Original Design

by William Latoria

  The Blackshade Machine

  Book 1: Original Design

  By: William D. Latoria

  Copyright © 2019 by William D Latoria

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.

  First Printing

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental

  This book is dedicated to my wife, my editor, and my soulmate. Without you this story, and my pursuit of writing, couldn’t exist. Thank you for putting up with my constant babbling about the characters, and your attention to detail when editing the mess of a manuscript I gave you.

  Contents

  Prologue:

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  It’s the year 2072, and the world has changed drastically from how you know it. For starters, The United States of America no longer exists. In the year 2030, a joint government initiative led to the merger of The United States and Canada into a single country. The vote needed to accomplish this required an overwhelming majority from the citizens of both countries. This was accomplished easily, thanks to the persuasive support for the movement by all major media outlets of the time. On the 30th day of October at 10:30pm central standard time 2030, the votes were tallied and the newly formed country proudly known as, ‘Candaerica’ was born. The name is a clever combination of Canada and America. There was a worldwide competition to name the new country, which was won by a fifth grade class in the city of Quebec. Runners up were Country McCountry-Face, Super America, and The Ultra United States of North America.

  Candaerica is made up of sixty-eight states. The original fifty states of America remained the same, and the former country of Canada was divided into seventeen. Mexico makes up the 68th state, but we will get to that later. The merger led to Candaerica being the most progressive, successful, and powerful country in the world. There were groups that were against the merger, but they were arrested and executed, because that’s how undesirables were dealt with in that time.

  The reason for the merger was simple; the relationship between America and Canada had always been a historically positive one. They were allies. They had very similar ideologies, and with their geographical locations literally making them neighbors, there was very little reason not to do it. The people were told that the merger would improve the land, tax revenue, national security, and overall prosperity. The media really drove home to the populations of both countries how the merging of the two countries was in the best interest of everyone involved. The citizens ate it up.

  The real reason for the merger was classified beyond Top Secret and was known only to a handful of people in the top positions of power. Unknown to almost everyone else in the world, America and Canada, as well as a few other first world countries, were secretly sending manned missions to Mars. Officially, Mars had been declared a dead planet where life could never exist and any further missions to the planet, or desires to colonize it, were a waste of time, resources, and lives. NASA was downsized to its most rudimentary level, and mainly served as a museum that provided cheap tours for aging, sentimental Americans.

  Unofficially, scientists were hard at work building the most sophisticated space ships ever created by man. The American government knew Canada was doing the same thing, but to expose them was to expose themselves. So, in the interest of national security, they said nothing, however, both countries monitored the progress of the other very closely. During one of the more successful missions to Mars, American astronauts brought back ancient alien remains and artifacts that caused a major ripple in the scientific community. For the first time in human history, we had tangible, physical proof of alien life. The Roswell hoax and the Area 51 conspiracy were complete farces that the American government used to cover up other, completely human projects, so this discovery was unprecedented.

  Scientists were brought in from all over the country, sworn to secrecy on the pain of death for them and their families, then set to the task of learning everything they could about the aliens. What they discovered led to many scientific breakthroughs and new technologies. The aliens were so unlike us in composition and make up that some scientists believed it impossible for them to have ever been alive. Many technologies we use now like, Tissue-ware, Nerve-tech, and artificial sight were created thanks to the research on the alien remains. One of the darker secrets unlocked by the alien artifacts, was a new form of weapon of mass destruction. A weapon our scientists morosely referred to as “Anti-Life” Technology. This technology, would instantly kill any living thing (human, animal, plant, bacteria, etc.) it touched. It was hoped that a new era of peace would be ushered in unlike anything the world had ever seen, if they could develop the technology and use it to control the more aggressive countries of the world. After all, who wants to go to war if every living thing in your country could be killed with the flip of a switch? All without any of that nasty fallout or radiation to worry about. The hope had been that with a deterrent as powerful as Anti-life technology, all the world’s leaders would be forced to find diplomatic solutions to their problems rather than violent ones. The problem was, the American scientists were missing large pieces to the puzzle needed to make the technology function.

  For years, America’s top scientists worked on the technology but made no progress after the initial discovery. It was by chance that a Canadian scientist broke her own country’s protocols and published a paper outlining a new technology she claimed to have invented that was very similar to America’s own Anti-life technology. The scientist herself was jailed by the Canadian government and died shortly after getting to prison. The details of her death were reported as an accident, and the woman’s family was well compensated, monetarily, by her government. The real cause of her death was a botched extraction by American Special Forces. The cord used by the Special Forces Operatives to extract the scientist snapped as she was being pulled up to the stealth hover copter they were using. The scientist fell over one hundred feet, and two of the operatives were captured while trying to resuscitate her. This let the cat out of the bag between the two governments.

