Gamble of Wits || Finnick Odair

Chapter 43: Walk the Line

"Seraphine," Plutarch said her name like a disappointed teacher and she couldn't help but not meet his gaze. He sighed loudly. "I'm asking you to make some time and go over the tributes—we don't have much time. I understand you're busy but please make time. Clock's ticking."

"That's great but can we please come back to Fabius—what are we going to do now?" Beetee interrupted Sera and Plutarch's discussion. Panic seeped into his voice which sounded so foreign to both Plutarch and Sera that they had to look at each other to check.

"What exactly were you planning to do with him or have him do for you?"

"We were planning to pass legislation to allow the use of digital or smart lenses."

Sera turned her head to the side and snuck a glance at a now calm Plutarch. She had no idea what Beetee was talking about so she waited for him to elaborate.

Beetee took out a tablet and laid it on the table. He pressed a button and a hologram of a blueprint flickered into life. "I haven't chosen a name for the products but this was meant to be the final step of Project Iris. I approached the Head Consul to allow the use of smart lenses in the Capitol since the Consuls only manage Capitol level problems, I thought this was perfect since it was only for the Capitol."

He said Capitol three times, emphasizing it each time. She could only nod while turning to Zephyr, hoping he'd mirror her.

To her surprise, Zephyr looked the most interested she'd ever seen him in a while. His eyes had lit up and he had leaned forward with his hands clasped together in focus.

"What was the catch?" Zephyr questioned, squinting his eyes at the blueprint and studying it very carefully.

He grabbed a napkin and a pen from Emilia. He sketched out a rough drawing of the lenses along with some improvements before he threw it into the flames. He didn't need them anymore, those improvements were already in his memory.

"A backdoor, maybe to let us steal data or monitor Capitol citizens?" He guessed.

"The latter." Plutarch sipped his tea, wetting his parched throat before he carried on. "We had the idea of using the lenses as a means of surveillance. We know the Capitol has its surveillance—"

"So you two planned to turn its people into walking cameras?"

It was a smart idea, a genius one too. Capitolites were slaves to the trend, especially the wealthy ones. The poor ones, not so much, and the middle class was rapidly disappearing.

At first, she didn't know the difference but now she knew so it wasn't hard to tell that there was a hierarchy in the Capitol just like the districts. Unlike the districts or at least back home at Five where sometimes the lines between the people from Lux and the Hollow would be blurred like Faline's family, the Griswolds, the lines in the Capitol were clear cut.

But that wasn't her concern. Of course, new technology couldn't be afforded by everyone. Her concern was that it could easily be used against them.

How easy would it be for Beetee's invention to spread through Panem and be used by all without even knowing the true danger? She could already imagine how exactly it would be used against them. Even the idea itself was a dangerous one. She feared for her family, knowing how Nox had no thought in whatever that came out of his mouth.

She sat there listening to Beetee's ramblings and Zephyr's responses. She said nothing, debating in her head whether or not she should let them all know what she was thinking and maybe she was glad that Consul Harada never managed to pass such laws.

Making her decision, she shifted in her seat and sat straight, about to speak. The words were etched in her mind, ready to break loose like a flood, but suddenly, she felt the world come to a screeching halt.