ZERO (Complete)

Chapter Fifty-One

The carnage had subsided and calmness had been restored. Soon after, the rest of the squad found their way upstairs, but Allie instructed everyone to meet them outside, while she and Maxim spoke with the kid in private.

Just then, the power came back on and the room lit up. That's when they saw a number of monitors and switches light up. It looked more like a high-tech lab than a panic room. Maxim and Allie removed their masks and looked around in awe.

With the lights on and Ben in view, they could fully take him in. Maxim towered over the kid, but the kid didn't look the least bit afraid.

"How did you find me?" the kid asked in a more confident manner.

"I'll be asking the questions," Maxim said. "Why don't we start with an easy question? How old are you, Ben?" Maxim asked.

"Thirteen."

"What are you doing here?"

"I... I live here."

"Who else lives here with you?"

"It's just me."

"Where are your parents?"

"They're gone."

"Gone? Gone where?"

"To a better place."

"You have caused a lot of harm to a lot of people, Ben. Good people died because of you."

"I swear, I had nothing to do with that, I—" Ben pleaded.

"Why don't we start by explaining how you got here? Who are you working with?" Maxim interrupted.

"A few years ago, I lost both my parents and had to fend for myself. As you can imagine, a seven year old suddenly living on his own, especially in this world, can be... challenging. I had to grow up fast. I've seen some things that nobody should ever witness, let alone a kid my age.

"I knew my mother had passed away, but I had no idea about my father. I had no other motivation in life, I couldn't work, I didn't have any friends... I made it my purpose to find my dad.

"I found a place to live in one of the many abandoned buildings around the city that had been created as a result of the war. That was not a problem. Nor was food. I moved around a lot and stayed inconspicuous, not wanting to draw attention to myself. But I craved human interaction.

"I went back to the house in which I grew up, found my way into one of my father's secret labs, and took all his equipment. It took me a few days to haul everything to this house where I had taken up permanent residence. I come and go through the back and only at night so that I wouldn't draw suspicion or get robbed.

"Systems had broken down and society was in a chaotic tailspin. It was fairly easy for me to acquire a vast amount of wealth since there were so many abandoned digital wallets. With a little digging online, I could pretty much assume anyone's identity. I could order anything I wanted and have it shipped to me. Whatever I didn't have, I could now buy. So that's what I did. I live a pretty good life and no one really bothered me.

"With nothing but time on my hands, I began looking into my father's research. I created a simple program that would track people using their chips. I was just a boy looking for his father. It was a lot of work going through all the data so I refined the program. Then I refined it some more. I kept tinkering with it, meanwhile I'm seeing news reports about how the world is struggling in so many areas.

"I figured no one else was really working on solving some of these problems, and my father was one of the most hated men in the world for unleashing AI that went rogue. At a certain point, I became a cypherpunk — a silent activist advocating social and political change.