AN: Thank you so much to all of you, my faithful readers, and reviewers. Entertaining you with my vision for this story is the whole reason I began, and I thank you for your dedication and support. This chapter is one that I am incredibly proud of, and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you for your time, reviews, and support. And thanks be God for helping me write in a way that is deeply satisfying for me and helping me out of my writing ruts I don't know how many times.

Pagliacci-11

Chapter 24

The gentle beep of the heart monitor sounded in the very early morning hours. Aelita was asleep her head on the bed as she held Anthea's hand. The doctors had decided to proceed and removed Anthea's spleen for safety's sake but also because the bullets had decimated the organ as a whole. Anthea was breathing on her own, but she was still very much in recovery. The drugs that were coursing into her system destroyed any sensation of pain, but even Aelita knew that the drip of drugs would have to be ceased eventually.

Odd was asleep in the chair nearby the bed, having finally gotten to sleep in the stiffly upholstered chair as was common in such an area. Yolanda, however, stood mute and still in the dark. She knew she could easily remove Anthea from the equation, this was something, she was very much adept at and had been doing for years on behalf of the initiative. However, Yolanda knew better than to act in haste. True, she had the potential to end any possible retaliation and do so, so that none would notice. But would it have been prudent?

Yolanda patched into her implant, and she thought, "M-1202 to North. I am in perfect striking distance of the target. How should I proceed?"

There was silence a moment and North-Gate replied, "I see what you see, and I advise you to stand down for now. She is wounded and in recovery. We will have plenty of time to act beneficially. Just not now. Stay your hand. This is very much a scenario that will remedy itself."

Yolanda nodded and ended the communication and sat in the only other chair in the room and closed her eyes. She listened to the sounds of the hospital. The beeping of the monitors, the sterile gloss of the floors outside. The smell of sanitizer and a hint of lemon. It came back to her half why she loved hospitals, the other half why she hated them. The love came from the versatility that such places afforded. All manner of tools to maim, hurt, heal, and cure all stemming on the mood of an overseeing doctor. The exact nature of the hospital, a form of battleship. Every person had their function and had to perform it with a degree of exacting precision.

Yolanda knew that there were some nurses from her experience in the States, how some nurses didn't precisely have the bedside manner, but they were efficient. Those who weren't efficient usually had a reasonable degree of bedside manner. Then there were the undesired, the squelchers as Yolanda called them. Getting their nursing degree to get a more natural hold on laboratory precision drugs than risk the dangers of the street supply. Such people were those she ordinarily dismissed in years past; however, now they were to her as valuable as gold. Where doubtless many saw junkies, Yolanda, now she had her eyes opened by her years in the operations, saw nothing but untapped raw manpower.

However, the hospitals as much good as they had given, as many elements of resources as they provided, Yolanda knew the darkness hospitals. It was an element which she called, 'the sweet-worded reaper.' Cancer had devastated many of her friends and family back home. It was the same with John, she knew. He had lost his friend, Dave Hickey, to cancer and just a few years after his own mother. But it was from him, her philosophy of 'the sweet-worded reaper' took root. The hospitals would give chemo, give painkillers, help as best they could. Yolanda knew that due to what she had seen personally and what North-Gate had shown all of them, cancer was something generations upon generations in the making. A slow poisoning of the people from ever-present advancement to better feed the people, that was just one cause. But in this place, Yolanda and indeed the whole team knew there was an entire slue of other reasons. Could hospitals help? Just barely and even then, there was an eye out to ensure that there wasn't a resurgence. But what all the North-Gate team knew was that when it was environmental, it didn't matter how many drugs, how many chemo treatments you had. In time, your time would be up.

This was Yolanda and even John's reason for fighting, to end all of it. The endless suffering, the sadness of families which the disease took from them, loved ones far too soon. That said, this was just one reason, one of many to spur forward the progress that North-Gate brought. Not only did the program promise, but what amazed all the operatives, the program delivered distinctly on how to eradicate maladies such as cancer but other widespread elements that caused its growth. Yolanda remembered when she was told about the growing pains of progress, and she was dead against it all at first. However, as with anyone, Yolanda learned this truth: Until you were shown how seemingly unpleasant pains affected the world for the better, you would be against it likely until the end.

