The director's office floated above the Vision Academy entrance hall framed by walls of glass. Norma's laser scanned for bugs. "Cameras. No audio recording devices," she stated. Anyone below could see in, which Skylar suspected was the primary reason the chaperones had allowed them to whisk away their student. Downstairs, everyone else was enjoying ice cream and a movie night.

The lone teenager slouched in a modular chair. His skinny legs draped the side, and he laced his fingers behind his head. His bored, squarish face hid behind a mess of loose curls, a cocky grin slanting his mouth.

"Hiram, is it?" Magnum tugged his breeches to crouch beside the boy.

"Nice interrogation chamber. Is this the part where you rough me up?" the kid asked.

From the door, Skylar gestured at the room. The floors were made of tinted hexagons, every other one illuminated. Following the honeycomb motif, the interior walls were also large teal hexagons and glass. It was designed for aesthetics, not intimidation.

"No torture devices. No chains. I take it you're not a gamer. Otherwise, you'd know a safe space when you see one." She smiled and approached the kid, although perspiration collected in her hairline.

Hiram snorted in disbelief.

"I think he can handle the truth," said Dr. Lacasse.

Norma studied the man from the wall overlooking the darkened city. "And who are you?"

"He's a genetic architect, specifically the one who designed my DNA," Skylar murmured. "I invited him here to talk to you about... our concerns."

"Right." She nodded tiredly. "As if we don't have enough already."

"Indeed. I'm Dr. Cristobal Lacasse," he introduced as he shuffled to a sofa.

Norma reconsidered him with grudging respect. She peered at Skylar with different eyes, too. So, she had heard of the geneticist. And, apparently, learning her best friend originated from the hands of a master made her view Skylar in a better light. Sky wasn't sure if she should feel complimented or insulted.

The doctor's semi-mirthful ease was gone, she noticed. His gaze slid from person to person, as if gauging their ability to handle the situation. "Our top concern at the moment should be keeping this academy from harm, and I have found—in my considerable lifetime—honesty suffices when imagination lags. The boy needs to hear the truth."

"Okay, look. I read your file, Hiram Galinsky." Norma turned to the kid. "You're a political science enthusiast with a head for conspiracy theories. We're here to set the record straight."

"Do your worst. Propagandize me. Spout the bullshit script. I promise I'll nod in all the right places, but you won't convince me this isn't a front for something. I have the video proof." Hiram chuckled dryly.

"And what do you think will happen if that footage gets out?" Magnum asked.

"I don't know. Let's see." He jumped to his feet, knocking over a potted plant in his haste. The four adults froze, but so did the teen. His heavy-lidded eyes darted from his AppCenter to them. He licked his lips as he flexed his fingers, chest heaving.

The AI took a cautious step toward him. "You want the truth? I'm afraid stirring a panic with questions we can't answer will lead to people responding in irrational ways. Kind of like you right now."

"Stay the fuck back, or I'll air-drop this to everyone within range! You can answer whatever you choose to answer. You guys are in charge of this freakshow," Hiram retorted.

"Are we?" Norma crossed her arms and leaned against the glass wall. With the cityscape behind her, she appeared tiny, like she couldn't possibly run something of its magnitude.

Hiram noticed. He backed toward the door with a degree of uncertainty that hadn't been present a moment prior. "Why did you bring us here?" he asked.

"I didn't. I never would've authorized children within the barrier. I didn't ask for any of the people shipped here, but it's my job to keep you and everyone else safe.'

"Then, let us go. We were safer at home."

"I... can't do that, Hiram," she said quietly.

"Why not?!" he yelled. "Just let me go!"

Skylar stood between the desperate boy and his exit. Magnum blocked his anterior. She swallowed grimly, weighing the pros and cons of the kid disseminating the crash details in a panic. If the citizens of Eutopia were made aware of the lies they had been told, would they rebel against the board of directors? Or would pandemonium sweep the city, putting the children at risk?

