Cyber Witch

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Ray saw an opportunity. He smirked at M, and then took it. “Some people would take offense to that, don’t you think?”

  “No.” The ‘no’ was firm and direct. “IWs have been genetically proven to be a different subclass of humanity that went extinct thanks to the witch hunts in Europe during the fifteenth century. Someone, during WWIII, again, we don’t know who, found the lost witch gene and placed it in a dozen test subjects. Those subjects developed their powers quickly and went on to become the first generation of resurrected witches and were forced to join the military, and fight in the war. Fast-forward to today and we now have the problem we face today, a weapon that can walk, talk, kill ‘n’ destroy when it wants to. We were powerless to stop it until the RWs came online.”

  This wasn’t Lady M’s first interview. Ray continued, treading carefully. “To my understanding of history, we created, rather, re-created witches and warlocks correct?”

  She nodded. “That is correct.”

  “We weaponized and sent them to fight for our countries, and now they’re a ‘pest’ in our cities. What are your thoughts on that and how it came to be?”

  “Using witches and warlocks as walking weapons of mass destruction was a mistake.” She took another puff on her long smoking stick, then quickly crossed her legs. “War makes people desperate for a victory, especially if you’re losing. Just look at the atom bomb, it was created because the Americans wanted a win button. When using nuclear missiles during the war wasn’t enough, humans went to search for a new win button, witches. Days after they were first used in combat, we saw the death toll and destruction of the war increase tenfold. It wasn’t nukes doing that, it was witches ‘n warlocks and their uncontrollable desire to destroy everything around them. When generals and admirals told them to hold back, they disobeyed orders, and who could stop them? Would you place a soldier under arrest for insubordination if they had the power to melt a tank with the snap of their fingers, or cast hexes and curses on you and your family? IWs were the worst weapons humanity created; you can control nuclear weapons by not launching them. You can’t control IWs if they want to sink an aircraft carrier because they don’t like how it looked, and they’ll do it too.”

  “I see.”

  “So, to answer your question, it came to be because we made a mistake in bringing them back, but we can’t dismantle them like we can with nuclear weapons. We can’t wipe IWs out, we tried that toward the end of the war when they rebelled, and things got nasty quick. IWs back then were too powerful and could easily wipe out humanity. We can’t stop them from having children in secret either, so their population only grew. The only option was to limit their power, ban all training, and prevent the weaponization of a new generation IWs as per the IW accords. After that, we in Yoshida created the real witch program and tracking devices for registered IWs. It’s the perfect counter to the growing IW population, and our only means of controlling the first, and hopefully only, sentient WMD.”

  “Some would argue that the plan Yoshida has in motion isn’t a viable long-term solution for the future.”

  “It took a world war to resurrect witches. That same war pushed the Brits back into the EU. World War III paved the way for the impossible to become possible.”

  Lady M was as good as her sultry looks. “But,” Ray said while twisting his lips, searching for the right words to use. “But … aren’t we just repeating the past, by creating a new breed of witches and warlocks, being the RWs? One that uses nanotech to deal with our problems?”

  “I don’t believe so.” Her projection reached for a glass of wine that lay off-screen. It looked like her hand reaching for it vanished for a moment, only for it to reappear with the drink. She sipped it, puffed her smoke, sent the glass back down off-screen, and continued. “IWs are more likely to commit crimes because they know their powers can let them get away with it. If you give evil tools to someone, they’ll use it for evil. There’s a reason the witch hunts hundreds of years ago existed. The people back then knew the danger they were facing from those that possessed the witch gene and knew if they didn’t act first, then the witches would wipe out or enslave humans. Those witch hunts were in some way a warning to us, don’t trust witches, sadly, we didn’t listen to it until now. This is why the registration of IWs is important, and with our tracking technology, we can not only monitor IWs but keep tabs of how many new ones are being born.”

  “In the years since Yoshida has created this technology and provided it to the world, has anyone ever questioned if it’s right and ethical to do?”

  “No. Many religions praise us, firmly believing that IWs are the work of the devil, and many surveys have shown that the human population feels much safer knowing that our technology and RWs are keeping them safe at night. The alternative is, we go back to the witch hunts of the past, but again, that’s a deadly option now. Even though weaponized IWs don’t exist anymore, in great numbers, IWs are still extremely powerful. The safest and less violent path is this, mandatory registration and tracking of IWs, with RWs working to enforce the laws that prevent IWs from learning how to grow and harness their more destructive abilities. Lives of humans and IWs are better preserved with our technology in the end.”

  Not in the last week … he thought back to the recent news in the EU, the terrorist attack Arianna avoided, and it involved IWs. Come to think of it, those IWs were strong … more so than normal. “What about the IW terrorist attack in Munich?”

  He sat back, eagerly awaiting her reply. Ray had enough info to make Yoshida look good. It was time to get some dirt. The truth was always something unclean.

  “To my knowledge those IWs were unregistered. If they had been tagged with our tracking tech and registered, the authorities in the EU with their RWs could have seen the attack coming. Even if they had failed to do that, the devices display the estimated rank of IWs.”

  “I wasn’t aware of that feature.”

