The Mendelssohnian Theory: Action Adventure, Sci-Fi, Apocalyptic ,Y/A

by Toker, Dor

  “I’ve got one as well?” Adam asked and Elizabeth nodded. He felt the back of his head, seeking a scar or another mark on the skin, to no avail.

  “Not there,” said Elizabeth. She held his hand and guided him to the exact place through which the implant was inserted into the baby’s head, “but you can’t feel anything. When the fontanel closes, the mark disappears. At about the age of seventeen, a short time before the end of the physiological and spiritual coming of age process, the implant undergoes a process of awakening and begins to operate.”

  What Elizabeth did not tell Adam was the Brain Improve Implant series (Brain Improve Implant ©) was assigned according to a strict division of professions and careers designated to the newly born according to his or hers unique genetic structure. This enabled the authorities to map the direction most likely to allow the newly born to fulfill the potential inherent in them. The basic implants were freely given by the country, but whoever could afford them was able to purchase, for an appropriate price, higher quality implants that could secure a better future for their offspring. Elizabeth knew that the commerce in illegal and semi-legal Brain Improve Implants was extremely profitable. This was why most major corporations, and even some of the superpowers, took part in it. ‘I wonder what implant was transplanted into the boy’s head?’ Ellie was curious, because she knew he was born in the Jewish reservation, and part of the autonomy rights the reservation leaders received was the right to manufacture Brain Improve Implants independently and implant natives with them.

  “Will this implant help me catch the killers?” asked Adam.

  “Oh, it’ll do much more than that,” answered Elizabeth with a smile. “It will advance every aspect of your abilities.”

  “Will I be stronger?”

  “Much stronger,” Elizabeth answered, “and quick of thought, and if you practice, you’ll be able to fully utilize the various improved capabilities the implant will offer you, which are quite a few. Besides, the implant serves as the connection of each and every one of us to the web, through it, we gather necessary information and upgrade ourselves with various applications.” She deliberately did not tell him about the implant classifications. She continued to secretly wonder what implant was given to the boy. The first scan he unknowingly underwent when he’d arrived at the Amsterdam station area had located the implant and recognized the date in which it will become fully active, almost two years in the future, but the implant type was unrecognizable.

  “I see, so you’ll train me for free so that I can catch them?”

  “Nothing in life is free, Adam,” said Elizabeth.

  “I knew it,” he said and his body tensed, “you want something from me as well.”

  “That’s right,” said Elizabeth, “I want something. I want to protect you. I want to be by your side when the implant awakes, I want to help you reach the right decision.”

  “You want to decide for me,” Adam suspected.

  “When the right moment will come,” said Ellie, “it will be your job, to choose and decide.”

  “Neither you nor anyone else can tell me what my job is,” Adam got angry. “I have no job.”

  Ellie was silent, allowing his anger to trickle through her without responding. The youth stared at her, his eyes steady and filled with accusation. “I’m sorry,” she finally said and a moment later added: “We will provide you as much protection as you require, train you, teach you, and improve your body and mind. You will fulfill, with our aid, the potential inherent in you.”

  “Why?” asked Adam, “why would you do something like that? I don’t know you and you don’t know me, why should you care?”

  Ellie lingered a moment before answering: “In order to answer this question, you need to understand where we stand. Whoever’s after you, is after us as well. You must have heard the name more than once throughout the course of your life. The Skil Corporation. Are you familiar with it?”

  Adam nodded in affirmation. The name Skil appeared on so many instruments around him, from one-time-use laser pens and the processed food he’d consumed his entire life to the ground hovercrafts. Skil owned every super-metal factory, medical equipment manufacturers, building materials as well as weapons manufacturers, aircraft and spaceships. It owned the media as well, and he supposed even the clothes he wore were manufactured by one of the corporation’s subsidiaries.

  “As far as the Skil Corporation is concerned, we’re a pain in their ass. They’re looking for us in the same way they’re looking for you and we always take care to be a step or two ahead of them.”