  But rather than go to war with each other, the decision to work together was chosen instead. Neither country wanted war, but neither country wanted to relinquish their alien technology to the other either. Trust between the governments had been compromised due to the botched Special Operations mission, but the politicians of the time on both sides worked hard to reestablish that trust. It was the President of the United States that came up with the idea to merge the two countries. He explained that the only way to move forward was by blending the two country’s fates together, thereby putting both countries on equal ground. What effected one would affect the other. Thus, the merger was born, fabricated, propagandized, and then executed flawlessly with no one the wiser. Quick, clean, and legally binding.

  The merger turned out to be a blessing in more ways than one. With Canadian and American scientists now working together under one flag, Anti-life technology was completed quickly, and the weapons were incorporate
d onto refurbished B-52K’s under the shred AL-2. Some Anti-life weaponry was also installed on naval destroyers and battleships for better global coverage. The original power sources required for these weapons were so large that only huge platforms like the ancient bomber and the massive naval ships could contain them. United, armed, and desperate to try out their new toys, the government of Candaerica waited for their opportunity to use them.

  As it was, they only had to wait five short years.

  In the early 20’s the American President at the time instituted a policy to build walls along America’s borders. A fifty-foot-high wall was built across the entire American / Mexico border. It effectively stopped most people from illegally crossing the border between the two countries. The controversial wall helped America immensely by keeping illegal drugs and criminals out of the country. The added security permitted Texas to drop its guard a bit and allowed the state government to spend money on things other than border patrol. The prosperity of Texas’ southern towns increased exponentially, and the wall was touted as one of the best things to happen to Texas since the discovery of oil. The same couldn’t be said for Mexico. The completion of the wall caused the citizens of Mexico to completely lose faith in their government. This allowed the cartels that were already running rampant in the country to take over, virtually unopposed. The coup was said to be one of the most brutal in modern history. Two years after the wall was built, Mexico had become so dangerous that most of the world declared it a no fly zone. People equated entering the country to committing suicide. Eventually, Mexico went dark, and very little information came out of the region. What little information that did surface was never positive. People avoided the country at all costs.

  For over a decade the world heard nothing from Mexico. Many people thought the whole country was dead, or feral, or that it was so ravaged that the surviving populace had reverted to the barbarism of the Stone Age. Ghost stories and rumors were common about the silent country. Then, without warning, on July 23rd, 2035 the wall just outside the city of McAllen, Texas exploded in a massive ball of red-orange flame. Mexico had officially invaded Candaerica. The initial invasion was as fast as it was ruthless. Caught completely unaware, the Candaericans were slaughtered. There were pockets of defense that formed up here and there, and local law enforcement did everything they could to try and stem the tide. But against the military equipment used by the invaders, there was never any real hope. Tens of thousands of Candaericans died in the first few hours of the Mexican Invasion.

  The townships of McAllen, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Kingsville, Laredo, Beeville, Cotulla, Tilden, Floresville, Cuero and Port Lavaca were all wiped off the face of the planet in the first day of the invasion. The ferocity and speed of the Mexican force that led the assault seemed to know exactly where to go, how to attack, and when to move on. It was an almost perfectly orchestrated attack by the Mexican Army.

  It wasn’t until they converged on San Antonio that their assault was finally stopped in its tracks. Credit for stopping the assault was given to San Antonio’s Chief of Police, as well as local gang leaders, for putting aside their differences to fight against their common foe. Out-gunned, out-manned, and under-equipped, the police officers fought side-by-side with local gang members, as well as many local citizens, to stop the invaders. The Mexican push was firmly halted after a high ranking member of one of the gangs sacrificed his life to bring a ten story building down on the Mexican tanks spearheading the assault. The man was known only as “Big Daddy” and the survivors of the Battle for San Antonio erected a statue of his likeness in his honor, and it’s still a popular tourist location to this day. The next day, the Candaerican military responded.

  The Mexican forces were pushed back almost as quickly as they advanced. Those that didn’t, or simply couldn’t, found no mercy from the Candaerican citizens that got ahold of them. A week after the invasion, the Mexican army had been routed; the remnants fell back into their country through the hole in the wall they had created. The Candaerican government saw this as their opportunity to unleash Anti-life weaponry and make a statement to the world that Candaerica was not to be trifled with. Knowing the Mexican government would never get the message due to their lack of technology, the Presidents of Candaerica issued an ultimatum.

  “Surrender to us, unconditionally, or your whole country will die. You have twenty-four hours to comply.”