  “It was part of a new update. IW tracking devices now allow us to measure their power growth and predict what their rank is. If an IW goes from rank D to A quickly, then there’s a good chance they were training, which is illegal. Authorities from there can dispatch the RWs they have on a lease from us to detain the IW threat should they deem it necessary—”

  Ashford entered the room, cleared his throat while adjusting his expensive suit and tie. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Partington’s time is up.”

  Ray checked the time on his phone. “I still have another sixteen minutes.”

  “That was changed early this morning,” Ashford said, his expression hidden behind his shades. “We accidentally overbooked on the interviews. Other news organizations are waiting time with Lady M.”

  “Couldn’t you have told me earlier?”

  “Our PR did, Mr. Partington, check your email.” Ray received no message. He checked his messages every five minutes. There’s no way he missed it. “Now, if you will.”

  Ray nodded, bidding farewell to the projection, still debating if she was real and just sitting in front of a camera from her home. He made a long face as he walked away from the room, angry thoughts eating him up at the lackluster questions he asked. Ray was losing his touch as a seeker of truth. In his younger days, he could have come up with better questions, and probably stumped her too. Then again, in his younger days, he just hacked what cameras, computers, and emails he wanted for news, then asked questions based on what he saw. Losing sixteen minutes of time was the icing on the cake of failure.

  Ashford’s face had been directed to a barrage of text messages that came in suddenly on his phone. Ray took notice and discreetly reached for his phone, flipping on his data packet sniffer app. He had a feeling the true reason his interview getting cut early lay in Ashford’s text messages. Whatever signals Ashford had been receiving, Ray’s app might pick up on them, and being in close range of Ashford’s phone only made the process easier.

  His sniffer app revealed the ass end of Ashford’s text messages.
<
br />   Wilcox: Package from EU arriving at JFK soon.

  Ashford: Keep me posted when she arrives.

  ‘She,’ Ray thought to himself. Since when were packages, referred to as a person?

  Ray was back in his hotel room when the night fell upon the city, bringing out the light show of signs, and white and red dots from cars. He loosened his tie after shedding the business jacket from his body. Sitting on the bed, he went to kick off his shoes when his phone vibrated. Arianna’s name appeared on the screen. It made him smile, filling his chest with blissful waves. She should be landing soon. He glanced to the engagement ring resting on the nightstand. It’ll be on her finger in less than twenty-four hours.

  Less than twenty-four hours, he couldn’t wait.

  “Hey babe,” Ray said, picking up the video call.

  Arianna’s face looked disturbed as she sat on her chair in the plane. “Where are you right now?” She also sounded disturbed.

  He grimaced. Something was wrong. And her being in the middle of the flight didn’t help his growing concerns. “In my hotel, here in New York—”

  “Okay, good.” She peered cautiously to the side, then the other like she was expecting someone to be listening. “Stay there for now.”

  “Uh, is everything okay?”

  The connection went dead. He hoped she was the one that cut it. If it was someone else, or something else … He shook his head clear of those thoughts. It had to have been her that did it, and she didn’t seem happy to see him either or even ask how his day went. True, he didn’t ask her either, though if the conversation didn’t go the way it did, he would have.

  All will be answered when she arrives, he thought. When is that?

  Ray fiddled with his phone, accessing a tracking app capable of pinpointing where an incoming call arrived from in the world. He used it to locate the origin of Arianna’s last call, hoping to see how far away her plane was over the Atlantic.

  What he got instead was static, like she was trying to mask where the call came from. Odd for a businesswoman like her, working for Yoshida, not wanting to be traced, especially by the man she loved.

  He spent the next hour decrypting the signal, drawing upon long-dormant hacking skills and the illegal apps he had on his phone and tablet pad. A red blip over the Atlantic Ocean appeared on his tablet’s screen. It was the location of Arianna’s last call and it was approaching New York City, which was to be expected.

  The blip was a lot closer to New York than expected.

  Bringing up a list of all flights from the EU, planning to land in New York, unveiled a new chilling fact. There was one flight inbound from London, the one she should be on, and it wasn’t due to land just yet, as expected. The next flight scheduled to land was from Munich, and its arrival time matched with the arrival time of the flight where Arianna’s last message came from.

  Arianna was on the plane that left Munich. She said she was leaving London.

  She lied to Ray, she also insisted he stay put. He didn’t listen and got up from the bed, racing to the exit of his hotel suite. Ray’s concern for Arianna’s safety and wellbeing was too much.

  Munich was the location of the IW terrorist attack as he recalled. If those IW terrorists wanted to use their abilities to take over a plane, then the one Arianna was on could have been one of them.

  He called for a taxi on his way down to the lobby. The flight from Munich was set to land soon. Ray had to be there at the airport when it did, against Arianna’s request. If something bad was about to go down, he needed to be there for her.

  If this was to be the day she died, then they’d die together.

  Wilcox: Package from EU arriving at JFK soon.

  Ashford: Keep me posted when she arrives.

  The image of Ashford’s text message wouldn’t leave his head. Especially the usage of the word ‘she’ for a package.