  “Why are they after you?” Adam asked and Ellie thought she was able to arouse his curiosity, but when she looked into his eyes, she realized it was not his curiosity, that was leading him. He gathered information and cataloged it in his mind for future use. Well, she thought, at least he’s fueled by motivation. Given time, curiosity may arrive as well.

  “Because we know many things they would prefer to remain secret.”

  “Like what?” the youth continued to interrogate her.

  “For example, that we were not the creator’s first choice,” said Ellie.

  “Really?” asked Adam, “so who were?”

  Ellie smiled. “We survived the longest.”

  “And they’re after you because of that?” Adam found it hard to believe.

  “No,” answered Ellie, “they’re after us because for the past few years, we’ve been ahead of them in the race for finding Mendelssohnian chains. They’re after money and power while we want what’s best for humanity. Progress does not belong to the privileged few, but to everyone, to all humankind.”

  “But you also earn a profit from the chains you’ve found.”

  “That’s right,” Ellie admitted, “no more than anyone else. Most of the time we create deceptions and malfunctions that make it difficult for the corporation people to locate those they seek.”

  “So you’re actually terrorists,” Adam stated and questioned at the same time.

  “We prefer to think of them as the real terrorists,” answered Ellie patiently. More than once, they’d been accused of dealing with terrorism, accusations normally fueled by the corporation’s public relations departments.

  “Joseph said that I’m the last chain,” Adam changed the direction the conversation was taking, “what did he mean?”

  “Just that,” answered Ellie, “you are supposed to somehow be the means to bridge between humanity as it is today and what it could become once your chain is completed.”

  “And if I get killed?” asked Adam, “then all of humanity is damned?” His father had the habit of using that word—damned—the boy recalled.

  “Maybe,” said Ellie, “but I think whoever planned it all took care not to place all the eggs in one basket,” Ellie knew that she wasn’t telling Adam the truth in its entirety about the activities of the organization she headed, but also knew she had no choice. Adam was overwhelmed by feelings of vengeance and was not yet ready to handle the information she possessed. She needed him to cooperate. It was also for the benefit of his personal safety.

  “What would you like to do now?” she asked following a moment of silence that had separated them.

  “I want to know everything about my parents’ death and how it is related to you being sought after by the corporation. I want to know who’s heading the corporation and why they are trying to kill me, and I want to be able to leave whenever I want,” Adam finished the list of his demands. Ellie knew he was negotiating and that she had to bargain with him.

  “And what do I get in return?”

  Adam thought for a moment before answering. Deep inside, he knew he had no choice. Circumstances had led him there and there was no turning back. Elizabeth offered him a way out and he had to accept it. “You have my loyalty and secrecy. You’ve saved me and I owe you for that.”

  Ellie subdued a smile. Eventually, she planned on offering all he had asked for and much more, but it was important for her that
Adam understood commitment their deal involved. “Very well,” she said, “then we’ll start tomorrow morning.”

  “Why not now?” asked Adam with disappointment.

  “Because I said so,” said Ellie, suddenly not sounding so soft and embracing, “your first lesson will be learning how to obey your superiors. Go with Joe,” Elizabeth motioned to the sentry who appeared as if she’d summoned him, “he will fit you with a protective suit. Then go to your allotted room and report here at five am tomorrow.” Adam straightened his eyes at her. She did not give up, and after a moment the boy lowered his eyes, turned around and left Elizabeth’s room.

  Adam’s period of apprenticeship had begun.

  Chapter 12

  Just like every morning over the past few weeks, Adam was thrown out of his bed by Sergeant Clay, who urged him with short, sharp commands to squeeze into a training outfit and show up within exactly four minutes and twenty seconds on the entrance floor of the organization’s secret training facility. It was a subterranean hangar south of the city of Ipswich, England, secluded and cloaked by identiruptors, (identification disruption ©), which prevented its discovery by hostile elements, including the police and the European army. Elizabeth had sent Adam there during the course of his training, and the place was supposed to serve as his home for the next twenty-one weeks.

