"This is where we're going to work," Theora informed Frances as she took her usual seat in front of the monitor, pressing a button to rouse it from its sleep. "You'll sit beside me." Frances took in the sight with wide eyes as Theora went to get a chair. She gently pressed her hand to the screen, and then flinched as it came to life, the screen brightening up.
"Thank you," Frances muttered as she sat down in the chair Theora had brought, and Theora nodded before stretching her body and sitting down, getting cozy in her seat. She pulled up the map of the city's mainframe and began to track Edison Carter as he moved through the streets to MacPhisto's abode.
Frances smiled softly as she glanced at the screen. "Is that Edison's camera?"
"Yes," Theora said briskly, not wanting to speak any more than she had to. She switched the view from the mainframe to Edison's camera, and was knocked into the world outside Network 23. Everything looked so real she could almost feel the breeze on her skin, smell the cloudy air…
"This is the view through Edison's camera," Theora explained, already half-lost in a dream. "I use the map of the city and his camera view to tell him where to go, and guide him away from potential danger."
"You talking to me?" came Edison's voice, amused. Frances jolted back and giggled nervously, while Theora shook her head, though she knew Edison couldn't see her. "We're standing by," she said, and Edison just gave a playful snort. France sighed and crossed her legs, leaning back in her chair as Theora enlarged the view of the mainframe.
"I know the way," Frances stated. "You take a left here-" She relayed the directions to Theora, who guided Edison, pleased that this part of her job wasn't relinquished to amateurs. Presently Edison came across the same street that MacPhisto's abode was built on, and Frances pointed out his home. "It's that one story house, right over there," she said, pointing to the place on the screen. "The door's unlocked. I picked it to get outside, but I didn't have a key to lock it up with."
With Frances's and Theora's guidance, Edison approached and entered the small house. From there, Theora let the view out of Edison's camera fill the screen, and Frances crowded in to watch more closely, her breath catching when she saw the familiar surroundings. "That's the bed I was chained to this morning," she said, pointing as Edison came towards it. In the dim light wafting through the windows, Theora could make out two pairs of handcuffs left hanging on the headboard- so Frances hadn't been lying about being abused. The fact caused sympathy to well up in Theora, though she still hadn't warmed to Frances's presence.
They watched through Edison's camera as he came over and touched the handcuffs tentatively, before spinning the camera around to face himself. "What am I supposed to do now, Control?" he asked. "Wait for MacPhisto to show up?"
Theora opened her mouth to answer, but Frances beat her to the punch. "Just sit down and catch him by surprise when he gets home," she said to Edison. "Blackmail that rat bastard with me."
Edison's forehead wrinkled. "What?"
"I think you should wait," Theora told Edison, miffed that Frances had offered the same response. "Wait for MacPhisto. He'll get a big shock when he comes home." Though she wasn't entirely sure yet what the point of breaking and entering was. Edison could have cornered MacPhisto on the street, couldn't he have?
"All right, I'll wait," Edison said, and the camera turned outward as he sat down on the bed, its view zooming in on the TV in the middle of the room. "Stand by, Control."
"Standing by!" Frances chirped, and it took a bit of willpower from Theora not to glare her down. Whose role did she think Control was?
As she settled back in her seat, prepared to wait, Frances turned towards her and began speaking in her direction. "If I know MacPhisto, he'll bend under the influence of blackmail," she explained. "If he refuses to take Zoo TV off the air, we'll use me as a threat. I'll threaten to expose his dirty plans… do you think it will work?" she asked, glancing sideways at Theora. Theora shrugged and moved away from the microphone that would bring her words to Edison's ears.
"It's definitely worth a shot," she said. "If you believe you have enough information to bring MacPhisto and his program down…"
"Oh, but I do!" Frances insisted. "I was with him every step of the way when he developed Zoo TV. I'm sure he'll fall for it. Everything will be fine."
Theora nodded and returned to the microphone. "Edison, do you plan to go live with this interview?"
"If Murray will give me a timeslot, I fully intend to," he replied.
"All right." Theora stood up and brushed her skirt down. "I'm going to ask Murray right now. You'd better start practicing your opening spiel." She could hear Edison's laughter follow her as she turned her back on his virtual presence.
Murray was sitting alone in his office when Theora came in and informed him that Edison wanted a timeslot. Upon hearing this, Murray quickly got to his feet. "And he didn't tell me this earlier because…?"
"I think no one bothered to ask," Theora said. She also figured that Edison had probably made up his mind about the story on the spur of the moment.
"Time is money, Theora," Murray muttered, already moving towards the viewphone. "Of course Edison's show always draws in high ratings, but we've got other shows scheduled already." He sighed as he sat down. "Why does Edison always have to choose such irregular times for these broadcasts?"
"Well, he did say he'd bring down Zoo TV in twenty-four hours," Theora stated. "So he might just want to get a move on."
"All right," Murray sighed again, dialing a number. "I'll phone Cheviot and see if it's possible to get some airtime."
Together, he and Theora watched as Cheviot took the call, saying immediately that he'd gladly get anything off the air if Edison was about to go live. Murray wasted no time after that in getting up and out of the office, orders springing from his lips to clear a timeslot as soon as possible. However, as soon as Theora returned to her workstation she saw that Frances was now sitting in her seat, and the scenery that the camera was trained on was a man's face and not a one-story abode.
"Murray!" Theora called out as she caught sight of the screen, her heart sinking with dismay. "Edison's already begun the interview!"
She none-too-gently told Frances to get out of her seat, and startled, Frances leapt away from the monitor's screen and sunk back into her chair, breathing hard. Theora wasted no time in settling down at her workstation, her ears filling with scraps of conversation. Over the microphone, she could hear Edison saying, "I'd like to ask you a few questions."
MacPhisto stood in front of the door to his home, his face a mask of shock and distress. Slowly, his fumbled his way to the lightswitch and flicked it on, illuminating his surroundings and himself rather well. Theora could now see that the true MacPhisto wore white face paint and, oddly enough, a pair of red devil horns on his head. His hair was so black it must have been dyed, and was pulled into a ponytail. His golden lame suit shone so brightly under the lights it was nearly blinding, and his height was elevated by a pair of glittery golden platform boots.
What an eccentric man, Theora thought, and frowned. Frances bared her teeth. Onscreen, MacPhisto began to speak in a plaintive voice full of confusion, his blue eyes wide as he stared down Edison. "Why have you come here?" he intoned in a croaky British accent. "I've done nothing wrong. Who gave you the right to enter my house uninvited?"
"Ready!" Murray suddenly called as he rushed over, signaling Theora with the A-OK sign. She nodded fiercely and then spoke to Edison. "Edison, we're going live in three, two…"
The red LIVE symbol blinked at the bottom of the screen, and Edison immediately took the upper hand, sliding into professionalism as easy as one would slide on a wet surface. "This is Edison Carter reporting live and direct from Network 23," he said, and Theora watched MacPhisto's eyes grow bigger, before his shoulders relaxed and he shook himself out. "Just yesterday a fellow network, Network 66, implemented a new muvid program called Zoo TV. This program makes use of various subliminal messages, and I'm here with its creator, who goes by Mr. MacPhisto, to find out what exactly is the point."
"Yeah!" Frances cheered under her breath. "You get that bitch, Edison!" Theora only shrugged and tried her best to concentrate on the interview. Edison's detached voice sounded in her ears. "MacPhisto, I understand that hidden within the Zoo TV text are messages that you would like to get out. Can you explain to me what the content of these messages are?"
Now that MacPhisto knew he was on air, Theora could see that he had recovered himself. He spoke airily, with a faint implication of superiority. Theora expected him to turn up his nose at Edison at moment now.
"Zoo TV was created as an alternative to all the horrid music video programming that we are 'treated' to today," he said, forming quotation marks with his fingers on the word "treated." "You of course would term them 'muvids.' I am here to bring art to the uneducated masses, to hide lessons in the program through an accessible medium. All of the messages I've cleverly placed within Zoo TV are informative and do not exist for insidious purposes."
