Nexgenesis: The System's Sin and Sovereignty

The Value of Integrity

“What is he doing here…?”

“Damn you, boy! Stop, you eel-like bastard!” The bald bodyguard was still trying to catch me, but my eyes were locked on the Governor.

“Shouldn’t you be giving a speech in the western end of the city?” I had read about his speech on city development just this morning during my break. Did he cancel it?

“Why does a beggar like you care about that, damn!”

‘What’s the matter with this bald bastard?’ 

He was wide and full of openings. Dodging his huge hands was easier than avoiding the wild animals that sometimes invaded the construction sites on the outskirts of the city. 

I had experience dealing with a leopard and a fucking wolf. There was no way this bear-like, unprofessional bastard was getting his hands on me.

“Well, anyway, I don’t care about that. Mister Governor, please take this and return it. Your daughter threw it away in the trash, which is an unforgivable insult to this gear. 

Please do not disrespect something so precious any further.”

Link gears were the technology that allowed access to the Otherworlds, the virtual spaces that are the leading factor in the modern economy. 

The metallic box I was holding, branded [Hyperlink XII], was a model only people like the man before me could ever afford; even the normal VR gears from this world-leading tech company cost three hundred times my total savings.

This isn't something I can afford anytime soon. I don't want to hold onto it any longer. This simply isn't mine.

“You damn…!”

“Stop, James.”

—Click.

The back door of the car opened, and the elderly man in a lavish green suit, wearing the cleanest and most attractive shoes I had seen recently, walked out with a calm expression.

“But sir!”

“I said stop. Go back in.”

“…yes, master.”

His deep blue eyes, illuminated by the streetlight, glared down at me as he gave the order. Even as the driver walked back to the front seat with an angry look in my direction, the Governor's eyes remained locked on me.

“Boy,” he called out with his deep voice.

“Yes.” And I looked back straight into his eyes. 

I had nothing to fear. I had done nothing wrong, so even if he was the Governor of this city, one of the highest authorities maintaining the city’s stability, he had no legal right to harm me.

“How do you know about the speech?”

“From the articles, of course? They still make magazines and newspapers, sir.”

“Don’t be cocky, and answer only what I ask.”

“And why should I do that? I am only here to return what is yours. I have no obligation to answer any of your questions. In the first place, you aren't officially the Governor right now. 

You are just a citizen traveling in your personal car… your wife’s, to be precise, with your family driver, who is most definitely new, trying to chase after your daughter who has every right to be upset at your actions. Additionally—.”

“A normal beggar wouldn't know all that. Looks like appearances are certainly deceiving sometimes.”

“I am no beggar, good sir. Someone at your position should at least understand how wrong it is to judge someone by their looks and clothing.”

Yes, I wore old, old-fashioned clothing that looked like rags. Yes, my hands were covered in filthy bandages, but that was necessary for a construction worker who had to do tough work under a bastard manager. And yes, my hair is too long, but… I like them long. It was my choice. Others can think whatever they want.

“Hmm…”

He looked me up and down, scrutinizing me. After a moment, he took out his own Cyberphone, one much more advanced than the girl’s, and looked back at me after manipulating it.

“What’s your name, boy? And can you please pull back the bangs covering your face?”

“What?”

“Your hair. Pull them back, please.”

He asked politely, so I did as he asked and tied my black hair back with a rubber band I usually carry, though this sudden request surprised me.

—Click.

“H-hey! You can’t take my photo without consent! It’s against the law!”

“And you know the laws?”

“Who doesn’t? It’s written in Constitution Article 12, Section 6 that anyone—.”

“Look, boy. Just the fact that you know words like Constitution, Articles, and Section makes you part of the five percent of this city’s population. 

Not even my own daughter has read the Constitution, even though it’s part of her curriculum. And I don’t have any worldly idea how she still graduated as the valedictorian of her batch.”

He said that while looking straight into my eyes, and I could tell he meant every single word. 

‘Did Mom lie to me then…?’ 

I had read an unknown number of books throughout my life. Reading itself was now a part of my way of living, thanks to all I’d absorbed since my earliest memories. 

And thanks to my damned photographic memory, I remember most of those supposedly useless things to this day.

‘But until today, I really had no idea no one reads the Constitution.’ 

Isn't that the most basic thing every citizen should know?

“Anyway… looks like you really are a registered citizen, Mister Ray Anne, with no last name. 