  Half an hour later, Adam was already cursing in his heart Elizabeth, himself and the weight he had to carry on his back while running up the mountain, which appeared endless to him. Greenwich, the military training robot (Military Training Robot ©), colored green and khaki for camouflage, sailed effortlessly by his side. The robot, which served as the sergeant’s assistant, read Adam the time and progress rate required of him. Adam was nine and a half seconds behind schedule and found it hard to believe anyone in the world would have managed such a pace while carrying a load twice his own body weight. Upon reaching the mountaintop, he stood, respiring heavily, and viewed the road he had passed. In spite of his aching body, he felt proud of managing to accomplish his mission, even if he was behind time. The strained physical activity could not relieve the pain of his loss, but at least it tired him enough to make him think of Naomi less. His responsibility for her death had tortured him, and every time he sat inactive by himself, his sense of guilt threatened to swallow him whole. That was why he was happy with the exhausting training that forced him to concentrate on the pain caused by the physical strain he felt in his muscles and his body.

  The sergeant got off his hover-bike (Trembling Jet ©) and gave Adam a pitiful look. “You must be very proud of yourself,” he told Adam, who smiled at him through the veil of tiredness that enveloped his head, “move on to the next stage,” the soldier added and pointed ahead. Adam’s face twisted. It was an entirely different plan with entirely different weather conditions. In front of his eyes, as if from nowhere, a forested swamp area gradually manifested itself. At the same time, the place where they were standing began to change. The temperature rose, the sunlight intensified and the air became humid and vaporous. The snow was gone, the land straightened itself and Adam balanced himself so as not to trip. He immediately knew that he would have to cross the swamp now in order to complete the morning training session and earn a good meal and some rest. The sooner he completed the task, the longer his rest time before the afternoon mental sessions followed by the hand-to-hand combat sessions that he loved and eagerly awaited. He took off his clothes, leaving only the protective suit that covered his skin, a t-shirt, and comfortable army pants.

  The large training complex included the latest practical foglet (Foglet Value’s ©) chambers on the market. Those were large simulators equipped with swarms of replicating nanorobots (Nano Robots Swarm ©) of various types. With a single metaphoric press of a button, the nanoswarms could imbue the training course with the qualities of any work or fighting environment, according to the selection of the device’s programmers. This wasn’t a virtual reality of the type common in the previous century. The blurring swarms were ‘the real thing’. The reality created in the Foglet Chambers, as they were called, was real to both the physical body and the senses.

  “Come on,” said the sergeant, “let’s get a move on.” And Adam did, cursing but moving on.”

  When he returned to his room, it was already way past noontime. He undressed, took a shower and then, while standing naked in front of a narrow mirror hung carelessly on one of the walls, examined his body. During the four months he’d spent in the training complex, he had received a series of nano and micro material injections. He was told that the nanocells would take some time to become fully productive and synchronized with his body and therefore, it could very well be that he would feel weak during the weeks following the injections. In any event, he’d been told by the base’s medical staff that, as long as the central brain implant is inactive, the miniature robotic cells would not manifest their full power.

  Adam got dressed and headed out to the classroom, where the afternoon studies were about to take place under the tutelage of Elizabeth. She had reached the secret training complex a few weeks after him, and he was happy to discover she was to be his guide. He loved taking lessons with her and loved spending time with her. She instilled a sense of calm and tranquility in him, even though she always demanded that he make more of an effort and her demands seemed exaggerated and beyond his abilities. Elizabeth thought differently. She believed in him and an iota of her belief had finally clung to him.

