I was glad Deleon kept his focus on the city through his office window. Morning was coming onto Zingang with a red sun shining through the dense pollution, and I could not keep my glare off of him. I hadn’t slept the whole night, worrying about his message.


    He turned to some unfamiliar kid whose chair leaned against the wall. Deleon’s eyes stopped on me for a second. Though he spoke nothing of it, I knew he was acknowledging last night. Words need not explain that knowing stare with an all too confident smile.


    Deleon winked at the boy, who nodded along with some unheard beat. I thought about turning on some of my own music but couldn’t allow the emotions those songs carried to alter my focus.


    Deleon checked his watch, a relic of style in our evolved era. He whispered something to the boy, who looked at me for a second before returning to his nodding and chair rocking.


    I did not ask who he was. Deleon liked his large introductions and anything that flaunted his sense of power. Still, the boy took my attention away from Deleon, so I followed the path my mind took.


    I was only twenty-eight. The kid had to be half my age. He didn’t have any open neurospace connections, and I was not in the mood to pry. His hair was a pale blue and cut in the shape of an upside-down bowl. He looked down, yet it still looked as if he held his chin and nose high, his lip protruding with condescension.


    He noticed my stare, furrowed his brow, then flipped up the long collar of his silver jacket with reflective panels and living indigo light. It was living wealth, real physical light, and not an LED counterfeit. It would have surprised me to see such a young and wealthy guest in Deleon’s office, but my expectations had changed after seeing his violet watchmen. Was this kid tied to them?


    I had to ask about them. Perhaps my worries were unfounded.


    They could be new members of his organization, but even that was unlikely. Deleon was not quiet about his new tools. If he found some indigo boy, surely he would have spoken about violet level associates. Indigo light was a luxury, but violet was godly.


    My life would be easier if I didn’t ask questions.


    Deleon clapped and put on his characteristic grin. “Finally! I hope you all slept well.”


    I turned back to see the others enter. Tevon’s arms hung limp as he strolled to his seat, scowling at me as he sat. Ali grinned and Ralia kissed my cheek. She could have woken up on her way into the room and still not lost her spunk.


    “Who’s the kid?” Tevon blurted out.


    Ralia smacked his arm and Ali chuckled before hiding his smile and lowering his gaze.


    “Be nice, Tev.”


    “She’s right to reprimand you, Tevon.” said Deleon.


    Tevon scowled at Deleon. “Huh?”


    Deleon placed his hand on the kid''s shoulder, earning a flinch. “This, respected imps, is a gift.”


    ‘The Imps,’ a term coined by Cut that didn’t stick until Deleon started referring to us as the imps. I hated it, even more so when Tevon and Ralia decided they liked using it, as if Deleon hadn’t dehumanized us enough.


    He patted the boy’s shoulder and walked away.


    “And?” Tevon sighed.


    Deleon shook his head with a smile. “This is Devóne Eclaine, the newest addition to your party. Does his last name–”


    “Devin?” asked Tevon.


    “Day–vown,” the boy annunciated. His skittish countenance quickly turned to bite. “Ee-clay-nnn, get that? Heard it yeah, you better have, you zegging—”


    “Now, now,” Deleon chuckled.


    Tevon looked as if he did not know if he should laugh or fight the kid. “The zeg is that supposed to mean?”


    Deleon shot Devóne a glare, earning silence. A feigned smile returned to face us. “I presume some of you have heard about the recent tragedy with the Eclaine estate?”


    “Never heard of ‘em.”


    The kid guffawed.


    I shook my head with Ali, but Ralia was sure to speak.


    “Such a tragedy. I’m surprised you aren’t aware of them, Al.”


    “I am not well informed concerning celebrity families and names. Forgive me.”


    Despite his awkward phrasing, he had a nice grip on Amerikese. Perhaps it was close to his native tongue, but I couldn’t tell which side of Arabasia he came from. I was born learning Amerikese. All the best entertainment came from the Republic of Capital. When I was growing up, I knew that I was destined for a better place. That same hope told me there was a better side of the Republic that waited for me beyond Deleon’s grasp.


    “Oh, Al, they’re no celebrities, but a very influential family that runs an anti-war campaign alongside their company. They come from high up in the SocStan party of the ruling parties.”


    Ali nodded but looked no closer to understanding.


