Circles Of Fear

by Brian Cain

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

  Jason gave one day a week to his own electorate; He was determined his seat would not go without representation because of the election. He did not take it for granted that he would be re-elected. He had assessed that people did not seem to be disappointed in the fact that they would have to go to the polls again after such a short period of time. Wednesday, he moved among the people of Parkin, this was the day of the Brinkly International Board meeting. He met an ever-increasing amount of key players in the company, early every Wednesday morning, before he went to his Stirling office. He was finding no evil amongst them, the powers of the board’s perception were growing. The rest of the week he toured the country, listening, advising, explaining his vision of a better way. He left his mark wherever he went, an uprising of immense proportions. Hope was on the rise, crime falling to an all-time low. The Advance caretaker government claimed the changes were a spin off of their work over the last two years; the media constantly took them to the cleaners. Jason Brinkly sold more newspapers and newsreels than the media had ever experienced, no one dare attack him. Jason upheld those who did if proved to be correct; evil intent was crushed with no mercy.

  Wednesday the twentieth of October, six am, Jason had just met eighty-five new members of Brinkly International. He was climbing in his car to go to his Stirling office when Briggs and Beagle asked him to one side, away from the thirty strong media contingent that lived in his pocket.

  “We have ready what you asked for Jason,” said Briggs. “Can you have your clan attend a demonstration of the most advanced transport system ever devised, tomorrow morning in Woomera? I know it may be hard to arrange with your campaign schedule, but we’ve had to keep it quiet, Advance have been attempting to see what’s going on.”

  “I’ll arrange it today, will seven be too early?” asked Jason.

  “No that will be fine,” replied Briggs. “We have quite a lot to announce.” Brigg’s handed Jason a small square belt mountable beeper. “Wear this at all times Jason, it’s direct to ADAM. If you feel it vibrating, head for the bunker, we found some very interesting information inside ADAM’s memory banks. We changed ADAM’s programming so you and I carry an alarm. If the alarm goes off, ADAM has gone to yellow alert and will need your permission to defend us. When we announce the Corporation’s intentions tomorrow, we won’t be popular with oil companies and motor manufacturers. We will also be announcing a national education framework to train new people to work within the Corporations needs. This will mean the training and employing of thousands of people, we are doing all this within our own available Brinkly International resources. Some big people aren’t going to like this. We would like you to deliver a speech after tomorrow’s release. Trouble is, endorsing this may not be good for you at the moment.”

  “That’s good, I don’t think any attacks will worry us,” replied Jason. “Besides, if some one kicks you up the arse, at least you know where they are. We have been confronted by no enemies as yet, they must be there somewhere. We will be on the tarmac at six a m tomorrow morning, make sure there are no hold ups, I have to be in Melbourne for an APP conference and election speech by three pm.”

  Briggs closed Jason’s door as he climbed in his car next to Dick Hamlin. “No problem, everything will be ready.”

  The media made a meal of the change of plans, the front page carried headlines of the impending announcements. Three domestic jets filled with media, industry heads, politicians and overseas ambassadors followed Jason’s personal executive jet into Woomera. Coaches picked them up in the grey dawn and they made their way to a hangar on the outskirts of Woomera town. Grandstand seating was arranged in front of a small rostrum adjacent to the closed doors of the hanger. The crowd settled as the sun rose above the red soil’s horizon, Briggs took to the rostrum alone. His broad American accent filled the air as he spoke into the microphone. Jason noticed Tom as he twiddled the knobs of his mixing desk to one side of the grandstand, his face showing the signs of no sleep. Jason waved to him with a smile. Tom shook his head as he waved back.

  “Ladies and gentleman, The Corporation, part of Brinkly International, have asked you here this morning for the announcement of the century. The Corporation is the vision of Jason Brinkly, it uses technology found by Australian Defence Arms Manufacturers for industrial purposes and not those of war that it was developed for.” The doors of the hangar began to open; a single rail ran out from under the door and around the hangar for a distance of about three kilometres. It re-entered the hangar the opposite end, forming a large oval. The doors opened fully, a small bullet shaped train with five carriages darted from the hangar and stopped in front of them, it sat motionless a few centimetres above the single rail. “This ladies and gentleman, is a modified monorail train, it is powered by electro magnetic technology, unseen anywhere in the universe till now. It carries its own power source; it isn’t nuclear and is totally self sufficient. It is autonomous, run by a new age neurone computer. The exact life of the power source is unknown. We have had the same power source operating elsewhere for a period of five years, with no signs of failure. It is expected they could be perpetual, producing electrical power indefinitely.”

