Fall, Rise, Repeat

by Matthew Schneider

  “But alas, it does not work like that. I am no God—it was foolish to think so. No God would endure nor commit the deeds I have. I can only hope I might repent when this is all over...but in the meantime, it is only necessary that I continue these actions until peace is brought to this world. Or maybe that is not my job…

  “But if I lead, and these people will only demand constant fighting, then there will be no peace. So maybe I should retire now? What would happen? I can only imagine that the world will continue to grow worse and I see it as my duty to take action despite others’ suspicion that some of it may be wrongdoing. But my intentions are good, are they not?

  “I wish the answer was crystal clear. I have taken far too many lives to say that this should all be stopped. Too many have died for a cause that cannot be halted. And because of this, with all respect to the many that we have lost, we must continue fighting until all is resolved. It is the only solution.

  “A rebellion has begun. First it was clan wars, then it was war amongst the country, and now it is back to small groups, tediously, with the expectation people will stop. We can only continue to fight and hope that it will finally be the war to end all wars.

  “Reading the words I have spoken has given me new light. I take back what I said: I WILL continue! The world needs me, and I know that. I am the last chance the world has at staying united. I am, probably, the most important figure in the entire country at this point; imagine if we win this! I will be an idol and the entire city will be a role model to the rest of the world. They should chant my name and follow in my footsteps. Footsteps...I hear them right now. Somebody is outside”—

  Zav bolted out of his chair and stared at the door to his room. He gasped as the door handle bent and the door was kicked open. Soldiers rushed the room and surrounded him.

  Major General Ryker stepped forward. “Well, President Starr, I had begun to believe you when you said your nation was completely united. But now there are rebels at your doorstep and I am the only reason you have not been killed yet—”

  “Oh, great, great, really is an honor,” Zav responded.

  Major General Ryker nodded his head slowly. “We must escort you to a different part of the city. You are in great danger and it would be a very poor decision to stay here. Another war is upon you and we must form a battle plan—as much as I’d like to arrest you for treason, the power you’ve assumed has given you influence and it would be dangerous for me to tamper with that. Come with us—immediately!”

  Zav fumbled for words but none came out so he instead fumbled with the computer, forcing it into his suit pocket. He stepped behind Major General Ryker and the squad of soldiers exited the room. There were at least forty in total, all marching through the hall to the stairwell.

  They left the hotel and boarded two large M939 trucks. Ryker entered the first truck, and Zav the second, each surrounded by soldiers.

  Engines roared and they lurched forward. And for a moment, maybe an unfortunate glimpse or an unruly destiny, Zav swore he could see Jaiyana watching him depart.

  Chapter 21

  Zav bounced in the back of the truck, wincing at first every time he rattled against the hard seat but eventually becoming accustomed to the motion. He watched as they sped through the city, avoiding any roads that swayed too close to the western frontline.

  The roads were busy and all of the sidewalks, alleys, and buildings were bustling with life in some way too. It was apparent, however, that the work style varied completely depending on which segment of each district they were in.

  “You know,” Zav pointed out to a soldier, “I’d say the number of people working in construction was higher when along the border of the Northeast district.” Much of the construction consisted of bricklaying or cement foundations; they seemed to be building a large wall of defense against the socialist district—possibly fearing an ambush from rebels.

  Then there began more white-collared work, with people who might have been working in professional services or part of this district’s administration. This seemed to be the hardest working sector – especially when taking into account that they might be preparing themselves for war. And eventually they saw the soldiers patrolling.

  The trucks entered a confined military zone. There were armed guards everywhere and a basic metal roofing was constructed to hide the road from the sky. There was a large steel gate that opened only once cars verified they had the clearance to be in such a protected area.

  The trucks passed through the gate and Zav’s vehicle pulled up next to Ryker’s. “So, explain to me, who, what, how, when, why, where?” Zav asked, looking around at the other soldiers in the truck, but speaking loud enough to attract Ryker’s attention from the other truck

  Eventually the road narrowed and Zav’s truck fell behind Ryker’s again, following through another gate. Ryker squeezed through his soldiers and took a seat next to the edge of the truck. “American soldiers teamed up with your locals to build this. We used resources from many places—rubble, imports, our own excavations—in order to ensure we had the most protected government zone possible. It’s merely a product of hard work. I would say we started this three and a half weeks ago. Not I, of course, but I was sending orders from Washington. I wanted a safe place to land, and hearing that a reconstruction of the city was underway made this a desirable situation.”

  Zav raised his eyebrows and nodded his head slowly. “So let’s allow this to function as the capital from now on,” he said, eyeing up the fortified street.

  “Well, I suppose you could think of it as that. This is where I have been staying. It’s not that I doubt the strength of your soldiers protecting the hotel, it’s how much I doubt their loyalty.”

  Zav frowned and opened his mouth to speak again, but the truck he was sitting in lurched forward and drove through the gate.

  Zav twitched excitedly, nearly falling. His head swiveled around in an effort to make a mental image of everything.

  It was all very satisfying; almost too much like the utopia he had dreamt of. Soldiers walked every sidewalk (all matching uniforms too!), buildings were decorated similarly, and there was just a certain aura within the place that make it feel as if the scene had been pulled straight from his mind.