    “Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ve never heard of them either. The news today is depressing.” All of it speaks of our homelands tearing at each other or drama generated by the Republic media to make our lives look difficult. Still, I found it interesting that the boy came from a SocStan background. Usually the Societal Sustainers dressed in humbler clothing, but what did I know? Since the blue-collar workers of the past gained importance after artificial intelligence took many of the high-paying jobs, the humble gained pride with power. The farmers and mechanics became staples to society in the virtual era and had only grown in power since their last three terms in presidency.


    Ali nodded with a smile. It was enough to let me believe he held no grudge for my past nationality.


    Our attention reverted back to Deleon as he spoke. “The Elcaine tragedy occurred a short time ago. Some rogue automaton explosion reduced their property to rubble, or something of the sort. The investigation is ongoing. Devóne was the only survivor of his family of seven. A tragic accident, though one most timely for our needs. ”


    What a saint you are, Deleon. You saved a rich orphan from a life of mediocrity by forcing him to become–oh please, tell me you didn’t do it to him, too.


    “What are you doing to him?” I demanded.


    “Zeg me, Del, you didn’t buy the kid, did you?”


    “I’m not a kid!” Devóne shouted. Red rings surrounded his eyes. The red light from the sunrise reflected off of wet cheeks.


    “No, of course I did not buy him.”


    “I can speak for myself.” Devóne said. “After… it happened … I had nowhere else to go. I wandered, took trains and rides to get as far as I could from the people who killed my family.”


    “Now, Devóne, we discussed that it was a mere accident. Nothing you could have done could have saved them.”


    Devóne ignored Deleon. “I could not let them catch me. I don’t know how I made it so far without anyone hurting me. Deleon found me when I was lying in an alley with some bums from the Orange district. He took me to get some food and offered me a place in exchange for some work.” He looked at Deleon. “Thank you again.”


    “A pleasant coincidence. We are pleased to have you, Mr. Eclaine.”


    Coincidence, my ass! I almost blurted. I used to trust Deleon, but my naivety decreased by the day. After last night’s encounter, I would have bet half of my lumens that Deleon had followed him ever since the accident to utilize the single heir of a massive fortune. I almost wanted to accuse him of orchestrating the fall of the Elcaines, but even Deleon had his boundaries. Deleon was an opportunist. If he had orchestrated their deaths, we would have been the ones to carry it out.


    “So what is our lil’ prince doing?”


    Devóne scowled at Ralia.


    “An opportunistic coincidence,” Deleon repeated. “One indeed timely for our next assignment. You all recall Doctor Cuttrin’s assessment of the Firstlight discovery, right? Firstlight is connected to multiple ruling parties who are researching the boneless Exos Sapiens. In order to slow their progression for the sake of our–Osteolyte’s–success, we must locate those who owned Firstlight. Who better to help us than a former Indigo resident? You will be working with him as your newest Imp to infiltrate the ruling parties and destroy those tied to Firstlight from within. With their research out of the way, we can move towards eliminating the President’s company for the next election. Let us Replace Haven Health with Osteolyte.”


    “And what will you do then?” Ralia asked.


    “Oh, you know, my dear.”


    No, we didn’t because he gave us the same zegging answer every time.


    He looked at me and I knew my frustration was visible.


    “Cure Techbone, of course! It is the purpose of Osteolyte and I cannot make our research change the Pharma market as long as Haven Health continues to pump people with their ineffective drug, but everyone knows that Okrepinate entails a lifetime subscription for mere symptom management. We will cure it, stopping bone degradation, instead of relying on their drug that only treats its symptoms.”


    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    Cure everyone like you have cured us?


    “Did you treat Devóne?” I asked. The kid’s pale blue hair almost confirmed my suspicions without having to ask. If I was right, it would be as gray as ours in the next few days.


    “I upgraded him, fit to work among you.”


    Zeg you, he''s just a kid. Even though I didn''t speak, I know Deleon could read the seething disapproval in my glare.


    “Zeg yeah, feels fantastic!” Devóne’s grin was as wide. It was as if his parents had bought him a new tech implant.


    “When did you do it?” Ralia asked.


    “We finished up just before you came in to join us.”


    It shows. Devóne would lose that grin as soon as he realizes the cost of such an implant. I only hoped he wouldn''t lose it forever. I struggled as of late, but most of us still held firm to the little joy we had in our poor excuses for life.


    “Gotcha. So tell me, Del, how do you expect us to do this?”


    “I will divide you to infiltrate the ruling parties. I have tailored each of your assignments to your specific fields of expertise. Ralia–” she smiled and looked side to side with a shrug as if it was a complement “--you will naturally infiltrate the Tech party, utilizing your hacking prowess to dive beyond their elite security, extracting any relevant information related to Firstlight’s parent company or companies.”


