Helga folded her arms and leaned against the window. “This…this is why I went through all that trouble to take you to the Hive. You’ve been there, you’ve seen it yourself. These people…they’re still alive in every sense of what makes a human a human. And I’d bet my own life that when all is said and done and we’ve helped stop the madness that Kaine has begun, they’ll thank us. And they’ll get their bodies back. We all swore to it, Michael. We’re not here to stay.”

Walter fidgeted a little when she mentioned what they’d sworn, and Michael knew what he was thinking. They’d also sworn not to bring the so-called true death to anyone, but they’d done just that. Back in the woods, in front of the barracks.

“I need everyone together on this,” Helga said when Michael didn’t respond.

He didn’t know what to say. But following her seemed like the only viable way the world could ever get back to normal.

“Michael?” she asked.

“Okay,” he said. “I wasn’t even going to bring it up until you asked. But I’m in. Tell me the plan, how I can help. Let’s just get it done.”

“That’s more like it,” she said with a satisfied smile. “Now here’s what we’re going to do.”

6

A good part of the Alliance plan went off without a hitch, swallowing Michael into a surreal scenario that felt like a dream. He’d worried about language barriers, but that wasn’t an issue—they were only observers, from a small country, virtual visitors. Practically invisible.

They took a cab to the Latvian embassy, where Guntis himself greeted them at security and escorted them inside. He was a tall, brusque man with a very heavy accent. Michael couldn’t tell if that meant the Tangent inside had been Latvian himself or the poor guy who’d been Doctrined into him could only use what he had to work with physically. It didn’t matter. Two hours later, he, Bryson, Helga, and Walter were all inside luxurious state-sponsored Coffins, along with Guntis, their encrypted Auras transported to the World Summit itself. No one seemed to suspect who they were. No one even acted as if they existed, virtually or not.

Soon holoprojections were entering the famed UE headquarters. It was a vast cavern—a room so enormous that Michael was baffled by what sort of architectural engineering kept it from collapsing in on itself. It was fancy, also. Enormous decorative pillars flanked the entrance and there was dark mahogany everywhere you looked. Leather chairs, maroon velvet, lush carpet—and the smell. The scent of wood polish and perfume hung in the air. The virtual experience was created to be an exact replica of the actual, physical UE headquarters. Michael wasn’t disappointed.