Modified- The Complete Manipulated Series

by Harper North

  “Or will it?” I ask, directing the question to both him and Emma.

  Something about the way he said his lines underground comes back to me. The memory jams into my mind and won’t let go. He spoke almost as if he was scared the Savior would hear him—

  “Emma, do another scan on those chips,” I say.

  “What else could we find?”

  “Surveillance stuff? The SNA has to control its people somehow. You didn’t hear how he was talking when we first got him.”

  “There is no surveillance,” Cho says. “I am loyal to the Savior. He saved the lives of millions, and now his grandson, the new Savior, continues his great work. Without them, all of us would have died. We owe them our lives for keeping us pure and continuing the human line.”

  I face Emma, hands on my hips. “See? Did you check him for any weird tech that might make him explode? Or something that controls his mind?”

  “Hmm… I didn’t find anything that would allow him to blow up if he dies—”

  “Our kamikaze troops give their lives to the Savior,” Cho continues. “As will I, given the opportunity.”

  “You know,” Lacy ventures, “he talks too much for someone being honest. The EHC gave me a long story like that before they injected the nanos into me.” She narrows her eyes and stares her hatred at Cho.

  Emma walks to the monitor. “I’ll do a deeper scan and check the elements within the computer chips, but I doubt I’ll find anything of note.”

  “Do a brain scan,” I say. “Have you looked there?”

  “I’ll look again. Full medical scan,” Emma agrees. “Give me the data you found and rest. I still need to look at the data you grabbed at the distribution plant, too. Oh, and if you could bring coffee before you lie down, that would be excellent. I have a feeling I’ll be up all night.”

  * * * * *

  Even in the warmth of Sky’s arms, it’s hard to fall asleep. I wake early, rise, and dress while Sky mutters, reaching for me.

  “Be back,” I say, kissing him on the cheek. I leave him with a grin and, for a moment, wonder if he’s dreaming about a world without war.

  I find Emma still in the exam room with Cho, who’s asleep. A syringe sits on a tray table beside him. Now he has a thick blindfold around his eyes.

  She sits on a stool in front of a laptop. The computer above her displays a green, flashing map of a wasteland, complete with a pulsing dot in the center and numbers that label the site.

  “Emma?” I ask, glad I’m alone with her.

  She jumps, facing me. “Scans are complete,” she says, stifling a yawn. “Cho had something... interesting in his brain that I’ve never seen before. It only showed up after he fell asleep and his brain activity decreased. It seems normal brainwaves hide this SNA invention. I have him sedated now.”

  My heart pounds. “Which was?”

  “He has a strange neural network spreading from his auditory centers to his visual cortex in the back of his head,” she explains. “And in the center of that network is another chip, hidden from my earlier scans. This one has surveillance and broadcasting technology. The fifth chip has enslaved his brain structure. In other words, it picks up what Cho sees, hears, and says, and broadcasts it somewhere else.”

  “To the Savior,” I say, throat dry. “They injected a chip into his head?”

  “My theory,” Emma continues, “is that when the SNA injects newborns with these chips, one is programmed to travel to the brain and begin altering its structure. No one with these chips has privacy from the SNA.”

  I watch Cho. He is like Talen and Lacy, with no control over himself, but the way the SNA enslaves its people does not stop all their emotions. It just uses their fear.

  “What can we do about that?” I ask.

  “I may be able to write a virus to disrupt the signals the fifth chip sends out,” Emma says. “It will be difficult, but it’s possible. If we do that, he may be free to speak to us without retribution. It’s still possible there is more hidden technology inside him that will kill him if the Savior learns of his betrayal.”

  “But what if the SNA already knows where we are?”

  “I already asked the ops about the possibility. The hover they used to bring Cho here had tinted windows they activated just in case he could relay his position back to the SNA. Cho didn’t see our location, and this mountain blocks most signals from leaving the bunker. We have some EHC technology on our side, Fin.”

  “First time I’ve been thankful for it,” I say. “What about the data we stole?”

