- Chapter 17 -
Against the Agency
Martin had been wandering around downtown Babel for several weeks now. He managed to get enough to eat by scraping out the garbage bins that lined the alley behind the restaurants. The city streets were busy and the cars were loud and agressive. Martin wasn't used to this, what with being raised in northern Bethlehem where the population spiked at a thousand and farms were the only buildings that surrounded the area.
He could have made his way back towards the only place he remembered as home. But what would have happened then? Nobody was waiting for him. His parents had died years ago; his eldest brother was a puppet for the Agency; worst of all, Martin had no idea what had become of his younger siblings.
He had been trained extensively at the Agency's main base where he had met Anna Simeon. She had forced him to believe that she was an ally, that she could be trusted like no other. Martin blindly followed in her footsteps for months and even accepted to leave the compound, which is forbidden by law, so he could be reunited with his younger sister Mary, and his younger brother Malcom.
Upon arriving at this undisclosed location, Martin was knocked out of his mind and awoke in a hospital several hundred miles away from the base. He was greeted by Jenna Crown who informed him that Mary was under her care. A couple of days later, Martin came to the realisation that the hospital was just a figment of Anna's imagination.
The Agency had acquired technology several years back that wasn't compatible with Jerusalem science. Nobody had ever been able to materialize, build a world, create something around another being's mind. All of these events were zooming by in Martin's mind like a film stuck on fast forward. There was no way of stopping it or slowing it down. The only way for him to get over this was to confront it. He had to go back to the Agency. He had to confront Anna and find his siblings.
It didn't take that long for him to find a starting point. Just then, Anna materialized in front of him. She was resting lazily against the brick wall of Babel Eats, a famous restaurant. She bore her traditional smile and her short blonde hair was blowing wildly in the wind. She didn't seem to care. Her piercing blue eyes remained focus on Martin.
"You wanted to see me, Martin?" She asked, laughing to herself. She knew what he must be thinking. Martin was most likely wondering how she got here so fast.
"How, what...I want answers, Anna. I deserve to know the truth!" He spoke harshly and then felt bad, almost wishing he had contained his anger. This wasn't the right path to follow.
"You deserve prison, Martin, for treason to the Agency, the last known combatant entity against the Sicarii. How dare you mock us with your visions of grandeur. You are a brat, Martin Christ, and have learned nothing from us since your arrival."
"I have learned to never trust the ones who call themselves good, for there is only one good force," Martin said, pointing to his chest, "and it's inside all of us."
Anna smirked. His statement seemed to amuse her. She didn't like his defiance, although she partly put the blame on herself. She had manipulated his thoughts so well that he truly believed that the Agency was plotting against him. Whatever intent she had was twisted into something else. Martin would never believe her again.
"How dare you use the words I spoke to you against me, Martin Christ? Against the Agency that fostered you when no human being wanted to see the sight of you -"
Anna stopped. She knew she had gotten carried away with her anger, something she still hadn't mastered. Martin noticed her hesitation, how she tried to catch the words that had slipped her mouth and shove them back in. Something about the way she said human being didn't sound right. For once, Martin noticed just how fragile Anna really was. It wasn't easy to hide behind a tough exterior.
"I have a feeling you slipped, Anna. I knew something was wrong with you. With them. I am going to find my siblings and when I do, you better be miles away. And give the Agency a message from me: I'm not your puppet."
Martin turned and walked away from Anna, from his past, from the agency. He didn't know whether it was the right thing to do or not, but he trusted his instincts. They seldom proved wrong.
As he walked away, Anna muttered to herself morosely. For once since joining the Agency she was starting to wonder just how badly they wanted to obtain their objective. With all their restrictions and such, Anna felt trapped within moral obligations. She would have to find another way to get her hands on Martin Christ. Afterall, he was destined to save this place from extinction. Martin had a very prominent role in the Prophecy and if Anna wanted to go back home, he had to suceed in his mission.
She knew just what to do to get her plans in motion. Just as Martin wanted to look for his family, so would she. It was time she went looking for her sister... It was time for them to intervene in the human's lack of ability to control destiny. If this place was destroyed...countless others would perish as well. There was no more time to sit back and watch them slowly annihalate something that took millions of years to perfect. Anna had to act now, whatever the consequences were.