Suddenly, Hiram feinted toward her. When she moved to stop him, he ducked and grabbed a shard of the broken ceramic pot. Making a rapid pivot, his wiry arm clamped her neck in a chokehold, and he brandished the makeshift weapon. Skylar grimaced, unwilling to hurt or spook him. One wrong move...

"Hiram." Norma pushed away from the wall.

"Let me and my friends go," he reiterated with breathless bravado.

Dr. Lacasse shook his head with a raspy laugh. "Young man, you might be able to get past these fine folks, but after that, what? Do you hypothesize a jagged piece of pottery will work against heavily armed guards? I wouldn't want to be in your shoes for that experiment."

"Hilarious, Grandpa. Tell her to radio the guards and open the goddamn barrier."

"I imagine she hears you," the doctor said mildly.

The sharp point nicked Skylar's cheek, centimeters from her eye. At the pinprick of blood, Magnum's pupils constricted, and Skylar feared for Hiram much more than she feared for herself.

"Hey! Listen to me," she stated, "you're making a mistake, kid. See the big guy? He's a precision instrument programmed to detect and eradicate threats against the leaders of Eutopia. Right now, you fall in that number."

"You're lying." Hiram's hand shook. "I know what robots look like."

"I assure you, beneath that pretty mug is an unfeeling motherboard. He won't care that you're a virgin, or that you're not even old enough to drink yet," she snapped.

"Shut the fuck—!"

Magnum jammed his fingers into the crease of Hiram's underarm and yanked upward. The kid screamed. Skylar sprang free. The AI gripped the boy's wrist and jerked him forward, causing the pottery shard to clank to the floor. "Language," he sighed as the kid slumped against the door.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Skylar fluttered to his side, checking for injuries. Hiram's face was pale and his eyes wide. Quaking like a leaf, he let her hug him while she glared at Magnum.

"Just s-scared me," the boy admitted.

"I could've de-escalated. You didn't have to attack him," she griped.

The AI ambled to the opposite side of the room. "I thought I was following your lead."

"And you did the right thing," said Norma. Beckoning for the kid, she ushered him to another chair and sat across from him. "I'm sorry for that dramatic show of force, Hiram. But it's imperative you understand violence won't be tolerated here.

"If you don't think I have your best interest at heart, that's fine. You're entitled to that opinion. Regardless, I'm responsible for the wellbeing of over ten-thousand people, and your opinion won't change that," she smiled ruefully. "So, how do you kill a conspiracy theory? You do it with knowledge. Therefore, I'll let you in on what we know."

Skylar glanced up from cleaning ceramic shards by the door. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"Wise? Hm." Dr. Lacasse cleared his throat. "Trusting a volatile teenager with too much information does sound like a recipe for disaster. On the other hand, we need allies. Are you an ally, Hiram? You see, the majority of us were brought here under false pretenses, and, like you, we all want answers."

"But to get those answers," Norma resumed, "we must outsmart the board of directors. The minute you share that footage, they'll simply package a believable explanation for the masses. You know how this works, right?"

"I become the crazy conspiracy theorist that no one believes." The kid stared at his wrist in silence. After a beat, he pressed something on his arm and met Norma's gaze. "It's done. I wiped my downloads."

Magnum approached and touched the boy's temple, syncing with his insert to check the files. When the AI nodded, Norma's lips curled in a tiny smile as she stuck out her hand. "I'm Norma Mansfield, head of strategy and programming. Behind closed doors, I'm in charge of figuring out what's really going on here. I'd like to welcome you to our team, Hiram."

"Like a secret club?" he asked.

Dr. Lacasse beamed. "A secret club sounds exciting. We need a name."

"The Outsiders," Hiram suggested.

"Uninventive, but it'll do. Cris Lacasse, at your service. I specialize in genomes, transhumanism, and old age. People always ignore the old guy, which makes me the perfect secret agent."

