Audrey sighed with a bit of shame and said, “I don’t remember my real parents…I was very young when I was taken from them.”
“Do you ever wonder about them?”
“Yes, when I was accepted into The Academy, a couple of my Law Enforcement Professors allowed me to do an extensive search in the criminal files, the missing persons files, and Military files for them. I have never been able to find any information as to who they were.”
Ulu remained stoic and impolite as she said, “During the War Machine years…when they allowed all those Immorals to come from Earth to work on The Hydroplantations and ammunition factories…a lot of children, like yourself, were left here by Immoral humans incapable of doing the right thing. We Ailanians have always prided ourselves in taking care of the welfare of children…but a lack of morality caused a foster baby boom. I’m sure those that spawned you just went back to Earth, and drank themselves to death years ago.”
Audrey felt a bit shocked and confused as she said, “Well…I’d like to think that maybe, someday…I’ll get to be reunited with them again.”
Ulu’s face didn’t change as she said, “Maybe you will be…but I doubt it.”
Audrey tried to fend off Ulu’s negativity by drawing strength from her kickboxing trophy as she thought about what it would be like to finally find out who her parents where. “Were they just Immorals who gave me up for adoption because they either couldn’t or didn’t want to raise a baby? Or were they something else, something special? I hope so. Were they Military personal who got sent off on some secret mission? Were they explorers who got lost in space? Will they someday be found and reunited with me?”
Audrey’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a High Senate page began speaking to High Senator Ulu Jinkua. “Ma’am, you are needed in High Senator Karamotzain’s chambers.”
Ulu stood up and said to Audrey with a frown, “No doubt this is about High Senators Glik and Semnor. Such a mess your boss is making of this, Agent Winters. Doesn’t he realize that people on this planet are presumed innocent until proven guilty?”
Audrey looked at her with a bit of disbelief as she said, “Yes, ma’am…but Captain Kalapana has acquired evidence against them and thus they need to have their day in court.”
“All of this is overblown, I assure you. Tell me, Agent Winters, why do you feel such loyalty for Captain Kalapana, a man who is such a maverick?”
Audrey bit her lip as she thought, “I don’t know, but the impending violence of Operation Shade, which their votes could cause, is the reason why he’s trying to prove those two men guilty…and I support his decision.”
Ulu sneered, “The man is reckless…why you don’t tell him he’s walking on thin ice?”
Audrey narrowed her eyes as she said, “I trust Moke and I believe what he is doing is the right thing.”
Ulu frowned at her again, “Agent Winters, I have known you for many years now, and whether you want to admit it or not, I know you very well…you are an excellent CIA agent, but you have a weakness stemming from a desire to be close to someone. Maybe it was growing up on this planet as a human and feeling like an outcast that caused it. But I just hope this desire, to be close to someone, does not impede your ability to do this job that the citizens of this planet have entrusted you with.”
Audrey bit her lower lip as her mind flooded with anxiety from what Ulu had just said.
“Agent Winters, the desire to be close to someone, might manifest itself as the need to please your Captain, by supporting his decisions, which some of us might find, objectionable. Individualism can be a dangerous thing, Agent Winters…be careful that you don’t let my nephew’s egotistical belief in himself be what ruins you. Have a good day, Agent Winters.” The old, Ailanian woman then turned around and quickly walked away.
Audrey turned her attention back to her ReadyFile and began plugging away at some keystrokes. Earlier in the month, Moke had given her an encrypted computer file to decode. He had told her to keep what she was doing very quiet since the file had been stolen by a spy Moke associated with.
The ReadyFile beeped a few times as she realized that she was finally able access a small picture of a muscular man with blonde hair. The name under the picture read Ronald James Harris.
Audrey smiled as she said, “Well, hello good looking…”
Her concentration was soon interrupted by her ringing com. She answered it quickly and said, “This is Agent Winters.”
One of her agents was on the other line sounding worried, “Ma’am…we have another murder victim, and we think this one might help our narcotics investigations.”
Audrey bit her lower lip and let out an anxious sigh, “I’ll send a team in immediately.”
“Shit,” She thought as she closed out the file she wished to look at. “The fun stuff will have to wait…we gotta find a way to arrest some big time drug dealers real soon if we want to get the High Senate off our asses.”
Location: Cellblock Four…HanaPaloiFederalBuilding…Downtown Polynea.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1600 Hours.
Moke cracked a smile as the guards led the shaggy-haired, Bontune youth into the small room. He noticed how the young man appeared nervous and even a bit scared, which made Moke a bit more at ease with the situation. Moke put his hands into his pockets and then looked at his shoes as he started to slowly walk around the small room while the guards removed the young man’s shackles and chains.
“Leave us,” Moke said with a soft, yet authority filled tone. Once the guards were gone, Moke could see a bit of relief cross the young man’s scared face.
“So Tavin, how long did they keep you in prison?” Moke said calmly as he placed his hands behind his back, hoping the put the young man at ease.
The young man look scared and confused as he said, “What?”
Moke tried to look compassionate, “It was rough for you in there…I bet you don’t even know who you are anymore do ya?”
