Mason was completely exhausted after the day he had, but the thought of speaking to Kailey refreshed his mind. Yes, she had rejected him and that stung, but he had a positive outlook. It was only reasonable Kailey didn't like him yet. He had basically kidnapped her, tied her up and taken advantage of the horniness the prototype had induced in her. He should be glad she was still speaking to him, and willing to talk about the Criminals cause! Mason still had a chance to show Kailey how he truly was inside.
So, with hope for a better future Mason knocked on Kailey's door.
Lea was shocked awake hearing the knocking. She had fallen asleep while waiting. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already passed midnight! How come Mason was so late?
With eyes that were swollen from sleep, and still feeling drowsy, Lea opened the door and was greeted by Mason's radiating smile. It was too bright for her sleepy mind. She had to blink a few times. How could someone be so energetic at this time a night? How could he smile so brightly after the hurt look he had given her this afternoon?
"Mason, come on in," she said with a groggy voice.
Kailey had a bedhead, and all her movements screamed sleepiness. Mason hadn't expected her to have fallen asleep. His informants told him she had slept the entire afternoon.
"Thank you. I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep," Mason apologized while stepping into the room.
Lea scratched her head embarrassed. Was it that obvious she had fallen asleep? "It is no problem. I did ask you to come here myself."
Mason nodded. It was good she didn't mind. He didn't want to have another thing working against him.
"Do you always work this late?" Lea asked worriedly. That couldn't be healthy. How could anyone perform their job probably on a lack of sleep?
Mason was nicely surprised by the concern in Kailey's voice. It made him feel warm inside. At least she didn't seem to hate him. She maybe even cares about him. This might go better than he had hoped.
"Normally I end a little bit earlier, but with the funeral I have a lot of extra things to do," Mason tried to assure Kailey.
Lea just frowned. A little bit earlier? That sounds like it is still too late. The elites here really don't seem to care about the health of the people. "It can't be easy to be a head butler, especially you being…"
"A genetic anomaly?" Mason guessed the ending of her sentence.
"Yes."
Mason shrugged. "Sometimes I have to do things I don't want to do, but I always keep in mind it is for a better cause."
"Saving the world?" Lea remembered bits and pieces of their conversation before she started to feel… strange.
"Yes." Mason's voice was full of conviction.
Lea couldn't give in so fast though. Kailey had been indoctrinated since birth. Even if the hypnotization part fell away, the indoctrination wouldn't be so easy to dispel. She still needed to make sure she didn't go to much out of character, because otherwise Dwyl will forcefully choose the next world, and if this world is any indication, she didn't want that to happen again.
"By bringing back criminality? How is that going to save anyone?" she asked skeptically, while settling down on the couch.
"Criminality has never disappeared," he said, sitting next to Kailey. "The elites commit monstrosities every day. I want to put a stop to that – all people like me want to put a stop to that. We want to bring back the balance. Want to give people a fighting chance against the wrongdoings of the elites. We want to bring back free will." Mason said with passion in his voice.
"What do you mean exactly by free will?" Kailey had never heard of those terms. How could she? Free will didn't exist here.
"I mean the freedom to make your own choices. To choose your partner. To choose if you have a child or not. To be able to raise your own child. To make your own decisions regarding your future. To not have to just quietly accept your execution because an elite finds the tea you brought them to hot, or to sugary or because they just find you ugly. To be able to defend yourself. To be able to have an opinion about those that rule a country."
"But the reason we don't have your so called free will, is because our own choices are often bad for the greater good. People are generally happier if they don't have to worry about making a choice. Our children are raised better than when we would do it. And we should be happy to die at the hands of our great leaders, leaders we do have an opinion on. We find them great for protecting us, and if a couple of people die at their hands, then that is justified. The elites work hard, they deserve to do whatever they want to the people. The deaths they cause are but a small speck of dust compared to deaths that will follow if you abolish the indoctrination and hypnotization program."
Mason frowned. He thought Kailey could be reasoned with. He thought Kailey understood. He thought she wanted to help. This didn't sound like any of that. "A life without choice is no life at all. I thought you understood the pain of having your life controlled."
"Isn't pain also a part of life?" Lea mused.
"And wasn't the purpose of the indoctrination and hypnotization program to abolish the pain of the people? To eliminate suffering?"
"Yes…"
"Then we can conclude it has failed. Because you felt pain. You have suffered because of having your choices taken away from you. The program doesn't make life better."
"But it doesn't make life worse, either," Lea said.
"I think that depends on what you want from life. That is different for anyone, and in a world of free will, people are free to chase their dreams."
"Well, I suppose you are right."
"You said you wanted to help," Mason remembered Kailey.
"I do, but before I committed to anything I wanted to know what exactly you wanted to accomplish."
"And? Did you like what I had to say?" Mason asked fearfully.
"I don't know. It seems to me like a perfect world doesn't exist, but I do think the one you're describing is closer to how I imagine it, than the world we live in now. I would like to help your cause. The world won't become worse because of it, just like you said."
"But you have counteracted every word I said," Mason said disbelievingly.
"I just said the words I was taught. And I believe them, but I also believe yours. Yours are more to my taste, and I like being able to think what I want without having to punish myself."
Mason let out a breath of relief. "I'm glad I wasn't wrong about you."
Lea smiled a little bit. "That device you used. Is that how you want to save the world?"
"Yes, but like you have noticed it is still flawed. If you'd really like to help us… it would be really useful if you'd let one of our developers take a look at you."
Lea's smile became bigger. "Of course. I was fearful I wouldn't be able to help, but it is good to hear I can."
Mason's heart was pierced seeing her smile. It was like the sun had shone upon him. She was beautiful. "You can help in more ways than one."
"Oh? What else can I do?" Lea was surprised. Was she really that useful? Hurray! Goodbye, damsel in distress. Hello, hero.
"William Wright. He is planning something, but I don't know what. If it wouldn't be too dangerous, I'd like you to figure it out."
Lea's smile dulled. Great, after promising not to meddle with Dwyl, the world throws this her way. Just great.