Chapter 133: The Child and the Adult

"Another Seeker?" Lander was even more confused with Harker's question.

"It's the only possible explanation. Consider what he just said he wanted to do. Did he really mean it? Yes, he caused great massacres in Australia, but that was only because he had to save himself, and Lynd. If he really wanted to kill all your countrymen for their betrayal, he can just order the Twelve Disciples to shut down the defenses of any fort and leak the information to the other countries. The massacre of your people could easily be accomplished by my own soldiers who will join the battle. Since the world already knows of my anger against the Australian's even the Aragarian's wouldn't suspect our involvement. But Seeker didn't choose this route. Do you know why?" Harker asked the confused Lander.

Lander could only shake his head.

"Because a part of him doesn't want to. Hence instead of focusing money to bring down a nation which he knows to be evil, he decided to invest on… that." Harker pointed to several computers nearby.

A soldier was playing Piercing. His hands were still shivering from Seeker's recent outburst.

"He used my connections and the Underworld and turned several of Piercings most talented programmers and former programmers into Programmed Slaves. And using the technologies of three nations and a budget coming from our Underworld connections, his streams, the math provided by the Humphreys and my military funding, he has been creating he calculations for the games with real-life physics."

Lander couldn't help but give the game an odd look.

"You're downplaying my plans, Harker. Even though your suspicions are correct, building a game will still save us a lot of money and possibly a lot of our soldier's lives. We are building an Unlocked army. And this army will need to practice their skills. Our army will be divided and spread all across the world. Not all of them have large open areas like this base. It isn't practical for them to even fight each other. For Ranked Heroes and Overcomers, a single mock battle would be expensive." Seeker pointed out.

"Not to mention, even a single battle between two Inhumans will result in a lot of destruction. So instead of that, I need a game that can stimulate their perceptions, planning, and so on. The Unlocking is a growth of the mind. So investing in creating a game that could practically allow Unlocked users to do something that can push it to the limits is a perfect way to do it."

"This is a game based on Overcomers?" Lander walked closer to observe the game.

"Not just the Overcomers, Ranked Heroes, Inhumans even Unbecomings should have their characters in this little game. Again, it's basically a way for us to practice without spending millions of Sydian's in one mock battle. Besides, the game, Generals is something that was created in order to test out war. That's why even Generals secretly play that game."

"But isn't this just a game? It would still be different from actual fighting." Harker shared his doubts.

"Kristine. Remember her? LordChokeMeSenpai? Hasn't she has managed to fully assimilate her gaming skills in becoming a real Piercing:Valkyrie. Lowengren has long ascended from being a gamer to become a true war General. I'm sure the rest of the Covenant can do what their respective Piercing Avatars can do if we manage to give them the right technology." Seeker smiled.

"I'm sensing that you're planning on turning the best e-sport gamers into Programmed Slave." Harker smiled.

"You catch on pretty quick. That's why I'm creating such a big havoc in the e-sport world. I need another Nations of the World E-Sport event so we can slowly get them to our side."

"Why not simply contact them now? Your parents are in the Americas, the Mikados' in the EAA. These two nations hold the best e-sport gamers and first-person shooters. Most of the best soldiers in Generals belong to these nations."

"Yet, these two nations are nations who utilize a Blockchain network. It's almost impossible to do any illegal business with how the government's network remains stable and is practically impenetrable without leaving traces. No. I need them out of their countries. Somewhere where a Blockchain network does not exist." Seeker continued.

Harker sighed. Hacking the Americas, the New Russian Federation and even Africa were nearly impossible thanks to the blockchain network.

"Well, it looks like this other you have thought things through. But can you maintain this? Now that I've known you better, I can't help but feel that all your former plans have all been half step measures." Harker suddenly asked.

Seeker was silent.

Seeker's refusal to argue or defend himself made Lander believe that Harker was right.

"Half-step? With everything that he's been doing? These were all half-steps?"

"Yes. I may not be like Arthur or those other freaks, but I have held my throne in the Underworld for too long. I know what it is to be cautious. Charles told me about your original plans. You wanted to amass enough money secretly using your skills with the game correct? It would be low-key, and it wouldn't attract attention. I figured that if you hadn't started the Malay-Pangean massacres, the Australian Avarice or led your team to battle in China, the world would be more peaceful and you could travel around the world, meet with Overcomers and Ranked Heroes and convince them secretly. But no, you created havoc, changing everything and messing up this timeline that we don't have any choice but to maintain this extremely guarded and paranoid lifestyle."

