Confronted By The Director

There aren’t many people waiting to board the high-speed train at its last stop. It’s not a surprise; after all, only a few agricultural farms are accessible from the end of this line.

The people waiting at the stop dress appropriately in farming gear. Their clothes are made from materials similar to Hugo’s, in gray, green, brown, and other earthy tones. They don’t wear the loose-fitting robes of those in the Capital, however, but more so tight-fitting cargo jackets and pants benefiting maintenance workers.

The train arrives as Hugo, Eugene, and Noah reach the platform. Perfect timing. Its body is sleek and white, immediately boasting of its cutting edge technology – a thin layer of silicon material wraps its exterior, ideal for absorbing the sunlight.

Eugene holds the large drone in his arms. There’s a no-flying drone policy on public transport, and Hugo understands that Eugene’s not willing to risk a fine. Or willing to attract any form of unnecessary attention, especially after where they’ve been and what they’ve found today.

Hugo boards after Eugene and Noah. He scans his watch on a small pad as he enters, paying for the trip. The small fare keeps the train service running smoothly and, his whole life, Hugo hasn’t seen a single person fare evade.

Inside the train, the black seating’s arranged in a series of curves, promoting social behavior among passengers. And most of the time, it works; passengers get on, sit down, introduce themselves, and have lively conversations. If they’re not busy working on their laptops or phones, of course.

There’s only one person in this carriage – a man sits alone at the other end. He wears the jumpsuit of a mechanic, noticeably different from the clothes of a farmer or layperson from the Capital. Staring at a glimmer in front of his torso, he types on a silver pad resting on his lap.

As the man sees Hugo and the others get on, he stops what he’s doing. His eyes widen and he raises his wrist to his mouth. His sleeve falls slightly, exposing a watch similar to Hugo’s.

Both Eugene and Noah notice, but Hugo glares back as they walk through the carriage aisle. The man sees him glaring and immediately averts his gaze. He lowers his wrist and resumes typing on his laptop.

Hugo, Eugene, and Noah nestle into a seating curve, and the train takes off. Reaching speeds engineers of the old world only wished they could safely achieve, the train stops occasionally to let people on and off.

They zoom past farms, many with farmers in their fields, monitoring crops and machines. Some farmers have human-shaped robots at their side, holding items, doing the hard work, or just keeping them company.

Drones similar to Eugene’s fly – seemingly at their own command – among the crops, performing other farming tasks.

Some farmers crouch down by solar panels, fixing or altering them to ensure they capture an optimum amount of power from the sun. Hugo’s certain they have the help of a swarm of microbots crawling on the panels, sensing and fixing tiny mechanical problems.

The train stops at a few ecovillages on the way into the metropolis. Among communities of sustainable houses, families gather around tables and interact with each other. Children wave at the train as it passes. Robots stand around or help in the wild nature surrounding the villages.

Soon, the metal curves of the Capital envelop the train. They enter a tunnel – a public transport route directly into the metropolis’ center.

Sections of the tunnel are transparent. Outside, Hugo sees human-shaped robots tend to the greenery of carefully-kept gardens. People in robes and trendy, tight-fitting underclothes walk on large, paved footpaths amongst the greenery. Large rivers of water curve alongside footpaths and metal buildings.

It’s like the flawless vision of New Kansai’s architects has been brought to life – and maintained over the years – with incredible precision.

The tunnel dips slightly, heading underground, and the train slows. They emerge into a large underground space of train tracks, all converging ahead. The train slows and arrives at a platform in the central station.

Outside the windows on the platform, people wait and bustle in all directions. The platform boasts a lush bed of greenery and flowers along the back wall.

Hugo, Eugene, and Noah stand to exit the train, along with several others in their carriage. But Hugo, almost having completely forgotten about him by this point, locks eyes with the mechanic-looking man.

The man waits right by the doors as they open, talking into his watch while staring directly at Hugo. Then, he vanishes among the sea of people on the platform.

This can’t be a coincidence; there were plenty of other people on the train, so why was the man looking at them?

Hugo’s going to find out.

Still in the carriage, he breaks into a dash, shouting “excuse me”s and “sorry”s as he pushes past people exiting the train. He runs up the platform and toward the center of the station, catching a glimpse of the man’s jumpsuit up ahead.

