To Max, everything is almost the same as he remembers it, at least the part he can remember. There is one change that is very evident, not only to Max, but also to almost everyone on Earth and in the Universe. Every business is a subsidiary of the corporation. Schools only use literature and teachers approved by the corporation. Homes are run with the corporation's technology. Government control is all but handed over to the corporation, so much so that every person must be tagged with a microchip in their left hand in order to have access to anything in connection with the corporation, which is everything.
It is obvious to Max now that his feeling of dread in Endline had something to do with the corporation's monopoly on Earth. Somehow this turn of events had found its way through to Endline. Maybe Redler had found a way to control Max's kingdom, or, worse yet, destroy it. This thought excites a sense of urgency that had been steadily growing in Max's mind. "What now? Do I confront him, or do I bide my time until I can come up with a plan?" he thinks out loud. "I can't just walk up to Redler and demand to know what's going on. I'd be as good as dead then.
"Dead...I wonder how long I've been gone? Everyone probably thinks I am dead, at least everyone in the corporation. But what about Redler? He's too smart to underestimate, that's evident now. I need a lot of information, and I need help."
Before he can act on that thought, Max is suddenly surrounded by a group of men in black suits, each armed with an automatic weapon of some sort. Fear clutches him as he eyes each one of them. There's no time to do anything. Max suddenly wishes he was invisible.