Cynetic Wolf
HOPE

The mess was wild when we got there, fifty loud, hungry fighters jockeying over Anti’s latest creation. It smelled wonderful, and I was salivating. After the bald tank of a man in front of me got his steak, and a fair bit of sauce, it was my turn. I filled my plate, sampling the Tyson Cargill flavor-injected biobison as I walked on. A delivery truck had crashed and somebody filled their Benz with the fantastic cargo. Talk about a win.

Paer was in the corner by herself, plate empty. I headed over. “It’s good, isn’t it? Mind if we join?”

“I don’t do much meat, almost never. But it’s the best darn thing Anti’s ever made!” She laughed, actually laughed. “Not a high bar mind you, but—Oh, Lyam.”

“Agtha.” Fitz tucked his long legs under the bench. “It’s been a long time.”

“It has. Too long.”

They knew each other well. Had they been lovers? Maybe she was the reason he’d left.

Paer broke the awkward silence. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been good, at least until all this. Life was quiet, relaxed. I was teaching.” He popped another bloody bit of steak into his mouth. “What’s the split these days? Still an impasse?”

Paer motioned her head at me. “Lyam, you know I can’t—”

“Don’t give me that crap, Agtha.” Fitz lowered his voice. “You owe me. You—” He swallowed and paused. “You owe me.”

She sighed. “We’re four-to-three in favor. Lilia, Mico, Ganla and Obowe all want war while Hrun, Zedda and I aren’t sure.” She motioned to me again. “He tips the scale in their favor.”

Fitz brow furrowed. “If it’s four-to-three, why isn’t there more of a push?”

“There is. Things have been escalating since Lilia took the number two spot two years back. Hrun’s tried to keep his hand on the dial, slow things down. Still hopes rational minds will prevail, but I doubt it. Looks bad.”

I couldn’t wait any longer. “I don’t get it. What’s wrong with war? Isn’t the whole point to break out from under the GDR? Isn’t war the only option?” Henk and Ashlo thought so and I was inclined to agree.

“It’s good, if we win,” Fitz replied. “But, what if we don’t? And what happens if we do? Conquered people don’t like to be subjugated. If anything, we’d flip the existing power dynamic. Sure, it’s better for us, but it’s not stable or sustainable in the long run.”

Oh… “So, short term versus long term thinking,” I said.

“That’s a good summary. Any ideas on timeframes, Ag?” Fitz asked. “And would it work?”

She shrugged. “We’re not sure. Sims show at best forty percent chance of success, but they’re also just simulations.” She looked at me. “Without you, our odds drop to five percent. There’s a lot riding on a symbol of hope, on you. And to be honest, it gets worse every day, like Hrun said. The GDR’s preparing. Our chances will never be better, at least not if things continue how they are,” she added.

We all looked down at our food.

A crowd enveloped me in a claustrophobic wave as we left.

“Raek?”

“That’s him…”

“Is it true?”

A girl grabbed my hand, another touching my furry ears. Three guys offered high fives. Everyone stared, everyone wanted answers. It was overwhelming. A million variations.

* * *

The day passed in a blur after that. Forty percent versus five. No wonder everyone was interested in me. How could I make a seven hundred percent difference? Me? Me!

What were they hoping for? Victory would take a miracle, and I was still a kid. I was sixteen. Weren’t there adults that could lead or do something? There must be someone else, anyone else... Why me?

These thoughts and more raced through my head all day, a sea of uncertainty threatening to drown me. I had to find somewhere to hide, to think.

Sneaking upstairs, I headed toward the fitness area. If any rooms were empty, it would be those closest to the constant thudding weights.

Since talking with Fitz and Paer, I noticed people watching me everywhere I went. Had I missed it earlier? Jame was right.

The constant stream of attention was awful. And I’d been surrounded four times. How was I doing, did I have cybernetics, was I actually wolfish?...

Ugh… Leave me alone.

Picking a door, I knocked. Nothing. Another knock. Silence. Phew. I opened the door and jumped in. Freedom!

Locking the door, I took a deep breath and sank to the floor. I crossed my legs to get comfortable. What was I going to do? If I’d learned anything these last days, it was that meditation was the ultimate escape. I cleared my mind, letting the chaos of the past few days slip away as the entire universe shrank to the space of my thoughts. My body disappeared soon after, and after who knows how long, I found myself in my SmartCore’s command center.

It was filled with equipment and devices. Too much, too overwhelming. I relaxed further, drifting deeper into nothingness as everything dissolved into clouds of light and dark. All at once, something clicked. I felt it in my bones, at one with my body.