You have quite a good record with your works at construction sites, sewer cleaning, and other kinds of cleaning jobs. 

That much explains your healthy physique. However, it looks like you have quite a record with the police department as well. So, you also have a habit of getting yourself into troublesome situations, huh?”

Not only did he figure out my name with just one photo, he was perhaps holding my entire data log in his hands now. He was a fearsome guy. Not just anyone had the power to access records of peasants like me in such a short time.

“Yes, and whatever. Mother asked me to come back early, and I intend to do that today. Please just take this, mister. And let me go finally.”

I only came out for a walk, but too much of my time was wasted. I still had to go to my night shift after a few hours of shut-eye.

“Hmm. Reading these strange reports made me curious, but putting that aside, can I know why someone like you, who knows the value of this item, has run all the way here instead of taking it for yourself?”

Now why is he curious about me? I don’t want this person to be curious about me! At least not him… it will only cause more problems.

“Haaa… this is not mine, mister. And I cannot have what is not mine. It’s not right.”

“Not even after I said I don't want it? Why not just take it as a gift?”

“Come on, mister. Nothing in this world is a ‘gift.’ It’s all an exchange of resources and connections. I am in no position to pay back someone for any kind of gift, and accepting pity would be the last thing I will do.”

I gave him a faint smile and held the metallic box before him.

“This isn’t mine. I cannot have it. It’s that simple. 

And even if you don’t want it, as someone who knows the value of this [MAK-12], I can never possibly let it stay in a pile of garbage. 

It belongs on the top floors of those hundred-story-tall buildings, and it should stay there if it has not found its rightful master who has paid for what it is worth.”

I had read somewhere there were only thirty or so of these in the city. 

If one were to stay in a pile of garbage, there was a good possibility it would be taken to a dump yard and turned into actual garbage by those who did not know its worth. 

Someone like me, who had longed for a VR gear, could never see that happen. I, personally, could never forgive myself if this precious thing were damaged in any way when I could have prevented it.

“Hmm… interesting.”

The only reason I was here was to return this back to him so he could return it to the place it belonged. But instead of doing that and going back after his daughter, he was looking at me with a smirk now.

“You don’t want this since this isn’t yours, but you would run after a car just to request me to return this. That’s quite some pride, boy.”

“Sir, if you can see the pride in my actions, I believe you should have known the pride your daughter had as well. You know she wanted to come back when you personally came to get her, but then you had to give her this ‘token’ of your apology and ruin everything. 

It might not have been a mistake on your part that you took her to that gathering, however, it was a grave mistake to underestimate the attachment a prideful person has with the things they cherish.”

It wasn’t my place to tell him these obvious things. He was more than capable enough to understand the human heart and mind; that’s what allowed him to reach his position. 

He was smart, but perhaps his own attachment to his daughter obstructed his ability to see the obvious.

“I see…” He seemed to have realized his mistake. Which was good.

“Alright then, here. Take this and let me go already. It was nice meeting you, but I have to go to work soon.”

“That’s right.”

He was perhaps lost in thought, but just as I spoke, he focused his eyes back on me.

“You understand the value of this technology, and from what I have observed, I can tell what you're doing right now isn’t everything you want to do with your life. Then, why haven’t you bought a Link gear yet? Why not start doing what you really want?”

“You have already read my data logs, and you are still asking that obvious question? You do know how broke I—.”

“Ah, no no. Don’t misunderstand. I already know the kind of character you have, the situation with your mother, and your internal conflicts. However, I just want to know the reason you have not bought one second-hand. Make some money, and then buy a proper one?”

He was being overly chatty for someone people called ‘a person of few words’ in the media. There was no need to answer his obvious questions anyway.

“Sir…” I looked back in his eyes, calmly. “Just like this piece isn’t mine, I don’t want to have what is not mine. I might share what is mine, but I don’t think it is possible for me to possess or use something that is not mine.”

My mother taught me three things that are part of my being now: 1) Lying only brings downfall. 2) Though nothing belongs to anyone, what is yours in this moment, is yours. 3) If you have no need for something, anything that is yours, share it with those who do need it. 

I am broke and I don’t have much, but I at least try to stay true to my values. That’s what makes me a good person, at least in her eyes.

“Hahahaha.”

The Governor before me started laughing out of nowhere and put a hand on my shoulder. “Ray Anne. You are quite a funny character, boy.”

There was a unique kind of light in his eyes now… I don’t like where this is going.