Chapter 3

Noah was surprised at the outcome with Lucas. Where'd he go? He could only ask himself. The empty bottle of beer which he handed over to Lucas was still there but Lucas himself had disappeared into thin air. He searched around the place and even had to open the door and look outside but there was no trace of him. But there was something else -- an envelope. There was an envelope that Lucas placed on the table before he left.

Noah took the envelope, turned it from side to side to be certain if it was really what he thought it was. The envelope was made of black leather and it had a seal on it. He recognized the seal; it was the seal from TechNova, another reputable company that deals with techs and gadgets. 

His brows creased inwardly and his eyes narrowed as he wondered what the content of the envelope would be, and so he opened it and took out the white paper that was neatly folded and kept inside it. He went through the contents of the paper which read:

~

Dear Noah,

We are thrilled to invite you to TechNova's headquarters for an exclusive opportunity to showcase your innovative mobile application. Your work has come to our attention and we believe that you have the potential to change the tech industry as we know it.

Our team of experts will be in attendance to provide valuable feedback and insights on your app. You will have the chance to network with other brilliant minds in the tech industry, including venture capitalists who may be interested in funding your project.

At TechNova, we are committed to fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation. Our employees are passionate about using technology to solve complex problems and to make a positive impact on the world.

As a member of our team, you will have the opportunity to work on exciting and challenging projects that will stretch your abilities and allow you to develop new skills. You will also have access to state-of-the-art technology and world-class resources to support your work.

We would be delighted to have you join us at TechNova and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best regards,

The TechNova Team.

Noah's eyes widened as he read the contents of the letter and after he was done with it, his hands began to shake. It was all too surreal. He couldn't believe what he had just read. He could feel a mix of emotions stirring inside of him -- he was excited, surprised, overwhelmed and confused.

TechNova was one of the most innovative and cutting-edge technology companies in the world. How did a poverty-stricken guy like him get a connection with such a company even without meeting them? Was it Lucas's doing? He just couldn't understand it. 

TechNova! 

How did they know about his app? It was true that he created an app but he can't remember taking it to TechNova for a collaboration whatsoever. He only took it to the smaller companies but they ended up rejecting him anyway. Maybe they knew about it from there. News flies very fast, even faster than it used to many years ago.

But then, it was obvious that it was Lucas that kept that letter there. There was no other person in the room except him and his cousin, Lucas and he could not help but wonder how Lucas had such a connection. How did he even know about his app in the first place all the way from prison? Or did it mean that he came out of prison a long time ago and did his research about him. Questions that he had no answers to kept flooding his mind and it was driving him crazy. Noah always knew that Lucas would look out for him but this... This was the height of it. This was too much to take in. How on this globally warmed Earth did Lucas get a connection with TechNova?

 As he kept on staring at the letter, his gaze fell on the small opening of the envelope. There was something else inside it - another tiny piece of paper that was folded in a square and stuffed inside.

He opened it and read out the 5 words that were boldly written in capital letters. "DO NOT ACCEPT THE SYSTEM," he scoffed. "What does that mean? System?" He recalled that Lucas mentioned something about Systems and Revolution and he couldn't understand what he was saying. "Shit!" He exclaimed. He would have somehow understood what Lucas was trying to say if only he gave him a listening ear.

Noah rushed to his window, shifted his worn out curtain to look outside it to see if he would see Lucas. He looked but there was nothing but the same ole thing he usually saw every other night; violent boyfriends dragging their girlfriends along with them, smokers and kids giggling as they threw stones around. "Shit..." He cursed under his breath again before turning to read the short note all over again. 

Though he had ideas about technology and systems, he didn't understand the context that Lucas was trying to relate to him. Man chooses his systems and makes it work for him but now, Lucas was turning the whole thing upside down by saying that the system chooses who it wants. How can a system choose a man when it is the man that made the system? Was he referring to robots going against their programs and faulting against man? It didn't make sense. Lucas would have mentioned that it was a robot if that was what he was talking about.

As confusing and questionable as it may seem, Noah was hopeful that he was going to see Lucas again and he would explain more about what he was trying to say. Until then, he was going to celebrate the good news he just read from TechNova's letter. He decided that he was going to fill himself with positivity since that invitation letter was his ticket out of poverty and out of the slums.

"Thank you, Lucas," he muttered as he hugged the letter to his body. "Thank you for this," with that, he stuffed the letter back into the envelope and made his way into the kitchen to continue preparing his meal.

After Noah was done preparing his meal, he sat down to eat but still, he was bothered by the short note. No matter how he tried to get his mind off it, it continued to strike him over and over again. He picked up the note again and kept wondering about it.

"I will get to the root of this," he said as he stared at the letter.