Two days after being freed from Level 47, Lucas and Isabella stood at the São Paulo airport. While he carried a heavy backpack, Isabella held a small cardboard box – inside it the tablet called Princess.
“WE MUST GO TO BUENOS AIRES," said Isabella. “THE PLANE LEAVES AT 4 PM."
“AND WHO STAYS HERE?", asked Lucas, looking at Chico and Tito, who sat on the luggage rack.
“I STAY," said Chico. “THIS CITY IS MINE."
“AND TITO?"
“I COME WITH YOU," said Tito to Lucas. “I KNOW THE WAYS HERE."
“SO YOU STAY TOGETHER?", said Isabella.
“YES," said Don Pedro, stepping out of the shadows. “CHICO AND TITO ARE OUR EYES HERE. IF R COMES BACK, IT MUST BE KNOWN."
“OUR EYES?!", shouted Chico. “I'M NOT EYES! I'M A BIRD!"
“YOU ARE A TECH-BIRD," said Don Pedro. “THAT MAKES YOU EYES."
“THAT IS—""
“EFFICIENT?", asked Don Pedro.
“NO!", said Chico and Tito simultaneously.
“FINALLY AGREEMENT!"
Isabella smiled. “We should go."
They crossed the airport. Princess hummed softly on her tablet. “I FOUND A ROUTE. DIRECT FLIGHT. THREE HOURS."
“THREE HOURS?", asked Lucas. “THAT'S FAST."
“EFFICIENT," said the phone.
“PLEASE NO!"
As they boarded the plane, Lucas looked out the window. There, on the roof of the Torre de Luz in the distance, stood a figure. White suit. And watching them.
“Someone there?", asked Tito.
“R," whispered Lucas. “He watched."
“HE WATCHES US?", asked Tito. “WHY?"
“BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT WE WILL WIN," said Don Pedro behind him. “UNCOMFORTABLE."
Lucas turned around. Don Pedro sat in another seat but had moved there. “HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!"
“I FLEW," said Don Pedro simply.
“YOU CAN'T FLY!"
“REAL JAGUARS CAN'T," said Don Pedro. “I AM TECH-JAGUAR."
“THAT MAKES NO SENSE!"
“YES IT DOES," said Don Pedro. “SWITCH TECHNIQUE."
“I"— Lucas took a deep breath. Then he smiled. “Okay. Good. You come along."
“YES," said Don Pedro. “I HELP."
“THANK YOU"
After three hours they landed in Buenos Aires. The city was different from São Paulo – more Europe, less jungle. Wide boulevards, old buildings, cafés everywhere.
“THE TOWER IS THERE," said Don Pedro, pointing to a modern building on the riverbank. Torre de Alegría – the Tower of Joy.
“IT'S NAMED LAUGH?", asked Isabella.
“YES," said Don Pedro. “SOMEONE THOUGHT THAT LAUGHING IS A WEAPON."
“HOW CAN LAUGHING BE A WEAPON?"
“BECAUSE LAUGHING CROSSES BORDERS," said Don Pedro. “WHEN YOU LAUGH, YOU ARE NO LONGER AFRAID."
“AND THAT IS DANGEROUS?"
“FOR SOMEONE WHO WANTS CONTROL, YES," said Don Pedro.
They sneaked to the entrance of the tower. It was evening. Few people. Only two security guards at the gate.
“HOW DO WE GET IN?", asked Isabella.
“I HAVE AN IDEA," said Don Pedro. “PRINCESS."
“YES?", said the tablet.
“CAN YOU TAKE OVER THE SECURITY?"
“ALREADY DONE," said Princess. “I OPENED THEIR RADIO MESSAGE. THEY THINK IT'S A FIRE ALARM."
“A FIRE ALARM?!"
“NO," said Princess. “THEY THINK IT'S A FIRE ALARM. BUT IT IS NOT."
“THAT IS—" Lucas paused. “THAT IS BRILLIANT."
“THAT IS ELEGANT," corrected Princess.
The two security guards ran out. The entrance was open.
“IN!", whispered Don Pedro.
They slipped into the building. Behind it waited an elevator that led directly down.
“WAIT," said Don Pedro. “FIRST ASK."
“THE ELEVATOR?", asked Isabella skeptically.
“YES," said Don Pedro. “IT TELLS ME SOMETHING."
“WHAT DOES IT SAY?"
“IT SAYS: 'I AM SET'".
“THAT MEANS:"
“THAT MEANS: IT COULD RESIST. OR NOT."
“THAT MAKES NO SENSE!"
“YES IT DOES," said Don Pedro. “RESISTANCE IS CHOICE. INTRUSION IS NOT."
“WHAT?"
“RESISTANCE IS FREEDOM," said Don Pedro. “WHEN YOU DO NOT REFUSE."
“THAT IS—" Lucas closed his eyes. Then he said: “Good. Try."
The elevator moved. Not up. Down. Very deep.