    She chuckled. “Hold on a second, I can’t just hack a political party, just as you can’t speak to a country. The Arabasian war would have ended long ago if someone could just write a kind letter to a country itself.”


    He smiled and shook his head. I had never seen him upset at Ralia. She was smart enough to know his boundaries.


    “Of course not. Neither will the others assassinate a political party itself.”


    Devóne’s leaning chair fell forward. What a shame. The kid really had no idea what he was getting into. His attention was stuck on Deleon like a child to their mindshows after their neruospace is finally implanted.


    “My secondary intel department has organized a list of targets for each of you, at least three each, should you face any dead ends. If they need to be eliminated, so be it. I trust your discretion, but do not burn an end before you have explored it thoroughly. You in particular, Ralia, have been assigned to visit the estate of Rovik Sibirk. Does the name sound familiar, Petya?”


    I nodded, keeping my hatred within. I had no problem with Sibirk. He was human filth obsessed with lucre. I accepted that. What I could barely stand was Deleon’s snide allusions to my past as if I was some undercover Medislav loyalist.


    “Who, sir, might that be?” Ali’s hand shook as he raised it.


    I spoke up, not wanting Deleon to twist the reality any more than he could. “Tech mogul from Medislavia. He made a living here in the Republic selling tech intel to his home country until he was busted. His reach was too wide and they couldn’t contain it, so they did what any perfect justice system would do. The Tech party bought him out and hired him to do the reverse, providing the Republic with the best innovations from his people in Medislavia before they could capitalize on it.”


    “A tech emperor indeed,” Deleon said. “His reach is the reason Ralia will be focusing there.”


    She nodded. Her smile looked weak.


    “Sibirk is just an example and frankly, the only name anyone will probably recognize, except for one of your targets, Petya.”


    Zeg you.


    “Now for you, Tevon, I intend to use your expertise, though not the brawn Mod to your hypothalamic implant.”


    “Okay.” A faint orange light danced across Tevon’s vision implant.


    “To touch on your past, I want to utilize your familiarity with the fix market. More specifically, the Memory Runner party.”


    “I didn’t really specialize with… those ones, yah know?”


    “Of course I know, but I don’t plan on using your expertise with illegal fixes while I’m trying to manipulate the legal system.”


    “But, Deleon, I—”


    “This isn’t a comfort assignment, Tevon. Are you compliant or not?”


    “I am compliant.”


    The room was silent for a few moments.


    “As I assumed. Now, the Memory Runner party has a fix monopoly because their memtabs are more popular than any other product on the market. Nostalgia sells, especially when you can revisit those memories. Maybe your past is a mess, but other people want to enjoy theirs. You feel the same, don’t you, Tevon?”


    “I feel the same.”


    “I’ll send you your list soon. Ali, I would like you to join Tevon. You’ve followed Ralia around long enough.”


    They nodded at each other.


    Deleon steepled his fingers and pointed at me, then to Devóne. “Now for you two.”


    No.


    Please don’t make me the one who shows him how zegged up this world is. The indigo haze still blinded the kid. Soon enough, he would see the world as red as we all did. Even my negative outlook was blinded by the walls Deleon had built before us.


    “It''s about time you take on a new member. Ali has spent plenty of time with Ralia and now he is learning from Tevon.”


    I looked at Devóne, then back to Deleon. “Has he fed yet?”


    “I ate an hour ago.”


    I shook my head, eyes still glaring at Deleon. “Has he fed yet?”


    “That will have to be one of your first lessons. By my estimation, he should be ready for his first taste following this council.”


    “Yeah, I could eat.”


    I ignored the kid.


    “Petya, you will comply, won’t you? If you want more people like you to suffer as you did before meeting me, go ahead and cut your end of the promise.”


    “No. I’ll take him.”


    “You will remain compliant?”


    “I am compliant.”


    “Then let us continue from where we left off. Do not worry about handling three parties. I will manage the Pharma party. While I take care of the intel, our research teams will continue at a tireless pace to find a cure, or a proposal for one, available by the time Haven Health falls.”


    I kept my mouth shut. I never believed in a cure, let alone one from him. Tevon was probably too simple-minded and believed Deleon. Ralia was just optimistic enough to buy into Deleon’s claims. When this would all end, would he be kind enough to free us from the curse he placed on us? If he were ever to bring his company to the top of the market, what other tyrannical goal would he pursue?