"I'm sorry, sir, but I would beg to differ with you," Edison said sharply. "Several employees at Network 23, including myself, have reported negative reactions due to Zoo TV. We have felt varying degrees of apathy, prestige, and euphoric, adrenaline-fueled fear. Can you explain to me what it is in your program that caused these reactions?"
Instead of looking trapped, MacPhisto merely smiled beatifically. Theora suddenly got the feeling he had a trick up his sleeve.
"The program isn't deisgned to hurt anybody, darling," he said, and his "darling" was more potent and dangerous than Frances's had been. "Sometimes it is necessary for negative emotions to lead the way towards true salvation. All of these reactions, you see, are provoked intentionally. Apathy is induced to cause the viewers to realize they are bored with the way their lives are going. Prestige is to inspire them to look for better opportunities. And the fear you mentioned gives a specific edge of desperation to their desires, ensuring that they will do something about their situations." MacPhisto took a step forward, and Theora noticed that his beaming, ruby-and-porcelain smile looked wholly demonic if viewed in the right setting. "I'd say that's a pretty good goal for a music video program, don't you agree?"
"You liar," Frances hissed. Beside her, Murray shifted his weight to the other foot and glanced down at Theora. "The ratings are up," he murmured. "You'd better ask Edison to buckle down and start grilling."
"Edison-" Theora began, but she stopped when she heard Edison clear his throat, not wanting to disturb his conversation with MacPhisto. Over the microphone, she heard him say, "And you consider it your task to induce these life choices in the viewers?"
"Of course," MacPhisto said, the sunlight never once leaving his expression. "I concern myself with the weak and world-weary. Everyone deserves a better chance, darling."
"Don't veer off topic, Edison," Theora gently prodded. "Ask him about the contents of the messages."
She could almost see him straighten up as he switched tactics. "The messages you have used in Zoo TV were analyzed by our head of technology at Network 23. So far the following have been found- Mock the Devil and he will flee from thee, guilt is not of God, and Watch more TV. Can you explain what these phrases are supposed to mean?"
"We're losing it," Murray muttered in fright. "The ratings are dropping. Edison, get a grip. Find your edge."
"He can do whatever he wants," Frances replied indignantly. "It's not up to you to drag him around."
And it's not up to you to tell Murray what to say, Theora thought, but quickly forced back her irritation. Now was not the time to lose her head over Frances's presence. She watched the screen as MacPhisto gestured vibrantly to the empty air, speaking as if he were addressing a crowd of millions rather than an audience of one.
"It's very simple," he dismissed Edison's question. "'Mock the Devil' means that if one finds a way to laugh at life, your bad times will disappear. 'Guilt is not of God' means that there's no purpose in agonizing over your past mistakes. And 'watch more TV…'" He gave a funny crooked smile. "Well, you've gotten me there, darling. Who doesn't want their program to be viewed by thousands?"
"It seems you've certainly gotten very far with that goal," Edison said, but Theora could tell he was floundering, running out of questions to ask. He couldn't very well mention Frances again, not when the camera was running and he was addressing a larger audience. Theora felt the void opening up below her feet. Truth be told, there had only been suspicions of MacPhisto's evil goals, as speculated on by Edison and presented by Frances. What if this was all just a ploy to gain better publicity?
"Edison," Theora breathed. "Get out of there. The ratings are falling."
"No!" Frances lunged forward suddenly,ferociously grabbing the sides of the monitor. "Mention me! Tell him you know what I know! Use blackmail!"
"Frances!" Finally Theora lost all of her cool and fought back against the red-haired woman, pushing her away from the screen. "Please control yourself!" She shot to her feet to grab Frances from behind and hold her back, the latter panting heavily, her fingers curled into claws.
"I see," came Edison's calm response to MacPhisto, and Theora thought it was the worst in the field she'd seen him yet. Where was his relentless ability to get to the heart of the story and cut through the nonsense? It had all gone out the window.
MacPhisto gave a small shrug. "What can I say, darling. I only want to bring a positive influence to the people of this city, to protect them from seeing the filth of music videos nowadays." For a moment one side of his mouth twisted downward into a grimace, but almost immediately he regined control and smiled again. "Don't you miss the good old days?" He took another step forward towards Edison, spreading his arms out wide and imploringly. "All the pomp and ceremony and marching… ah, how I loved it!"
"MacPhisto," Edison said in a steely tone, attempting to get a handle on the interview that was rapidly spiraling out of control. "Does that have anything to do with the matter at hand?"
MacPhisto tilted his head to the side and cocked one pitch black eyebrow. "Isn't that up for you to decide?"
There was a pause- a dangerously long pause, during which Frances seethed and both Theora and Murray separately worked up the courage to get Edison off the air, until finally he was heard growling "End transmission." Dutifully, Murray cut the broadcast, and the red LIVE icon blinked into nonexistence, leaving room for Edison and MacPhisto to talk freely.
MacPhisto was the first to speak, relaxing his stance, and he voiced desperate concerns. "Where is Frances? What have you done with her?"
"I've taken her to a much better place than you can provide her with," Edison said, his tone like steel. Frances nodded, and snarled under her breath when she saw MacPhisto shake his head. "Why would the silly girl contact you? She's mine, you know. She's mine and I love her."
"You do NOT!" Frances shouted. "You swine!"
"Frances-" Once more Theora turned to glare at Frances. "Would you please shut up."
"Ssh," Murray admonished them. "Focus, girls."
"What did you say?" Frances gasped to Theora, shocked.
Instead of answering or apologizing, Theora leaned into the microphone, relaying words from before to Edison. "Edison, tell him that Frances knows what he's up to. Use her knowledge as blackmail."
"Frances would disagree," Edison replied to what MacPhisto had said. "She claims that your plan is designed to overthrow the government. Is this true?"
For the smallest second Theora thought she saw MacPhisto's façade of a smile crack, but it was back on his face before she knew it.
"If people decide to do so it's no fault of mine," he said. "A mere defect in the system, I presume."
"Are you sure?" Edison pressed. "Frances is ready to speak out about your plans if you continue to deny them."
Upon hearing this, MacPhisto burst out laughing, and the sound was so demented that Theora wanted to put her hands over her ears. It seemed to be coming from deep within a different soul, a possessed spirit taking control of him.
"There's nothing to deny," he said when he stopped laughing. "I've told you everything there is to know about Zoo TV. Frances herself is no more knowledgable on the matter than you are- she can't get inside of my head." He tapped it with two fingers before continuing. "I appreciate the free promo, darling, but I do believe you've overstayed your welcome."
"But the-" Edison began, and then fell silent of his own accord. He knew as well as Theora did that continuing to speak with MacPhisto was useless- he had botched the interview by going live, and even using Frances proved not to be as great as threat as it had seemed before. There was nothing to do but get out.
"Disconnect the line, Control," he murmured, and Theora did so, sitting back and exchanging a heavy glance with Murray before looking coolly over to Frances, trying to decide what to do about her.
"Frances," Theora said, ready to be as blunt as possible, and Frances blinked two blue eyes. "Y-yes?"
Taking a deep breath, Theora stood up, so that she towered on her feet above Frances in the chair. Frances glanced fearfully upwards as well, her whole body tensing as if waiting for a strike of the hand.
"You ruined my work here today," she said scathingly. "I was told you would help me do my job, not try to take it over. Furthermore, your presence caused a great distraction to me."
"Yeah…" Frances breathed, her voice thick. "So… what do you want me to… do about it?" She blinked hard, her gaze never once leaving Theora's, and her hands seemed to unconsciously clench and wring themselves together.
"I don't think your help is needed anymore," Theora gave it to her straight. "From now on you can sit in with othe controllers, but not with me. My job is too important to risk losing."