In the station, robots walk among people. None are clothed, although none are humanlike enough to need such a thing. Hugo’s careful not to run into one; their metal bodies tend to hit back quite hard.

He pushes through the wave of people rushing towards the platform, eager to get on the train before it departs.

“Hugo!” Noah’s voice rings out over the hustle of people and trains behind him.

But Hugo has no time to waste if he’s going to confront the man from the train. He follows him deeper into the station. Towards the escalators to the surface, the density of people and robots decreases.

The man glances behind him, locking eyes with Hugo. Eyes flashing open wide, he turns and fastens his pace. He makes a turn before he reaches the escalators and approaches a door labeled, ‘Staff Only’. He scans his wrist on a door scanner.

Hugo sprints towards the door and lunges towards it with his foot. He manages to catch it at the last second. Once he’s a few steps through the door, though, he halts.

In front of him spans a hallway with several branching corridors. The end of the hallway opens to a large space filled with shipping pallets – a loading dock.

The man is nowhere to be seen.

“Hugo.” Noah grabs his shoulder out of nowhere, causing Hugo to jump. “What are you doing?”

Behind Noah, Eugene keeps the door open. Holding the drone against his chest, he grits his teeth as he glares at Hugo. “You better come out of there before we get caught.”

As if on cue, several men and women in that same mechanic-like jumpsuit round a corner in front of Hugo. Several at the front hold smart pistols, pointed directly at them.

Hugo freezes. His heart immediately begins racing. He’s never seen an old-fashioned gun before; they’re banned in New Kansai, even in the military. Behind him, he’s sure Eugene and Noah experience the same feeling.

“Hands up!” one of the workers barks at them. “Come with us!”

Up close, Hugo recognises the logo on their uniform. It belongs to one of several tech corporations integral to the inner workings of New Kansai.

“Now!” the worker demands, gesturing sharply behind him.

Hugo hesitantly follows them down the hallway and into the loading dock. The door shuts behind him, making a slight bang.

They’re trapped inside – no one can save them now.

Along the back of the loading dock, several hovercraft line an open exit.

Hugo begins to strategize an escape, but he immediately knows it’s no use; the exit opens only to the sky. The only way out is by hovercraft.

Hovercrafts are a recent invention, designed for use in the distribution of food and technology in New Kansai. Despite being called hovercraft, they’re essentially a cargo plane with two helicopter blades in each wing.

The workers march Hugo, Eugene, and Noah to one of the hovercraft, its rear opening up like a menacing, mechanical hand.

As they approach, it becomes clear the hovercraft’s blades are spinning. The technology reduces the noise pollution from far away, but up close they’re almost deafening.

“Get inside!” a worker yells over the noise of the blades.

Hugo, Eugene, and Noah walk up the ramp into the cargo hold. It’s almost full, so they have to slot themselves between pallets of wrapped technological goods.

The armed workers hold their position, and the ramp retracts upward. The mechanical door closes and secures itself, locking all three of them inside.

As the hovercraft lurches forward, Hugo stumbles and loses his footing. He throws his eyes to Eugene and Noah for support, his eyes adjust in the dim lighting of the cargo hold. They look every bit as frightened as he does.

The hovercraft flies in near darkness for about ten minutes before it lands. The noise of the blades comes to a stop, and the cargo hold opens with a mechanical grating.

Another loading dock. As the ramp extends, Hugo sees workers and robots unload shipping pallets off other hovercraft. At the end of the ramp, another group of workers waits to greet them. This time, however, they’re unarmed. This gives Hugo a spark of hope.

But the spark dies just as quickly as it’s ignited.

Behind the workers stands a familiar, bearded man. White streaks intertwine in his black hair. He wears clothing of similar material to Hugo, but it’s sewn in a way that almost looks like a suit.

Out of the corner of his vision, Hugo sees Noah visibly tense as the man steps forward.

The man, Simon, leans slightly to the side, like something invisible is holding him upright. He opens his arms, welcoming them with a marvelous grin. “Welcome!” he shouts up the ramp. “Eugene. Hugo.” He pauses for a moment as his eyes rest on Noah, enthusiasm fading.

