Killswitch Chronicles- The Complete Anthology

by G. R. Carter

  “You and your family can join us out here, Julia. You know you’re always welcome. We’ve got some empty condos in one of the underground shelters. Extra capacity was built in, just in case. We’d be happy to have you as neighbors,” the voice belonging to Casey replied.

  “I appreciate the offer, Mr. Casey, I really do. But my husband would never leave our farm, and frankly I just can’t imagine leaving my students behind,” Julia said. For a moment she wavered.

  “Julia, be reasonable!” Stress forced a sharper tone through the line. “We’re talking about the annihilation of our species here! Total global catastrophe. I appreciate your loyalty to your students and your home. Really, I do. Those characteristics are what drew us to you in the first place,” he said, gradually calming down. “But anyone who doesn’t get to a safe spot, one with lots of food and fuel, is going to perish. This isn’t speculation. This is the real deal.”

  “And you’re sure nothing can be done to stop it? The Owls have been able to stop crazy schemes before,” Julia pleaded.

  “Not this time, I’m afraid. This plot has the unfortunate twist of being wrapped around a natural catastrophe the likes of which we’ve never seen. If the climate changes the way the UNASA scientists say it will, there’s no denying the fact that our planet is way overpopulated.”

  “And you think they’re right?”

  “Our scientists concur with theirs this time. Which almost never happens,” Casey said. “The Continuity of Government people are just planning to speed up the die-off,” he said matter-of-factly. “But make no mistake, there will be a die-off of epic proportions.”

  “But not for at least a couple of centuries, right? I mean, why do they want to kill off everyone now? Who knows what miracles we might come up with in the next couple of generations?”

  “Simple, they want to make sure the best and brightest survive. This will be a form of natural selection humanity has never experienced. But they don’t intend to wait and leave it to chance. They’re afraid if they wait something will take control out of their hands,” Casey answered. “The die-off wouldn’t be guided if nature just took its course.”

  Julia felt a little knot in her stomach. Casey—she didn’t even know if that was his real name—had been a discreet mentor and supporter since her early days in politics. Casey was her last connection to this powerful group. She had always believed he held the same convictions. He’d stepped up many times before to support what he believed was right, even if it had cost him personally. Those were important matters, but Julia could think of no situation more urgent than a plot to deliberately kill off the vast majority of the human race. For some reason, the Owls were unwilling to use their power and influence now when it mattered most. She wanted to ask the biggest question on her mind, a question that could abruptly end the conversation and their relationship.

  She summoned her courage, heart pounding in her throat. “Mr. Casey, I have to ask you: are you okay with this happening?”

  Silence hung in the air. For a moment Julia feared Casey had terminated the call, but finally he answered the thinly veiled accusation.

  “No, I’m not okay with it,” Casey said. Julia heard what sounded like defeat in his voice. “I’m just resigned to the inevitable. We can’t fight this, Julia. It’s just too big. We’d be wasting time and resources needed to survive.”

  Never once had Julia ever heard anxiety in the voice of her wealthy patron. Usually his swagger was palpable, never the sound of fear. She heard that fear now. “You won’t even try,” she half asked, half pleaded.

  She almost heard his head shake a no before the reply came. “They know who we are. The Owls, I mean. I’m not sure how Continuity knows, but they do. Already we’ve got two members dead. I’ve been in contact with some of these men and women for twenty years…I never knew their names, but you get a pretty good idea who they might be behind the alias. All the sudden they show up in the newspaper with suspicious deaths. Too many coincidences. I’m not waiting, we’re going to shelter now. I’m telling you, whatever is happening is imminent.”

  Julia felt the need to look over her shoulder at her office door, then at the drawer where she kept her .357 revolver. It was silly, but still…

  “What should I do about Maxwell? His UNASA grant is a big help to Old Main but it comes at a major price for me. He’s reporting everything I do and say back to DC, just like you said he would,” she asked, anxious to get a little more advice before her time ran out with the notoriously curt Casey.