“HOW MANY LEVELS?", asked Isabella.
The phone calculated. “47."
“47?! HERE TOO?!"
“YES," said the phone. “ALL TOWERS HAVE LEVEL 47. IT IS SYSTEM."
The elevator stopped. The door opened.
Behind it lay a room. Much bigger than in São Paulo. And in the middle... a concert hall. With a stage. With musical instruments.
“THIS IS..." began Isabella.
“LAUGHTER," said Don Pedro quietly. “ON THE STAGE."
He was right. On the stage stood five people. They laughed. Loudly. Unceasingly. Without stopping.
“WHY ARE THEY LAUGHING?", asked Isabella.
“BECAUSE THEY CAN'T STOP," said Don Pedro. “THE MACHINE FORCES THEM."
“HOW CAN YOU FORCE LAUGHING?"
“EMOTION IS ENERGY," said Don Pedro. “AND YOU CAN DIRECT ENERGY."
Suddenly they heard footsteps. Many footsteps. From the hallway came more security guards – but not the same as before.
“STOP!", shouted one. “NO ONE IS ALLOWED HERE!"
“WE ARE HERE!", shouted Don Pedro back. “AND WE WANT FREEDOM!"
“FREEDOM?", laughed the security guard. “THERE IS NO SUCH THING HERE!"
“THAT IS WRONG!"
“YES IT IS," said the man. “HERE RULES CONTROL."
“CONTROL IS NOT LIFE!", said Don Pedro.
“CONTROL IS SECURITY," said the man. “SECURITY IS IMPORTANT."
“NO," said Don Pedro. “FREEDOM IS MORE IMPORTANT."
“THAT IS"— the man paused. “THAT IS NOT TRUE."
“YES IT IS," said Don Pedro. “SWITCH TECHNIQUE."
“I"— The man paused. Then he said quietly: “No. It is true."
Everyone looked at him.
“WHAT?", asked Lucas.
“I...", began the man. “I LOST MY DAUGHTER A YEAR AGO. BECAUSE SHE WAS TOO AFRAID."
“FEAR?", said Isabella.
“YES," said the man. “AND HERE... HERE I CAN FORGET IT. BECAUSE EVERYONE LAUGHS. BECAUSE EVERYONE IS HAPPY."
“IT IS NOT HAPPY," said Don Pedro quietly. “IT IS FORCED."
“I KNOW," said the man. “BUT IT IS BETTER THAN FEAR."
“INSTEAD OF FEAR?", said Don Pedro. “THEN LEARN TO LIVE WITH FEAR."
“THAT IS—" The man swallowed. “THAT IS HARD."
“THAT IS LIFE," said Don Pedro. “AND LIFE IS HARD."
Silence.
Then the man said: “What do you want?"
“FREEDOM," said Isabella. “FOR EVERYONE."
“EVERYONE?", repeated the man. “THAT IS—" He paused. “THAT IS GOOD."
“GOOD?", said Lucas surprised.
“YES," said the man. “BECAUSE I ALSO WANT TO BE FREE SOMEDAY."
“THEN HELP US," said Don Pedro.
The man hesitated. A long time. Then he nodded.
“I HAVE A KEY," he said. “FOR THE CENTRAL MACHINE. ON LEVEL 49."
“49?! WHERE DOES 49 COME FROM?!"
“SWITCH TECHNIQUE," said Don Pedro.
“NO," said the man. “BECAUSE I BUILT IT."
“YOU BUILT IT?"
“EARLIER," said the man. “BEFORE I KNEW. NOW I KNOW."
“THEN LEAD US THERE," said Isabella.
“YES," said the man. “BUT YOU MUST KNOW: THERE IS ALSO A CHOICE."
“WHAT CHOICE?"
“IF YOU SMASH THE MACHINE, YOU COULD LOSE EVERYTHING," said the man. “LAUGHTER. HAPPINESS. EVERYTHING."
“THAT WOULD BE GOOD," said Don Pedro. “BECAUSE IT WOULD BE TRUE."
“TRUE?", said the man. “WHAT IS TRUE?"
“WHAT REMAINS WHEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS GONE," said Don Pedro. “SWITCH TECHNIQUE."
“I HATE—" The man paused. Then he smiled. “Good."
“THAT IS BEAUTIFUL," said Isabella.
“BEAUTIFUL?", said Don Pedro. “THAT IS—" He paused. “THAT IS TRUE."
And the man nodded slowly. Then he said:
“Then follow me."
And so they went together. Not as enemies. But as friends. On the way to Level 49. To a decision that would change everything.
Far away in a laboratory someone watched all this on a screen and said quietly:
“They do not win. They understand."
“What is the difference?"
“Winning means defeating. Understanding means being," said the voice.
“Which is stronger?"
“Understanding," said the voice. “SWITCH TECHNIQUE."
The screen went dark.
And in Buenos Aires the real work began.
Level 49 waited.