"I was only trying to help Edison," Frances rasped in a husky voice that sunk lower and lower with each syllable. "I thought…"
"Helping Edison is what I do," Theora told her sternly. "Not you. You have no place here."
Frances's large eyes slowly filled with tears, and she glanced down at her hands, trying to calm herself. Theora only watched for a few seconds before turning to Murray, who was staring back at her with an expression of disbelief and did you really just do that?
"Will I be needed later?" she asked, and was surprised at the nonchalance of her voice. She had just reduced another woman to tears, and yet felt no sympathy for her at all.
"Y- yes," Murray replied, getting a grip on himself. "I'd say stick around until Edison shows up again, in case…" He didn't finish his sentence, instead sighing and staring off into the distance, but Theora knew what came after that. In case Cheviot wants to talk to us. Surely now that Edison's attempt to draw in ratings had failed, the board executives would demand an explanation. She nodded, and then abandoned her workstation for the restroom.
Left alone at Theora's workstation, Frances hung her head low so that no one would see she was weeping and let the embarrassment wash over her. From the moment she'd met Theora she hadn't been too thrilled about her, as she stole Edison's attention away, but at least she hadn't meant to be rude as Theora certainly had. Frances could tell from one look at Theora that the controller didn't care much for her, all based on one simple meeting. It was hardly fair to judge someone in such a short amount of time, especially if they were emotionally fragile like Frances was. She rocked herself back and forth and tried to stop the tears- I only wanted to help my knight, my savior in shining armor. Suddenly a hand was laid on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Murray standing over her.
"Um." He cleared his throat, obviously uncomfortable with lachrymose females. "Are you okay?"
Frances shrugged and, though she felt rotten inside, presented a tearful smile. "I'll be fine in a minute. Don't mind me."
Murray nodded and, after one more concerned glance her way, left her side in favor of the viewphone.
After a minute, Frances did indeed feel better, and she got to her feet, wavering unsteadily and glancing around for someone, anyone, to talk to. Theora was gone, thank goodness, and Murray was intently speaking to someone on the viewphone. She sighed, and suddenly Theora's monitor lit up with the image of a computer-generated Edison Carter, or at least the bust of him. Frances was surprised at first, and then she remembered from her days of watching Network 23. This was Max Headroom, the AI who lived inside of the TV and helped boost the network's ratings with his sometimes offensive, sometimes innuendo-laden, always remarkably funny comments. To see even a part of Edison, though it was one so far removed from his true self, was a great comfort for Frances. She took a step forward, greeting Max with a tentative "Hello."
"And he-he-hello to you too, l-lady!" Max shot back with a disarming readiness. He grinned and it nearly frightened Frances. "To what do I owe the supreme-eme pleasure of speaking with you today-ay-ay?"
"Oh…" Frances fidgeted, not actually sure what to say to Max now that they were acquainted. "I guess 'm just hanging around."
"H-h-h-hanging around?" He presented the word with shock and giddiness. "Young l-lady, if we do not hang t-t-together than surely, we must never hang-h-h-hang at all. You d-dig it?"
Frances frowned. "I'm not sure I do."
"Oh, it m-m-matters not," Max blustered on. "Look sharp, for y-y-yonder human approaches, a st-st-stunner of the female variety. She's come to g-g-gather you away and take you from me… oh-oh-oh!" he cried in an increasingly melodramatic voice, throwing his head back. "This p-pain is too much for me to b-b-bear!" Then he winked out of existence, and Frances was left blinking and staring into the face of Tina, who had just approached.
"What was that?" Frances gasped, and Tina rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "Max? Don't pay him any attention. He's been waxing poetic ever since Network 23 refused to grant him his own TV series."
"But I did ev-ev-everything I could to g-g-et one!" Max protested, appearing suddenly out of nowhere. "I-I-I-I even paid my debts to the communi-unity, and that's no easy feat, oh no-no-no!" He pouted and then disappeared again, and Tina returned to the subject. "Are you ready to go home, Frances? I was let off work early because there's no story to do. There never really is when Edison's in the field." She peered closely at Frances's face, and suddenly switched her tone of voice. "Are you alright? Did something upset you?"
"I'm fine," Frances muttered, the embarrassment and shame suddenly coming back to fill her up like helium wuld fill a balloon. She felt ripe and ready to pop, to release all the emotions. "Theora kind of… kicked me out, that's all."
"Kicked you out? What do you mean?" Tina asked, and Frances explained sullenly how she had let her emotions get out of control and tried to direct the way the interview went, before being chewed out by Theora and asked to stay out of her business. She watched the way Tina's eyes widened in response, and decided secretly that she enjoyed it.
When they left Network 23 together, they passed Theora, who was coming in the opposite way from the restroom. Neither one of them paid her any mind, and it was a slightly confused and subconsciously hurt Theora who sat back down at her workstation afterwards, wondering why not even Tina had said hello to her when they walked by each other in the hall.
When Edison returned to Network 23, Theora expected him to have hell to pay. But instead of approaching Murray first and trying to argue his point, Edison slunk in through the door almost silently, camera in hand but not raised towards anything, eyes shifting their way across the ground below. Theora stood up to receive him, and it was only after he put his camera away that his eyes flashed onto her.
"I failed to deliver this time," he said flatly. "I'm sorry, Theora. I dropped the ball."
"Well, you'd sure as hell better pick it up," Murray replied, stepping into place beside the two and demanding from his presence to be noticed. "What kind of performance was that?"
"You don't need to apologize to me, Edison," Theora murmured. "Neither of us did very well."
"It was my mistake, and it affected all of us," Edison stated firmly. "I should own up to it. It was a terrible decision to go live- there's no way we could have talked freely on air. MacPhisto was playing to the crowd."
"Now any viewers who were still watching Network 23 will be enticed to watch Network 66 instead," Murray summed up the results of the failed interview. "Edison, you said this morning that you would get us better ratings with your story and now you've gone and sent them away. You've screwed over our entire network!"
"That's not-" Theora began, trying to defend her reporter, but Edison leapt at the chance to argue with Murray, transforming from self-abasement to anger in a matter of seconds. "The ratings were never my first priority," he growled between clenched teeth. "To be honest, Murray, I'd have hardly cared about the network if we'd at least gotten some answers from MacPhisto…" He shoved his fists into the pockets of his long coat and stared at Murray's placid face with a mixture of frustration and furious shame. "But there's no consolation because MacPhisto denies everything. He's too sneaky for his own good."
"And Frances didn't provide any help," Theora spoke up, recalling how Frances had claimed she knew the right words that would get MacPhisto to talk and then hadn't revealed any of them.
Edison looked around. "Where is she now, anyway?"
"Tina took her home," Theora replied coolly, crossing her arms. "I didn't think she was needed anymore."
"Did-" Edison began, but then Murray cut in. "Look, gang. Whoever's fault this is doesn't matter now. The only facts are that the interview stunk-" He glanced quickly at Edison to see if Edison was about to protest, but he said not a word- "and Cheviot wants us to meet him in the board room as soon as possible."
A tense silence fell over the trio as the inevitable sunk in. Edison had promised to bring Zoo TV down by the end of the day, and he had failed to do so. That promise had been all that was keeping Zik Zak from ending their sponsorship of Network 23. Now that Edison hadn't made good… Theora realized that, though Murray's words had sounded melodramatic before, perhaps Edison really had screwed over the entire network with his MacPhisto interview.
"Well, I suppose we shouldn't keep him waiting," Edison said finally, turning towards the doorway that led out of the main control room. "Come on, Murray."
"And me," Theora piped u, following Edison. He turned around on his heel and stared her down.
"Theora, you didn't do a thing to deserve this meeting," he said. "You don't belong up there."
"I watched every second of it," Theora replied, her shoulders stiffening. "I worked alongside you. This affects both of us, not just you."