Harker waited for Seeker to respond.

Seeker remained silent and actually turned to the chair he was sitting on when he was communicating with his parents in-game.

"I was right. I know what it means to be cautious. This was the best way to survive. Alean have told me in detail what the others have been discussing about you. Lowengren deduced that in the future, your friends won the war by tricking the Aragarians and killing them all out at once. But my daughter couldn't just see it. Maybe Lowengren, Lennox and Arthur know about it… But the path you've made this timeline take is a more dangerous path."

"Since when have you two made up as father and daughter?" Seeker could not help but ask.

"Since we realized that the preservation of our lives depends on you. Nothing else matters anymore. Power? Wealth? Security? The Aragarian's will take that all."

"My my… Who would have guessed that the corrupt Harker would turn a new leaf?" Seeker laughed.

"Well… I have the kid you to thank for that."

"The kid me?" Seeker questioned but the shock in his heart was great. Very few people knew of this secret. Only Meryl and Lynd knew about it and Lynd wouldn't be so dumb as to tell Alean about this secret.

"No one told me. I deduced it." Harker laughed seeing Seeker's changing expression.

"Alean couldn't tell what was wrong with you. Her Path might have sensed it as the momentum around you has changed. Rather, she says it keeps changing. I'm sure Arthur, Lennox, and Lowengren know but they would hide the truth. And don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." Harker laughed.

"Are you using you're Path against me?" Seeker questioned causing every bone in Harker's body to shake.

Harker stood still despite the rickety movements of his bones. Sweat started to pour out of his back.

"Using your voice to match the frequency of my bone and amplified it so that it would shake. Not as strong as Richie's but that is the basic. Impressive." Harker smiled.

"I am afraid of you. But I know you couldn't dare kill me. So don't bother scaring me. Especially now that me and Alean have patched things up. I know your two personalities wouldn't dare." Harker smiled.

"And why is that?"

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"If I met the adult you way back then, then I'd probably be dead. But because it wasn't the adult you that I met, but the complex Seeker Carlean who has his adult self's memory, you kept me alive. And because of that, even the adult you won't dare kill me."

"Oh? Want to see if that theory holds?" Seeker released an empowering aura that made Harker feel a trace of heat leaking out from where Seeker was.

Harker however, remained firm.

"You act like an adult but your heart is constricted. I, who tread in Shameless Audacity can tell. There are two things unique to my Path. I know I can make people trust me because I can feel it if they do. You trust me with your life already. However, sometimes, I could sense that a part of you… no… rather another you don't. Alean said your momentum's all mixed up. It only means there are two of you. Did the Overcomer's Will manage to affect you?"

"Why do you care?" Seeker frowned.

"I have to. The kid Seeker trust me. The adult doesn't. I have to convince him to remain as a kid." Harker laughed.

"That's only to your benefit." Seeker countered.

"Not really. For one, I'm sure your best friends like the kid you. Those memories you have from the future… with the Unlocking it's like you can re-watch the entire movie which is your life, correct? And through this, you can bring a fragment of your memory, of the anger, of the pain. But that is what it is… a fragment. It can only change you so much. But now, for some reason, you're Overcomer's Will is making that merge possible. But you need to reach the higher levels of the Unlocking to have these emotions match your recollections. The stronger your Unlocking gets, the more your memories can affect you like the psychological scars of these memories can do its full damage in your mind and heart. But I think, it's to your disadvantage." Harker surmised.

"Why so?"

"The Kid Seeker left me alive." Harker began.

"I know that the me of your future would have allied with the Aragarians. The Adult Seeker, being relentless, merciless, cruel would have killed me immediately. The kid Seeker left Alean and his father alive with the intent of using them. That is a twinge of his mercy. Kid Seeker's decree of our punishment, wasn't death, but abuse. However, when kid Seeker realized that I have a Path, he allowed me to cultivate it. I was useful after all… So useful, that even when Adult Seeker arrived, he couldn't kill me anymore."

"What are you implying?"

