Muster

by Christoff Orr

  Ms. Quidworth complied as she turned and moved towards the door. Opening it a little she called out, “Mr. Edict, Mr. Magness will see you now sir.”

  Mr. Edict walked into the elaborate bedroom, it’s spacious floor plan was now clogged up with medical supplies and machinery. He serpentined his way around the equipment, wires, and chairs, till he stood next to Edwin. “Good to see you, sir. I feared the worst when I got the news” He said with his ever-present charm.

  Edwin nodded and smiled the best he could. Along with his returned eyesight, most of his motor functions had also returned, though limited. There were still holes within his memory, with more holes appearing daily and some of the simplest things were difficult to complete. His speech as well still eluded him, as he was only able to make sporadic sounds, and is still unable to properly form words. To overcome this, he had a custom laptop with a form of E-triloquist program installed on it. The program would basically speak the words typed out, which allowed Edwin to still converse with others, without any real interruption. The only downside was that Edwin’s typing skills were a little rusty from years of sitting behind a desk and having others write for him.

  With the laptop open, Edwin began. It wasn’t till after the operator hit enter that the electronic voice would actually dictate what was inscribed. Edwin henpecked at the keys as he tried to write out the order for Mr. Edict. After finally creating two lines of script he hit enter and relaxed for a moment as the program did its job.

  “Mr. Edict, thank you for coming.” The computerized voice began, its staccato words calmly exited the computer speakers. The E-Triloquist program had a plethora of vocal options, allowing the operator to customize their own electronic voice. It was designed to add a bit of personality to the program, to allow the user to regain some sort of power over their vocal ambitions.

  The designer of the program proudly touted that the electronic voice could be customized to sound exactly like the operator had once sounded or as the operator assumed that their voice would have sounded. However soon it was realized that the operators did not want to hear their own voice, but that of some they enjoyed listening too. Thus many male operators created female voices, and many female operators created male voices. Edwin Maggnas, though a man of his own, as it turned out was not so different. He, like many other powerful male figures, had chosen to go with a female voice. The docent, in this case, dictated every word written by Edwin in perfect Queens English, with a hint of a posh demeanor.

  “As you can see, things have taken an unexpected turn,” The proper female voice continued, as it dictated Edwin's words. “I want you to know, first of all, we will continue with our project and we will see it though. However, due to this unforeseen event, adjustments will need to be taken.”

  Edwin paused his typing to look over at Mr. Edict. His vision had returned, but it wasn’t exactly pristine. There was a slight blurry glow on the outer edges of his vision, which disrupted his peripheral vision as well as his depth perception. He focused the center of his vision on Mr. Edicts ever charming smile and waited till Mr. Edict gave a nod to indicate that he understood.

  Once Edwin received the visual acknowledgment from Mr. Edict, he returned his attention to the laptop's keyboard. Using the his index fingers, he stabbed at the letters in front of him, then once again hitting the enter button. Upon command, the docile female voice continued to decree the prepared text.

  “I, by nature am a cautious man, and therefore only trusted the entirety of my vision with, myself. No one else knows and I feel could fully comprehend the full existence of my plan. The web I have woven is not only grand in size, but fragile as well. One misplacement of trust will result in a domino effect, destroying what will become my life’s work. What I am about to tell you, I do so with admitted hesitation. However, I am a realist, and I realize that given my diminished capacity, I must begrudgingly trust another.” The computer voice chided out.

  When the feminine voice completed her latest savoy of text, Mr. Edict uncontrollably inched towards the edge of his seat. No longer was he sitting back, and relaxed, he was now anxiously awaiting the next line of script to be read to him. He couldn’t help but feel like a child, listening to their mother's voice as she read an adventures story. One filled with excitement and the promise of fortune and fame.

  When Mr. Edict first entered the room and saw the mighty King, defeated and diminished to a hospital bed, an odd sense of victory came over him. Mr. Edict had been in the unofficial employment of the King long before the lights went out, and though he has enjoyed wealth beyond most can imagine, he still harbored an adolescent disdain towards the man. Much like a youth who has been lavished upon during their upbringing, Mr. Edict admired and loathed Edwin, all at the same time.

  Now, as Mr. Edict sat there, and listened to the King, via a computerized voice, he eagerly awaited each new word. For the first time, Mr. Edict could sense that the King was going to trust him with something kept only for those in highest esteem, the truth. As he sat there, as he leaned forward, his elbows perched upon his legs, hands clasped together, he waited.

  “What I am about to tell you must never be spoken of again, to anyone. I relay this information out of necessity, for I fear that I will not survive its fruition, thus I have chosen you to see it though.”

  For the next two hours, Edwin continued to hack out words upon his laptop, as he laid out in detail the entirety of his vision. Taking every opportunity to reiterate the importance of silence and compartmentalization. That no one other than those present in that room at that time, which included Mr. Edict, Edwin Magness, and Ms. Quidwroth, should know the entirety of the plan. It wasn’t that Edwin feared that the others involved might attempt to stop the plan, but more the old adage of “loose lips sink ships.” He feared that the more people who knew, the greater chances of the secret being reviled.

