they felt very itchy.
“Call me ‘Co.’ I'm not a criminal; I’m an army engineer, and you can make good use of me,” I said
“We already have someone named ‘Co’”
“Then, ‘Con.’”
“Why did you give up the nice life you had?”
“It wasn’t nice. I have brain seizures that are aggravated when I’m next to electronics, especially electric cables. It’s damage from all the years that I was exposed to military devices. I got my retirement early, and I can sustain myself here with it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It is the truth.”
“We have some veterans here. I can call one of them to check you out, or you can start telling me the truth by yourself,” he said
“You are a veteran, aren’t you? Weren’t you in the Black Unit?” He was in shock; he didn’t say anything after that.
I asked him if he could manage letting in another brother. He went to another island around here with his boat. He told me that he would send a telegraph to that island, to facilitate Dismar’s admission without a problem. Then he officially welcomed me.”
The chief took me personally to a place where I could be picked up by singles like me to share a house. I said that I may need a house by myself and that I could pay for it. He said that is impossible, and money here doesn’t exist as everything is traded, and singles got rooms only. I said that I was waiting for a woman. He asked why she didn’t come with me now. I didn’t answer. He went and told me to look for a woman here, as probably she is not coming. He is right. How can a queen agree to devalorize herself?
A group of old veterans came and asked me to join them. I refused and told them that I preferred to die than to be in another military base. They laughed, wished me luck, and left. I had to wait until sunset when a group of artists came looking for a roommate. I accepted as they were the kind of kids that are looking for a mentor. However, I also accepted because of the drugs they were probably stockpiling. I could tell they were high on weed as we spoke.
We arrived at their house, which was a little bit far from the center of the compound. It was not bad at all, as I was expecting to live in a middle-aged-ruins kind of décor. But this was not that at all. There were musical instruments, books, paintings, and so on. I underestimated them. They are well organized. The group consisted of a painter, a poet, a musician, and an actor. Suddenly, I felt that I’m a kind of a