Edison shook his head tightly. "Compared to me, any mistakes you might have made were unnoticeable. I'm not letting you take any heat for me."
"But I-" began Theora, and then she shut her mouth. Edison was too dead-set in his opinions of who was to blame that he wouldn't hear of any further protests. Silently, she stepped aside to let Edison and Murray pass, the latter of whom murmured in her ear as he went by. "Theora, you can go home now. It's up to us to deal with Cheviot."
"Thank you," Theora replied, and watched them move out into the hall, making their way towards the lift that would take them to Level 1 at the top of the skyscraper. A sense of incompletion filled her. She knew that it wasn't fair for both Murray and Edison to excuse her from the meeting, to assign her as being the one blameless name among them. But there was also nothing she could do to convince them she belonged at their sides. Eventually Theora turned around and went back to her workstation, her mind buzzing with dejection and fear for the future of Network 23.
Alone in the boardroom at the top of Network 66's main building, Ned Grossberg threw back his head and laughed heartily. He had watched the entire interview on Network 23, out of curiosity to see how the other network would react, and though he had once had his misgivings about MacPhisto, they all melted away once he'd seen how the man had played the interview to his favor. He was quite the showman, appearing that he belonged in front of a camera more than anywhere else. Grossberg checked the ratings, and was greatly satisfied to see that Network 66 was on top and Network 23 had fallen fast, crushed beneath the heel of a more popular program. It was all Grossberg had ever hoped for, and more he could have dreamed of. While MacPhisto got the credit for his work, Grossberg felt its immediate effects, as the ratings kept ratcheting up. Soon Network 23 might lie in ruins… and the public's eye would be poised on 66 entirely, waiting to see what their next move would be. The thought of a higher goal was exhilarating. Someday Network 66 might even be the most watched network around the world, and it was all thanks to this bizarre music program touted by a man dressed as the Devil.
Once she got home, the blinking red light on the viewphone's message receiver encapsulated all of Theora's attention, and she let her hair out of its ponytail and stretched her weary bones before sitting down, anxiety beginning to gnaw at the interior of her stomach. There were only a slim few options regarding the caller who had left a message, and Theora knew in her heart that it had been Kent. Abolishing her lunch date with him now seemed like a silly course of action, but it was one that Theora knew she had to pay for. She played the message and sat quietly as Kent's face appeared onscreen, his brow curved into tight lines.
"Hi, Theora. I just wanted to tell you that I saw Edison Carter's interview on Network 23, and… I'm rather confused at the moment. Please call me when you get this message- I would love to see you tonight."
The screen faded back to black, and Theora sighed, leaning backwards in her chair and clasping her fingers together. Kent's wanting to see her was completely understandable, but she herself wasn't sure that she wanted to see him. She didn't want to burden him with Network 23's problems, which were all that was occupying her mind at the moment. The thought flitted briefly across her brain to simply call him back, but Theora blocked it out. Though she felt a sense of duty to contact her boyfriend after he had contacted her first, the desire to do so was not entirely present.
Instead she got to her feet and, after a short moment of deliberation, went over to the refrigerator in a corner of the room and began searching for a frozen dinner of some sort. It was better to ruminate alone on the day's proceedings than to unload her emotions on anyone else. That was the way Theora had always functioned, and she was not going to let even Kent change her. As she passed the table, she noticed a familiar object lying on top of it- the diamond necklace that Kent had bought her. Theora picked it up and ran the cold glassy surface through her fingers, thinking. She must have lain it on the table that morning and forgotten to wear it. Ah well, she would add it to her ensemble the next day.
A few hours into the night, MacPhisto was focused more on getting roaring drunk than on anything regarding Zoo TV or the ratings of Network 66 or his master plan. He sipped calmly from a martini glass and stirred the contents around with a glass rod, settled back against the grand headboard of his bed. The TV would be playing his program in a few minutes, and MacPhisto awaited its onset with the peaceful inevitability as a person close to death would wait for his or her last breath. His only desire at the moment, besides wishing to watch more TV, was to have Frances lying in bed beside him, but that was a pleasure that he could not afford, thanks to Edison Carter's damned self-righteousness. What a fool MacPhisto had been to think that Frances, when left to her own devices, would remain the same passive and compliant creature that she had been when he first bought her out of her life in the sex industry. She had become far too clever lately, as evidenced by Carter's revealing her knowledge of his plans, and MacPhisto had to thank his lucky stars that he was still the smooth talker that he had been in his youth, although he was now using such skills to promote television and not religion as he once had.
MacPhisto's breathing had slowed tremendously by the time Zoo TV finally came on in its nightly block. He didn't know for sure of course, not having Grossberg's technology for checking out the ratings, but he felt in his gut that many more viwers were tuning in at this precise moment, to stay and never leave. The words that began to fly onscreen were a vast comfort to MacPhisto, and one corner of his lipstick-reddened mouth turned up into a smile as the music began to play, a wild and haunting song that spoke of following one's dream even in times of confusion. And I must be an acrobat to talk like this and act like that. And you can dream, so dream out loud… and don't let the bastards grind you down.
After a while the alcohol had seeped inside of MacPhisto's brain, clouding his mind with sentimental melancholy, and he welcomed the intoxication like an old and dear friend. Death is a career move, MacPhisto thought towards the TV screen as he downed the last of his martini (including the olive) and placed the glass on his bedside table next to the bottle, before thinking again and pouring himself another drink. But drunkenness… now that's a form of high art. And it was an art MacPhisto had fashioned to perfection.
When the song sequence was over, MacPhisto rolled himself out of bed and sighed, feeling the weariness in his old bones longing to drag him back again. But he did not heed the impulse and instead wandered off towards another room, one that was intended as a bedroom but instead was where MacPhisto kept all of his spare art and decorative items. It was a guilt pleasure of his, to buy objets d'arts on a whim and shove them away inside this hidden room. Sometimes he had led Frances in there to appreciate the beauty, but she had never stayed for long, which was fortunate. She may have been able to find his money, but she hadn't had enough insight to locate his stash of weapons, which was formidable enough to blow apart a large section of the population.
Inside his art room, MacPhisto went over and peeled back the zebra-print throw rug from the floor. Beneath it was a small trapdoor, one that led to a hidden cellar that MacPhisto had paid others to knock out for him. He now opened the trapdoor and carefully squeezed through it to stand in the basement, gazing around happily in the dim light. The underground room was lit by a single TV, which MacPhisto had bought to fulfill the quota of two TVs per household, but had squirreled away downstairs immediately after, for he had no need for more than one. A stream of chatter billowed out from it as MacPhisto blinked at the weapons stockpiled up all around him. The majority were guns of various types, machine guns being the most preferable, but there were also a few hand grenades and bombs amongst the rubble, just in cause the going got tough.
He could see it all happening now. The guns would be placed into the hands of child geniuses, the ones studying at ACS who worked with technology every day and thus were more susceptible to messages hidden in the TV. They would patrol the streets and set up a barricade, shooting anyone who did not comply with their rules. And no one could shoot back, for the simple reasons that they were both children and smarter than anyone else in the city, and therefore far too valuable to waste. It was a much better plan than trying to stir up the dumb, rowdy Blanks. MacPhisto had once thought that the only hope for the future he desired lay in them, because they had chosen to detach themselves from society, but after their reception of him at the bar he no longer wanted anything to do with them.
Once the revolution began, MacPhisto would take over the city, being the only citizen who knew how to control the child army. And when he was in power… That opened up a limitless amount of possibilities. Zoo TV would be modified to pacify the viewing audience, and MacPhisto would restore the good ol' days to prominence once again. The thought made him giddy, and he rubbed both palms together in eager anticipation.
"Hey, y-y-you-you!" a voice called from the TV screen, and MacPhisto jerked his head around to find, shockingly enough, Network 23's pet AI Max Headroom staring out at him.