Sitting in the dark, Yolanda listened to the gentle rustling of meal carts and the janitor's mop. She patched back into her implant and thought, "North, can you patch our anthem through to my implant? I could use some good music."

North-Gate replied, "Quintet or Choir?"

"Quintet, please, I need soothing, not encouragement."

There was silence, and the music began to play with the gentlest piano accompaniment.

Once to ev'ry man and nation

Comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of truth and falsehood,

For the good or evil side;

Some great cause, God's new Messiah,

Off'ring each the bloom or blight,

And the choice goes by forever

'Twixt that darkness and that light.

Yolanda envisioned all that North-Gate and the team had accomplished as the song played. The deaths of many a tyrant. Not always a king or queen, not always a leader, not always the loudest voice. At times it was the lauded captain of industry; others it was the graft-filled greased wheel to enable corruption through securing an outcome. Other times it was the liar to the people, the deluder, and deceiver of the importance of the people's voice. These and countless others had been laid low in the earth never to breathe again. This comforted her, it affirmed to her as to what they need to do. She gently sang along as the song played.

Then to side with truth is noble,

When we share her wretched crust,

Ere her cause bring fame and profit,

And 'tis prosperous to be just;

Then it is the brave man chooses

While the coward stands aside.

Till the multitude make virtue

Of the faith they had denied.

As the singing continued, Yolanda reflected on what seemed the countless years that she has marched with North-Gate. It seemed so long ago, so many lifetimes, but at last, Yolanda understood what the initiative was doing. Many she knew would hate them for it at first because this is what they knew. This is what this area of time and space knew and because this was all they knew. These new changes would hurt them at first, but once accustomed to these changes, they would be free, vindicated, truly on an equal playing field.

New occasions teach new duties,

Time makes ancient good uncouth;

They must upward still and onward,

Who would keep abreast of truth.

Tho' the cause of evil prosper,

Yet the truth alone is strong;

Tho' her portion be the scaffold,

And upon the throne be wrong;

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow,

Keeping watch above His own.

The song ended, and Yolanda accessed her implant and looked over the progress of prior initiatives. As she looked over the effects of efforts over the years had accomplished, did she have the right to complain? No. So much good had been done over an equal amount of hard labor, persuasion, and action. She was grateful for the progress North-Gate had helped all to achieve. But it wasn't just North-Gate either. It was the understanding that came with every aspect of the implementation of the New Horizon doctrine, it was the efforts of all the group to ensure people understood. Did people always accept what was happening? No, and neither did they wholeheartedly approve. But, once they were shown the benefit, they were made to appreciate the occurrences over time by the joy that they possessed.

Yolanda went to the contact screen of the operations, and she called John.

He was groggy due to the earliness of the hour, but he answered, "Londie? What's up?"

"I wanted to ask you something. Do you remember when I first came to our family?"

"Yeah, yeah, I do. Back in Mexico."

"Yeah, I was thinking back when I first met the girl who became North-Gate. I was listening to the quintet which she used to be part of. Terry, do you feel we have deviated in any way from our original vision?"

"There have been stumblings, I don't deny that. But we learned from them. How to better preserve our ideals even in the face of what we have encountered over all this time."

"Yeah, the reason I ask is that I've been going over the three nations that we have built since these operations began. I believe honestly that, maybe I'm overthinking it, but I feel we're in a bit of a pendulum motion with our ideals. Does that make sense?"

"I think so. But, go ahead and expand on what you mean."

"We went back and forth on the socialist v. capitalist mindsets for our countries, and I was wondering which in the end, in your opinion, prevailed?"