  Zav’s mouth trembled as he spun around and absorbed the atmosphere—it was all too much to handle! A burst of excitement filled his body as he sat in the very realm that his mind had conjured—and he hadn’t even worked for it!

  The two trucks came to a halt and Ryker climbed out the back of his. He walked slowly over towards Zav, furrowing his brow as he approached.

  Zav stopped turning and faced Ryker. His lips curled at the ends to form a small smile and he raised his chin with a small rocking of the head. “Some tales write themselves; all too pleasing to me.”

  Ryker stood, his arms behind his back, and stared at Xavier as if attempting to analyze him. “I don’t understand what you mean, but frankly I haven’t the time to try. We must make for the headquarters to construct further plans for the city.”

  Zav mouthed for words but found that he had no response. Instead, he followed Ryker back to the trucks and climbed aboard his.

  They arrived at what Zav hoped was the capital building. The trucks parked on the neatly paved driveway in front of a long, white, building with Corinthian pillars in the front. It closely resembled the White House in D.C.’s neoclassical architecture. The American flags flying from the roof had dove insignias, for peace, added.

  And that was the perfection of the look: it was exactly what he had hoped for.

  Zav turned to Ryker. “Tell me, is this mine?”

  Ryker raised one of his eyebrows and glanced at the building as if it held the answer. “Um,” he started, his voice deep and growling. “I suppose...it is?”

  Zav folded his arms and huffed. “Good, good. Let’s get to work. Lead me to our room of operations or war room, whatever you call it.”

  Ryker stared at Zav and said, “Yes, what
ever we call it,” and marched in front of him.

  Zav followed Ryker into the White House. The front doors were brown and grand, opening without a sound. Stepping inside onto the shiny tiled floor was like stepping onto the Yellow Brick Road—the monochrome city completely contrasted the colorful interior of the White House. Elegantly painted walls of snow white and rose gold with engraved clovers. Paintings of once important businessmen and public figures— Benjamin Franklin stood out. Fancy, golden, royal furniture sat against the walls, finishing this house that was fit for a king.

  Through several sets of doors, Ryker led Zav to a less-appealing stone staircase to the basement. The room was riddled with wires and technology—holographic computers, location services, antennae—yet maintained a rustic look.

  In the midst of the clutter, there was a clearing towards the back of the basement with a long, long, shedua wood table.

  Seated around the table were men in suits, all of them completely unknown to Zav. Some had moustaches, some had beards, others had shaved heads, or wore bowties instead of neckties. Every person looked the same, despite all their differences.

  Ryker sat on the far side of the table, next to the end. The table was oblong with a seat of honor at the front. In this case, it was for Zav.

  He sat at the end of the table. Ryker cleared his throat to get the attention of the silent room. Quite literally, you could hear a pin drop. He addressed Zav, but looked around the room while he spoke: “Mister Xavier, I’d like to begin this conference by asking, what do you think led to the downfall of your city?”

  Zav sat upright to appear as formal as he could. He folded his fingers and rested his outstretched arms on the table. “Well, here’s how I look at the situation...we have disrupted the natural flow of life on the left by restricting their freedoms. They’re not entirely intelligent...it seems they completely forget they dug us into this mess, and my policies are the ones that allowed our new civilization to prosper—and yet, they have the guts to say that it is my fault that THEIR problems are crippling our society. And so, my active avoidance of the left’s problems has infuriated them to the point of rebellion.

  “It’s as simple as this: battle after battle and war after war will be fought until humans have driven themselves extinct. I did my very best to unite the world once again, but it has failed miserably due to centuries of skewed ideologies. Now, they strive to destroy us once and for all. I don’t know how the rest of the world is doing—”

  Major General Ryker said, “I do.” He raised his hand to signal he was about to speak. “The Eastern United States certainly has its hands full, attempting to rebuild and defend their territory. And...so does the rest of the world. The simplest way to put this is that we’ve entered the third World War. Crippled economies have caused riots and chaos, resulting in the need for martial law. Then, countries declared war on both the United States AND Russia, maybe for the benefits of alliances, but refuse to send over troops so as not to risk unnecessary casualties.

  “Allies of the United States turned against each other, countries in the Middle East have gone bankrupt again, African civilizations are waging war against European countries.”

  Zav gulped and stared at Major General Ryker. “So you’re telling me...this city is not the only one in which civilization is collapsing? The entire world is fight against one another?”

  Ryker nodded his head. “This is not new news. As soon as the United States and Russia engaged in combat, the rest of the world followed. But regardless of treaties, the lines are still a little blurred. So, let me find the reports for the countries...somebody find it, please,” he said.

  There was a small shuffle of papers and one sheet was passed forward. Ryker grabbed it and inspected it, his eyes darting left and right. “United Kingdom and Germany are both actively fighting;France surrendered; Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Japan, and roughly one hundred other countries, all involved in the war. People are fighting against each other, politicians are resigning, and the casualties are beyond anything we’ve ever seen before. 37 million in the First World War, more than 60 million in the Second World War, and now we’re looking at hundreds of millions in the third…” Major General Ryker put the sheet down and looked at Zav. “The world has fallen. We are bound to recover eventually, and it had seemed this city was well on its way to doing so...but now, we are in the midst of another great war. A rebellion! What a childish idea. But the children have weapons, and so we must fight back. Now, we must look for a solution to this problem. Xavier, what’s your decision?”