  A small car appeared from the hangar, the driver alighted leaving it in front of the crowd. “This ladies and gentleman is the latest European electric car. The manufacturers have kindly consented to allow us to use it. Fitted with our power producing technology, it runs indefinitely, never needing recharging. The available power has enabled us to fit very powerful electric motors to its wheels. We have tested it at speeds of two hundred kilometres per hour. Not only that, but unlike a normal electric car that is charged by your household electrical supply, this does the opposite. While sitting in your driveway it powers the entire needs of your house. Please feel free to ride the train and drive the car. Our guides will answer any questions you have, within reason.”

  People flocked to the machines. The train and car glided silently around; a flurry of questions were answered by Corporation staff, all dressed in white coveralls. The car was driven away by staff and the train left in motion at varying speeds of two to two hundred kilometres per hour, while Jason took the rostrum for a speech. Jason waited for full attention and complete silence, the wind whistled around the microphone as he let everyone take in the silence.

  “The work done by these people here in only a few weeks has amazed and excited me. If we can achieve this in weeks, surely we will achieve a greater, cleaner world in only a few years.” Jason paused as he looked at the mesmerised audience. “We will now see who really wants to go forward in the search for the perfect answer; I feel those who are evil will not see what I see, or those who follow us, see in this. Those people will search for the good in themselves, or be driven from the face of the earth, taking their evil greed with them. Millions of people will work in this industry in the next few years, so as we welcome the new millennium, peace and goodwill shall be offered to all. As I travel this great country of ours, the New Hope we all feel uplifts me. There will be no need to live in fear in the years to come, for we will all want to be what we are, fear will be something only the evil experience. I thank you all for your time on such short notice, but those who are not with us and do not rally, will only get short notice. I must leave you for affairs with our people, thank you all very much.” Jason walked from the rostrum with Hamlin at his side.

  “If Horton had made that speech, I would have told him he was mad,” said Hamlin. “I feel no fear with you.”

  “All who are with us will feel no fear Dick, a dog need feel no fear of a person with good intent, a person with bad intent need fear the dog. Once the dog knows, he can do something about it; just remember you are that dog.”

  Dan Crowley of the Gazette waited for Jason at the base of the rostrum and took him to one side. He casually lit a cigarette. “Everybody’s impressed to the hilt with all this Jason, no ordinary person could do that and get away with it. A threat like this to the industrialised
world would see you dead in hours. You still move around with no body guards, who the hell are you?”

  “I exempted you from my awe for a reason Dan; I find it distressing that I have to ask you again not to abuse that. All the people who don’t want to move ahead will now show their colours, you make sure you tell everyone about it, so they can decide for themselves. People who want to get on will, those of needless greed will be dealt with. Stay tuned, a new system in government is about to rise. Honesty and integrity, no more secret meetings of cabinet, no more hidden agendas, no more wasting taxpayer’s money. It will happen; I will make sure of it. I shouldn’t have to reassure you again.”

  Dan threw his newly lit cigarette on the ground and stepped on it, he smiled. “Yeah, I can see all that coming now, I’m gonna give up smoking, might be worth living longer by the sounds of it.”

  Jason’s every move was tracked by ADAM. ADAM could not strike without Jason, it saw Jason as the most important person on the face of the earth, and it followed his every move by monitoring his mobile phone. Unbeknown to everyone including himself, an A10 pod followed him continuously, fifty thousand metres above his head.

  Wednesday the twenty seventh, Jason was having breakfast with Anita and Tammy. Mary and Anita expressed concern about Tammy talking to herself, they both had observed it becoming more frequent. He conversed with Tammy by their ever increasingly powerful mental telepathy, they could now talk with each other while in other rooms of the house.

  ‘Is the old man with you all the time Tam?’

  ‘Yes daddy.’

  ‘Mummy and Mary are worried, you must be more careful, they don’t know. Understanding would be hard for them. I’m not sure I really understand myself yet.’

  ‘We talk most of the time like we are now, I forget sometimes.’

  ‘What has he said?’

  ‘He helps me understand grown up things, he told me you are the power of all good, one day we will need each other. I don’t know why.’

  ‘Fine love, we will go with our instinct till we are told.’

  Anita interrupted, “Jason, this is serious. We had to see Tammy’s teacher yesterday. Tammy has been doing mathematics only fully qualified engineers use, I found her doing quadruple equations last night for homework. She wrote a perfect letter to the headmaster condemning the government’s actions, she outlined corrective policies in line with what you have suggested. She’s seven years old and no ordinary child Jason.”

  Jason smiled as he looked at Tammy. “She can source information from me and I from her. You must learn to live with what we do; the people around her will become oblivious as her powers increase. We are lucky she is so bright, but she must stay where she is, to have a normal upbringing. Our goals are amongst the people; that’s where we must stay, I can’t tell you any more than that, because we don’t know ourselves.”

  Tammy went to Mary and Anita giving them an extra big hug before leaving with her father for school. Only smiles and frowns could be seen in the car as they headed for the school between Jason and Tammy, but conversation was heavy.