The city lights flickered past in streaks of pale blue and gold. Inside the car, silence settled like a thick fog. Vial kept his eyes on the window, watching everything, saying nothing.
'So much of this world feels familiar… yet wrong. The skyline, the tech, even the people—it's like walking through a dream that isn't mine. If I say too much, ask the wrong question, they'll know I don't belong here. I need to be careful.'
Rael cast him a sideways glance. Her tone was casual, but probing.
"You've been quiet for ten minutes. Either you're planning something… or you're overwhelmed."
He kept his voice even. "A bit of both."
"Want to talk about it?"
'She's watching me. Testing how much I'll say. I can't afford to give her a reason to doubt me.'
Carefully. "I want answers. About this world."
Rael raised an eyebrow.
"That's a broad ask. You've been here your whole life, haven't you?"
'There it is again—that assumption. That I'm from here. I have to play along.'
"Doesn't mean I understand it."
Smirks faintly. "Fair enough. No one really does. People pretend, follow the rules, act like they're in control. But under the surface? Everyone's just guessing."
She talks like someone who's seen beneath the surface. Maybe she's not just another face in this crowd.
"So what about you? Are you guessing too?"
Her fingers tapped once on the steering wheel. "Sometimes. But I've learned to pay attention. Patterns, shifts, reactions. You see more when you stop trying to fit in."
Vial turned to face her. His expression stayed neutral, but his mind raced.
'She sees it, doesn't she? That I don't belong—not because of how I look, but because I don't follow the same rhythm everyone else does.'
"Is that what you're doing? Watching me for patterns?"
Her eyes flicked toward him briefly. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just curious. You're different, Vial. People notice. Doesn't matter how quiet you try to be—it's in the way you move, the way you speak."
His heart skipped, just slightly. He forced his tone to stay flat.
"Different how?"
"Like you're seeing things the rest of us have already forgotten how to look for."
I need to steer this away. I can't let her dig too deep, too fast.
Vial turned back to the window.
"If I am different, maybe that's not a bad thing."
After a pause. "It's not. As long as you know what you're doing."
"I don't. Not yet. But I'm trying to understand." Then, after a breath, "And I'd rather know the truth. Whatever it is."
Rael gave a faint smile, something unreadable flickering in her eyes.
"Then you're already ahead of most people."
The car slowed, turning off the main road and pulling into a secured lane flanked by high fences and surveillance poles. Ahead stood a massive structure—cold steel and glass, glowing softly against the night. Armed guards stood at every visible entrance, their sharp gazes scanning the area.
As the vehicle rolled to a stop, Vial straightened slightly.
'This place is built like a fortress.'
Rael parked without a word. The engine quieted. She unbuckled and turned to him.
"Let's go."
They stepped out into the crisp night air. The guards immediately noticed them, but their attention was brief—more focused on Rael than him. As they approached the entrance, Vial observed how every woman passing through was thoroughly scanned. Pat-downs, ID verifications, retinal checks.
But when he walked through?
Nothing.
Not even a beep.
He glanced around, unsettled by the absence of scrutiny.
'No one even touched me.'
They passed through layer after layer of security until they finally reached the central corridor—sleek, white walls bathed in soft lighting. The silence inside was deeper than the outside world. Even the footsteps echoed differently.
Vial broke the quiet.
"Why is this place so heavily guarded?"
Rael slowed her pace just slightly, then glanced over her shoulder.
"Huh? …You don't know?"
The way she said it—it wasn't condescending, just surprised. As if she'd asked someone what color the sky was and they said they weren't sure.
Vial hesitated. "No. I don't."
She stopped, turned fully to him now.
"This is one of the most protected facilities in the capital. It's where all the next-generation offsprings are born and monitored."
"…Offsprings?"
She nodded, expression now serious.
"The natural process of birth? That's long gone. The XY Decline didn't just lower male birth rates—it broke the chain. Most people today are conceived through artificial preservation methods. Stored sperm, gene correction algorithms, artificial wombs… it's all in here. Men aren't just rare anymore, they're biologically removed from the system. No random conception, no unpredictability. Every child is calculated, planned."
Vial felt something cold sink in his stomach.
"So, this building… it holds the future."
"Exactly," Rael said. "And you, walking in here unregistered, unguarded—let's just say a few departments are probably freaking out behind the scenes right now."
He swallowed the dry lump forming in his throat. "And you're just letting me walk around freely?"
Rael shrugged lightly. "That's not my call. But between you and me… I wanted to see how you'd react."
They continued walking until they reached a side hallway, less crowded, quieter. At the end, a door slid open with a soft hiss.
Rael gestured inside. "In here. You'll need to be processed. Health check. ID verification. Full scan."
Vial stepped into the room. It was sterile, clinical. A soft white glow lit the edges of the counters. A woman in a lab coat stood waiting, tablet in hand.
She offered a tight, professional smile. "Please sit."
Vial obeyed, the faint whir of scanners already activating as she approached. A quick flash swept over his eyes, followed by a scan over his fingertips. She pressed a sensor to his temple, her brow furrowing almost immediately.
Another few seconds passed as she read the data on the tablet.
Then her smile faded completely.
"That's… not possible."
Rael stepped forward. "What is it?"
The woman tapped the screen, then looked up, visibly tense.
"He has no records. No medical history. No birth documentation. No education logs, no digital trace—nothing."
Rael blinked. "None? That can't be right. Run it again."
"I already did. Three times."
The woman turned the tablet toward them. The screen displayed nothing but a red notice: NO MATCH FOUND.
Rael looked at Vial—truly looked at him now, not just as a curiosity.
"You're not in the system at all," she murmured.
He held her gaze.
"I'm not?" he speaks the words with empty innocence, as if truly unaware.