  “We’ll discuss that at a meeting in two hours,” Emma says. “Wake the others and bring them to the meeting room. Reinhart will conduct it.” She frowns. “I need a nap. After that, I’ll see if I can get our friend talking.”

  * * * * *

  As expected, Emma doesn’t show at the meeting. Most of the EHC ops pack the room. Talen’s whispering something in Lacy’s ear as we come in, but he leans back into his chair as Sky and I sit. Elias has taken a seat in the front row. Sitting tall, he looks completely recovered from the gas.

  Reinhart rolls a holo-projector into the room. He clears his throat and flips a switch on the device as images burst to life above it. The same map with the flashing green dot I saw in the exam room earlier spreads out in front of us, taking up most of the room.

  “Attention,” Reinhart begins. “My mission yesterday has uncovered the existence of a large, underground magma plume about one hundred miles to the north that did not exist before the Flip began. I did not know of this plume, as Bellaton didn’t share all of her information with me, but after examining the data, its importance to the EHC—and now to the SNA—cannot be understated.”

  Reinhart paces in front of us, arms behind his back. What a jerk. He didn’t even mention Emma or her hard work through the night.

  “Wasn’t the plume under the power facility we were at?” Lacy asks. “It was hot underneath.”

  “No,” Reinhart explains. “Magma is piped to the power distribution facility from the main plume. You found only a small amount compared to what’s at the site of origin.

  “Many loyal EHC ops died to uncover this information. We lost several Century class fighters yesterday.” Reinhart glares at Elias first, and then turns his hate toward me and Sky.

  Yeah, you try to do a better job.

  “Information gathered from Bellaton’s servers reveals the location of this plume, as well as the amount of potential energy inside,” Reinhart continues. “Bellaton called the site the ‘Monster’s Nest.’ It’s located under dead grasslands and is the largest magma plume in recorded history. Already, geysers have formed at the location. There is potentially enough geothermal energy in this plume to power the entire planet for thousands of years.”

  The Monster’s Nest. Bellaton’s secret. If I were her, I wouldn’t want my enemies to reach it, either.

  Reinhart keeps lecturing, reading off a printout Emma might have made for him.

  “Bellaton has been trying to tap this energy for over a decade and has succeeded in powering the city of Ethos through a network of distribution centers that lead from the Monster’s Nest to there. She was also hiding the fact that this magma chamber is strong enough to disrupt the earth’s magnetic field over its location. She was searching for a way to use this disruption to strike the SNA before they had a chance to attack us. Her goal was to increase the radiation over SNA territory to the point where their technology would fail to protect them.”

  The air gets heavy, making it feel hard to breathe. Elias looks back at Lacy and Talen. He frowns. Bellaton would have killed millions, and all to keep the EHC order.

  And Reinhart would have agreed.

  “The plume is a weapon?” Elias asks Reinhart.

  “No,” Reinhart says, as if speaking to a child. “Not yet. Bellaton and her secret scientists were a long way from making such a plan work. She must’ve known the SNA wanted the main plume to help power their assault, and the information we
’ve gathered from the power distribution facility tells us that the SNA has already set up a network from the plume to power their attacks. It’s the reason most of the troops are concentrated around the power facility. If they find a way to tap all the energy inside the plume, the world will fall to them.”

  “So, the plan?” Lacy asks.

  Pulse pounding, I lean forward.

  “Will be to disrupt it,” Reinhart says. “At its source, to stop the SNA.”

  I’m the first to say it. “We’re heading to the Monster’s Nest.”

  CHAPTER 7

  THE UNDERGROUND BUNKER turns into a bustle of activity for the rest of the day. EHC ops take inventory of weapons, both blasters and automatic rifles. Reinhart marches around, ordering transporters, including Emma’s, to get prepped.

  Sky and I pace the bunker together, listening to plans and getting in on as much info as possible. We leave tonight and learn from the intel scouts that they’ve found a temporary SNA settlement on the periphery of the Monster’s Nest. In between ordering around his ops, Reinhart moves into the meeting room and pulls up satellite images of the Monster’s Nest—a barren landscape with hot vapor escaping huge cracks in the ground. Even from space, the plumes are visible. Reinhart and Elias focus on the images and talk in low voices.

