Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

Chapter Eight

"No... it's just... he looks so familiar. What's his background?"

"Here, I'll search it on my access pod... " Milo said before quickly realizing he was unable to get reception in Incarus. "... or not."

"Hey, quit worrying about technology, and just enjoy the moment with the company you have."

"Can't I do both?" Milo asked.

"Sure."

"Speaking of worrying about technology, I've always wondered how tracking works. Can either of you explain it to me?"

"What do you mean?" Mara asked.

"There have been instances where the guardians can track people, such as when you were pregnant, and the time I got arrested at the pyramid. And then there are other times when we were able to avoid the guardians altogether."

"It's a good thing you got caught that time at the pyramid, otherwise we would never have met," Mara said.

"I know, right? I think about that often, how little events can have a large impact on a person's life."

"To answer your question, I have to explain how tracking used to work," she said. "When I was your age, anyone on the grid could be monitored and tracked at all times. That's how the guardians knew the exact moment and location when I went into labour. Had I known that, I wouldn't have even tried to run. In fact, most people weren't aware the government could do this.

"When people eventually found out, there was a global debate on the relative merits and demerits of the program. Some didn't have a problem with it, either citing the various benefits of the government knowing their whereabouts, or claiming they had nothing to hide. But enough people didn't like the idea — they felt it was an undue invasion of their privacy. So it went to a vote, and it was decided that the government could no longer keep tabs on individuals without justification.

"Now, tracking has restrictions so people can only be tracked if there is a reason. The guardians even need to be within a certain proximity so their scanners can pick up the signals from the RFID chips in the backs of people's necks."

"Oh okay, I understand now," Milo said. "that explains why we were able to get away in some cases and not others," Milo reiterated.

"Precisely."

"What about people who are off the grid?"

"You mean people like us?"

"Yeah."

"Those of us who still have the older generation accountability chips, I suppose we can still be tracked. It's not like that technology went away, rather the government just stopped using it. But for people like you and Alex who have newer, or modified chips, they can only track you when you're in range."

It was now well past midnight and only Milo, Mara, and Curik remained. Clouds of marijuana smoke lingered in the room as they were sharing a joint and telling stories. The topics of conversation mostly centred on Alex. Milo took two puffs before passing the joint clockwise, as it was customary to do.

"So have you told Alex how you feel about her?" Mara asked with a smirk.

"How I feel about her?" Milo repeated. He was going to try to deny it, but decided to just come clean. "Is it that obvious?"

"I see the way you look at her... and I get it, she's an amazing person."

"One time we were in the Facility," Milo began, recalling the event, "and we had devised a plan to steal the device Alex used to create the vortex. But as we were about to leave with it, we were surrounded by guardians. Alex told me to run so we ended up running back into the Facility. We split up to make ourselves harder to catch, but eventually came together again, somewhat by blind luck."

"Or fate," Mara added.

"Sure... if you believe in that sort of thing. Anyway, I was really sick from the gold poisoning, we both were. I seriously thought I was going to die, and if it weren't for the bursts of adrenaline, my body may have completely shut down. So once we lost the guardians, we ended up in the same room together, and that's when I laid it on her. I told her I loved her."

"And what did she say?" Mara said, exhaling the smoke from her lungs and passing the joint back to Milo.

Milo accepted the joint and took a hit before answering. "She told me 'that's sweet' and that she 'loved me too'," he exhaled.

"That's good, right?"

"No, not really," Milo said disappointed. "It was the kind of 'I love you' that a pet owner says to their dog before they pat them on the head, or some automated response like when someone asks, 'how's it going' and without considering the question you blurt out, 'good, how are you?'... there was no feeling behind it, just empty words."

"So you left it at that?" Mara followed up.

"For the time being," he replied. "Remember, we were in the middle of an important mission, clinging to life, so there wasn't really much time to sit and chat about our feelings." Milo took a second hit from the joint and then passed it to Curik. Milo looked like he still had more to say so Mara did not interrupt him. "Then I kissed her."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, it wasn't really a big deal and we never talked about it, but right before she was about to teleport I planted one on her."

"Did she do or say anything?"

"Not really... she told me not to worry and that we'd see each other again."

"Why didn't you ever talk about it next time you saw each other?"

"The timing was never right. She came back and was in the hospital, then all this craziness happened in her life and she was constantly getting swarmed by people everywhere she went. She decided to disappear for a while and we kind of lost touch. To make the situation worse, she left with Aris."

"You don't like Aris?"

"I don't know, something about him just rubs me the wrong way, you know? For instance, I hate how smug he is — he seems so sure of himself."

"You're mad at him for having confidence?"

"It sounds ridiculous when I hear you say it, but yes. I admit I was a little jealous of his and Alex's relationship."

"If it makes you feel any better, she's never said anything about having feelings for Aris."

"Has she ever said anything about having feelings for me?"

"Well... no..."

"Alright, so what good does that do me?"

"You need to tell her," Mara reaffirmed. "Tell her how you feel."