She took one last look at Martin and then vanished into thin air.
He could have made his way back towards the only place he remembered as home. But what would have happened then? Nobody was waiting for him. His parents had died years ago; his eldest brother was a puppet for the Agency; worst of all, Martin had no idea what had become of his younger siblings.
He had been trained extensively at the Agency's main base where he had met Anna Simeon. She had forced him to believe that she was an ally, that she could be trusted like no other. Martin blindly followed in her footsteps for months and even accepted to leave the compound, which is forbidden by law, so he could be reunited with his younger sister Mary, and his younger brother Malcom.
Upon arriving at this undisclosed location, Martin was knocked out of his mind and awoke in a hospital several hundred miles away from the base. He was greeted by Jenna Crown who informed him that Mary was under her care. A couple of days later, Martin came to the realisation that the hospital was just a figment of Anna's imagination.
The Agency had acquired technology several years back that wasn't compatible with Jerusalem science. Nobody had ever been able to materialize, build a world, create something around another being's mind. All of these events were zooming by in Martin's mind like a film stuck on fast forward. There was no way of stopping it or slowing it down. The only way for him to get over this was to confront it. He had to go back to the Agency. He had to confront Anna and find his siblings.
It didn't take that long for him to find a starting point. Just then, Anna materialized in front of him. She was resting lazily against the brick wall of Babel Eats, a famous restaurant. She bore her traditional smile and her short blonde hair was blowing wildly in the wind. She didn't seem to care. Her piercing blue eyes remained focus on Martin.
"You wanted to see me, Martin?" She asked, laughing to herself. She knew what he must be thinking. Martin was most likely wondering how she got here so fast.
"How, what...I want answers, Anna. I deserve to know the truth!" He spoke harshly and then felt bad, almost wishing he had contained his anger. This wasn't the right path to follow.
"You deserve prison, Martin, for treason to the Agency, the last known combatant entity against the Sicarii. How dare you mock us with your visions of grandeur. You are a brat, Martin Christ, and have learned nothing from us since your arrival."
"I have learned to never trust the ones who call themselves good, for there is only one good force," Martin said, pointing to his chest, "and it's inside all of us."
Anna smirked. His statement seemed to amuse her. She didn't like his defiance, although she partly put the blame on herself. She had manipulated his thoughts so well that he truly believed that the Agency was plotting against him. Whatever intent she had was twisted into something else. Martin would never believe her again.
"How dare you use the words I spoke to you against me, Martin Christ? Against the Agency that fostered you when no human being wanted to see the sight of you -"
Anna stopped. She knew she had gotten carried away with her anger, something she still hadn't mastered. Martin noticed her hesitation, how she tried to catch the words that had slipped her mouth and shove them back in. Something about the way she said human being didn't sound right. For once, Martin noticed just how fragile Anna really was. It wasn't easy to hide behind a tough exterior.
"I have a feeling you slipped, Anna. I knew something was wrong with you. With them. I am going to find my siblings and when I do, you better be miles away. And give the Agency a message from me: I'm not your puppet."
Martin turned and walked away from Anna, from his past, from the agency. He didn't know whether it was the right thing to do or not, but he trusted his instincts. They seldom proved wrong.
As he walked away, Anna muttered to herself morosely. For once since joining the Agency she was starting to wonder just how badly they wanted to obtain their objective. With all their restrictions and such, Anna felt trapped within moral obligations. She would have to find another way to get her hands on Martin Christ. Afterall, he was destined to save this place from extinction. Martin had a very prominent role in the Prophecy and if Anna wanted to go back home, he had to suceed in his mission.
She knew just what to do to get her plans in motion. Just as Martin wanted to look for his family, so would she. It was time she went looking for her sister... It was time for them to intervene in the human's lack of ability to control destiny. If this place was destroyed...countless others would perish as well. There was no more time to sit back and watch them slowly annihalate something that took millions of years to perfect. Anna had to act now, whatever the consequences were.
She took one last look at Martin and then vanished into thin air.
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