Extinction 6

by Hosein Kouros-Mehr

  She laughs. “I don’t think that’s possible, Anil. It will last for an instant of time and then disappear. The wave travels through the planet at the speed of light. No one has ever harnessed that before.”

  Anil’s jaw drops. A bolt of light flashes before his eyes and shivers run down his back.

  Eureka! This is the solution.

  “Are you okay, Anil?”

  He takes the laptop and projects some blueprints on the wall. “I have an idea. Our reactor needs a jolt to kick-start fusion. That’s where we’re stuck. The only power source that will work is a gamma-ray gun and that doesn’t exist.” He grows quiet and peers into her eyes. “Can we use gravitational waves to ignite the reaction?”

  Her eyes widen. “Theoretically.”

  He marches around in excitement. “What if we harness next week’s gravity wave and launch our prototype?”

  She frowns. “But Anil, there’s no way to capture that energy.”

  “Well, we’ll have to build a machine.”

  “A machine?”

  “Yes.”

  She chuckles. “Anil, that’s never been done. And besides, do you think you can build this magical contraption in one week?”

  “I was born to do it,” he shouts, pumping his fists and laughing giddily like a child. “I’ve been looking for something challenging like this!”

  He opens a document and types some notes. A few minutes later, he stands and paces again, jumping and kicking his feet. “I just got another idea.”

  “You know how to build the device?”

  “No, I know what to name our daughter!”

  She smiles. “You’re funny, Anil.”

  He bends over and kisses her cheek. “It’s the perfect name.”

  “What do you want to name her?”

  “Luminous! Like a flash of knowledge, a Eureka moment. That’s what we should call her.”

  “Luminous?” she asks. “That’s an unusual name.”

  “You don’t like it?”

  “How about Lumi for short?”

  Anil looks at this wife. “Baby Lumi?” He hugs her tightly. “I love it…what a beautiful name! Baby Lumi will bring light into this world.”

  11.

  BETH FUMES in her self-driving helicopter as it flies high above the San Francisco Bay. On the horizon she spots the Yosemite desert and a cluster of military jets flying in formation. She screams into a speaker. “These decrees must be overturned!”

  On her onboard tablet, three Google executives dressed in suits are quiet and sullen.

  “You’re not doing your jobs,” she yells at them. “You were supposed to stop the rollout of the Information Tariffs.”

  Ben Daley speaks up. “We tried to block it but—”

  “You tried? Show me how.”

  Camila Dominguez chimes in. “There’s nothing we can do, Beth. We’re up against the military and the President of the United States.”

  “The government doesn’t run Google!” Beth shouts.

  “I run this company. Forcing our customers to watch ads and pay for information will not solve our problems with China.”

  Camila shrugs. “There’s very little we can do. We’re at war—”

  Beth bristles. “You’re telling me that these measures will somehow defeat our enemies and help our economy? Explain how that works, Camila.”

  “I don’t have the answers. The President knows what he’s doing.”

  Beth grinds her teeth. “The regime doesn’t know what it’s doing. Tariffs led to the Great Depression. These measures hurt our brand and people will turn to our rivals. American companies suffer and the enemy will be emboldened, not defeated!”

  Ben raises his hand. “Just relax for one second. Let’s think this through. We are up against Washington and they don’t play fairly. What can we possibly do in this situation?”

  Beth takes a few deep breaths and calms herself. “We have to fight back and restore our products to the way they were. Camila, as you’re the Chief Legal Officer, I want you to file an injunction.”

  “Against the government? Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. We don’t live in a dictatorship.”

  “I don’t feel good about that.”

  Beth hears a rumble and turns to find a military jet flying next to her. Its razor-sharp nose cone projects forward like a sword and a row of missiles jut under its wings. She stares into the pilot’s shiny helmet and sees her helicopter’s reflection.

  Another jet pulls along her left flank.

  “Something’s happening!” she cries over the deafening engine roar. She turns to find four military planes flying in formation around her chopper. “I’m in trouble! Ben? Camila? Can you hear me?”

  The line drops and the tablet goes dark. She taps on the screen and tries to navigate away but her vehicle is unresponsive. “Cooper, fly me to Mountain View.”

  “I’m not able to do that.”

  “Call my staff.”

  “Sorry, I can’t help.”

  In the distance, a jumbo transport plane drifts slowly in the clouds like a blue whale, “US Air Force” written on its side.

  “Cooper, I need assistance.”

  Her A.I. fails to respond and an “Error” message flashes on the monitor. The cockpit lights turn off and autopilot engages.

  They’re hijacking me.

  Her helicopter veers to the right in formation with the jets, approaching the rear of the flying lorry.

  A deep, male voice comes through the speaker. “Bethany Andrews, you are under arrest. Do not resist.”

  Cargo doors open, revealing a massive hull with trucks and military equipment. The jets escort her to within one hundred feet of the plane and then fly away. Beth slowly drifts into the dock.

  “Cooper, don’t go in there!”

  Her A.I. is quiet. The chopper enters the ship’s belly and lands in the middle of a large runway. She unbuckles her seat belt and rushes to escape the cockpit.