  Candaerica didn’t wait. Hours after the ultimatum was made, two squadrons of B-52K’s with Anti-life modifications were spun into action. AL-2 equipped naval ships bore down on the country and arrived four hours before the deadline expired. The order to attack was given despite the fact there was still time left before the deadline, and the military moved in, hungry for vengeance. It wasn’t known at the time what kind of anti-aircraft or naval defenses the country had. It was quickly discovered however, that they had none. The squadrons of B-52K’s and AL-2 warships fired mercilessly into the country. The pulses instantly killed any living thing they touched. Even being grazed by the Anti-life beams was enough to be fatal. There were no explosions, no fires, and no collateral damage. The Anti-life pulses were only dangerous to those amongst the living. After a month of constant bombardment, a cease-fire order was given, and the army moved in. Per government orders, all infantry was equipped with cameras and live streamed everything they saw. The videos can still be viewed online to this day, but very few ever do. The loss of life was total. Not one man, woman, child, animal, plant, insect, or bacteria was found alive in the entire country. The Candaerican Presidents were unapologetic for what they had done and told the world that this was what would happen to anyone foolish enough to invade Candaerica. The world took notice, and while many condemned the attacks and loss of life, the leaders of other countries walked on egg shells around anyone from the Candaerican government. Nuclear weapons didn’t scare people the way Anti-life weapons did, because while a person might have a chance to survive a nuclear explosion, an attack from Anti-life technology was un-survivable. The fear that Candaerica had instilled with their weaponry was primal, and the world has never forgotten.

  As an added measure and show of dominance, the Presidents of Candaerica claimed all of Mexico as spoils of war and immediately sent engineers and construction crews to build a wall completely around their new conquest. Once again, many leaders from many other countries condemned this action, but not one of them disputed the claim. Over the next five years, Candaerica rebuilt the ravaged southern region of Texas, as well as the desolate Mexican country. In the year 2041, the wall was complete and the Candaerican government unveiled their plan for the land. Granting historic, tax-free loans and all sorts of benefits, the government gave any Candaerican citizen the option to move to Mexico to reform the land into a massive farming community. Huge masses of Candaerican citizens flocked south as fast as modern conveyances could get them there. Now, Mexico is an immense farming community that provides high quality food for the entire country. Mexico produces so much food that there are no farms anywhere else in Candaerica. The surplus is so enormous that food and drink are now almost worthless, and for just a few Candaerican credits you can eat like a king for a month. Candaerica has food in such abundance that the government uses it when trading with other countries, instead of currency. Needless to say, if you’re a Candaerican citizen, you live a charmed life.

  For thirty-one years Candaerica has known peace and prosperity unlike any other time in history. No other country dares to defy us or even hints at attacking us. With the world now populated by over ten billion people, most foreign countries need us in order to feed the citizens of their countries. No other country on Earth produces the quantity, or the quality of food that the farmlands of Mexico produce.

  Thanks to our peaceful lifestyle many things have changed. Bullying is illegal. Nothing is more important than a Candaerican’s freedom to feel, act, and be whomever they feel they need to be. To hurt someone emotionally because of their uniqueness is the same as hurtin
g someone with physical violence and is treated the same way in the courts. This mindset has created a populace that’s incredibly kind to one another, and although there is still crime, anyone found guilty of upsetting the populace is dealt with… efficiently. The people of Candaerica are also more sensitive to harshness and become offended quickly when anyone, or anything, upsets the serenity of society. Gone are the days of, ‘Snitches get stitches’, now if someone upsets someone else, the police are called immediately, fingers are pointed, and names are given without hesitation. Luckily, the police are fully trained to respond and defuse situations like this.

  However, the police force has also changed drastically from what it was at the beginning of the century. Today, the police no longer carry lethal equipment; there’s no need. That’s what the military is for. Instead, all police officers are trained and certified psychiatrists that don’t engage irate people with violence. Now when the police arrive, they engage in a dialogue with the individual(s) until a mutual understanding can be reached. This approach has a 65% success rate, which means the majority of the time, police solve problems. The other 35% are dealt with by members of the military, but little detail is given as to how those encounters resolve. As a Colonel in the Army Air Corp of Candaerica, I don’t mind telling you, it usually ends up with the perpetrator’s incarceration, or death. There is no room in our country for violent, or non-compliant citizens.

  Outside of Candaerica, the world is very different. In the mid-50’s Candaerica closed down its overseas military bases. It was determined that they were no longer needed, especially considering how expensive they were to maintain. Shutting down the bases was greeted with celebrations in most of the countries, however the celebrations didn’t last long, as the world almost immediately imploded in on itself.

  Japan completely shut down its borders and returned to its isolationist ways. They still actively trade with Candaerica, but only because we control most of the world’s food, and with Japan’s population approaching five hundred million, its need of Candaerican food stuffs is critical. Other than that one exception, Japan no longer so much as sends representatives to world meetings.