"That's a complex question. To answer succinctly, there is no clear victor in either ideal. Each system has its place. Yet, it's largely the whim of the people or the governing heads that dictate if either system is implemented or not. Capitalism we largely adhered to because the people cried ceaselessly for private industry and what they perceived as more direct control over their finances. However, because the State largely runs the country in terms of protecting the people and maintaining the overall infrastructure, it is not uncommon for those at the head to wish for a more communal approach as opposed to the free market."

Yolanda listened, and she said, "I have a question, Maria was overseer of the economic elements of the three countries, and she had to deal with both the representatives as well as with the common people. What were her observations as she navigated this dilemma?"

"She was not pleased either way, but through counseling with North-Gate and the rest of us, we decided to let the systems go back and forth as you say, in a pendulum effect. Why? Because people are usually never satisfied. Thus, we all agreed that the pendulum effect that goes back and forth between capitalist and socialist would be in constant flux. The reason for this was because people in their mercurial nature, don't know what they want. They do, they don't want to admit it, however. They want comfort and ease of life, but they also strive for prominence on the grand scale of who they are like any kind of tradesman. At the end of the day, it's more a pride thing than anything else."

Yolanda nodded, and she asked, "So if you know this is what people want, why not just go full-blown capitalism as opposed to keep it in a constant ebb and flow with socialism?"

"Simple. Because each system shows the "injustices" of themselves, so to speak with due time. The capitalist system falls apart because the common man knows there are one too many fat bastards eating all the pie. Subsequently, those who are well-to-do have no want or inclination to help the impoverished or destitute, as such a system creates inevitably in the end. They don't entirely believe in such things as welfare or social anything; nothing was given to them. That said, they don't help the poor with their wealth either, and they wonder why in time people eventually hate them. Too many affluent people hold too many strings, and thus the capitalist system gives way towards more social thinking."

"And what are the weaknesses of the social system?" Yolanda asked as she watched the sun gently peak over the horizon.

"The opposite. You see, you have a social mindset in that all must give of their first fruits to the ordinary people a portion, and in time that portion is doled out equally to your neighbors. That's the ideal but hardly the reality as we've experienced. Too many would come to rely on the 'goodness of the neighbor' shall we say, and from that, the system withers from within. The people themselves are naturally lazy, and so to remedy this, what North-Gate did was she made 'incentivized rationing.' What that means is that if you don't work, you don't eat. For those who refuse work, their portion of food and income is reallocated into a state storehouse to be put into a soup line for the next day."

"What did you do with people who refused to work?"

"To put it kindly, they incentivized and given three strikes. We were gentle the first time, fair in the second, harsh in the third, fourth strike you were exiled from the community. If you attempted to come back, we would welcome you, put you through a suitable vetting process, and if you proved yourself willing to work, you be instated back. If you came back illegally, however, you were terminated."

"I see, and so really you know the weaknesses of the systems that we struggled with for an economic model. But you had solutions whenever those systems were demanded by the common people?"

"Exactly the people don't always know what they want. But we have come up with a more final solution do deal with this indecision, so eventually, we will stop the pendulum. But it took three countries and several instances of back and forth to arrive at our final solution, which we will implement here. As with anything, as I said, we had a few stumblings, but we are learning from them."

Yolanda was silent a moment and said, "Thank you, Terry. Thank you for explaining things like this. I was a bit disconcerted when I looked at our records of policies."

"It's alright, Londie. You just must remind yourself; policies change typically based on the temperament of the people at large. It's like with alcohol when we first started out. We had countless people with pickled guts, and so naturally, as was our inclination, we thought well ban it. That turned out just as well for us as it did for the States initially, not at all. So, our solution was to concede. We would always have those who loved their alcohol a bit too much. That said, though, we turned the State into the mainline producer to ensure quality product over the nightmare that was moonshine. We got a massive slice of the pie which we turned into revenue for the infrastructure, the people got their booze back, and well the rest is history.

In time, even that policy changed to include marijuana and became the main recreational element for most of our populace. And because reports of domestic abuse were down because of legalized cannabis, we as the State, reallocated some productivity from booze into marijuana, we just switched it. Plus, with the natural hunger-cravings as a result of the product, we invested in various forms of easily made dispensable food to cure hunger pangs. That gave our farmers and growers a substantial income, thanks solely to a mostly doped up and hungry population never mind the additional capital from exports to other nations."