“Son.”

* * *

In a sickenly neat room on the building’s top floor, Eugene and Noah sit by Hugo’s side. From behind a large, marble table, they observe Simon collect four small glasses from a shelf.

Simon turns to face them, placing the glasses on the table. The table divides the room in two – the ultimate power play. He sits and pours himself a glass. Steam rises lazily as Simon stops and hesitates for a second, teapot still in hand. He glances up at them. “Tea?”

He waits for an answer, but – upon getting nothing – he utters, “Your loss,” and gently places the teapot back down.

“Why are we here?” Eugene cuts straight to the chase.

Simon’s unfazed by his curtness. “You must accept my apologies for the rudeness of my workers in the central station. They were only acting on my orders to bring you here as quickly and quietly as possible. Very vague orders, I understand now.” He chuckles a bit.

Technically, the workers aren’t employed by Simon himself, but by the Council. It’s the governing Council who organizes jobs on behalf of the large corporations in New Kansai.

“To answer your question, Eugene,” Simon looks him dead in the eye, “I brought you here because a friend of mine found out that, earlier today, you three went somewhere you’re not meant to.”

Hugo’s eyes widen involuntarily. Noah looks to Hugo out of shock, before realizing this is a mistake and correcting his gaze.

But Simon notices all these reactions. “And it would appear he’s right.”

Why would Simon go to the trouble of bringing them all here? He doesn’t care enough about his son to scold Hugo and Eugene for getting him in any potential danger.

“I can hear you asking, ‘Why does it matter?’ ‘Why would harmlessly trespassing in a place forbidden by the Council cause me to take such drastic measures to speak with you?’” Simon takes a sip from his glass, exchanging eye contact with the three of them in turn.

Did he somehow find out about the bunker? The only way that could have happened is if a drone was secretly following them. This couldn’t be possible, however, as Eugene’s drone didn’t pick up the presence of another drone.

“Then why?” Hugo demands, not too impolitely.

“‘Why’ is because I have a very important question I’d like you to answer.” Simon takes a deep whiff of his tea and lets out a sigh. “My own son won’t ever tell me anything, so I thought I’d ask you all together.”

Hugo sees Noah dip his head. Not in shame, but in some kind of other emotion. Hugo’s unsure of exactly what it is.

Simon looks at them one by one, as if his powerful gaze will get the truth out of them. He asks the question. “Why were you trespassing in the old world?”

A miniature wave of relief washes over Hugo. It seems like Simon doesn’t know about the bunker after all. Unless, of course, he’s trying to be sly about it.

“We wanted to explore,” Hugo replies. He glances over at Eugene, who looks like he’s trying to work out what he should tell Simon.

Simon grimaces slightly at Hugo’s answer. It’s not what he’s after. “See, I don’t think all you were doing there. Eugene?”

Eugene hesitates, before caving in. “I’m sorry, sir. I took Noah and Hugo to practice some drills I’ve learnt in the military. I’m only a new recruit, so I’m eager to share what I’ve learnt.”

And it’s the truth, too.

Eugene reaches into the inner breast pocket of his robe. He pulls out the three earpieces and places them on the desk.

A sly smile tugs at the corner of Simon’s mouth. “I thought these were only meant to be used on-duty. You could get in trouble for this.”

“Yes, sir.” Eugene bows his head in apology.

“No need to worry.” Simon appeases Eugene’s fear. “Your secret stays inside this room.”

Simon picks up one of the earpieces and inspects it. “Only the military has access to the voice and data logs of these. But, as the director of the company that creates them, I do too.” He looks up at Eugene. “Unless…?”

“I’ve already erased them.” Eugene meets Simon’s powerful stare with one of his own. “But I’m telling the truth.”

They hold eye contact for a few seconds, before Simon yields. He sweeps the teapot and glasses to the side with an arm – carefully, though, so they don’t topple over. Then, he leans forwards and places both arms on the desk.

“I’ll be frank with you,” Simon says softly, looking at each of them in turn. “Yesterday, one of my outer warehouses was raided. A lot of small, but incredibly expensive, high-tech equipment was taken. And you won’t believe who took it.”

He pauses to smile at Hugo, then shrugs as if something amuses him. “Actually, I think you will.”

