My companion moves back a few steps. “You know the way back. Don’t tell anyone about this place, and try not to stay too long, but…you’re welcome to use it when you need to.”
I watch, my head tilting as he walks along the shore, his direction diagonal toward what should be open water. Pausing, he reaches for something I can’t see, and I realize with a startthat he’s opening the door—which is not near where I thought it was.
“Ashford.” He pauses at the threshold. “You’d be a great asset to the team. I know the Commander isn’t fond of you, but keep trying. He respects effort.”
Before I can formulate a response, he slips his mask back on and disappears through the doorway, leaving me alone in this simulated paradise.
Perfect I will never be. But effort? That I can give.
Focusing on the vast ocean once more, I drink in its beauty. The weight of the day’s training lifts slightly from my shoulders as the waves continue their endless rhythm against the shore. With the remote in my hand, I experiment with different settings, marveling at technology that can create such vivid sensory experiences.
Is this what the world was like before the Collapse? Before the Syndicate’s walls and restrictions? Did people simply walk upon beaches whenever they wished, feeling the sand between their toes and the sun upon their faces?
The injustice of it all hits me anew.
At the touch of a button, the beach dissolves, replaced by a dense forest. Towering trees stretch toward a canopy so thick the sky barely shines through. The air becomes cooler, heavy with the scent of damp earth and green growing things. Somewhere nearby, water trickles over stones.
Another press, and I stand on a mountain peak, frigid wind whipping around me, the world spread out below in a dizzying panorama of valleys and distant, snow-capped peaks. The air is so thin I find myself breathing harder, though I know it’s just the simulator affecting my perceptions.
With each new scene, my resolve strengthens. This is why I’m here. Not just to gather information, but to reclaim what’s been stolen from half the population. The right to enjoy thesewonders. The right to breathe freely, to move through the world without fear or permission.
I will not fail. No matter what Arayik throws at me, no matter how my body aches or my mind fears discovery, I will endure.
For now, though, I allow myself a moment of peace in this simulated wilderness, storing the memory of beauty to sustain me through the trials ahead. One day, I’ll stand on a real mountain, feel actual sand between my toes, breathe the air of freedom not just for myself, but for all of us who are trapped.
CHAPTER TEN
CASSIA
An hour of drinking in sights—exploring worlds beyond these dense walls.
The desert oasis with its crystalline pool reflecting perfectly symmetrical palm trees.
An ancient city of broken columns and sprawling marble steps, gilded by sunset.
The interior of what must have been a museum, with towering ceilings and paintings that stretched floor to ceiling.
A dense, misty forest where shafts of golden light broke through a canopy of magnificent green leaves.
But nothing compares to where I stand now.
My breath catches as I bask in the panoramic vista from atop another jagged mountain peak. The simulation is so real I can make out the way light plays across the expanse, casting deep purple shadows in the valleys. Snow blankets the higher elevations, pristine and untouched.
I’d initially set the tactile response to full intensity, but the biting cold had been too much. Instead of deactivating the entire scene, I’d discovered how to manipulate the temperature, allowing me to experience the majesty without the discomfort.Smart design—another testament to how men have hoarded the best parts of the world for themselves.
The sky above me stretches endlessly, so blue it almost hurts to look at. Thin, wispy clouds trail across it like paint strokes from a delicate brush. Below, the world unfolds in waves of rocky formations, forests tucked into sheltered cervices, and in the far distance—something that makes my heart skip.
A high wall stretches across the horizon, unnaturally straight against the organic curves of the landscape. The perimeter. The boundary between Dascenia and what lies beyond.
I lean forward as though those few inches might bring clarity. Is that Ofin province I’m seeing to the northwest? Or perhaps Vinford? From this height, the territorial boundaries blur, making a mockery of the artificial divisions the Syndicate enforces with such violence.
My chest expands with a feeling I can’t quite name. It’s not happiness, exactly. Something sharper, more painful.
Freedom.
This is what freedom feels like—even in simulation. The vastness of the world laid out before me, choices in every direction. The ability to go anywhere, see anything, be anyone.
But also the crushing knowledge that this isn’t real. Not here, anyway.
