Tempest: The Renegade

Phase 7, part 2

After the greeting the announcer tells the world every day, she gets straight to the point. The background behind us is green, but the viewers see an artistic photo of a hand holding a syringe and a text: Cure for Flicker reclaimed. Millions of Europe's inhabitants are now listening to Lucy's report:

"After a lengthy struggle, the Ministry of Castaway health has finally reclaimed both the cure and the vaccine which is ought to destroy Flicker, a disease deadly to Castaways. Until now, the cure was in the hands of a Castaway terrorist known as Nightingale who used it as a triumph to lure desperate Castaways into her army. But now, thanks to the effort of several brave Castaways, the cure is available to all Castaways in Europe."

The background changes to a series of short clips depicting overjoyed, relieved Castaways receiving the much-needed cure in form of a series of injections. The recording further features Austin Halliday - the Castaway doctor who implanted my first bionic legs. It seems like an eternity ago.

"The healing process takes long, but it can completely cure Flicker in any stage and eliminate the chance of relapse," Halliday tells us, standing next to a hospital bed with a teen Castaway girl heavily struck by Flicker laying on it. The girl has a tired, yet hopeful smile on her pale lips.

Lucy continues. "Regarding this matter, we invited a special guest for today. Lately, she had been connected with shady activities by certain media, but today, we will leave these speculations aside and talk about the history of the Flicker cure. Here, in the studio, I have Zoya, also known as Tempest."

The camera drones focus their lens on me and my nervosity grows stronger than before. But I have to go through this, if only for Ryan. "Greetings," I say; Lucy urges me to raise my voice through a gesture. I speak louder, trying hard to control my trembling voice. "First of all, I want to assure you I am not a terrorist and I stand on what I said earlier. Thank you.

However, today I have been invited to speak about the Flicker cure which caused a lot of problems, but now, it saves the lives of hundreds of Castaways. I have to say that this time, I'm not a focus of the story. This time, I'll be nothing but a humble narrator who will tell you the story of the exceptional man who found the cure all by himself. I feel obligated to do so because he was my Neoclash partner. And my close friend."

Lucy is showing me thumbs up.

...

"His name was Ryan Bridger and most people remember him as my Neoclash partner," I start. According to our agreement, the dramaturge starts to show short clips depicting Ryan on the background behind me. Seeing the clips hurts so much, but I have to endure it somehow.

"However, I remember him as a passionate scientist. In fact, my whole Neoclash career started because of this moment - Ryan needed money to continue his research about the cure for Flicker. Some people see me as a hero, some as a villain, but I was never anything more than a means to reach this goal.

Ryan died soon after he finished this creation. He was killed by Nightingale." My voice cracks, but Lucy gestures me to continue. "Valentina, as I know her, stole the serum and used it as a part of her awful scheme. But somehow, we managed to retrieve the cure and now, we're giving it to those who need it the most. All thanks to the courage of a man who was brave enough to defy Nightingale and her ideology and strike her where it hurt the most. A man who turned his back on Nightingale and decided to do the right thing."

Isaiah was invited to join the show, too, but unsurprisingly, he refused. That means my job for today is to give two people the glory they deserve.

"I can't describe how happy would Ryan be if he saw this moment. He lived for this... and, sadly, also died for this. Now it's up to me to give him the recognition and fame he deserves. I will now ask you for one thing. Once this speech hits the internet, share it as much as you can. And remember one name - Ryan Bridger. Remember this name for he is the savior of all the Castaways who will be cured of Flickers and all the Castaways who will be saved thanks to the vaccine.