Free Minds

Chapter 56.

   If I didn't reveal the reason behind my overly enthusiastic outburst soon, the rest of the group were going to think I had gone mad. Looking at the stares Camila, Rav and Dorian directed my way, it was clear I was this close to being wrestled into a straitjacket and tied to a chair.

"Talise," I said. "Rav is going mute his mic so you won't hear from us for a while. We'll be back before you know it though."

   His facial response showed how much he was not on board. "And why would I—"

"Just do it Rav!" Camila snapped before turning to scowl at me. "Maybe Beth will finally explain why she's acting like a maniac."

   As soon as Rav obliged, all pairs of eyes turned to me, eager to hear what I had to say.

"I think we've found the opening we need for Tali's escape from the group," I paused for dramatic effect, holding up two fingers. "Two words: lunch break."

   I proceeded to repeat the tour guide's announcement of the lunch break occurring soon. While everyone was having lunch in the school's cafeteria, Tali was going to be placing the cameras around the places we'd preselected.

"I think you're forgetting the part about how the tour guides are going to be there as well." Cami sneered. "I'm pretty sure it won't take them long to realise that the girl in the over the top leg brace isn't amongst the Visitors."

"But they won't even realise she's gone." I shook my head, explaining further.

   This was because the lunch break did not only apply to the Visitors, but the tour guides as well. And I knew that because when the solo tour during Visitation Day/My Orientation was interrupted for a thirty minute break (just like the student tour guide had just announced), Edna, after directing us to the then student-free cafeteria, vanished without a trace. The hologram only appeared exactly thirty minutes later, making this lame joke about holograms needing breaks too that I don't even remember.

   Okay, I remember the joke.

   And it was pretty funny.

   But that was far from the point.

   If a hologram with no realistic body parts or organs whatsoever had to have a thirty minute break, how much more two teenage boys subject to mind controlling tech?

   Let's also not forget that with the help of Tali, the Visitors could easily resurface or bombard the tour guides with more specific questions, such as the reason behind the extension of Liberation Week. I'm pretty sure the Yunies didn't have flash card answers to those. They couldn't afford to allow the tour guides to get comfortable with the Visitors that long.

   After the Visitors' string of questions toward the tour guides that went unanswered, the Yunies had to know that.

"Aren't you forgetting the most important part though?" Dorian queried. "Whatever chance Talise gets to leave the cafeteria undetected is damned so long as Zavlon's cameras are still around."

   Right, of course.

   I released a sigh laced with frustration. How did that slip my mind? The major aspect of reality had popped the bubble that surrounded and uplifted my spirits. My excitement and expectations were plunging to the cold, hard ground at breakneck speed.

"About that," Rav mused as he felt around the table for his phone. "I think we have a way to deal with the cameras."

   Dorian and I exchanged doubtful glances as Rav's attention switched to his discovered device.

"What does this look like to you?" He held up his phone for all of us to get a better view of the screen.

   It was a picture of the Zavlon camera he'd taken an hour ago. But why was he asking a question he already knew the answer to?

"Come on, guys!" He waved the phone around when no one gave him a response.

"What do you want us to say, Rav?" Camila rolled her eyes, leaning away from the screen. "You were the same person who told Talise to shift our camera to capture it. We're not the ones to tell you that that's a picture of a bloody camera."

"Wrong!"

   Camila was two steps away from attacking Rav with the ferocity of a pissed off bear.

"Then was it?" She questioned with a tone that was surprisingly calm.

"I am so glad you asked sweet, sweet Cam-Cam." He grinned toward her. "That is an Apex Vision 2000, one of the newest additions to the 360-degree camera world. Over the top quality, rated by the Security Times as one of the best..."

   The only thing I was hearing was, we were doomed.

   Yet the psychotic smile on Rav's face was only getting wider. He clearly wasn't listening to himself.

"Could you just make your point, Rav?" Dorian sighed his question into his palms. "Please?"

   Rav reminded us of Hooda Security, the defence systems and gadgets company his parents owned. Apparently, the company had a database which could identify any branded piece of security technology by the name or picture and provide a detailed analysis of its nature.

"And that includes the strengths and weaknesses of the devices," he said.

"But how is that possible?" I asked.

"Forget that. Is it legal?" Camila peered at Rav with narrowed eyes.

"Of course not!" He laughed. "Do you know how much trouble my parents will be in if not for the many, many, government institutions who decided to snuff out their conscience and dignities with cash?"

   He explained that as one of the biggest security companies in the world, Hooda Security had had its fair share of fake replicas from other competitors that added a few features and claimed the devices as theirs. This led to his parents creating a system which conducted a thorough scan of such devices and provided every information concerning the camera. The info—which included specifics on the nature of materials used for the device, its picture quality, wiring— was compared with the features of the devices at Hooda Tech to see if there were too many similarities.

   Over the years, the system extended to include the devices of almost every security company. It also dug deeper to reveal the strengths, weaknesses and defects the device possessed.

   That could not be legal. Did those other companies even know?

"After taking a picture of Zavlon's camera, I sent it to an intern I know at my parents' company," Rav told us. "He texted me back the results while Beth was talking about her plan."

"And what does it say?" Camila asked.

"I was just about to open it."

   We formed a circle around Rav, looking over his shoulder as he held his phone up. The faltering zeal that was within when my plan first came to me returned with a new burst of energy as Rav opened the message.

   My eyes were not prepared for the cluster of words that filled the screen. Rav's intern friend had gone overboard and provided way more information that we needed. For instance, how was the knowledge that the materials used for cameras were illegally imported plastic from Ecuador any use to us?

   Letting my stare roam across the screen for a few more minutes, I could feel my confidence diminishing at the list of the strengths the camera possessed. It just wasn't getting any shorter.

   But then I saw something. Two words which made me believe again. The words that were going to be our saving grace.

A/N: Hey guys! Any predictions on what those two words are?

QOTD (Okay it's not really a question lol): Comment your favorite movie here.