"Who do you th-th-think you are-are?" he asked. "A s-s-superstar?" The melodrama was so thick in his voice that by the time he completed butchering the quote, he was scathing. "Well, how wrong-wr-wr-wrong you a-are!"
Under taunts from the talking head, MacPhisto did the first thing he could think of. He ripped off his platform shoe and hurled it at the TV screen. But Max Headroom was already gone, zapped off to some unknown plane of existence.
That thing-! That hideous thing that mocked Network 23's own viewers from the privacy of its TV screen! MacPhisto's hands curled into fists as he imagined what he would do if he were faced with a real life version of Max Headroom- what he had failed to do today with Edison. Thank God his obnoxious counterpart was protected by the glass of a TV, otherwise MacPhisto wasn't sure what would happen. Slowly he regained his composure- and then began to panic. Was this TV turned to Network 23? Before MacPhisto could even check to find out, he rushed to the dials and changed it to Network 66 in a second's time. A deep sigh of relief came from his lungs as The Hype's music, his own music, poured out of the screen. There would be no disturbance here. He could now go to bed and sleep safely.
Shortly after getting to Tina's apartment, Frances was showed the room where she would be sleeping, which utterly fascinated her. A bed all to herself was rare on its own, but to have a door that locked her inside of the room… She could have as much or as little privacy as she desired, depending on how far she slammed the door shut. Immediately upon being shown to her room the attraction was so strong that Frances hopped right onto the bed and lay down, rolling herself into a ball. "This is… amazing, Tina. I don't think I can thank you enough!"
"You're fine," Tina said warmly, a smile on her face. "I'll have to move Bryce's stuff out of here tonight, but you're plenty welcome here."
Frances sat up and ran her fingers across her bristly head. "Who's Bryce? Is he- Oh! He's the kid who got raped, right?"
A shadow of pain struggled across Tina's face, but she blinked and the expression was gone, although it had taken her smile along with it. "Yeah, Bryce is the one who was attacked by that criminal Alex Burgess," she said, her voice treading the line between what was appropriate to mention and what wasn't.
"I saw that story on Network 23," Frances said. "When Edison was reporting from his room at the medcen, and then when Alex was tried on You The Jury. It was a fascinating piece of news."
"Well…" Tina briefly glanced around herself as if looking for inspiration. "Even though Bryce isn't here anymore-" god, it sounds like he died- "I don't think it's quite… appropriate to talk about what happened. It's a pretty sensitive subject for us network employees."
"Oh." Frances nodded and turned, letting her long legs dangle off the edge of the bed. "I see. I'm sorry, Tina."
"You're fine," Tina repeated, but her voice shook a bit and she couldn't help but wonder why exactly Bryce had moved out of his room so soon. He'd looked completely indifferent to her presence as he told her that he felt comfortable in his lab again, and Tina had suspected ulterior motives. But it couldn't be that she was falling out of his favor that quickly, not when they'd only been together for less than a month. Did he think having to rely on a woman was weak- or was she interfering with his work? Either way, Tina hoped that she hadn't done anything to hurt or offend Bryce, and that he would come back to her eventually.
Edison, Murray, and the entire board of Network 23 were the only individuals who spent the night less than peacefully. As soon as the reporter and producer arrived from a lower level, there was hardly time to greet Cheviot before Ped Xing and his board of Zik Zak advisors were projected onscreen and demanded to know what Edison had been thinking when he went live with the MacPhisto interview. Edison tried to explain rationally what had come to pass- though never afraid to speak his mind on more radical opinions, he was always on his best behavior around board members- while Murray apologized for everything, taking the blame on his shoulders. But in the end, their explanation made little difference to Zik Zak. A promise was a promise, and Edison's failure to make good on his meant that Zik Zak should keep their end of the deal. Before they agreed to utterly pull out, though, Edison leapt in. "Wait. Sir, I know I said today that I would try my best to raise the ratings, and I failed. But I did try my best, and I'd like to be given a second chance. This program of Network 66's is overrunning every network, not just ours. It deserves to be brought down, and-" He hated to say what came next, but the words forced themselves from between his teeth anyway. "And Network 23 deserves to be the one to bring it down."
There was a short pause, and then Ped Xing said from the comfort of his board room in New Tokyo, "You are suggesting we give you a deadline?"
"The end of the week," Murray said, catching on quickly. "We'll have the story ready by then, and Zoo TV will be off the air. We promise." Edison nodded heavily, and Network 23's executives stared.
Ped Zing nodded. "But remember, if you fail to do your duty, Zik Zak will explore other pursuits." This time it was Cheviot who responded to him, saying that they would do all they could to make good at last. Once the webcast ended, a sigh of relief went up across the board, and Cheviot sternly told Edison that he had to try as hard as possible to get Zoo TV off the air. Edison nodded, accepting the challenge, and walked out the door with Murray upon dismissal.
"You'd better get it together," Murray said when they were out of earshot from the board members. "It's not just your ass out there, it's everyone's."
"I know," was all Edison said, his tone full of steely conviction. They parted and went off to their separate apartments, Murray's being full of silence and seclusion and Edison's being the swanky penthouse of everyone's desirings. Murray stayed up that night and drank and wondered how the hell the team was going to face this daunting challenge, and if he should tell Theora about the one-week deadline over the viewphone. Edison curled up in bed and stared blankly at the television before him, refusing to blame himself and yet knowing somewhere deep in the back of his mind that the ratings drop was all his fault. Before he fell asleep, Theora's face danced in front of his eyes, and he suddenly realized that if Zik Zak pulled sponsorship she might go back to World One. It was all he could do to hope that the strength of her emotional ties to certain individuals at Network 23 would keep her in place, because he couldn't imagine what he would do without seeing or working with her again.
Theora slept soundly all night, as neither Murray nor Edison thought the news of a deadline was important enough to wake her with. When she came into work the next day, though, Murray relayed the story of what had happened in the board room, and she reacted with urgency. "So we're racing against the clock all week? We've got to get moving on this story."
"You got that right," Edison's rough voice spoke up behind her. Turning, Theora saw an unkempt, unshaven Edison standing in the doorway of Murray's office, his eyes dull and underlined darkly. Apparently he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.
Theora went to him. "Edison, are you feeling all right? You look exhausted."
He shrugged. "I was up all night watching TV- not the Zoo kind, of course- and worrying for our network's future." A small but ironical grin began to appear on his face. "If this week ends soon and Network 23 is still at the bottom of the barrel, we'll all lose our jobs here, and it'll all be my fault."
"Not you," Murray said. "You've got a contract with Network 23. You're going to stay on."
"Yes, but you'd be out of business here, Murray, and Theora…" Edison turned his smoldering blue eyes onto Theora, and she was unable to look away from him. "If we failed you here at Network 23, you could always go back to World One."
Theora shook her head immediately. "World One doesn't need me. I belong here, at Network 23, no matter what."
"Besides, it's not even all your fault, Edison," Murray said. "It's that damn MacPhisto's. He used the interview to his advantage- you were just taken aback by it."
"I didn't think I was," Edison muttered.
"Well, the least we can do is start working on the Zoo TV story again," Theora said, moving towards the door. "We know that there are better reasons for bringing it down than simply boosting our ratings."
"Do we?" Edison muttered darkly. "After yesterday's little performance I'd say that MacPhisto could make anyone fall for his innocence. We're not going to get any proof if he keeps charming everyone."
"It's worth a shot," Theora said smoothly, refusing to let Edison bring her down. They were in a dire situation, yes, but she knew that there had to be an easy way out. She pushed past him and left Murray's office, calling over her shoulder, "Let's get started."
Bryce slept in late that morning without Tina waving coffee under his nose, and awoke to a message on the viewphone from one of the board members upstairs. Checking it, he realized that Ashwell had jumped the gun and panicked, as he was wont to do. "Bryce, Network 23 is in crisis. Zoo TV is crushing us and we're falling fast in the ratings. Please help!"