"What I mean is… that Kid Seeker is more merciful as compared to Adult Seeker. And this Kid Seeker is statistically and historically more useful for your ultimate goal. You managed to raise two potential Heroes, me and Alean. And I'm told by Alean that her Path was very beneficial? I heard it was what aided you to become an Overcomer yourself and even caused the awakening of the Prophet Daniel."

"Just how close are you with your daughter for her to be sharing that information with you?" Seeker frowned.

"She tells me this… because she trusts me." Harker smiled.

Seeker kept quiet.

"Consider your current Path, Kid Seeker. Though you have the option to merge with Adult Seeker and walk on that path, you may also walk on your current Path. I would advise with the latter than the former. If you do defeat the Realm King, you will have this choice. The right thing to do is to walk with Kid Seeker's perspective. The world isn't as hopeless as with Adult Seeker's timeline after all." Harker laughed.

"Am I manipulating you? Maybe so. But if you hold on to that past you, and consider it more gainful than what the current you can acquire, you will lose track of your goal. Adult Seeker had the goal of surviving. But Kid Seeker didn't have that in mind. He didn't want to simply let the human race survive. Kid Seeker met Feltrick, the first Aragarian of this world who controlled the most power in Pangea. And what's interesting is that Kid Seeker couldn't help but kill him. You exposed yourself and the Unlocked immediately and even risked a war with Australia who was another superpower that endangered Pangea. Those actions weren't for survival."

"Then why did I do that?"

"You gave yourself an excuse. Though you had Adult Seeker's memories, and though you knew Adult Seeker wouldn't alter the timeline as it would create a lot of uncertainties, what did you, the Kid Seeker do? You risked exposure and changed the timeline of this world with the grand attack on Australia. Was Australia the cause of Pangea's downfall in Adult Seeker's future?"

Seeker was silent.

Lander who stood at the side gave Seeker a saddened look. So it really was his country that brought so much death to Seekers. Things started to make sense for Lander. Who knew if it was his fellow-man who killed Seeker's friends and killed off Seeker's parents?

"And so, you've been making half-steps. You couldn't decide whether to keep things as low-key as possible. That was the Adult Seeker's plan. Make another surprise attack that could wipe out the Aragarians. But the Kid in you just couldn't let all the deaths and possible massacres continue, can it? There were better ways to save the Jews but you choose the most reckless one. Lucky for you, you now have people like Arthur who can clean up after this mess."

"Right… Now the Aragarians are more guarded. If Richie didn't plant that gold coin to that Aragarian Madelyn we would never have known what the Aragarians would do!" Lander realized.

"Exactly. Seeker made reckless actions. He should have known better but he chooses to save them. Those facilities in Malay-Pangea… he eliminated everyone. Why go that far? If he made more programmed slaves he could have controlled the operations and formalize his research into creating that poison Feltrick was developing! But no! Seeker ordered Cliff to massacre everyone and ordered his team to destroy Feltrick's bases all at once! There would be a thousand better ways to approach that problem! But this Seeker who knows the future choose the worse one and even allowed his operations to be taken noticed by the Presiders!"

Lander gave Seeker a strange look.

"You really are a kid…" Lander couldn't help but voice out.

Seeker had an extremely guilty look on his face.

"Admit it. Though others can't see past this recklessness of yours, a few can. I'm sure Arthur, Lennox and even that kid Lowengren already know about it. You were giving yourself excuses. You were forcing actions that Adult Seeker would disapprove of by making yourself believe that these actions were better. But it isn't. Now you can't follow the Adult Seeker's original plan. The blade that should have been an assassinating strike, has become a broadsword used for war. The Aragains are wary, and even Presiders are now on Earth. This is the worst possible direction that your future you would take."

Lander and Seeker were silent. Seeker appeared to have not have heard Harker's words. But the truth was, each accusation made Seeker be gripped with frustration.

"But I think…" Harker continued mysteriously.

"This is the best path."

Lander was confused while Seeker finally turned and met Harker's gaze.

"You see…Adult Seeker's plan was survival. He wanted to make sure that the human race would survive this tribulation" Harker gazed deeply into Seeker's eyes as if trying to talk to the Adult memory within.

"Then what was Kid Seeker after?" Lander asked as Seeker remained silent.

"This is exactly why I like Kid Seeker more. He wasn't after survival. He was trying to save the World." Harker smiled.

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