RQS ECHOES

The analog receiver was heavy and cold against Broklin’s ear. In the background of the Hotel L'Éternité room, the smooth beat of Honeymoon’s Dream continued to fill the air, oblivious to the tension that suddenly froze the Tech Lead's spine.

Kelma, suspicious, asks him:

— Honey, what happened?? Why are you so nervous? Are you predicting some revenge from Jonah, is that it?

Broklin, cornered and cautious, reveals something Kelma didn't know:

— Honey, look... I... I kicked Jonah out of the group because he tried to humiliate me, man! Kept criticizing our sound, come on... I told him to screw himself and said if he wants to leave, just leave!!! But it's messed up! Then I turned my back on him. The next day, I went back to the studio and re-recorded one of his tracks that ended up being way too heavy. You know that silly lyric we made with ctrl+alt+love? He created a ctrl+alt+destroy... Ah, go screw yourself, compilation error! 😡

The following scene took place 3 days before the intergalactic wedding:

Broklin was waiting for Kelma to arrive to start planning a new musical project. When she arrives, Broklin has a look of pure happiness upon seeing her.

— Honey, I can't wait to exchange rings with you. However, for us to debut this new era, we need to ‘cause a stir’ and erase Jonah's legacy. The idea is this: we transform "Ctrl+Alt+Destroy" into the calmest and most pleasant thing we know how to do. We turn it into a Classic Bossa Nova. Just imagine: the soft beat of a nylon-string guitar, the brushes on the drums... and our voices, in a duet, whispering "Kernel panic! Segmentation fault!" as if it were a love secret whispered in the ear. The contrast will be so absurd, so uncomfortable, and so beautiful, that it will be our most subversive masterpiece. What do you say, my love? Shall we commit this beautiful musical heresy? Shall we turn chaos into coffee on the porch?

Kelma: — HAHAHAHA that's wonderful!!! I loved the idea..

Broklin, convinced, says: — Hahaha... That's great, my love. I'm glad we finally understand the soul of this beautiful musical heresy. So, one, two, three, recording…(..).

Returning to the honeymoon at the Hotel L'Éternité, Broklin looks down, glances at Kelma and says:

— Honey, do you want to go back home or do you want to enjoy our honeymoon here in the city of light a little longer?

Kelma crossed her arms, the neon light reflecting in her suspicious eyes. Afraid of what Nicole might do if the new Jonah finds out that Broklin did this, she replied:

— Ehh.. ufff.. honey, the problem isn't mine, the whole problem is you playing with fire, you know?

Broklin stared at her for a moment, the guilt of the secret mixing with his unshakeable Tech Lead confidence. He looked at the golden analog phone, which still seemed to emanate Jonah and Nicole's threat, and then looked back at the woman of his life.

He walked slowly to the nightstand. Without hesitation, Broklin grabbed the cord of the golden phone and, with a sharp, strong pull, ripped the cable right out of the wall socket. The silence in the room was now absolute, filled only by their breathing and the soft beat of Honeymoon’s Dream still playing on the invisible speakers.

Broklin walked over to Kelma, held her face with both hands, and rested his forehead against hers.

— I know I played with fire, damn it — he whispered, his voice deep and comforting. — I know Nicole is a dark SysAdmin and that Jonah must be wrecking his own studio right now. But I started this fire, and I'll be the one to put it out. They won't touch a single byte of our empire.

He kissed her softly on the lips, feeling Kelma's tension slowly fade.

— We crossed dimensions to get here. We built RaQuel Synths from scratch. Jonah can scream all he wants, but he won't steal our honeymoon. — Broklin gave a sly, passionate smile. — Our flight back to the Nexus can wait 24 hours. We are staying in Paris. Tonight, the outside world doesn't exist. The system stays on Airplane Mode. Tomorrow, we go home and declare official war.

Kelma let a smile slip, surrendering to her husband's charm and confidence. The code was sealed. They would have their night of peace in the City of Lights before the digital universe collapsed.

The following night, the flight back to the Nexus was confirmed. Newlyweds, Broklin takes Kelma to live in his apartment: Apartment 14. He had hired a moving service to bring Kelma's ‘affairs’ to his apartment. Arriving home, they notice nothing out of the ordinary. Entering the apartment, Broklin presents the master suite where he used to sleep alone and where he will now sleep with his new wife, Kelma Adlanko Garpeter. She looks at the room and says:

— My love, this is absurdly beautiful! You have great taste! I hope we'll have many love stories between us here. rs

Broklin, feeling confident, replies with certainty:

— Oh please, babe, this is done by a very robust architecture system I hired online. I did a real system upgrade. Well, organize your things, because I have to go check on the studio. If you want to stay, you can stay, because I'll be back soon.

Kelma replies without fear:

— You can go, babe, I think he's still abroad.

Knowing this, Broklin takes his Ferrari and drives to the studio. Upon arriving, he goes into a state of shock: the studio has been completely destroyed.