The Industrialist

They stayed the night. The seer had given them accommodations in her wide tent. They slept on the barren floor - brown sand and pointy pebbles. At least they had their cushioned comforters of one inch thick.

The Seer had a tick cushioned bed, draped with cloth-like plastic, the fine kind that High classers had. She had a lot of fine tunics, antiquities such as Jars and pots, and even wooden sculptures. They cost a fortune as Lance estimated. These antiques, especially the large wooden sculpture would cost about 1500 units. That's a fortune for many.

She had a one long upright rectangular block of perfectly edged wood, made of Hardened Tugas standing beside her bed. Even though the wood sculpture had no designs, however, what made it beautiful was the definition of brown-shade colored rings bending perfectly like waves along its surface.

Lance never left his eyesight to the caged Abominated Dogs near the entrance that barked so fearsomely when people would enter the tent. She called her Skorgarz— hideous abominated dog hybrid with domesticated animals like cats.

It annoyed him the slurping of tongues as they licked their bodies. It's kind of a cat thing, but they originated from dogs.

"How do you think your father died? I know it's a sensitive subject but I would like to know." Seer said as she started to cleanse her feet with a bucket of water as she sat at the edge of her bed. "They say knowing the truth sometimes would set you free. I don't believe in that quote, a lot of people were incarcerated by telling the truth. The Truthseekers, the rebels, they are not free."

She continued massaging her feet as cold water bathed both her feet. Brown dust that clasped her soles was drained to the bucket.

Lance started to settle himself into his bed. Damian was near him. The subject somehow was sensitive to him but felt comfortable talking about it with his close individuals such as Damian.

"An Abominant mauled him when he escaped," Lance said. "It was in the News."

"What did the news tell the people about your father?"

"A traitor. He died escaping from the police and eventually killed himself by a horde of monsters. Nobody mourned for him, only me. His trusted friends died too, when Bay City was attacked."

"Really? That's funny." The Seer's tone had deeper mystery behind her statement.

"How did he die?" Lance asked.

"It's time for you to know, kid."

"Know what?"

Seer did not answer immediately. Damian hauled himself from sleep and sat on his cushioned bed. The Seer wiped her feet with remnants of clothing and dried them. Layers of long tunic were removed from the Seer's body, revealing a bandaged body and her bionic device that connected to her pelvis down to her thigh and knees. It supported her movement.

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Even though, it was Lance's second time to witness such perfection, it felt always his first time.

The noise of Outsiders was still perceptible outside their tent. Traders would sleep inside the Trench just to pass on the night and would leave the Trench after the break of dawn.

"It's a sensitive matter, and you deserve to know everything." She smoothened her beddings and laboriously dragged herself to the center of her bed, covering her body with the long drapes of curtains that fell from the ceiling and grazed the barren ground.

"It was not how he died, Lance. He was not mauled by monsters."

That statement had bolted his senses.

"Come again?" Lance asked, his voice raised.

"He became one of them. Transformed into a creature. He said he was exposed for a long time working on the Project called Nightfall. They experimented Abominants, somehow the contamination from those creatures had infected him, and some others in the project."

"Don't joke about it, Seer!" Lance hauled himself up, his hands clenched. "My father died as a man. Not a monster!"

"I wish I could tell you that, kid. But you deserve the truth. Your father became one of them and for years, he did not resurface back."

Lance sobbed. "It's not true." He whispered and turned to Damian. The latter was also clueless as plastered on his expression.

"It started with an itch on his skin. On his back. He showed it to me, the infection. It grew larger and larger every day, blackening his skin like reptile scales. His eyes turned yellowish, gradually, of course. It was after Menks had double-crossed him."

"Nightfall was a success." The Seer continued. "He said to me. He wanted to continue his work and it would discredit Menks. However, time was against him. He was slowly turning into one of them, a monster."

Lance sobbed and whispered, "Stop. All lies."

He wiped his tears from his welling eyes. His knees shivered with the revelation. It devastated his heart. His father's humanity was destroyed, first, for being a traitor to humanity. Then secondly, he had become an Abominant. It was devastating, the thought of it.

"You must know, kid. You must know every detail. And you should face the hard truth. This will harden you, kid. To the bones. To your flesh. Your next chapter is on empire

It will fuel your rage and anger towards the people who did this to your father. Disgraced his name like garbage. He was the true hero of humanity by building the walls, but Menks wanted fame and control. Menks wanted Erik dead."

Lance burst into tears; his knees dug against the barren ground. Sharp pebbles pierced his kneecaps but he felt no pain. The news had overcome the searing pain.

"For after a few weeks. He could not control or heal his infection. It grew day by day. Eating his human flesh and making him a monster. He could see in the dark at first, and the extreme hunger had eaten his humanity. He stayed here in Axiom Trench for months.

But he could not take it. He ran away and never returned."

"That's enough."

The Seer's voice had never been affected by Lance's sobs and cries. The Seer wanted the boy to grow with the truth about his father and not anymore be blinded.

"What Erik told me, kid. In Bay City lies the key. The key to his project. He hid them so that no one could alter or discover them. He wanted you to discover it."

Lance's cries had subsided. He surpassed the pain but still lingered like needles piercing his heart. "Where in Bay City?"

"In your apartment. In your original home, Lance." Seer said.

"Why did you not tell me earlier?" Lance sneered.

"It's not the right time, kid. You had to be strong about this. He does not want you to decide so immaturely and try to repower Bay City with your Ultragenerator. He wanted you to learn the trade first, and strengthen yourself. And now, you are there. Your foot had stepped on the waters and felt a little bit of fame and the Corporation's trust.

It was the plan. He had been training you to become one."

Then the Seer retreated to her sleep, behind the drapes that covered her bed. Lance hugged his knees and thought about everything revealed to him. Then silence fell inside the tent.

"Kid, are you alright?" Damian asked.

Lance did not answer.

"Listen, the Seer is right…." Damian was interjected.

"Have you seen Bay City now?" Lance asked.

"Ah yeah. We attacked it before it became a nest. The Government tried to revive it but it was too late."

"How can we stop the hive? How can we drive them out of the City?"

"We can't kid. They already have nested there for years. They probably have a queen of their own."

"Queen?"

"Yes. Queen. Every hive has one. It's an Abominated human. The mutation was so fast that they suddenly have leaders of their own."

"It's not possible." Lance retorted.

"I have heard rumors, kid. The Science Corporation had been experimenting with humans that were infected by the Contamination. And with science, I don't know, maybe had let evolution out of hand and made the queen."

"Experiments? Who would do such a thing?"

"Higher ups of the Corporation. They call themselves the Vicious Circle. Jefferson had told me about it. They sanctioned the experiments. Human experiments. And it went nuts, you know.

Now, the Abominants can think. They can strategize. Thanks to these morons."

"Vicious circle. I have heard the council had told me about it, and Jaqi's mother too."

"We can't expose them. They controlled everything. Even the population. We are battling hunger every day, kid. The rebels have been smuggling food inside the walls, not only for the rebel members but to the Commoner's market. We keep the people alive.

We can't rely upon these fat cats for the supplies for the city. They only served their kind."

"Can we kill the queen? The hive would be disoriented."

"We can't solve problems on our own, kid. We focus on taking down the Corporation."

"Yes, we can take down the Corporation by the Project Nightfall. Seer said it would discredit Menks."

"How can we do that, kid? I can't imagine. Jefferson would not spend resources on wiping out a Hive. We can't do that. Even the full army could not do it."

"Can you take me at least to my home in Bay City?"

"Where is it?"

"Sector 14, Nebula Sector."

"I can take you there. But no! It's too dangerous."

Lance smiled at that.