"What do they want me to do?" Bryce muttered rhetorically, pushing his glasses up his nose. If they were suggesting he apply a ratings enhancement treatment to Network 23's regular programming, they could just come right out and tell him.
He leaned back in his chair and pushed it to make it zoom backwards on its wheels while he wondered what sort of work he had to get done that day. Obviously the executive board wanted him for something, but since they hadn't specified what Bryce felt that it was at the bottom of his priorities. He maneuvered his chair over to the cage where his parrot was kept and mindlessly refilled its food bowl, watching as it squawked and settled itself on a perch to eat and preen.
Turning around, Bryce noticed the red light of his viewphone was blinking, and immediately rolled over to it and took the call. To his mild surprise, Jenny was on the other line, her forehead creased with what would appear to be anxiety. "Bryce?"
"Hi, Jenny. What do you want?" Bryce ran his fingers through his hair to fluff it up.
She bit her lip. "I wanted to know, are you still doing a story on our Zoo TV program?"
"We were yesterday," Bryce said, crossing his legs and leaning back comfortably into his seat. "But Edison went live with an interview of Mr. MacPhisto and apparently promoted Zoo TV to viewers, so that they all ditched 23 to watch 66 instead." He shrugged haplessly. "Now the entire board is panicking about Zik Zak pulling sponsorship and asking me to fix it, which is quite silly, really, since they won't even tell me what I'm supposed to do. How's your day going?"
"Not so great," Jenny admitted, and worriedly clasped her hands together. "Bryce, I've got something very important to tell you. You remember my sister, don't you?"
"Nadine?" Bryce said. "Yeah, I remember her. The one who wiped out half the computers thanks to a programming glitch."
Jenny smiled, though her eyes were tight. "Thankfully she's come a long way since then. But I just got news last night that she's been doing poorly in school. Apparently she's getting distracted and lashing out at her teachers. They told me that she'd grown obsessed with watching TV, and guess which network is her favorite."
It didn't take a teenage technology genius to figure it out. "Network 66."
"Yes!" Jenny was growing increasingly worried as she spoke to Bryce. "I can only guess that Nadine has been watching Zoo TV. Anyway, here's where the real spooky stuff comes in. This morning I got a call from ACS telling me that my sister has gone missing. Apparently she just packed up and left during the night… along with at least fifty other students."
"So it's a conspiracy?" Bryce caught on immediately. "Where did they go?"
"That's the thing," Jenny said, her composure finally slipping. "No one knows! It's like they vanished without a trace. Listen, I'm supposed to be responsible for Nadine, and when Mom and Dad hear she's gone missing they're going to put all the blame on me. But I didn't do anything!" Her voice rose in hysteria, and Bryce wished suddenly that she was beside him so he could calm her down. "Jenny, it's okay. At least, the chances are probable that it's okay. Well, maybe not probable, maybe more like a 30 to 20 chance that Nadine is okay. The mystery of the event makes it hard for exact calculations to be done."
Even through her distress, Jenny smiled. "Bryce, you're unique." She waited to compose herself while Bryce said, "I know."
"I want you to tell Edison Carter about this," Jenny said. "This is hard evidence of the corrupting power of Zoo TV. At the very least he'll get a good new story out of it."
"All right," Bryce said. "Thank you for the information. But… Jenny?"
"Yes, Bryce?"
"Why are you helping us?" Bryce asked. "You know Grossberg will probably throw a conniption fit when he finds out." He'd seen plenty of those fits when Grossberg was still the head of Network 23.
Jenny hesitated. "To tell the truth, Bryce, I don't like Zoo TV any more than you do. I don't care if your story hurts our network- it's unethical to keep this program on air." Seeing Bryce's slightly puzzled expression, she sighed. "I know you can't comprehend that, but just go with it. I'm your friend, Bryce. I wouldn't want to ruin your network."
"Thank you," Bryce said again. "I'll pass your story on to Edison's team. See you later, Jenny."
"See you, Bryce." She disconnected the line, and immediately Bryce dialed the number of the viewphone downstairs that would directly connect him to Edison Carter. But instead, the person to answer the 'phone was Theora. "Bryce?" She blinked in obvious surprise. "Hello…"
"Hello, Theora," Bryce greeted her, taking in every inch of her placid face. "I've just received some interesting information I would like to share with you."
Theora glanced backwards, presumably looking for Edison or Murray, and then said, "Go ahead."
Struck by her willingness to listen to him, Bryce was emboldened to continue. "I've heard reports that several students at ACS, about fifty… one of them, have disappeared in the night after becoming supposedly 'obsessed' with watching Zoo TV. Prior to their disappearance, the students misbehaved in class and continually got into trouble." He blinked beneath his glasses frame, watching Theora's intensely concentrating face. "I thought this might be helpful for your and Edison's story."
"Thank you, Bryce," Theora said, relief sounding in her voice. "I'll be sure to tell Edison about this."
"You're welcome," Bryce said, and this time he was the one to disconnect. Settling into his chair, he rolled his eyes to the ceiling and thought about Theora. After talking with Jenny the day before, he had felt encouraged to discuss matters with Tina, but when she had come up to the lab for a lunch break his words had twisted into pushing her away. The reason for this was now obvious- Bryce was not done exploring his emotions of love to find if Tina was really the one for him. He had to talk to Theora, to see if she would respond to his advances, and if not it was right for him to go back to Tina after all.
"Murray," Theora called as he passed her workstation. "Edison. Bryce just called me with news."
When the two men had arranged themselves in front of her, their faces full of serious skepticism, Theora explained the contents of Bryce's news. "He told me that the students at ACS have abandoned their school and gone off to places unknown, as an apparent result of watching Zoo TV. There are about fifty of them missing since last night. He thought it could help us if we're going to continue a story about Zoo TV."
Briefly, Edison and Murray glanced at each other, and then Murray said, "Let's see if it's on the news yet. If not, I'm sending you down there." He went over to the nearest TV and Theora got out of her seat to crowd with Edison around it as Murray flipped through channels, looking for any sign that the story was on TV. For a moment Theora held her breath, hoping that no one had gotten down there yet, but her hopes were smashed when they stumbled across Network 85's broadcast. A reporter was interviewing one of the teachers at ACS, asking him about the students' erratic behavior.
"Damn," Murray hissed. "They got to the story before us." He stepped back to see how the interview was proceeding.
"…I mean, she was on her best behavior all year," the teacher was saying, his eyes wide as he gazed into the past to recount the story. "Made straight A's in every class and was always on top of her assignments. It wasn't until just two days ago, when Zoo TV was implemented on Network 66, that she started acting… strange. It wasn't just that she'd stopped suppressing her emotions- she would go into a trance whenever she was around the TV. We were about to discharge her from the school until she left last night on her own accord. Didn't tell anyone where she was going or anything- just up and left."
"I wonder if they have Securicam footage of the students disappearing," Theora murmured. How she wished she could be down there in that situation, tapping the Securicams for espionage work.
There was a pause as the camera panned over to show several confused-looking ACS teachers speaking to Metrocops, and then Edison brought everyone's attention back to the present. "I'm going down there."
"You can't," Murray said immediately. "85 won't take kindly to your breaching their territory."
Edison turned to him. "That's not what I meant. I mean, I'm going down to see if I can't squeeze any quotes out of MacPhisto."
"Edison, no," Theora immediately protested. "After seeing how he manipulated you yesterday, you can't take any chances. He could act like getting the students to abandon their school is a good thing."
"But who here seriously believes that?" Edison countered. "Whatever excuse MacPhisto has, it's not going to hold up under closer inspection. I've got to get down there." He looked at Murray, his jaw set firmly. "With your permission, of course."
"Sure," Murray said, nodding in response. "Go ahead. Just don't do anything stupid."
