Chapter 5: Burly, Suspicious, Intimidating
The images were planned. It was quite obvious in the order they appeared they meant to unlock something in him. Perhaps ancestral memories. He reflected on what he had just felt- extreme anger and disobedience to the company. That wasn't normal. In a world where the outside was unknown, how could he feel that way towards the place that gave him a home?
The out-of-this-company behavior on Christian's computer didn't go unnoticed. It started with a television channel change, bold letters proclaiming he would be visited soon by the Internal Resources department.
The prosecution continued with his computer switching to a warm background and then finally turning off. For good.
For the last part of the act, three knocks slammed against the pod door. It was unnecessary, really, because locks in this day and age were a false sense of security. Even if you locked and barricaded the door, it could slide into a wall and thus render any insignificant act of resistance futile.
Christian's hands were sweaty. He cracked his neck, took a deep sigh and opened the door. Three burly, intimidating men marched orderly into the room. One of them was wearing a hat, decorated with a hammer in the middle. The leader.
His nose was especially prominent and perhaps what promoted him to leader. You could not help but stare at his nose, then his eyes.. then his cold grey irises.
"The company has reason to believe that you may be involved in a conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the board. Your abnormal behavior and failure to report foreign activity on your computer means you are already guilty of two crimes. Please, speak your case." The officer spoke like a leader in an ancient battle.
Loud, clear, and without stutter.
It wasn't surprising, it was just scary. Being charged with conspiracy on any account was possibly the worst case scenario for a bottom-feeder like Christian. He could be replaced in minutes. The worst part of all?
He knew the outcome was rarely changed. If Internal Resources came here on their own, it was because they had already made a choice. Any fairness in the procedure was a mockery of the accused.
Christian might as well defend himself, "Well, you see, sir, I knew this was wrong from the start. I just wanted to.. look a little further into it. As much information as I could get from them, I wanted, to report back to the company and stop whatever nonsense was taking place. That's all. I'll tell you everything I know."
The plaintiff looked amused, his nose slightly snarking and his thin, devilish lips upturning. It might have been that he predicted this outcome.
"Well, do continue."
Christian's heart thumped. There was a lot to talk about and he had to explain it in detail without making him a prime suspect for an autopsy.
"It started with an input box on the right side of my screen. I tried to greet whoever was on the other side, only to be met with a bunch of gibberish and a single word: 'Help'."
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