Returning to my wakened state, I couldn’t find words to describe it. It was like understanding, like being shown the light, remembering something you’d once known and never truly forgotten.

It was getting dark when I emerged from my refuge, 17:45. The meeting started soon.

Taking the stairs two at a time, I made my way toward the entrance, passing tons of new faces. It was bigger than I’d expected.

By the time I saw the elevated podium, I was surrounded by hundreds of clamoring bodies. We were cramped, nervous and energetic. Everyone was curious what was happening.

Where was Fitz? At least alone I guess I’d attract less attention. I pulled my hood over my face. The last thing I needed was another scene, and this way, I’d see people’s unfiltered reactions.

The lights above us dimmed and others illuminated the podium where Lilia, Hrun, and several serious-looking folks I didn’t recognize were standing.

Hrun stepped forward. “Thank you all for coming!” he boomed, his voice amplified through the air. “Can everyone hear me?”

There were a lot of nods and grumbled assents.

“Good. We wanted to share some exciting news and talk about the future of the Initiative.” He waited for the jitters of the crowd to die. “As many of you heard,” he continued, “we had two successful ops within the past week. The first took out a VTOL factory a few hours north of Caen, a major blow to the DSR’s supply chain. Their Rapid Response Units, RRUs, account for a third of our casualties. This should cut their global VTOL production at least ten percent, and we plan to target more in the coming months.” He paused, sipping water and hacking. “I’ll let Lilia tell you about the second op,” he finished in a raspy voice as he rubbed his chest, coughing twice.

Lilia strode forward and grasped the podium confidently. “The second attack was more political in nature. You’re aware of the recent attacks on women in our towns and villages. Wives and daughters assaulted in record numbers by male elites and left for dead.” My fists balled and heart hammered for war as my mind drifted to Elly, that night... “This cannot stand!” She slammed her fist on the podium, her eyes blazing. “This. Will. Not. Stand!”

There was a hush among the crowd as everyone held their breath. My skin tingled as pain, guilt, and anger swirled.

Teams had captured several offenders, forcing confessions and allowing the victim’s fathers to enact revenge, filming the whole thing. They’d uploaded videos to the web—and the elite web—and dumped the bodies around the city to “issue a warning,” as Lilia said, “that our daughters are not to be messed with.”

“This is our time, my friends,” she said. “A time for animotes, time for freedom.” She threw back her head, silky hair tumbling as she thrust her fist into the air. “Freedom, freedom, freedom!” Her voice hit earth-shattering levels.

The chants grew louder and louder as more and more joined in. Soon, fists flew everywhere, the chorus deafening.

Lilia signaled for silence and it quieted. “That’s not all. Today we stand in the midst of a miracle. The impossible. Today, we have hope.”

My stomach flipped. Don’t do it, don’t do it...

She smiled. “As some of you may have heard, we received a call for help yesterday. We weren’t sure whether it was a hoax or a trap. It seemed too good to be true, but I am here to tell you, the world is changing. Raek, come here.”

I closed my eyes, squeezing them shut, but a light appeared, illuminating me. Shoot. Careful to avoid eye contact with anyone, I made my way to the front.

As I reached Lilia, she shouted, “How many of you have been bullied or mistreated because you’re an animote, called an animal, a savage, or beaten down by society? How many?”

An excited, angry chorus.

She introduced me with all the drama of a blockbuster holo, putting her arm around me. “Tonight I give you the first mixed-breed hybrid in human history. I give you our future!” She lifted my hand into the air and the crowd roared.

She was an excellent speaker. If I wasn’t terrified, I’d have been impressed. Instead, she motioned me to the podium, intending me to speak. Crap.

I shuffled forward, hands in my pockets. What should I say?

“Um, hi. My name’s Raek, and it’s true, I’m wolfish. But I’m cynetic too.” They were all staring... “I don’t know what happened to me or how I got this way. I only know what I am, not where I’ve come from.” I shrugged and tried to smile. “I’m no one special. I’m a guy, like any of you. I, I don’t have anything else to say.”

Lilia rushed forward, clapping and saving me. “Raek Mekorian, ladies and gentlemen. Give our hero a hand!”

Hero? Uh-oh! That didn’t sound good.

Where the heck was Fitz? My world spun, stomach flipping. What was going on? People clapped, cheered, and screamed… the energy was electrifying. I wanted to disappear.

The crowd rushed forward, arms outstretched. People patted me on the back, yelling.

Surrounded. Shit. It was all too much.

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