Edison cracked a grin. "You know me, boss- I'd never do anything stupid."
Theora was hardly in her control seat and pulling up the mainframe by the time Edison rushed out the door. As she looked up, she noticed that Tina was just now entering the room, with Frances trailing behind her in tow. Theora's eyes narrowed, and after breathing a sigh of relief that Edison didn't notice Frances, she set off to work, tracking out the best path to get to MacPhisto's abode.
After Edison had reached the street where MacPhisto lived and aimed the camera at his surroundings, Theora was deeply surprised to find that two men she had never seen before were stationed outside of MacPhisto's door, their arms crossed in front of them.
"Edison," she cautioned. "Don't get too close to the house, and don't let them see you have a camera."
"All right." He turned the camera onto himself, and his face mirrored her confusion. "Who do you think they are, Control?"
"I'm not sure." She swallowed, trying to place their faces in her mind. "That one with the goggle glasses looked slightly familiar."
Obeying an unspoken order, Edison turned the camera back onto the guards posted on MacPhisto's stoop, and as soon as Theora caught sight of them again she realized where she had seen the bespectacled man before. This was David Edge, AKA Reggie the Dog, the guitarist who played with MacPhisto's band The Hype. He and the unfamiliar man were dressed in blue uniforms with what appeared to be yellow lemon insignias on the pockets, and both wore sunglasses, although the unfamiliar man had more of a conventional style and David Edge's glasses were smaller and looked more like goggles. He also wore a black beanie to cover his hair, whereas the other man's platinum blond locks shone in the sun.
"Approach them discreetly," Theora murmured, but Edison was already a step ahead of her, walking across the street towards the two men. He let his hand holding the camera fall, but though it was now dangling low he still had it at an angle to shoot from. The lower angle made the two men look more imposing than they had before, and Theora drew a breath, suddenly afraid for Edison's safety.
"Excuse me?" The voice that came from Edison was harshly authoritative, but neither of the two men appeared to bat an eye. "I came to see Mr. MacPhisto the other day and neither of you guy were here. Can you let me in to see him now?"
"I'm sorry." David Edge spoke first, and his voice was a calmly cultured Irish accent. "MacPhisto is not taking visitors at this time."
"Yeah right," Edison snorted, and stepped forward, but fluidly the two men came to block the door. The unfamiliar man spoke, and his voice was deadly threatening. "Run off now, Edison Carter. There is nothing to see here."
"That's what MacPhisto told me yesterday," Edison said. "But you're not duping me again this time." He took another step, this time getting close enough for David Edge to grab his arm and lean in close.
"Oh no we're not," David growled. "We are telling you the truth- there is nothing to see here, and nothing that you want to know. And if you try to come any further and stick your fucking nose in places it shouldn't go, you can be sure that both of us are going to kick your arse so hard that you'll never show up around here again."
"All right, all right," Edison relented, backing away. "I get the picture. Thank you for your time." He turned and walked back across the street, heading down the block before raising the camera up to his eyes again. "Pleasant bunch to be around, aren't they?"
"Very," Theora mock-agreed, already pulling up the view of the mainframe again. "But don't worry, I know another way around."
Edison inclined his head. "A safe way?"
"Yes." Theora briefly checked the map and then returned her attention to Edison. "You can enter MacPhisto's backyard if you cross the street here, and then walk around the back block."
"All right." He turned his camera outwards so that it faced the intersection. "Thanks, Control."
"You're welcome."
As Edison walked across the street and prepared to set off on a new leg of his reporting adventure, Murray came over to stand behind Theora and watch while she worked. "What's going on?"
"Edison was stopped by two guards outside of MacPhisto's home," Theora said. "One of them was his bandmate David Edge. Apparently he set them up specifically to block out reporters who want his comment on the ACS event."
"You think?" came Edison's voice from the screen. "I think there's something going on in that house. Something he doesn't want any outsiders knowing about."
"Well, we'll find out shortly," Theora urged him on, and she could swear from the sudden jolt of the camera that Edison was quickening his pace.
Once he had turned down the block in the back, it was easy to find the back of MacPhisto's house. "Just my luck," Edison murmured as he approached it. "Look at the windows, Theora. The curtains are open."
"You're going to film from outside?" Theora questioned, and Edison made a hm sound in assent. "With hope, no one inside's going to see me." With that he approached the back of the house and moved in, closer, closer, closer… until the camera was filming the stone wall of the house as Edison peeked in the window. He inhaled sharply.
"What is it?" Theora asked, and Edison replied in the tone that meant he was very serious. "You're not going to believe this." He hoisted the camera up to his shoulder and through the window, and though the image was a bit fuzzy Theora could still see what was going on, and her jaw dropped.
Spread out across the room, lounging on floor and leaning on the countertops and mostly eagerly crowded around the TV, were numerous amounts of young children, all seeming to range from ages ten to fifteen. Theora could see that their mouths were moving in conversation, but most of them gazed impassively towards their surroundings or jostled their way to the TV set. There was no sign of MacPhisto anywhere.
"The missing ACS students," Theora breathed. "Edison, you have to go in there."
But before he did, a sight came and stopped both him and Theora in their tracks. MacPhisto appeared onscreen, flamboyantly waving his arms around with a huge smile on his face, followed by a student carrying what looked to be…
Theora's heart froze. "Is that a gun?" She didn't wait for Edison's reply. MacPhisto turned and the student handed the gun over, and he raised it high in the air, which caused every student in the room to pump their fists high, forgetting the TV. The gun, Theora could see, was not an average gun- it was a machine gun, and in the hands of anyone it could do some serious damage.
"My God," Murray breathed, and Theora's body tensed as the student who had brought out the gun went to fetch more and more, handing them out to the other students, who cradled them to their chests with pride and glory written across their faces. Over the mic, she could hear Edison's breathing speed up and become louder, until the camera's image whirled about and was jostled as Edison marched towards the back door. The knob came into view, and Theora cried out. "Edison, no! Don't go in-"
Before he could, however, the camera went haywire, falling to the ground as Edison let out a surprised cry. The picture went fuzzy for a moment, and then Theora saw, in vivid detail, the guards from the front of the house fighting to keep Edison down. The blond man grabbed him around the chest and wrestled him to the ground, while David Edge aimed a kick in the direction of his face. As his foot connected and Edison cried out again in pain, Theora jolted back, her hand flying to her own cheek, although she felt nothing there- no bruise, no broken skin. With the blond man holding him down, David went to work on Edison, slamming his fists into every bare and unprotected part of him. With every blow, Theora felt the breath leave her, as if she was the one being beaten instead of Edison.
"Martinez," Murray gasped, and hurried off in search of the helicopter pilot who could swoop in to save Edison's life. Theora could only watch, horrified, as the blond man dragged Edison offscreen and David Edge wiped the blood he had drawn off of his knuckles before stalking over the where the camera lay on the ground. Theora's heart was beating fast, and she longed to leap out of her seat and through the screen, to rescue Edison in any way possible and to bring him back to Network 23. But she could do nothing as David picked up the camera, spat on its lens, and then turned it off, leaving a flurry of snow in his wake.
Presently Murray came back to Theora's side, and cursed when he saw that the line had gone down. "For the love of God, I hope Edison can get out of there," he said. "Those weapons MacPhisto was having the kids wield could put him out cold in seconds."
"What do you think he was trying to do?" Theora asked, trying to calm down and reassure herself that Edison was all right. "MacPhisto, I mean. I never imagined the kids at ACS could be involved." But, she realized rationally, it was what Frances had feared. Frances had spoken of MacPhisto starting a revolution- it just wasn't child soldiers that she had envisioned fighting it.
Murray echoed Theora's thoughts to a point. "I think this is what Frances was referring to. She thought MacPhisto was going to overthrow the government… but with the help of ACS students?" He shook his head in utter disbelief. "This is madness. They're just kids!"