  Finally, after hitting enter for the last time, Edwin looked up towards Mr. Edict and gave an exhaustive nod. Mr. Edict stood up from his chair and extended his hand to shake Edwin’s hand. Mr. Edict then turned to leave but was stopped by Ms. Quidwroth.

  “This holds everything. Now, as lead on this project, I will be on call if you need anything.” Ms. Quidwroth said as she handed Mr. Edict a slim rectangle piece of equipment. It was an external hard drive which held up to 2 terabytes of information.

  Mr. Edict took the small external drive and transferred it to his left hand, freeing up his right to shake the hand of Ms. Quidworth. “Thank you, and I will definitely be in touch if I need anything.”

  Ms. Quidworth displayed her perfect smile as she opened the door. “There is a car ready for you downstairs, it will take you back to the airport where the jet is waiting to take you back to your business at hand. There will be a laptop available for you on the jet to review the information. Again, please let me know if there is anything more I can do to assist you.”

  Once Mr. Edict walked through the door and into the hallway, Ms. Quidworth shut the door behind him and turned to face Edwin once again. “Will there be anything else sir?” She asked as she looked towards Edwin.

  Still sitting upright, laptop in front of him, Edwin produced a grimacing half smile. His face still hung partially slack, causing his smile to be slanted and lopsided. He looked towards the laptop as he stabbed at a few letters before hitting enter. He then looked up towards his ever-present assistant as the computerized voice dictated out his script.

  “I’m taking a major risk here,” The female voice said.

  Ms. Quidworth placed her hands behind her as she slowly strolled towards Edwin. “The best way to keep a secret is to tell it. With slight alterations.” She said with a smile. She walked till she stood right next to Edwin, then lowered her hand and took his in hers. “Anyways, you know that no one would take me seriously, let alone follow any orders I might give. This way we still have a powerful figurehead, while keeping total control. Plus if the time ever comes that we need an escape door, he conventionally provides
one.”

  Edwin smiled, as he softly squeezed her hand in his. He knew his eyesight was still a little skewed, but as he laid there, he could see so much of her mother in her eyes. How he missed her mother, the last woman he truly loved.

  Ms. Quidworth smiled as she leaned over and gave Edwin a soft kiss on his forehead, “Get some rest now father, I’ll take care of it from here.”

  21 All Together

  Helena, Free Montana

  The survivors of Camp Zion, along with the displaced Members of the Hive were finally starting to fall into some semblance of a routine. They had all arrived safely in Helena, just three days ago, and already life which only seemed like a dream a few days ago appeared to be in abundance all around them. They were able to sleep at night in a real bed, with a real roof over their head. Even now, as they sat ready to eat a grand breakfast in the high school's gymnasium, life on the road seemed so distant.

  They had fresh eggs, pork sausage, pancakes, and fresh milk, everything a good American breakfast required. They even had a thin supply of coffee, though due to its high demand there was a limit on how much couldn’t be consumed at a time. It was little reminders such as the limited coffee, and the fact that the camp chef had a sawed-off shotgun strapped across his back, that reminded everyone that there was still a fight to be fought. That they could call their new home whatever they wanted, but Freedom was still a long way off, and no one is free till all of America is free.

  Ms. White carried the acrylic plastic tray, full of freshly scrambled eggs, a few pork sausages and some toast, as she walked over to the table where her team was already eating. “Morning everyone,” She said as she placed the tray down next to Miguel.

  “Good morning Ms. White,” Miguel said with a grand smile. “I don’t think I will ever get sick of eggs,” He said as he forced another spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth.

  “All of this and no ketchup,” Ms. White as she pushed some of her scrambled eggs onto her piece of toast.

  “Even the Garden of Eden had its shortcomings,” A voice said from behind where Ms. White was sitting.

  Ms. White quickly turned around to see her longtime friend, the Commander, standing there with a big grin on his face. She literally let out a squeal of excitement as she saw the Commander standing there. When she jumped up to embrace him, she nearly knocked her tray of food onto the ground. It was only the quick reflexes of Miguel, which saved her freshly made breakfast. “When did you get here?”

  The Commander let out a sigh, as he tried to think. It was then that he realized he didn’t even know what day it was. “Not sure exactly, maybe an hour or so, or two hours ago, at least that is when we met the first roaming patrol of the Free Montana Army. They picked us up and brought us in.” The Commander then turned around and nodded towards a group of men, who along with Conall were heading their way, each holding a freshly loaded tray of food. “Let me introduce you to Lt. Preen, along with the rest of his crew from the USS Michigan.”

  Ms. White smiled politely at the men, as she leaned over and gave Conall a hug. “Good to see you back in one piece.” Then stood upright she looked Lt. Preen and his men over for a second before continuing. “I can’t say enough how grateful we are to have you, gentlemen, here. I’m sure you are worn down and have a million questions. To be honest, I’m sure I won’t be able to answer a fraction of them, but after you eat and rest some, I will be happy to answer as many as I can. We do have a meeting with the President and her committee tomorrow at 1100 hours.” She then turned directly to Lt. Preen, “Lieutenant I would appreciate it if you could join us in that meeting. I feel that you would have some very unique perspective that could help us out. Also if there is anyone one else on your team you wish to join, please bring them along.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Lt. Preen quickly answered. Then thought about it for a moment before speaking up again, “Where exactly will we be meeting at?”