  Fifteen

  Estrella

  An aura of purple, blue, and green neon light awaited Estrella when she arose from the self-driving taxi. She blew a large pink bubble from the gum she chewed and stood alone in the heart of District 666, where the IWs of Los Angeles made their home, close to Santa Monica boulevard. The few palm trees that were present rustled their leaves above the traffic and pedestrians going about their business.

  Several hateful glares hit her from all angles. It was hard for Estrella to hide the silver NC gauntlet she wore on her right hand, reflecting what little sunlight the wall-like high-rise structures let in. A warlock spat at her feet and commented that his cousin was killed by an RW nanite swarm. She spat her gum at him. It was losing its flavor anyway. A witch with pentagram tattoos on her arms and forehead called Estrella a whore, then flipped her the finger. Estrella flipped one back.

  It didn’t help to know that these people were her neighbors, or at least lived in her neighborhood. She made plans to buy an extra batch of locks for her pad.

  A police patrol car drove past slowly, it was the only thing that drew attention away from Estrella. She felt safer until it turned the corner at the next set of lights. Two blocks up, she spotted the location the kidnapping took place at, a bus stop close to a dark alley, most likely where the Bald Skull member had been hiding.

  She entered the bus shelter, moving her head about, searching for a surveillance camera. She found it; a black orb-like object nestled in the top corner. She turned around, peering at was behind her, then to the left, and right. Nobody was looking. Estrella reached for the hidden surveillance camera with her NC gauntlet hand, touching it.

  Can you connect us to this? she asked her AI.

  Yes, I can. Would you like me to do it?

  Please, Geoffrey.

  She felt a single swarm of utility nanites within her pool into her arm, into the gauntlet, then spray onto the camera. The nanites entered the camera, locating its stored memory within its electronics and formed a bridge, transferring control of the camera to Geoffrey, a control which he shared with Estrella so long as she remained touching it with her gauntlet.

  When the link became stable, her eyesight changed. It showed what the camera was showing, and what it showed was Estrella’s NC gauntlet obscuring its vision. She needed something else to look at, its past recordings. She had Geoffrey review it, her eyes replayed the morning scene from the bus shelter’s camera in reverse.

  A gathering of witches and warlocks exited a bus walking backward, stood in the shelter, and then left walking backward. The similar sights repeated until the police and an RW walked backward into view, taking witness statements in reverse. When they vanished from her sight, the Bald Skull tattooed gang member came out from a car, holding a young man, no younger than seventeen. He put the young man down, then raced away backward into the alley.

  Estrella replayed the video, this time moving forward.

  The Bald Skull member was alone and stood looking at the young man waiting for the bus. He made a quick call on his phone, most likely verifying something. When the call was done, he went into the bus stop, and flicked his wrist as his hands glowed white. The young man froze still with a psychokinetic stun. She was impressed that he could stun him quickly.

  With the young man frozen in time for three seconds, the gang member grabbed him, just as a black car pulled up while its passenger side door slid open. The two disappeared into the vehicle as it sped off. Three witches stood pointing fingers, their faces flabbergasted at the event taking place.

  The video played back once more, and this time Estrella ran facial scans on the gang member and a young man. Nothing turned up for the gang member, as expected, they were all unregistered IWs, even back in Buenos Aires. The young man, however, the scans weren’t able to get a proper read on his face, as he didn’t face the camera.

  Geoffrey, is there anything you can do with the scan of that kid?

  I can take what little data we have on his face and compare it to faces of a similar look, and body size.

  Do it.

  Be advised, this will take
some time.

  She released her grip of the camera, commanding the nanite swarm in it to return to her gauntlet. It looked like a mist of flying microscopic machines. She verified that nobody saw her meld with the electronic device and left, allowing Geoffrey to use his processing power.

  She stopped.

  The car the gang member, and the kidnapped young man, went in, moved northbound. Estrella traveled in that same direction, hoping to discover something to work with, prepared to not turn up anything at all. There were at least three intersections on the roads going north, and that car could have turned on any of them.

  Melding with other cameras was a no go as they were too high for her to reach. She needed to touch the cameras since it’d reduce the communication lag between the nanites and Geoffrey, not to mention save what little battery power they’d have left once released. She’d have ten seconds of access before the nanites lose battery strength and die while using a remote nanite hack—

  “Thank the Goddess you’re here!” A soft-spoken voice called to her.

  Turning around, she saw a warlock wave a skinny bronze hand at her ahead of his bleached blond hair. The warlock’s clothing was jet black with a white necktie loosely wrapped around his neck and hung over his chest. She glared at the warlock in confusion then pointed a finger at herself. There were at least four other pedestrians walking next to her, and one of them had the nerve to shove her to the side when she stopped to face the warlock.

  The bronze warlock nodded. “Yes, you, honey! I see that RW glove.”

  Estrella stepped to him. “What’s up?”

  “Huh? Aren’t you here to help?”

  “With?” Her confused glare remained.

  “With a kidnapping. Some bald dick head went into my bar, and snatched one of my customers, darling! Called the cops on that fool a minute ago. Was surprised to see they sent you so quickly.”