"And how do you control abuse of the product? I mean, I'm sure it's not that simple."

John chuckled, "You'd be amazed at what a ration of weed of choice does for you. Think of our rationing of weed like an Advent Calendar, a different type for every day of the week. And if you like a kind, you can ask the State to make it your regular allowance mixed with other strains on rotation. Humans are creatures of habit. They won't question so much if they are placated in a manner that suits them.

"You really please the people, don't you?" Yolonda asked.

"You have to. Because you must think of it as a long-term investment. Feed a people, shelter them, give the training to achieve your purpose, praise them for their quality of work, give them the desires of their hearts in terms of small every day merits. As a result, they will have no real justification, let alone want to rebel against you."

Yolanda looked at the sun now a quarter risen and said, "Thank you. I'll think about what you've said. I have to wake up the kids and get them back to Kadic. I'll talk to you later tonight after I've gotten off work."

John replied, "Certainly. And Londie, don't worry about a lot of these things. You'll find that sometimes even though you may have a position of influence, there's a lot more grief and headaches than you'd think. Delegation helps, true, but you'll still feel it. I'd recommend you take some recreation time and decompress a bit. I know that a lot has been on your mind with the loss of Chloe, but rest assured, her sacrifice was not in vain, and if you need rest, I can arrange it so you can have all that you need."

"Thank you, Terry. I'll see you later."

Yolonda shut off her implant's communication, and she saw Aelita and Odd gently begin to stir. A nurse came in, and she asked, "Ma'am, do you need anything?"

"Is there a coffee machine nearby?" Yolonda asked.

"I can get it for you, what would you like?"

"Dark roast if it's available two creams one sugar." Yolonda replied, "Thank you."

The nurse went off to get the coffee while Yolonda put her hand on Aelita's shoulder, "Aelita, are you alright?"

Aelita woke gradually, and she yawned a bit, "What time is it?"

"Six in the morning. When would you like to head back to Kadic?"

Aelita's eyes adjusted the light, and she said, "Well, she seems to be okay. If possible, I'd like to come back sometime in the next two days."

Yolanda replied, "Very good. I'll let Mr. Delmas know. If you'd like, I can get you and Odd some breakfast on the way back."

Aelita looked at her, "I wouldn't want to impose."

Yolanda smiled gently, "If it were imposing, I wouldn't have offered."

Aelita nodded, "Thank you. I'll wake Odd."

Aelita gently shook Odd awake, and he started at first, but she put her finger to her mouth and whispered, "Ssh, we're going back."

Odd nodded and gently got out of his chair as the nurse came back with Yolanda's coffee. Yolanda thanked her, and they headed out to the parking garage.

Yolonda asked, "How are you feeling, Aelita?"

Aelita sighed, "A bit better, if I'm honest. I'm glad she's alright now. I'm just amazed that someone would do this."

Aelita got in the back seat with Odd, and Yolanda got in the driver's seat, and in time they were on their way back to Kadic.

Meanwhile, Jeremy was walking in the park in the early morning hours, just taking in the silence and near tranquility of his surroundings. He was hoping that Aelita was okay as she hadn't answered her phone all evening. He understood that she had a lot on her plate, as who wouldn't in her situation? He came to the large loop, and he stood silently as he listened to the tree leaves rustling in the wind. No one from the school had woken yet, and it was a weird thing, but he enjoyed the sounds of nature, devoid of voices or laughter; it was, if anything, acclimating to his spirit.

Jeremy sat down on the bench, and as he relaxed, he let his mind wander. What was so very crucial about what Aelita's mother had said, don't use the return to the past? Why? There was nothing to indicate that there was anything particularly wrong with the function. Jeremy had made the minds of all the team immune to the effects of the return to the past. But what was the greater danger that Aelita's mother seemed to hint at? It was on the tip of her tongue, but she was pressed for time, clearly.

