Ethos Code

Chapter 4

"Wait... so these..." Vanta starts, looking down at her arms.

"Mhm..." Iria begins.  "Judging by timing, it's likely some of the material from one or more of the 15 veterans was used to make the parts they gave you."

"I..." Atlas starts, panicking.  "You're... you're saying..." his forehead drips with sweat, and he places a hand on his fake torso, wide eyes fixed on the floor mats of the car.

"Of course, not all of it is human tissue, but it's still part of the materials."

"I... so you're telling me my torso is made of... dead people's..." he stutters, "I... I need air."  He jumps out of the car, pacing back and forth in the emergency lane.

"I have so many questions..." Vanta says, her focus glued to Iria.  "Why does Proelium need to kill people to make their prosthetics?  Why can't they just use mechanics alone?"

"Because mechanics can't mesh with the human body like human tissue can.  It's because the body recognizes the prosthetics as part of the body and not some addition that within sometimes even just days a person can function as if nothing ever happened."  She explains.  "Normal mechanics can only get so far."

"But then why does the military support Proelium?  Do they not know?"

"They know, they just don't care, Vanta.  There are way fewer homeless people on the streets, less crime, fewer people living off taxpayer money, and more money for the Big Names that pay for Proelium's products, which fuels the economy.  The government's in on it.  Proelium practically controls it.  If that wasn't the case, this wouldn't be so difficult."

"But... it's murder."

"They see it as repurposing lives to save more important people.  Take Atlas for example."  The three of them look out the window, watching him sit on the concrete curb with his head in his hands, sobbing.  "He's young, able-bodied, in the military, and has a bright future ahead of him, and it's because Proelium killed someone with less potential that he's alive right now."

"I..." Vanta starts.

"It's a tricky situation, right?  Like the trolley problem but a business strategy."  Iria says.  "But I agree, it's murder.  This is happening by the hundreds, and it doesn't sit right with me that a billion-dollar company gets to decide who's worthy of the right to life.  What happens when they run out of homeless and poor people?  Do you think they'll stop?  No, they'll eat through the low and middle class so the wealthy, who pay them for their products and services, can live longer and happier and healthier, while the rest of society gets picked off like bugs."

"You're right..." Vanta tells her.  "You must hate people like us then.  People that were given these... cursed prosthetics."

"On the contrary,"  Iria admits.  "I can't say much, I have one too."

"You have one too?"  Vanta asks, trying to spot the Proelium Part on Iria's spandex-covered body.

"You didn't notice?"

"Uh..."

Iria props her left leg up on the center console of the car, presenting it proudly. Right below her knee, her real leg stops and her prosthetic starts, the middle filled with the same blue substance as Vanta and Atlas'.

"So, you were part of the military too?"  Vanta asks.

Iria laughs.  "Oh gosh, never."  She admits.  "My parents have a decent bit of cash, so when I... when I lost it, they could fund the procedure."  Her eyes darken as she speaks.

"What happened?"

"I..." she sighs, "I don't really feel comfortable talking about it.  I just know I'm lucky to be alive, so I'm going to use this luck to help others."

"Alright, makes sense,"  Vanta says.  [It doesn't, at least fully.  I have to figure out a way to stay with this girl and figure out more about all of this without coming off as suspicious.  She needs to trust me in order for me to be sure everything she says is the truth.] She thinks to herself.  "Well, you've convinced me, how do I fight for what you fight for?"

Iria's eyebrows furrow.  "What?"

"Yeah, you heard me.  How do I do what you do?"

"Well, you could..." she begins, before her attention goes to a small screen on her car stereo.  "Dang it, the cops are 2 miles away.  I'll go get your friend."  She flips open the car door, running out to get Atlas.

Vanta immediately turns to Kiyoshi.  "This might be completely out of left field, but I have to make sure.  Are you safe?  Is that Iria girl holding you captive?"

"Holding me... what?  She is not in the car, I am a bit confused... what field are we going to?" he answers, his head tilted in confusion. 

"What?"

"What?"

"I mean, are you here because you choose to be, or is she making you stay here?"  Vanta reiterates.

"Oh! Iria does not make me do anything I would not like to do.  I am liking to help her.  She is a very nice person."  He tells Vanta, and judging by the light in his eyes as he speaks, she takes his words as truth.

"Good to know,"  Vanta says, a bit of anxiety lifting off of her.  "So what do you and Iria do?  Is it all breaking into places and retrieving information?"

"No."  Kiyoshi shakes his head.  "That is only sometimes maybe?  We are usually trying to save people from bad people."

"Save people?  How?"

"We bring people to a safer place than their home to hide them from Proelium."  He explains.  "It is sometime very difficult, but Iria is very good at doing it.  Does that make sense?  Sorry if I am bad at explaining."

"I get what you're trying to say."  Vanta tells him,  "I can tell English isn't your first language, so don't fret over trying to explain things perfectly."

The boy's eyes widen, a bit startled.  "Ah... is it very obvious?  I am sorry..."

"大丈夫ですよ。日本語がきよしくんの母国語ですか？ (It's ok.  Is Japanese your native language?)"  She asks him.

Kiyoshi's ears perk up, and he sits up straight in his seat.  His jaw sits slightly agape, and his eyebrows disappear in his mop of fluffy hair.

"え？！ 日本語を喋りますか？ 本当ですか？(Huh? Do you speak Japanese? Really?)"

"ハーフです。(I'm half Japanese.)"  Vanta smiles as she speaks, noting the joy filling the boy's face.  "私は日本語が堪能です。 (I'm fluent in the language.)"

"え？！(What?!) " Kiyoshi's eyes start watering.  "自動車事故から日本語で喋れません。。。 (I haven't been able to speak in Japanese with anyone since my accident...)"

"泣かないで。。。 (Please don't cry...)"  Vanta tells him, a bit startled at the boy's intense reaction. Iria and Atlas get back in the car, and Iria presses the engine button, starting the car and getting back out onto the highway.  For the first time since they'd met, Atlas has gone quiet, his face red and eyes puffy from crying.

"So, as I was saying..."  Iria begins.

"Iria," Kiyoshi eagerly interrupts, "I have a idea if that is ok?  Because they are wanting to be against Proelium too, can Vanta and Atlas become a team with us?"