“Oh, but I think this time you’ll change your mind and join us,” Galen says.

“And why is that?”

“Because,” Maddox’s lifeless voice speaks up, “you have become the symbol of the rebellion in Region 86.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“They speak of you, Luka, the boy who escaped the Loop, the boy who refuses to die, the boy who gathered an army. You and your people have been in contact with other regions, trying to work together, trying to come together as one.”

“None of it was me,” I say. “It was all of us together, and that’s how we’ll beat you.”

“It is impossible for you, or anyone, to beat Happy,” Galen scoffs.

“Wrong,” I say, “there’s at least a zero point seven percent chance.”

I see a moment of surprise on Galen’s face.

“Be that as it may,” Galen continues, the politician’s smile reappearing, “we have a proposition for you.”

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Stand before the Altered, stand before our cameras, and tell the world that you were wrong to fight against us, that you have seen the error of your ways and that the World Government is right and good. Once that is done you will volunteer yourself.”

“Volunteer myself for what?” I ask.

“We need three of you to reverse engineer the formulas and equations of the healing technology within you. You and Tyco will be our subjects, along with a third.”

“I don’t understand,” I say. “You invented the healing tech; you gave it to us. Why do you need to figure it out?”

“The tech was destroyed by its creator, one of our most promising employees, and erased from all internal, external, and android memory, something we were certain could not be done. And then, of course, you destroyed the equipment containing the last remnants of its secrets.” Galen smiles tightly. “Now, the technology exists only in the creator’s mind.”

Abril, I think, she created the healing tech, saw what it was being used for, and then destroyed it.

“What about the creator?” I ask. “Why not just force them to tell you how to re-create it?”

“The creator killed herself shortly after destroying her life’s work.”

She tricked Happy into believing she was dead! I think, and try not to let the satisfaction show on my face.

“So, you need three people who took the Delay?”

“That’s right.”

“And you thought I’d be willing to volunteer?”