Galo is at the base of a massive skyscraper, the tallest building in a city of skyscrapers. The building is the seat of power for Governor Foresight. Security is tight, but Galo is allowed in - the security recognizes him as Promepolis’ young hero, points to the medal he’s wearing pinned to his chest.
Galo sits in the lobby of the building and waits, his mood dark. A man enters, flanked by his assistant, and Galo tells him they need to talk.
The Governor’s office is at the top of the building, looking out over the city far below. Galo lays his medal down on the Governor’s desk.
“You want to return it?” he asks.
“Lio has escaped,” Galo says. “I met him in a mountain cave. He says he escaped from prison.”
The Governor assures Galo that there’s still no need to return the medal he was awarded for Lio’s capture.
“Medals are made to be awarded to and by people who deserve them,” Galo pronounces. “Neither of us are worthy.”
The Governor’s expression hardly changes, but some surprise seems to register as he asks Galo what he means.
“Gov! Is it true that you’re doing human experiments on the Burnish?” Galo is shouting, angry, but when Kray responds with only silence, he flinches, pained and heartbroken. “You’re my hero. You saved me, started the Foresight Foundation, and founded this amazing city. But you’re doing such a horrible thing?”
“Horrible?” Kray asks, still not reacting.
“The Burnish are humans,” Galo says, thinking now of Burnish he’s met, and of Lio, too. “They get hungry, they get sad if they lose a friend. Of course it’s bad if they start fires, but you can just arrest them for that! You can’t kill them for no reason!”
There’s a long silence, before the Governor moves. “I see. Follow me.”
He leads Galo down the elevator, below the building, into a massive underground facility, and there he explains everything to Galo. The magma in the earth’s core has been burning out of control. Within a matter of months, it will overheat, and the planet will be destroyed. The Governor is planning to take an expedition of 10,000 people on a ship to another habitable planet, abandoning the earth. But the only hope for this plan is warp technology, which is powered by the Burnish.
The Governor takes Galo to an underground lab, where he shows an experiment in progress. A young Burnish man, who Galo recognizes as a pizza guy in town, is placed in a machine called a Prometech pod, and spun until he screams and begins to burn. The machine allows some scientists to warp across the room. Kray is pleased - the test was finally a success. The Prometech pods will work. But Galo watches horrified, seeing the pizza guy’s fingers turn to ash. The machine is burning away his life force.
“That’s horrible,” Galo says to himself, but Kray corrects him.
“It’s a valued sacrifice for the survival of mankind. We can’t build the warp engine without the Burnish.”
“There must be some other way,” insists Galo. “If we stop the magma, we won’t need to go to another planet.”
“I’ve considered that, but we can’t stop it with our current technology. Migration’s our best bet.”
“So, you sacrifice the Burnish for that?” Galo is staring at the ground.
“Exactly. Do you understand now?”
“Yeah, I do,” he concedes, still not looking up at him. “But I can’t accept it.”
“Then what will you do,” the Governor asks, for once curious.
Galo clenches his fists, and looks up again with determination in his eyes. “I’ll extinguish earth’s magma!”
Kray smiles, suddenly. It’s the first genuine smile on his face this entire time. “I knew you’d say that,” he laughs, disdainfully, and his security guard presses his gun against Galo’s back. “We’re short of time. Can’t have an idiot making a fuss.”
Galo is staring at him now, in shock ever since he felt the gun. “Why, Gov?” he asks, his voice breaking.
Anger flashes across Kray’s face, and he slams his prosthetic fist into Galo’s stomach, knocking him off his feet with the force of the blow. “Don’t call me Gov.” He stares down at Galo with open hatred. “I’ve always hated it. You’ve always been an eyesore to me!”
The security guards lift Galo off the ground and drag him away. He’s brought to a remote prison cell, and the door is slammed behind him, while he shouts for Kray, or for anyone, to come and let him out. He pounds on the door until he runs out of energy, and then sinks to the ground, crying.
no subject
[Except oops! Here's a memory coming your way!