"Perhaps one of us should talk to Frances," Theora suggested, though just the day before she had been totally adverse to the idea of socializing with her in any way. Murray nodded and made a move away from her workstation. "I'll go find her and Tina. After the way you treated her yesterday, I don't think it would be wise of you to speak to her until you want to apologize." He threw Theora a look, and she nodded, hanging her head low. Her anger at Frances seemed so petty now, especially since Frances hadn't deserved her feelings hurt.
With nothing to do now but wait for Edison to return to Network 23, Theora sat back in her seat and closed her eyes, trying to still her galloping heart or at least slow it down. A second later, her eyes opened wide once more as the viewphone emitted a series of beeps. Theora took the call and pressed the receiver to her ear, her interest dissolving into confusion when she saw Bryce on the other end of the line.
"Bryce, we've found the missing students from ACS," Theora asked before he got the chance to say anything. "MacPhisto has them."
"That's good," Bryce said absently, his eyes flickering about in distraction. "Listen, Theora, there's something I want to… show you. Something I can't do over the 'phone."
Theora glanced over at where Murray had gone before answering, "How important is it?" She didn't have anything to do yet, but she could be needed at any second.
"Very important," Bryce said. "Important to myself, anyway. Can you come up here?"
"All right. Should I bring Murray with me?"
"No," Bryce said. "I just want to see you." Confusion still clouded Theora's mind as the Disconnect icon appeared onscreen. What was so secretive that Bryce wanted to show it to her in person? And why her specifically?
She was still pondering this as she got up from her workstation, told Murray where she was going, and traveled on the lift all the way up to the hidden Level 13, where Bryce's lab was located. Bryce's head shot up immediately as Theora entered, and he got to his feet as she approached. "Hello, Theora."
"Hello, Bryce," Theora replied, resisting the urge to cross her arms. "What is it you wanted to show me?"
"Well…" For once Bryce seemed to be at a loss for words, and he briefly gazed down at the floor as he spoke. "It's not really something I wanted to show you. It's something I wanted you to… show me."
"What do you mean?" Theora asked, a small note of wariness appearing in her voice. Bryce couldn't be trying to…
"I mean…" He took a step towards her, so that they were within touching distance. Slowly, Bryce reached out and took Theora's hand, and she blinked, not sure if she should let go or not.
"I've been trying to figure out this emotion called love," he said. "I mean, don't get me wrong- I love my parents and I love my friends. But it's a different kind of feeling with Tina, and I'm not sure if that feeling is real. I need to know if I feel the same way for you, or if it's just the same kind of ordinary love that everyone has."
Before Theora could say anything- in truth, she was much too surprised to think of what to say- Bryce had stood up on his toes and tried to kiss her. He didn't reach her lips in time- Theora ripped her hand from Bryce's and dodged the kiss, leaving him confused and slightly concerned.
"What's the matter?" he said. "Don't you like me?"
On any other day Theora would have shaken her head and tried to laugh at the silliness of it all, but today she could only stare open-mouthed at him. "Bryce…"
"What?"
"Of course I like you," she said, feeling emotions begin to stir inside of her. This wasn't the first time she had almost been kissed by a Network 23 employee… nor had the first time been the last…
"So…?" Bryce said, folding his arms. "You don't want to kiss me because I'm too young for you?"
Slowly, Theora gathered her wits, pushing all the tangled thoughts that had just surfaced to the back of her mind. This time she had to give a shaky laugh. "No, Bryce, though that's part of it. I'm just… not into you, sorry."
"Oh," Bryce said, his eyes turning into slits as if he was concentrating on a particularly difficult mathematical problem. "Is it because of your boyfriend?"
Kent… Suddenly the tumultuous feelings that had been stirred up inside of Theora transformed themselves into something concrete, the shape of her boyfriend standing in her arms. The longing for him, as well as the guilt that accompanied this, was so strong that it early knocked Theora off her feet and left her weak in the knees. She wanted Kent. God, how she wanted him.
Avoiding the question, Theora tried to turn her thoughts back to the matter at hand by saying, "Bryce… you can't just force yourself to fall in love with someone, you know."
"But that's the thing," Bryce insisted. "I don't know. I've talked to a friend about it and she says the same thing as you, that you can't force your emotions to change… but I don't know if my emotions are even correct!" His voice rose with his frustration. "I've never been in love with anyone before. I know I like Tina, but… what if I'm just enjoying her surface and putting myself in a relationship for the sake of being in one?"
Enjoy the surface… The phrase sent an oddly familiar ping through Theora, but she shook it away. Her voice turned smooth and soothing. "I don't believe you're faking your relationship with Tina. Just talk to her about how you feel. I'm sure that she'll understand."
"That's what my friend told me to do too," Bryce said, and sighed in exasperation. "Relationship stuff is hard, Theora. I mean, everything was so cut and dry at ACS- they told us to suppress our emotions, because emotions get in the way of work. And I was doing so well until… until you-know-who attacked me… and suddenly Tina wants to date me and all these emotions are welling up inside me and I don't know how to deal with them and I… I just…" He broke off and for a moment Theora thought he was going to cry, but instead Bryce took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm really sorry for upsetting you, Theora."
"That's fine," Theora said, though her heart was burning. She needed to run from this place, to free herself of the emotions that Bryce in turn had stirred up in her. She needed Kent, and she did not need Edison. "I'd love to help you, but all I can say is that Tina is probably more qualified for that than I am. I know she'll help you understand what you're feeling."
"Thanks," Bryce said, sounding calmer now that he had vented. He sat down in the nearest swivel chair and pushed it with his feet to roll towards Theora. "I hope I wasn't interrupting your work by calling you up here."
"Oh no," said Theora. "No, you're perfectly fine." She turned to leave for the lift while Bryce called out, "Goodbye!"
Once the lift had let off at her proper level, Theora took a moment to compose herself before peeking into the main room. Murray was nowhere to be found, so presumably Edison had not yet returned. Nerves gnawed at her stomach- she should be returning to her workstation, and she knew it. But a large part of her protested against this. After remembering the three times that Edison had tried to kiss her, Theora felt that she was close to putting together the pieces of a puzzle. But this wasn't a bigger picture that she wanted to see. She needed Kent- he would help her make sense of her emotions. She. Needed. Kent. At once Theora whirled around and began to march in the opposite direction of the main room, heading towards the doors that would take her outside. The air hung humidly around her, only maddening her more. Theora took off at a brisk pace towards the car garage where Kent worked.
She was sweating and worn out when she got there, but her breath was still shaking and her stomach churning with want, desire for Kent. She ignored the owner of the garage who tried to persuade her to buy something- "No thanks," she brushed him off. "I've already got a relic in my room at home"- and marched quickly over to the station where Kent worked. As soon as she saw him, sliding out grease-covered from the underbelly of a car, she put on a burst of speed and rushed towards his surprised but joyful face. "Theora! What are you doing he-"
"I need to see you right now," Theora stated forcefully, kneeling beside Kent as he straightened up and wiped his face with a nearby rag. Her eyes feasted hungrily on the length of his body. Oh, how could she possibly wait? Kent stared at her with wide eyes.
"Are you all right? Are- are you…?"
"I'm fine," Theora said, and a grin spread across her face. "I just need you to come with me." She reached down to tug at his hand, and upon touching his skin an electrifying burst of energy shot from his body to hers, infusing her with the strength she needed. Kent somehow caught on to the mood, and drew in a sharp breath as he got to his feet, pulling her up with him.
"My lunch break doesn't start for another few minutes," he murmured, but Theora knew he was fighting a losing battle, and that she was winning. She leaned in close to kiss his lips, with only the barest hint of chasteness.
"I'm sure they won't mind," she said. "Come with me."
Seconds later they were roaring through traffic in Kent's own relic, a 1952 Ford Prefect, trying their best to keep their hands off each other and focus on the road ahead.