  “I see you’ve managed to survive the sergeant’s morning training session again,” Elizabeth welcomed him with a smile. Clay had already updated her with today’s results and that the boy’s progression rate was satisfactory. The nanocells were spreading in his body and assisted in the development of his muscles. His health was excellent; his senses began to improve and were almost at the edge of their basic capabilities. Soon the brain implant will become operational and will interface with them in perfect functional harmony. Elizabeth wondered what would happen to Adam after the interfacing process is completed. Will the Mendelssohnian chain he is destined to complete finally be revealed? Will he be the answer to all humankind’s troubles, or will he simply be revealed as another false messiah? ‘What if it’s all just one big mistake?’ she thought to herself. She was worried for him and had concerns for his life and the lives of the people who trusted them and cooperated with them, even though they were aware of the fact they were risking their lives. Of course, she did not share her worries with Adam and hid her concerns about his shrouded future from him. “Have you already practiced the use of the radius processor (Radius Processing Unit ©)?” she asked.

  Adam raised his arm and examined the subcutaneous touch screen on his middle finger. He tapped the screen and Elizabeth’s hand shook. She examined his arm and smiled with satisfaction, ‘I’m a fast learner’ the message the boy had sent her said. That was right; he was fast. During the course of the following two hours, Elizabeth practiced with him the use of various instruments added to the collection of improvetegrated abilities of his body and mind. “Don’t think,” Elizabeth said, “act!” And Adam attempted to put his mentor’s constant mantra to practice.

  When his head began to ache and he began to scratch his dehydrated eyes, Elizabeth concluded the practice and sent him to the hand-to-hand combat hall. It was another Foglet Chamber, converted into a boxing ring. Sergeant Clay would sometimes serve as his sparring partner, but more often, the chamber itself would create his rivals. Some of the blurred androids were human, others were predators and sometimes, when the right mood would strike the sergeant, he would combine a man and an animal in a single body. This time, it was a man who faced him. The simulated man, tall, blue-eyed and cropped hair, examined Adam with indifferent tranquility, but Adam knew he was at least as tense as he was. The man’s serenity was almost total and Adam felt a slight shiver of fear pass down his back. He shook his head and concentrated on the figure in front of him. The man moved to attack mode and Adam also moved to
a defensive-offensive posture. His suit became active automatically. The man attacked and Adam was amazed by his speed. He barely managed to evade the experienced warrior. Something in the man’s movements and efficiency as he spun around the ring, seeking his adversary’s weak points, seemed too real to Adam. Adam was shorter than his Competitor was and more agile. The fear that filled his heart sharpened his senses. He misled the warrior with a precise kick to his right foot and immediately turned around and with his other leg kicked the center of his body with great force, or at least aimed a kick to where his adversary’s body was supposed to be, the warrior was faster than Adam and managed to evade the second blow. He immediately jumped to his feet, grabbed Adam and threw him beyond the ring. Adam fell to the ground, outside the fighting area. He arrested the blow with a somersault and jumped up into a defensive position. In the corner of his eye, he spotted the body of Sergeant Clay, his throat slit, and immediately he realized the battle was not just another training game, but a fight for his life. He broke outside the sensory foglet chamber and ran along the narrow corridor, lined with many doors, which surrounded the underground training hangar. He heard the warrior running behind him and increased his pace. While running, he sent Elizabeth a warning message. It will probably be confused and illegible, but he hoped Ellie would realize the danger he was in and come to his aid. If only he could manage to reach the morning training complex, he might be able to create a confusing reality and evade his pursuer. A door opened to his left just as he passed it and two additional men emerged from behind it and joined the first pursuer. Adam reached the sensory blurring chamber and managed to lock himself inside, a second before his chasers reached it. He hurried to the control unit and randomly selected one of the patterns that appeared in front of his eyes. The chamber began to change with a smooth and sweeping motion. Residential buildings appeared from nowhere, alleyways stretched horizontally and vertically, skyscrapers pierced the sky, the scents and sounds of the city struck his senses and urban darkness filled all that he saw with shadows. He rummaged behind the command box and pulled out two thick microchips. The vision blinked for a moment, then steadied. Now his pursuers won’t be able to change the pattern of the nanocells in the sensory foglet space. He did not think he would be able to evade them but hoped that his flight would give Elizabeth and her people enough time to come to his aid. If only they would come.