  “At the old Post Office,” Ms. White answered back. “If you just go to the town center, where the big park is. Face the Sheriff's office, it’s the third building on the right.”

  “Sounds good, we will be there. Now if you would kindly excuse me. My men and I would like to find a quiet place that we can sit down, eat and maybe shut our eyes for a moment or two.” Lt. Preen said politely.

  “Yes, please do.” Ms. White quickly said as she motioned with her left hand towards an empty table off in the corner. Once they were on their way, Ms. White looked back at the Commander who was still standing there, tray in hand. “Where’s Jay?”

  The Commander didn’t say anything, just motioned with he head towards where Jay was hobbling along, with Trigger right beside him. “I will admit, I was impressed with his grit. I know his leg is really bothering him, but he never complained. Plus the dog came in handy.”

  Ms. White nodded and patted the Commander on the shoulder. “Get some eat and then try to rest up some. I will need you at that meeting to back me up.”

  “Are you expecting any trouble?” The Commander said as he started to scan the fellow residents of the room.

  “No, well, not physical trouble, just I don’t think their leader likes me much and they have it fairly good it. It’s going to be a hard bill to sell, to get them to back us up out there.” Ms. White answered back.

  “We got Zion to join us, didn’t we. This place may have more people here, but I don’t see it as any different.” The Commander said, as he held the tray with his left hand, and started to shovel some of the scrambled eggs into his mouth.

  Ms. White sighed, “At Zion, they had the wolves literately just outside their door, trying to bust in, that was an easy sell. This one, they have been holding off any form of intrusion since the lights had gone out. They are in no hurry to give up what they have fought so hard to gain. To be honest, I can’t blame them. But if we are going to take down the King, and restore America, we will need their help.”

  “Well you know I have your back boss.” The Commander mumbled out with a mouth full of scrambled eggs and pork sausage.

  Ms. White motioned for the Commander to sit where she was previously seated. She then placed her hands upon the shoulders of Miguel, as she leaned towards him, “I would greatly appreciate your attendance at the meeting as well.”

  “Yes of course,” Miguel said mid-bit. He quickly placed his fork on the table, before he turned his neck some to look up towards Ms. White, “Can I bring my son? He has expressed a strong desire to do more.”

  Ms. White smiled and looked towards Alberto who was sitting a few seats down from Miguel. “You ready for this?”

  Alberto sat upright and proudly said, “Yes ma’am. I feel I have a lot to offer.”

  “Then we are happy to have you on board.” Ms. White answered back as she patted Miguel on his shoulders. “You’ll get to see how amazing your dad is.” She then walked around to the end of the long table, passed other members of both Miguel’s family as well as some of the MacGinnes family members. Once cresting the end of the table she stood where Jay was sitting next to Reyna. “Glad to see you back, Jay. I heard that Trigger had a part to play in this latest outing.”

  Trigger, who was laying at the feet of Jay, a half-eaten sausage on the floor next to him, perked his ears up when he heard his name being mentioned. Once Trigger realized there was no more food coming his way, he quickly laid his head back down and enjoyed a moment of peace and quiet.

  “Thanks,” Jay said. “I just wish I could have played a bigger part. But overall I’m glad that I went.”

  “How is the leg?” Ms. White quickly asked.

  Jay hesitated a moment, as he looked over at Reyna. It was a look which indicated that the two of them had just completed a heated discussion about the very subject. Half smiling, he reached down and rubbed his leg. “Well, as I was just telling Reyna, it is doing okay.”

  Ms. White stood a bit more upright and crossed her arms in a very motherly fashion. “I’ve been in enough arguments with my own team member
s to know that it’s not ‘okay’. After you eat I want you over to the medical building. The doctor from the Zion camp is there and he can take care of you. Then I want both of you,” She started as she took a moment to look at Reyna as well, “to get some much-needed rest. If things go the way I think they will, rest and relaxation is something that will be in short supply very soon.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Jay said a bit sheepishly.

  “Yes ma’am,” Reyna quickly followed.

  “Good, now finish up your breakfast. “You too Trigger,” Ms. White said as she bent down and ran her hand up and down the back of the weathered dog.

  Trigger let out a low groan as if he was complaining about the command to eat, but also enjoying the little bit of attention he was getting. Finally, he slid is head over to where the half ate sausage was, picked it up with his teeth, but didn’t bother to bite down. Instead, he laid there, holding the pork sausage, as if it was a very thick unlit stogie.

  Ms. White completed her lap around the table, making sure to stop by to check in on the Sheriff who was conveniently nestled next to Lucy and the little baby. Finally, once she was back to where she had begun, she wiggled her way into a seat next to the Commander who was taking the last bites of his breakfast. “I see you enjoyed the meal.”