Galo is at the base of a massive skyscraper, the tallest building in a city of skyscrapers. The building is the seat of power for Governor Foresight. Security is tight, but Galo is allowed in - the security recognizes him as Promepolis’ young hero, points to the medal he’s wearing pinned to his chest.
Galo sits in the lobby of the building and waits, his mood dark. A man enters, flanked by his assistant, and Galo tells him they need to talk.
The Governor’s office is at the top of the building, looking out over the city far below. Galo lays his medal down on the Governor’s desk.
“You want to return it?” he asks.
“Lio has escaped,” Galo says. “I met him in a mountain cave. He says he escaped from prison.”
The Governor assures Galo that there’s still no need to return the medal he was awarded for Lio’s capture.
“Medals are made to be awarded to and by people who deserve them,” Galo pronounces. “Neither of us are worthy.”
The Governor’s expression hardly changes, but some surprise seems to register as he asks Galo what he means.
“Gov! Is it true that you’re doing human experiments on the Burnish?” Galo is shouting, angry, but when Kray responds with only silence, he flinches, pained and heartbroken. “You’re my hero. You saved me, started the Foresight Foundation, and founded this amazing city. But you’re doing such a horrible thing?”
“Horrible?” Kray asks, still not reacting.
“The Burnish are humans,” Galo says, thinking now of Burnish he’s met, and of Lio, too. “They get hungry, they get sad if they lose a friend. Of course it’s bad if they start fires, but you can just arrest them for that! You can’t kill them for no reason!”
There’s a long silence, before the Governor moves. “I see. Follow me.”
He leads Galo down the elevator, below the building, into a massive underground facility, and there he explains everything to Galo. The magma in the earth’s core has been burning out of control. Within a matter of months, it will overheat, and the planet will be destroyed. The Governor is planning to take an expedition of 10,000 people on a ship to another habitable planet, abandoning the earth. But the only hope for this plan is warp technology, which is powered by the Burnish.
The Governor takes Galo to an underground lab, where he shows an experiment in progress. A young Burnish man, who Galo recognizes as a pizza guy in town, is placed in a machine called a Prometech pod, and spun until he screams and begins to burn. The machine allows some scientists to warp across the room. Kray is pleased - the test was finally a success. The Prometech pods will work. But Galo watches horrified, seeing the pizza guy’s fingers turn to ash. The machine is burning away his life force.
“That’s horrible,” Galo says to himself, but Kray corrects him.
“It’s a valued sacrifice for the survival of mankind. We can’t build the warp engine without the Burnish.”
“There must be some other way,” insists Galo. “If we stop the magma, we won’t need to go to another planet.”
“I’ve considered that, but we can’t stop it with our current technology. Migration’s our best bet.”
“So, you sacrifice the Burnish for that?” Galo is staring at the ground.
“Exactly. Do you understand now?”
“Yeah, I do,” he concedes, still not looking up at him. “But I can’t accept it.”
“Then what will you do,” the Governor asks, for once curious.
Galo clenches his fists, and looks up again with determination in his eyes. “I’ll extinguish earth’s magma!”
Kray smiles, suddenly. It’s the first genuine smile on his face this entire time. “I knew you’d say that,” he laughs, disdainfully, and his security guard presses his gun against Galo’s back. “We’re short of time. Can’t have an idiot making a fuss.”
Galo is staring at him now, in shock ever since he felt the gun. “Why, Gov?” he asks, his voice breaking.
Anger flashes across Kray’s face, and he slams his prosthetic fist into Galo’s stomach, knocking him off his feet with the force of the blow. “Don’t call me Gov.” He stares down at Galo with open hatred. “I’ve always hated it. You’ve always been an eyesore to me!”
The security guards lift Galo off the ground and drag him away. He’s brought to a remote prison cell, and the door is slammed behind him, while he shouts for Kray, or for anyone, to come and let him out. He pounds on the door until he runs out of energy, and then sinks to the ground, crying.
“Why, Kray? You were my hero…”]