The Wall Between Citizens and Workers
Upon entering the military sector, Decanus gestured for Damon to sit beside her on one of the hallway benches.
"Before we wrap things up, there's something important I need to tell you about the Fringe,"
she said, pausing for a few moments as if gathering her thoughts.
"I won't make this long, so listen carefully. And don't ask me why—because I honestly don't know."
"The people of the Fringe must never, under any circumstances, learn anything about the way citizens live or the level of technology available to them. That means you cannot answer any questions on the subject, you cannot bring any items purchased from the cities into the Fringe, and you cannot do anything that might reveal even the smallest bit of information. This even applies to your old holo-watch. And yes… that includes your own family."
"As a former Fringe resident, you are permitted to visit, but once you pass the entrance exam, you'll need to keep those visits to a minimum. You should also know that we, the citizens, are just as restricted—we aren't allowed to know anything about the Fringe either, except in special cases."
Decanus took a deep breath before continuing.
"That's the gist of it. I'll send you a detailed copy of everything, but take this seriously. Because aside from betraying the Emperor and the Empire, this is the worst crime you can commit."
Damon struggled to wrap his head around it. Why was the wall separating the Fringe and the citizens built so high? The Empire treated Fringe residents as if they carried some kind of contagious disease…
++ "This is strange… Separating them because of their incompatibility is irrational but somewhat understandable. But to this extent? I don't get it. Looks like I have a lot of research to do this week."
+ "Yeah… I doubt this level of quarantine exists without a damn good reason. We need to figure this out, Asharaa."
Decanus noticed the serious expression on Damon's face.
"I know it's hard to accept. And I know it must be frustrating for you. But at the very least, you can bring your family out of the Fringe as honorary citizens. I know how much they mean to you, and I know being forced to limit your visits must be painful."
Damon's eyes lit up at the mention of it. Without hesitation, he asked,
"I've heard about that before, but I didn't know how it worked. Can you explain it to me, Decanus?"
At that, Decanus smiled and said,
"You know my name isn't Decanus—call me by my real name, Melody. And yeah, it's simple. You can buy honorary citizenship for them from the C.C.A. right here. It's that easy. So, stop overthinking everything so much."
Damon had nearly lost all excitement for the day, weighed down by Melody Cromwell's previous words. But knowing that he could easily secure citizenship for his family brought his good mood right back.
He took a deep breath and smiled.
"Thank you, Dec—Melody."
"You can make it up to me by taking me out, once you pass your entrance exam. Of course."
Damon's eyes lit up.
"Well, that's one more reason I *have* to pass the test, I can't wait to celebrate my victory with a date "
Melody smiled charmingly,
"You better do that…"
After discussing a few more things—details about the city, how to return to the Fringe, and the best places to train his techniques and skills—Melody transported Damon out of the C.C.A. using a short-range teleporter, sending him to the city center.
Contrary to all his expectations of New Thebes—an iron metropolis filled with flying cars, robots, and bizarre technology—the city seemed almost... ordinary. Concrete streets, paved sidewalks lined with trees every few meters, levi-cars and float-fleets moving in an orderly fashion, and streets bustling with people.
It all resembled the historical films their high school history teacher used to show them about the Earth before the discovery of 'Ka'. The only real differences were the designs—people weren't staring at holo-watches but at an unknown point in space, gesturing with their hands. Cars had become levi-cars, buses had transformed into float-fleets, and every now and then, police drone-bots flew overhead.
The only truly new feature was the massive holo-screens on skyscrapers—or sometimes floating mid-air—displaying models, celebrities, or advertisements for various products.
Following Melody's instructions, Damon opened the marketplace interface that appeared in the lower left corner of his vision, installed a ride-hailing app called 'Touchsi', and after summoning a taxi, set off for his apartment in eastern New Thebes.
According to Melody, 'Ka'-absorption techniques typically didn't require a special location for training, meaning Damon could practice them in his apartment. But for skills, he would need to visit private or public training rooms and dojos, which were scattered throughout the city and could easily be found via the map or Galactic-Net.
As Asharaa searched Galactic-Net, Damon realized that the techniques, skills, and swordsmanship they had obtained from Raphael were all top-tier. The only exception was 'Magnetic Master', for which no information was available. While she found numerous references to 'Magnet Control', 'Magnet Creation', and 'Magnet Manipulation', there was nothing about 'Magnetic Master'.
The swordsmanship style, named 'Cypress Dance', ranked among the elite sword arts and consisted of seven distinct forms.
Between the 'Ka'-absorption techniques he had received from Raphael and the military, Raphael's was undoubtedly the superior one. According to Asharaa's findings, it was called 'Heaven and Earth Absorption'—an imperial technique, typically reserved for the Praetorian guards, and only gifted to high-ranking noble families under special circumstances.
And finally, 'Hermes' Stride'—a renowned and expensive skill highly sought after by knights and vanguards alike—that greatly enhanced movement speed. However, due to its high cost, only a few could afford to use it.
On the other hand, the military's technique and skills were fairly standard and distributed to every test applicant without exception.
+ "We need to be careful when using Raphael's techniques." Damon mused.
+ "For someone who used to live in the Fringe like me, it makes no sense to have access to abilities of this caliber. For now, we'll keep them as a trump card—at least until we have a solid excuse for how we obtained them."
Asharaa agreed.
++ "But we 'can' use Raphael's 'Ka' absorption technique. How would anyone even know which method we're using to absorb 'Ka'? I'll upload both techniques into your mind—you can use the military's standard one as a cover if necessary. At the very least, the military giving us some skills and techniques makes things easier. Otherwise, we'd be in a much tougher spot."
After nearly an hour, Damon stepped out of the taxi in front of a five-story building. Designed in the distinct architectural style of the Empire, the stone structure bore a resemblance to ancient Earth, though infused with modern elements.
According to the message attachment, his apartment was on the third floor, the second unit from the left.
The apartment was small but cozy—immaculately clean, with a compact housekeeping robot on standby in the kitchenette. At the far end, the bathroom and bedroom were neatly tucked away.
A smile spread across Damon's face as he stepped inside. His apartment might be smaller than his parents' home in the Fringe, but it was undoubtedly better. More importantly, it was his.