Freedom TM

she would never hear them again.
    Ross’s avatar stepped back a pace.
“And how do I know you’re you?”
    Philips was suddenly confounded. Of course, he was right.
    “I know. Tell me what I did when I told you those words.”
    She’d thought of it thousands of times since. “You brushed my cheek with your hand. And even though I couldn’t see you …”
    She could hear the smile in his voice.
“God, Natalie. I missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
    She wanted more than anything to wrap her arms around him, and was now more aware than ever that this was not reality.
    “You took precautions not to be followed, I hope.”
    “Jon, if they’re following me, they’re not doing it physically, and I left my cell phone at home.”
    They walked their avatars along the terrace in silence for a few moments.
    “How are your eyes, Nat?”
    “They’re recovering. I’ll wear corrective lenses for the rest of my life, but no major damage.”
    “I hope you know why I left.”
    “Of course I know. They gave you no choice. And I don’t want you to tell me where you are now. I’m just glad to hear your voice. To see … you.” She laughed lightly. “Sort of.”
    “Yeah. It’s like we’re guild members.”
He flourished his arms.
“Want to see a trick?”
    She smirked in the real-world office. “Sure.”
    He raised his hands and a bright light issued forth like a fiery missile that sailed high into the air over the city. It eventually detonated like a fireworks burst, sending a boom across the city.
    “Hah! It doesn’t look very useful.”
    “Well, a fireball is more useful, but not very impressive.”
    “What are we going to do, Jon?”
    He turned to face her again.
“Join me, Natalie. Join the darknet.”
    She felt her heart racing again, but shook her head in real life. “Jon, you know I can’t do that. I took an oath.”
    “To defend America against enemies foreign and domestic—yes. And nothing in the darknet contradicts that. Sobol’s battle is with illegitimate power. It’s not an enemy of democratic government. I’ve seen it from the inside.”
    “But Jon, The Major and his people are planning to take control of the Daemon. They can’t control it if I destroy it. You used to agree with me on that.”
    “Then let’s stop them from taking control of it.”
    “And what if we do? Then we face Loki? Or a hundred Lokis?”
    Ross was silent for a moment.
“People are working to counteract the abuse of darknet power, too.”
    “The Daemon is too much of an experiment, Jon. There are billions of lives at stake. Tinkering with the organization of human society—it never ends well.”
    “Come here, I want you to see something.”
    “Jon—”
    “Just come here.”
He brought her to what looked to be a tall statue of a muscular warrior facing a bulging stylized gate carved into the cliff face. Monstrous clawed hands and appendages were prying their way through the edges, but the lone warrior stood, sword drawn, and his other hand clutching a shield—determination on his face. The statue was probably fifty feet tall.
    Then Philips recognized the face. It was Roy Merritt. “My god, what is this?”
    “This villa, it’s the faction hall for the Order of Merritt. Roy is widely admired, Natalie. There are whole factions based on his ideals—ideals left by a lifetime of good deeds. Read the public charters of factions like the Meritorious Raiders or the Knights of Fire.
”
    “It’s great that they admire him, but I don’t see how this changes anything.”
    “The majority of people are good, Natalie. That’s true right around the world. And they responded to the human decency they saw in Roy.”
    She stared up at the statue.
    “I’m tired of burying people I care about. I don’t want to lose you. You mean too much to me.”
    She felt more than anything like holding him—if it had been real life, perhaps she would have wavered.
    His avatar came closer again.
“Please leave the NSA. Come with me.”
    “I can’t, Jon. We need to destroy the Daemon—before it becomes a force for tyranny.”
    “But there’s tyranny in the world now, Nat. You can’t tell me you don’t see it. Humanity already serves a system. One that doesn’t recognize the governments we create. That doesn’t respect our laws or our values. It’s protected by people like The Major, who are just as brutal as Loki—if not more so. That system is dooming civilization in a mindless pursuit of