    “Should any of you find your trail fruitless, I will utilize your help with Pharma. The president must fall, but she is far from vulnerable. To take her out now would be a mistake. Only with Osteolyte’s success will we defeat her in the next election.”


    “But that is in two months.”


    “Great observation, Petya. Now you understand how pressing this is. I am assigning the last two ruling parties to you. Devóne will work with you, utilizing his knowledge of his family’s prestige to reach certain targets within the SocStan party. This should come after your first assignment to best prepare him for those more intimate matters. Your selected targets belong to the Entertainment party.


    Tevon chuckled.


    “What do you want?” A smile broke free from my grimace.


    “While we handle the things that run society, you’ll be gawking over neuroshow stars and zegging influencers. What kind of an assignment is that?”


    “Zeg you,” I said.


    “I would have laughed with you before,” said Deleon, “but we all know how society bows to celebrities. The virtual era had it bad, but now they are literally our politicians.”


    “I know… but, it''s still… sorry, Petya.”


    “What am I doing with them?” I asked. “You said I had a prestigious target? Who is it?”


    “We will get to her, but your primary target is the Finian producer Anton Jackson. He has a hold on nearly every leading musician in the market. Without him, you cannot get to any of the public idols.”


    Tevon busted out in laughter. “It’s–it’s–” he pointed at Devóne. “Oh, zeg, it''s just too good. He’ll blend right in.”


    I sighed and tried to keep my focus on Deleon. Devóne was not as strong willed as I was.


    “What is that supposed to mean?” The kid’s anger was split by confusion.


    “Come on, anyone? Can’t you see it? Love in Touch?”


    “That terrible boyband?” Ralia said. “You listen to them, Tev? You know their lyrics are written by companies to make psycho fans out of teenage girls.”


    “I–no, zeg no, but look at him. He looks just like that one that they put on the fast food ads, right? Come on, I know you’ve seen their videos on your neurospaces. He always jumps in front of the group and has a higher voice than the rest.”


    “I got yah, Tevon.” I said. I hated that I knew it from mindless wandering on the neurospace social programs, but the group of five boys was everywhere.


    Tevon laughed and clapped. “That’s it! That’s your name from now on.”


    “What?” Devóne guffawed.


    “Do you even know that one’s name, Tev?”


    “No, and I don’t care. Our new friend is Boyband. That’s his name and I’m not giving it up.”


    I chuckled. I hoped the kid wouldn’t take it too hard. Tevon needed something to keep him happy if we were going to succeed. A downtrodden Tevon is a lazy Tevon. Deleon’s convoluted scheme would only work if we all did our parts.


    “I like it,” Boyband said, as if he was trying to prove himself. “You all have names like that?”


    “Nope, just you.” I grinned at him.


    His smile fell.


    “Can I have a second of your attention?” Deleon pleaded.


    We all nodded. I wanted the meeting to end. I needed a socitab fix. Feeling empty and alone, I needed artificial love and praise. Thank the light technology allows us to skirt reality.


    Boyband’s hands shook and he looked pale. He clenched his face and squeezed his stomach.


    Perhaps prolonging the meeting would not be so bad. The more time Deleon took, the longer I could delay teaching the kid what it meant to satisfy the violent hunger that was eating at him. Could I push it off long enough for Deleon to do it for me?


    No. If Deleon could defer responsibility to someone else, we would with pleasure.


    “Thank you. Now, I will send you your lists and any information I have regarding their presumed locations and any precautions you should take before investigating via neurospace. Petya, take Devóne out to feed, then return to me for a modification. Everyone else can follow me after this, unless you need to feed as well.”


    They shook their heads.


    He started towards the door and waved for them to follow. “Then we’ll take care of your additional modifications now.”


    “What kind of modifications?” Tevon asked as he stood from his seat.


    “Upgrades for your hypothalamic implants.”


    “Upgrading our Bites, huh? Cool. What kind of modifications?”


    “Tevon, please, can you wait and see? And you know I do not like you referring to them as Bites. Perhaps I should add patience to yours.”


    “Okay, okay, but one more question?”


    Deleon stopped as the doors opened for him. He spread his arms and sighed. “Yes?”


    “Who is the other target Patya and Boyband are going after? You said it''s a big name and I wanna know who it is.”


    Deleon laughed, breathing out his frustration. He looked at me. “Naoma. The Neon Idol.”