Simon reaches below his desk and pulls out a large, glass tablet. As he places it on the desk between them, it turns on to reveal a detailed map of New Kansai. He points to the abandoned city where Hugo, Noah, and Eugene were an hour ago. It’s massive, enveloping a large portion of the otherwise green map like a cancer.

“Most of the public don’t know there are criminals living somewhere in here. But, I assure you, the Council and I do.”

Hugo sighs, feigning boredom. “You’re accusing us of having something to do with these ‘criminals’, and you want us to tell you where they are and what they want.”

Simon stands abruptly. It startles Hugo, but he tries not to flinch.

In the corner of Hugo’s vision, Noah retreats further into his chair. He must have experienced this kind of pressure a lot at home. The thought only fuels Hugo’s irritation.

“Careful, Hugo,” Simon threatens, in almost a whisper. “I wouldn’t try to push any buttons. I think you know why I’m looking specifically at you.”

Hugo begins to sweat. Simon might know something about him. Something that not many people know.

“Sir.” Eugene tries to calm the situation. “I apologize for my brother’s attitude, just as you’ve apologized for your workers’. I think he misunderstands what you’re asking of us.”

This stops Simon in his tracks. He corrects his posture, adjusts his collar, and sits back down. “Go on.”

“We never encountered any criminals in the old world,” Eugene pleads with Simon. “We never encountered anyone, for that matter. Not until we got back to the train station. In fact, none of us realized anyone lived there in the first place.”

Simon slowly nods his head, inviting Eugene to say more.

“But if something comes back to us – anything we might’ve forgotten – we’ll make sure to tell you right away. Right?” Eugene encourages Hugo and Noah to agree.

Noah nods, slightly but emphatically.

Hugo, a bit more daring, locks eyes with Simon and takes a moment to speak. “Yep.”

Simon sighs. “Right.” He grabs his half-empty glass of tea, downs it like it’s a shot, and slams it down hard on the desk. “I don’t want any of you going anywhere near there again, or I might be obligated to let the Council know. Understand?”

Hugo, Eugene, and Noah nod and utter agreeances.

“You’re free to leave,” Simon says. “I’ll arrange for someone to escort you down.” He remembers something. "Oh. Eugene, Hugo. Wish your mother luck for the Council election."

Hugo, Eugene, and Noah stand and hurriedly make their way to the translucent glass door behind them. Hugo’s ever mindful of Simon’s powerful gaze.

Before they reach the door, Hugo hears Eugene’s voice. “Sir, would you mind if I stay behind for a minute?”

“Only if you have something worthwhile to say.”

Hugo pushes the door open, stepping out into the hallway. When it opens, the glass becomes entirely transparent.

As Noah shuts it behind him, it becomes translucent once more, blocking off Eugene and Simon from view. Their voices are muted as well.

The hallway is as sanitized as the interior of Simon’s office. Just like the office – and all of the spaces in the entire building – it has no plant life. Even though Hugo isn’t particularly fond of nature, it’s still largely alienating to enter a building without some form of life.

Hugo looks at Noah. He’s visibly shaken, even from an experience like this with his father. A typical child would be ashamed while getting scolded and then bounce right back. But from the stories Noah has told Hugo, the relationship he has with his father is far from typical.

Noah meets Hugo’s gaze. After a moment of slight hesitation, Noah’s eyes soften. As if he isn’t afraid to show Hugo how he really feels.

A strange pressure forms in Hugo’s chest and it forces him to ask a question. “Are you okay?”

Noah nods. “Yeah.” But then he’s reminded of something. His face tinges with a hint of confusion. “My father… he was looking at you at one point. What did he mean?”

The question catches Hugo off guard. He fumbles with his words for a moment, before a worker appears next to them. “I’ve been told to escort you out of the building.”

Hugo gestures inside the room. “But my brother–”

“He’ll be a minute longer. Someone will escort him once he’s finished with the director.”

Noah looks to Hugo for guidance, but Hugo doesn’t want to cause him any more trouble.

With that thought, Hugo smiles slightly and nods at the worker, accepting his offer. Noah by his side, they follow the worker out of the building and into the controlled chaos of the metropolis below.