  “Stay where you are!” someone shouts through a loudspeaker.

  Laser beams blind her and she puts her hands in the air. “What do you want from me?”

  “Don’t move.” Three military personnel escort her from the vehicle and drag her across the runway to an office. They force her to sit in a surgical chair and handcuff her arms to metal rings.

  She struggles. “Let me free!”

  Two Rottweilers emerge from a kennel and race towards her, growling as they run in circles around her. A dog jumps onto her and barks viciously in her face. She screams and shakes her head left and right, trying to avoid its jaws.

  “Down,” someone yells. The dogs kneel next to an army officer wearing fatigues and sunglasses. He approaches her. “Bethany Andrews…”

  “Leave me alone!”

  He blindfolds her and violently tilts her backwards. “Tell us about your connections with China.”

  Beth’s heart races. “This is a big mistake. I’ve done nothing wrong.”

  “Answer the question!”

  “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Another soldier brings a bucket of water and places it under her head. “You’re lying to us.”

  “I’m an American CEO in charge of the world’s biggest technology company. I have no dealings with China—”

  They hang her vertically and dunk her head into the bucket. She struggles for air and fights to get free. After a minute, they lift her back up and she gasps.

  The officer stands inches from her face. “I’ll ask you again. Tell us about your business partners in Asia.”

  She coughs. “You’re mistaking me for someone else!”

  He rips the blindfold from her face. “You’re lying to us. We know you’re with the enemy.”

  She tries to look at the officer but the floodlights blind her. “I love America…”

  “That’s a lie.”

  “Please, you have to believe me. I would never do anything to hurt our country.”

  �
�Then why are you obstructing the Armed Forces?”

  She breathes hard as water drips from her hair. She pulls her arms and scratches her wrists against the handcuffs. A tearing pain rips across her body.

  “Answer the question,” the officer shouts. “Why are you trying to stop the Information Tariffs?”

  “I don’t disagree with them—” She hollers as a needle thrusts into her shoulder, sending a sharp pain down her arm. Tears well in her eyes and she pleads with her captor. “Please, stop hurting me!”

  “You are not being cooperative.”

  She sobs uncontrollably, trembling in fear. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Answer the question. Why are you against the military?”

  She quivers on the chair. “I was wrong. I made an error and I’m sorry...please stop...”

  “What was your mistake?”

  Her vision grows cloudy. “…I didn’t support our President.”

  The officer grins. “In what way?”

  “I thought the tariffs were bad policy, but I was wrong.”

  “Good. What else?”

  She grows dizzy and her head oscillates back and forth. “Please let me go—”

  “We aren’t finished yet. You need to be more specific with me. Tell me why you hate your government.”

  “…I don’t…I only disagree on one issue…”

  “Which one?”

  “The Tariffs.”

  “Are you with the enemy?”

  A wave of nausea overcomes her. “No…I’m a patriot.”

  The soldier bends over and barks in her face. “That’s a lie. Be honest for once!”

  “Okay, just don’t hurt me.” She shudders in fear. “I don’t believe the Chinese pose a threat to Google.”

  The soldier nods. “And what else?”

  “I think tariffs will hurt America. I don’t agree with the President’s policies.”

  “You’re finally being sincere, but you haven’t answered the question. Are you a spy for a foreign government?”

  “No,” she pleads. “I’m a proud American! I would never do anything to hurt my country…”

  “You’re lying.”

  “I’m truthful. You can’t make me lie!”

  The room spins around her and a throbbing pain explodes in her head. She grows nauseous and gags, vomiting onto herself. Her vision blurs and begins to darken. “I’m…not a spy…”

  She blacks out.

  * * *

  Beth awakes.

  Where am I?

  She looks around a metal enclosure and tries to lift herself but falls deeper into piles of trash. Plastic bags rip open and ooze rotten food and liquids onto her body. She struggles to keep her head up, retching in the overwhelming stench of garbage.

  Oh God, help me.

  She grabs a ledge and jerks herself free, pulling with all her force to escape her steel prison. Seconds later, she loses her grip and falls back into the slimy waste.

  I’m stuck in here.

  She tries to breathe but gags on the stink of decay as flies land around her. “Help me!” she shrieks at the top of her lungs.

  Someone opens the door above and sunlight shines into the pen. A teenage boy looks inside the trash container and then quickly darts away. She reaches again for the ledge and this time anchors her foot on a panel, jumping from it and grabbing onto a rim. She lifts herself out of the bin.

  How do I get down?

  She loses her balance and tips over, falling flat onto the concrete below. Waves of agony shoot across her shoulders and down her body. Terror grips her.

  Why is this happening to me?

  The spasm intensifies. She fights through the misery and draws herself away from the panic, watching her emotions from a distance.

  I’m alive. Just breathe.

  She focuses to conquer the fear. Soon the pain starts to dissipate as she regains control. She sits upright and blinks through her cloudy vision, seeing streets of mud and rows of crumbling tenement buildings stretching to the sky. In the distance, children kick a soccer ball and a woman hangs clothes on a line.

  She screams, “Can someone help me?”

  No one comes to her aid. She spots a riverbed and crawls towards it past a street sign. “Welcome to Livermore, CA.”