  Zav’s eyes opened wide and he puckered his lips. “I haven’t given it great thought. Unfortunately, the leader of the rebellion knows a very acute layout of the city, and abandoning the hotel left a great amount of information behind—” Zav paused and felt around in his pocket. He pulled out the computer and placed it on the table. “Except for this. I have this.”

  Eyes looked down at the computer. Ryker pulled the computer towards him and tossed it in the air. “And what good is this to us?”

  “It might have the schematics we were using for city blueprints. I can’t remember,” Zav responded.

  “But we need something new. We must prepare our thousands of civilians and soldiers to fight against the resistance. The only question is, what sacrifices are we willing to make?” Ryker said.

  Another voice from the middle of the table responded, “What do you mean by sacrifices?”

  Ryker turned to the man. “We are trying to stop the rebellion. But that might mean killing every last one of their soldiers, or dismantling their districts altogether, or bombing their streets until there is nobody left! We don’t know what they are willing to do to us. We can idle by and suffer the consequences or act now, regardless of the morality of our attacks.”

  Zav nodded his head slowly. “I’m willing to have civilian casualties if it means there will be no more wars following this,” Zav said, looking at Ryker, then along the table.

  “That would be wonderful if people decided to stop fighting after this, right? But people will be angry that we engaged in a war! Then they’ll protest and fight back. And it’s not like women are having children here, and our hospitals are not functioning quite as well as they used to...I think the human race is going to die out.” Ryker shrugged his shoulders and perched his elbows on the table.

  Zav brushed his thumb against his chin. “War is inevitable. We should only be prepared to fight, then. And if humans are doomed to fall at this point, then let’s make it one hell of a fight,” Zav said, his voice lowering.

  Ryker gave him a crooked smile. “We’re not trying to kill off the human race, you know. We’re trying to resolve problems to prevent people from dying...any more than necessary.”

  “Regardless! I don’t give a damn if people are hurt during this. We have a battle we must fight! Here’s what I say. Begin construction of a wall along the district border—the west border against the rebels—then place soldiers everywhere. Prepare an advancement, cut off their supplies, rally the people, and strike! We must act before they do. Eliminate them completely. It’s a foolproof plan.”

  The men at the table looked at Zav as if he was speaking a foreign language. Ryker rested his chin on his fists. “You have very interesting insights, Xavier. If you really think our best shot at eliminating the rebels is to kill them, and destroy their ideology, then I suppose we should go through with that. And if everything works, the rebellion will be suppressed, and we can rebuild. And hopefully, there will be a truce at the end of this World War, and people will agree to reconstruct the world. We are broken. There will be miles of rubble that will never be rebuilt. Families lost, bodies unburied, and a planet that will never be the same.”

  Zav didn’t respond right away.His weary eyes looked at the people surrounding him. The fingers on his hand twitched as he felt their oppressive stares encompassing him. He swallowed and held his mouth closed to suppress the noise. “A planet that will never be the same…” Zav repeated, l
ooking at the ceiling as if there was an answer painted above. “We don’t need to get philosophical here. Let’s carry out these battle plans,” Zav finished, his fingers pressing into the tabletop.

  Ryker glanced at Zav’s hands and then returned his focus to Zav’s eyes. “You must consider the weight of your actions. Nonetheless, let’s work on organizing some advancements on the frontlines and counter measures in case all else fails.”

  Zav nodded his head. “Good. I will be ready for battle at a moment’s notice—”

  “Mr. President, you understand you will not be anywhere near the frontlines, correct? I know you’ve had to fight your way to get here, but now all of your battles will merely be political,” spoke a man at the end of the table.

  Zav turned his head to face the man. “Any politician who is willing to send his people forward like pawns is a bad leader. Given the circumstances, I only find it realistic that I fight alongside my soldiers...just as I’ve always done. I am just as committed to this battle as the rest of them. It may be informal or daring or even plain stupid that I go out there, but as corrupted as my soul is, my governing is equally uncorrupted.”

  Ryker’s face was completely blank. He looked at the man at the end of the table and then to Zav. He rubbed his thumbs against the soft skin of his cheeks and then rubbed them against his nose until his knuckles pressed against his eye-sockets. “President Starr, if you expect the world to maintain order, then our way of operating must be formal and efficient, as it always has been. You are bargaining your life and the structure of the government you’ve built. You’re a politician, not a warrior.”

  “We are not in modern times anymore. Kings always fought with their knights, and a righteous leader should always fight alongside his followers. For this final battle, I will fight for and with my people. This is a new age. I am ready to face the consequences of the world we’ve inherited. This is my last chance to prove there’s good inside me.” His hand dug through his pant pocket and pulled out a round metal object. “When I received this, I promised that I would bring an end to the fighting. And I will keep this promise, and value the symbol of the men that this represents. I will fight for their names and at last, let this be the last war.”