Huh?! Rebellion?! Is he saying what I think he's saying?! As if to confirm my thoughts, he continues to speak.
"I originally joined this whole corporate bullshit and became a leader because I knew it would give me the power I would need to start a Rebellion. It really started when I saw what happened with mother. The Authorities came in to my house one day and shot her in the head right in front of me, and then just left. They said nothing."
He paused, remembering the traumatic event.
"It turned out, the Royals had noticed she was gaining popularity with the other males in the Royal City and decided enough was enough. They killed her because they wanted the attention back. Our system is corrupt, Laura."
I nodded. I knew it from the start. When I had been forced to sit through the lectures about our system, it seemed off. Even though it was the only thing we knew of or was told, I was smart enough to figure out that the ends never would've met-- and the Royals were doing something else to make it work. We were taught that the Royals had supreme power over all-- that if you were to be told to do something, you had to do it. There were cases were a Royal had gone rouge in the Class E District (The "Low-life" slums) and ordered a bunch of higher grade Class E's to jump off a tall object in order to kill themselves. And we couldn't refuse. It meant that they would kill everyone we knew. That would mean everyone in our Class, as well as the Shiki, and our parents whom we were allowed to meet for the first 5 years of spending time in the Function House.
"You will be working on a few things with me and your mentor, who I hand- selected after he finished his training in the Commons Facilities. As you know, we all started out there. You both should be around the same age, so I expect you two to get along well with each other."
He signaled to the door, and a small boy wearing a suit which looked a bit too big on him walked through.
"My name is Carter-- I heard you just arrived from the Function House, yes?"
"Yes, my name is Obje-- Laura. My name is Laura."
I caught myself before saying what I was used to. It was hard getting used to saying such a short phrase for a name. We were taught in the Function House during the entire 10 years to always address ourselves as "Object [Class Grade]-[Ranking]." I had gotten so used to it by then that I realized how hard it would be to get used to this life. At least I knew that this guy was aiming for something more that what most did. He was actually working to go against the Royals. It was hard to believe-- the Royals held so much power in this system that if you even thought of going against it, the Authorities would catch wind and assassinate every person you knew and had connections with. The fact that he was able to grow the Rebellion this big was astonishing-- and even I wasn't quite sure how it could've been done.
"Right this way, Laura. It's time we tour the facility."
He lead me through the long corridor of the first floor until we reached this unfamiliar looking metal box thing.
"Ah, you may not know what this is. We have this in most facilities in the wealthier areas-- it's an elevator. It ascends and descends no matter how high or low-- and it will get you to any level you need to go."
He pressed a button with an arrow pointing upwards, and the metal doors slid open. I was fascinated with all of this, and didn't hesitate to get on. When the doors shut and it lurched upwards, I instinctively clung to Carter for support.
"How long will this take?"
"Not too long."
Almost as soon as he said that, the doors opened and the lurching stopped. I stumbled out and saw Carter calmly walking off-- making me a bit more reassured. He moved on and continued walking through a surprisingly decorated hallway.
"These are the Living Quarters. On the left side you have the Management Rooms, and on the right side, you have the HR Quarters. We are apart of HR, so you'll be in a large room."
He continued walking along the hallway which seemed to go on forever and stopped at a door marked 268.
"This is my room. Later, Master will tell you which room number you have."
I nodded. Looking ahead I could see a large opening to what looked to be a lavish dining facility.
"Up ahead as you seem to have noticed, are the Dining Lounges. We have Breakfast to Dinner here, and occasionally we will have a movie night. You'd be able to tell when all the tables and chairs are put away and there's a big white screen up."
He laughed to himself, most likely remembering a time when he watched a movie there. I smiled a little. Maybe-- just maybe-- we might have a chance. He turned around and began walking back down to the elevator. After the ride down, he took me to another large room that was just to the left right after we stepped out.
"This is our planning room."
He opened the door even more to expose the desks filled with books, papers, and the walls covered with documents that I wasn't able to read from my distance. I was so curious, and in my mind I knew I wanted to come back later.
"People usually use this room for studying what we've already found out, but we sometimes use this as a chance to find new ways to rebel against the Royals and the System. It helps to know that we've got over 50 years of knowledge backing us up."
"50 years?!"
I couldn't hold myself back at this point, my curiosity was screaming at me.
"So you're saying this Rebellion has managed to stay on it's feet for 50 whole years?! How many official members are in this Rebellion?"
"Just over 50,000. The company itself devotes itself to recruiting and training members, and this building alone houses just 3,000 people. There are other facilities around the country that follow Master's orders as well. Remember-- he's the Head of Company Domains. That means he has complete and total control of all of the other Companies that take care of Domains."
I was shocked. I was recruited by one of the largest Rebellion forces that had been standing for the longest time, and the Head of all of it wanted ME?!
"Then tell me this-- why would he chose me? Why did Master chose me?"
"That's a good question, Laura. How about you ask him yourself?"
This entire situation seemed unreal to me. I had so many rights all of a sudden. I was able to speak my mind, I was able to walk around with no chains on my ankles or handcuffs. I didn't need to wait to be ordered. I didn't have to request permission to speak. And I could speak directly to the Master himself?! I was starting to wonder how the hell these people hadn't been caught. We walked back over the large wooden doors and walked in. Master Erik was bent over and breathing hard, and for a second I thought he was in pain. Carter coughed into his hand.
"Master Erik-- I know that you may need to, however please refrain doing 'that' in the presence of a female."
Master's head shot up and looked at us, his face covered in sweat. Then he smiled.
"Ah, my apologies, Young Carter."
Wait-- what? What did I just witness? The next few seconds confirmed it all--
-zzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiippppppppp-
"Sorry about that, Laura. You definitely didn't see anything, yes?"
I shook my head.
"Ah-- good. ANYWAYS... what did you two need to ask of me?"
I stepped in front of Carter, clearing my throat along the way.
"I was wondering why you chose me? And-- how is this Rebellion able to withstand the power of the system?"
He chuckled to himself.
"Heh. I chose you because I wanted another recruit. And-- how are we able to withstand the System, you ask?"
I nodded my head. My eyes locked onto his as we engaged in a mental battle of emotionless words.
"We don't-- moreover, we can't."
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A/N: Want to talk about my novels? Join my discord: https://discord.gg/3ysxrQJEQ4