Skylar stepped forward to shake the kid's hand. "Skylar Walker, arts and humanities."

"How does that help?" Hiram scrunched his nose.

"Don't they teach history at your school? The most dangerous people in every revolution are the artists." She ruffled his hair.

"Nice, and I already know your specialty," he said to Magnum.

The AI inclined his head. "Glad to have you onboard."

"So, what do you guys need me to do?" Hiram asked eagerly.

Skylar and Norma shared a look. "For now," said the tech mogul, "we need you to keep your friends level-headed. I'll institute a curfew for everyone's protection. Don't treat is as a hindrance. It's to prevent kids like you from wandering the streets at night and stretching my security thin."

His exuberance dampened. "Are you saying words? Because I'm hearing blah-blah, sit back and let the grown-ups take care of things. I should've known you were ramming me up."

"Well, what is your specialty?" Dr. Lacasse interjected.

"Sway." The teenager lifted his chin.

"Is that some new slang term I'm not familiar with?" The doctor seemed clueless.

"No. Sway." Hiram's smile broadened. "I'm good at getting people to listen to me and do what I tell them to do. My memes are legendary. I'm a trendsetter."

"A young Influencer in training," Skylar muttered as she disposed of the remnants of the potted plant.

"Hell no. Aim higher. I'm gonna be the leader of the free world someday."

"President Hiram has a nice ring to it," Norma conceded. "Tell you what. You can be my informal mouthpiece. Whenever there's a message that needs to seem grassroots, I'll spread it through you. Other than that, if you see anything that makes your conspiracy sensors tingle, report to me."

"Just... don't go looking for trouble," Magnum warned.

"Correct. As tempting as it may be to investigate a lead, the people we're up against have already proven they can make us disappear outside the barrier without anyone asking questions. Imagine what they can do to us within Eutopia. At the first whiff of danger, abandon whatever you're doing," Norma instructed as she surveyed the room. "That goes for everyone."

There was a knock at the door, and they turned to see Professor Francis. "Everything alright?" she asked, eyes on Hiram. The boy pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Everything's fine." Norma rose to her feet. "We determined the news clip was a deep-fake, and we cautioned your student against spreading unconfirmed rumors."

"Oh. Well." She seemed flustered. "My apologies. I'll keep a close watch on him."

"That won't be necessary. I think he's a bright boy who, understandably, got upset at someone else's cruel prank. You or I would have reacted the same way and alerted our peers if we thought there was real danger. Now, how about you meet me tomorrow so we can discuss transportation plans?"

"Yes, thank you, Ms. Mansfield. That would be nice."

Hiram winked as he left.

After the two returned downstairs, Norma surveyed the academy entrance, gazing at the night. The transparent partition gave a cavernous effect, as if they had been swallowed by a glass mountain. That a human architect had designed such a whimsical building was astounding. Skylar stepped beside her friend to admire the view.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Ten percent of the bio-AI units were delivered today. Without even understanding the magnitude of what I'm doing, I have to begin reprogramming them tomorrow." Norma swallowed thickly and bowed her head. "Skylar, they killed me off. What do these people ultimately want?"

"To change the world?" Dr. Lacasse guessed behind them. Norma lifted her gaze. The old man repositioned comfortably on the sofa. "They named this place Eutopia for a reason. This is someone's vision of the perfect society—advanced and enhanced."

Magnum crossed the room in a slow, ambling gait. "Everyone I encountered was Enhanced, including the elite private soldiers." He lowered his voice for Skylar. "By the way, you didn't have to worry about the kid. I wouldn't have hurt him."

"Duly noted." She turned to the doctor. "One man's heaven is another man's hell. How do you think we should proceed?"

"Discover the real purpose of Project Colonize. Then, it stop it and expose it," he replied. "The lot of you may be too young to remember history like it was yesterday, but I know what happens when men envision a perfect society."

"What happens?" Magnum asked.

"They get rid of the 'imperfections.'"