  “My suggestion is you keep him around. He’s brilliant with computers, right? Use that while you can. Be careful what you say, of course, keep a close eye on him. I’d bet he’ll accidentally tip you off to when the Cogs decide to make their move,” he said, using the derogatory name in Owl circles—an acronym for Continuity of Government, the unelected elites slated to take over control of the nation in the event of catastrophe.

  “They’re going to move the entire government to the southern states. They figure the prime living space will be in the belt from Texas to Florida. After they get the population down to a sustainable level, that’s where they’re moving. I wish I could tell you more about how they’ll go about doing that, but I just don’t know.” Julia could hear him breathe deeply through the speakers, almost a gulp for air consistent with someone on oxygen for medical reasons. “But rest assured, Julia, one thing Cogs are good at is making people disappear. You’re not going to want to be exposed to that.”

  Casey paused again, as though he wanted to ask a difficult question of his own. “Julia, do you think Maxwell’s group is making any progress on the Luna base? We get conflicting reports…you’ve told me everything you know, right?”

  Julia marveled at how quickly Casey switched from discussing a global catastrophe to discussing politics. She tried to keep up, maintaining her own composure. “Of course, I have. As far as I know they’ve gotten to the advance planning stages, but that’s it. He hasn’t let on that there’s anything more to tell. Though I certainly wouldn’t put it past him hiding it from me,” she replied.

  “Yeah, okay. That’s the same thing I’ve heard from our other contacts,” he said absently, leaving Julia to wonder just how many spies the Owls had across the country. Clearly enough of a network for corroboration of a conspiracy global in scale and apocalyptic in scope.

  “Have you seen any of the research?”

  “Some,” Julia answered. “I’d say it’s very ambitious. It will take years and trillions of dollars to build.”

  “You’re assuming they haven’t started yet. I think this has been going on a lot longer than we knew.”

  “Like before the current administration?”

  Casey laughed and replied with a huff, “Aguilar’s a pimp. Reed, too. Presidents and Congressmen can help Continuity along, but this is so far above them they can’t even get an audience with the real shot-callers.”

  Julia gasped this time, taken back. Like most Americans, she still viewed the pinnacle of power as the American President. Even her jaded view of the political system had trouble comprehending there were unseen forces that directed world leaders like action figures in a Hollywood movie.

  “One other warning, Julia. This isn’t just a secular conspiracy; you have to watch this religion the Cogs are a part of. Maxwell is knee-deep in it—it’s like a virus. It spreads and gets in people’s heads. I’ve heard some followers go off like time bombs, you don’t even realize someone is into it until it’s too late. I know you Midwesterners are big on religious tolerance, but just watch yourself, okay?”

  Before she could reply, Casey’s last words shook Julia even more than the previous had: “I promise I’ll do my best to contact you after this shakes out. I still think you can have a role with us in the rebuilding…if we both make it through. Good luck, Julia.”

  Her computer clicked, her lifeline was gone.

  She resisted a panic creeping into her mind. She fought the urge to try and reconnect, to tel
l Casey she changed her mind and wanted to get her husband and daughter and parents and cousins and everyone else gathered and join him in whatever hidden shelter he possessed. But no one contacted the Owls, the Owls contacted who they wanted to speak with. She had no way of ever getting back in touch with them. She assumed that since she had nothing new to offer on Maxwell’s Luna research, Casey wouldn’t risk getting back in touch. She quietly scolded herself for not knowing how to play the game better; information was why Casey called, not just to warn her. Another wheel within a wheel, and she grew increasingly exhausted by Master of the Universe schemes.

  Julia considered her next steps. She had just burned her only bridge to escape. Now she had to think of something different. Somehow, she had to think of way to save her people from an unknown event, at an unknown time from an unknown threat! How could she save Old Main if she didn’t know what she was saving them from?