“Yeah…I guess I don’t. I just remember the bars on the door that never opened. The food was delivered by robots and it was awful. I had a couple of cell mates that kept talking to themselves…and since they started arresting all those protesters, it was hard to get any sleep since they kept shouting their anti-government slogans all day and night.”
Moke nodded towards the corner of the small room and said, “I bet you thought you would never get a chance to see one of these ever again.”
The young man’s face seemed to light up as he saw the complex computer system sitting on a desk, which was next to a small bed and a sink. The room was a bit of an upgrade from what he had been experiencing, but he was not sure about what to make of all this. He felt timid as he said, “What is this about? Why am I here?”
“Your name is Tavin Thompson, am I correct?” Moke said.
The young man’s eyes betrayed his fear as he said, “Yes…that’s my name.”
“You were born and raised on Ailana,” Moke said softly, calmly. “You graduated High School three years ago and dropped out of University when you discovered you had a gift for hacking computer networks.”
The young man gulped down his fear and said, “I guess…but if I had been a good hacker, I wouldn’t have ended up in prison.”
Moke looked at him with kind eyes and said, “I know why you did it, Tavin. The kids in High School were not very nice to you, because you were different. It’s hard to be different on Ailana, especially when you are skinny and a bit weird by some peoples’ definition. The internet chat rooms and virtual games allowed you a place to escape from reality. Ailana is still dominated by conservative beliefs, and people who fall outside the norm tend to feel a lot of pressure to conform into a mold they simply cannot fit into. The pressure of the Ailanian dream makes a lot of people turn to illegal activities so that they might achieve a level of success, which would normally be impossible for them
to obtain. Did you feel this kind of pressure?”
Tavin looked at the ground with a bit of shame and said, “Yeah…a lot of people thought I was weird…I couldn’t get along with anybody…and I wasn’t good at anything. If you are not good at sports and if you don’t have money or good looks, people on this world tend to look down on you. People on this world respect your family name…and I don’t have a family anymore. My mom and dad left for Earth, and left me here…I guess I didn’t fit in anywhere, I guess I just couldn’t connect with anyone.”
Moke felt a bit of empathy growing in him as he said, “You were like a lot of kids in your predicament…you turned to computers for entertainment and a social outlet. You were an active gamer, and at one point, you found out you could cheat by inserting viral programs into the game codes. Through the guise of an avatar in the virtual world’s social sites, you found out you could be anyone you wanted to be. You fell into the idea that you could get even with the people who made you feel so bad, if you hacked into a bank’s computers in order to steal peoples’ money. You got caught and paid a high price. It was probably a living hell to be separated from a computer for such a long time.”
“Yeah…it sucked. They had me in one of those isolation cells for a while…I about gave up hope in there.”
Moke said, “Well, if you are wondering why you are here…I’ll tell you. Ya see, I am the sort of guy who believes in second chances. Most people, who adhere to the Moralist teachings, believe that there are people who are not blessed by the gods and are not capable of making a righteous decision because their minds are too clouded with base emotions. However, I think if the world kicks a man when he is down…that man might have the desire to defend himself and could end up breaking the law of out the need to survive. I’ve read your case over, Tavin…and I think that you’ve been kicked around too much by people that refused to understand your pain and that is why you hacked into that computer system to rob that bank.”
Tavin had a shameful look on his face as he said, “I wish I had never done that…I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“Well, I’d like to give you another chance,” Moke said as he motioned for Tavin to sit down at the computer terminal. “I’m a bit of a rebel. And I’ve done some things that have pissed off the wrong people, and now, I’m finding that my budget is being cut. They tell me it’s the economy and everyone has to accept budget cuts…but I’ve had a lot of my staff leave for Earth for better paying jobs…which is putting me into a position with the powers that be…that I don’t want to be in. They want me to be blind and helpless, and I sprung you out of prison because I need more eyes, ears and brains in my operation. I need someone like you that knows their way around a computer and all that data on the Ailanian Wide Web.”
“Well, I’m a bit rusty…but what can I do for you?”
“You will assist my agents with cases that require your sort of knowledge. Ailana has a lot of computer crime…are you familiar with a group known as The Evil? Were you ever involved with them?”
Tavin sighed as he said, “Are you kidding me? I was too much of a geek for them. To be a hacker for The Evil you need to have done some pretty intense and impressive hacks. I got caught the very first time I tried hacking…so there is no way I would have been able to join their little, elite club.”
Moke smiled as he said, “Well…being a member of our little club has a lot more benefits. You are technically still serving out your sentence in our custody. But you have a nicer cell all to yourself, you have a private shower…the food is much better and if you do a good job, we even consider letting you leave the building unsupervised. Your prison tracking chip is still active, but in a couple of years, if you do a good job for us, we’ll pay for the surgery to have it removed so you can start thinking of yourself a free citizen again. Who knows, when your sentence is up, we might even have another full time position available, or we can help you clear your record so you can get a real good job with the private sector.”
“I really appreciate this, sir,” Tavin said as he sat down in front of the computer, his hands were shaking with anticipation.
