Chapter 18 : Motive

[Author note : New KoSP chapter. Also I am currently in the midst of posting another story : Virtual Order Guardians. It's both a story about VRMMO and a reflection about the evolution of society in an increasingly doomed world. Since they're stuck on one physical world, they decided to create and colonize virtual ones. People download their consciousness to leave there and gift their physical bodies for medicine, science etc... Meanwhile, others struggle to obtain a Virtual Visa to work, travel or immigrate into a virtual world. Jason and his friends are like this !

This is a brief summary of the idea behind the story but I've posted a public synopsis on P A T R E O N if you're curious.

If you're interested in my stories or want to encourage me, please check out my Patréon : https://www.patréon.com/user?u=66371596 (replace the é by a normal e) or look for Cathbel on their website

KoSP : 2 advanced chapters

The Squib who became Iron Lad... In DC : 3 advanced chapters

AoH : Prologue + 6 chapters (exclusive)

MoH : 8 chapters (exclusive)

VOG : 2 chapters / 6 chapters (exclusive)

Now, onto the story ! Enjoy and please tell me what you think of it !]

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Two dozen civilians sitting in rows on the ground in an office. The bank had been invaded by an armed group. Although they acted like bank robbers, their tactics as well as their speech showed they were different. Or at least, that's what they wanted people to think…

Most of the civilians were either whimpering or sobbing fearfully or staying calm and quiet. Very few people would try and chat in this situation. Simon, on the other hand, was not like that. Hands up above his head and on his knees, the young Terran was smiling brightly as he asked :

« I so~ agree with you ! Why the hell would they recreate the garbage financial system of Terra when it keeps failing, am I right ? Though… » His gaze looked on the horizon, as if he was thinking very hard. For a moment, the music from his headphones was the only thing the robbers could hear coming from the weird guy. Until : « I am curious how exactly this theft will prove you point ? I mean… Isn't the bank insured ? Besides… Don't they own the insurance company ? They'll just recoup their losses on the backs of the other poor saps who are insured there… In the end, all you will have accomplished is stealing from the poor to… feed the poor ? »

A new silence where the robbers exchanged furtive glances before one of them, the closest, acted pissed off :

« Shut the fuck up ! » He yelled and slammed the back of his rifle into Simon's face. Although, the impact felt weird to the guy, Simon was thrown back and down on the ground, so he was satisfied that he'd accomplished what he set out to do : shutting him up.

Simon had decided to stay down before he was even struck. The truth was he had no idea why he was babbling… Perhaps he wanted to silence his bond-mate's voice, or the inner voice who shouted in his mind, ordering him to act, to save the poor civilians. At the moment, Simon was thinking that perhaps, he was suffering from some kind of Savior complex or something. He never had sessions with a psychologist or any specialist of the mind, so he couldn't be sure, of course. Though perhaps, he should… In the future. God knows there'd be a lot to talk about !

Meanwhile, Crys studied the situation both through the eyes of his bond-mates and the heat sensors of his drone's camera. He had already asked Simon why he was behaving this way and although he had no response, he assumed it was because the Terran himself did not know. Every thought, every sight, sound, smell and taste, they shared. So, of course, he knew what was going through his mind at the moment. And it was a mess. It was like… Simon wanted to get hurt. Unfortunately, or fortunately however, it was pretty much impossible. At least, not in the way that violence was usually dished out : fast and brutal. To really hurt Simon, the robbers would have to take their time.

Through their bonds, Crys shared his observations :

« Their gear is military grade and pretty advanced for this world. Energy weapons such as those aren't common even in the army however. Either they have a rich patron or they stole them… The question is where ? And who could design such technology ? They even possess miniature rail-gun… Those'll pack a punch. I wonder whether they can even use them. »

As Crys was sharing his findings, Simon came to his own realization. Not about his current situation : about himself. His actions up to now were contradictory. He let himself be captured by the TUP, because he didn't want to cause more harm. And then, he escaped, risking the lives of innocent people (at least, as far as he knew). He acted a few months ago against something he perceived as injustice, only to almost abandon the fight right when he was at the finish line. And now, he refused to fight but still egged his captors on. Simon lacked… resolve.

He had not yet accepted his past in the Terran military. He could not say goodbye to his old life on Earth, his loved ones. And right now, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life… Did he even want to live it, at all ? He had no goals, no revenge plans, long or even short term objectives. Sure, he trained in the use of his powers but he wondered if that was something he wanted, or something his bond with Crys pushed him to do… Dissociating his thoughts and wants from those of his friends was rather difficult, if not impossible.

As he laid there, face down, looking at the situation around him from the corner of his eye, he saw people. Different people, races, employees, clients and robbers… It was a veritable melting pot of aliens sharing a world. And yet, when it came down to it, they were the same : they all wanted things, needed things, had aspirations and hopes. For the hostages, what they wanted right now was to get out of this place. And if that wasn't possible, to at least survive ! The robbers on the other hand, Simon wasn't sure.

They pretended to have a political agenda : disrupt the Terran banking practices. Their gear seemed to support this idea, since they didn't appear to need the money. And yet, they were rather eager to get their hands on it. What he said earlier… Perhaps it was true. To be honest, Simon never really held much interest in economic sciences. If it was true, stealing the money would not really serve their supposed agenda. So, assuming what they said was the truth, what else could they do to really serve it ?

« Kill the hostages ? It'd have an impact, but not much probably… » He started to mutter under his breath. « The best way would be to disrupt the market completely… Banks may hold the money, but it's more and more demonetized… At least, it was in my time. So… Attacking the computer systems ? »

Simon recalled two TV series he liked in the past. One was about the post-apocalyptic world birthed from the ashes of a great economic crises where the banks had been hacked… or was it an EMP ? In any case, every bank account in the world had been reset to zero !

The other was about a man with a… troubled identity. Greatly reminiscent of a great movie of the early 2000s, the man used hacking instead of his counterparts' activism and followers to basically topple the economic and financial world. Simon wondered :

« Is this this kind of scenario ? »