  “It looks like the whole ground is ready to explode,” Sky says as we hang in the doorway.

  I slug him on the arm. “Don’t say that!”

  “It’s no wonder General Cho was nervous when he was talking to that ambassador guy about it,” Sky adds. “It takes a person willing to die to go there.”

  “And he sends guards there. Now I know why Bellaton didn’t want anyone near her servers. She knew the SNA rats wanted it.”

  But I still don’t get why she couldn’t tell us instead of blabbering on about us all dying.

  It might’ve made zero difference. We had no choice but to let the SNA in. I lost Drape, and the cruel world could snatch others, too. Like Sky.

  “Speaking of Cho,” Sky says, interrupting my thoughts. “We should check on Emma.”

  Throat dry, I walk with him to Emma’s medical bay. She’s awake. A newly bald Cho is covered in electrodes, most sticking to his head. He’s still wearing a blindfold.

  “Afternoon,” I greet her. “How’s the puppet?”

  Emma snaps her head up. “‘Puppet’ is an accurate term, all right. I’m trying to hack the chip, and I think I’m almost there. Cho may be valuable for the mission to the Monster’s Nest, if Reinhart will let us take him.” She types on her laptop, squinting and leaning toward the screen.

  “If,” I say.

  “The answer is no,” Reinhart says from the doorway.

  I twist his way as Emma scowls at him. “If we free Cho from the SNA leadership, he’ll give us valuable information,” she insists.

  “He’s not going on this mission,” Reinhart says firmly. “This mouthpiece will stay loyal to the SNA. Loyalty is something I understand.” He levels a glare at Emma.

  “I have no warm feelings for the EHC,” she says, returning it.

  Her grandfather founded the group. Emma, being naturally adapted to the surface, was hunted by Reinhart’s people for being a threat to their special order. I’m sure she hasn’t forgotten this fact.

  “Shut up,” I tell Reinhart. “Just shut up. We took Talen on missions with us when we cured him from being a puppet. He bailed us out lots of times.”

  “She’s right,” Sky says. “This guy might help us.”

  I almost wish he wouldn’t try to back me up. One thought of the Monster’s Nest and the SNA makes me want to leave him here so he won’t have to die.

  But Sky won’t let me. He risked his life for his sister. He’ll do the same for me out there.

  My stomach tightens.

  “We take Cho,” I say. “Once Emma takes his chip out, he’ll be a new person. Just wait.”

  Cho taps his fingers on the bed. Did he just nod?

  Reinhart crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re young,” he says. “Naïve. Your skills have gotten many of my ops killed. And many of your own, too.”

  Pulse racing, I suck in a deep breath, opening and closing my fists. Reinhart just punched me in the gut, and he knows. He stands in the doorway, saying nothing.

  “Reinhart,” Emma says, rising. “Please leave.”

  Sky steps in front of me. “You don’t know anything about Fin.”

  Reinhart holds Sky’s eyes. “And you’ve known her for how long? I doubt you know her that well either, son.”

  Sky’s cheeks flush.

  “Out,” Emma repeats, slamming the door in his face and turning back to us. “That man’s ego needs to come down. Don’t let him get to you. He’s trying to break us all apart to gain better control over us.”

  “No kidding,” I scoff, stepping away from Sky. I flit my eyes back to the door, fully expecting Reinhart to open it again, but instead I hear bootsteps leading away. Good. “Now what about Cho?”

  “I have one more firewall to break in the chip’s programming.” Emma types, fingers and keys tapping. “There!”

  Cho’s body jerks. He grits his teeth and tries to lift his arms against the straps holding him. Face turning red, he grunts. I look away. This guy is going to die on us and then we’ll have nothing.

  “What’s happening to him?” Sky asks.

  Emma shakes her head. “I don’t know. His reaction might be normal.”

  Cho turns his head back and forth, thrashing. He bites his lip, drawing blood. “It... hurts...”

  Emma seizes his arm. “It will be over soon. Apparently the security measures don’t like it when someone dismantles them.”

