Angelos Odyssey

3 – The Interrogation

3

The Interrogation

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Aaliyah

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“Miss Aaliyah—”

“‘Commander’ Aaliyah,” I correct him just as a small, silver camera is placed atop a tripod at the center of the table and positioned facing me.

“This interview is being broadcasted across every major news station in the Citadel right now, and, according to our information, Maxwell is the Commander,” Mosley says to me. “And you’re his representative, am I right?”

“No. Maxwell let me out of my cage, and I chose to come here as the acting Commander. I represent myself.”

The room gets quiet. Mosley raises one eyebrow and says condescendingly, “The mastermind behind the Dawn Bureau, Maxwell, chose you of all people to speak for his organization? Why can’t he appear before the public himself? Why send a woman who shot a man in cold blood?”

“Were you there?”

I glare at him.

“No. And neither was Maxwell, so why can’t he show his face after allowing our President to die? Do you understand the level of devastation that the Bureau is responsible for, ‘Commander’ Aaliyah?”

“Why do you act like you weren’t a part of it?”

Almost everybody in the room gasps, then they all look at me with pure contempt as Mosley says, “I beg your pardon? The Democratic Council was the very backbone of Derek’s Presidency.”

“But you still wanted him replaced. You’ve all been waiting to replace him. Meanwhile, the rest of the world’s been suffering. You let Amour Bali become too powerful, you let Noboros have its way with our city; you were all negligent.”

“Amour Bali? You’re talking about that lunatic behind the Shikomongo Corp?” Rulius exclaims as his eyes get wide. “Let me get this straight,” he raises his voice, “you’re accusing us of being complicit in a serial killer’s actions? How could that be possible?”

“What I’m wondering is how the good Council allowed this ‘serial killer’ to live comfortably in the Upper-City for so long.”

“Answer our questions first, miss—”

“f*****g ‘Commander,” I interrupt. “And I wasn’t finished. I didn’t come here to be attacked by people who’ve done nothing for this country.”

“Ahem,” Mosley presses on regardless, “the Dawn Bureau was supposed to reinforce our soldiers during the attack on the Four Cities, and, because your organization withdrew its entire damn army, all of us have suffered, Commander. Is that what you wanted?”

“No.”

“So you didn’t agree with Maxwell’s order to hoard part of the nation’s defenses to himself?”

“I had no part in that decision. Up to this point, I’ve had no power.”

“Really?” Isenwold leans forward and presses his lips together under a great white beard. “And you say that you’re in charge of the Bureau?”

I hesitate. If I tell them the truth, then the world might just fall apart. If the people of the Citadel find out about Maxwell’s true nature...

“Are you okay?” Isenwold asks and, without waiting for an answer, proceeds with heavy condescension, “Is honesty and cooperation really too much for the Bureau? You were supposed to come here and apologize!”

Isenwold starts to stand, but Mosley puts his hand on his shoulder and says, “Easy. She did say that she had no power.”

“Then why the hell are you here, lady?” Isenwold challenges me with a bold glare.

I reply flatly, “Because I’m interested in cooperation and honesty—but, more to the point, honesty.”

Executive Lauren speaks up unexpectedly, “Are you safe?”

Before she said that, I had a different speech in mind. That very question gets me thinking.

“I can’t tell you for sure if anyone’s safe. As long as the Lower-City is in the hands of demons, everyone’s life is in danger. As long as foreign nations are threatening our borders amidst a crisis, we have to be honest with each other.”

I take a deep breath, then I begin—

“I have no real power, and I believe that this proves the same for everyone who’s not a Council Member or Maxwell himself. I’ve been trying to keep from losing my home, my city, but all the Council and the Bureau care about is their private war. Even now, I promise you that sentinels are waiting outside of this building. All of them are prepared to obliterate the Council if you declare war against the Bureau.

“But I’m on neither your side nor Maxwell’s. The greatest menace to the people is the same selfish leadership that has remained prevalent throughout the Federation’s government.”

Mosley, though red-faced and struggling to keep from shaking out of anger, interjects, “How dare you try to manipulate us! This is no longer the government of the Federation, and we could have you arrested right n—”

“Executive Mosley,” Lauren cuts him off, “I want to hear what Commander Aaliyah has to say.”

“Thank you,” I nod in her direction and continue while facing the camera directly. “The truth is that the Dawn Bureau is under the control of an advanced form of artificial intelligence. A computer.”

“A computer?” Isenwold leans toward me again with an expression of terror.

“Its name is Maxwell, but he’s made up of the artificial minds of three different people, all conjoined into one super brain. He was designed with the intent of creating a ‘just’ society through his actions, which is what both the Council and Derek have been trying to do for years.

“Yet all we have is a cruel Citadel Prison and a bunch of psychotic groups like the Shikomongo Corporation. The President told us we lived in a utopia—so did you—but it’s a lie.

“Who suffered the most from the attacks of Shenu and that demonic worm? It wasn’t you—you’ve all lived in the Upper-City, in comfort and safety. You really think a civil war between the Council and the Bureau’s going to improve things? Don’t you understand that Maxwell’s not going to surrender?”

“You mean he’ll attack us no matter what we do?” Lauren worriedly asks.

“If the two of you can come to an agreement, Maxwell won’t touch the Council—and he shouldn’t. In the coming days, we’ll need as much help as we can get if we’re going to take back the Lower-City. Security for everyone and a proper rescue operation for the people down below is what we need, not a war of private interests.

“I believe that building a utopia is possible. One where the corpses of prisoners aren’t repurposed to serve as Maxwell’s soldiers. I believe in a utopia, but it can’t be built without the people who make up this city. If you continue down the same path, the people will turn on you. The Bureau has enough strength to decimate the Council, and then our society would be ruled by a computer. If you don’t drop this apology bullshit, it’ll be more than just a simple mistake. The people need you to partner with Maxwell, and the public deserves to be enlightened much more than they were when the Citadel was under attack.

“I believe in a just society,” I say to the camera and out of hope that I might reach those I need the most to finish what I started, “but it cannot exist unless we’re all on the same page. I was Maxwell’s detective in Zone H before the first catastrophe went down. A group of greedy predators launched an attack on civilians who didn’t understand what zol was and therefore had no idea what to expect. The citizens have been kept in the dark for too long, and what they don’t know has been hurting them all this time.”

“How can you speak so confidently?” Mosley asks. “Did you come here to give us prophecies, Commander Aaliyah?”

“I came here because the Citadel deserves to know, from the Council, how we’re going to survive what’s coming next—that’s what’s most important. We don’t have much time, and we deserve the right to know and to have a plan of action if you’re making decisions that affect all of us. If anyone out there’s listening, please...”

I take a second to collect myself.

“Save us. Take the city back as a united country and save everyone before it’s too late for us to fight.”

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