Edesse 1. Alagan

14 - At curfew time

Alagan, who had dozed off, woke up with a start three hours later. His watch showed nine p.m., the time of the energy curfew. No longer able to connect to the matrix and forbidden to go out to avoid night abductions by the Rebellion. In fact, the most daring citizens still took their chances. Fortunately, the Network remained accessible. He dragged himself to the mirror in his bathroom and was happy to see that there was no longer any trace of blood around the implant. He put on a clean shirt and, despite the prohibition, tiptoed to Mamily's house. When he entered his adoptive grandmother's room, he found her reading.

'It's late. You should be sleeping,' he scolded her gently, adjusting the covers to tuck her in.

'It's late,' she parroted. 'You should have come earlier. Otherwise, you know I have trouble sleeping. The curfew is in place, Alagan!' she reproached him.

She turned off the hologram of the book, took off her goggles and handed them to him. As he put the electronic glasses in their case, she observed him.

'You're pale. Are you sick?'

And there it was again. This cursed phrase was a compulsive issue for her. He was certainly not going to tell her about a few drops of blood.

'No, I just used up all my virtual reality quota.'

She looked him over.

'Hmm. What was it today, Heroica Tagush?' she asked him.

'Yes'.

She noticed his absent look as he handed her her pills and a glass of water. "What's wrong, Alagan?" "You know Edesse, that island the government never talks about... I can't stop having strange dreams since I moved in front of it, and then, earlier in the game, it also talked about Edesse." Mamily swallowed her pills and gulped. She remained silent for a long moment, then resumed: "Oh really? That's very curious. But you shouldn't be interested in Edesse, Alagan. It's dangerous. It's the land of the heretics. It's even thought that the Rebellion has branches there." "I'm not interested in it. I just stumbled upon it." "Well, move on, or we'll get into trouble," she said harshly. "And then, turn off the light when you leave," she asked before lying down and pulling the covers over her.

At this rate, he was going to mature earlier than expected, but she couldn't keep him a child forever.He kissed her on the cheek. It was late and anyway, he couldn't have a deep discussion with her on a subject considered heretical by the government. When it came to protecting him, she turned into a turtle. She extended her shell, retracted her head and tried to drag him into the dark with her. She had dedicated her life to preserving Alagan, as if he were her own grandson, and she did not allow him to take any risks. The less he knew, the better he would be. He did not approve, increasingly facing her silence, but he loved her.He ordered the light to be turned off, closed the door behind him and went back to his apartment.

As he brushed his teeth, he thought that he would no longer talk to Mamily about his extracurricular activities. He didn't want to worry her, but he couldn't help but think that she knew much more than she wanted to admit. After all, she was full of paradoxes. She didn't want to talk about the Rebellion, but she didn't have the government in her heart. She told him to be wary of it, but didn't specify why.He returned to his room. A news band was continuously scrolling on the holographer. His attention was caught by the image of two bodies. The screen zoomed in on the blood flowing from the initiate. In the lower part of the video, the text indicated "two patrolmen dead from the Edesse disease".