  The general thrashes one more time, lets out a breath, and settles into the bed. He keeps breathing.

  “General Cho?” I ask.

  He looks around the room, obviously confused.

  Emma stands, asking him, “Do you know who you are?”

  He stares at her, eyes wide, for what seems like a long time. My stomach is doing flops. Maybe Emma wiped his brain or something.

  But then he relaxes, his eyes gaining focus. “I’m… I’m Patrick Cho.”

  “That’s right,” Emma says. “What else do you remember?”

  “Can you give me a minute?”

  Something’s different about his voice now. His whole rehearsed, nervous tone is gone. It seems like he’s genuinely trying to remember and isn’t stalling.

  Emma steps back and waits. “Do you know if you’re free of the chip?” she finally asks.

  He turns his head to her. “I think so. Yes.”

  Emma types on her laptop. “I’ve shut down the surveillance chip in your head. Your electromagnetic chips still work.”

  “I can tell you how to infiltrate the temporary settlement,” Cho says. “I’ve been there.”

  My heart leaps at the possibility he might be willing to work with us.

  “The SNA is looking to drill into the site the EHC calls the Monster’s Nest to tap the main magma plume,” he says. “The people the Savior has sent there have no choice but to work in dangerous conditions. Many are captured EHC civilians from Ethos. Some are low-level SNA workers. Most won’t survive the work involved. Even the guards suffer from heat and exhaustion, but no one can complain. The Savior hears all dissidents. Only a few naturally adapted people have escaped the chips.”

  “Wow,” Emma remarks. “You were waiting to speak, weren’t you?” She smiles at me. “Fin, you sure have a way with finding these people.”

  I think back to Cho’s fear in the facility. “He was waiting for the chance to tell us,” I say. “And I know all about slave labor. How do we free them?”

  “It won’t be easy,” Cho adds. “The settlement is well guarded by soldiers who won’t dare disobey the Savior.”

  Determination fills Sky’s blue eyes. “I’m on board,”

  I swallow thickly over the lump in my throat. “We don’t know what defenses the SN
A has.”

  “Cho does,” Sky says.

  “Yes, but people will die.”

  Sky takes my arm. “I’m in this with you, Fin. We’re going together.”

  * * * * *

  “What’s bothering you?” Sky asks

  He sits across from me in the cafeteria as we load up on a meal of fresh veggies. Two dozen EHC ops eat on the other side of the room while Talen and Lacy sit at their own table. Elias’s been talking to Reinhart the whole afternoon, ignoring the rest of us.

  “Nothing,” I lie. “Just the usual death and destruction.”

  “Fin, we’re almost there. We disrupt the Monster’s Nest and we can stop the SNA. Free the slaves. And now we have Cho and a way to deactivate the chips. If a general doesn’t want to serve the Savior, you can bet the foot soldiers hate following orders, too. Most of them want a better world, just like we do.”

  Sky’s words should lift me up, but what feels like a sack of bricks in my chest does the opposite. “A better world,” I repeat.

  “I know Drape’s getting to you.”

  My chest aches, but I keep my face neutral. “We both know how this will work.”

  Sky nods. “Yeah. But we’re a team. If we made it this far, we can do this mission. We’ll take care of the others.” He tips his chin in Lacy’s direction. “They can take good care of themselves.”

  Elias struts into the room. “Attention, everybody. We leave in two hours. Ground transport only, since hover travel might get wrecked by the magnetic storms over the Monster’s Nest.”

  He lets his words hang.

  I look to Elias. Our gazes meet for a second before he turns away.

  “Magnetic storms?” I ask Sky. “Is the Nest that messed up?”

  “We’ll deal with it,” he says. “Emma said something about how magma helps create the world’s magnetic field or something. Makes sense it could mess with it, too.”

  “Just what we need.”

  * * * * *

  Four transporters wait in a row. EHC ops stand around while Reinhart marches back and forth, all important, with his hands behind his back. Reinhart’s guards are watching us with eagle eyes. He doesn’t trust us. Big surprise.