As he pondered these questions, he felt the powerful reverberating ache of his arms and back kick in as the work out with Aelita felt like it had shredded his arms. The movement of his arms and hands subsequently were immensely small and stiffened, making Jeremy feel more like the tin woodsman from Wizard of Oz. Soon, a tone sounded throughout campus, followed by the following announcement, "All students, please report to the gymnasium for an announcement. All students, please report to the gymnasium for an announcement, thank you.

Jeremy got up and headed towards the gymnasium. At the same time, the other students slowly began to drip out of the dormitories until, eventually, a slow-moving flow began to converge on the gymnasium. Once all the grades were assembled, Jean-Pierre stepped forward and began to speak.

"Well, children, is that time of year when we prepare for the upcoming students who desire to attend our academy and for the gradual progression into your grades and for some of you transferring to either our sister academy for further education or into a more public school system. Considering all that we wish to achieve in the upcoming years, we have decided to do away with the single-occupant dormitory standard. From this point on, those of you who have been on your own will now bunk up with another student due to the sizeable influx of attendees coming this new year."

There was a considerable noise of complaint made by the student body, but Jean-Pierre raised his hands, "Children, this is a minor inconvenience for some of you. But it will only be temporary as we complete construction on a new dormitory building. Construction is slated to begin over the break and to be completed in two months. After completion, the old standard will be restored as it once was. Until such time, each student will be re-evaluated in terms of overall housing, and only the most extreme cases will retain solitary housing. Now, from this point on, you will be released for the break and returned to your homes unless you are a resident border. You may pack your things and await your parent's arrival. You are dismissed."

The students were taken aback slightly as this was uncustomary to be released three days early for the break. As they got up and headed out, Jeremy met with Ulrich, "What do you think?" Jeremy asked.

"Realistically? I think the school is undergoing a form of hard reevaluation in terms of what all happened in just a few weeks here. The dorm may be a smokescreen, but it's a very effective smokescreen to keep the more nosy of us off-campus and at bay while a solution is reached."

Jeremy nodded, "What's your opinion on the whole doubling up with the dorms?"

Ulrich shrugged, "Hard to say. It'd make our maneuvering a bit more difficult, but a person can be easier to overcome than an invisible barrier. But honestly, something tells me we haven't seen the last of our mutual friend's tests. Sure, the digital wall may be down, but what's to say she didn't pop up another form of wall that needs a bit more tactful navigation?"

Jeremy sighed, "I don't think so. I don't think so because this is an entity that tries to keep her word. This is an entity where something like this seems a bit too simple."

Ulrich nodded, "But sometimes, Jeremy, simplicity is the best weapon you could have. What better way to secure something than with a straightforward explanation of why a certain action must take place? Delmas said we're getting new students, and this is only temporary. But even so, a lot can happen in a couple of months as we saw with this whole security thing in less than a month."

Jeremy nodded, "I understand, and I more than see your point. But I think honestly this isn't her. It's too simple. What's more, we've always had a few more students every year, but even so—" he hesitated, "I don't know. I'll do my research and investigate our institution's finances. Something tells me that there is a reason we have more boarders, and the more I investigate it, likely the more I'll see. But as I said Ulrich, I don't think this is North-Gate. I'd say more realistically, it's just a population hike as Delmas said. My only issue is if we are to work with this entity, that we need a secure way out to deal with it. And roommates, as you pointed out, may complicate matters."

Ulrich nodded, "Well, there is something you could do. You usually board here through the summer anyway. You only leave to be back with your parents around mid-break so you could do your work uninterrupted at least for a little while. As for North-Gate and my suspicions, I'm sorry if I sound paranoid. But, given what we've been exposed to, can you exactly blame me?"

"No, not at all. It's a thing that, like with XANA, most people would think us crazy if we told them what XANA was. There's no difference between him and North-Gate except their directives. So even though I hope to work with this program, it bears as much if not more, watching as we gave XANA because of the raw stakes involved."

At that moment, Aelita and Odd joined the two, and Aelita asked, "What's going on?"

