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I logged into the forum and found it empty. Flopping onto the sofa, I brought up the live feeds, and I scanned the arenas.
My mind drifted to what Socko had said to me. He was wrong. I was the backbone of this team. If it wasn’t for me, we’d be at the bottom of the rankings.
I shook my head—we were at the bottom of the rankings.
“Screw it.”
I got up and made my way to The Inconceivable’s forum.
Taking a breath, I entered.
R2 and Peanut turned to me as a replay of one of their previous battles ran in slow motion on the big screen behind them.
“What do you want?” R2 asked.
Peanut gestured behind me. “Where are your loser friends, loser boy?”
I ignored him and stared at R2. “I know your stats didn’t get nuked with the rest of us.”
He shrugged. “So?”
“Yeah,” Peanut said. “It’s not R2’s fault that Dalton Jones is a complete and utter gizzard.”
Again, I ignored him. “You’re too powerful.” I narrowed my eyes at R2. “It’s not fair.”
“Let me tell you about what’s not fair.” R2 moved towards me and raised a finger. “My free speech has been trampled on by some social justice corporation.”
“You don’t have to be here.”
R2 sniffed. “If I can take them down from the inside, I will. It’s about time people stood up against these tech giants who think they can hold the people down.”
I frowned. “That just sounds like a lame excuse to me. I think you’re afraid of being beaten.”
“Just because you’re nothing without your stats.”
“And you think you’d manage without yours?”
He stared at me for several seconds before answering. “Your Jedi mind tricks don’t work on me. It’s their own fault. If they can’t programme a game that works, that’s not my problem. I pay the same as everyone else, yet they think it’s okay to deny my service.”
“You’re still in the game.”
“I have rights. I deserve justice.”
“So, what? You’re just going to make the game miserable for everyone else?”
“If that’s what it takes.” He folded his arms and raised his chin.
Peanut stood at R2’s side. “With R2, we can keep our rightful place at the top of the rankings.”
I shook my head and sighed. “Just do the right thing.”
“I am doing the right thing,” R2 said. “This is a principled stand.”
“Reset your account.”
“No.”