  I’m still in the Bay Area.

  She looks for her smartglasses and identification, but her pockets are empty.

  How will I get home?

  Nearby, a river flows through a concrete embankment. Gagging on the smell of trash, she limps into it and submerges herself in the stream, her muscles aching in the chill depth. Seconds later, she rises and takes a deep breath of fresh air, shuddering when a wind chills her bones.

  A soccer ball flies over the wall and slams into the creek. Beth swims towards it and grabs it. A group of children gathering on a mound point at her. “Give that back to us!”

  She aims to throw the ball when she spots a teenager using an old device, one that her company built over two decades before—a smartphone. She approaches the youngster. “If you want this, then let me make a call.”

  “Fuck you, lady.”

  She walks ashore and lifts the ball over her head as water drips from her clothing. “Let me borrow your phone for five minutes and you’ll get this back.”

  A boy with a shaved head gives her the middle finger.

  She slings her arm back and aims the ball downriver. “That’s not how you treat an elder. Say goodbye to your toy.”

  “Don’t throw it. Please!”

  “Let me make one phone call.”

  “Fine.” The teen throws her the device. She catches it from and throws the ball back. As the kids play, she smiles when she spots Pixel 22 engraved on the back of the mobile.

  These old things still work?

  Beth shivers as she tries to make a call but her wet fingers distort the display. She dries her hands on the concrete and tries again.

  The call goes through. “Dr. Andrew’s office, can I help you?”

  She sighs in relief. “Sara, it’s me.”

  “Beth, where are you?”

  “I’m in Livermore.”

  Sara gasps. “We called the police and reported you missing. They said your helicopter disappeared.”

  “I’m fine, but there’s a major plot against me. I can’t explain over the line. Can you ask someone to help me?”

  “Should I send the paramedics?”

  “No, don’t send the authorities. I need Austin to come get me.”

  “Okay, Beth. Where are you?”

  “I’m near a riverbed.”

  “Stay where you are. Austin will find you.”

  “Thanks. Please hurry.”

  She ends the call and walks to the group of youngsters, handing the phone to the boy. “Thank you, little guy.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Here’s a gift for you.” She hands him her green Google wristband.

  “Sweet.” He yanks it from her and his friends try to wrestle it from him. “It’s mine! She gave it to me.”

  Beth follows a dirt road in the direction of a camp, looking for somewhere to rest.

  12.

  AUSTIN EXITS his apartment’s Food Depot after finishing Ration 1. He takes an elevator to the thirtieth floor and enters the leasing office, a closet-sized room with an A.I. receptionist and a banner hanging from the ceiling—Sausalito Towers. Growing higher.

  An A.I. voice streams from a speaker. “Good morning, Dr. Sanders. How may we help you today?”

  Austin speaks to a red light on the wall. “I received a message that my lease is ending.”

  “That’s correct, Dr. Sanders. We have exciting news. A condominium is now available on the thirty-sixth floor. You can sign a one-year contract today.”

  He shakes his head. “I’d like to stay in my current unit.”

  “That is not possible.”

  He wags his finger at the intercom. “Listen, I don’t want to move, do you understand? E
very year, I have to relocate to more expensive housing on a higher floor. It’s ridiculous.”

  “Dr. Sanders, your contract is not renewable.”

  “That’s bullshit. You better not raise my rent again!”

  The room grows quiet.

  “Hello?” Austin bangs on the wall. “I demand to talk to a human manager!”

  “I’m sorry. I cannot be of further assistance.”

  The red light turns off.

  “Are you kidding me? I’m not finished talking to you.” He thrusts his middle finger at the wall, then jumps up and pulls the banner from the ceiling. “Growing higher my ass. You want to treat people like this, you fucking robot?”

  There is no response.

  “Let me teach you some manners.” He rips the poster apart, crumples it into a ball and throws it across the room. “I’m signing your lease right now, robot.” He laughs madly. “It’s a personal endorsement just for you.”

  The A.I. remains silent.

  Austin raises his fist. “And that’s not all. I will post reviews of your run-down complex and especially your disgusting customer service. Everyone in San Francisco will stay away from this shithole.” He waits for a response and hears nothing. “I have a better idea—I’ll print testimonials and leave them on every doorstep in this building.”

  The A.I. turns on. “Dr. Sanders, please do not engage in behavior that is harmful to our residents.”

  Austin jabs the speaker. “I demand to speak with a human supervisor immediately!”

  “Please stand by. Someone will be with you shortly.”

  Austin paces the room in frustration and places his smartglasses on his face. “Isaac, I need a cigarette.”

  “Nicotine products cause oral disease and cancer.”

  “Screw your judgments.”

  “Would you like me to contact your psychiatrist?”

  “No.”

  “There are other remedies for depression.”

  Austin takes a deep breath and counts to ten. “Never mind. How’s my schedule today?”

  An ad appears on the screen. “Say hello to Instameat. Just pop the lid and leave at room temperature for one hour, come back and find your favorite meat ready to eat—steak, chicken, pork. Tastes almost like the real thing. Available in grilled and barbeque flavors. Order today.”