  A fierce optimism peeked through the dark clouds. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. After all, the road the world was on now wasn’t sustainable anyway. A reckoning was inevitable at some point. And Old Main College was filled with hardworking people who would rally around one another to help in a time of crisis. Americans had always banded together in the worst of times, they would this time, too.

  Satisfied with the thought of everyone in America unifying for the greater good—maybe like after Pearl Harbor or in the days following the World Trade Center attacks—she decided to schedule a meeting with Maxwell for the afternoon. Just a quick interview to satisfy her curiosity, armed with insight from the discussion with Casey. A little cat-and-mouse game she enjoyed playing with people she disliked.

  Then she’d review resumes for her Applied Sciences staff. New funding came hard-won from the board for three more faculty positions by showing increased enrollment at Old Main College’s fastest-growing department. A legacy of practical knowledge would be Old Main’s contribution to whatever catastrophe awaited—brilliant young minds ready to put real-world education to work rebuilding their country with hard work and perseverance.

  She nodded with smug satisfaction. Old Main could take whatever the world threw at them. She hated the thought of the pain some would suffer because of this crazy scheme of the Cogs. But all of her family and closest friends were here together. They’d ride it out just fine. The United States of America had always figured out a way to shine when the world was darkest.

  Julia laughed out loud this time. She recalled her own experience in the hallowed halls of government. The petty backstabbing. The greed and lust for adulation. Government types plotting to overthrow the world…inefficient morons who couldn’t even get the Post Office running correctly! Civil War couldn’t stop America, neither could the Depression or world wars or terrorism. How bad could their scheme really be?

  *****

  Alex wasn’t sure what to say. Julia sat quietly, waiting for her son-in-law to respond. Moments ticked away, until Alex stood up and walked to look at the statue that dominated the center of the memorial they were in. The sun was fully up and filled the room with brilliant light.

  Wonder what Casey and the Owls really believed? What did their country mean to them?

  Alex couldn’t fault Julia for her decisions. It was easy to second guess now, knowing what would transpire. Ultimately, she was right, what could she have done differently? And if she had taken the Owls up on their offer to move into one of their shelters…Phil would have missed out on Julia as a colleague and ally, Alex wouldn’t have met Bek…maybe the Republic would have risen without the Ruff family, but likely not.

  No, these things happened for a reason. He wasn’t willing to go as far as others and say it was simply the Creator’s will. Too many people had died terrible deaths to believe it was all meant to work out this way. There were demons responsible for this madness, and why God hadn’t interceded to prevent the chaos was something for the bishops of the Unified Church to discuss.

  “Why did you still keep Maxwell around after the Reset? You didn’t need his grant money anymore. And you knew he was a spy for the Continuity of Government group…” Alex stopped in mid-sentence and rubbed his temples.

  “What is it?” Julia asked with concern. She walked towards him, but he held up a hand to stop her.

  “I still get these when I think too much,” he said.

  Under normal circumstances she couldn’t have resisted the setup for a friendly dig; this clearly wasn’t the time.

  Alex stopped and glared at her. “No coincidences Julia. How could you, well we, not see this before? Continuity of Government…The Continuity cult…”

  He began to pace slowly around the room, trying to put the pieces together.

  He turned to Julia, he couldn’t be mad at her. There was little reason and frankly she had forgiven him more times than he could count. This wasn’t a betrayal; this was a judgment call. He disagreed with the call, but what else was new? Republic leadership bickered like old married couples, but they stayed married. This was for life; they needed each other.

  “So now, knowing what we know, you think this crazy talk about the Continuity of Government is true? That they really exist and they’re moving all of their people south?”

  “The pieces seem to be falling into place, yes.”

  “What do we do about it?”

  “I’m not sure I’m qualified to make decisions that big.”

  “Come on, Julia. I don’t need you feeling sorry for yourself, not now. What is your opinion?”

  “You’re not angry?”