Ulrich said, "Apparently, we're getting an influx of new students, so many, so we're going to all be made to share our rooms unless we are a special case."

Aelita nodded, "And this is for everyone?"

"That's right, princess," Ulrich replied, "Everyone is going to feel this en mass. They're doing an evaluation of current students during the break to see if any merit a room to themselves as the new dorm building goes up."

Odd's eyes went wide, "That many students are coming? How many are expected?"

Jeremy replied, "Apparently, it's enough that the traditional allowances of privacy most of us had with dorms are being reevaluated to see who genuinely needs privacy."

Odd replied, "But we have an entire grade moving out as we move in, doesn't that free up the necessary space?""

Jeremy said, "One would hope so, but apparently that's not the case if they're doing a full revaluation. Anyway, I'm going to check this out while everyone packs. I'm going to check out the numbers as it's not at all that hard to breach the registrar."

Aelita walked with Jeremy as she noticed his arms were still as beams, and she said, "I hope you're not too sore from yesterday. I know it can be a lot of strain on the body after something like that."

Jeremy gave a smile, "No, it's alright. I just have to rest my body as best as I can. The only downside to this is that I feel very much like one of my robots, limited mobility, and questionable grip at best."

Aelita smiled, "Come on, we'll go to your room and see what the drastic surge in numbers is and what it stems from, afterward we can figure out how to deal with our new living arrangements."

As they walked, Jeremy said, "I was meaning to ask you, how are you feeling with all that has happened with your mother?"

"I'm as good as I can be, honestly. Given the circumstances. My mother's okay, but she's going to be in the hospital a few days more. Nurse Yolanda is trying to arrange with Delmas some regular trips so that I can check in on her time to time. However, she was completely out of it when I arrived, so I just sat with her most of the time. The doctors removed her spleen, that was what was in the most danger. But we're okay, thank goodness, and so well now we're here."

Jeremy nodded, "I'm glad she's okay. I'll go with you if you permit me next time you go. And I'm glad to see you're holding up so well. What we'll do now is just get ready for traditional summer break. I've worked on your form so you can stay a border, but at the same time, with the evaluations underway, that very status may be more in jeopardy than we think."

"That's okay. We'll figure it out during the time we have. We may be a bit pressed, but it's nothing we can't handle."

"Ulrich raised a valid point, though, that it would be a bit harder to navigate as clandestinely as we have in the past with new roommates. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard. But, get stuck with a stickler for the rules or a kiss-up, and we would have a more persistent thorn in our side."

Aelita waited as Jeremy unlocked his door, "But, is it that likely of someone being that much a legalistic ass?"

"Depends on the person, I think. You could end up with someone entirely relaxed, not caring at all. Or you could wind up with someone breathing down your neck. Very rarely with roommates do you ever get a middle ground, especially in a place like Kadic where rumor spreads quicker than flame on cooking grease. It's sadly a fifty-fifty chance. A real crapshoot. However, when you know how to bend house rules, it's a bit more bearable. How do you think I got the luxury of getting my own personal room to do as I please? Come on, let's look at the guts behind these decisions of late."

Back at the hospital, Akiko was sitting beside Anthea checking on her stability. Akiko knew it was a dangerous gamble the woman was playing. Akiko had investigated the events that had led to Anthea's hospitalization, and the circumstances behind it were eerie, to say the least. A trusted officer, who had practically been a star on the security forces, turned at the drop of a hat. Akiko knew the one she knew as Chloe if that indeed was her real name was being investigated as a sleeper-agent. But the question on Akiko's mind and indeed many at the oversight office, a sleeper-agent for whom?

Chloe had been on the force for the better part of fifteen years and had an exemplary service record for her service in Iraqi Freedom. It was from her service the agency recruited her as a specialist in acquisitions. However, no one knew what had caused the switch to flip, and it was a question that Akiko knew was haunting the upper heads of the agency. Anthea had dealt with this problem; she had blown the woman's brains all over her wall. However, Akiko knew instinctively that this was far from the end. The agency would conduct an entire overhaul investigation and check all footage and communication to see just what had happened because, in truth, it was all they had. Chloe's body had been taken from the agency's own offsite morgue, and there wasn't a trace of those who took the body anywhere on CCTV.

