Free Fall (Pyramid of Gold)

He looked at us, shadows gathering around his eyes. I've forgotten how much time has passed, hypnotized by his voice. The sudden silence struck me, shattering the immersion. Sergei drank water from his glass, then carefully put it back on the table.

'Do you know,' he said. 'What Silent Genocide is?'

We shook our heads.

A crooked smile cut his face in two halves.

'Do you two have siblings?'

Mickey licked his lips.

'No.'

I repeated it, suddenly scared.

'Uncles? Aunts?'

Both of us shook our heads.

'No, I didn't think so. Statistically, you're not likely to. You see, the Silent Genocide is not so much the result of an action, as the result of the failure of all other actions. As I said before, the Agency was created with the purpose of harnessing the power of the Ability. But in that regard, it failed. Decade after decade, it failed. I don't think that the system was designed to destroy us. Some days, I even believe that humans who first designed it were benevolent in their plans. That they truly believed that their system will serve its purpose and be replaced with something new, and more enlightened. But the scientific tools of dealing with the wraiths that they were hoping for never came, and the system remained as it was. Degrading, intrusive and poisonous. But it did produce something, a side effect no one expected. You see, as it turns out, humans had no need to kill us. They just had to crush our spirit and watch us destroy ourselves. Do you know that animals raised in captivity often refuse to mate? Do you know that in the end, we're all just animals?'