  “Please, you know my decisions have cost hundreds, maybe thousands of people their lives, including people very close to me.”

  It was his turn to well up, just for a moment. “I turned my back on Eric Olsen for his mistakes…what I considered his mistakes. I regret it and I’m not going to do that to you.”

  Emotion dealt with in an instant, he continued. “So, what is your suggestion? Do we simply thank the Creator for our good fortune? That we didn’t have to fight for this city, that a madman dictator simply handed us the keys to his capital and went on permanent vacation? Or do we chase him, figuring that if we don’t deal with him now, our kids and grandkids will have to someday?”

  “Well, considering that your kids are my grandkids, I’d say we’d better deal with this right now. Everything we once thought was real was torn to shreds before this, I suppose the second time will be easier.”

  Alex nodded. “I think you’re right. But we need to be thinking globally, or at least continentally…is that a word?”

  “If it wasn’t before, it is now.”

  “Anyway, we need to keep one eye to the north. I’m afraid if we go chasing boogeymen to the south, we’ll let our guard down with the Caliphate.”

  “Spread too thin, right? Trouble to the north, trouble south and west. We’re out of allies, and we’ve got a lot of enemies to look out for,” Julia agreed.

  “I’ve sent the Shawnee Trackers north into Caliphate country. We’ve got to get info on what the Jijis are planning.” He shrugged as though repeating an internal argument he’d hashed out several times. “We’ll have to continue to rely on the Creeks to be our eyes around here and further south.

  He patted the statue that dominated the memorial where they stood, staring at the etching with the immortal words of a great leader. “I hate to sound paranoid, but it’s almost like someone is pulling our strings here. Estes told me we’re like pawns in a big game, and man am I feeling small right now.”

  Julia agreed. “I wonder if our ex-best friends across the Mississippi River are feeling the same way.”

  Chapter Twelve

  ARK Aerodrome

  Six Miles from ARK City Center

  Birds were singing, carrying tunes on a cool breeze that made the tree branches sway. What to most would have been a pleasant day held no comfort for Kathy. She hated being outside of ARK City walls. The White City was so vibrant and beautiful, so safe. Peacekeepers kept Citizens secure, allowing
them to do their business as they moved about the gleaming towers of City Center. Out here there was so much that could go wrong. But there also weren’t cameras connected to facial recognition software used by RenOne to track everyone’s movement; this was a meeting Kathy didn’t want a record of.

  “Tell me why you’re here,” the tall man asked. Kathy couldn’t place his accent, though it sounded quite sophisticated to her. European maybe, Spanish or even North African. His tone made her want to talk yet she began to feel nagging guilt for meeting him here. Her arguments with Tony were one thing, but here she was flirting with treason.

  She shook herself out of the indecision creeping into her mind. “You’re the one who got in touch with us, remember?” Kathy replied, more irritable than usual, which was saying something. She almost felt like getting up and leaving, then reconsidered. Either way she decided to play this, she needed to know what offer was on the table. “Why don’t you tell me why I’m here?”

  “Surely you get requests for meetings all the time, yet you took our invitation. I simply wanted to know why we warranted your interest?”

  Kathy’s internal will tried again to falter. She kept flashing to Uncle Jack’s face. Would he approve of her being here? That was nonsense, Uncle Jack was dead, Tony was a shell of a man, and Nicole…

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she blurted out.

  “Our meeting today; I was hoping we could speak about a mutual arrangement, Ms. Kingsley.”

  She was trying to keep her head from clouding, to stiffen her resolve. Why was she here? She couldn’t really remember why she had agreed when Maxwell suggested they speak to his friend…what was his name again?

  The question flowed unbidden from her brain to her mouth. “What was your name again?”

  The blazing eyes smiled at her warmly. “Demetrius.”

  “Who do you work for?” she demanded.

  “I work for the one,” he said. Then his face sharpened. “I come before the one who comes last.”