Akiko thought on this and several other things as at that moment, she saw Anthea's fingers twitch, and gently she opened her eyes. Akiko was grateful to see she had pulled through, and as Anthea came to, she muttered something that showed she wasn't in her right mind at first. After a moment trying to asses where she was, Anthea locked eyes with Akiko.

"Aki, they came for me," Anthea said in a barely audible whisper, "North-Gate. She sent one of our own if she really was one of our own, to begin with."

Akiko took Anthea's hand gently, and Anthea winced for a moment, Akiko's hands were so cold, "Aelita, is she safe?" Anthea asked.

"Last we checked, yes. She came as soon as the doctors informed her of your condition. The nurses said she was with you most of last night and into this morning. She left in the early morning hours."

Anthea nodded, "Thank God. Akiko, do you have your cellphone? I need to make a call."

Akiko replied, "Later. You need to rest. You were shot nearly to death for goodness sake."

Anthea gripped Akiko's hand firmly with a strength that caused Akiko to clench her other fist so strong was the grip, "No, now. You don't understand. I need to talk to my daughter."

Akiko nodded, "Give me a moment. My Yumi talks with Aelita regularly. I'll call Yumi and get Aelita back here as soon as I can."

Akiko got up, and she headed out of the room. Taking her phone, she made the call. The phone rang for a bit, and Yumi's message for her inbox came on. Akiko said, "Yumi, this is mom. I need you to call me back as soon as you are able."

Akiko was about to head back inside when a young doctor walked past her and into Anthea's room. Upon seeing her, he introduced himself as Dr. Leonard Stanovich checked her vital signs and was silent for a bit as he wrote down his results.

He looked at her silently a moment and said, "I must insist that you rest for at least the better part of a week. We will have nurses and staff check in on you as your employer has made abundantly clear. If you prove to be as resilient as your bloodwork and your physicals suggest you be, we anticipate you being back in the saddle within two weeks. While your body heals, we are going to put you on fluids until we are certain you can handle solid food."

Anthea shook her head, "No, doctor, none. Except one, why so much care and attention for only three bullet wounds?"

Dr. Stanovich replied, "It is at your employer's insistence we be so thorough. Any issues, kindly take it up with her. Anything else?"

Anthea shook her head, and Stanovich left soon afterward. Akiko sat down and said, "Anthea, take it easy. You just barely survived."

Anthea looked at Akiko, her eyes sharp, "There is no barely in this situation, Aki. This was a message, no more and no less. They wish to deter me before seeking a more permanent end to things. It doesn't matter now. I'll hold my tongue as long as need be. But I will see my daughter and tell her what I know before the week is out. She needs to know, Aki. There is no way to say this nicely."

Akiko nodded and then said, "And just what did you discover that is so urgent? Urgent enough for an AI to seek to warn you off in this way?"

Anthea looked at her and said, "Answer me, honestly. Do you believe in the equality of our race, our species?

Akiko shook her head, "Why?"

"North-Gate. She's restoring our equality. She's taken it upon herself to do so, and it's coming in a way that is going to be horrifying, and at the same time—we won't be able to help it as we watch her. She's watched us for years while XANA kept us preoccupied with his antics over the last two years. He was essentially a red herring. North-Gate has been in passive observational dormancy. I don't know how long, but she's moved her chess pieces into place. I know what she's going to do, and we're not ready for it. The worst part—we don't know where she is, and now, I fear, because of what some people have done, she's seeing us more as an irritant to be removed than her sheep to tend to. I'm scared, Aki. Read her operational dossier. It's in the original Carthage Files, which we digitalized a couple years back; it tells you all you need to know. We're not fighting just a machine; we're fighting a movement, and I hope that we're not acting too late. Now please, get my daughter on the fucking phone."