“You have very limited online access right now…we’re going to be watching you closely for a while, but if you earn our trust, you earn more freedom. Why don’t you fire up the system and get used to the functions, we’ll start your internship training first thing in the morning.”
Moke was just about to leave the room as the young man turned his head and said, “Sir…this might be a stupid question, but are there any girls around here?”
“We have a morgue technician right down the hallway from you…but from what I gather, she isn’t very friendly, or attractive for that matter. But you are in luck, the woman you will be reporting to, Assistant Director Audrey Winters, is one of the most beautiful women in the CIA. But keep your hands to yourself. She is a martial arts champion.”
“I’ll remember that sir,” Tavin said. “But who am I kidding? This computer system right here is better than any woman.”
Moke chuckled to himself as he left Tavin to his fancy. As he walked down the hallway Moke was able to catch a rare feeling of knowing he had done right by someone today.
Location: Hanasai Plains Road…fifty kilometers outside of Polynea.
Ailanian Standard Time: 1630 Hours.
The Jalapo show was blaring over the radio as they rolled down the dusty road. The angry female caller was insistent as she said, “I’m telling you, Jalapo…I did everything right. I didn’t skip a day of school and got really good grades. I worked my way through University, and when I got a job, I never missed a day because of a hangover or whatever silly ass excuse my other coworkers came up with. I get up early every morning and take the bus to work….”
Jalapo cast out his bait clause, “Yeah, a lot of people on Ailana don’t go to work…”
The Ailanian woman took the bait and viciously ran with it, “Yeah! You’re right! And it pisses me off that I have to ride to work with all these drunks and drug addicts, who are on their way to the unemployment and welfare offices, with booze on their breaths and bottles in their hands! I’m telling you, Jalapo, I am sick of what this society has become and I want my planet back! Some of us deserve what we have in life because we worked hard for it! We deserve a bigger slice of the pie than what these Immorals should be allowed to have since this economic downturn is their fault. They’re just mooching off us hard-working, Moralist citizens!”
Jalapo’s voice was calm, yet grating in an irritable way as he said, “that’s one of the reasons this show exists. We’re here for all of the pissed off, angry people, like you, who want to not only express their opinion, but also tell the truth! And the truth is our government put way too much faith in dreamers and individuals! So many Ailanians don’t work, and don’t have jobs, because our government, under the leadership of Hupo, forced the banks to give loans to a bunch of small-minded Ailanian inventors and small business owners, who had dreams and ambitions that simply never materialized because they were IDIOTS!”
“Oh my gods, Jalapo…you are so right, what was that Socialist magistrate of ours thinking? He was just out to redistribute the wealth of those big corporations that actually knew what they were doing…and now we have all these idiots claiming pseudo-capitalism was to blame when they know what really happened!”
“But that’s not the worst of it!” Jalapo exploded with rage as he said, “And now, since these Ailanian inventors and business owners either couldn’t or wouldn’t make any money from their dreams and schemes, they couldn’t pay back their loans…and now we have a credit crisis, a full blown recession, a bankrupt government, and a planet full of Immorals expecting a handout! I’m tellin’ ya folks, this is why we need Moralist High Senators in office, who are going to welcome the Aurorians to come here and straighten this mess out! Next caller!”
The second caller was a male with a deep, angry voice, “
Well, Jalapo…you can just tell that pompous caller, who just spoke to you, that I have been working hard and doing the right thing all my life. My family raised me on Moralist teachings, and as much as I agree with High Senator Ulu Jinkua, I am about ready to cast my vote for whoever can get me a job, even if it means voting against a Moralist. I am so sick of being called Immoral because I need a welfare check to support my family at this point in my life. It wasn’t always like this for me! I worked hard on The Hydroplantations, Jalapo! I was laid off because some rich CEO kept making bad decisions, which kept running the company out of money just so that the government would bail the company out. But all that bailout money The Hydroplantations received didn’t stop them from laying me off…and then the CEO gave himself a raise! Pseudo-capitalism is real, Jalapo! A whole lot of these big corporations who operate on Ailana take part in it and our corrupt government condones it! Hupo was trying to make things better and now you’re blaming him, what about the guy who laid me off? Why did my hopes and dreams have to go down the toilet?”
“Oh stop your whining!” Jalapo was quick to jump in with, “We all have to make sacrifices in these tough times…”
The caller’s voice was a bit angrier as he shot back, “We all have to make sacrifices, huh? How come that rich son-of-a-bitch, who owns The Hydroplantation I slaved for, was able to get bail-out money from the government? Why is it that he still gets to live in a mansion on the hill? Why does he still get to drive the newest, most expensive hovercar on the market while I lost my job, lost my house, got my car repossessed and now have to fend off looks of hatred from my fellow Ailanians when I go down to the unemployment office to beg for an unemployment check, which is barely enough to feed my family?!”
“Oh come on now, sir!” Jalapo said sharply, “If you truly want your life to turn around all you gotta do is stop whining and vote for High Senators who will give generous, corporate tax breaks so that the money will start trickling down again! Remember, being jealous of the rich won’t solve our problems, but easing their tax burdens will!”
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