Ch. 6

When my father came to me in the evening and told me that Lex now had time for me, I had composed myself. I was ready because I had no other choice.

Lex did not greet me with the smile he usually gave me, but with a serious expression. After my father left us alone, I sat down on the sofa and looked at him just as seriously.

"Reos has already told you what I hope for from you," he opened the conversation without further ado. 

"Yes," I confirmed with a nod. "You are stuck with the leader, so you need my help."

"We have already received important information from our contacts at headquarters, but there is not enough information to gain the upper hand in the upcoming battle," Lex said.

"And you think I can get you what you need for it?" I asked. It surprised me that he thought so. But it was fine with me, because it brought me closer to my goal.

"What do you think, Riley?" He said, smiling this time.

I put my chin up and nodded. "I believe you are correct in your assumption."

"I was hoping you would say that." He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands. “I think you're ready now. You have arrived where you belong. By my side."

I nodded and met his haunted gaze without deviating. “I'm on the side of justice. And I want to know everything about your plans. "

“You will too. At the moment it is enough if you know that we have a lot of people on our side. They are distributed all over the surrounding area, live in camps similar to ours here or in other hiding places. They are all people who share our views and ideas and want to fight by my side. On the side of justice, as you just put it so beautifully. And we also have a lot of hunters on our side. Not just from the headquarters in the north, but distributed all over the world. Our network is expanding daily. They are all fed up with sacrificing their souls for the machinations of the empire governments. No, they want to compete against these people. Not much is missing and our fight can begin. ”Lex rose and put his hands flat on his desk. “All we need to know now is a code. Or several codes. These combinations of numbers are used to create weapons that can wreak havoc on any insurrection that gets out of hand in minutes. That means: if I go into battle with my people and we don't turn these weapons off beforehand, we will be quickly destroyed. We have already found out two of the three codes, but we are still missing one. Taleon One knows this code. As soon as we have him, we'll win the fight. "

"What kind of weapons are these?" I asked, and processed this new information.

“It's missiles and bombs,” Lex said. “Nuclear weapons. Something that has thrown our beautiful world into a chaos that is difficult to understand. "

"Nuclear weapons?" I repeated, frowning. "I've never heard of that before."

"No of course not. Such information doesn't peddle around the country, Riley, ”he said with a smile. “But I know these weapons exist. And I know what gigantic damage they can do. Believe me, you don't want to experience anything like that. "

"Then tell me," I said. “I want to know all about it. Now! And then I'll help you, I give you my word. " 

"The world wasn't always what it is now, Riley," Lex began, slowly sitting back down. “It used to be different, many, many decades ago. Not in terms of injustices or the gap between rich and poor, but at least many had a chance to make something of their lives. The privileged and the non-privileged lived closer together than we know it today. There were no empires that shielded themselves from the rest of the world with their high walls and roofs and condemned everyone behind the walls. Big cities and villages existed everywhere, the world was beautiful. Not in every corner, but on the whole it was. Only their resources were limited, while people kept multiplying and spreading. There were nations that, in their greed for power and wealth, shot beyond their borders. First, small wars began, which could still be justified with flimsy explanations. Those who were oppressed tried to fight it. But they couldn't win. Not against all the weapons and technology. Not against the desire of the oppressors to rule everything and everyone. And ultimately there was major fighting and skirmishing until a group of the richest and most powerful decided to drastically reduce the number of people on this planet. The construction of the Empire began quietly and secretly. Walls were erected and there was a strong selection of who was given the privilege of being able to continue living under the protection of these walls. Once the empires were established and extensively tested, the fighting began to degenerate until the land outside the empires was completely razed to the ground. The so-called nuclear weapons played a very important role in this. You have to know, an atomic bomb like that destroys everything around it. Flora, fauna, all life. Those who survived suffered sequelae from the radiation. Deformities, diseases. I saw pictures once… ”He shook his head. "I'll never forget you, Riley."

"So the ancestors of those who live in the Empire now willfully wiped out all of the surrounding areas a long time ago?" I asked in disbelief.